Three months later, on the vast tropical grassland.
The sun was scorching the earth, as it had done since ti immorial. The air was oppressively hot and hard to bear. A river andered and twisted nearby, its banks gathering various species of tropical grassland wildlife. Herds of antelope and zebra moved in groups to drink from the river, followed by a few wild dogs. A massive convoy ca driving through, disrupting the once seldom visited grassland. The animals watched in surprise as the fierce tal monsters approached, before scattering in all directions.
The convoy was long, with military vehicles leading the way, mounting 50-milliter heavy-caliber machine guns. The cold muzzles emitted a deathly chill, manned by solidly built warriors, bullish in stature, whose determined gazes swept over the surrounding grassland, a cautious frenzy of bloodlust in their eyes.
Mostly transport trucks followed, their cargo areas covered with tarpaulin, hiding the contents within. Ard helicopters escorted overhead. Soon, the convoy stopped in a clearing by the river. Countless soldiers clad in desert camouflage and blue helts emblazoned with the letters "UN" jumped down, fully ard to the teeth—they were part of the Peacekeeping Forces. Quickly dispersing, they secured the periter and stood on high alert.
Before long, more people disembarked from the convoy, all dressed in desert camouflage combat uniforms, wearing steel helts and fully ard. They continuously unloaded various types of equipnt from the vehicles and began setting up tents. A few officers appeared to be discussing sothing quietly by the riverbank.
The team operated efficiently and in an organized manner as they set up camp. Shortly after, the encampnt was established; tents were erected neatly and in order, clearly prearranged. In the center of the camp, the largest tent was also completed, and the officers went inside. The soldiers retreated into their tents to rest. The noisy riverside encampnt soon beca deserted and quiet, the continuous rows of tents emanating a sharp and intimidating air.
An hour later, several helicopters roared in, landing in the designated open space in the middle of the encampnt. Fully ard soldiers jumped down from the helicopters and were imdiately t by others on the ground. The helicopters powered down, and those soldiers followed the ones who t them into one of the tents in the camp.
More helicopters arrived, bringing more soldiers who were led into the tents within the orderly encampnt without any commotion. Not long after, a helicopter landed in the open area, and five fully ard soldiers jumped out. Leading them was a striking female soldier with an icy deanor and sharp eyes—the recognizable Lan Xue—followed by Luo Zheng, Ghost Hand, and others.
This part of the encampnt served as the main headquarters for the competition; the Peacekeeping Forces were in charge of security. The largest tent in the middle was the competition command post, and the other tents were the living quarters for the various countries' participants. The extre heat forced everyone to take refuge within the tents. A soldier jogged over, saluted, and indicated for Lan Xue and the others to follow. They arrived at a tent and, upon learning it was their place of rest, everyone entered.
Inside, there were army cots and field furniture. Everyone picked a bed, removed their gear, set it down, and started drinking water from the table. Monk gulped down a few mouthfuls of water and said, "Captain, brothers, this damned place is much hotter than when we trained in the desert. If we hadn't gone through prior training, I doubt we'd be able to stand it."
"It is indeed very hot, hot enough to cook a person. But that's a secondary concern. We still have three days of acclimatization, and then the real competition starts. The key is to figure out our opponents' strengths. I bet they're pondering the sa thing—it's all about who can play it cool," Ghost Hand said with a laugh, looking at Lan Xue.
"You know, being a woman, it's easy to be underestimated. With leading, we might be seen as a 'weak' team, which could lead to others looking down on us. Don't worry, I'm sure no one will take us seriously. But learning about our opponents won't be easy. Any thoughts?" Lan Xue asked coldly.
"Although the organizing committee has released the basic information of all the competitors, it is just basic. The real stuff only cos to light when you clash. The top ten Special Forces in the world, none of which are pushovers. The top five—SAS, Delta, GSG9, GIGN, and Alpha—each have a long history and are well-known; each is extrely cunning. It's not easy to get to the bottom of things," Ghost Hand said, sowhat helplessly.
"Isn't Alpha part of Arctic Bear? Arctic Bear's strongest should be the Snow Bear Special Forces. I wonder if they ca this ti? However, I suspect there's a high probability they did. We've beaten the Snow Bear Special Forces once; they'll definitely take the opportunity to seek revenge on us," Luo Zheng said calmly.
"Brother Ghost is right. The numbers of the world's top ten Special Forces are public, but there are definitely stronger mysterious armies behind the scenes, rely using these numbers for appearance. It's just like when we perform our duties internally, we use the identity of the Central Guard Corps, and when executing duties internationally, we adjust as needed depending on the situation. In this competition, it's unknown whether other countries are doing the sa as us, presenting the strongest warriors under a public banner. As for the information released by the organizing committee, those are fake, just like us, even our nas are fake, unreliable. If we want to understand the situation, we have to figure it out ourselves," Mountain Eagle continued the conversation.
"All of this is nonsense. Do you have any concrete thods?" Snow Leopard said impatiently.
"There's a weapons exhibition this afternoon. The special operations weapons of various countries will be showcased, and they'll be demonstrating their national military industrial strength while drawing in business. Let's scout it out later. I'll go with the captain. One of us should stay behind to keep an eye on the base, to prevent soone from raiding our nest. The remaining two will go out and explore, how about that?" Luo Zheng suggested.
"Fine, brothers, the usual rules—let's draw straws," Ghost Hand said.
Luo Zheng looked at Lan Xue, and Lan Xue nodded, showing no objection to Luo Zheng's arrangent, then said after a mont of contemplation, "Everyone, stay calm for a mont, I have sothing to say."
Everyone imdiately fell silent and curiously turned to look at Lan Xue.
"This ti as the nominal team captain, our opponents will have surely dug into my background thoroughly, just as we have looked into the other competing team captains. It's only natural to try to understand each other before the competition. The opponents have already grasped my personality, style, habits, and capabilities. I propose letting Ghost serve as the invisible team captain. I'll appear in public, but actual command will be handed over to Ghost. You all know Ghost's tactical abilities. Let's all talk about it, how does that sound?" Lan Xue said seriously. Seeing Luo Zheng was about to refuse, she imdiately stopped him with her eyes.
Everyone laughed it off as if it didn't matter. Ghost Hand laughed and said, "It's all the sa to us, brothers, which of you two acts as the captain, right, guys?"
"Right, Brother Ghost's tactics are flexible and unpredictable. Although we brothers are brave and strategic, we aren't as flexible and cunning, no problem," Mountain Eagle echoed, and Snow Leopard also expressed his agreent.
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