Chapter 5: The Approaching Meeting
After dismissing the others in his squad, Li Fulin immediately ran toward the command post. The platoon leader was absent, but the company commander was surely there. He had to speak with the company commander—no matter what, that mortar had to stay with their own company.
Soon, he reached a courtyard gate and greeted the soldier standing guard before briskly approaching the door.
“Report.”
Inside, the company commander was reviewing intelligence reports. Hearing Li Fulin’s voice, he looked up briefly but remained focused on the documents in his hands.
“Come in. Speak—what’s the situation?”
Li Fulin wasted no time and began succinctly explaining the matter concerning Xu Gaoxiang.
“Hmm, I see. So you…”
At first, the company commander thought Li Fulin had merely rescued some young cadet loyal to the organization and wondered why he felt the need to report such a trivial matter. He thought Li Fulin could have simply arranged for the young man to transfer with other locals.
Seeing the commander’s dismissive attitude, Li Fulin quickly dropped the bombshell: “Commander, he wants to meet our regiment commander, and he’s bringing a gift for him—a mortar!”
“Hmm? Wants to see the regiment commander? Who is this man?”
The commander’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at Li Fulin. But upon hearing about the mortar, all doubts vanished, replaced by a gleam of excitement.
“What mortar? Where is it? Take me there!”
Without hesitation, the commander grabbed Li Fulin and rushed outside. Li Fulin had to persuade him to calm down and explained that the mortar wasn’t in hand yet; the man needed to meet the regiment commander first before delivering it.
Only then did the company commander settle down, taking the submachine gun from Li Fulin’s hand and admiring its fine craftsmanship.
“Well, boy, you’re lucky. Ha! Looks like we’re about to get rich!”
“Commander, how do we arrange this? We can’t let this bird fly off to another company!”
The commander understood Li Fulin perfectly; they thought alike.
“Here’s the plan: I’ll find the regiment commander. You go find the battalion commander immediately. Zhang Dabiao must be right beside the regiment commander now. If he finds out, that bird will really fly away. We have to get the battalion commander to distract Zhang Dabiao first.”
With their tasks assigned, the commander and Li Fulin set out separately. A battle was about to erupt, and having a mortar in hand would ease the pressure considerably, greatly increasing the soldiers’ chances of survival.
---
Meanwhile, Xu Gaoxiang woke up after a brief sleep, troubled by one thought. “Ah, I forgot—where am I going to put this mortar?”
He realized a problem: when Li Yunlong arrived later, he couldn’t just conjure the mortar out in the open.
After much thought, with no better ideas, Xu sighed helplessly. “If worse comes to worst, I’ll hide it in some bushes, tell them I stashed it away, and then sneak it out when they aren’t paying attention.”
Resigned, Xu opened the platform and selected a decent mortar.
Just as he was browsing weapons, the platform sent a message.
“What’s this? Such a conscientious platform!”
The platform had detected Xu Gaoxiang’s unusual situation but couldn’t resolve it directly, so it offered some compensation.
Since Xu’s personal safety was not guaranteed at the moment, the group decided to allow him to purchase two simulation robots from the platform for free to protect him.
Of course, these robots were preset only to safeguard his personal safety and assist with daily work, forbidden from interfering with global affairs.
Moreover, future goods could be teleported to designated locations. “Phew, such a conscientious platform is rare—Yunlong, you’d better work hard! I’m counting on you to upgrade!”
The higher his trader rank, the better the goods, and the brighter his future.
---
At the flank of Cangyun Ridge, Li Yunlong, accompanied by Zhang Dabiao, was surveying nearby terrain. To cover the headquarters and field hospital’s relocation, they had to establish defensive positions and blockades. These fortifications needed careful planning.
“Dabiao, here and here—construct circular defenses and dig more artillery pits!”
Zhang Dabiao, carrying his great blade with a calm expression, replied, “Don’t worry, commander. With me in charge, this position won’t be lost!”
Li Yunlong squinted, about to speak when a guard ran over.
“Report! The fourth company’s platoon leader has a report!”
“What’s the situation? Let’s go see.”
Li Yunlong didn’t think much, assuming they’d spotted enemy movements, and prepared to meet the platoon leader with Zhang Dabiao.
Not far along, the second battalion commander approached.
“Commander, I need to discuss something with Old Zhang.”
“Heh! Interesting—what are you two old fellows sneaking around about? You old fox…”
Li Yunlong teased as he tried to pull a confused Zhang Dabiao away. Then, his eyes flickered with understanding.
“Heh! You don’t want Zhang Dabiao to know because there’s some benefit to it? I want to see what you’re up to.”
---
Li Yunlong’s tone shifted. “Cut the nonsense! If you mess up the position, I’ll skin you alive!”
After saying that, he left Zhang Dabiao and the second battalion commander behind and hurried off with the guard.
After a while, Zhang Dabiao, seeing the evasive battalion commander, said, “Enough of this beating around the bush. Tell me, what good thing did you get?”
The second battalion commander refused to reveal it to Zhang Dabiao just yet. Seeing that he couldn’t get anything out of him, Zhang Dabiao stopped wasting time and demanded the details outright.
---
Li Yunlong met the fourth company platoon leader and got straight to the point.
“Speak! What good did you get? Why all the fuss as if it’s going to fly away?”
The platoon leader smiled sheepishly. “Commander, you have to promise me first that the item stays with my company. We worked hard to get it.”
Li Yunlong glared. “Heh! Now you’re bargaining with me? Hurry up—I don’tI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.