From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

After the guide explained the general situation of the exercise, the chief director of the directing department made the official announcement.

"Commanders and experts, the live-fire exercise codenamed 'Operation Warrior' is now officially beginning."

As the chief commander of the directing department walked to the front, picked up the microphone, and loudly announced, the first tri-service confrontation exercise of the entire army was officially launched.

The Air Force Mountain Eagle Brigade, playing the role of the Blue Army, and the Tsunami Assault Brigade, playing the role of the Red Army, entered their respective positions as quickly as possible.

"Distinguished leaders and experts."

The guide remained standing to the left front of the commander's seat, his left hand outstretched and pointing forward, explaining in a highly professional manner: "The position directly in front of our reviewing stand is the 1130 defensive position, which was guarded by the Red Army and composed of elite Marine Corps soldiers of the Tsunami Assault Brigade."

The Red Army's garrison troops have now entered their positions and are on high alert..."

"Boom boom boom..."

As the guide spoke, a series of explosions rang out from the Red Army's position, and plumes of smoke rose, as if a real war had broken out.

"The Red Army's position was suddenly attacked. The smoke and explosions we are seeing now indicate that the Blue Army, played by the Air Force Mountain Eagle Brigade, is carrying out long-range fire strikes against the Red Army."

To avoid the Blue Army's fire, the Red Army's defenders took cover. The Blue Army's fire would continue for ten minutes..."

The guide provided simultaneous commentary, while the leaders on the platform used binoculars to watch the exercise taking place in the distance below the mountain.

Taking advantage of the viewing platform's location, the entire exercise field is within sight, and with the commentator's explanation, the sense of immersion is excellent.

"Next, we will witness a magnificent and spectacular modern warfare scene, where the Blue Army's Mountain Eagle Brigade's airborne aircraft will fly over the Red Army's positions to conduct an airborne drop, delivering a decisive vertical strike to the Red Army."

As the guide explained once again, the training ground at the foot of the mountain changed again.

After the explosions on the position ceased, the Red Army soldiers who had taken cover quickly returned to their positions, entered their respective bunkers, and resumed their defensive posture.

Meanwhile, in the southeastern sky, a formation of aircraft from the Mountain Eagle Brigade flew in at an extremely high speed.

From far to near, from large to small.

Leading the way were two J-10 fighter jets, forming a ground attack formation that used air-to-ground missiles to launch a second wave of strikes against the Tsunami Assault Brigade's positions.

The aim was to suppress and eliminate the remaining Red Army forces, thus creating conditions for the subsequent airborne landing of paratroopers.

Following closely behind was a formation of transport planes, which flew to an altitude of 3,000 meters. Looking up from the ground, they looked like little birds.

Normally, 1,000 meters would be enough, but the Mountain Eagle Brigade chose to airdrop from 3,000 meters.

This is clearly just showing off.

That's the most standard performance.

However, at this crucial moment, the transport aircraft formation flew over the exercise area, but instead of the mushrooms blooming in the air as expected, they did not.

The transport plane formation flew past as if it were just a formality.

The director of the directing department sitting on the stage changed his expression, beckoned the narrator to his side, and solemnly instructed, "Don't explain yet, we'll talk about it later."

After finishing speaking, the commander-in-chief immediately got up and walked to the back, heading straight for the director's headquarters.

The crowd erupted in uproar as the commander-in-chief left.

"How could this happen? The transport planes arrived but didn't airdrop. What is the Mountain Eagle Brigade doing?"

"I suspect it's due to the weather that the paratroopers were unable to conduct their airdrop."

"Impossible. Look how nice the weather is now. It's sunny and cloudless, and there's no strong wind. I think there must be something wrong."

"Where are the people from the directing department? Why haven't they contacted the Blue Team command yet?"

The experts watching took turns analyzing and discussing the possibility of this unexpected event, and their emotions gradually became more and more dissatisfied as the discussion progressed.

Two military reporters couldn't resist any longer. They rushed to the front with their cameras and grabbed the guide who hadn't left after being called down, asking, "What's going on? What happened?"

"According to the exercise plan, the paratroopers will jump out as soon as the plane arrives," the guide explained.

"Didn't you rehearse beforehand? How could such an accident still happen?" the reporter asked, puzzled.

"We've already rehearsed it three times. Yesterday, I read it exactly as it was written without a single mistake. I don't know where I went wrong today."

The guide himself was also very distressed. With such a major accident during the exercise, what could he do if he, as the guide, was held accountable?

"Is no one in charge of this?" the reporter asked.

"Deputy Commander Qian has already made a call to inquire, and we'll definitely have a result soon," the guide replied.

At this moment, the former commander-in-chief had arrived at the command center. With a gloomy face, he ordered, "Staff Officer Huang, immediately connect me to the Mountain Eagle Brigade command and ask them why their fighter formation did not act according to the plan."

"Yes!"

Staff Officer Huang immediately activated the wireless communication and contacted the command of the Sanshanying Brigade, but after several calls, there was no response.

"Reporting to the commander, we can't get through on the direct line. We still don't know what's going on. Should I call their communications officer on my cell phone?" Staff Officer Huang suggested.

"Quickly call and ask about the situation?" Deputy Commander Qian no longer cared about the rules.

"Yes!"

Staff Officer Huang took out his personal mobile phone and began contacting the communications staff of the Mountain Eagle Brigade.

"Sigh, I was afraid something would go wrong, I was afraid something would go wrong, and something really did go wrong. What a mess this is." Deputy Commander Qian sat down at the command table, banging on it in great frustration.

Staff Officer Huang quickly contacted the other party and soon understood the situation.

"Reporting to the commander, we have contacted the Mountain Eagle Brigade. Their lines have been cut off."

Upon hearing Staff Officer Huang's report, Deputy Commander Qian frowned and urged sternly, "Never mind who cut off the attack, first ask them why their planes aren't attacking?"

"Yes!"

Staff Officer Huang picked up the still-connected phone again and anxiously urged, "Tell me quickly, why didn't your brigade's planes attack? The exercise has already started, but no one has parachuted. What's going on?"

The Mountain Eagle Brigade was also quite frustrated at this point, and quickly told Staff Officer Huang the reason.

"What? You've been attacked by the Red Army? You have no choice but to immediately halt your offensive."

When Staff Officer Huang heard the answer from the Mountain Eagle Brigade, his voice rose several octaves in surprise: "Impossible, absolutely impossible, the Red Army is holding the position."

"We were attacked by a Red Army detachment..." the other side quickly explained. Staff Officer Huang finally understood the situation and reported with seven parts surprise: "Reporting to the deputy commander-in-chief, the Xiaojinhu Airport was attacked by the Red Army. Transport planes flew over, but we had no choice but to fly back."

When Deputy Commander Qian heard about this strange thing, he was completely baffled.

He simply took Staff Officer Huang's phone and said to the other party himself, "This is Deputy Commander-in-Chief Qian. Tell your Brigade Commander Xiahou to come and answer the phone."

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Qian was genuinely furious, and his tone was extremely stern.

"I'm sorry, sir, Brigade Commander Xiahou is currently directing a counterattack against a Red Army detachment and is not in the command post," the communications staff officer of the Mountain Eagle Brigade replied.

"This... sigh~"

Deputy Commander Qian was furious, but he had no way to vent his anger, so he could only sigh several times and slam his fist on the table.

"What exactly is the Red Army doing? What are they planning to do? Why aren't they following the plan? It's utter nonsense."

After finishing speaking, Deputy Commander Qian slammed his phone on the table, making a loud thud. Staff Officer Huang felt a pang of heartache at the sight, but he dared not pick up the phone.

Fortunately at this time.

The military phone on the table rang.

Staff Officer Huang immediately answered the call and, upon learning that the lost signal had been restored, excitedly shouted, "Turn on all the monitors! The signal from the front has been restored!"

With Staff Officer Huang's order, all the large screens in the command center were turned on.

Footage from the Blue Army Mountain Eagle Brigade's surveillance cameras was gradually displayed on the command center screens, with the footage from the main screen also being simultaneously displayed on the screens set up on the viewing platform outside.

Upon seeing troops wearing Red Army armbands appear in the area where the Blue Army command post was located, everyone was completely bewildered, and a clamor of discussion arose once again.

Two experts from the research institute had a particularly heated discussion about this matter.

"What's going on? How did Red Army soldiers end up at Xiaojinhu Airport?" The senior colonel expert frowned, his face full of displeasure.

"Judging from this situation, it's highly likely that the Red Army launched a surprise long-distance raid and captured Xiaojinhu Airport. The aircraft formation had no way to land, so they had to bring the people back to try to recapture the airport," the colonel next to him explained.

“But there’s no such arrangement in the exercise plan we were given,” the colonel said.

"It must be a temporary adjustment. The situation on the battlefield changes in an instant. Are you saying that the Blue Army is allowed to attack the Red Army's positions, but the Red Army is not allowed to attack your airfield?" the colonel explained in his opinion.

That's not what I wanted to ask you.

The senior colonel corrected him seriously, saying, "If the exercise plan changes, you can give advance notice. Now that the airport has been attacked, what are we sitting on this observation platform watching? Just looking at the air?"

"This is indeed a problem. Let's wait and see how the commander-in-chief explains it." The colonel was truly at a loss and could only look at Team Leader Tan in front of him.

Team Leader Tan is not only the leader of the expert group, but also the commander-in-chief of the Warrior Action exercise.

At this moment, he was also full of questions about this sudden situation, but as the commander-in-chief, he was more composed and did not rush to say anything.

They remained seated calmly with Chief of Staff Shen, awaiting the final investigation results.

At the command center, Deputy Commander Qian had already figured out the situation and immediately called Team Leader Tan, anxiously explaining: "Commander-in-Chief, we have figured out the situation. It was a small Red Army detachment that raided the Blue Army's airfield."

This prevented the Blue Army's transport planes from landing, forcing them to return along the same route and organize paratroopers to recapture the lost airfield.

Deputy Commander Qian reported the situation, while Team Leader Tan appeared relatively calm.

They didn't say anything else, just made one request.

That is to immediately contact the Red Army headquarters and inquire about the situation on the Red Army's side.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Qian was equally puzzled. He also wanted to know why Hongjun had pulled this stunt, so he immediately arranged for Staff Officer Huang to make contact.

The main questions were why he sent out a small team, and who was in command of the operation.

As the communications officer was primarily responsible for the work, Staff Officer Huang was also sweating profusely at this moment. He dared not slack off in the slightest and immediately began making contact as quickly as possible.

Deputy Commander Qian jogged out, needing to give an explanation to the experts, reporters, and guests outside.

When Deputy Commander-in-Chief Qian appeared on the reviewing stand, reporters and experts immediately stood up and swarmed around him, surrounding him in three layers.

Microphones were thrust out, mainly to inquire what had happened.

"Don't worry, everyone, there's been a little accident."

Deputy Commander Qian reassured everyone present and explained, "The Blue Army's airport was attacked, and the transport planes were unable to land, so they had to return and use the attacking airborne troops to recapture the lost airport."

I have already reported this situation to the superior. Please wait a moment for further instructions regarding the next steps.

After calming the reporters and experts who had gathered around, Deputy Commander Qian called the guide over again and quietly instructed him on a few things.

The guide returned to the front of the viewing platform and explained to the guests who were still unaware of the event.

"Distinguished leaders, guests, experts, and friends from the media, we have just received a notification from the command headquarters that, due to special circumstances, the original exercise plan has been adjusted."

The two units are currently redeploying and the exercise will resume soon. Please return to your seats and wait for the exercise to restart.

After hearing the guide's explanation, although everyone still had some complaints, they all returned to their seats.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Qian returned to the podium. He originally wanted to say a few words to Team Leader Tan to explain, but seeing Team Leader Tan's gloomy face, he swallowed back what he wanted to say.

He was in full charge of this exercise, and if anything went wrong, he, as the deputy commander-in-chief, would have to take the blame.

Team Leader Tan was lucky he didn't scold him; he wouldn't dare risk offending him.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Qian sat down and waited for a few minutes. Staff Officer Huang rushed over from the command center and whispered to him, "Deputy Commander-in-Chief, we have made contact with the Red Army."

"Why did they launch a surprise attack on Xiaojinhu Airport?" Deputy Commander Qian banged on the table.

This shows how angry he was.

"Deputy Commander, you should ask him yourself." Staff Officer Huang handed over the phone with both hands.

"I am Deputy Commander-in-Chief Qian, you..."

Deputy Commander Qian was just about to hold someone accountable, but before he could finish speaking, the other party explained first, and the content of the explanation shocked him so much that his eyes widened.

"What? The Blue Army broke the rules first? They attacked your 1st Battalion's armored vehicle unit first? How is that possible?"

Deputy Commander Qian, who had been watching the Blue Army closely, completely disbelieved this explanation. He said sternly, "Regardless of your situation, immediately notify your squad to evacuate Xiaojinhu Airport." (End of Chapter)