Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 280 Militant Crash Course

The night is dark.

The curtains of the suburban cabin were drawn, and a green rectangular box sat on the floor.

Zhou Yi squatted down beside it and unlocked its clasp.

There wasn't much inside.

Launch tube, CLU, spare BCU, and five sealed missiles.

Morrison sat upright with his knees together, clearly extremely nervous.

Although the 20-plus kilogram "javelin missile" did indeed come from his own mission reward.

Zhou Yi sighed and gently touched the cold metal.

"She's a beautiful girl."

"But I'm only gentle to those who use it well."

"To be honest," Morrison looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Even though the system provided instructions, I never understood how to use it."

Zhou Yi smiled upon hearing this.

"If the instruction manual were really reliable, I wouldn't have had to spend two weeks stuck in Benningburg."

"However, given the special circumstances today, a ten-minute crash course will be enough for you to graduate."

"As for those BIT error codes, background heat source interference, and guided unlocking logic..."

"Let's leave it for another time."

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out the items one by one.

"First, attach the CLU to the launch tube, align the slot, and you'll hear a 'click' to lock it in place."

"Then, confirm that the BCU is inserted at the tail, providing energy for guidance and cooling during startup."

At this point, Zhou Yi turned the monitor over and handed it to Morrison:
"Look here, after the CLU is started, there will be an infrared thermal imaging screen."

"You need to identify the target's heat signature through the scope."

"Don't get it wrong, car engines, transformers, and the ones in a living person are completely different."

"Remember, when locking onto a target, you must confirm that its thermal characteristics are stable."

"If the target moves or the heat source becomes unstable, the missile will lose its lock."

Morrison stared at it for several seconds before nodding in confirmation.

“Very good,” Zhou Yi raised his hand and tapped twice on the aiming interface.

"Simply put, the javelin has two attack modes: frontal impact and top attack."

"A frontal assault is used to hit the outside of bunkers or buildings, while a top assault would go over the bunker."

"Tonight, we'll choose the former and blast a hole in the entire structure."

Zhou Yi lifted the launcher onto his shoulder, adopting a half-kneeling posture and shifting his center of gravity backward.

"There are two things to keep in mind during launch."

"First, the javelin is a soft-launched weapon; the projectile is ejected first, and then the main engine ignites."

"The recoil is not great, and the rear flame area is relatively small, but the temperature is enough to burn through the wall panel."

"Second, don't linger in the battle, move out as soon as possible."

"The missile will expose the heat source and your location after it is launched."

"That would make it easy for the enemy's infrared or acoustic sensing systems to locate us."

"Of course, at this point in time, you don't need to worry too much."

"I'm referring to the future, let's say you're sent to the 21st century someday."

"Now, let's move on to the specific steps of the launch."

As Zhou Yi spoke, he pulled the trigger, and the guidance system emitted a low "beep" sound.

"It's very simple."

"Hearing a series of long tones indicates a successful lock-on. Launch within three seconds."

"Don't hesitate, or you'll be wasting BCU's time."

"Finally—" Zhou Yi looked at Morrison, who seemed lost in thought, and removed the launcher.

"Regarding the destructive power of the javelin."

"The tandem warhead can penetrate more than 900 mm of homogeneous steel armor."

"In other words, if you hit the bunker, all you'll get are fireballs and charred corpses."

Zhou Yi paused for a moment, then concluded:
"Therefore, after tonight, there will be no survivors in the National Defense Forces."
-
12:59 a.m.

The corridor was lit with cold white lights as usual.

Thick walls, lead-plate foundations, and patrol intervals of fifty paces.

The entire office building looks more like some kind of metallic fossil.

Lieutenant Auster sat in the night signal room on the north side, staring at the grid on the duty log.

He drew a checkmark over the "00:55" mark with a pencil, and then habitually looked up to check the time.

Unfortunately, there was no indication that the flow rate had increased.

This is his fourteenth night shift.

As is customary, it shouldn't have been my turn tonight.

However, the "personnel changes" led to "uncontrollable adjustments".

At least that's what the higher-ups say. — Please remain flexible.

The announcement contained only these few words.

On the table was a kettle and the latest issue of "Order".

There is no wind.

The walls blocked out all the noise from the city.

A few minutes later, Auster looked up again at the person opposite him.

Captain Frank Kohler.

Newcomer.

He was "transferred from the central region" ten days ago.

Wearing brand-new uniforms, with factory paint still visible on the buttons.

He never proactively introduced his background, but most people had already received the news—

Kohler was no ordinary officer.

Intelligence faction.

Most likely, it was the SS.

It might have come from the Gestapo.

He always sat very upright, didn't smoke, and his gaze would occasionally sweep across the corners of the room.

What's even stranger is that he never writes anything and never sends telegrams.

He just sat there quietly, as if the duty room were a radio and his only duty was to listen.

One o'clock.

The printer made a slight noise.

It's not sending a message, but a self-check, verifying frequency synchronization.

Auster was certainly aware of this pattern.

Three seconds after the paper appears, a line of small text will pop up in the upper right corner.

—Signal check: Everything is normal

Sure enough.

The room fell silent again.

Auster held his pencil, staring blankly at the magazine in front of him.

He has recently begun to doubt himself and his body's instinctive reactions.

For example, he would always subconsciously "look to certain corners" to make sure Kohler wasn't watching him.

"Lieutenant Auster."

A voice came from the other side.

Auster looked up.

"You were looking at me just now, for the fourth time," Kohler said casually.

"Is that so?" He tried to sound natural. "Maybe I'm just too tired."

Kohler looked at him for a few seconds without saying a word.

Just as the discomfort in the air was about to materialize, the ceiling suddenly shook twice.

Something seemed to be blocking the air duct.

The two looked up almost simultaneously.

After a while, Kohler got up from behind the table and walked to the telephone on the wall.

"Abnormal airflow detected on the north side of the first floor; external structural inspection recommended."

He hung up the phone, turned his head, and said in a cold tone:
"Go south and check, then contact the sentry at the stairwell if needed."

Auster jumped to his feet, a strange sense of relief washing over him.

Soon, he regretted it.

I shouldn't appear so relieved, as that would make me seem resistant to supervision.

So suspicious.

"I'm so sorry," he said helplessly. "I understand."

Fortunately, Kohler simply waved her hand dismissively.

Seeing this, Auster quietly opened the door and went out.

The floor was waxed, and my leather boots made no sound when I stepped on it.

He circled the corner of the signal room and continued forward.

At the end is a passageway connecting to the manhole cover chamber.

There is usually no one patrolling that area.

Suddenly, he felt a tightness on the back of his neck and couldn't help but shiver.

That chill wasn't a temperature sensation, but rather a symptom that couldn't be captured in words.

Like an animal lowering its head to drink water, it senses something quietly watching it from the grass in the distance.

Auster involuntarily stopped in his tracks.

The entire corridor unfolded before him, straight and empty.

(End of this chapter)