Chapter 3, Serendipity

Perhaps encountered ... ...

Zhen Zhiming gave a wry smile, spread his hands, and indicated that the whistle had been lost

When Gan Yingming placed the rations on the fire to heat them, Ye Zhenbang carefully examined the four comrades he had found during the night

Ye Zhenbang smiled and turned his gaze to Zhen Zhiming. "Xiao Zhen, before meeting us, had you encountered any other brothers?"

They are the squad's machine gunner Corporal Ke Liangxiong, assault soldier Corporal Chi Ruigang, and marksman Sergeant Tao Ankang, as well as the medic Corporal Zhen Zhiming from the second squad of the first platoon of the eighth company. Although all four of them are unscathed, only Zhen Zhiming, who has less than a year of formal service, lost the most important medical kit during the parachute jump. However, there is still no news of Squad Leader Qi Pengfei, assault soldier Jiang Sicheng, and marksman Jiang Bingguo. Moreover, Chi Ruigang brought back the identity tag of assault soldier Wen Xingyu. According to Chi Ruigang, what he found was merely a body that had been smashed to pieces, indicating that Wen Xingyu was not killed by the enemy, but rather died from the fall because neither the main parachute nor the reserve parachute deployed. This left Ye Zhenbang feeling somewhat apprehensive, as he was only slightly luckier than Wen Xingyu

To the south, the direction from which the sound of fire and explosions is coming

500 meters behind the Taichung City Qing Shui Town military defense line

Robert kept pace with Qiu Keyuan, but did not take Qiu Keyuan's words seriously

When they stopped, Ye Zhenbang had everyone gather around the campfire. This served two purposes: first, to ward off the morning chill, and second, to avoid detection by the enemy. As dawn broke, even though the reconnaissance aircraft of the Taiwanese military that operated during the day had already taken off, they would not immediately appear on the battlefield. Moreover, the reconnaissance aircraft that operated at night primarily used infrared night vision equipment, making it difficult to spot a few paratroopers gathered around the campfire.

"No... I am not afraid of your ridicule..." Zhen Zhiming reached out to wipe the grease from the corner of his mouth, concealing his awkward expression. "Before I saw you, at least three groups of people passed by my hiding spot, but I couldn't confirm their identities. I don't know if they are brothers from the sect."

Although not in the same unit, this graduate from the Second Military Medical University, who voluntarily gave up a high-paying job at an affiliated hospital to serve as a military doctor in a grassroots unit, has gained some notoriety in the camp. There are not a few individuals like him; every year, several such cases arise, most of whom go to grassroots units to enhance their resumes, adding a significant highlight that lays the foundation for future promotions to general as technical officers. Undoubtedly, those with such capabilities are certainly the offspring of high-ranking officials. Whether Zhen Zhiming is one of them, Ye Zhenbang is not sure. He only knows that a 'pseudo-military doctor' like Lu Dingxuan can turn minor injuries into severe ones and severe injuries into fatalities. For the safety of everyone, treating military doctors well is always the right approach

Gan Yingming hesitated for a moment and handed the second bag of rations, which he had just torn open, to Ye Zhenbang

Ye Zhenbang nodded and inquired with his gaze at the others, but no one raised any objections

Gan Yingming seemed to have discerned Ye Zhenbang's thoughts, and did not inquire further, instead sitting aside to deal with his own rations

Hearing Gan Yingming's words, Ye Zhenbang suddenly came to his senses and quickly took out the map. As he unfolded the map, he whispered to the several soldiers who had gathered around: "We cannot continue southward. While it is still not completely bright, we must hurry to leave this place and find a concealed hiding spot."

"Go east," Gan Yingming pointed at the map. "There is a drainage pipe here that leads to the Dajia River. The Taiwanese military will definitely not expect us to hide in the sewer."

Five minutes later, this small detachment consisting of six soldiers and one barracks left the ruins of the farmhouse and embarked on an untraveled path.

The young major slightly furrowed his brows as he received the envelope that was handed to him

Before getting to know Qiu Keyuan, Robert Lee was already aware that he was a close confidant of General Li Renjie, the Chief of Staff of the Taiwan military, and a representative figure of the local young and promising military leaders. His capabilities were thus quite remarkable; otherwise, he would not have been appointed as the Commander of Taichung's garrison by Li Renjie, nor would he have gained the trust of the newly inaugurated Democratic Progressive Party "President" Chen Yulian. Among his various talents, his steadiness in handling affairs and his smooth interpersonal skills were particularly prominent. Therefore, during the tumultuous four years prior, he did not become a victim of the political struggles within the island, unlike many other local military leaders.

Because he is not a systems engineer at all, but rather a senior spy at the CIA's East Asia Center

The young man with the surname Li quickly flipped through the items in the envelope. After putting away the items, including a withdrawal slip for a private safe deposit box from the Bernese Commercial Bank, he held the special communication certificate issued by the Taiwanese military in his hand and cast an inquiring glance at the smiling Qiu Keyuan.

Robert smiled politely; he never worried about safety issues

"First fill your stomach, then warm yourself up." Ye Zhenbang smiled wryly. Who would have thought that in late July, Taiwan would experience such rare cool weather, with nighttime temperatures dropping below 16 degrees Celsius and morning temperatures falling below 20 degrees Celsius, approximately 10 degrees lower than usual

Qiu Keyuan shrugged, indicating for the other party to look at the contents of the envelope. Although it seemed quite casual, Qiu Keyuan had only met the young man twice, the last time being three months ago at the celebration banquet for the successful secret testing of the "Alpha" navigation device interference system. He knew the young man's name was Robert Lee, an American of Chinese descent, and that he was a senior engineer for the "Alpha" system. Perhaps that was not even his real name, nor was he a systems engineer, as the operation method of the "Alpha" system was very simple, so simple that even Qiu Keyuan could master it in fifteen minutes. But what did it matter? The Taiwanese military was only interested in advanced weaponry, and Qiu Keyuan was only concerned with whether the defense line could be held.

"I have prepared a vehicle for you," Qiu Keyuan gestured politely and stepped out of the shelter first. At that moment, his bodyguard also drove over a large Jeep Cherokee. "Originally, a helicopter was supposed to take you back to Taipei, but our military does not have air superiority, so land travel is safer. I have asked Xiao Zhou to take a security team to escort you along the eastern third-class highway to Miaoli, where General Li's staff will meet you to take you to Taipei. You can rest assured that safety is definitely not an issue"

"That portion at the head of the class is with me," he muttered, and then Gan Yingming went back to the fire to heat the rations.

Qiu Keyuan did not linger any longer. After escorting Robert to the vehicle, he gave a few instructions to the security guard surnamed Zhou before watching the convoy, consisting of three military jeeps and one civilian off-road vehicle, depart.

Mr. Luo, your estimation of your capabilities is still far from sufficient. " Qiu Keyuan turned around, handed the binoculars to the guard beside him, and took out an envelope from the right pocket of his military uniform. " I will resubmit the performance evaluation report of the 'Alpha' system, recommending that the 'Ministry of Defense' expand the procurement scale. This is for you.

How does Robert E. Lee know so much

After scanning the front line three times, Major General Qiu Keyuan, the commander of the Taichung garrison, finally lowered his binoculars and turned his gaze to a young man beside him. The young man had fair skin, wore half-frame resin glasses, and was dressed in a set of major's military uniform without any unit insignia. After a moment of silence, Qiu Keyuan revealed a look of approval.

The young major was quite composed, merely smiling in a perfunctory manner.

The briefest analysis not only reflects Qiu Keyuan's adeptness in interpersonal relations but also reveals his military talents

As soon as hetushu.com was launched, Ye Zhenbang felt that this issue was somewhat foolish

Upon hearing these half-joking yet sincere words, Zhen Zhiming no longer hesitated and began to eat voraciously. It seemed that he must have vomited all of yesterday's dinner on the plane. The other soldiers laughed; any "veteran" with more than two years of formal service would certainly not suffer from motion sickness.

As Zhen Zhiming began to speak, everyone's gaze fell upon him. This was not only his first sentence, but also a statement of great significance

At this moment, several kilometers to the north, behind a farmhouse that had been destroyed by a bomb and was still burning fiercely

Six months ago, as per the arrangement of the bureau, he returned to the United States and entered an electronics company named 21th ' E as a systems engineer. He was subsequently dispatched to Taiwan, ostensibly to assist the Taiwanese military in debugging five sets of "Alpha" navigation equipment interference systems that had been secretly purchased. In reality, he was covertly gathering top-secret information from the Taiwanese military and investigating the personal circumstances of senior military officials.

Ye Zhenbang's brows twitched a few times, and his expression immediately darkened. All signs indicated that the paratroopers landing to the north of the battlefield were moving south at night, charging towards the defensive positions of the Taiwanese military. This was not the most pressing concern; about half an hour before dawn, the explosions coming from the south had noticeably diminished, and by the time Ye Zhenbang and his group stopped, even the gunfire had become very faint. This meant that either the paratroopers had breached the Taiwanese military's defenses, or the Taiwanese military had eliminated the swarming paratroopers. Although there was a glimmer of hope, reason told Ye Zhenbang that the latter possibility was more likely.

"You didn't send out a communication signal?" Lu Dingxuan took out the whistle that had been issued before departure and gestured with it near his mouth.

"Deputy Class Leader, what should we do now?" Gan Yingming handed the heated and puffed rations to Ye Zhenbang.

Class Vice... ...

"More importantly, https://www.hetushucomcom, Taipei now needs talents like you even more." Qiu Keyuan paused at the exit, instructing the accompanying guards to prepare the vehicle, and added, "Chief of Staff Li has specifically instructed that you must return to Taipei before dark today; he will arrange for someone to meet you there. Although the Communist forces' attack on the Taichung Qingquan Gang Airport has been thwarted, the scale of the Communist airborne troops that landed on our side is only equivalent to a regiment, and they will certainly seek new breakthroughs. The Taoyuan Airport in Taipei is very likely to be the next target of the Communist forces, as well as Tamsui Port and Keelung Port, all of which could become targets of attack. Based on the timeline, the earliest would be this afternoon, and at the latest tonight, the Communist forces will launch a second round of airborne operations. I estimate that the likelihood is highest tonight. Whether we can withstand the new round of assaults from the Communist forces mainly depends on whether the 'Alpha' system can function effectively again."

Upon receiving the rations, Zhen Zhimin appeared somewhat hesitant. Although he did not inform Ye Zhenbang and the others that he had placed all three days' worth of rations in the medical supply kit, his retreat to a corner while everyone else was busy preparing breakfast was enough to indicate that he had lost the food essential for his survival

I am not hungry yet, and you are the only military doctor here; everyone has to rely on you for rescue

"Which direction did those people go?" Ye Zhenbang did not dwell on this question

In that case, I will return to Taipei immediately

"Zhen Zhiming, catch this." Ye Zhenbang threw the steaming rations to the cowering military doctor at the side. "Hurry up and eat; it won't taste good once it cools down."

"Before dawn, Chief of Staff Li specifically called to have me arrange for your return to Taipei," Qiu Keyuan said as he walked towards the exit of the shelter. "Although we withstood the sudden attack from the Communist forces and the 'Alpha' system proved effective, for safety reasons, the higher-ups have decided to expedite the departure of foreign nationals from Taiwan."