Chapter 37 Pearl Town in the Night

By the time Wen Yan came to his senses, he was already standing in front of the gate tower at the north gate of the base.

It was 4 a.m., the stars in the sky were few and far between, and the night breeze was cool.

The base was fast asleep; apart from the gate tower and city walls, which were illuminated by bright searchlights, there was only menacing darkness inside and out.

The night dew was still cool in late spring, but as the soldiers ran and assembled, the heat emanating from their bodies seemed to evaporate.

Only Qi An, standing in front of the armored vehicle, said that his injuries were fine, but in reality, he was still seriously injured and had not yet recovered. He was wrapped in thick bulletproof vests and combat uniforms, and his face was pale.

However, this seemingly pale and frail person was the absolute core of the long line of cars and a huge crowd in front of the gate tower!

They actually arranged a separate test for her!

This was a support battle, and the 500 soldiers of the Jinsha Battle Team of the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division were tasked with the mission.

Now, these 500 soldiers not only have to fight, but also cooperate with the testing. It can be said that they are handing their lives over to Qi An!

Wen Yan couldn't help but shift her gaze from Qi An to the tall and imposing young commander of the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Division beside her.

He could read people's micro-expressions; he could read obvious coldness and irritation on the seemingly calm face of the regimental commander.

The commander of the 1st Division, Yang Yuzhi, is also under investigation. Most of his troops were only ordered to hold their positions in this battle, and some units in key positions were even replaced.

The burden of combat operations fell heavily on the Second Division.

The busy 4th Regiment Commander suddenly received orders to cooperate with the test, probably feeling that he had been involved in a troublesome matter for no reason.

But the orders came directly from headquarters, and he couldn't shake them off even if he wanted to.

The team leader was quite composed; though he was annoyed, he didn't say anything and cooperated with the "White Pagoda" project team throughout, only urging them to hurry.

"Everyone, get on the bus when you're ready. It's a long journey, and the front lines are urging us to hurry."

Armored vehicles were provided for the Purifiers and the special forces escorting them, demonstrating the high level of importance placed on them.

Qi An got into the car first.

Before getting into the vehicle, she glanced at the other troop carriers and saw that several all-terrain vehicles with camouflage paint had already left the gate tower.

The first batch of vehicles left, followed by a convoy of two armored vehicles and large troop carriers, which lingered at the gate tower for a moment before departing.

The night was so deep that everything on earth was stuck in the sticky darkness, and only the howling wind seemed all the more desolate and chilling.

The environment outside the car was frightening, and the interior wasn't very cozy either.

Each vehicle's headlights could only illuminate a short stretch of the road at night, and the further away from the base, the more difficult the journey became. However, the war seemed to be in a great hurry, and the convoy was moving very fast. The people inside the vehicles were jostled about like vegetables in a chef's pot, forming a row that was tilted to one side and the other side.

At this moment, Wen Yan began to admire Qi An.

Despite being injured and jostled around like that, the person didn't complain of pain and was even intently looking at the tablet in their hand.

She was probably looking at combat information; it's said that the top floor of the "White Tower" has commander-level authority.

Qi An was indeed looking at the combat information and saw that they were going to a small town about 20 kilometers northeast of the base, which could also be called a "satellite base".

The background information states that 10 years ago, there were only a few privately owned farms in the area, growing wheat, cotton, and peanuts.

But the soil and water there are so good, with rivers and lakes nearby, making irrigation convenient, that the crops produced there are of very high quality.

Some people set up small factories there, producing oil and cotton, based on the raw materials.

Initially, it was all small-scale private operation, with agricultural products sold to the base and surrounding areas. Later, the base's production logistics department took a liking to the land and built a large cotton mill, while the government expanded the scale of cultivated land and added outposts around it.

That area then developed, with more and more factories and people, forming a small industrial cluster, and even a permanent resident population.

After the permanent population exceeded 1,000, fortifications were built there, troops were stationed there, and it became one of the satellite bases of the main city.

The town has a good name, Chang'an Town, or Chang'an Base.

The town has been under attack by the Fallen Insects since yesterday morning, and a fierce battle just ended yesterday evening.

The resident combat team there had only 200 soldiers left, and ammunition was running low. But at midnight, the reconnaissance drones spotted the approaching Fallen Insects.

Several armies of Fallen Insects, totaling no less than 3,000!

The town urgently requested assistance from the base.

Qi An has high authority and can see all the combat information of the Chang'an garrison in real time, but he did not see the orders for the support troops.

She looked up and glanced at the 4th Regiment Commander opposite her.

The man did not pull her into his command channel.

Strangers, distrust, and rejection are understandable. Qi An wasn't angry; instead, he asked directly:

"Commander Ren, may I ask how many troops you dispatched for the ambush?"

Commander Ren sat upright with his eyes closed and arms crossed. Everyone around him was like popping beans, but he was stuck to the bottom of the pot, completely unmoved.

But Qi An's words moved him. He frowned slightly and then raised his eyebrows, looking Qi An up and down: "Dr. Qi...did you guess that we would have an ambush?"

Qi An almost wanted to roll his eyes like the captain. "The group of fallen insects that came from the mountains to the east were discovered two hours ago. The drone has been tracking them, and we speculate that their path has already appeared."

The village ruins along this road are quite well-preserved; wouldn't it be perfect for an ambush?

And what were those troop carriers that left before them going for?

"How many troops did you send to ambush them?" she asked again.

After a moment's pause, Commander Ren said, "200 people."

"That makes sense," Qi Anxin thought. "Send 200 men to ambush, and 300 men to reinforce the town."

The Eastern Fallen Insect army that was being tracked numbered about 700 or 800. If they marched along the predicted route and passed through the ruins, the ambush force could ambush and kill them. If they did not pass through, the ambush force could turn back and launch a pincer attack on the attacking Fallen Insects.

"I think we should go faster," Qi An said.

The spy drone tracking the Fallen Insect swarm, represented by a small red dot on the dynamic combat map, seemed to be moving faster, and she also heard more frequent "talking" sounds.

The ambush team may begin operations sooner than expected.

After Qi An finished speaking, the town's garrison received the information that the fallen insect army was marching faster.

Commander Ren glanced at Qi An again, pressed his earpiece, and ordered the convoy to speed up.

The bumps became even worse! Lin Jia, who was next to her, regretted that she had drunk a large bowl of spinach porridge before getting on the bus.

Her face looks like spinach!

Old Master Wei summoned the purification masters to accompany Qi An for the test. Xu Hui was not supposed to come, but upon hearing the news, she got up in the middle of the night and insisted on coming to watch the excitement.

She had been thinking that Qi An was trying to show off her diligence and responsibility by insisting on looking at the documents in such a harsh environment before they even arrived at their destination.

She couldn't bring herself to say anything that could subtly satirize this point, afraid that she would spit it out as soon as she opened her mouth!

Qi An also felt a dull pain in his abdominal wound, but the journey wasn't far, and they arrived soon after bumping along.

That small town was a pleasant surprise.

Because of the possibility of an attack, the defensive wall was lit up at night, the entire perimeter of which was illuminated, like a string of bright pearls strung on a dark velvet cloth!