Chapter 353 Rainforest, bandits, escorting undercover agents!
"Any unnecessary sound, a cough, a whisper, or even the clanging of equipment could send all of you to hell."
"Every action you take is tied to life and death. You have no room for error."
The five days of training passed in a flash, and Xia Lili seemed to have been reforged. She digested the knowledge with her excellent memory.
Xia Lili has initially mastered the skills to survive and fight in these extreme environments, and has also come to a deeper understanding that every bit she has learned embodies the warnings earned by the border guards with their blood and lives.
Xia Lili was ready to set off with this heavy "legacy".
After five days of devilish training, Xia Lili and several other team members boarded a civilian off-road vehicle without any markings and drove out of the training base.
These team members also look capable and have sharp eyes. They are the strategic reserve force trained by the Southwestern Provincial Police to deal with such extreme tasks.
They are traveling with Xia Lili on this trip, but will not participate in the subsequent in-depth operations.
Their mission is to be on standby at the front-line outposts. Once the advance team suffers heavy casualties or needs emergency support, they will be the first and fastest wave of reinforcements to be deployed to the battlefield.
The vehicle initially drove on a provincial road, and scattered towns and farmlands could be seen outside the window.
But soon, the roads on the navigation map became increasingly sparse, and the vehicle turned onto a bumpy dirt road.
The scenery along the way is like a reversed film, gradually fading away the prosperous marks of modern society.
Reinforced concrete buildings were replaced by simple brick and tile houses, and then by wooden stilt houses scattered among the valleys.
The smooth asphalt road turned into a gravel road, and finally into a muddy dirt road that was only wide enough for one car to pass, with deep ruts left by the wheels.
The air became exceptionally fresh, yet also carried a hint of wildness. The dense primeval forests squeezed out from both sides of the road like green walls.
At an inconspicuous fork in the road, the SUV stopped again.
Two soldiers who came to support them, wearing jungle combat uniforms and camouflage paint on their faces, emerged silently from the woods.
The captain in charge had a whispered conversation with the driver and verified his identity.
Afterwards, Xia Lili was asked to change to another more dilapidated jeep that looked like the one used by local mountain people.
"Start from here, we will take you there." The captain said concisely.
The new jeep bumped along the path deeper into the woods, and finally stopped in front of a dense forest that looked normal.
"We're here." The captain whispered, motioning Xia Lili to get off the car.
Xia Lili followed him, pushed aside a bunch of dense vines, and suddenly a cleverly disguised entrance appeared in front of her.
Border outpost, here we are.
Border outposts are small strategic locations along the border.
They are often located in remote, desolate and even dangerous border areas, and their core tasks are only three: monitoring, guarding and early warning.
They are the most advanced "sentinels" on the border.
This is the real front line. It is the first to detect and respond to any disturbance. It is the most sensitive "nerve ending".
The jeep bumped along through the seemingly endless dense forest, and finally stopped in front of a mountain wall covered with dense vines and camouflage nets.
The leading warrior pushed aside a layer of cleverly camouflaged vegetation, revealing a sturdy alloy gate.
The door slid open, revealing a bright passage extending into the mountain.
Stepping into the outpost, Xia Lili discovered that it was like a fully functional underground fortress.
The air circulation system hums quietly to ensure air circulation.
The walls are covered with complex electronic maps and communication equipment, the screens flashing with lights of various colors, and weapon boxes, emergency supplies and medical kits are neatly stacked in the corners.
Several team members, their faces also showing signs of wear and tear, sat in front of the monitoring screens, their expressions focused. The entire space was compact and efficient, filled with a solemn silence and iron order before the battle.
At this moment, a familiar tall figure walked out quickly from the shadows at the other end of the passage.
It’s Li Qihan.
When he walked under the light, Xia Lili could clearly see that after more than a month of not seeing him, the scorching sun and rainforest on the southwestern border had left obvious marks on his body.
His originally cool white skin had been tanned to a darker tan, and there were a few fresh scratches and light scars on his cheeks and bare arms.
Li Qihan has lost some of the cold and refined look he had in the city, but has gained a lot of wildness and a rough feeling that has been through the smoke of war.
His eyes immediately locked onto Xia Lili, and some emotion flashed across his deep eyes.
He walked up to her with steady steps and looked her up and down quickly, as if to confirm whether Xia Lili was intact.
Thousands of words came to his lips, but in the end they were just two words that were unique to him and concise.
"Here I come."
Li Qihan's voice was as low as ever, but it seemed to have a barely perceptible gentleness to it than usual.
Xia Lili raised her head and met Li Qihan's deep eyes.
After not seeing each other for a month and a half, this long-awaited greeting was like a blunt knife, gently hitting the softest part of her heart.
Xia Lili hurriedly lowered her head, blinked hard a few times, and only uttered a short and light "Hmm" from her throat.
He saw her slightly red eyes and the movement she was trying to hold back. His gaze stayed on her face for a second before naturally moving away.
Li Qihan spoke next, his tone steady and businesslike, yet strangely connected to her unspoken emotions:
"I heard that you independently led the team and completed the command mission."
He paused, and a light but affirmative compliment fell from his voice, "Excellent."
Without giving Xia Lili time to react, he turned sideways and gestured in the direction: "Let's go to the safe house now."
He explained briefly as he walked, "It's a temporary base with basic supplies and defenses. It's enough for us to rest until we can be reconnected. It's in a hidden location and is currently safe."
Li Qihan took Xia Lili into a low-key off-road vehicle.
The off-road vehicle drove silently on the bumpy gravel road, and outside the window was an endless expanse of withered yellow grassland and rugged rocks.
They have left Dragon Country and entered a no-man's land buffer zone.
Li Qihan held the steering wheel with one hand and glanced calmly at the rearview mirror. Xia Lili was sitting in the passenger seat with the map Li Qihan gave her spread out on her lap.
"We're almost there." He spoke in a low voice, breaking the silence in the car.
The safe house is hidden deep in an abandoned mountain camp. Although it looks dilapidated, its interior has been reinforced and modernized.
Li Qihan turned off the engine and got out of the car, motioning Xia Lili to follow.
He pushed open a rusty iron door, and dim light leaked out from inside.
The people in the room looked up instantly, their eyes scanning sharply, until they recognized Li Qihan, and then they relaxed slightly.
This is an elite support team, with only six people in total including Li Qihan.
If there are too many people, it will easily attract the attention of local forces.
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