Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 1317: Chapter 65: Towering Mountains (9)

”Sir, why do we wait until the enemy starts attacking before letting the Transport Ships enter the air-defense zone?”

In the azure sky, over a thousand fighters flew from east to west in five waves. Thirty medium Transport Ships were clustered within the fighter formations. In the lead formation, a fighter gently waggled its wings; the pilot glanced toward his lead aircraft.

”Because we need the ground troops to win five minutes of time for the Transport Ships.” Admiral Collins, personally serving as lead for the first formation, reached out and disengaged the safety on the fighter’s weapon system. ”This was specifically requested by the Suicide Camp Commander, Major General Tian.”

”Just over a hundred Mecha, and they’re supposed to buy us five minutes?!” The pilots on the comms channel immediately broke into an uproar.

”Yes.” Collins said.

”How is that even possible?” a pilot said.

”Maybe it will be.” Collins flipped on the afterburner switch. ”Form on me—time for our part!”

————

The words that appeared on the television screen threw all of Chuckna into turmoil.

People went around asking for news, anxious to know what exactly was going on.

What kind of operation was this, did it have anything to do with that Suicide Camp Felix mentioned, how far had the battle progressed, and of those warriors, how many were still alive?

The wait did not last long.

Just as everyone got the news and turned on their TVs, a soldier appeared on the screen.

This Private First Class, with his hair a wild mess and his face crisscrossed with dust and grime, sat under a tree, staring keenly into the lens without speaking. After a while, he asked, a little dazed, ”Has it started?”

Laughter came from off to the side, and a voice said, This is a battlefield recorder, try flipping the switch. The Private First Class scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, and muttered, ”I thought it was a movie camera.”

As he spoke, he cleared his throat and said to the lens, ”My name is Qian Fei, squad leader of 2nd Squad, First Company, 3rd Battalion, First Regiment, Chuckna 13th Armored Division, Private First Class. This is my last will. First, I want to tell my girlfriend Nana that I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it back to spend New Year’s with you. I’d actually put in for leave, but the platoon leader didn’t approve it. Now he’s finally approved it, but I still can’t go.”

A reprimand sounded from the side, followed by a burst of laughter. Private First Class Qian Fei visibly shrank his neck, drooped his eyes and went on staring into the camera: ”I’m not gonna say that crap about, if I die you should remarry or whatever—doesn’t matter anyway, we aren’t married. All I can tell you here is, I love you very much. If I make it back alive, then take this as me proposing to you right now. If I die, just let it be one memory in your life. Mm, can’t keep talking to you. If I don’t talk to my parents, I’ll get my ass chewed out...”

At this point, the Private First Class clearly paused for a beat, and his eyes suddenly reddened. ”Dad, Mom, your son can’t fulfill his filial duty. I don’t really have anything to leave you. But a couple of days ago your son earned a merit; I figure the Military Department will award a medal. You two keep it. When you miss me, just look at it. Your son died in battle, he didn’t do anything to disgrace you.... Old Bao, Little Chou, Guoguo—if you bastards get to see this, remember to look after my folks for me. Next life, we’ll still be brothers.”

When he finished, the Private First Class’s voice was already breaking. Just as his tears were about to spill over, he bolted out of the frame.

A moment later, a younger-looking Second-class Soldier, eyes already red, was shoved into the shot. Before he could speak, the tears he’d been fighting back spilled down.

Someone off-screen cursed, ”Spineless. Finish talking, then cry.”

The Second-class Soldier wiped his tears with his sleeve, making his filthy face even more of a mess. ”You all have parents. My old man and old lady are both dead, and I don’t have a girlfriend. Who the hell am I supposed to talk to?!”

There was a silence from outside the frame. A pair of big hands wrapped around the Second-class Soldier’s shoulders.

The Second-class Soldier covered his face with his hands and broke down sobbing. ”Da Zhi, who the hell told you to enlist too. I don’t know if you’re dead or not. If you’re not, every year take a bouquet to my parents’ graves, pack some fresh earth on top......”

The Second-class Soldier left the frame. Next to appear was a Lieutenant, his features hard, his teeth clenched.

Even though he was forcing himself to stay in control, after he finished speaking to his parents and his wife, the moment he started talking to his four-year-old son, tears suddenly gushed forth, big drops falling one after another, impossible to wipe away. ”Listen to your mom, good boy. Don’t you damn well go down the wrong path. Your old man’s a Hero, so his boy’s gotta be a real man too. If anyone bullies you, just beat the shit out of him. If the teacher asks, you tell him your dad said so!”

The Lieutenant left, and one warrior after another stepped into the frame. With tears on their cheeks, they said goodbye to their families—some straightforward, some rambling. Those grimy faces took turns filling the screen.

In front of their TVs, the people watched these weeping warriors, watched those young faces. Before they knew it, their own eyes had already blurred with tears.

No one knew how many warriors had spoken when the last-will footage ended.

What appeared on the screen next was an overhead shot from a fighter. Between the ground and the camera stretched a sky-filling swarm of fighters, like a dark, dense flock of migratory birds. After skimming over white mountains that seemed to brush against their bellies, they suddenly went into a dive, plunging toward the densely packed Jiepeng Armored Group. Countless missiles and Energy Cannons roared forth, drilling down toward the ground.

The white glare of the explosions swallowed the entire screen in an instant. The camera yanked sharply upward, the mountains below shrinking rapidly, yet all anyone could see was still a sea of boiling blasts, one after another like bubbles in a bathtub.