Chapter 1494 - 1495: Up to No Good
Over ten Special Forces squads stood on the training field, standing rigidly like javelins.
Each Special Forces squad had less than twenty members, but there was an aura of stoic determination on every professional soldier.
The combination of these powerful auras formed a grand, majestic presence, like a towering wave, ready to sweep away everything at a command.
The military might is like a mountain!
Yang Fei, along with a bunch of Evil Dragon Rascal Soldiers, were mixed among them.
This ragtag group usually seemed lazy and indifferent to those around them.
However, for the sake of Blue Sword's reputation, they straightened their backs, trying their best to appear inviolable.
But the Evil Dragon Squad, not being too concerned with military discipline training, let an air of slyness linger no matter how much they tried to act proper.
This gang of oddballs looked nothing like an SSS-level Special Forces unit, more like a bunch of turncoat bandits pretending to be proper soldiers.
However, by this point, no one dared to underestimate the Blue Sword Squad anymore.
These guys were born to be rogue experts; their brilliant achievements in past competitions had shocked countless people.
The base commander, Major General Walker, announced the rules of the competition through a loudspeaker.
As he repeated the mantra "The competition comes second, friendship comes first," the rascal soldiers all grinned.
Yang Fei looked over to the Golden Tri-Leaf Special Forces, seeing Smith standing tall, staring straight ahead, not even glancing at the Blue Sword Special Squad.
The Genetic Warriors of the Golden Tri-Leaf Special Forces, like Smith, kept their eyes straight ahead, but exuded a strong animosity.
Yang Fei, from the start, had taken down three of Golden Tri-Leaf's Genetic Warriors, knowing full well they wouldn't let it slide.
Though Golden Tri-Leaf had been being submissive and compliant lately, like a new bride entering her husband's household, it didn't mean they had surrendered.
These foreign devils clearly harbored ill intent, undoubtedly planning some underhanded tactics in the final event against the Blue Sword Special Squad.
But Yang Fei didn't take it to heart.
The Genetic Warriors of the Mysterious Country had given the Huaxia Special Forces quite a bit of grief in past conflicts.
Now facing Yang Fei, he regarded them as mere prey.
Should they break the rules and target the Blue Sword Special Squad, Yang Fei could unleash a slaughter, wiping out these powerful Genetic Warriors.
With determination in his heart, Yang Fei saw Smith turn towards him, smiling as he greeted him.
Smith returned the greeting but spoke in a lowered voice.
"Evil Dragon Yang Fei, I eagerly anticipate a showdown with your Evil Dragon Squad. My Golden Tri-Leaf Squad awaits you in the depths of the jungle."
Yang Fei feigned confusion: "Who's Evil Dragon? I don't know them."
Smith chuckled, shaking his head: "Deny it if you will, but I'm looking forward to our showdown."
"If my heavy sniper blows your head off, I'll turn your skull into a wine jug; that would be a fine piece of art."
Yang Fei was momentarily stunned, then turned to loudly report to Major General Walker at the front of the formation.
"General Walker, His Excellency Smith is threatening me, saying he wants to turn my head into a wine jug."
Walker was momentarily taken aback, then strode over with two guards, asking sharply, "What's going on here?"
Smith was at a loss for words, flustered and at a loss.
He had never expected that a single provocative sentence would lead this guy to swiftly report to a superior, a move that was utterly shameless.
Although Smith couldn't care less about the rules of the Kuchen competition, he had to adhere to them publicly.
If he flaunted the base rules, he might very well be expelled from Kuchen Training Base.
Yang Fei's voice was loud enough for several Special Forces squads nearby to hear, sparking discussions among the crowd.
"Hmph, these Americans are really overbearing."
"I swear, even if you want to kill someone, you shouldn't blatantly flout the competition rules like that. Truly despicable."
"I'd rather see the Blue Sword Special Squad win than this bunch of Americans."
"Damn, to act so recklessly on Russian Kuchen's turf, it's like they know no bounds."
...
Listening to the crowd's discussion, Walker felt provoked and humiliated.
He coolly looked at Smith: "Your Excellency Smith, please explain yourself."
Smith was speechless, glaring angrily at Yang Fei.
Yang Fei leisurely remarked, "Perhaps Mr. Smith was just joking."
"He said he'd lead the Golden Tri-Leaf Special Squad deep into the jungle for a life-and-death battle with my Blue Sword Squad."
Walker turned away, emotionlessly lifting the loudspeaker and repeating the competition rules once more.
The high volume of the loudspeaker pierced everyone's ears around.
And from up close, the sound hurt Smith's eardrums.
Smith's face turned an ashen color.
Walker didn't say anything explicitly against Smith's Golden Tri-Leaf Special Squad.
However, his repeated stressing of the competition rules was akin to a slap in the face to Smith and the Golden Tri-Leaf Special Forces.
Even so, Smith couldn't openly confront Walker.
Though Walker meant nothing to him, Walker represented the Russian military.
Unless Smith wanted to damage diplomatic relations between the two countries, he'd have to swallow this humiliation.
Yang Fei, standing aside, laughed like an Old Fox, and once Walker finished speaking, he applauded enthusiastically.
"Bravo, General, brilliant, I wholeheartedly support General Walker's opinion."
The bunch of Evil Dragon rascal soldiers, being ace opportunists, took one look at Smith's sour face and started jeering.
"The instructor is right, friendship first, competition second."
"Damn it, just thinking about getting shot at from the shadows makes my back go cold."
"General Walker, watch closely, if anything happens to me, the culprits are those bastards in Golden Tri-Leaf."
...
Li Guoqing listened to this group heckling, each trying to outdo the other with their misery.
They hadn't even set out, yet acted as if they were on the brink of sacrifice, which was both amusing and frustrating.
Smith never expected that his attempt at bravado with Yang Fei would be twisted by this group into such slander, leaving him covered in dirt.
According to this bunch of rogues, if anything happened to the Blue Sword Squad during today's jungle battle, it would all be pinned on the Golden Tri-Leaf.
It's like they wanted the lamb without getting caught in its smell.
It's infuriating, unspeakably infuriating.
Walker, of course, knew that Blue Sword Squad and Golden Tri-Leaf Special Forces were at odds.
And given Smith's ruthless nature, he might truly plan to target the Blue Sword Squad in this Special Operations exercise.
But such underhanded plots could only be executed, not declared—drone surveillance wasn't infallible.
Even if Golden Tri-Leaf Special Forces made a move on Blue Sword Squad, without evidence, the Huaxia Military could only protest, ending in a stalemate.
But now, this plot had been preemptively exposed by the rogues of Blue Sword Squad.
As long as anything happened to Blue Sword Squad, the blame on Golden Tri-Leaf Special Forces would stick, like it or not.
In reality, everyone knew these two squads were ultimately heading for a bloody showdown.
But Blue Sword Squad took the initiative, seizing the upper hand from the start.