allonlinenovel Chapter 403 Intensive Training!
Chapter 403 Intensive Training!
After passing through several small stations, the train finally came to a slow stop at a place with no station name signs, only a few low bungalows and a simple platform.
There were no announcements over the loudspeaker, so this was probably not a stop for ordinary passenger trains. The only response was a short, forceful command from the team leader.
"Attention everyone! Take your personal equipment and disembark to assemble!"
The carriage door opened, and a dry wind, carrying fine sand, rushed in, making people squint.
Zhong Yuemin picked up his backpack and was the first to jump off the vehicle, his feet landing on the sandy ground.
Looking around, all that remained was yellow sand, gravel, and the Gobi Desert; an unprecedented sense of emptiness and oppression washed over me.
Fifty or sixty people, all elite soldiers, silently and quickly disembarked from the vehicles and, under the brief hand gestures of their commanding officer, swiftly formed ranks.
There was no welcoming ceremony, no explanation, and no military trucks to pick them up.
The team set off in silence, marching on foot at a rapid pace into the depths of the Gobi Desert.
The leading cadre said nothing, and no one asked any questions, because on the train there, it was clearly stipulated that no one should ask anything, only absolutely obey orders.
The Gobi Desert during the day is a completely different world.
The scorching sun beat down relentlessly overhead, the sand and gravel beneath our feet were burning hot, and the air was thick with oppressive heat.
The wind whipped up sand that stung my face; the dry air seemed to instantly suck all the moisture from my body.
These people are the elite selected from among the troops, possessing superhuman physical strength and willpower. If an ordinary person were to hike in such harsh conditions, they probably wouldn't be able to last long.
After trekking for nearly three or four hours, the surrounding scenery became increasingly desolate and bleak. Apart from the endless sand dunes and the boundless Gobi Desert, there was no trace of human habitation, not even a single bird.
Their tiny team was the only thing left in the entire world, standing in this ancient wasteland, appearing so insignificant.
In the distance, the sun began to set.
A fireball, like molten gold, slowly plummeted towards the horizon, dyeing the entire sky a magnificent yet tragic blood red.
The crimson sunset spilled across everyone's faces and bodies, casting a somber glow upon them.
Such magnificent scenery can only be witnessed in the remote and desolate Gobi Desert.
Zhong Yuemin wiped the sweat and dust from his face, squinting as he gazed at the setting sun and the blood-red sky.
In a daze, I seemed to hear the thunderous echoes of war drums from the long river of history, see the beacon fires of ancient borderlands, and feel the chilling aura of "golden spears and iron horses, their might swallowing up ten thousand miles like a tiger."
I saw the desolate figures of the Han cavalry chasing the Xiongnu and the Tang soldiers guarding Anxi.
"The smoke rises straight up from the desert, the sun sets over the long river..."
Zhong Yuemin murmured to himself, the things he had learned from books in the past were now being experienced firsthand in this real world. It was not just the magnificence of the scenery, but also a sense of heaviness and loneliness that came with being immersed in the long river of history...
As darkness fell, the leader at the front of the group suddenly stopped, raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and gestured to halt their advance.
The line stopped instantly.
Everyone looked in the direction he pointed, and in the last rays of the setting sun, they could vaguely see dozens of low-lying field tents, almost blending into the sand, and some simple yet imposing military equipment in a depression ahead.
Zhang Haiyang muttered something to himself.
"Damn it, Yuemin, are they telling us to spend the night here?"
"It's probably true. It's practically impossible to walk in the Gobi Desert at night, and it's dangerous. It's pitch black, and if you get lost, where are you going to find someone?"
Fifty or sixty people were assigned to these military tents. In the desolate Gobi Desert, as soon as the sun set behind the mountains, darkness engulfed the entire desert like a giant beast.
The temperature plummeted, and the sun that had been scorching the earth during the day seemed to have taken away all the heat. The biting cold wind began to rage, assaulting the distant Gobi rocks and emitting a shrill cry like the wailing of thousands of wronged souls, frantically tearing at the canvas of the tent.
Several campfires were lit in the campsite, their flickering flames standing out starkly against the dark night, creating a chillingly intimidating darkness.
The flames flickered and crackled in the wind, occasionally bursting into popping sounds, sending sparks flying high before being quickly extinguished in the cold night wind.
If you were alone here, the loneliness, desolation, bleakness, and oppressive atmosphere would be enough to drive you crazy.
Everything was prepared in advance; inside the tents, everyone was dressed in thick cotton-padded clothes and wrapped tightly in their camp blankets.
Zhang Haiyang was huddled under the covers, only his head sticking out, his teeth chattering as he muttered curses.
"Damn it, what kind of place is this? It can roast you like a piece of jerky during the day, and at night it's like walking into an ice cellar. The temperature difference is even more outrageous than the unpredictable weather in the jungles of Vietnam!"
As she spoke, she turned her head to look at Zhong Yuemin, who was also bundled up tightly, but whose eyes remained clear even in the darkness, and asked in a low voice,
"Yuemin, you know, why did the higher-ups go to all this trouble to bring together the best of us from all over the country and dump us in this godforsaken Gobi Desert to eat sand and drink wind? What kind of training are they trying to give us? Surely they're not here to experience the hardships of ancient border guards?"
Zhong Yuemin listened intently to the howling wind outside the tent, which sounded like the wailing of demons. Through the gaps in the tent, he looked at the campfire outside, which was stubbornly burning in the fierce wind.
The firelight cast flickering shadows on their faces.
"Haiyang, Ningwei, look at this place. You probably won't find a soul for miles around. Extreme climate, complex and unfamiliar terrain, completely isolated from the world."
"By throwing our elite soldiers, handpicked from thousands by their respective units, here, the first thing we'll do is wear down your arrogance. Here, all your past achievements and honors will be utterly useless."
He paused for a moment, then continued:
"However, this kind of environment is indeed most suitable for training in extreme survival, infiltration behind enemy lines, long-range reconnaissance, and small-unit coordinated operations."
Without a rear base or supplies, they had to rely on themselves and their comrades-in-arms.
This is the real combat environment! It's way more exciting than being tossed around in regular training fields. It's all about realism.
As he spoke, he rolled over, lay flat on his back, put his hands behind his head, and said:
"Just wait and see. I reckon this so-called 'intensive training' will be much more than just attending classes and marching in formation."
It's possible they'll train us to the point of exhaustion, or even... simulate real prisoners of war and escapes.
Of our fifty or sixty men, probably only a handful will actually pass the test and wear those special forces armbands.