RMM – Chapter 31 Successful Breakthrough

“Commander, there’s a patrol up ahead—at least a dozen men.”

It was Wang Ze, the same young soldier who had gone to pick up Xi Yuechen last time. He was accompanying Xi Yuechen again on this mission, and now whispered to him while peering through a high-powered binocular.

Xi Yuechen glanced at his watch and said quietly, “Rest here for now. We’ll prepare to cross the river before dawn.”

It was the third day of the exercise. Xi Yuechen had led his team through numerous checkpoints, evading and concealing themselves every step of the way. They were committed to the art of ambush—never once facing the Blue Army head-on. While this made their progress slow and frustrating, it had preserved their full combat strength thus far. Now, they were confronted with a river roughly a hundred meters wide. The cold moonlight spilled across its still surface, rendering it almost tranquil—but also completely exposed. On the far bank, the Blue Army had established a guard post, with regular patrols. Crossing would be no easy task. If they were discovered mid-river, they’d be sitting ducks.

Fortunately, this river marked the final barrier of the Blue Army’s encirclement. If they could make it across, it would mean a successful breakthrough.

Of course, that all depended on whether they could cross.

Taking the binoculars from Wang Ze, Xi Yuechen began his own reconnaissance, swiftly turning over tactical responses in his mind.

“Commander, you should rest for a bit. I’ll take the watch tonight,” Wang Ze said softly. Over the past three days, the commander had barely gotten any sleep, always going all-in on every mission. Even an iron body couldn’t keep that up forever.

“I’m fine. We’re running out of time. You all rest—I’ll keep watch a while longer,” Xi Yuechen replied, still frowning as he fixed his gaze on the faint figures moving on the far bank, ignoring Wang Ze entirely.

Clearly, the commander wasn’t planning on sleeping tonight. No point in arguing. Wang Ze sighed quietly, then went over to a tree, sat down against the trunk, and closed his eyes for some rest.

No one knew how much time passed before Xi Yuechen finally lowered the binoculars, his tightly knit brows easing slightly.

“Well? Spot anything?”

Li Lijian walked over and asked in a low voice.

“Yeah. They rotate every two hours. There’s a brief window during the shift change when their guard is down. I plan to cross just before dawn—when their alertness is at its lowest. Based on my observation, we’ll probably have around twenty minutes to work with. That’s the best-case scenario, of course.”

Li Lijian nodded. Xi Yuechen had stayed up all night observing them, so his assessment was probably accurate. But like he said, that was only the best-case scenario—unpredictable variables still existed, so backup plans were necessary.

Time slipped by quietly as the two spoke in hushed tones. When Wang Ze woke with a start, it was nearly dawn. From where he lay, he could only vaguely hear the voices but not make out who was speaking. He nudged the person next to him awake and signaled that it was almost time. Once everyone was up, they made their way over to Xi Yuechen and Li Lijian.

“Commander, Commissar.”

“Good. Everyone well rested?” Li Lijian asked.

“Yes, Commissar. When do we move?” a young soldier asked, eyes full of curiosity.

“The shift change is in thirty minutes. That’s when we move. For now, I’ll walk you through the plan—listen closely. Don’t drop the ball at the final moment,” Li Lijian said with a serious tone.

“Yes, sir!” Everyone immediately straightened up.

“When we cross, I’ll go first with Wang Ze, Tian Guangzu, and Ma Yu. Too many people at once would draw attention. Once we’ve taken out the guards on the far side, the rest of you can cross,” Xi Yuechen explained to the gathered group.

“But Commander, just a few of us going up against so many Blue Army troops… aren’t the odds a bit too uneven?”

Wang Ze voiced his doubt. Shouldn’t they all cross while the enemy was slack?

“Those are elite Blue Army infantry. The moment they hear something, they’ll be on high alert. If that happens, we’re done for. You all are the better swimmers—come with me. We’ll hit them while they’re off guard.”

Xi Yuechen’s tone was calm, but resolute. Rather than risk the whole team, it was better to strike first. Being passive was never his style.

Li Lijian cut in at the right moment: “Enough chatter. That’s the plan. If we don’t take the initiative, do you want to wait around for the Blue Army to wipe us out? Once it’s time, the selected group will follow the commander across. Everyone else, stay here on standby!”

Chastised by the usually easygoing commissar, no one dared make another sound. They quickly got to work preparing.

Xi Yuechen took advantage of the brief quiet to close his eyes and rest. Li Lijian gave the others a look, signaling them to return to position and keep the noise down so as not to disturb the resting commander.

Half an hour isn’t long—definitely not long—but it was enough for Xi Yuechen to regain his energy.

Having already studied the river’s current, the small group preparing to cross took off their backpacks and handed them to the others who would stay behind. It was time to move.

“Once you’re in the water, keep your movements as light as possible, but make sure you stay quick. Watch out for hypothermia, and be careful of debris in the river—don’t let anything go wrong,” Li Lijian reminded them anxiously. If anything happened to this advance team, their elite unit would be out of the exercise for good.

Xi Yuechen nodded, then carefully led the group into the river, leaving the others on the bank behind, silently praying for their safety.

Crossing a river a hundred meters wide didn’t actually take long. The small team was skilled in swimming and experienced in such tasks. They made almost no sound as they crossed. The Blue Army troops on the far side, caught in the middle of a shift change, didn’t pay much attention to the river, allowing Xi Yuechen’s group to reach the other shore undetected.

Only then did Li Lijian and the others on their side finally breathe a sigh of relief. No longer worried about the pending ambush, Li Lijian sat down and began briefing his team on what to watch for and the steps of the next phase.

As soon as they got out of the water, a chilly dawn wind cut through them, and the group felt the cold. Wang Ze shivered in his soaked clothes. Noticing that Xi Yuechen didn’t react at all and was already moving toward the Blue Army’s riverside guard post, Wang Ze scratched his head and followed with the others, keeping a low profile.

They arrived just as the Blue Army patrol was settling down. Everyone except Xi Yuechen subconsciously exhaled in relief—the timing had been impeccable.

Xi Yuechen gave them a signal, and the group silently spread out and crept toward the unsuspecting soldiers.

“Who’s th—mmph…” A Blue Army soldier, sensing someone behind him, didn’t even get to finish his question before Xi Yuechen had taken him down. In mere moments, he was “gloriously sacrificed.”

The Blue Army troops were elite infantry, not to be underestimated. After a few were taken out, the rest quickly realized something was wrong. But it was too late. Before the remaining two could wake their comrades who had just entered their tents to sleep, Xi Yuechen’s team had “eliminated” them in rapid succession. The sleeping soldiers didn’t even get the chance to dream of defending themselves.

As Xi Yuechen’s group moved to the riverbank to receive the Red Army reinforcements who had just crossed, the “fallen” Blue Army soldiers looked on in frustration. How had the Red Army managed to cross so easily—and take them out without a sound? As elite troops known for their vigilance, losing their post so effortlessly was utterly humiliating.

Wang Ze walked up with a grin, watching the dejected group of Blue Army troops. “C’mon, brothers, don’t beat yourselves up over it. You’re already ‘dead.’ Getting worked up now really isn’t worth it. (：／／.)”

The soldiers couldn’t take that. One of them snapped back, “Hmph, let’s see if you’re still smiling when you get ‘killed.’”

“Haha, of course I wouldn’t be,” Wang Ze said, still cheerful. “But look at it this way—if you got ‘taken out’ by the commander of our elite Red Army Reinforcement Unit, it’s really not a bad way to go. No shame in that. You should be proud.”

The moment they heard the name “Red Army Reinforcement Unit,” the Blue Army soldiers couldn’t hide their surprise. They’d heard of Xi Yuechen by reputation, but had never seen him in person—until today. To have encountered him like this was a shock.

Their expressions softened slightly as they glanced over at Xi Yuechen, who was helping carry equipment by the riverbank. Their feelings were complicated. Yes, getting “killed” by the legendary Iron-Blood Commander himself wasn’t exactly disgraceful—but the fact remained that they had lost their position and been completely wiped out. It meant the Red Army had successfully broken through the Blue Army’s encirclement. For soldiers who had been so confident in holding the line, there was no way to save face.

“Wang Ze! You planning to die too? Get over here!” Li Lijian shouted at him from across the riverbank, seeing him still chatting with the Blue Army.

Startled, Wang Ze took off running, not daring to linger another second.

The remaining Blue Army soldiers scowled even more. One young soldier leaned over to the officer sitting up front and whispered, “Captain, what do we do now?”

“What do we do? We’re already dead. Chill out!”