RMM – Chapter 35 A Sweeping Victory

Unpredictable movements truly were the best form of concealment. Xi Yuechen and his team successfully infiltrated the Blue Army’s command center—everything went smoothly. Although it took some effort and a few soldiers were lost, they finally made it.

Xi Yuechen concealed himself behind a tree and observed the guards stationed around the command post. He turned to the others and said, “Those who didn’t change uniforms, stay hidden. The rest, come with me.”

Blue Army soldiers on patrol saw five people rushing toward the command center from a short distance away and immediately called out, “What are you doing? No unauthorized personnel allowed!” They moved to stop them.

Xi Yuechen halted and quickly responded, “There’s a situation up front—it looks like the Red Army has infiltrated. We were told to report to the commander immediately. Can you afford to delay a critical military report?”

The patrolling soldiers hesitated. If it were true, any delay would be serious. After confirming that Xi Yuechen and the others didn’t appear to be lying, they stepped aside and let them pass.

After bypassing the hesitant patrol team, Xi Yuechen allowed a subtle smirk to lift the corner of his lips and ran openly into the Blue Army’s command center.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing? Don’t you know to announce yourselves first?!” Colonel Luo, lost in thought, was startled by their sudden entrance.

“Reporting, Commander! We have urgent intel to report!” Wang Ze, following behind Xi Yuechen, shouted.

“What is it?” Hearing that it was urgent, Colonel Luo didn’t bother reprimanding their lack of discipline and stood up immediately.

Xi Yuechen led the four men closer. As Colonel Luo looked at them, he suddenly sensed something was off. Before he could react, Xi Yuechen struck with lightning speed, catching him off guard. But Luo wasn’t a high-ranking officer for nothing—with years of experience, he recovered almost instantly.

Unfortunately, that brief moment of hesitation gave Xi Yuechen the upper hand. After all, Colonel Luo wasn’t young anymore and couldn’t match Xi Yuechen’s strength and agility. In no time, Xi Yuechen subdued him.

At the same time, Li Lijian and Wang Ze launched their attacks, quickly taking down the rest of the people in the room. The command center had been lightly staffed at the time, and no one had expected Xi Yuechen to show up here—they assumed he was still wandering in the jungle. Aside from Colonel Luo, the others were all technical officers with no combat readiness, and they were swiftly overpowered.

And just like that, Xi Yuechen took down the Blue Army’s command center in one swift, unexpected blow.

“You’re… Xi Yuechen?”

Colonel Luo, though straightforward and having never met Xi Yuechen before, wasn’t stupid. It only took him a moment to guess who he was.

“Apologies, Commander,” Xi Yuechen replied calmly.

Colonel Luo fumed. Apologies? Xi Yuechen didn’t look the slightest bit apologetic.

Xi Yuechen scanned the room and frowned slightly. Before the operation, he’d been told that the Blue Army’s highest-ranking officer was Lieutenant General Zhao Shenglan—who clearly wasn’t here.

“Commander, where is General Zhao?” he asked Colonel Luo, whose expression had darkened.

“Hmph, I don’t know. Dig up the whole place if you want,” Colonel Luo said stubbornly.

Xi Yuechen didn’t get angry. He lowered his head, thinking for a moment, then glanced at Wang Ze, who had just finished tying up the prisoners, and gave a quiet order: “Wang Ze, come here. I’m leaving the commander to you—I’ll go find General Zhao.”

“Yes, sir!” Wang Ze quickly walked over and stood in front of Colonel Luo. He didn’t bind him too tightly—after all, this was a high-ranking officer, and some respect had to be shown.

“Make sure you keep quiet. No unnecessary noise,” Xi Yuechen reminded them before leaving.

Colonel Luo looked at Xi Yuechen’s calm and composed face, his emotions in turmoil. He had been too arrogant. Why had he assumed Xi Yuechen was all reputation and no substance? Truly, the younger generation was surpassing the old. Such boldness and intelligence—his reputation was well-earned. But… they had lost, just like that. Sigh…

Just as Xi Yuechen reached the doorway, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching and immediately halted. After exchanging a glance with Li Lijian and the others, he stood silently at the door and listened.

“Commander!”—it was the same voice that had tried to stop Xi Yuechen earlier.

“Mhm, still out on patrol? You’ve all worked hard these past few days. Once the drill is over, you’ll get some time off.”

The voice was unmistakably that of General Zhao Shenglan. He had only rested for a while before becoming restless, so he got up to check on the command center. He was now chatting cheerfully with the patrolling soldiers.

“Commander… just now, five people went into the command center saying they had urgent intel to report.”

The patrol team leader hesitated before speaking. After those five entered, they hadn’t come back out, nor had any orders been issued, which made him suspicious. But he hadn’t dared to go in without permission. Just as he was wavering, General Zhao arrived.

“Oh? Then I’ll go take a look.” Zhao Shenglan frowned. Could something new have come up? Why hadn’t Old Luo shown any reaction yet?

Xi Yuechen had met Zhao Shenglan before. The general was on good terms with both his father and father-in-law and had interacted with him personally, so he immediately recognized the voice. A plan formed in his mind in an instant.

Meanwhile, Zhao Shenglan, growing more concerned, hurried toward the command center. Something about the silence felt off, but before he could think further, as soon as he stepped inside, a gust of wind rushed at him.

He instinctively shifted to dodge, but before he could counter, someone seized him from behind. Realistically speaking, even if he had better reflexes, he was already old—how could he possibly win against someone like Xi Yuechen?

“Yuechen?” Zhao Shenglan spoke with near certainty.

“General Zhao, you’ve been captured. My apologies,” Xi Yuechen said calmly as he stepped in front of the general, his expression respectful.

“So it was you… Sigh, we underestimated you. Got too arrogant… Never imagined we’d lose like this,” Zhao Shenglan said with a wry smile. But that smile, to anyone watching, held a touch of weariness and sorrow.

“Commander, it was my fault,” Colonel Luo said with guilt. If he hadn’t been so blindly confident and dismissive of Xi Yuechen, they might not have lost so easily…

“What are you saying? Wins and losses are normal in the art of war. A military drill isn’t the battlefield. As long as we learn from this and gain experience, improve ourselves—that’s the real purpose. Winning isn’t everything.” General Zhao sat down beside the downcast Colonel Luo, speaking with a smile.

“Yuechen, you’re becoming more outstanding by the day. Well done. Keep it up. The future of our country lies with your generation.”

Xi Yuechen was slightly moved by those words. He had always held deep respect for this senior figure.

“Well then, what’s done is done. Go ahead and notify everyone.”

With those final words, Lieutenant General Zhao Shenglan acknowledged their defeat, formally bringing the drill to an end and openly admitting Xi Yuechen’s sweeping victory.