RPAGF Chapter 1368 Commander, Zhao Jie is incompetent...
Chapter 1368 Commander, Zhao Jie is incompetent...
The final attack of the spore cloud has begun!!!
Upon seeing this, Zhao Jie's pupils constricted, and his blood seemed to freeze instantly.
However, before he could recover from the shock of this apocalyptic scene—
BOOM————————! ! ! ! ! ! !
A deafening, terrifying explosion, far louder than any previous one, mixed with a unique roar—the simultaneous detonation of a large number of munitions—suddenly came from the direction of the west wall!
Even though we were hundreds of meters away and surrounded by countless buildings, the ground beneath our feet still trembled clearly!
Immediately afterwards, in the reflection of Zhao Jie and the staff officer's suddenly contracted pupils, a mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke, not particularly large but extremely dazzling, mixed with flames, thick smoke and countless fragments of debris, rose from somewhere in the middle of the western wall defense line!
That direction...
Upon seeing the direction from which the explosion had risen, Zhao Jie's mind went blank, as if it had gone completely empty.
That direction... if his memory and the pre-battle deployment map are correct...
The reconnaissance battalion's position is in that direction!
The commander's younger brother, Gu Chengyun, the political instructor of the reconnaissance battalion... is in that direction!!
"That...which unit's position is that?!"
Zhao Jie's voice was so hoarse it was almost tearing apart. He suddenly grabbed the arm of the staff officer next to him with such force that the officer groaned in pain.
The staff officer's face was equally deathly pale. He forced back his words, his voice trembling as he endured the pain and fear:
"Reporting...reporting to the brigade commander! Based on the location...it is...it is the main defense zone of the reconnaissance battalion..."
“Reconnaissance battalion…reconnaissance battalion…” Zhao Jie murmured repeatedly, as if trying to confirm something, or as if he couldn’t accept it.
Mushroom cloud...ammunition detonation...
Such a violent secondary explosion occurred in the final moments before the spore cloud collapsed and the defense line crumbled...
The implications are self-evident...
The young man whom he privately gave the choice to, but who ultimately chose to stay...
The leader's younger brother, Gu Chengyun...
Gone.
And so, in a devastating explosion, perhaps... not even a complete body was left behind.
"puff--"
A metallic sweetness surged into his throat, causing Zhao Jie's body to sway violently and his vision to blur. If he hadn't been gripping the railing tightly, he would have almost collapsed on the spot.
The major staff officer exclaimed in surprise and rushed forward to help him up: "Brigade Commander! Brigade Commander, you..."
Zhao Jie abruptly shook off his hand and stood up straight.
But his face was a terrifying ashen white, as if all life had been drained away in an instant.
Only those eyes, bloodshot and fixed on the mushroom cloud spreading towards the west wall, churned with unbelievable, unacceptable turmoil, and... a deeper, more intense pain and coldness that seemed to burn him to ashes.
He had thought he was prepared to sacrifice himself alongside his commander's brother, but the brother's sudden death ultimately broke his spirit...
Guilt, remorse, and the guilt of betraying trust... a torrent of negative emotions overwhelmed him, compounded by the immense pressure of recent days and the despair of impending bankruptcy.
At that moment, Zhao Jie felt as if his entire spine had been pulled out; he instantly slumped down, hunching over...
The will to die has been formed...
Now that things have come to this, even if there were any hope of survival, he wouldn't want to live anymore...
Simply because I am too ashamed to face my superior again...
The overwhelming sense of guilt and remorse that arose from this ultimately overwhelmed him...
Waaaaah—
"Commander... In the end, it was I, Zhao Jie, who let you down..."
"I failed to hold the position, and I failed to protect your brother. I'm a useless piece of trash!! Utterly useless!!! Waaaaah—"
Zhao Jie, who hadn't cried since becoming the militia captain, completely broke down at this moment, leaning on the railing and crying like a helpless child.
Zhao Jie's cries, like the last sobs of a wounded beast, echoed for a few seconds in the oppressive, enclosed space, before being completely swallowed up by the increasingly clear, teeth-grinding, sticky writhing sounds and sporadic but desperate screams coming from the direction of the west wall.
The mushroom cloud that represented the reconnaissance battalion and Gu Chengyun's ultimate fate was twisting and dissipating under the erosion of the spore rain, like a brief but tragic period.
The major staff officer turned his face away, unable to bear watching his brigade commander's breakdown any longer. He turned his face away and tried his best to suppress his trembling shoulders.
However, the crying stopped abruptly, as if it had been cleanly and decisively cut off by an invisible guillotine.
Zhao Jie's hand, which was supporting him on the railing, went from trembling violently to a strange stiffness, as if he could crush pig iron.
He slowly, inch by inch, raised his head.
Those eyes, which were just moments before filled with pain, despair, and lifelessness, were now glowing red like those of a vicious wolf!
All the weakness, hesitation, struggle, and even the fear of being "human" were burned away after the extreme emotional outburst!
What remained was only a cold, empty expanse of ashes, yet burning with an almost sinister and ruthless intensity.
He wants revenge! He wants redemption! He will fight the horde of fungal beasts to the very end!!!
At this moment, he was no longer a commander burdened with gratitude, responsibility, and a lingering attachment to life.
He was a nail about to be driven here! A nail that would use his own flesh and bones to hurt those monsters as much as possible!
He suddenly straightened his back, which had been hunched over, and his movements were somewhat stiff from the excessive force.
He once again slapped away the hand that the major staff officer was trying to help him up, his gaze like two icy scrapers sweeping across the second echelon position below, a place of deathly silence and near-peak fear.
Then, he did something that surprised everyone, including his staff.
He grabbed the electric megaphone on the table, pushed open the makeshift wooden door of the temporary observation post, and instead of going up the stairs, he flipped over and climbed onto the exposed, unprotected brick balcony edge of the two-story building!
"Brigade Commander! Danger!!" the staff officer cried out in alarm, trying to rush forward to pull him away.
"Stay put!" Zhao Jie didn't turn his head, his voice hoarse but unusually steady through the mask.
woohoo-
He stood steadily on that narrow edge, with a drop of several meters and a jumble of obstacles beneath his feet. The night wind blew the hem of his tattered hazmat suit, making it flutter loudly.
He looked down.
Countless faces, their heads tilted back, obscured by gas masks yet revealing terror and bewilderment, gleamed like pale sunflowers in the light of emergency lights and distant firelight, all fixed on him.
The position was deathly silent.
Only the sticky sounds coming from the west wall, growing closer and closer, like countless wet, slippery tentacles crawling on the ruins, became clearer and clearer.
Zhao Jie slowly raised the electronic megaphone in his hand, his gaze like a cold searchlight, slowly sweeping over every pair of eyes looking at him.
His first words stunned the entire audience!