Chapter 208 Defending the country
He’s so cute when he pounds on the table, roaring and yelling. How spirited! Tian Yuan's eyes were especially bright when he was angry, making Pan Lei want to kiss him.
"Baby, I want to kiss you."
Tian Yuan was in the middle of cursing him as an a$$hole, an a$$hole who misled children.
He paused for three seconds after Pan Lei abruptly said such a sentence.
"Then you return early. You can kiss me however you want when you get home."
Pan Lei was immediately interested.
"Kissing you from head to toe as I strip you nude, back to front, without missing an inch?"
Tian Yuan blushed as he remembered their passionate entanglement, entwined limbs, and chests clinging together as he was hugged and kissed every night Pan Lei was at home.
"Mn."
"Ge misses you like crazy, baby. Ge loves you so much."
Pan Lei changed his booming voice and spoke sweet nothings to the phone. At this point, the small light bulb[1] or whoever, could simply f*ck off.
The little boy felt that adults were really boring. With simply a phone call, this big guy could change his expression. Wasn't he a vicious bandit moments ago? How come he was tender and sweet now? The little guy couldn’t stand it anymore.
He ran around catching grasshoppers and bugs and then went off to play by himself.
"Tian'er, baby, how many relatives did you and mom put down on the list?"
Tian Yuan was troubled about this. His mother-in-law intended to invite all of his relatives. Pan Lei was in charge of booking plane tickets and hotel arrangements. It had to be a large event because it was a Pan family wedding. So what if it wasn't a traditional wedding between a man and a woman? The Pans were open-minded, and their son was getting married, which was a joyous occasion. There were so many relatives and friends, as well as comrades in arms and former subordinates, all of whom would be invited to the wedding. The Pans' idea was to be open and aboveboard.
There’s nothing to hide. On the contrary, we want everyone to see that my son has met a good man, and that we, this old couple, have qualified successors. This is a large joyous event that everyone should participate in.
That's how his mother-in-law consoled Tian Yuan, telling him to invite all his uncles and aunts and their families. The more, the merrier. Mama Dang Hong also wished Pan Zhan to make the Pan family's joyous event the front page headline in the press.
Her son wanted to get married, so it would be a big event. The larger the setting, the better.
It wasn’t easy, you know. The bandit-like Pan Lei was actually getting married. It was really not easy.
In comparison to the Pan family's open democracy, the Tian family was less tolerant. Father Tian and Mother Tian were both taken aback when Tian Yuan called them. They had no idea their sons would desire to get married. It was enough for them to be together. Why did they feel the need to show off?
"Don't be upset, elder sister. It's wonderful that they're getting married. When people see Tian Yuan, they will recognize him as Pan Lei's family. Similarly, when people see Pan Lei, they will know he is Dr. Tian's family. There will be no more relatives and the like who will tell them they are so old but yet unmarried and will introduce them to a partner. Isn't that causing them both problems? Please accept. Please bring your whole family and let them attend. We'll be prepared. Everything will be carefully organized."
Mama Dang Hong persuaded the Tian couple like this, and they agreed. Tian Yuan worriedly examined the list of his relatives.
"Mom’s right. Anyway, it is an old etiquette that families must meet, so it must be followed. We'll have my uncles drink with your uncles to get to know each other when the time comes. I'll toast them as well. Simply follow my mother's instructions and list whatever relative she tells you to write. By the way, tell mom that all of the soldiers and instructors from my commando unit will be there, so set up a few tables for them."
He’d better listen to Pan Lei about this, right? In fact, there was really no need to make such a big deal out of it. It would’ve been fine if the two families had gathered for dinner. They would’ve gone to Canada quietly, obtained a marriage certificate, and handed themselves over to the other party for the rest of their lives.
Could it be that prominent families, such as the Pans, thought differently?
"Please just do as I say. All you need to do is to study hard, work hard, and complete the course credits as soon as possible. But don't stay up late; don't abuse your body. Then go and get wedding suits for both of us. I think you should prepare some extra clothes in case they play tricks on us. The situation will be chaotic if they throw eggs or spray Coke on us, and our clothes will be ruined. When I return, I'll take care of things like getting the house painted and so on. Make a list for mom, and your goal will be completed. You simply have to wait until I get home."
Tian Yuan made a sincere promise. It was preferable to let the Pans have fun with this kind of thing. To him, it was all Greek. Lin Mu had begun to press him to buy candy, claiming that he would enjoy their wedding candy in advance.
Pan Lei went on rambling. In his opinion, others could assist with wedding preparations and so on. What Tian Yuan needed to do was take care of himself. He kept urging Tian Yuan, like a broken record, not to eat cold food[2], miss meals, drink unboiled[3] water, or kick the quilt.
In the end, Tian Yuan’s only response was, "yeah, yeah, got it, okay, okay, I promise you." Tian Yuan jokingly called him the neighborhood committee auntie, but Pan Lei refused to admit it. He should really consider a career change.
Who else elaborates on a series of mundane topics like this? Normally, everyone was perfunctory.
This sickly-sweet phone call lasted over an hour. It would most certainly continue if it weren't for someone looking for Tian Yuan. Pan Lei stretched his waist, satisfied that his family's hubby was still steady and calmly waiting for him to return home.
The correspondent greeted Pan Lei with a tense expression on his face as he escorted the little kid back to the encampment leisurely.
"Team Leader Pan, we have a situation."
Pan Lei frowned.
"Our spy arrived and informed us that the robbers would be raiding tonight. A border SWAT unit conducted a siege a few days ago, but the robbers fled. Recently, the gangs on the Myanmar border united for the first time to clear the village and then open up a drug trafficking route from here. They have a large number of people."
"I was worried that those sonsabi!ches wouldn't show up. Gather everyone and arrange strategic deployment."
Pan Lei started issuing orders. Let them come. It was so nice of them to take the initiative to attack.
It was wonderful that all arrangements could be moved to an earlier date. After winning this war, they would assist these regular people in settling down, train them in self-defense, and then turn over the operation to the local border police. They could then return.
Three months was too long. It would be good to return even a day sooner. He had family and a wedding waiting for him back home.
After this mission, he planned to take a one-month marriage leave of absence to properly cherish his Tian'er at home, hug his dog son, and accompany their parents to Canada to obtain the marriage certificate.
Pan Lei was unconcerned about the approaching robbers. He was more concerned that they might become tortoises[4], withdrawing their heads and hiding in their shells, never coming out.
He had taken 20 commandos with him, all of whom he had trained. They were all incredibly talented. Even if the robbers were in the top ten, they couldn't compete with the commandos.
Pan Lei spread out the area map and everyone gathered around.
"We will fight a tough battle tonight and then prevail. When we return, you will all come to drink at my wedding banquet. Tonight, the twenty of you will be divided into four groups. We must not be negligent because the enemy has numbers on their side. We set a trap in the shape of a pocket, as I suggested. They're numerous; if they outflank us, we'll bide our time. After they come in, we’ll adopt a turkey shoot to cut off their escape route before launching an assault jointly. Strike their vanguard, attack their middle, and cut off their escape route.
Each trail contains explosives deployed by the blasting squad. Explosives similar to those used to blow up Japs have been placed on every road; the kind that can detonate five or six explosive packets with a single pull. It's best to bide our time and let the enemy in; it'd be ideal if they all came in. Detonate the explosives as soon as nearly all of them arrive. Catch them off guard and cut off their retreat path first.
The sniper team will lie in wait in the middle. Once the blasting team starts fighting, the sniper team will attack from the middle. Keep in mind to stay hidden and hit them in such a way that they can’t figure out where we are or how many people we have. Shoot them through the head. The more headshots there are, the better.
The third group will follow me. I'll lead an attack from near the stockade, taking them head-on. The three groups will work together, taking care of each other.
The fourth group will be in charge of ensuring civilian safety. Ask that they retire to the cave in the rear mountain and not come out. The local government will compensate for all damages. Tell them not to worry or be afraid. There is a government that will keep them alive."
Pan Lei’s gaze passed over each soldier.
"It used to be on a small scale, but now it's a full-fledged conflict. Let them witness our special forces' valor in battle. I've trained you all. You are the tiger pack descending the mountain. Tear up at those useless ba$tards."
They were a group of commandos who could execute impossible missions in dangerous situations with minimal casualties. They had all been raised with bullets. They were all magical weapons that had been trained dozens of times more than ordinary people. Now was the time to be unsheathed and go all out.
"A thousand deaths will not deter me from defending my country!"
The team yelled this slogan. They took up their weapons and fought whenever they were needed.
"This war can only end in victory. Failure is not an option. Follow the plan, act, and finish all deployments before it becomes dark!"
Pan Lei liked these soldiers. His subordinates, like him, were all fierce men willing to give everything, including their lives, to safeguard the country. They were undaunted by danger.
The villagers began to evacuate, and everyone began to follow the plan. All medicines and medical equipment were prepared, as were light and heavy weapons. Needless to say, the special troop had first-class equipment. The latest domestic sniper rifles, German-made GR9C machine guns, and the M4 assault rifles used by the Navy SEALs. The team had them all, not to mention hand grenades and portable rocket thrusters.
Pan Lei couldn't believe they couldn't kill those filthy Burmese devils with the commandos' equipment. You will be destroyed if you dare to come over. We'll annihilate every last one of you. It makes no difference if you are a robbers' alliance or a terrorist organization.
Come give it a shot if you're not frightened of dying.
Everything went rapidly, and the villagers were also transported quickly. They even had to drag cows inside the cave because it was all the property the families had.
There weren’t many people in this stockaded village in the first place. The village was devoid of life now that the people had been evacuated.
Everyone got into position. Pan Lei linked the signals of the other two teams, which had all been pre-arranged.
Pan Lei sent Tian Yuan a text message before turning off the phone.
Plan ahead, baby. I might come back sooner. Wait for me. We’ll marry when I return. I love you.
He kissed the screen of his phone, which had his baby’s smiling face on it.
He turned off the phone.
Footnotes:
[1] third-wheel.
[2] This, I believe, relates to cold food as defined by TCM rather than cold food as defined by temperature. Some foods (heaty foods) boost internal body heat while cold foods do the opposite.
[3] Tap water is not safe to drink in all countries...
No comments:
Post a Comment