Chapter 3: 003: He is Dragon Thorn
Li Yan slammed on the brakes and glared at Gu Feng, "You're not planning to return to the military region?"
Gu Feng just gave a bitter smile and looked out toward the forest through the window, remaining silent.
Li Yan continued on his own, "Anyway, I will come every day to urge you to return to the military region."
Gu Feng sighed, "Let's talk about that later. This time I came home, my mom is planning to arrange a blind date for me to get married; with all this busyness, how can I have time to care about work?"
"Besides, I've been in the barracks since I was 16, and I'm almost thirty now. I just got back from abroad, don't you think I deserve some proper rest?"
Li Yan was frustrated, "I wish so too, but you don't know how bad this batch of new recruits is, they've completely disgraced our Fourth Military Region. If you don't come back and increase the intensity, all the ancestral glory we accumulated will be squandered by these bastards."
Unmoved, Gu Feng got out of the car as they arrived at his home, "Isn't that a good thing? Our batch kept the other military regions breathless, making them stronger, which on the whole is beneficial. Maybe it's not that your new recruits are incompetent, but that other war zones have also risen!"
After saying that, he waved his hand without looking back and walked into his own yard.
Li Yan watched his figure, feeling somewhat disheartened.
Curious, a soldier in the backseat asked, "Lieutenant Colonel, is this older brother also from our military region? He looks very familiar."
"You didn't recognize him?" Li Yan was surprised.
No wonder, Gu Feng had spent several years overseas and had gotten somewhat tanner.
Li Yan started the car to head home and resolved the soldier's curiosity, "He was a member of the previous batch of Dragon Tooth."
The soldier's eyes brightened, and he quickly turned his head to look in the direction Gu Feng had gone, trying to figure out who it was.
His expression grew more solemn.
Dragon Tooth, the nation's top-tier special forces unit, always engaged in high-end operations!
He was curious, "Lieutenant Colonel, from what you and this senior were just discussing, has he already left the military region?"
Back at home, Gu Feng dropped his backpack in his room and saw the large framed photograph of the Dragon Tooth members.
He leaned down to pick up the frame, looking at two comrades who were hooking arms and grinning ear to ear with him in the photograph.
Memories surged through his mind.
These memories also passed through Li Yan's mind, and he sighed, "He left voluntarily."
The soldier looked puzzled, "Why? Who would refuse to fight for Dragon Tooth?"
Li Yan said, "To go abroad for revenge for a comrade!"
"He was a member of the previous Dragon Thorn?" the soldier's pupils dilated, "I thought he looked familiar; I've seen his picture on the military region's historical photo wall!"
He remembered because in the brief secret history of the Fourth Military Region, one of the previous Dragon Tooth members, codenamed 'Thorn,' had left Dragon Tooth!
The soldier became visibly excited.
In the Dragon Tooth special forces, there are codenames like 'Thorn,' 'Eye,' 'Scale,' 'Whisker,' 'Tail,' 'Ear,' etc.
Among these, 'Tooth' and 'Claw' together make 'Thorn'!
It represents the sharpest spearhead in the team!
A role for assault, demolition, and execution of decapitation strikes!
It is also the peak of Dragon Tooth's combat strength!
"Yes, he is our leader!" Li Yan's eyes were filled with fervor, "In the team, he also took on roles as 'Eye' and 'Ear'! He was the most comprehensive leader of all generations of Dragon Tooth, and not to exaggerate, but he was a one-man army!"
The soldier was curious, "Lieutenant Colonel, did I hear you ask earlier if this senior had some illness?"
Li Yan nodded, his tone tinged with dejection, "He has post-war syndrome, or rather, a complex dissociative identity disorder. That year, when his condition flared up and he was receiving treatment, the team went on a mission without him. It was that very mission where we suffered heavy losses and four comrades were killed. Since then, our identities have been exposed, no longer conducive to performing secret frontline tasks, leading to the team being disbanded and transitioned to administrative roles."
"The leader has always blamed himself for not being there, which led to the brothers' sacrifices. Later, he left the forces in an undisciplined manner and went abroad, and he has been gone for three years!"
The soldier, now understanding, asked, "To spend years seeking revenge, that adversary must be strong, right?"
"Obviously, otherwise would our Dragon Tooth suffer heavy losses?" Li Yan recalled that memory, still filled with indignation.
He clenched his teeth, "The opponent is a PMC company."
The soldier's eyes widened instantly.
PMC, or Private Military Contractor.
A private military organization that employs from five thousand to over ten thousand mercenaries on their payroll, specializing in charging fees to help countries fight small-scale battles.
Among them, the tasks in the Afghan region that Eagle has been fighting for over a decade are conducted by these contractors.
In the early days, these persons even disregarded legal and human rights, fighting brutally.
The soldier swallowed hard, "Then, this senior member of Dragon Thorn, has he avenged this time?"
Li Yan replied, "From what I know of him, he wouldn't have returned if he hadn't avenged them yet!"
Inside the room.
Gu Feng, looking at the photograph of his deceased comrades, grinned and said, "Sorry for leaving for three years. You guys didn't tell me who was behind it, so I had to clean out the whole organization!"