Chapter Fourteen: Wind Squad—Target "Istanbul"

“Mmm, I slept well. Hey, Mingchuan, wake up!” Wenxin, her eyes still heavy with sleep, gently called out for Mingchuan to get up, only to realize he was not beside her.

“Mingchuan, are you there? Uh… this seems to be my room? Strange, why don’t I remember him bringing me back?” Anxious, Wenxin hurried to Mingchuan’s room, but it was empty.

Returning to the living room, she finally noticed the breakfast and a note on the table. She picked up the note, which read:

“Breakfast for Miss Wenxin.”

“Hey, Mingchuan is actually quite considerate!” Wenxin was delighted after reading it and immediately went to freshen up.

After she had washed and was eating the breakfast Mingchuan had made, Mingchuan’s phone, charging nearby, began to ring. Wenxin answered, and on the other end was Sergeant Tina: “Is this Mingchuan’s teammate? Emergency assembly, there’s an important matter.”

“This is Wenxin. Mingchuan isn’t here, and I don’t know where he is. But, by the way, how did you get Mingchuan’s phone number?”

“If we can summon you all by phone, of course we know the numbers. Could you help me find Mingchuan? I’ll notify the others first.”

“How am I supposed to know where to look? Hello? Are you listening? Fine, you just hung up on me. I’d better go search for him.” Wenxin grabbed Mingchuan’s phone, took a bite of her sandwich, and dashed out.

She scoured every corner of the base but found no sign of him. Just as she was about to try one last place—the Xingyue Library—Tina called again to hurry her along: “Wenxin, are you done yet? The others are waiting.”

“The others? But I—” At that moment, Mingchuan emerged from the library, a book in his hands. “—still haven’t found him! Wait, Mingchuan, what are you doing here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Reading. What is it, is something wrong?”

“Of course there is! Hurry up, we’ve got a mission.” Wenxin grabbed Mingchuan’s hand and bolted toward the conference room.

“Wenxin, I can walk by myself, no need to drag me along.”

“Hah! Why does running feel so exhausting this time? Never mind, let’s just get inside!” Mingchuan and the others made it back to the conference room, where everyone else had been waiting.

“Alright, since everyone’s here, let’s get to know each other.” Tina stood up, encouraging the two squads to introduce themselves.

“Hello, I’m Li Enert, Captain of the Wind Squad. These are my teammates, and this is my vice-captain, Bart.”

“Hello, sir.”

“Not bad, your teammates seem quite disciplined! I’m Lei Mingchuan, Captain of the Thunder Squad. These are my teammates, and this guy here is my vice-captain. He’s got quite the temper—fought me for the captaincy, actually,” Mingchuan admitted, somewhat abashed.

“What did you say?” Colt, hearing this, grew agitated once again.

“That’s enough, Colt, calm down. The reason I’ve called both squads here is twofold: first, to assign your mission; second, to let your newly formed squad learn from the others. This time, your destination is here,” Tina said, manipulating the computer to display a map. “The Black Sea Strait. Your mission is to cross the northern part of the Black Sea Strait and reach Istanbul on the other side. The southern route will be handled by the Fire and Shadow squads. The operation is in your hands, with Istanbul as your only objective. The details are up to you. That’s all I have to say—take it from here.” With that, Tina left the conference room to Enert and Mingchuan’s squads.

“Just the two of us then? Now things get interesting.” Enert and Mingchuan exchanged a knowing look...

—Author’s Note—

It’s been quite a challenge to find the time for this chapter. Actually, I could have posted it last Sunday, but my computer crashed midway, and I hadn’t saved anything! Now, I’m facing restrictions again, so it’s unlikely I’ll be able to write another chapter before the high school entrance exams. Please understand—this hasn’t been easy for me!