Zhou Rong turned around to see a white-haired, straight-backed elder with two stars of a general on his shoulders.
Zhou Rong’s expression became solemn as he stood at attention. Yan Hao, Chun Cao, and others who were discussing their situations also stopped and turned to salute: “General Zheng!”
No one expected the general to personally come to the deck. Even Tang Hao changed his expression and saluted. General Zheng’s sharp gaze swept over Zhou Rong, pausing for two seconds on the purple-black bite mark on his neck that had not yet fully faded. Zhou Rong was about to explain, but was stopped by a raised hand.
“On October 26, 2019, at 00:08 Beijing time, were you the Major Zhou Rong who led the last five special forces soldiers and one civilian volunteer into the B Military District Research Institute?”
Zhou Rong replied: “Yes.”
“‘Heaven has not favored humanity, we will complete our journey ourselves’ – were you the one who sent the last satellite communication to the South China Sea Headquarters before the military district was completely lost?”
“Yes.”
General Zheng nodded silently, his gaze sweeping over the dust-covered faces of Chun Cao, Yan Hao, Ding Shi, and Guo Weixiang. After a long pause, he said in a low voice: “You’re missing one team member.”
Zhou Rong patted the tactical bag on his right shoulder, calmly responding: “Lieutenant Zhang Yingjie is here. No one is missing.
The hurricane roared past with sea waves, and General Zheng slowly raised his hand to exchange a military salute with Zhou Rong.
“The 118th top-secret unit leader Major Qian and Commander Liu have been sacrificed. Eight squadrons have been successively destroyed. You are the last survivors. Captain Zhou, the 118th unit has been disbanded.”
Zhou Rong closed his eyes tightly. Behind him, only the wind’s mournful sound remained.
General Zheng seemed to want to find some words of comfort but could say nothing. After a moment, he could only nod: “I hope you can pull yourselves together.” He then actively shook hands with each person and briefly instructed: “Have the medical team stand by in my office. Captain Zhou, bring your people with me. We urgently need to know everything you’ve experienced during this time.”
