184: Chapter 183: Out of Control! Plunging from a Great Height! Oh no!

"Is everything clear?" Su Han's gaze swept over the group.

"Clear!" the seven replied in unison, their voices filled with the determination of those who had burned their bridges.

"Good." Su Han tilted his chin toward the War Eagle Squad. "Take them to get familiar with the equipment. Remember, follow combat standards; don't go easy on them."

"You got it!" Monkey was the first to respond, jerking his chin at the female soldiers. "Follow me! We'll start with the simplest anti-vertigo training. Anyone who pukes in the training pod will be punished by copying the helicopter operation manual a hundred times!"

Watching the backs of the female soldiers as they followed the War Eagle Squad toward the training equipment, Zhou Mo walked up to Su Han. "Old Su, isn't this a bit too rushed?"

Su Han watched the helicopter performing a circling maneuver, his tone calm. "Rushed? Commander Zhao only gave us less than a year. I don't want 'vases' who can only march on a training ground; I want warriors who can survive under a hail of bullets."

Su Han turned to look at him, a flash of complexity in his eyes. "They are the Womens Special Operations Team; they face ten times more doubt than we do. Only by showing overwhelming strength can they shut everyone up."

The roar of the helicopter sounded again. This time, it took off with Big Bear and one of the female soldiers, preparing for the first fast-roping demonstration.

The rope hung down from the cabin door like a silver snake, shimmering with a dangerous and captivating light under the sun.

Su Qingcheng stood beneath the suspension ladder, looking up at the rope dangling from fifty meters in the air.

The rope had an oily sheen and swayed slightly in the airflow stirred by the rotors, looking like a silver snake ready to strike.

"Don't be afraid, follow the essentials the Chief Instructor taught you." Zhou Mo's voice came through the earpiece. He was standing by the command console, holding a tactical tablet that displayed real-time wind speed and rope oscillation frequency. "Keep your legs slightly bent, lower your center of gravity, and lock your grip using the web of your hand—don't apply pressure with just your fingertips."

Su Qingcheng took a deep breath and tightened the fingertips of her tactical gloves.

The back of her training uniform was already soaked with sweat, clinging to her skin with a cold, sticky sensation.

She could feel the gazes of the other female soldiers behind her—some were worried, some were expectant, and there was a hint of camaraderie-driven competition.

As the member with the best physical foundation in the Womens Special Operations Team, she had known since the day she joined that she had to become the benchmark.

Especially in front of Su Han, her 'Great-grandfather Chief Instructor,' she couldn't lose face for Su Family Village, nor could she let those who thought 'female soldiers are inferior to men' have a reason to laugh.

"Ready—" Staff Officer Chen shouted from the helicopter.

Su Qingcheng suddenly reached out and grabbed the rope, the friction instantly pulling her gloves taut.

Staff Officer Chen's voice came again: "Fast-roping isn't about who's fastest; it's about who can enter a combat state the moment they hit the ground. The enemy won't wait for you to find your footing."

"Drop!"

With the command, she released her braking grip, and her body immediately plummeted like a lead weight.

Wind rushed into her collar, accompanied by the roar of the helicopter rotors, creating a sharp whistling in her ears.

The fifty-meter height was halved in an instant.

"Watch the swing!" Zhou Mo's voice suddenly became urgent.

Su Qingcheng's pupils constricted—her grip strength had been slightly off when she first grabbed the rope, and now her body was swinging with the rope. She was about to collide with the helicopter's landing gear!

In a flash, she suddenly remembered the 'Force Redirection' technique from Su Family Boxing.

With a slight twist of her wrist, she applied a small amount of force in the direction of the rope's swing. Her body turned gracefully like a willow leaf, narrowly avoiding the landing gear while actually increasing her descent speed slightly.

"Beautiful!" Su Han couldn't help but cheer from the command console. "That girl is applying Su Family's subtle techniques to fast-roping!"

Su Qingcheng's physical coordination far exceeded that of ordinary people; she just lacked the guidance to combine martial arts with tactics.

When she was three meters from the ground, Su Qingcheng suddenly tightened her braking grip.

The rope snapped taut, the massive tension making the muscles in her arms bulge. Using the reaction force, she performed a mid-air side flip and landed steadily, transitioning into a tactical roll.

Thud!

Her knees hit the sandy ground with a muffled sound.

But she didn't stop for a second. The moment she rolled to her feet, she drew a practice pistol from her tactical vest, the muzzle pointing straight at the bullseye twenty meters away.

"Time: 28.7 seconds!" Zhou Mo announced the result, his tone full of surprise. "That's faster than the assessment scores of the new recruits in the Falcon Special Operations Company!"

Su Qingcheng maintained her aiming stance, her back heaving as sweat matted her bangs to her face.

She stared at the bullseye, suddenly realizing that the sequence of movements just now had been performed entirely on instinct.

"Again," Su Han's voice drifted from a distance, devoid of emotion. "Increase the difficulty. After landing, break through three obstacle nets, and change the target to a moving one."

Su Qingcheng felt a jolt in her heart. She grabbed the rope thrown back up by her comrade and shouted, "Yes, sir!"

The helicopter ascended again, taking her back up to fifty meters.

This time, there was less nervousness and more certainty in her eyes.

Second drop: 27.1 seconds.

Third drop: 26.5 seconds.

By the fifth landing, her score had stabilized under 25 seconds. Furthermore, she could complete her aim and fire within 0.5 seconds of landing, her accuracy even surpassing some veterans of the Falcon Special Operations Company.

Su Qingcheng's continuous breakthroughs acted like a shot of adrenaline, causing the timidity in the other female soldiers' eyes to gradually fade.

When it was Lin Yu's turn, she took a deep breath, but the palms gripping the rope were constantly slick with sweat.

"Don't try to pull off fancy moves like Su Qingcheng," Monkey shouted down from the helicopter door, dangling a stopwatch in his hand. "Just keep your rhythm steady. If you can land smoothly within 30 seconds, you pass."

Lin Yu nodded vigorously, her tactical boots scuffing against the edge of the ladder.

She was known for her meticulousness in the Womens Special Operations Team, scoring perfectly in bomb disposal training every time. But she was terrified of subjects involving high-altitude work—

She had broken her arm climbing a tree as a child, and ever since, she had an instinctive resistance to heights.

"Drop!"

The moment Lin Yu released her grip at Staff Officer Chen's command, her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

Wind rushed at her from all directions, making her eyes sting. The essentials she had memorized became a jumbled mess in her mind.

"Bend your knees! Move your center of gravity back!" Zhou Mo's roar came from the ground.

But Lin Yu's body would no longer obey her.

She instinctively leaned forward, trying to see the ground clearly. This movement caused the rope to swing violently, and she began to oscillate in the air like a pendulum.

"Oh no!" Staff Officer Chen's pupils constricted as he saw this.

The expressions of the War Eagle Squad members also changed—the biggest taboo in fast-roping is leaning the center of gravity forward, as it can cause the braking system to fail completely.

"Grip the rope! Kick off the fuselage!" Monkey stomped his feet in the cabin in anxiety, reaching out to grab her, but he was pushed back by the airflow from the rotors.

Lin Yu's scream was swallowed by the sound of the wind.

She felt the friction in her palms disappearing. The contact point between her gloves and the rope emitted a piercing screeching sound, and her body plummeted like a kite with a broken string.

"Ah—!"