66: Chapter 66 You've Obtained a First-Class Merit

Rustle, rustle...

Just then, a sound came from behind a large tree. Lei Zhan, Old Fox, and the others swiftly raised their guns, pointing them toward the source of the noise.

"Who's there?"

"Come out!"

Lei Zhan shouted.

Then, Yang Han stepped out calmly from behind the tree and said with a composed expression, "It's me, Yang Han! An ordinary soldier from the Sharpshooter Fourth Company of the Iron Fist Regiment, 81st Group Army."

"Yang Han?"

Lei Zhan and the others gasped in surprise.

Yang Han!

How could they not know that name? He was the one Gao Shiwei had personally instructed them to keep safe. Lei Zhan and the others understood this person's importance very well.

Moreover, the many corpses they had encountered along the way likely had everything to do with this Yang Han.

"So it's a comrade-in-arms."

Lei Zhan breathed a sigh of relief and signaled for the others to lower their weapons.

Lei Zhan stepped forward, only to discover that Yang Han was dragging Zhang Peng behind him.

"Is this... Zhang Peng?"

"Yes, I knocked him out," Yang Han nodded. "I guessed reinforcements might arrive, but I wasn't sure if the people coming were friendly, so I hid first."

"You're quite clever," Lei Zhan said with a smile.

Then his gaze sharpened as he scanned the corpses on the ground. "These people... did you kill them all?"

"Yes."

Yang Han said calmly, "I seized their weapons and shot those who tried to pursue me. However, their leader... he managed to escape!"

"It's my fault."

Seeing the deep regret on Yang Han's face, Lei Zhan was stunned.

Man, you dealt with seven vicious mercenaries all by yourself, killed six of them, sent the last one fleeing in panic, and even captured Zhang Peng.

This is already a world-shaking feat, and yet you're still not satisfied?

Lei Zhan didn't even know what to say.

"Did you really do this?"

Little Bee, from the Thunderbolt Assault Team, questioned with a look of disbelief, "These are six mercenaries! All from the AO Group, and their leader is a man named Scorpion, who's even more terrifying. Yet you escaped from them and killed six of them?"

His tone was filled with disbelief.

"Sigh, don't mention it. Look at my shoulder."

Yang Han was helpless. His shoulder had been shot through, and blood was still flowing. He was in agonizing pain! If Scorpion and the others hadn't been chasing him, he would have bandaged it long ago.

The members of the Thunderbolt Assault Team were speechless. Simply unbelievable!

You killed six people and only got a shoulder wound, yet you're still not satisfied with such a massive victory?

"You're truly blessed by heaven. I really don't understand how you survived against those mercenaries," Old Fox remarked with emotion.

No one present, including Lei Zhan and Old Fox, would dare say they could survive an ambush by Scorpion and his crew of seven.

It seemed this recruit, who had earned a first-class merit in the Red-Blue confrontation exercise and was promoted directly to the rank of Captain, was indeed very capable.

"Ugh..."

Just then, Zhang Peng woke up in a daze. The moment he saw Yang Han, he was like a cat with its fur standing on end, trembling with fear!

"You... you're simply not human! How can a single kick be so powerful?" Zhang Peng's face was pale. He felt as if he had been crippled; his lower body felt completely destroyed by Yang Han's kick!

Yang Han patted his head and smiled faintly. "Don't overthink it. Just go to prison obediently."

"Can we leave now?" Yang Han asked nonchalantly.

Lei Zhan, Old Fox, and the others looked at each other in silence. You're a recruit! To be this nonchalant, even more composed than veterans who have seen the world and experienced life-and-death battles—how was he raised? Had he been killing people since he was a child?

"Let's go, let's go. We need to call a team to handle this place!" Lei Zhan said.

He made a call to have people come and handle the aftermath. Then, leaving three men behind, he took Yang Han and Zhang Peng onto the helicopter to return to the Southeast Military Region.

On the helicopter.

Lei Zhan called Gao Shiwei to report.

"Chief!"

Lei Zhan said respectfully after the call connected.

"Yes! What's the situation? Where's Yang Han, and what about Zhang Peng? What are your casualties? The opponent is Scorpion, and he's a ruthless character!" Gao Shiwei asked in quick succession.

"Uh... we didn't suffer a single casualty. We didn't even fire a single bullet. We've brought Zhang Peng back. Yang Han is mostly fine, though his shoulder was pierced by a bullet."

"As for Scorpion's group, there were seven of them in total. Scorpion escaped! But the other six were killed... Their bodies are being handled by Director Wen from the Tianhai City Public Security Bureau."

After Lei Zhan's brief report, Gao Shiwei said, "Six people from the AO Group are dead?"

"A pity that Scorpion got away, though. He's the big fish..."

Gao Shiwei then added, "However, the Thunderbolt Assault Team has done a great job this time. By killing those criminals who landed on Great Xia's territory and protecting our nation, you've earned significant merit. The entire team can receive a first-class merit."

Hearing this, Lei Zhan's expression turned awkward.

A collective first-class merit was no small achievement.

However, this merit didn't belong to him.

Lei Zhan said, "Chief, this merit shouldn't be mine."

"Why?"

"Because the one who killed the six AO Group mercenaries wasn't the Thunderbolt Assault Team, but... Yang Han! Yes, the same Yang Han you told me to pay special attention to!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Shiwei fell silent for a moment, his mind racing. Yang Han, alone, killed six mercenaries?

How did he do it? With just his military dagger? How is that possible? How could an unarmed man engage in a life-and-death battle against armed criminals, kill six of them, and only suffer a shoulder wound?

"This... is truly inconceivable! Put Yang Han on the phone!"

It took a while for Gao Shiwei to process it.

"Yes, sir."

Lei Zhan handed the phone to Yang Han, who said in a deep voice, "Greetings, Chief."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm doing great! It's just a shame I couldn't keep that Scorpion guy here. It's my fault for not doing my best," Yang Han remarked.

Gao Shiwei: "..."

"You've truly exceeded my expectations. I thought having you capture Zhang Peng would be enough of a test, but then Scorpion appeared unexpectedly. With Scorpion's arrival, you were suddenly in grave danger, yet you survived and even killed six of the enemy!"

"Yang Han! You've earned an individual first-class merit!"

With a performance like this, a first-class merit was a must!

The members of the Thunderbolt Assault Team pricked up their ears at the mention of "first-class merit," and many showed looks of envy.

They had been in the army for over a decade and still hadn't received an individual first-class merit! At most, they had second-class merits!

Yet this kid had actually obtained a first-class merit! And they heard he was just a recruit who had recently joined the company.