Chengdu Military Region
At the firing range, a tall, slender, straight-backed young woman was practicing shooting at moving targets. The Desert Eagle in her hand might as well have been a toy. She handled it with astonishing skill, hitting the bull’s-eye 95 percent of the time.
A female soldier nearby leaned toward her companion and whispered,
“Who is that? Her shooting is insane!”
Her companion nodded, looking somewhat discouraged.
“She’s the monster among monsters in our women’s special forces. There’s no way we can compare.”
The other soldier eagerly cut in.
“I knew it! She’s Tang Bai, right?”
Her companion grabbed her arm and whispered,
“That’s right. Now stop talking. Didn’t you say you were going to eat at the mess hall?”
The girl laughed, rubbed her belly, and scratched her head. She gave Tang Bai, who was firing while running, one last reluctant look. With a helpless sigh, her companion pulled her away, and the two girls hurried off laughing and joking.
It was more than half an hour before Tang Bai finally finished shooting. Flexing her wrists, she left the firing range with a faint smile.
She had been training in the military for nearly four years, and she had never felt so fulfilled. Although she had brushed against death countless times, she could feel her potential being awakened bit by bit. An unprecedented confidence was slowly taking root within her—a confidence that did not need money to prop it up.
A crisp voice suddenly rang out nearby.
“Tang Bai, the captain wants you to report to his office.”
Tang Bai narrowed her eyes at Zhou Min, her closest friend in the unit, and smiled. The warmth of that smile reached Zhou Min’s heart, and for a moment, she lost herself in it.
Tang Bai patted the dazed Zhou Min and smiled.
“Thanks.”
Zhou Min pouted.
“Mm. The captain may have a major mission for you, one you’ll have to carry out alone. Be extra careful, okay?”
Tang Bai smiled and nodded. Zhou Min said nothing more, and the two of them walked in silence to the captain’s office.
Zhou Min jerked her chin toward the door, signaling Tang Bai to go in. Then she marched away with her back ramrod straight.
Tang Bai straightened her uniform and knocked three times, neither too hard nor too softly. Only after a loud voice called out,
“Come in.”
did Tang Bai push open the door with an expressionless face. She walked up to the captain and gave him a crisp, standard military salute.
The captain nodded in satisfaction. This soldier, who was neither servile nor arrogant, was his favorite female soldier and the finest female special-forces operative in his detachment. He had complete confidence that Tang Bai would complete this mission flawlessly.
He nodded toward her.
“Tang Bai, this is General Yang from our military region.”
Tang Bai turned and saluted the elderly man sitting in the chair. Then she looked at the captain with some confusion. She did not understand why being assigned a mission involved one of the military region’s top brass. From the moment she had entered, she had felt a pair of eyes fixed on her—not hostile, merely assessing and probing. She had not expected those eyes to belong to a general.
General Yang saw the confusion in her eyes. Without the slightest hurry, he took a sip of tea and nodded approvingly at the captain.
The captain was practically grinning inside. Tang Bai, this gem of a soldier, was certainly making his Fourth Team proud. For this mission, General Yang had personally visited several teams to choose a candidate, but none of them had caught his eye. In the end, Captain Zhao of First Team recommended Tang Bai, telling General Yang that Fourth Team still had a real gem. He then went on at length about Tang Bai’s accomplishments since joining the team, impressing General Yang so much that the general immediately came to Fourth Team to meet her.
The captain spoke loudly to Tang Bai, whose back was ramrod straight.
“Tang Bai, I called you here because I have a very important mission for you. You will be operating alone. Do you have confidence that you can complete it successfully?”
Tang Bai answered loudly,
“Reporting, Captain! I have full confidence that I can complete the mission successfully!”
The captain smiled and motioned for her to sit. Tang Bai quietly took a seat. The captain turned, pulled a file envelope from his drawer, and handed it to her.
“Take this with you for now. Read it when you get back. For now, I’ll tell you about your assignment.”
Tang Bai gripped the envelope tightly and listened intently.
“Tang Bai, this mission has no time limit. In other words, you will return to the unit whenever you complete it. Your assignment is to assist and protect a celebrity named Lin Mo. She is actually an undercover operative working for our forces. Three years ago, she was sent to infiltrate Tianhuang Media, a multinational corporation, by becoming a celebrity. That media company is actually an arms-trafficking syndicate. All you need to do is help Lin Mo investigate it. This mission is highly confidential. If anything happens, report directly to me. Once you get back, pack your bags and head to Z City to find her. Her contact information is in the file. Oh, and your home is in Z City, isn’t it?”
Tang Bai nodded.
The captain thought for a moment, then continued,
“Tang Bai, you haven’t taken a single day of annual leave since joining the military. In light of your excellent performance, I’ll make an exception this time. When you go home, take all the leave you’ve accumulated over the years, along with this year’s leave, all at once.”
Tang Bai smiled.
“Thank you, Captain.”
The captain waved dismissively. Tang Bai stood, saluted General Yang and the captain, and quickly left.
Once she was gone, the captain turned with a smile to General Yang, who was sipping his tea.
“Sir, rest assured. Putting Tang Bai in charge of this mission was absolutely the right call!”
General Yang looked at his prized student and smiled.
“She may even be better than you were back then. Judging from the information I’ve seen, that girl was born to be a soldier.”
The captain said nothing, but the smile in his eyes was plain for anyone to see.
