Chapter 453

Chapter 453: The Consequence of Tripping the Dragon Knight

Lin Mo, like the other Alpha soldiers, received a stainless steel tray filled with free military rations from the Old Russian cook. He got a large piece of yellow cheese, a serving of salad, a portion of mashed potatoes, four or five sausages, a bowl-sized piece of freshly baked bread, and a rich mushroom seafood soup.

When the cook noticed a Chinese soldier coming to collect his meal, he couldn’t help but glance at Lin Mo a few more times. His hand trembled slightly, and he filled Lin Mo’s tray more generously than the others. Lin Mo smiled gratefully at him.

Amid the well-equipped Alpha team, Lin Mo’s "Dragon General" gear actually stood out less. The Alpha soldiers were already showing hints of digitized personal combat gear, but compared to the Chinese who seemed to benefit from American technology, the Russian military lagged behind.

After lunch, the Mi-171 helicopter was towed away, and they switched to an Il-76 transport plane. There were no seats in the cabin, and everyone sat directly on the floor, though seatbelts were still provided, with strong nylon straps hanging from the cabin walls.

Compared to the meticulous flying skills of Chinese transport pilots (of course, this was different from civilian aviation), the Russian pilots seemed rougher. The Il-76 took off aggressively after taxiing for a short distance, and everyone could feel the overload, their bodies leaning slightly towards the deck.

Once the Il-76 was airborne, the Alpha team leader handed a parachute pack to Lin Mo.

What is this?

Due to the language barrier, the Alpha team leader pulled out a map, pointed to a location, and gestured dramatically, mimicking a parachute jump. Lin Mo finally understood.

So they were going to perform an air drop!

This was outrageous; they didn’t even arrange for anyone to pick him up with a dedicated aircraft but decided to kick him out of the sky instead.

Once inside the cabin, Nyarl Grodovyevich, the sniper from the Alpha special forces, took the opportunity to secretly examine the Chinese man who had boarded mid-journey while the team leader was distracted.

The man wasn’t wearing a helmet, and his tactical armor was noticeably different from what Nyarl had seen the Chinese wearing during operations in the Ural Mountains; it was thicker and looked more formidable, seemingly better suited for close-quarters combat. Was he someone of higher rank?

"Vagim, could this guy be the Chinese who knocked us out?" Nyarl Grodovyevich whispered to his assistant. Frustrated, he saw the face of every Eastern person as the same — the bastard who had struck him on the head.

In fact, even until he was flipped over, he hadn’t clearly seen his attacker’s face, but subconsciously, he viewed Lin Mo as the target of his hatred.

What he didn’t know was that he wasn’t wronging Lin Mo at all.

"It’s him!"

His assistant, Vagim, whispered softly, a revelation that was like a thunderclap to Nyarl Grodovyevich.

"What? How could that be…" Nyarl stared wide-eyed, filled with disbelief. Both he and his assistant observed, but neither had noticed how the other had identified where they were and approached.

Once he regained his composure, he realized that the other team members were standing right next to him. The Chinese had launched their attack in the night, leaving no survivors, and naturally, their Alpha team hadn’t caught any stragglers.

"It’s him, I can smell it! Even though I didn’t see his face, I know it’s that guy. I just have a feeling."

Vagim, a young Tatar with short, dark brown hair, bore the name "Vagim," which means "brash man" in Chinese. He used this codename as a constant reminder not to act recklessly and to provide the best cooperation for his partner.

Though he was just as skilled with a gun as his partner, The Emperor, he had an excellent field of vision. While directing targets for his partner, he could always provide precise and effective follow-up shots, making him and The Emperor one of the best sniper teams in the Alpha special forces.

But just yesterday, the undefeated Alpha team had suffered a setback at the hands of the Chinese, not only being discovered in their hiding place but also being robbed.

God!

A single gun butt?

They were the elite Alpha special forces, not defenseless civilians; all those years of training were like wasted effort. Oh no, even a dog wouldn’t easily be knocked out.

To have lost almost all their gear was unimaginable. When the two of them saw the squad leader, codenamed "Bloodthirsty Cuckoo," Filiel Makarovsky, with his grim face, they understood they would become the shame of the team.

However, on the way, their teammates silently patted their shoulders, but no one spoke.

Vagim, like The Emperor, felt terrible inside, as if something had been hollowed out. The only memory left in their minds was that last moment just before being struck with a gun butt, as if the pain from the bump on the back of his head had ceased to exist.

It must have been the Chinese who did this!

Seeing that Chinese man boarding the plane sent a chill down their spine, but they dared not confirm it.

However, Vagim’s keen sense of smell was one of the reasons he could be part of Alpha. He purposefully and unintentionally got closer to Lin Mo, completely convinced that this guy was the one who had knocked him out.

Though the Dragon General’s dual-use tactical armor had scent-sealing devices, Lin Mo had not worn his helmet, inadvertently allowing his scent to escape, which the extraordinarily talented Alpha soldier picked up like a police dog.

It wasn’t until his partner, The Emperor, accidentally let something slip that he reflexively revealed his thoughts.

The two exchanged looks, bewildered. This was beyond strange!

Enemies meeting on a narrow road.

Perhaps hearing their whispers, the other Alpha soldiers shifted their expressions, glancing at Lin Mo with an unclear meaning. There was more than a hint of provocation in their eyes.

The undefeated Alpha could not suffer such a significant loss.

Though they claimed to be invincible, Alpha was also a "disobedient" special forces unit, ignoring orders as if it were commonplace. Don’t expect them to behave as rigidly as Chinese special forces.

The atmosphere in the transport plane suddenly became tense. It still appeared peaceful on the surface, but there was an undercurrent of tension.

They had enough patience!

Ten Alpha special forces soldiers exchanged glances, performing small gestures to silently communicate their intentions to one another. Although they couldn’t be sure if Lin Mo understood Russian, they remained alert, searching for opportunities.

Lin Mo leaned against the wall of the cabin, eyes closed, completely unaware of the subtle changes in the Alpha team’s attitude towards him.

Watching all this, Alpha team leader “Bloodthirsty Cuckoo” Filiel Makarovsky stayed silent, taking a stance of detachment. Their mission had another layer of meaning: testing the abilities of the Chinese Special Operations Team. After suffering a small setback, they hadn’t gained anything.

When he heard they had left one person to hitch a ride, he didn’t hesitate to agree.

This journey was destined to be anything but peaceful, and his subordinates wanting to regain their lost dignity was a reason that couldn’t be more appropriate. The team leader, Filiel Makarovsky, naturally chose to turn a blind eye, not wanting to undermine his men’s confidence.

Beep!

An alarm rang in the cabin, and Lin Mo opened his eyes to see the Alpha team leader pointing at a map, reminding Lin Mo that it was almost time.

At that moment, the clam-shell door at the rear of the Il-76 slowly opened, causing a sudden loss of pressure in the airtight cargo hold. Chaotic air rushed inside, causing the aircraft to jitter. The ailerons and flaps on the wings began to adjust downward, keeping the aircraft steadily climbing and increasing the safety of the drop.

Through the open doors, they could see clouds far below, with the Il-76 flying at perhaps six or seven thousand meters. The cargo hold was struggling to pressurize to compensate for the high-altitude loss of pressure.

After all, the Il-76 was a transport plane, and this particular model was military cargo, temporarily accommodating passengers without installed seats. Everyone sat directly on the floor of the plane, and if they didn’t add pressure compensation due to the presence of people, even the sturdy Alpha soldiers couldn’t last long at such altitudes.

Thus, Lin Mo didn’t have much time.

He nodded, quickly stood up, strapped on his parachute pack, checked it, and unfastened the seatbelt attached to the cabin wall as he headed towards the tail of the plane. The clam-shell cargo door was already halfway open, which was sufficient for a single soldier’s jump.

As the Il-76 swayed, a few Alpha soldiers pretended to be jostled out of their original positions and stealthily approached Lin Mo, who was heading for the tail of the Il-76.

The Emperor, Nyarl Grodovyevich, wore a sly smile, exchanging glances with a few comrades who understood him perfectly. Just as Lin Mo was about to walk by, he suddenly kicked out his foot.

Vagim quietly watched as his partner and comrades set up a prank trap.

They had come up with a clever idea to trip this Chinese kid, sending him tumbling out, looking awkwardly ridiculous as he struggled to stand in the turbulent, chaotic air of the transport cabin. If he fell like a dog eating slop, that would be even better.

Once ejected from the cabin, how could he come back to take revenge? He could just deploy his parachute in the sky, and since they couldn’t hear anything, it wouldn’t matter.

Not injuring him while simultaneously making him lose face — now that would be truly satisfying!

A few Alpha soldiers quietly activated the battlefield recording system, planning to exploit this moment for personal gain.

Normal people, kicked by Nyarl Grodovyevich, would likely experience the same outcome they imagined.

But what would happen to the one who trips the Dragon Knight…?