Chapter 445

Chapter 445 Some Conditions!

Half an hour later.

A helicopter cut through the skies above the mountains at incredible speed, like a ghost in the night.

But after the helicopter reached a certain point, its forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, then the nose dipped down, as if it had lost power and was plunging headfirst toward the ground!

Everyone in the cabin let out a collective cry of alarm!

When the helicopter had plummeted to no more than ten or so meters from the ground, the nose suddenly pulled up, the fuselage leveled out and hung suspended in midair, then slowly descended!

If there had been anyone watching nearby, they would have been so stunned by that transition from extreme motion to complete stillness that they couldn’t have found words to describe it!

A plane could be flown like that?

When the helicopter touched down steadily on the ground, the original pilot stared at Su Rui with a look of utter disbelief.

“A single-stick speed kill! The legendary single-stick speed kill!”

He never could have imagined that he would witness the style of a top-tier ace pilot in Su Rui.

This kind of single-stick speed kill flying technique was something he himself had never even dared to attempt!

When the cabin door opened, the pilot of aircraft number one actually felt a slight wave of dizziness. That alone said everything about how hard and fast Su Rui had been flying!

“Su Rui, go on ahead, the commanders are all meeting in the main monitoring room.” Wang Zhizhong was clearly not feeling great either, leaning against the cabin wall with his legs a little weak.

“Alright.”

Su Rui jumped straight off the aircraft, leaving Wang Zhizhong and the pilot to exchange a wry smile.

The so-called Land Special Forces main monitoring room was nothing more than a large tent covering several hundred square meters, with one wall packed wall-to-wall with surveillance screens, and a round table in the center that could seat over a dozen people.

Around the round table sat a number of elderly men in military uniforms. A few wore uniforms with no rank insignia, while the rest had stars gleaming on their shoulders.

Off to the side stood two men taking meeting minutes and serving tea, both holding the rank of Senior Colonel.

The kind of men who would be division commanders anywhere else in the world were here just doing odd jobs.

At that moment, one of the Senior Colonels suddenly said, “Report to the commanders, Su Rui has arrived.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the largest surveillance screen on the wall.

And so all the commanders watched that breathtaking landing.

“Fine young man. Letting him leave the military was no small loss.”

“When the Classified Operations Training Division was first established, I didn’t want to let him go, but I couldn’t hold out against Number One’s orders.”

“Doesn’t matter, Number One has already left, we can talk freely among ourselves here.”

“I could tell over ten years ago that he was excellent soldier material. Nobody expected what happened five years ago. To be honest, some things were beyond our control. It’s truly a shame.”

By this point, Su Rui had already arrived at the entrance of the massive dark green tent and lifted the door flap.

“Commanders, Su Rui reporting for duty.”

Su Rui stood in the doorway, snapped to attention, and gave a standard Chinese military salute.

Although he had been gone for five years, the motion hadn’t grown rusty at all. And in Su Rui’s view, everyone present was either a senior leader of the Land Special Forces or a commander from the Central Military Commission, so even without wearing a uniform, he should give a proper salute as a show of respect.

Su Rui swept his gaze across the commanders in the room and couldn’t help letting a flicker of surprise cross his face.

It wasn’t the ranks of those present that startled him, but the sight of one of his former superiors.

Zhang Yugan, once the Deputy Chief of Staff of the First Group Army of the Capital Military Region, now a Lieutenant General, was sitting on one side of the conference table.

“Haven’t seen you in years. You’ve matured a bit compared to before.” Zhang Yugan said with a smile.

With so many senior figures present, Su Rui showed not the slightest trace of nerves. “You’re looking as young as ever, Commander.”

“Flattery. I’ll be retiring in another two years, and my health gets a little worse every day.” Zhang Yugan said, “You’ve been back in China for a month or two now, and you never once thought to come see me?”

Hearing that, Su Rui gave a wry smile. “Given my status, if someone with ulterior motives saw me visiting you, Commander, I’m afraid it wouldn’t look good.”

“Hmph, those people with ulterior motives really are something.”

Zhang Yugan extended a hand and pointed to the last empty seat at the conference table. “Sit down, we have some questions for you.”

Su Rui looked at the seat, visibly taken aback, while the two Senior Colonels serving the commanders wore expressions of utter astonishment.

The Central Military Commission commanders were holding a meeting, and these two Senior Colonels were thrilled just to land a job serving them. For them, being this close to so many senior leaders was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But comparisons were brutal — this Su Rui looked several years younger than either of them, yet he was apparently qualified to sit as an equal among all these commanders.

Zhang Yugan raised an eyebrow. “What are you standing there for? Come sit down!”

Su Rui glanced at the two Senior Colonels and gave them an apologetic smile, then walked toward the chair with an expression full of humility but no trace of anxiety, his stride as steady as ever.

“You two step outside for a bit. We old men have some private words for Su Rui.” Zhang Yugan said to the two Senior Colonels.

His rank and position weren’t the highest in the room, yet he could speak with such authority, which showed that this general was also a figure of real power within the Land Special Forces.

Hearing Zhang Yugan’s words, a sharp gleam flashed through Su Rui’s eyes.

He had already realized that whatever Qin Zhizhang, Luo Yunlu, and the others had asked of him were merely appetizers. Now that the top brass of the Central Military Commission had shown up together, this was the real main course.

This main course was sure to be lavish, but whether he had the appetite and the ability to get through it was another question entirely.

“Su Rui, first matter.”

Zhang Yugan said, “In light of your actions in the East, which brought many unexpected benefits to China, I hereby extend to you a verbal commendation on behalf of the members of the Chinese Central Military Commission.”

“My actions in the East?” Su Rui paused. “Commander, are you referring to when I flew a plane into the Yamamoto Group headquarters building and brought it down?”

Zhang Yugan’s expression turned cold and he snapped, “Some things are better left understood in your heart. There’s no need to spell them out so plainly!”

Clearly, from their position, they couldn’t openly comment on certain matters. Hinting at it obliquely was already quite something, yet Su Rui had to go and say it straight out. It left Zhang Yugan with absolutely nothing to say.

“I’m just a straightforward person, Commander, please don’t take it to heart.” Su Rui said with a hint of dissatisfaction. “However you look at it, I risked my life to do what I did, and all you’re giving me is a verbal commendation?”

Su Rui knew that for the Central Military Commission to jointly issue a verbal commendation for something like this was already extraordinarily rare, but true to his nature, he had to push for maximum benefit in a situation like this — because giving a sweet date before swinging a stick had always been how these leaders operated.

Once he’d eaten this sweet date, the hard assignments were sure to follow.

“A verbal commendation isn’t enough? Your appetite is something else!” Zhang Yugan gave a cold laugh. “I’ll give you an assignment fit for a general. Complete the mission, and you’ll be promoted straight to Major General on the spot. Do you dare take it?”

Major General upon completion?

No soldier who doesn’t aspire to be a general is a good soldier. Su Rui had served for many years and knew full well that every military person held the title of “general” in the highest regard.

After Zhang Yugan finished speaking, he waited to see Su Rui show some expression of excitement or burning eagerness, but to his disappointment, Su Rui didn’t take the bait at all.

“Old Commander, to be honest, I don’t want to be a general.” Su Rui rubbed his nose and said with a grin.

“You don’t want to be a general? Are you joking?” Zhang Yugan looked as though he couldn’t trust his own ears. He never would have imagined that Su Rui, once the finest soldier in the Chinese Republic, would have no desire to become a general.

“Think about it, five years ago, after all those years of putting my life on the line, with my head hanging by a thread through wind and rain, I only made it to a junior field-grade officer. For you to skip two or three ranks and turn me straight into a general — even without thinking too hard, anyone could figure out that the difficulty of this kind of mission must be off the charts.”

Zhang Yugan nearly blew his top upon hearing that.

But he couldn’t deny that what Su Rui said was absolutely right.

“I’m just telling the truth, Old Commander, please don’t take it personally.” Su Rui looked at the senior figures with their awkward expressions and said cheerfully, “I value my life. I’ve come close to dying more times than I can count. If I’m still chasing a general’s rank, isn’t that basically signing my own death warrant? I have no interest in becoming a martyr.”

Su Rui was no fool. Sure, every man wanted to be a general, and the rank symbolized boundless glory, but he knew that to these senior figures, the title of “general” was worth nothing. He might be a patriotic young man with fire in his blood, but he had absolutely no desire to get caught up in the games these old men were playing.

The muscles in Zhang Yugan’s face twitched hard several times, and he slapped the table. “You don’t even know what the mission is yet, and you’re already so sure it’ll get you killed?”

A few dark lines quietly appeared on Su Rui’s forehead. “Old Commander, you can’t exactly force a deal on someone. I’m swamped right now, surrounded by enemies on all sides, with threats coming from every direction at any moment. I can barely keep up as it is. I’m truly stretched too thin, otherwise I’d definitely take on your mission.”

Zhang Yugan gave a cold laugh. “Less than an hour ago, we old men saved your life. How much time has passed since then, and you’ve already lost every bit of gratitude?”

There it was.

Su Rui laughed bitterly to himself. These old men had saved him for entirely different reasons. And here he’d been thanking them as his saviors.

“Old Commander, gratitude is something that has to come from a person’s own free will.” Su Rui said awkwardly. “The way you put it, it feels like something’s gone a bit off.”

“So it’s gone off, so what? I just want to see whether you have any gratitude in you at all!” Zhang Yugan bristled. “I want an answer from you right now!”

Su Rui’s face was full of bitterness. “I really don’t want to die.”