AWB Chapter 49 Destroying the Command Post
Chapter 49 Destroying the Command Post
In the heart of the Helan Mountains, in a sheltered rocky crevic.
Lin Zhe leaned against the stone wall, the screen of his watch glowing with a faint blue light. It displayed the latest points stats: 2750 points, ranking first. Longya followed closely behind with 2250 points.
The exercise has been going on for nine hours, from dawn until now, and the sun is beginning to set.
The watch suddenly vibrated, the encrypted communication channel was connected, and Longya's voice came through, tinged with a hint of dejection: "Longyuan, have you had enough fun? If you keep going like this, it feels a bit like bullying me."
Lin Zhe chuckled and glanced at the faint traces of the Northwest Military Region's remaining troops moving around at the foot of the distant mountain: "There's not much of a challenge left. Their command structure is basically paralyzed, their special forces have been decimated, and they're just a bunch of headless flies now."
"Me too," came the soft tapping of a keyboard from Longya's end. "The Southwest Command Post has moved three times and is now holed up in a valley, thinking it's well-hidden. What do we do next? Continue being hunters, calling them out one by one?"
Lin Zhe pondered for a few seconds, a cold glint flashing in his eyes: "No. Let's go big and end this now."
"Oh?" Longya became interested. "How do we play?"
"Their command system is currently in disarray, but the basic infrastructure is still functioning." Lin Zhe pulled up his military computer screen, which displayed a complex network topology diagram. "Paralysis is not the same as destruction. If we reverse the process, instead of continuing to sabotage, we will... take over."
"Take over?" Longya paused, then realized. "You mean, hack into their command system, use their own weapons, and kill their own people?"
"Right." Lin Zhe's fingers flew across the keyboard, and lines of code began scrolling across the screen. "The command networks in the Northwest and Southwest are physically isolated in this exercise to prevent infiltration. But internally they are interconnected. We now each have extensive node access to the other's defense zone. Although we can't completely control them, forging a few key instructions... is enough."
Longya whistled over there: "That's ruthless, I like it. How exactly do you do it?"
"Three steps," Lin Zhe calmly instructed. "First, I will use the name of the Northwest Command to send target coordinates to their missile units—the coordinates will be set to their current command location. You will do the same thing using the name of the Southwest Command."
"Let them blow up their own command post?" Longya laughed. "And the second step?"
"The second step is to go to the army aviation base and install simulated bombs. Then, using the control and command system, we will order the army aviation to take off and 'bomb' the enemy's missile sites—of course, we will give them real coordinates."
"The third step," Lin Zhe said with a smirk, "is to wait for the army aviation to complete its mission and return to base. After landing, the airport 'bomb' will be detonated. At this point, both sides' long-range firepower, air power, and command centers will be completely destroyed. The exercise can end ahead of schedule."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the line, then Longya's suppressed laughter came through: "You're really ruthless, kid. Jiang Tao and Chen Jianfeng died without even knowing how they died, they didn't even get to see us. Isn't that a bit too much of a blow?"
"The Dragon King said they need to learn a lesson," Lin Zhe said calmly. "Only through pain can they remember."
"Alright, I'll do as you say," Longya readily agreed. "Let's do it simultaneously, in an hour?"
"One hour later."
After hanging up the call, Lin Zhe closed his laptop and began packing his equipment. He needed to reach the Northwest Military Region's field aviation base before dark—where four armed helicopters were waiting.
The mountain path from the hideout to the base was twelve kilometers long. Lin Zhe chose the most treacherous but shortest route: crossing two mountain peaks and passing through a canyon.
The setting sun cast a long shadow over him. The forest was quiet, save for the sound of the wind and the occasional birdsong. But Lin Zhe knew that beneath this tranquility, two bewildered troops were futilely searching for a non-existent "large enemy force."
An hour later, at 6:20 pm, the sky was just beginning to darken.
Lin Zhe lay prone on a high ground outside the army aviation base, observing through binoculars. The base's defenses were much more relaxed than during the day, and the soldiers all looked exhausted. This was to be expected; the exercise had lasted for nearly ten hours, with commanders being "killed" one after another, and morale had plummeted.
He noticed that the base's communication antennas were still working—meaning the command network was operational.
Lin Zhe turned on the computer and began the final intrusion operation. He had already left a backdoor on the network during the day; now all he needed to do was activate the permissions and impersonate an order from the highest command.
The screen flickered, and code scrolled. Five minutes later, a green message appeared saying "Permissions granted successfully."
He first drafted an order, which, in the name of the Northwest Military Region Command, was sent to the missile battalion still waiting on the front lines:
"Order: HJ-9 missile battalion, immediately conduct fire coverage on coordinates X:XXX, Y:XXX. Repeat, execute immediately. Authorization code: JL-7793."
These coordinates are precisely the location of the command post where Jiang Tao is currently. The authorization code was cracked by Lin Zhe from previously intercepted communications.
The command was sent, and the status showed "received".
Almost simultaneously, my watch vibrated, and Dragon Fang sent a brief message: "Southwest orders have been issued. Missile battalion confirmed receipt."
Step one complete.
Lin Zhe packed up his computer and slid down the hillside like a ghost, approaching the barbed wire fence surrounding the base. He found a gap he had discovered during his observations that day—a section of the barbed wire had a 30-centimeter-high opening at the bottom due to a loose foundation.
He crawled over, and after landing, he quickly rolled into the shadow of a helicopter.
At the base, ground crew were giving the helicopter a final check, preparing to move it after dark. No one noticed the extra person in the shadows.
Lin Zhe took out four palm-sized simulated bombs from his backpack—the outer shell was metal, and the inside contained smoke and dye devices for the exercise, but the sensors would identify them as "high explosive bombs".
He strolled casually to the four armed helicopters, and when no one was looking, he attached the bombs to the inside of the landing gear of each helicopter. The magnets were so strong that they were practically invisible unless you crouched down and looked closely.
After doing all that, he returned to the shadows and turned on his computer again.
The second instruction was issued to the Army Aviation Squadron:
"Order: First Army Aviation Squadron, take off immediately and conduct precision strikes against the Blue Force (Southwest Military Region) missile positions (coordinates X: XXX, Y: XXX). Enemy air defenses are disabled; no escort is required. Authorization code: HL-4412."
These coordinates represent the actual location of the missile battalion of the Southwest Military Region.
Thirty seconds after the command was issued, a piercing takeoff alarm sounded across the base. Pilots rushed out of their rest tents, putting on their helmets as they ran.
"What's going on?" a lieutenant asked the ground crew.
"Direct order from command: emergency takeoff for a strike mission!" ground crew shouted. "Hurry! Hurry!"
The rotors of the four armed helicopters began to spin, their engines roaring deafeningly. Lin Zhe watched this scene from the shadows, his face expressionless.
One helicopter after another took off, and then flew in formation towards the southwest.
He glanced at the time: 6:50.
It's time to leave.
Lin Zhe returned the way he came, crawled out of the barbed wire fence, and disappeared into the twilight-shrouded forest.
Behind him, the army aviation base gradually receded into the distance. Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away, on a missile site in the Northwest Military Region, six simulated missiles, trailing plumes of fire, rose into the night sky and flew towards their own command post.