Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yan Hai and his unit received an emergency order to protect a cargo ship carrying China’s first export-model J10 Improved Variant fighters and five ace pilots to Argentina. During the flight, Jiang Yan Hai learned that twelve armed Marine Corps members and secret materials were hidden in the cargo hold, and the unit landed at Yongshu Reef to continue the mission.

• Jiang Yan Hai rushed to assemble with He Chen Guang and the others after receiving orders to depart immediately and secretly protect a cargo ship.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his unit boarded a Yun-20, where a colonel briefed them on the ship’s five J10 Improved Variant fighters and five ace pilots bound for Argentina.
• The colonel gave Jiang Yan Hai a confidential document revealing that twelve armed Marine Corps members and secret materials were hidden in the cargo hold and would disembark near the African coast.
• Jiang Yan Hai memorized the document and returned to his seat without telling the others what it contained.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his unit landed at Yongshu Reef, where they prepared to continue their mission in the hot South China Sea climate.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others boarded a bulk carrier at Yongshu Reef for a thirty-five-day voyage to Africa, where their mission was to protect the ship. After changing into civilian clothes, they met the five pilots traveling with them.

• The group loaded their equipment aboard the freighter and met chief mate Lu Yan, who explained the crew arrangements and voyage.
• Lu Yan said the trip to their destination would take close to thirty-five days and that they would make few stops.
• Jiang Yan Hai wondered what secret cargo the freighter was carrying and why he had been told about the mission's secret when Gong Jian and Chen Shan Ming had not.
• The group settled into their cabins, changed into prepared civilian clothes, and gathered in the dining hall.
• The lead pilot, Zhang Yan, introduced himself to the group.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others settled aboard the cargo ship and surveyed its deck while discussing the risks their security mission might involve. Jiang Yan Hai concluded that the main danger could come from attackers with helicopters, not ordinary pirates.

• Lu Yan welcomed the group and agreed to show them where their equipment was stored after lunch.
• Gong Jian asked Zhang Yan whether the ship's crew could be trusted, and Zhang Yan assured him they had long worked with the military.
• Li Er Niu excitedly admired the ocean as Jiang Yan Hai explored the deck and familiarized himself with the ship's layout.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Gong Jian discussed how a large cargo ship would be difficult for pirates to board, but vulnerable to helicopters because the deck offered little cover.
• Jiang Yan Hai noted that their destination was still far away and that the crew would handle the route while his team focused on protecting the ship.

Jiang Yan Hai asked Captain Lu Da about the ship’s weapons and secured permission to visit the bridge to learn how to operate the vessel. After discovering his Ground Driving Skill could not control a ship, he began studying navigation and oceanography with the crew.

• Gong Jian asked Captain Lu Da about the ship’s weapons, and Lu Da explained that it carried firearms sealed in hidden compartments.
• Gong Jian asked the crew to help defend the ship in an emergency, and Lu Da agreed on behalf of the retired soldiers aboard.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked to visit the bridge and learn to operate the ship, and Lu Da readily agreed.
• Jiang Yan Hai tested his Ground Driving Skill at the controls but found it could not operate the vessel.
• Jiang Yan Hai began studying ship operation, ocean data, currents, and navigation with the crew and pilots.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team inspected the heavy weapons issued for their mission and continued their long voyage while Jiang Yan Hai studied ships, aviation, and fighter tactics. After fourteen days at sea, the group was only a dozen hours from reaching Africa.

• Jiang Yan Hai opened his case and found an improved Type 10 sniper rifle, other weapons, ammunition, and specialized equipment.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Gong Jian discovered Qianwei-3A air-defense missile systems, Type 08 rocket launchers, and Type 95 squad automatic weapons in the extra crates.
• The team organized its weapons and stored the heavy equipment in a compartment near the deck.
• Jiang Yan Hai spent the voyage studying ship operations and fighter tactics with the pilots, whose discussions with him grew increasingly serious.
• Fourteen days passed, and the team neared the African continent.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others learned that their ship would enter the Somali Sea Area, lose communications, and anchor for three hours, leaving them vulnerable to pirates. Meanwhile, a mercenary leader named Old Man accepted a contract to seize the ship, and his men began preparing for the attack.

• The captain briefed Jiang Yan Hai, Gong Jian, Chen Shan Ming, and the pilots' captain on the communications blackout and planned stop in the Somali Sea Area.
• Jiang Yan Hai agreed to protect the ship, while he and Gong Jian refused Zhang Yan's request for weapons and told the pilots to stay out of the fighting.
• Gong Jian and the others planned their defensive assignments and prepared to rest before setting up the battlefield after nightfall.
• In Somalia, Old Man negotiated a contract to seize the Chinese cargo ship and secured half the payment in advance.
• Old Man ordered Cockroach to ready their men for the attack, while more than thirty armed men waited at their base.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others prepared to defend their cargo ship as pirate speedboats approached, while Jiang Yan Hai suspected the attack was connected to the mission’s cargo. The pirates’ leader, Old Man, waited with helicopters nearby and planned to send his men into the fight first.

• Jiang Yan Hai, He Chen Guang, Gong Jian, and the others set up missile defenses and firing positions aboard the ship as night fell.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Gong Jian that the pirates might have learned about cargo known to both sides, though their team had not leaked the operation’s details.
• Jiang Yan Hai spotted at least six speedboats approaching and alerted the crew as the captain turned the cargo ship broadside and prepared to stop.
• Jiang Yan Hai switched to armor-piercing explosive rounds while noting that the expected helicopters had not appeared near the boats.
• Old Man ordered two helicopters to prepare and told his men to let the speedboats lead the attack before they moved in.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others defended their cargo ship as six pirate speedboats approached, and Jiang Yan Hai’s long-range shot accidentally detonated an RPG and destroyed one boat. The surviving pirates scattered, and the battle continued as He Chen Guang opened fire.

• Gong Jian ordered the snipers to suppress the approaching pirates while the others took defensive positions.
• Jiang Yan Hai fired at a speedboat from nearly three thousand meters away and killed a bandit at its bow.
• Jiang Yan Hai’s bullet set off an RPG strapped to the bandit, blowing up the speedboat and startling both sides.
• The remaining five speedboats scattered after the explosion, while He Chen Guang fired at the attackers.
• A bandit on another speedboat stood up with an RPG and prepared to return fire.

Jiang Yan Hai and He Chen Guang attacked the approaching pirate boats, slowing and frightening the enemy before three helicopters approached from above. Jiang Yan Hai then heard the Red Star Engine speak and wondered if it had come alive.

• Jiang Yan Hai shot a pirate and fired on the approaching boats, while an enemy rocket fell short and exploded in the sea.
• Jiang Yan Hai told He Chen Guang to split their fire across the boats and keep the pirates from charging straight at the ship.
• Old Man ordered the pirates to advance and sent three helicopters in from high altitude to attack the snipers.
• Jiang Yan Hai and He Chen Guang continued firing, damaging boats and forcing the pirates to maneuver, while one boat circled and stopped approaching.
• The Red Star Engine warned Jiang Yan Hai that three helicopters posed a fatal threat and asked whether to mark them.
• Jiang Yan Hai recognized the Red Star Engine's voice and wondered if the engine had come alive.

Jiang Yan Hai learned that the Red Star Engine had activated its warning assistance, then used it to track three approaching enemy helicopters. As the helicopters closed in on the ship, Jiang Yan Hai waited for a firing opportunity and shot at one despite machine-gun fire striking the rooftop.

• The Red Star Engine told Jiang Yan Hai that his captain-level permissions had activated its warning assistance and marked three approaching helicopters.
• Jiang Yan Hai warned the team, and Gong Jian assigned the soldiers to defend against the helicopters and the pirates approaching by sea.
• Jiang Yan Hai tracked the helicopters as they descended and asked Gong Jian to let them come within 1,000 meters before taking cover.
• The helicopter pilots spotted Jiang Yan Hai and opened machine-gun fire on the rooftop as their aircraft entered range.
• Jiang Yan Hai stayed still under fire and fired his rifle at the helicopter.

Jiang Yan Hai and Gong Jian’s team attacked three Black Hawk helicopters with a sniper rifle and their last air-defense missiles. Jiang Yan Hai damaged the helicopter he had already shot and then fired into another helicopter’s open cockpit, leaving its crew’s fate unclear.

• Jiang Yan Hai’s first armor-piercing shot penetrated a helicopter’s windshield, severed the pilot’s left arm, and wounded him with fragments.
• Gong Jian ordered the attack, and his team launched three Man-Portable Air-Defense Missiles at the helicopters.
• The helicopters evaded the missiles, and one deployed infrared decoys that drew a missile into an explosion.
• Jiang Yan Hai identified the helicopters as Black Hawks and targeted the one whose pilot he had wounded.
• Jiang Yan Hai shot the damaged helicopter near its rotor, setting off an explosion and sending black smoke from the aircraft.
• Jiang Yan Hai fired into another helicopter’s open cockpit, and an unclear half-body appeared to fall from it.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others destroyed the attacking helicopters and disabled the pirates’ speedboats, leaving the fleeing pirates stranded in the sea. The chapter ended with the pirates swimming toward a distant shore as Jiang Yan Hai continued firing at them.

• Old Man ordered a retreat as Jiang Yan Hai shot down his helicopter by destroying its tail rotor, then Old Man jumped into the sea before it crashed.
• Gong Jian and the others launched three anti-aircraft missiles at the remaining helicopters while Xu Tian Long used a machine gun to disrupt their maneuvers.
• The remaining helicopters exploded, and their crews jumped into the sea as they tried to escape.
• Wang Yan Bing fired a rocket at a fleeing speedboat and blew it apart, while Jiang Yan Hai and the others shot at the pirates aboard it.
• Jiang Yan Hai destroyed the engines of the six remaining speedboats, leaving the pirates stranded and swimming toward shore twelve nautical miles away.

Jiang Yan Hai drove the surviving pirates away with warning shots after Gong Jian stopped him from shooting them. He then named the Red Star Engine’s support program Er Dan and learned the limits of its Active Warning System.

• Jiang Yan Hai kept shooting the pirates until Gong Jian intervened and warned him not to become like them.
• Jiang Yan Hai stopped targeting the pirates and fired into the water around them, terrifying them into swimming away; He Chen Guang supported his approach.
• Gong Jian ordered everyone to stay alert, then left to find the captain after Jiang Yan Hai stopped firing.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked the Red Star Engine about its identity and named its support program Er Dan.
• Er Dan explained that its Active Warning System could scan enemy weapons and vehicles within three kilometers without obstructions, but could not detect hostile intent or nonmilitary lethal weapons.

Jiang Yan Hai tested Er Dan’s limitations, then joked with his comrades about earning a star and challenged Song Kai Fei to a helicopter match. The group remained safe for the night, while Song Kai Fei learned Jiang Yan Hai had already received an Army Aviation flight license.

• Jiang Yan Hai discovered Er Dan could schedule program functions but could not answer questions about the illusion simulation combat program or the Red Star Engine.
• Song Kai Fei checked in with the team, and everyone reported that they were safe.
• Jiang Yan Hai joked about painting a star on an attack helicopter and challenged Song Kai Fei to compete in the air after they returned.
• Gong Jian teased Song Kai Fei by suggesting he paint his star on a missile while Jiang Yan Hai painted his on a sniper rifle.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Song Kai Fei he had an Army Aviation Flight License, and Gong Jian urged Song Kai Fei not to back down from a future challenge.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team completed their sea journey and transferred ships before reaching land, where Fan Tian Lei briefed him on a joint operation against the Wu and Chu families. With the operation set to begin in eighteen hours, Jiang Yan Hai planned to leak information early and floated the idea of replacing Third Master Bai with another crime boss.

• Song Kai Fei challenged Jiang Yan Hai and Xu Tian Long to bets over a month of laundry, and Xu Tian Long revealed that his challenge meant a League of Legends mid-lane solo.
• A warship numbered 175 arrived, and Jiang Yan Hai and the others saluted it before continuing alongside it across the sea.
• Twenty days later, the ships switched their markings and Jiang Yan Hai's team transferred to another vessel before reaching land and being picked up.
• Fan Tian Lei told Jiang Yan Hai that a joint operation against the Wu and Chu families would begin in eighteen hours and that Lu Yun Fei had been extracted.
• Jiang Yan Hai said he would leak news five hours early and suggested that another crime boss might take Third Master Bai's place.

Jiang Yan Hai sent warning messages to Ma Yun Fei, Tao Da Niu, and Chu Tian Nan before traveling with his team to Warrior School in Argentina. As they reached the jungle near the school, he wondered what dangers awaited there.

• Jiang Yan Hai monitored Chu Ying’s communications and considered the risks she faced after the Chu and Wu Families were eliminated.
• A wounded blond man called Old Man negotiated with a General and asked to deal with any Chinese people they encountered.
• Jiang Yan Hai sent messages warning Ma Yun Fei, Tao Da Niu, and Chu Tian Nan that Third Master was finished, then canceled the number.
• Ma Yun Fei and Tao Da Niu prepared to flee, while Chu Tian Nan sent Chu Ying to a family villa; Jiang Yan Hai ordered Er Dan to monitor her communications.
• Jiang Yan Hai and his companions flew from a military airport and drove through the jungle toward Warrior School.

Jiang Yan Hai and his team arrived at the international training school and met American Major Waters, whose group Jiang Yan Hai recognized as Navy SEALs. As the team settled in, Jiang Yan Hai noticed a disguised French soldier carefully surveying the camp.

• Jiang Yan Hai and his team entered the school, where soldiers from various countries watched them and Chachai greeted them.
• Major Waters introduced himself to Gong Jian and Chen Shan Ming, while Jiang Yan Hai noticed that Waters and the soldiers with him were observing the Chinese team.
• Gong Jian exchanged formal greetings with Waters and said he hoped they would build trust during the training.
• After the team completed the arrival formalities, Jiang Yan Hai told them that Waters's group were Navy SEALs and explained the uniform details that gave them away.
• Jiang Yan Hai recalled seeing a French soldier with a lightly disguised face who carefully watched the camp, behavior he found suspicious.

Jiang Yan Hai suspected the international trainees and nearby mercenaries had hidden agendas, then used his Active Warning System to discover a concealed surveillance team watching the school. He resolved to protect Wang Qing Shan, whose undercover work had kept him away from his son for years.

• Gong Jian told the trainees to stay alert and asked Jiang Yan Hai not to stand out during training.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided to watch the visitors and mercenaries, speculating that they might target Chachai without Scorpion.
• At the instructors’ speech the next day, Jiang Yan Hai used his Active Warning System to detect a concealed camera and two people supporting the watcher.
• Jiang Yan Hai discovered the team was also placing hidden surveillance devices near Warrior School.
• Jiang Yan Hai prioritized keeping Wang Qing Shan safe so Wang Yan Bing’s father could leave undercover work and reunite with his son.

Jiang Yan Hai began multinational training, where he was assigned to a mixed team and met Mike and Arthur. As the training continued, he noticed that Arthur’s exceptional skills and awkwardness in team exercises suggested he was accustomed to working alone.

• The instructor announced that eliminated soldiers had to ring the bell and that a team’s flag would be lowered when all its members were eliminated.
• Major Waters and other foreign soldiers asked to join the Chinese soldiers, but the instructor ordered everyone to obey the team assignments.
• Jiang Yan Hai was placed in a group with a French soldier, while Mike introduced himself and Arthur gave his name during training.
• Jiang Yan Hai completed the demanding exercises easily but kept his performance in the upper-middle range to avoid drawing attention.
• After several days, Jiang Yan Hai noticed Arthur’s unusually precise firearm handling and awkwardness in team exercises, which suggested he was used to operating alone.

Jiang Yan Hai followed Arthur out of the camp at night and stopped him from tampering with a hidden camera installed by mercenaries. He told Arthur that someone was watching them, but Arthur did not yet know who.

• After Er Dan woke him at two in the morning, Jiang Yan Hai used his Disguise Technique and Scan Skill to follow Arthur out of the barracks.
• Jiang Yan Hai saw Arthur head toward the camp perimeter instead of Director Wen’s barracks and realized he was searching for a hidden surveillance camera.
• Jiang Yan Hai warned Arthur not to touch the camera because it could alert the mercenaries that their surveillance had been discovered.
• Arthur turned on Jiang Yan Hai with a throwing knife, then lowered his guard when he recognized him.
• Arthur said he had found the camera by accident and had thought it belonged to the camp until he realized it was new.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Arthur that someone was watching them, and Arthur asked who.