Recaps

Jiang Yan Hai received a Central Military Commission order appointing him chief instructor of a new special mixed brigade, an experimental unit directly led by the commission and the General Staff. He was asked to help choose its leaders and codename, and learned it would be an integrated sea-land-air force that might expand beyond brigade size.

• Jiang Yan Hai reported to theater command headquarters and changed into Lieutenant Colonel insignia before entering an auditorium filled with senior officers.
• A three-star general announced Jiang Yan Hai's appointment as chief instructor of the new Special Mixed Brigade.
• Jiang Yan Hai said he could not train an entire brigade alone, and the general clarified that the order was only for its establishment.
• Asked to recommend leaders, Jiang Yan Hai declined to choose a political commissar, proposed Kang Lei as deputy brigade commander, and indicated Fan Tian Lei for chief of staff.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked about the unit's purpose and learned it would be an experimental integrated sea-land-air unit, not merely a special operations brigade.

Jiang Yan Hai recognized that the new brigade was intended to test true joint operations among the army, navy, and air force, and to provide experience for future military reforms. After negotiating its needs with senior officers, he was given a year to form the force after completing the Sha Chen Organization matter, and was ordered to study at National Defense University.

• Jiang Yan Hai explained that a joint-operations force would require substantial funding, resources, and combat experience.
• The leading general confirmed that the brigade was a test for future military restructuring and promised special funding and support.
• Jiang Yan Hai requested multiple air force and training bases, a naval base, and an experimental weapons manufacturing base, but a superior officer pushed back on the demands.
• Jiang Yan Hai requested BeiDou data access and authority to deploy dedicated military satellites, which the superior officer approved.
• The superior officer gave Jiang Yan Hai one year to form the brigade after he finished following up on the Sha Chen Organization matter and ordered him to study at National Defense University.

Jiang Yan Hai’s superiors decided to cultivate him as a frontline commander and assigned Fan Tian Lei to help keep his new unit in check. Jiang Yan Hai and Fan Tian Lei chose Dark Blade as its codename and settled on the 9th Rapid Reaction Brigade as its external designation.

• The theater command leaders praised Jiang Yan Hai’s abilities and ordered Fan Tian Lei to help guide him while letting him develop the new unit.
• Jiang Yan Hai waited for Fan Tian Lei after leaving headquarters and removed his Lieutenant Colonel insignia, unsure where to go next.
• Fan Tian Lei agreed to use Wolf Fang’s facilities as the unit’s temporary base.
• Jiang Yan Hai proposed the codename Dark Blade after rejecting previously used names and jokingly suggesting Windwalker and Shadow.
• Jiang Yan Hai proposed the external designation Logistics Support Forces’ 9th Rapid Reaction Brigade, and Fan Tian Lei questioned the name.

Jiang Yan Hai and Fan Tian Lei visited Master Kang to discuss a new experimental combat brigade and logistics reform. Master Kang learned that he had been recommended as deputy brigade commander, while Jiang Yan Hai’s achievements hinted he would lead the unit.

• Jiang Yan Hai argued that rapid logistics reform would improve combat effectiveness, and Fan Tian Lei agreed to the plan.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Fan Tian Lei traveled to Master Kang’s home in the provincial capital to wish him a happy New Year.
• Fan Tian Lei revealed that Jiang Yan Hai had already been promoted to two bars and two stars, astonishing Master Kang.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that he had been appointed chief instructor for a Central Military Commission experimental combat brigade and had recommended Master Kang as deputy brigade commander and Fan Tian Lei as chief of staff.
• Fan Tian Lei said the brigade had no commander and cited Jiang Yan Hai’s six First Class Merits and First Class Hero Model Medal, leaving Master Kang shocked.

Master Kang and Fan Tian Lei discussed the new Special Operations Brigade, named Dark Blade, and plotted what personnel and equipment to request for it. Jiang Yan Hai asked for a supercomputer, an electronic warfare unit, and satellites, while the chapter ended with the three considering whether to take over Overlord Wolf Base despite its complicated logistics.

• Master Kang praised Jiang Yan Hai’s military achievements and celebrated having raised a soldier who became a lieutenant colonel.
• Fan Tian Lei told Master Kang that the new brigade would be called Dark Blade and externally designated the 9th Rapid Reaction Brigade of the Logistics Support Force.
• Master Kang and Fan Tian Lei discussed bringing back the Iron Fist Regiment and requesting Type 055 warships and elite personnel from multiple branches and theater commands.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked for a supercomputer, an electronic warfare information unit, and satellites for the brigade.
• Fan Tian Lei proposed taking over Overlord Wolf Base, and Jiang Yan Hai noted that its mixed equipment made logistics support difficult.

Jiang Yan Hai discussed logistics and brigade formation with Fan Tian Lei and Master Kang, learning about troop management and command. After leaving Master Kang’s home, Fan Tian Lei told him to spend the next few days developing ideas for the new formation and sent him back to where he had been staying.

• Jiang Yan Hai raised the logistical challenges of equipping a new force, and Fan Tian Lei and Master Kang assigned him to prepare a plan.
• Jiang Yan Hai listened as Fan Tian Lei and Master Kang discussed different combat units, deployment needs, and troop management.
• Master Kang asked about Jiang Yan Hai’s girlfriend, Li Ruo Bai, and Fan Tian Lei revealed her family’s wealth and role in military industry and microelectronics research.
• Jiang Yan Hai spent two meals discussing the new brigade’s formation with Fan Tian Lei and Master Kang and learned from their differing experience.
• Fan Tian Lei told Jiang Yan Hai that the formation was not complete and sent him to think through ideas for the next few days rather than return to the unit.

Jiang Yan Hai returned to Li Ruo Bai’s home after seeing how upset she had been, and the two reunited for the night. In the morning, they shared a tender moment before Li Ruo Bai hurried away to eat.

• Jiang Yan Hai decided to return to Li Ruo Bai and took a taxi to her home.
• Jiang Yan Hai found Li Ruo Bai asleep on the quilt in the living room and gently woke her.
• Li Ruo Bai embraced Jiang Yan Hai, and he carried her to bed and promised to spend more time with her after his mission.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai woke up together the next morning and talked about his return and future time together.
• Li Ruo Bai pressed Jiang Yan Hai back onto the bed, then blushed and rushed away when they both noticed the awkward situation.

Jiang Yan Hai considered centralized logistics reforms and asked Li Ruo Bai about improving military communications. Li Ruo Bai described a mature low-altitude broadband satellite system, and Jiang Yan Hai began exploring an order for the special operations brigade.

• Jiang Yan Hai reviewed the advantages of specialized, centralized logistics support for combat units.
• Jiang Yan Hai realized he knew little about Li Ruo Bai’s reasons for studying Microelectronics and asked about her chip-design work.
• Li Ruo Bai explained that her family’s company and Huawei had discussed low-altitude broadband satellites capable of covering large areas with 10 Gbps bandwidth.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked whether the satellites could be ordered and how long production would take, and Li Ruo Bai said they could be made in about three months.

Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai arranged to pursue a military communications-satellite project, giving them new shared interests before Jiang Yan Hai left to handle the Africa operation. He prepared Blood Wolf’s network and infiltrators for the mission, while Li Ruo Bai calmly said goodbye.

• Jiang Yan Hai asked Li Ruo Bai to confirm satellite information, and he proposed ordering advanced 5G communications satellites for the military’s next plan.
• Jiang Yan Hai asked Fan Tian Lei and Master Kang to seek approval from higher-ups, while Li Ruo Bai contacted her father about the company’s role.
• Over the next few days, Jiang Yan Hai and Li Ruo Bai discussed communications and chips, and Jiang Yan Hai assessed China’s challenges in chip design and lithography.
• After spending the Lantern Festival with Li Ruo Bai, Jiang Yan Hai prepared to go to Africa under Blood Wolf’s identity because Han Xiao could not travel there.
• Jiang Yan Hai had Fang Xinwu and three other Chinese Intelligence Operatives infiltrate Black Star and join Ma Gang’s group with help from its first eight members.
• Li Ruo Bai hugged Jiang Yan Hai goodbye and remained calm as he left for the Africa operation.

Jiang Yan Hai reached a Myanmar port and met up with Black Lion and the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group as they prepared to sail for Eviya. He declined to join them, warning that his plans would bring danger, but agreed to travel with them and laid out the risks tied to the Sha Chen Organization.

• Jiang Yan Hai waited near the port until the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group arrived with their weapons and money.
• Black Lion and the others discussed whether Technician would join them and agreed they wanted him to lead the group.
• Jiang Yan Hai appeared, and Black Lion offered him leadership while Jiang Yan Hai asked to borrow their ship to Eviya.
• Jiang Yan Hai said he would not formally join because his work could endanger the group, and he explained that the CIA's pursuit of William was connected to the organization above Ma Yun Fei.
• Black Lion accepted Jiang Yan Hai's warning and shook his hand, and the Blood Wolf members welcomed him.

While at sea, Jiang Yan Hai used Er Dan to break into Pantheon's hidden server at CERN and discovered that his earlier cracking spree had led him straight to the group's headquarters. He ordered a security scan before copying anything, leaving Pantheon's secrets within reach.

• Jiang Yan Hai and his companions left the harbor and continued toward their destination by ship.
• With three days left on the journey, the Electronic Warfare Program finished cracking Pantheon's program and revealed an account linked to CERN's internal server.
• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Er Dan to scan the server and verify that copying its data would not expose them or trigger hidden traps.
• Jiang Yan Hai reviewed the eleven cracked addresses and realized that the first eight held Pantheon's tests, while later addresses led to its contact hub, backup server, and true headquarters.
• Jiang Yan Hai realized the rarely used headquarters server likely held information on Pantheon's members and waited for Er Dan's scan before copying its secrets.

Jiang Yan Hai had Er Dan secretly extract Pantheon's protected supercomputer data and studied the identities of its fourteen leaders and 122 members. He learned that Pantheon included prominent scientists, hackers, and business figures, leaving him with information he planned to handle privately.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Er Dan to scan the supercomputer and copy its data while avoiding alarms and erasing all traces afterward.
• Er Dan identified Pantheon's structure: fourteen leaders whose passwords controlled access, and 122 other members made up of hackers and people under Pantheon's protection.
• Jiang Yan Hai learned that the 122 members included wealthy business owners and hackers, and that Pantheon had killed a member who tried to expose it by arranging for an F16 to crash into his villa.
• Jiang Yan Hai examined the fourteen leaders' identities and discovered that they included eminent figures such as Nobel laureate Professor Carlos Noby, MIT professor George Abbey, and internet pioneer Vint Cerf.
• Jiang Yan Hai decided not to report the information to China yet and kept the matter in his own hands.

Jiang Yan Hai investigated a scientist protected by Pantheon while preparing to enter the Republic of Evia with Black Lion’s mercenaries. Just before dawn, Er Dan warned that the Red Scarf Army was highly likely to launch a rebellion, and Jiang Yan Hai began making urgent preparations.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Er Dan to search Pantheon’s database and found information about Ivan, a Ukrainian-American chemist whose research had attracted the attention of American companies and government agencies.
• Jiang Yan Hai investigated Ivan’s location and phone through Republic of Evia surveillance and government networks while planning to meet him and obtain his research.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Black Lion’s team arrived at the Port of Santa Marta Sava and organized their weapons and supplies aboard the ship.
• Black Lion told Jiang Yan Hai that his mercenaries had come to the Republic of Evia without a specific job and were available to help him.
• Er Dan warned Jiang Yan Hai that the Red Scarf Army had an 87.88% chance of launching a rebellion that day, and Jiang Yan Hai woke Black Lion to ask about his funds.

Jiang Yan Hai and Black Lion prepared their mercenary team for a possible uprising in the Republic of Evia and helped the cargo ship finish refueling. As the city descended into chaos, the team moved along its outskirts and saw an armed thug threatening a mother and daughter.

• Jiang Yan Hai told Black Lion that the Rebel Army in the Republic of Evia might launch an uprising, and the team prepared weapons and ammunition.
• Black Lion arranged for the captain to refuel the ship and transfer their money and gold without a fee in exchange for protecting the vessel.
• An explosion sounded in the city at sunrise, and Jiang Yan Hai led the team onto the deck as gunfire spread toward the port.
• After refueling ended, the team disembarked and headed along the city's outskirts while the captain departed with their funds.
• Jiang Yan Hai stopped the team near fleeing civilians and looters, where they saw a gunman threatening a mother and daughter beside a bloodied building.

Jiang Yan Hai and Blood Wolf protected fleeing civilians as fighting swept through the city. After stopping a truck-mounted machine gun and breaking up the Rebel Army’s attack, Jiang Yan Hai noticed a former soldier among the refugees watching him closely.

• Jiang Yan Hai shot a thug threatening a mother and daughter, then ordered his team to fire immediately if civilians faced danger.
• The mother and daughter thanked Jiang Yan Hai’s group and fled through the ruined city.
• Jiang Yan Hai spotted Chinese nationals among civilians fleeing the government army’s collapsing position and ordered his team to rescue them if necessary.
• Jiang Yan Hai shot the operator of a truck-mounted machine gun as the Rebel Army attacked the fleeing civilians, and Bob Lee and Hummingbird joined the firefight.
• Blood Wolf killed or drove off several attackers, allowing the civilians to reach the group, while Jiang Yan Hai noticed a man among them move like a trained soldier and study him.

Jiang Yan Hai’s group withdrew to the embassy district and waited for events to settle, while the Chinese consulate prepared to evacuate its nationals. A Chinese naval fleet received orders to send warships to Evia and bring every Chinese citizen home.

• Jiang Yan Hai’s team secured a building and three SUVs near the consulate, then agreed to wait and avoid joining the fighting.
• The counselor learned from Leng Feng that Jiang Yan Hai’s group had rescued him and appeared to be elite mercenaries.
• The counselor told Leng Feng that a convoy would assemble before dawn to take the consulate’s evacuees to the port.
• A Chinese fleet received orders to send the 101 Nanchang and 172 Xiamen missile destroyers with a supply ship to Evia to evacuate nationals from two ports.

China dispatched warships and surveillance satellites to support the evacuation mission in the Republic of Evia. As dawn neared, Jiang Yan Hai and his group prepared to leave while watching the Chinese consulate evacuate people of several nationalities and local residents.

• A general ordered the fleet to cooperate fully with Jiang Yan Hai if they made contact and sent the ships toward Evia at full speed.
• A Type 055 destroyer and a Type 052D destroyer were dispatched for the evacuation as satellites converged on the area.
• As dawn approached, Jiang Yan Hai woke his group when the Chinese consulate began evacuating people by bus.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Black Lion watched the consulate evacuate Chinese nationals, foreign employees, and local residents, and Black Lion praised the country's sense of responsibility.
• Jiang Yan Hai reflected that a strong country gave its people a home, then told the group to leave.

Jiang Yan Hai led Black Lion’s mercenaries through the devastated city toward the port, where a Chinese warship was evacuating citizens. He decided to approach the port and seek work supporting the Republic of Evia’s government forces, leaving Black Lion’s squad waiting nearby.

• Jiang Yan Hai and Black Lion followed another convoy through a city ravaged by fighting and looting.
• Jiang Yan Hai reflected on the destruction and resolved to find a way for his squad to help stop the Rebel Army.
• The squad reached the government-held port and spotted a Chinese warship flying the Five-star Red Flag.
• Jiang Yan Hai explained that foreign evacuation efforts could require the Republic of Evia to send troops, creating a possible mission for the mercenaries.
• Jiang Yan Hai changed into ordinary clothes and headed for the port while Black Lion and the others waited in nearby buildings.

Jiang Yan Hai reached the Chinese evacuation ship and revealed his military identity while volunteering to rescue Chinese nationals and Dr. Chen. After his credentials were verified, Captain Ding Hai placed Xiamen Ship 172 under his command.

• Jiang Yan Hai bluffed his way into the harbor and approached the officers discussing a rescue mission for Chinese citizens trapped in the combat zone.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Leng Feng both volunteered to undertake the mission, and Leng Feng introduced himself as a former Wolf Warrior Squadron member.
• Jiang Yan Hai identified himself as the Wolf Warrior Squadron captain and brought Leng Feng aboard the ship with him.
• In the command cabin, Jiang Yan Hai gave his credentials and emergency assistance code, which the officers verified.
• Captain Ding Hai, Political Commissar Zhao Gang, and Weapons Officer Tian Hai Liang saluted Jiang Yan Hai and announced that Xiamen Ship 172 would follow his command.

Jiang Yan Hai secured command of three Chinese ships and arranged for the Republic of Evia to hire Blood Wolf to evacuate Chinese nationals. He gathered the mercenaries and Leng Feng to prepare for the rescue mission.

• Ding Hai gave Jiang Yan Hai orders placing three ships under his command, including the Nanchang, hull number 101, which was heading to Haofa Port.
• Jiang Yan Hai requested authorization for the warships to intervene if terrorists threatened Chinese civilians and proposed that Evia hire Blood Wolf to conduct the rescue.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Leng Feng to arrange the hiring and vehicles, then asked him to use the name Han Xiao and the codename Technician.
• Jiang Yan Hai told Black Lion that Dr. Chen and forty-seven Chinese employees at a factory in Sangkuja Town needed rescuing, and that Evia would negotiate Blood Wolf's fee.
• Leng Feng arrived with five modified Jeeps, and Jiang Yan Hai introduced him to Black Lion and the other mercenaries as their guide and potential source of assistance.

Jiang Yan Hai negotiated the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group’s payment for protecting Chinese nationals in Evia, raising the government’s offer from two million to five million dollars. The convoy reached a government army depot to replenish weapons, while Leng Feng wondered how Jiang Yan Hai had earned the mercenaries’ trust.

• Leng Feng told Jiang Yan Hai that the group was heading to a military camp for weapons and that they might also need to escort more than a thousand Chinese nationals to another port.
• Black Lion accepted a contract from the Republic of Evia government for two million dollars, but Jiang Yan Hai argued that the mission’s danger and the Chinese lives at stake justified five million.
• Leng Feng contacted his superiors, and the fleet agreed to Black Lion’s request for five million dollars, payable in advance.
• Leng Feng wondered how Jiang Yan Hai had gained the trust of the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group despite seeming too young to have spent years with them.
• The convoy reached a government army-controlled building, where the group replenished its light weapons and ammunition.

Jiang Yan Hai led Leng Feng and his team into the quarantined Sangkuja Town to rescue Dr. Chen and other hostages from mercenaries and Red Scarf Army fighters. After discovering an old enemy among the attackers, Jiang Yan Hai and Leng Feng drove toward the hospital while the rest of the team took positions around it.

• Jiang Yan Hai briefed the team on the hospital, the quarantine zone, and the enemy forces already approaching the hostages.
• Leng Feng suggested ramming a reinforced vehicle through the hospital wall if the enemies seized it, and Jiang Yan Hai agreed to go in with him.
• The team entered Sangkuja Town, and Jiang Yan Hai identified one attacker as an enemy from the Africa coast mission.
• Jiang Yan Hai assigned Hippo and Hornet to guard the vehicles and sent the others to form perimeter and sniper teams.
• Jiang Yan Hai and Leng Feng drove toward the hospital as Jiang Yan Hai's warning system revealed that people inside had been tortured.

Jiang Yan Hai and Leng Feng crashed a modified Jeep into the hospital to attack the Red Scarf Army and rescue a hostage. Jiang Yan Hai overwhelmed the mercenaries with his strength and marksmanship as Leng Feng fought alongside him.

• Leng Feng drove the Jeep through the hospital wall while Jiang Yan Hai braced himself and leaped through the passenger window.
• Jiang Yan Hai disarmed and kicked a female mercenary, then knocked Big Bear backward with a shoulder collision.
• Jiang Yan Hai shot the wounded female mercenary dead, enraging Big Bear, while Leng Feng opened fire on the surrounding enemies.
• Jiang Yan Hai caught Big Bear’s punch, hurled him onto the concrete floor, and left him unable to rise.
• Jiang Yan Hai shot an Asian mercenary and two Red Scarf Army soldiers who emerged from hiding.

Jiang Yan Hai and the others secured the hospital, where they found that Dane Military Company had tortured and killed most of the people inside. After killing Big Bear, Jiang Yan Hai wondered whether the deaths had happened because of him and resolved to make sure they had not died in vain.

• Leng Feng told Black Lion and his men that the hospital was safe, and Jiang Yan Hai handed Black Lion his pistol.
• Big Bear charged Jiang Yan Hai again, but Jiang Yan Hai broke his ribs, snapped his leg, broke his arm, and crushed his fingers.
• Jiang Yan Hai shot Big Bear in the head after he fainted from the pain.
• Leng Feng and the others left Jiang Yan Hai unchallenged after seeing the tortured victims, including Dr. Chen and the blonde woman, dead inside the hospital.
• Jiang Yan Hai realized Dane Military Company had retaliated for his previous killings in Africa and questioned whether the victims had died because of him.

Jiang Yan Hai’s group rescued Doctor Rachel, the nurse, and Pasha from the hospital, recovered surveillance footage and research drives, and burned the site. The convoy reached the Chinese-funded Factory, where Jiang Yan Hai cautiously approached its defenses and called out at the entrance.

• Jiang Yan Hai ordered Mouse Carlos to copy the hospital’s surveillance data and decided to take the remaining survivors with them.
• Black Lion rescued Doctor Rachel from upstairs, while a nurse explained that two sick women would stay behind and introduced Pasha as Dr. Chen’s daughter.
• Pasha thanked Jiang Yan Hai, then broke down crying when he apologized for arriving too late to save her father.
• Mouse Carlos returned with the hard drives, and Jiang Yan Hai ordered the group to burn the hospital before leaving with Doctor Rachel, the nurse, and Pasha.
• Jiang Yan Hai stopped the convoy near the Chinese-funded Factory, sent White Headed Eagle and Hummingbird’s teams to sniper positions, and warned Leng Feng that about ten people were hidden around the factory.
• Jiang Yan Hai stepped over a concealed tripwire, reached the factory barrier, and called out to whoever was there.