Volume 1, Chapter 5: First Appointment, Acting Captain, Battle Group Functions Unlocked!

Not long after Tom and the others left, a call from headquarters came through.

At the time, the squad members were all helping one another, tending to their wounds in a rough and ready way.

So it was the idle Han Cheng who answered the call. “Hello?”

A man’s voice came through the receiver. “Hello? I am Rodson, captain of the Seventh Mercenary Regiment. Reporting the situation of Fire Company C Squad.”

The speaker’s pace was far too fast, and Han Cheng’s brows shot together at once. “Uh... you... this... that... My english very bad.”

On the other end, Rodson wore a face full of question marks.

He was asking what was going on with C Squad, and the man answered that his English was bad?

That was answering a question with something entirely unrelated. These mercenaries under him really were something else these days, recruiting just anybody.

Even someone who couldn’t speak English had been brought in?

Desperate to know the squad’s condition, Rodson forced himself to remain patient. “What is your name?”

“Long!”

“Where are you from?”

“Huaguo.”

Having learned Han Cheng’s origin, Rodson immediately switched languages. “Long, report your squad’s condition!”

Though Rodson’s Mandarin was far from standard, Han Cheng could at least understand it.

“Hey, you understand our Chinese too. Not bad.”

“You’re asking about our squad’s condition? We just finished a battle, so I’d say we’ve lost more than half our people.”

Rodson’s brows snapped together. “Where is your captain, Tom? I need to speak with him.”

“You mean Tom? He and a few of the more seriously wounded went off somewhere to do a self-resurrection match. He’s not with us right now.”

What?

Rodson’s mouth fell open.

Self-resurrection? A resurrection match?

What kind of nonsense was that? It was said that Chinese culture was profound and boundless, but Rodson, who only knew a little Mandarin, naturally could not understand.

Still, there was one thing he did understand: C Squad’s captain, Tom, was not currently at the front.

“Long, listen carefully.”

“Almost all of our support units have fallen into the enemy’s trap of drawing reinforcements into an ambush. They were intercepted by the enemy en route and suffered heavy losses.”

“From this moment on, I appoint you acting captain of C Squad. Take your men and move immediately to support the battlefield near your position. Do you understand?”

After hearing Rodson’s broken Mandarin, with English thrown in from time to time, Han Cheng confirmed it several times before finally grasping his meaning.

“Oh, so our next mission is support, right? So you’re the director’s office then.”

“Also, bro, is this really still live-action battle royale? How can live-action battle royale come with promotions?”

Rodson’s face darkened as he heard Han Cheng’s reply.

What on earth was wrong with this guy? One moment he was talking about a director’s office, the next about live-action battle royale, always saying things he could not understand!

“Long, I don’t have time to waste words with you. Execute the mission immediately. Once it’s done, I’ll not only promote you, I’ll also give you a share of the mercenary payout.”

Click.

The instant Rodson’s call ended, a system prompt sounded beside Han Cheng’s ear.

“Ding. Congratulations, Host. You have received an appointment for the first time. The battle group function has been unlocked!”

“Current battle group rank: squad level (acting). Current maximum number of battle group members that can be added: 0/6!”

With Han Cheng’s appointment as acting captain of C Squad, the system also unlocked a brand-new feature: the battle group function.

Han Cheng asked in confusion, “System, what is this thing now?”

The system replied, “Ding. To help the Host manage subordinates more effectively, the system has specially unlocked the battle group function. From now on, the Host may add subordinates to the battle group for unified management.”

“Subordinates added to the battle group can help the Host gain KDA value, accumulate contribution points, and increase member levels.”

“Depending on member level, subordinates may master a percentage of the Host’s current innate abilities, and increase the maximum KDA value they can obtain!”

...

After the system’s explanation, Han Cheng immediately understood how extraordinary this battle group function was.

In simple terms, once subordinates were added to the battle group, they could help Han Cheng earn KDA value, and they could also gain a portion of Han Cheng’s innate abilities.

“Damn, isn’t this just cheating?”

Han Cheng had thought that awakening the system alone was already the ultimate peak.

He had never imagined that he could now lead his subordinates to swagger and soar together?

A quick look told him that current battle group member levels were divided into: officer, core, elite, backbone, veteran, and recruit.

And according to different member levels, the percentage of innate ability they could access, as well as their KDA value limit, would also differ.

The scale went like this: battle group officer at 50 percent, battle group core at 40 percent, battle group elite at 30 percent, battle group backbone at 20 percent, battle group veteran at 10 percent, and battle group recruit at 5 percent.

Though in the end, the battle group’s subordinates would never be more formidable than Han Cheng, their boss,

even the lowest 5 percent was still a huge boost for them.

Without hesitation, Han Cheng immediately added the only three teammates left into his battle group.

Then, with another round of broken English and frantic gesturing, he relayed Rodson’s orders to his teammates.

“What? Rodson actually wants you to be our captain?”

The members of C Squad more or less knew something about Han Cheng’s background.

Making an unidentified outsider who had been conned into the mercenary corps their captain was certainly not reliable.

But when the three of them recalled Han Cheng’s display of divine might on the battlefield not long ago, especially his absurd feat of eliminating an entire battalion’s worth of enemy troops alone, they ultimately chose to believe first and ask questions later.

Using satellites and drones together to confirm the nearby battlefield’s location, Han Cheng and his teammates immediately set out to provide support.

The battlefield nearest to them was not far at all, only a few kilometers away.

It was a village with a distinctly Middle Eastern flavor.

When the four of them arrived here in an enemy armored vehicle, the sound of gunfire and explosions was already tearing through the air.

In a street of dusty yellow earth, amid grit and sand, a fierce battle was under way.

“This is the Third Armored Platoon of Fire Company. We’re trapped in Alderan Village. Requesting support, requesting support!”

Just as they drew near, the public communication channel was filled with urgent pleas for help.

“This is C Squad of Fire Company’s First Special Operations Platoon. Third Armored Platoon, report your situation!”

The members of C Squad tried to make contact, but there was no response at all.

With no other choice, the four of them could only rush into action at once and provide support.