Super Zoo

The United Nations Observer Group comprised more than a dozen members, but at this moment, only three carried weight when they spoke: the United States representative, the Huaxia representative, and the Russia representative.

"Huaxia has always opposed all forms of terrorism and is willing to contribute our strength in counter-terrorism," said the Huaxia representative with an expressionless face, "At present, it is very likely that a Huaxia compatriot is trapped in the war zone, and we hope that your government can take concrete actions. Our side has already authorized the combat personnel of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force to accept assignments from your military."

The Major General really wanted to strangle this ambiguous fellow!

You talk about contributing strength, yet you sent hundreds of technical staff into our oilfield last night! Claiming to help Iraq extract oil, but you took away 52% of the oilfield shares!

As for the strength of Huaxia in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force? To hell with it, they only have one platoon, what good is this handful of people? Even though Huaxia's troops are indeed more capable than the Iraqi Government Army, their numbers are too few. Besides, this involves diplomatic issues; sending them to the front line requires Iraq to provide full protection!

Reconnaissance planes have confirmed that Lure settlements have been occupied by IS, meaning the first Huaxia person who encountered trouble is likely still in the war zone, in the hands of IS.

All things considered, what Huaxia meant was still to coerce the Iraqi Government into resolving the situation on their own, to send troops for the rescue!

"The American Government will absolutely not compromise with terrorists, and we will not pay a single cent of ransom!"

The United States representative pounded the table with a righteous fury, telling the Iraqi Major General, "Rest assured, I have already submitted a report to the President, and the President will do his utmost to persuade Congress to agree to send troops to Iraq again! But before that, we hope your side can make the greatest effort to rescue our journalists!"

Several other representatives could barely restrain their laughter at these words.

Who doesn't know how complicated the American procedures are, especially for major decisions involving troop deployment, which require joint deliberation by both houses of Congress and a two-thirds majority agreement, from proposal and review to voting and, finally, the President's approval… Even if everything goes smoothly, it would take at least two to three months, plus military preparation... God, can the American military march into Iraq in half a year?

Moreover, with the severe anti-war sentiment in the United States, the government has already made up its mind not to directly dispatch large-scale military forces to the quagmire that is Iraq anymore.

So, every time the United States representative says 'yes, I will ask the President to let Congress discuss it,' everyone understands that his real meaning is actually NO!

The Major General kept a stiff face, turning to look at the Russia representative: "There's no need to say it, your country also plans to stand by and watch?"

"General, I don't understand why you would say that!" The Russia representative had an expression as blank as the white tile in mahjong, but his tone was firm: "Our President ordered the air force yesterday, a paratrooper squad is already flying to the scene to search for Miss Ludmila, of course, if conditions permit, they will also commence the rescue of the two American journalists. Moreover, our bombers and missiles are ready to go, and as soon as the hostages are recovered, they will immediately carry out a carpet bombing on the IS-occupied mountains. Isn't this help enough?!"

"Enough!" the Iraqi Major General roared, unclear if he meant that the assistance Russia was giving was 'enough' or if he was losing his composure because of the representatives.

The rest of the Observer Group members behaved as if the issue was none of their concern. Germany, France, and England were overwhelmed by the UK's impending exit from the European Union; who had the time to deal with Iraq's mess.

"Gentlemen, Russia's paratroopers have entered the designated location and have engaged in fierce battle with IS!" Another message came through.

"What?!" The Russia representative's expression changed slightly, "Why would our paratroopers be exchanging fire with IS? I need to speak with the squad commander!"

...

The 76th Guards Air Assault Division of Russia has been writing a history of victory and glory since its inception, is the most popular force in Russia, and is regarded as "the elite of the army, the pride of the nation"!

From the day he joined this ace unit, Captain Ivanov had regarded military honor as his life. When the President gave them the mission to rescue their countrymen, even though he knew the operation was extremely dangerous, Ivanov accepted without hesitation.

As an honored national soldier, Ivanov did not fear death; in fact, between dying gloriously for his country and living on in disgrace, he would not hesitate to choose the former.

But he hadn't anticipated that this mission was fundamentally flawed from the start!

There were serious errors in the intelligence from the General Staff and the Iraqi Government. It was only after they landed near the Lure settlement that they discovered the entire area had already been occupied by IS.

Not just the settlement, but the nearby mountainous region was teeming with IS forces. Their squad of paratroopers was like fools, targeted by IS the moment they parachuted in.

Following the landing, an intense battle broke out. After eliminating over a dozen IS militants patrolling nearby, Ivanov's squad was completely exposed, and a large number of IS forces began encircling them from all directions.

Fight! Fight! They kept fighting! Worthy of the elite special airborne forces, Ivanov's squad brutally carved a bloody path through the IS encirclement, drawing the attention of hundreds of IS combatants with just a squad's worth of soldiers.

But they were still outnumbered and were surrounded on a small hill.

"Captain, enemies are all around us! What should we do?!" a paratrooper shouted.

Before the words were fully out, a rocket with a fiery tail exploded ten meters away. The paratrooper who asked the question was blown away by the blast wave.

"Get down!" another comrade roared, pouncing on Ivanov from behind.

The debris and dirt fell from the sky like rain, and Ivanov's ears buzzed from the blast, his face scorched by the heat.

Ivanov turned his head, only to see a massive gash across his comrade's neck, cut by shrapnel, blood spurting out like a fountain.

"Damn IS!" There was no time for grief. Ivanov yelled, "Vasily! How many of us are left?!"

The radioman Vasily gave no response. Ivanov tugged at Vasily's arm... then suddenly felt a ghastly lightness as he pulled half of a blood-drenched arm out from their makeshift trench; Vasily's body had been blown away.

"Beep beep... calling Commander Ivanov!" The palm of the radio operator's arm still clutched the communicator tightly.

"I am Ivanov! I am Ivanov!" Ivanov's eyes were filled with rage.
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"Ivanov, this is command, what's your situation!"

Ivanov looked up at the rudimentary defenses they'd cobbled together... it couldn't really be called a defensive position, as the airborne soldiers were individually fighting from a few naturally formed shelters.

"We're surrounded, heavy losses, the brothers have almost run out of ammo! Damn it, there are at least a battalion's worth of IS militants nearby!" Ivanov screamed into the communicator.

"Ivanov, His Excellency the President has ordered you to abandon the mission and break out as best as you can!" There was a pause on the other end of the communicator. "If you cannot break out, His Excellency the President authorizes you to surrender!"

In the midst of a thunderous explosion, a shell landed in a shelter five meters away from him; the paratroopers inside didn't even grunt before they were blasted into a mist of blood.

A resolute expression crossed Ivanov's face, "Sir, may I speak directly with His Excellency the President?"