Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen 451 Squad

I threw myself into training hard.In addition to eating and sleeping, there are tests, drills, use of weapons, and listening to tactical lectures all the time. Several people, including me, were transferred to an overtime job. I felt that I had hope to participate in actual combat training.Soldiers call this training "Street Fighting," but the logo on my arm is SSC, short for Simulated Street Fighting.Underneath the thirteenth district, there is a simulated Capitol alley.The instructor divided us into eight small teams, and we completed various combat missions—grabbing favorable terrain, destroying targets, and searching houses—completely simulating actual combat in the Capitol.The situation is extremely complicated here, and a little carelessness can lead to a big mistake.One wrong step and you will step on a landmine, snipers will appear on the roof, your rifle will jam, a child's cry will lead you into an ambush, and the squad leader—whose voice is only simulated in the training ground—is forced to After the artillery hits, the team must play by ear in the absence of the commander.We know it's all fake and won't really be killed.But if you step on a mine and you can still hear the explosion, you just drop to the ground and pretend to be dead.But from another perspective, you feel that everything here is very real-local soldiers wear vigilante uniforms, and bombs emit thick smoke.We may even be poisoned.Johanna and I were the only ones who put our masks on in time for the toxic gas.The rest of our team were gassed and passed out for ten minutes.I only took a few breaths of the so-called non-toxic gas and got a headache all day.

While at the shooting range, Cressida and the rest of the crew filmed a short film of me and Johanna.I know Gale and Finnick are also being filmed.It's part of a new TV show for the rebels about to attack the Capitol.Overall, things are going well. Shortly thereafter, Peeta joined us at our morning practice.The chain on his hands has been removed, but there are still two guards around him at all times.After lunch, I saw him with some guys who had just started training.I don't know what they thought, but what was the use of learning to assemble a gun if a little quarrel with Delly could make him nervously argue with himself?

When I met Plutarch, he told me it was all about the need for the video.They've filmed Finnick and Annie's wedding, and it works as expected, but everyone in Panham wants to know how Peeta is doing.They want to see that Peeta is fighting for the Rebel cause, not Snow.And if people can see me with Peeta and don't have to kiss, then... I walked away immediately when I heard this.This is impossible. During the short break, I will see that the rebels are making various preparations for the attack on the Capitol, with equipment in place, logistical support in place, and troops on standby.From the cropped hair of the soldiers, it can be seen that those troops have received orders, because this hairstyle is a sign that the troops are about to enter the battle.Everyone is talking about our attack to secure the train tunnels to the Capitol.

When the first troops were about to leave, York unexpectedly informed Johanna and me that she had recommended both of us for testing and that we should report as soon as possible.The test consisted of four parts: an obstacle race, whose purpose was to test physical fitness; second, a written test on tactical skills; third, a test of proficiency in using weapons; and fourth, a simulation of street fighting.I didn't even have time to get nervous, the first three parts were done and I did well.But the last item is the hardest.The other party will set up technical obstacles for you.Members of our squad, when exchanging information, mentioned that this test required individual combat missions, which appeared to be true.In the test, you can never predict what kind of danger you will be in.A male team member said in a low voice, it is said that this test is aimed at each individual's weakness.

my weakness?This is a door I don't want to open.But I still found a quiet corner and carefully pondered my weaknesses.I have a long list of weaknesses that really frustrates me, I'm weak, not tough enough, training time is short, and even my mockingjay identity isn't an advantage for a team that needs an overall perspective.They can easily find many of my weaknesses. Johanna was ahead of me and was called the third.I nodded at her to cheer her up.I really wish I was the first, because by now I'm clearly over anxious.When I was called, I didn't know what strategy to use.But once on set, the skills learned in training came into play naturally.I came across an ambush.The public security police quickly appeared in front of me, and I had to make a detour, go back to the designated assembly point, and join my squad members.I made my way carefully down the street and killed several vigilantes, two on the roof to my left and one in a doorway ahead.The operation was very challenging, but easier than I expected.To my critical eye, if everything is this easy, there must be something I'm missing.Just when I was only two buildings away from my destination, a dangerous situation arose.Six vigilantes showed up on the corner.They far outnumbered me, but I noticed something.A petrol can was casually placed beside the gutter.That's right, that's it.my test.I feel like exploding the petrol cans is the only way I can complete this mission.Just when I raised my hand to blow up the gasoline barrel, my captain ordered me to lie down softly. At this juncture, what's the use of lying down.Every nerve in my body was screaming to ignore his orders and pull the trigger to blow the vigilantes flying.But suddenly, I realized what my biggest weakness was in the eyes of the testers.From my snatching of the orange backpack in The Hunger Games, to my fight in District 8, to my impulsive crossing of the plaza in District 2, I never followed orders.

I fell to the ground with a plop, and it took me a week to get the sand out of my chin with such force.At the same time, another person detonated the oil drum.The security police died in Huangquan.I also go back to the rendezvous point.When I finally emerged from the other side of the alley, a soldier congratulated me, stamped my unit number 451 on my hand, and told me to report to headquarters.I danced with joy for my success.I ran across the lobby and slipped from running too fast around the corner, and the elevator was so slow that I simply hopped down the stairs.Nothing felt wrong until I broke into a room.I shouldn't be in command, I should be getting my hair cut.The soldiers sitting around the table are not mint-scented soldiers, but soldiers who are going to fight.

When Boggs saw me, he shook his head with a smile, "Let me see." Now I felt lost again, so I stretched out my hand with numbers printed on it to show him. "You and I are in the same squad. This is a special squad, everyone is a sharpshooter, go find your teammates." He nodded to a group of people standing at the bottom of the wall.There was Gale, Finnick, and five people I didn't know.my squad.Not only did I attend, but I was at Boggs' hands, with my friends, which was great.I forced myself to calm down, and then solemnly joined their ranks like a real soldier, not a jumping yellow-haired girl.

This squad must be very important, because everyone gathers at the headquarters.And none of this has anything to do with Mockingjay.Standing in front of a large flat panel next to the table, Plutarch explained to us what we might encounter in the Capitol.Too bad I couldn't even stand on tiptoe to see what was on the control panel until he hit the button.A holographic image of the Capitol blocks was projected into the air. "For example, this is the area around one of the security police camps. It's not unimportant, but it's not the most critical target. Let's keep watching." Plutarch entered a special password on the control panel, some of which were created by various Beams of colors began to flicker at different speeds. "Each beam is called a 'Pod' and they each represent a different kind of obstacle, maybe a bomb, maybe a herd of mutant animals. Make no mistake, because whatever comes up, it will either trap you or Your life. There are some pods that have been set up in the dark times. Quite frankly, a lot of them are designed by me. The blueprints of these pods, our people have brought out when they escaped from the Capitol , this is the latest information we have. The Capitol does not know that we have this information. But even so, we do not know if they have activated other pods in the past few months. This is the problem you're about to face."

I unconsciously moved towards the table until I was inches away from the hologram.I reached out and covered a fast flashing green beam. A man with tense muscles moved over to me, needless to say, it was Finnick, because only the victors would immediately see what I had discovered.is the arena.It is full of pods set up by the contest organizers.Finnick's hand touched the red beam that shot toward the gate. "ladies and gentlemen……" "The seventy-sixth Hunger Games begins now!" His voice was not loud, but mine could be heard all over the room. I laughed out loud, and no one else understood what I just said.The headquarters did not allow time for everyone to make suggestions or opinions, and a decision was made quickly, and they acted in groups of two.And I, according to the decision of the command, should be as far away from the central area of ​​the Capitol as possible.I am a winner with a big temper and big ideas. I have a thick layer of psychological scars that are difficult to bridge. Maybe no one wants to be in a group with me.

"I don't understand why you're even bothering me and Finnick to practice, Plutarch?" I said. "Yeah, we've already been your two best soldiers." Finnick echoed proudly. "Don't think I don't know this." Plutarch said, waving his hand impatiently. "Now let's get down to business, Warrior Udile and Warrior Ifdeen. I have a few last words to say." We returned to our seats, ignoring the questioning gazes cast by others.As Plutarch continued, I listened very carefully, nodding from time to time, changing angles to get the clearest perspective.I kept telling myself, I have to persist, whether I want to shout, scold, cry, or all three, I have to wait until I get into the woods.

If it's a test, Finnick and I both pass.When Plutarch finished and the meeting was over, I got a special order, which made me feel bad.They didn't allow me to cut my hair because they wanted people to see Mockingjay look like me in the arena when the Capitol surrendered.Of course, this is for the needs of shooting.I shrugged, indicating that the length of my hair was the least of my concerns.They didn't say anything else and let me go. In the hallway, Finnick and I came together involuntarily. "How am I going to tell Annie?" he said in a low voice. "Don't say anything," I replied, "I don't say anything to my mom and sister." We all knew we were going back to a thorny arena, and there was no need for our families to know. "If she sees the hologram..." he said. "She won't see it. It's classified, it must be. It's not like a real race anyway. There's no limit on the number of survivors. We're a little too sensitive because... hey, you know why. But You still want to go, don't you?" I said. "That's right, like you, I wanted to kill Snow with my own hands," he said. "Nothing can compare to this." I said firmly, thinking that this is my wish too.Suddenly, my eyes lit up. "Snow has also become a contestant this time." We're about to go on, when Haymitch walks up.He didn't attend the meeting because his concern now was not the arena but something else. "Johanna is back in the hospital." I always thought that Johanna was fine and passed the test, but not assigned to the special unit.Her skill in throwing an ax is very good, but her shooting is average. "Is she hurt? What's going on?" "It was during the street fighting tests, and the testers wanted to find the weak points of the fighters, so they flooded the streets with water," Haymitch said. This will be no problem, Johanna can swim.At least I remember she could swim when she competed in the Xtreme of the Century.Of course, none of us can swim as well as Finnick, and none of us can swim as well as Finnick. "Then what happened next?" "That's how she was tortured in the Capitol, first soaking her in the water, and then electrifying the water," Haymitch said. "During the street fighting, she remembered the past, panicked, and didn't know how Where the hell is it? She's on the sedative again now." Finnick and I stood there dumbfounded after hearing this.At this time, I understood why Johanna never took a shower. It rained during training that day, and she walked into the rain cruelly, as if sulfuric acid was falling from the sky.I thought it was a result of her going off morphine. "You two should go see her, you're her friend," Haymitch said. Too bad I don't know what's going on with Johanna and Finnick, but I don't know her that well.She has no family, no friends, and nothing in her unmarked drawer, except government-issued clothes, or any District 7-specific items. "I'd better go and tell Plutarch, he's not going to be happy," Haymitch continued, "After the Capitol, he wanted as many victors on camera as possible. TV is good." "Will you and Bee go too?" I asked. "The more the merrier refers to the young and attractive victor," Haymitch corrected himself, "so, no, I won't be there." Finnick went straight to Johanna, but I wandered outside for a few minutes when Boggs came out.He's my boss now, so I figured I could make some special requests for him, maybe ask him to give the green light.When I told him what I thought, he gave me a pass so I could go into the woods during reflection time as long as I was within sight of the guards.Then, I hurried back to my place, I wanted to use a parachute, but this thing has a lot of terrible memories attached to it, so I took the cotton bandages I brought from District 12.The bandage is square and strong, so use it. In the woods, I picked some pine needles from a pine branch with a scent of turpentine, piled them in the middle of the bandage, then wrapped the pine needles with the bandage, tightened the bandage mouth, and then tied it with a small piece of rattan , made into a ball the size of an apple. Back at the door of the hospital room, I observed Johanna for a while, and realized that her usual fierce appearance was only a superficial appearance. Once everything was removed, she was just a thin young woman.She is struggling to open her eyes now, unwilling to let the drug take her directly to sleep, afraid that those terrible memories in her sleep will come back again.I walked up to her and handed her the bag of pine needles. "What's this?" she asked hoarsely, the wet hair on her forehead was matted. "I made it for you, it can be put in your drawer." I put it in her hand, "you smell it." She held the bag of pine needles to her nose and sniffed tentatively. "It smells like home." As she spoke, tears flowed down her cheeks. "That's what I thought, you're from District Seven. Do you remember the first time we met? You were a tree, oh, almost a tree." Suddenly, her hands gripped my wrist like pliers, "You have to kill him, Katniss." "Don't worry." I managed to hold back my arm from her grasp. "You swear, swear by something you care about," she snapped. "I swear, I swear on my life." But she still didn't let go of my arm. "On the lives of your family," she insisted. "I swear on the lives of my family," I repeated.I think my desire to survive may not be strong enough.She finally let me go, and I rubbed my wrist, "How do you think I can go, fool!" After hearing this, a smile flashed across her face. "I just wanted to hear you say that." She put the bag of pine needles to her nose and closed her eyes. The rest of the day flew by, with our squad spending most of the day at the shooting range, apart from a short training session each morning.I practice gun shooting most of the time, but they let me set aside an hour every day for archery practice, which means I practice with my mockingjay bow.Gale wields a heavy weapon, and Beetle's harpoon for Finnick has a lot going for it, but the most obvious feature is that he can throw it with the push of a button on a metal wristband, after which the harpoon It will automatically return to his hand, no need for him to pick it up himself. During practice, we shot at vigilante figures to familiarize ourselves with the vulnerable spots on their protective gear, known as "soft spots."If you hit a vital point, you can see a puddle of artificial blood flow out.Those puppets have turned red all over. It's quite gratifying to see how accurate our squad's overall shooting is.In addition to Finnick and Gale, the team members also have five other fighters from the thirteenth district.Jackson, a middle-aged woman who was the sub-commander of the squad, seemed a bit sluggish, but she could hit things the rest of us couldn't see.Hyperopia, in her own words.There is also a pair of sisters named Li Ge, who are exactly the same after wearing military uniforms. For the sake of easy distinction, we call them Li Geyi and Li Ge Er.I couldn't tell who they were until one day I noticed some mysterious yellow spots in Li Geyi's eyes.There were also two older male soldiers, Mitchell and Holmes, who spoke little but could shoot dust off their boots from fifty yards away.I noticed that the other squad members were also great, and I didn't know what was special about us, but one morning Plutarch joined our squad and I figured it out. "Attention the 451 team members, you are singled out for special missions," he began.I bit my lower lip nervously, wishing we could be sent to assassinate Snow, although I thought it was unlikely, "We have a lot of sharpshooters in the army, but we don't have enough people to make TV movies. So we handpicked Eight of you, as members of our 'Star Squad', your main task during the Capitol attack was to film television." Disappointment, shock, and anger filled the chests of every team member. "You mean, we won't participate in actual combat." Gail said angrily. "You'll fight, but maybe not always at the front, and of course, in a war like this, it's hard to pick where the front is and where the rear is," Plutarch said. "We don't want to." Finnick blurted out, followed by a series of complaints, but I didn't say anything. "We're going to fight." "You make the most of the war," Plutarch said, "and if you're on TV, you make the most of it. Just look at Katniss' huge role as the Mockingjay, and you'll see, She was able to mobilize all the positive forces and join the resistance movement. Did you notice that? Only she didn't complain because she understood the power of television." In fact, Katniss didn't complain because she wasn't going to be in "Star Squad," because she knew she had to get to the Capitol first to take any action.Also, complaining too much can lead to suspicion. "But we're not just acting, are we? That's a waste of talent," I said. "Don't worry, you're going to have a lot of real targets, but don't let anyone else hit you, I need enough footage before I replace you. Now, we're headed to the Capitol, you better behave .” On the morning of departure, I said goodbye to my family.I didn't tell them how similar the Capitol's defenses were to the arena's killer weapons, but they were already upset that I went to war.My mother hugged me and refused to let go for a long time. I felt her tears rolling down from her eyes, but she didn't cry out.That's how my mom fought back tears when I was in the Hunger Games. "Don't worry, I'll be safe, I'm not even a soldier, just Plutarch's marionette on TV." I tried to reassure her. Prim walked me all the way to the hospital gate, "How are you feeling?" "I feel better knowing you're out of Snow's reach," I said. "The next time we meet again, we'll never see him again," Prim said firmly.Then, she put her arms around my neck, "Be careful." I wondered if it was time to say goodbye to Peeta one last time, but in the end I decided it would be bad for both of us.I only keep pearls in my military uniform pockets.This pearl represents the boy who brought me the bread. The helicopter took us to District 12.There, outside the area licked by the fire, a makeshift transport depot was established.This time, it was not a luxury train that appeared at the station, but ordinary freight cars, full of soldiers in dark gray uniforms, sleeping with their heads resting on their backpacks.We traveled by train for several days, finally disembarking in a mountain tunnel leading to the Capitol, and then walked for six hours.As we marched, we carefully followed a bright green line, a safe route to the front. We ended up at the Rebel camp, which had been built outside the train station and stretched for about ten blocks.Peeta and I have been to this train station once.It was already full of soldiers. Team 451 was assigned to a designated location where tents could be set up.The rebel army has occupied this place for more than a week. In the battle to seize this area, the Capitol army was defeated and retreated to the city. Hundreds of soldiers of the rebel army died.Currently, there is a minefield between the two camps, empty but tempting to penetrate.The pods in each block must be completely cleared before the troops can move forward smoothly. Mitchell was concerned about helicopter strikes—we did feel exposed to enemy fire while camping out in the wild—but Boggs said that wasn't a problem.The Capitol's air power has been largely wiped out in Sector II and during the Capitol.Even if they have a few planes left, they're definitely going to be used for something else.If necessary, Snow and his cabinet might have fled by plane at the last minute to some presidential sanctuary.Our first few flying columns were shot down in large numbers by Capitol anti-aircraft missiles, but subsequent flying columns broke through the enemy's defenses and landed nearby.The upcoming battles will mainly take place in the streets, and we hope that the battle will only cause some minor damage to infrastructure and not cause too many casualties.The rebels want to occupy the Capitol, and their urgency is the same as when the Capitol occupied the thirteenth district. Three days later, the members of Team 451 wanted to desert because they were bored.Cressida and her crew filmed some short clips of us engaging with local firepower.They told us we were a disinformation squad.If the Rebels had only attacked the pod that Plutarch had provided information about, they would have learned within two minutes that we had a hologram of the pod.So, we spend a lot of time attacking insignificant targets.Most of the time, our task is just to smash the glass of the candy-colored building exterior.I'm guessing they'll be showing the footage along with footage of the destruction of the Capitol's main military target.Sometimes, the squad also needs snipers to perform real combat missions.Whenever this happens, eight hands go up, and Gale, Finnick, and I are never singled out. "It's your own fault that you look so photogenic," I told Gale.Yeah, sometimes looks can kill too. I don't think they really knew what to do with the three of us, especially me.I had brought my Mockingjay costume, but for the shoot I was only wearing my military uniform.Sometimes I use a gun, but sometimes they want me to use a bow.They seemed unwilling to give up the Mockingjay image completely, but they also wanted me to appear as an ordinary soldier.I didn't care, thinking they were arguing in the 13th district about how I should appear in front of the audience, I was only amused, not disturbed. On the one hand, I am always complaining on the surface that I cannot really participate in the battle, but on the other hand, I am secretly preparing my own plan.Each of us holds a map of the Capitol, and the city is almost a square.The upper part of the map is marked with letters, and the side is marked with numbers. The vertical and horizontal lines divide the city into many small squares.I've been poring over this map, memorizing every intersection and street.But this picture is just an auxiliary picture. The commander holds a device called "Holo" in his hand, which can display the holographic image of the Capitol we saw at the command post.It can magnify the image of any area to see the pod there.Holo is a self-contained device, it can neither transmit nor receive signals, it is just a super map.But this map is a thousand times better than my paper map. Holo can be activated as long as the commander speaks his name.Once activated, Holo responds to the voices of the rest of the squad.For example, if Boggs was shot or seriously injured, another person could take his place.If a member of the squad says "Death Fruit" three times in a row, Holo will automatically detonate, and objects within five yards will be blown away.This is for safety in case someone is arrested.We must all remember that when the unexpected happens, we do it without hesitation. So, what I have to do now is to steal Boggs' activated Holo out, and then disappear from his sight before he notices.Stealing Holo away from him, however, was only a little easier than stealing his teeth. On the morning of the fourth day, soldier Li Geer accidentally touched a pod, and what was released was not a group of mutant insects—we were prepared for this—but a large number of metal darts.Before the medical team arrived, she died.In the end, only her skull was found.Plutarch promised to send a replacement immediately. The next morning, new members of the squad arrived at the Capitol.He had no chain on his wrist, no bodyguard, and came out of the train station with a rifle slung over his shoulder.There was shock, confusion and resistance on his face, but 451 was clearly printed on the back of his hand.It's Peeta.Boggs took his gun and went on the phone. "It's okay," Peeta tells us. "The president sent me. She thinks she needs to heat up the show." Maybe the telecast really needs to heat up.But if Cohn sent Peeta himself, it meant she had made another decision at the same time, she felt that I would be more useful to her dead than alive.