Xiao Jing rolled out from the grass bush. Her perfect movement was executed so confidently and smoothly that she impressed herself.
But just as she readied herself for actual combat, she realized that the soldier who had been at her three o'clock position to ambush her had left. He had departed just as quietly as he had arrived.
Lin Qi's eyebrows knitted tightly together. The smokescreen generated by the smoke bomb brought just as much inconvenience to him in obscuring his vision as it did to his enemies.
"They retreated?" Xiao Jing asked.
Lin Qi had already primed himself for a fierce battle. But the situation was just as Xiao Jing had said—the enemy had retreated!
The members of the Steel Eagle Team, who had been following Shen Chengfeng, had no idea why their commander had suddenly issued the order to retreat. Nevertheless, the moment they received the order, they did not remain there a second longer.
Shen Chengfeng gave a side-eyed glance at the two individuals who had revealed themselves, and he narrowed his eyes. Muttering inwardly to himself, he said, "I'll give the both of you another chance. Your lives will be in the hands of fate the next time I encounter you."
Lin Qi reholstered his gun. He didn't have the luxury of time to dwell on why the other party had retreated for no reason. In any case, they had already been delayed for quite some time.
A full day had passed, and they had yet to cover three kilometers. Moreover, they had not even touched the edge of the danger zones marked on the map.
Did wild beasts roam the jungle?
As time ticked by and seconds turned to minutes, the two soldiers didn't dare to linger any longer. Carrying their packs on their backs, they quickly headed deep into the woods.
Bang! A gunshot rang out 500 meters away, dispersing a flock of birds in the sky the very next moment.
Out of survival instinct, the two individuals chose to observe the exchange from the sidelines and wait for the danger to pass before continuing.
Bang! The sound of gunfire sounded again.
"Don't move," Xiao Jing called out softly.
Lin Qi felt a movement above his head, followed by a cold breath, and he knew that there was a creature extremely close to him.
Xiao Jing retrieved a dagger, and with reflexes so quick that her movement was barely discernible, she cut off the green snake's head.
Snake blood splattered all over.
Xiao Jing wiped the surface of her bloodstained dagger with a piece of gauze and looked at Lin Qi brightly. "It didn't bite you, did it?" she asked.
Lin Qi was stupefied for a moment. When he heard Xiao Jing's voice, he quickly regained his wits and shook his head. "I'm fine. Thank you."
"I think the commotion ahead is over. Do we need to go over to check it out?" Xiao Jing sheathed her dagger and stood on a tree trunk. She tried to gaze out into the distance, but the trees in the jungle were too densely packed and blocked off her vision.
"That won't be necessary. To avoid any further unforeseen circumstances, we should continue moving right away," Lin Qi leaped off the tree. For some reason, without thinking it through, he reached out and offered Xiao Jing his hand.
Xiao Jing laughed. "Lieutenant Colonel Lin, do you think that I can't jump from this height?"
At that sudden and belated realization, Lin Qi put his hand down awkwardly and continued on his way ahead.
Roar!
"What is that?" Xiao Jing suddenly looked back, just in time for a creature to pounce out of the bushes and straight at her.
Lin Qi raised his pistol and cleanly shot the creature in the head.
Xiao Jing staggered two steps back while holding on to her wound. The lone wolf lay on the ground and howled a few more times before finally succumbing to the bullet.
Lin Qi took Xiao Jing's hand and asked with a frown, "You were bitten?"
Xiao Jing moved her hand away and uncovered the wound. The fangs of the wolf had been brutal, and a sizable chunk of flesh had been bitten off her arm. Fresh blood oozed from the injury and trickled down past her fingers.
Lin Qi placed his backpack down and rummaged through it for a while before pulling out a small first-aid kit from the bottom. Anxiety was evident in his voice as he said, "Sit down. I'll quickly dress the wound for you."
The loss of blood made Xiao Jing feel lightheaded, and she sat down on the ground. Her eyes were glazed, and she clenched her teeth tightly as she tried to keep herself conscious.
Lin Qi poured out half a bottle of antiseptic out to clean the wound. "Brace yourself, this is going to sting a little," he warned.
As the antiseptic liquid trickled down, the pain that shot through Xiao Jing was no less than the pain of getting bitten, and the agony was almost enough to suffocate her.
Lin Qi applied ointment around the wound before wrapping it with gauze. When he was done, he patted Xiao Jing gently on her face and asked cautiously, "Are you still able to continue?"
Xiao Jing's face was drained of all its color, but she nodded her head and replied firmly, "Yes."
Lin Qi helped her to her feet and carried her field pack on his back. "Be careful," he said, "We'll be out of here soon."
The sun shined down harshly, and the afternoon air in the jungle began to feel suffocating.
"There's something up ahead. Find a place to hide while I go over to take a look," Lin Qi walked forward warily.
When the individual hiding behind the tree heard footsteps approaching, he whirled around, pulled out his pistol to face the threat head-on, and fired.
Lin Qi spun to his side and out of the line of fire.
When Qin Yishan saw that it was a familiar acquaintance, he stopped shooting immediately, and exclaimed in shock, "Why are you guys still behind me?"
Lin Qi lowered his guard and sighed before replying, "We encountered an ambush."
Qin Yishan laughed bitterly and replied, "I guess the officers are trying to get us killed."
Lin Qi saw a bandage wrapped around his shoulder and frowned. "You're injured?" he asked.
Qin Yishan glanced at his shoulder. "I encountered an ambush too, and unfortunately took a bullet to the shoulder. You're not going to believe this, but the trainers are using live rounds."
Lin Qi was dumbfounded.
Qin Yishan glanced at the unsteady figure behind him in astonishment and asked, "The two of you teamed up?"
Lin Qi kept his pistol away and slung the bag over his shoulder again. "Let's cut the crap. We've already fallen behind."
"Second Lieutenant Xiao's injury looks quite severe," Qin Yishan remarked as his eyes landed on Xiao Jing's heavily-bloodstained bandage.
Xiao Jing took two steps forward before she fell to the ground, and her vision gradually blurred. She knew it was a symptom of excessive blood loss.
Lin Qi threw one field pack to the ground and crouched down. "Climb up," he said, "I'll carry you on my back."
Xiao Jing looked at him and shook her head. "We'll all get eliminated if you do that."
"If my victory comes at the cost of having to abandon a comrade, it will be a huge disgrace and dishonor for me even if I get to remain in the Special Command Unit. It's not a big deal if I fail. At most, I'll just try again in three years."
"Lieutenant Colonel Lin is right. At most, we'll just try again. I'll take the lead, the two of you can follow behind," Qin Yishan picked up the backpack and proceeded to hack the path open for them.
Xiao Jing's head was spinning. If she were sent back, she was going to have to tell Lian Qing that she had met a very honorable person. While they were all officers, he sure had a lot to learn from this person.
It wasn't right of him to feed a frail girl like her to the lions just for a bit of gain.
He could do with a role model like Lieutenant Colonel Lin. How could human characters and personalities differ by so much?