Suddenly, Luo Zheng, who was leaning against the big tree, moved. He took a step as he turned around and his gun followed suit, spitting out three shots. "Bang, bang, bang!" Luo Zheng saw a person with a face full of horror collapse thunderously to the ground, eyes filled with unwillingness and confusion, as well as a yearning for life.
After Luo Zheng succeeded, he leaned against the big tree, gasping for air, feeling his heart pounding fiercely. So tense that he had forgotten this was his first kill, his palms were full of cold sweat and his back was drenched.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Three bullets hit the big tree, Luo Zheng shuddered in response and quickly lay down. He felt a burning sensation on his scalp and hurriedly reached to check, realizing a bullet had grazed past. Enraged, he rolled over to hide behind another big tree close by, having brushed past death multiple times, Luo Zheng had forgotten fear, with only anger and revenge in his heart.
On the battlefield, nobody expected Luo Zheng to be the variable. Even less expected was Luo Zheng's method of lying in ambush to kill. The enemy, furious, sprayed the tree where Luo Zheng was hidden with bullets like money didn't matter. Fortunately, the big tree Luo Zheng had chosen for cover was as thick as four people embracing and made of hard wood, not easily penetrated.
Although Luo Zheng was eager to kill the enemy, he wisely chose to remain hidden in the face of stronger foes. Amidst the gunshots, an unusual bullet noise was heard, followed by a scream. Silence fell over the forest, leaving only the whooshing of treetops swayed by the wind. Luo Zheng guessed the female soldier had acted, but he still dared not move, unsure of how many more powerful enemies lurked deep in the forest.
"Da da da!" Suddenly, a burst of intense automatic assault rifle fire echoed from the depth of the woods, startling Luo Zheng. He turned to look and saw many figures charging through the dense forest, unsure of who they were. Judging by the direction of the firing, it was feared the enemy's reinforcements had arrived.
"Retreat quickly," an icy female voice suddenly drifted from nearby.
The voice was very familiar, and without looking, Luo Zheng knew it was that female soldier. As he prepared to retreat, he saw the weapon discarded by the enemy he had killed not far away. He decisively lunged for it, grasping the weapon and quickly rolled to the side. Hearing the sound of a bullet nearby, he didn't dare to look back and swiftly got up, crouching and sprinting to the east. Thinking of the evasion maneuvers the female soldier had mentioned earlier, although he did not understand them fully, he assumed that zigzagging meant running in a winding way, so he constantly changed direction as he ran desperately.
The female soldier covering the retreat, upon seeing Luo Zheng's sprint, had a flicker of surprise on her cold face, but quickly resumed her icy demeanor. She fired her gun to stop an enemy attempting to pursue, then waited a moment. Seeing that the enemy reinforcements were about to catch up, she too decisively retreated, disappearing with a few swift moves that were astonishingly quick.
After running wildly for a while, Luo Zheng felt a discomfort in his chest like he was about to suffocate and slowed his pace. Once his breathing became more regular, he stopped and saw the sky darkening. The female soldier hadn't caught up, which caused him concern. Actions would be more problematic after dark, and with his rucksack lost somewhere, without anything to eat or drink, the night promised to be difficult.
"Why did you stop?" An icy female voice suddenly came from inside the forest.
Luo Zheng heard this cold voice and his heart settled down. Following the sound, he saw the female soldier approaching with a slight limp. Suddenly remembering the injury on her thigh, he quickly went over to assist her. Meeting her icy gaze, his outstretched hand awkwardly stopped in mid-air. He gave a sheepish smile and said, "It's getting dark soon, what should we do now?"
The female soldier didn't answer Luo Zheng's question, but instead, she looked around coldly. Glancing up at the sky where the North Star was already out, she pondered silently, seemingly deep in thought. After a while, without a word, she chose a direction and started walking.
Luo Zheng could tell that this female soldier was not one for small talk and didn't bother with more words. He followed closely behind, all the while observing the advanced weapon he had risked his life to snatch. Regrettably, he couldn't understand it, nor did he know how to use it. He finally said, "I can't use this gun, you take it. I'm okay with just a pistol."
The female soldier suddenly stopped and, slinging her own gun over her back, took the rifle and glanced at it. "M16A4 assault rifle, effective range 600m, magazine capacity 30," she said. As she spoke, she quickly disassembled the magazine to check it—half-full—then snapped it back into place. Her movements were exceedingly proficient, leaving Luo Zheng staring in amazement and envying what it truly meant to be a soldier.
"It comes with an optical sighting package, including AN/PEQ-5 laser designator, Holographic Diffraction Mirror (HDS), and AN/PVS-14 night vision targeting system. It has three firing modes: single shot, burst, and full auto," the female soldier explained with a stern face, disassembling and checking the parts before telling Luo Zheng how to disengage the safety and fire the gun, and then handing it back to him.
Luo Zheng watched the female soldier in astonishment. Although her explanation was detailed, he had only remembered most of it. Fortunately, he knew the crucial actions for operating the safety and firing, but he did not take the gun, saying self-deprecatingly, "Not to hide anything from you, I'm pretty good with a dirt sprayer; I used to hunt a lot when I was a kid. I only fired this gun a few times during my newbie days in the army. Never touched anything this advanced before; it'd be a waste in my hands."
"Treat it like a dirt sprayer," the female soldier said coldly, tossing the rifle to Luo Zheng and walking ahead.
"Huh?" Luo Zheng watched in surprise as the female soldier, her camouflage uniform covered in mud, which only added to her impressive bearing and unexpectedly stunning appearance. Luo Zheng quickly cast aside the scattered thoughts in his mind and caught up with her, carefully inquiring about the gun's operation. The female soldier was not secretive and answered every question.
In just a short while, Luo Zheng had basically mastered how to use the rifle and played with it fondly. As a soldier himself, Luo Zheng also loved guns dearly. He turned on the night vision aiming function, periodically aiming ahead and getting excited. He asked, "Hey, I can't keep calling you 'hey,' it's so impolite. My name is Luo Zheng, what's yours?"
The female soldier suddenly stopped, turned, and stared at Luo Zheng, her cold eyes full of scrutiny, making Luo Zheng's scalp tingle. She turned away and continued to move forward without saying a word. Luo Zheng didn't dare ask again and hurried to catch up, continuing to play with his weapon.
Soon, it had become so dark that the road ahead was no longer visible. The female soldier stopped, looked around, and found a place to sit and rest without bothering about Luo Zheng. He had no choice but to find a spot not far away to sit and rest. Using the gun's aiming device, he observed the surroundings, noticing only trees, dense and lush with no end in sight. He then said, "You rest for a while; I'll stand watch."