Luo Zheng moved forward a bit, but he could no longer see that person. Unsure of whether they were friend or foe, he dared not act rashly. He threw the gun aside, feeling more assured with the machete in his hand than with a gun he couldn't use. Clutching the machete tightly, he hid behind a large tree nearby and patiently waited. The surroundings were silent, only the rustling of the wind passing through the treetops could be heard, so quiet it was as if nothing had happened just moments before.
Years of hunting experience had taught Luo Zheng that a calm exterior often hid great terror. The more tranquil it seemed, the more he needed to restrain his impatience. Luo Zheng took a deep breath and used the hunting skills he had learned since childhood to blend into his environment, imagining himself as a blade of grass, a tree. Gradually, his breathing became steady and prolonged, but his thoughts turned exceedingly calm and active.
He did not know how much time had passed, the surroundings were still as quiet as ever. Luo Zheng became curious—had these people all run off? Wasn't it funny that he was still waiting here like a fool? With this thought, Luo Zheng slowly peeked his head out to survey the area ahead and was suddenly startled to see a pistol that had appeared before his eyes at some unknown time.
Luo Zheng was alarmed. Instinctively, he swung his machete to counterattack when a cold, iron-like female voice sounded, "You can try and see whose is faster, your machete or my gun." She spoke in an international lingua franca, an overwhelming icy aura stifling him. Luo Zheng felt his blood congeal, his body stiffened, and all his strength seemed to be drained, leaving him immobile.
At that moment, a female soldier smeared with face paint slowly emerged from the other side of the tree. She wore a tactical bulletproof helmet laden with dry grass for camouflage. Her height was about 1.7 meters, and even her baggy camouflage combat uniform couldn't conceal her impressive figure. The hand holding the pistol was white as a scallion, yet it exuded a terrifying sense of power. Her eyes were as cold as lightning, her face frosty, filled with murderous intent. Upon seeing Luo Zheng clearly, her tight, sexy lips emitted a faint sound of surprise, and her gaze towards Luo Zheng became more scrutinizing.
Luo Zheng had no idea when someone had approached him. Terrified, facing the dark muzzle of the gun, for the first time in his life, he felt that death was so close to him. His mind went blank. Hearing the slight sound of surprise from the other, and seeing her hesitating to shoot, his panicking heart steadied slightly. He suddenly realized that she might be one of his own, and in a fright, he quickly said, "Don't shoot, I'm friendly."
Perhaps it was the familiar Mandarin that alleviated the female soldier's concerns, or maybe it was Luo Zheng's standard military attire that gave her a bit more trust. The intense murderous aura around her eased slightly, but her hand holding the gun did not move at all, the muzzle still deadly aimed at Luo Zheng's forehead as she asked, without a doubt, "Rank? Name? Position?"
Luo Zheng was about to answer when he suddenly saw a gun sticking out from under a large tree 300 meters behind the female soldier. Not seeing the person holding it, he thought it was bad news. Before he could explain, he shouted, "Watch out!" With that, he powerfully propelled himself forward and pounced like a tiger, grabbing the female soldier one step away and pulling her down to the ground.
"Whizz!" A bullet whistled past, burying itself deep into the tree and creating a large hole with splinters flying everywhere.
The female soldier reacted, pushing Luo Zheng off her with frustrated annoyance. Her body twisted strangely, and she kicked Luo Zheng in the abdomen, using a clever force to send him flying several meters away, crashing heavily against another large tree. Taking advantage of the force from her kick, she quickly slid several meters forward, firing her gun with clean, lightning-fast movements that were impressively formidable.
Almost simultaneously with the female soldier shooting back, the spot where they had just been lying down was hit by three bullets in a triangular pattern, kicking up dust and creating three pits in the ground. Witnessing this scene, Luo Zheng, who was in his first battle, was horrified and hurriedly looked for a place to hide. Once he was concealed, he found the female soldier had already disappeared without a trace.
"Whoosh!" Another gunshot rang out, piercing a large tree with a gaping hole. Luo Zheng looked up and spotted a person hiding behind the tree—it was the female soldier. Rubbing his aching abdomen, he recalled the harrowing moment just a moment ago, realizing that if it weren't for her kick, he would likely have become a cold corpse.
"Who are these people lying on the ground? Each one so formidable; the shooter hiding in the shadows is unseen, I don't know where they are hiding, and I have no clue where the next shot will come from. The female soldier is not bad either, managing to escape from right under the muzzle and even saving my life," Luo Zheng thought uncertainly, as he hid behind the large tree and dared not make any sudden movements.
"Whoosh!" Another gunshot sounded, the bullet coming from an unexpected corner and hitting the original tree, which now had a hole through it. The female soldier lay flat on the ground behind the tree, also not daring to stir, her face fiercely scanning the surroundings, as if searching for something.
To Luo Zheng's surprise, the female soldier only had a pistol in her hand, with no cover available within a five or six-meter radius. Going out would surely mean getting shot. At least two enemies were hiding over three hundred meters away. It was clear the female soldier was completely trapped.
Realizing this, Luo Zheng knew he had to do something. The enemies were more terrifying than he had imagined. If the female soldier died, his death would also be certain, and there would be no talking of revenge. Thinking of revenge, the image of his comrades dying miserably surged in his heart. Feeling a rush of blood, he spotted an advanced weapon lying next to him on the ground. He quickly picked up a rock and threw it toward a nearby tree, then, lightning-fast, he picked up the gun from the ground and ducked back behind the tree.
"Whoosh!" A bullet struck the rock, shattering it into powder midair.
"Whoosh!" Yet another bullet hit the ground right next to Luo Zheng, who knew that being a moment slower would have meant certain death.
Luo Zheng looked in horror at the spot next to him, where smoke was rising from a watermelon-sized pit in the ground. A wave of fright washed over him, his back was drenched in cold sweat, and his body involuntarily trembled, an experience those who had never been to war could never understand.
Despite his fear, Luo Zheng knew clearly that he absolutely must not remain passive, or death would be certain. Looking up, he saw the stern-faced female soldier staring at him in surprise. With a wry smile, he gripped the gun and was about to throw it, when he suddenly thought of the terrifying gun skills of the enemy hiding in the shadows, wanting to continue creating diversions with rocks. However, he found that there were no more rocks available around him, and a sense of powerlessness overwhelmed him.
"Whoosh—Bang!" A bullet hit the tree, and Luo Zheng, hiding behind it, felt the whole tree shaking, which scared him into moving a bit away. Just then, he saw the anxious female soldier gesturing to him, apparently asking him to throw the gun to her.
Luo Zheng, of course, wanted to throw the gun, but having no assurance, he reached a moment of desperation. His blood boiling again, he took a deep breath, suppressed the fear in his heart, his heart still pounding fiercely. After forcing himself to calm down with a loud yell, he suddenly threw his backpack to one side and forcefully flung the gun towards the female soldier.