Luo Zheng turned his head to see a huge tree leaning against a person, who was the female soldier in pain, bleeding from a thigh wound and binding it with vines. Luo Zheng couldn't wait for much, rushed over, put his marching bag on the ground, quickly opened it and started searching, while asking, "Are you wounded?"
Immediately, Luo Zheng felt his chest collar grabbed and he was uncontrollably dragged to the side, leaning behind a large tree. Then, a gunshot sounded, and the place where he had just been crouching was hit by a bullet, which shocked him greatly. He saw it was the female soldier who had saved him. Just as he was about to thank her, he saw her make a shushing gesture. He quickly closed his mouth and began to attentively listen to the surrounding sounds, not daring to breathe heavily, fearing he might disturb her.
The female soldier clenched her teeth, twisted her body, and fired a shot outside, then quickly pulled back. Someone fired back, hitting the tree with a bullet that let out a heart-quivering loud noise. Luo Zheng distinctly heard a soft grunt, evidently, someone had been hit and wounded. He watched the female soldier, amazed at her divine gun skills, speechless.
The female soldier's face remained as cold as frost, unchanged as ever. She just inclined her head to listen for a while, then sat up straight and unceremoniously began rummaging through Luo Zheng's marching bag. She found a first aid kit, quickly opened it, and skillfully used scissors to cut open the pants at the thigh part, revealing a large area of pale skin. Suddenly remembering Luo Zheng was next to her, she shot him a lethal glare. Luo Zheng quickly turned away.
A rustling sound started. Luo Zheng thought about the fleeting glimpse of the pale skin that captivated him, causing his blood to surge. But then, thinking of the female soldier's terrifying prowess and fierce expression, his surging passion cooled instantly, leaving no trace of inappropriate thoughts.
"Aren't you afraid of dying?" a female voice quietly asked.
Luo Zheng knew it was the female soldier asking. He turned back to see that she had indeed already dressed her wound. Without hesitation, he shook his head and said, "Afraid? Of course, I'm afraid. Who isn't afraid of dying?"
"Then why did you come back?" the female soldier asked coldly.
"Letting a woman cover the rear while I flee? I couldn't do it. They might be my enemies, nine lives are at stake, I had to come back." As Luo Zheng spoke, his expression became resolute, a killing intent burst forth from him, he gripped the Mountain-cutting Blade even tighter, and his eyes became firm, sweeping away the previous panic.
"Oh?" The female soldier uttered a barely audible gasp, gave Luo Zheng a glance, her impassive and beautiful face colored slightly with surprise, then she turned her face away. Talk is cheap to her, but one must have the strength to back it up. In the female soldier's view, although Luo Zheng's courage is commendable, his strength is too ordinary. She quickly checked her weapons and leaned against the tree to rest with closed eyes.
Luo Zheng knew the female soldier wasn't really resting, but allowing herself to relax as much as possible to feel the next move of the enemy, just like the old generation in his family taught him about hunting. What one sees and hears might not be real. Only what one feels is the truth. Beasts emit killing intent when they attack, by sensing this killing intent, one can also sense their location and the timing of their attack. However, this profound sense is not something everyone can master, at least Luo Zheng hadn't managed it even after ten or so years.
"Hey, how should I address you?" Luo Zheng spoke in a low voice.
The female soldier remained motionless, ignoring Luo Zheng. Luo Zheng really wanted to ask what to do next. With unknown numbers of enemies outside, the two hiding here was not a solution. Suddenly, he heard a gunshot, and then saw the female soldier fire back without hesitation, as if she knew exactly where the enemy was hiding.
"Girl, running out of bullets, huh? How about a trade?" a male voice with a Western accent shouted in half-decent Mandarin, his tone full of mockery and provocation.
The female soldier curled up as tightly as possible to minimize the target area, leaning against a large tree to rest. She completely ignored the enemy's shouting. Luo Zheng could tell that she was severely physically exhausted and looked haggard, possibly due to losing too much blood. Fortunately, he had quickly bandaged her, temporarily stopping the bleeding. He worried that any vigorous movement might tear her wound open again, and he felt a strong desire to protect her, a natural protective instinct men have towards women.
"Give me your pistol, I'll draw them away," Luo Zheng said resolutely to the female soldier.
The female soldier didn't even bother to look at Luo Zheng, her eyes closed slightly as she took the moment to gather strength. Luo Zheng felt infuriated by being disregarded by a woman. He earnestly said, "I know they are strong. I'm just a small soldier and can't be involved in this level of fighting. Isn't it just dying?" Saying this, he turned around, ready to break out.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" the female soldier asked coldly, as if she knew Luo Zheng was about to charge, examining him more closely. Seeing Luo Zheng nod firmly, she thought for a moment before saying, "There are three trees between you and the enemy that will form a shooting blind spot. Find it, run straight. With your speed, zigzagging and feinting are useless. The shortest distance is a straight line, whether you survive is up to you."
Three trees formed a triangle; the closest corner to him must be the blind spot. Luo Zheng understood and smiled, saying, "Thank you. Can you tell me your name? If I'm to die, I should die knowing it."
"Survive if you want to know my name," the female soldier said coldly.
Luo Zheng wasn't upset; he gave a sheepish smile, took a deep breath, and planted the Mountain-cutting Blade at the female soldier's feet. He took out three military bayonets from his backpack and coldly said, "Sergeant, brothers, let's shoulder this together. Whether we can avenge ourselves is up to you now."
"Ya—!" Luo Zheng let out a long howl and suddenly rushed forward, then quickly hid behind a large tree. The mere seven or eight meters took only a breath to cross. At the moment of life and death, a person's potential is limitless. Luo Zheng felt his heart might burst out of his chest, gasping loudly, his blood boiling, feeling an unstoppable strength in his body.
About three seconds later, Luo Zheng gauged the possible locations where the enemy might be hiding, assessed the surrounding trees for the next safe spot, grabbed a stone, and threw it toward a nearby tree while bending his body and dashing towards another safe landing spot.
Once safely hidden again, no one fired at him. Instead, a haughty voice shouted, "Girl, sending trash to die? I'm not interested in this kind of stuff, slow as a snail. But you, I'm very interested in. How about we drop our guns and settle this hand to hand? If you lose, you come with me. If I lose, I'll go with you, how about that?"