Zheng Zha's pain came quickly and left just as fast. Aside from feeling weak and powerless, the pain didn't seem to have caused him much lasting harm. Once the pain subsided, Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan quickly laid him down on the ground. Both of them took out bandages and hemostatic spray, and after hurriedly wrapping the wound, they managed to stop the bleeding from the hole in his abdomen.
Zheng Zha let them tend to his injuries, but he listened intently, his ears straining. When the bandaging was finished, he muttered to the two of them,"I heard gunshots. Zhang Jie, did you hear them?"
Zhang Jie paused for a moment before quickly listening for a while. He then nodded and said,"Hmm, yes, I vaguely heard gunshots... does this mean they succeeded? Did they find firearms in the armory?"
Zheng Zha smiled wryly and said,"They probably found the firearms, but I think they're currently facing off against those two aliens. Otherwise, the gunshots wouldn't be that intense... How many grenades do you still have? Give them all to me. Zhan Lan, pass me the spiral spikes you have too."
Both Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan paused. Zhang Jie smiled bitterly and spread his hands."None left. I gave all mine to them earlier. Those bastards..."
However, Zhan Lan pulled out two grenades from her pocket. She smiled and said,"Good thing I kept a backup... What do you plan to do with these? These are the last two."
Zheng Zha also took out two grenades from his spatial ring. Biting the pin of one grenade, he looked at Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan as he threw it with his left hand. With a loud explosion, both Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan were thrown to the ground.
"I've got a rough idea of the blast timing now..." Zheng Zha kept his gaze fixed on the explosion site. Without turning his head, he said to Zhang Jie,"Quick, tear some long strips of fabric from your clothes and tie the grenades to the spiral spikes. Make sure it's tight!"
Without a word, Zhang Jie stripped off his clothes and began tearing them into strips. He quickly tied the grenades to the spiral spikes. Zhan Lan sighed as she watched him and said,"You plan to risk your life again? Your injury..."
Zheng Zha turned around and smiled."It's fine. The explosion from that grenade was loud. They should have all heard it. As for the other two, I can't say, but with Chu Xuan's intelligence, he'll definitely focus on keeping the aliens occupied. I just need to sneak up on those two from behind. Besides, if I tie the grenades to the spiral spikes and manage to stab them into the aliens before they explode, the blast will definitely cause significant damage to them. So don't worry."
Zhan Lan sighed but said no more. Zhang Jie, while continuing to tie the grenades, spoke up,"I've been misjudging you all this time. Zheng Zha, you have a natural talent for combat. To put it in our instructor's words, you're a born warrior. The more you're pushed to the brink, the more you can unleash your potential, whether it's in combat strength or strategy…"
Zheng Zha took the grenade-bound spiral spike from Zhang Jie, tested its aim with his left hand, then smiled bitterly."What kind of warrior am I? I'm just desperately trying to stay alive. Anyone in this situation would use their wits and strength to survive. If people like me, who are so messed up, are warriors, then what does that make Chu Xuan and the others? Super soldiers? Or super geniuses?"
"You can't say that," Zhang Jie chuckled. He finished tying the last spiral spike with a grenade."They were originally killers in their world, and each one of them was at the top of their field. As for you? You were just an ordinary office worker. Sure, your enhancements may have some luck involved, but the way you fight and refuse to die, while gradually adapting to this brutal combat... That's the talent you've been hiding. Deep down, you're definitely a warrior who refuses to back down!"
"A warrior?" Zheng Zha murmured.
"I'm just desperately trying to survive..."
To regain his strength as quickly as possible, Zhang Jie continued to carry Zheng Zha on his back as they moved forward. Zhan Lan, still holding the spiral spikes, was running alongside them. Suddenly, Zhan Lan muttered,"Why are we going to rescue them? Wouldn't that put us in danger?"
At that moment, Zheng Zha was slowly circulating his internal energy. He exhaled and said,"We've actually been in danger the entire time. If we don't take care of the aliens, it's just a matter of when we die, not if. So, Chu Xuan's analytical skills and strategic abilities, as well as Zero Point and Bawang's handling of modern weapons—these are all very important combat forces."
Zhang Jie suddenly asked,"Then why did we separate from them back then? If we stayed with them, we could've gotten decent weapons by now, right? Instead, we're left to fight on our own. I don't think Chu Xuan would have abandoned us if we were still together."
Zheng Zha sighed."Yes, if we were together, not only would we not be abandoned, but before Zero Point and Bawang died, the three of us would have been safe... At least you and I, Zhang Jie, would have been safe. But! That's precisely one of the reasons I chose to leave."
"One reason was that I couldn't stand Chu Xuan's approach, treating companions as expendable resources. The other reason is that I absolutely refuse to let my fate be decided by someone else. Maybe if we teamed up with them, we'd be safe in the short term, but what about in the long run? I'm not going to think about how I might die—I'll only think about how to live as long as possible! As a companion, I'll do my best to help and protect them. Likewise, my partners should never abandon me when I need help. Chu Xuan can't do that, so I chose to leave because I need to be on equal footing with him."
"Yes, if we become his companion, we might be discarded! But if we become allies, even if we're not his companions, we can still benefit from his intelligence... Allies! Independently, but supporting each other—that's the only kind of cooperation I can think of."
Zhan Lan, who was still holding the spiral spikes with one hand, couldn't touch her forehead. She thought for a moment and said,"But allies won't be abandoned? How is that different from being partners?"
Zheng Zha smiled."The biggest difference between allies and partners is that allies exist independently. Both sides help each other, but even if they lose each other, they can still fight independently without becoming a burden. You don't have to take responsibility for their mistakes. Partners, on the other hand, are a team made up of people with different skills, who need to protect each other. I can't trust Chu Xuan to protect his companions. So, in order to gain the strength of the three of them, I can only choose to be their ally."
"Only by leaving can I understand the importance of their team. That's why there's a possibility for us to become allies. Otherwise, we would just be discarded pawns... That bomb earlier was not just to test the blast timing, but also to let them know... Allies are here!"