Chapter 775: Chapter 685: Huang Yusheng
In the dead of night.
Inside a certain military tent, the soldiers who had trained all day fell asleep early, the corner illuminated by the glow of a flashlight.
"Old Huang, do you think we can ever leave this place?" a soldier asked with his head in his hands.
"This damn gun is really fucking hard to assemble. Who knows where all these parts are supposed to fit?"
The soldier with a carefree attitude had a flashlight in his mouth, scratching his head while flipping through an assembly manual; in his hands was a recently assembled assault pistol with a slide.
This training session didn’t involve physical conditioning. The schedule was packed tightly with projects mostly revolving around survival skills and basic battlefield knowledge—tactical coordination, coordinates, tactical equipment usage, and so on.
In the afternoon, they learned about the physiological structure of some Insect Race species commonly seen on the battlefield. Tomorrow, soldiers like him would have to intern and practice. The urgency forced him to concentrate.
He definitely didn’t want to die on the battlefield on the first day.
"Old Huang..."
"Shut up, go assemble your drone. Why are you, a tech guy, worrying about this and that?"
"Aren’t you going to give that kid some trouble?"
Hearing this, the soldier with a carefree attitude felt a sting at his nose and glared at the soldier beside him with annoyance.
"Do you think this is the place to play the bully? Better make another friend than another enemy, as that bald guy said."
"Huff."
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the soldier proudly waved the assembled assault pistol in front of the other soldier.
"All assembled, see, I’ve got some talent too."
The silver moonlight streamed into the tent through the slanted windows. Distant artillery fire shattered the silence inside, signaling the beginning of the offensive against the stronghold. In just a few days, this batch of them would also be deployed to the battlefield.
"Where’s that kid?" the soldier asked.
"Who knows, and what does it have to do with me? Ever since the guy who was similar to him died, he’s been acting all mysterious."
"He doesn’t look strong, yet fights so fiercely, huh."
"I saw him go out earlier, hasn’t come back. Do you think something might’ve happened?" the soldier asked.
"Should we go out and check?"
"It’s none of my damn business. If he dies out there, gets eaten by the Insect Race, it doesn’t matter."
The soldier carelessly lay down with his head in his arms, turned aside and closed his eyes.
"Time to sleep."
...
The girl’s anxious steps traversed the forest, her breath rapid as her eyes scanned the woods, finally spotting the familiar figure.
The boy with slender shoulders stood in the woods, back turned to her, seemingly focused on something.
"Hey, I say, what are you doing out here at this hour..."
Frei went up and nudged Xiaoliu’s shoulder, her questioning tone stopping in her throat.
She saw Xiaoliu’s astonished eyes and his arm covered in suture scars and wounds.
"Out alone at night... what are you doing?"
"Shh, shh, shh." Xiaoliu urgently gestured for silence. "I’m practicing."
"Practicing what?"
"Treating wounds."
Frei suddenly felt her mind go blank, not knowing what to say.
"First, stop the bleeding," Xiaoliu said,
"Then, categorize the wounds. If the trauma is minor, clean bacteria off the wound with sterile saline solution, promptly remove necrotic tissue, apply a cold gel dressing, and finally wrap with a bandage."
"After one to two days, if there’s no risk of infection, then suture."
"If the wound area is larger..." Xiaoliu muttered to himself as he picked up a needle,
"Stop, stop, stop. I’m not here to listen to this!" Slowly realizing, Frei grabbed Xiaoliu’s hand.
"Are you stupid? What’s in your head? Let’s not even talk about what you’re doing. You’re just a grunt; battlefield medicine isn’t your responsibility..."
"What if it’s useful?" Xiaoliu asked. "If it can save even one person, that would be enough."
"Imagine this scenario: my comrades and I are trapped in the ruins by the enemy. As we wait for rescue, a comrade’s wound suddenly deteriorates. Then this knowledge would come in handy."
He calmly maneuvered the thread with his fingers, gently tugging until it broke from the needle, then dropped the needle into a makeshift surgery kit and put it back in his waist bag.
"Don’t want to talk about this. Come back with me. Think about where we are, late at night and..."
Frei trailed off, and Xiaoliu’s gaze also grew serious.
In the distance, the bush glowed red, and after a rustling sound, two predators with scarlet eyes emerged.
Their aura was frenzied, saliva incessantly dripping, silently conveying their ravenous hunger, the craving in their crimson eyes almost palpable.
"Damn it." Frei stepped back with a pale face, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes.
"I shouldn’t have come looking for you. Now we’re done for."
Xiaoliu was clearly also stunned by this sudden turn of events, unable to believe that two predators had been hiding within the stronghold all this time. Earlier that day, he’d heard reports of a missing maintenance staff member.
In this situation, two unarmed individuals facing two ravenous predators had a survival probability that neared zero.
"Run." Xiaoliu urged.
"Run where?" Frei gritted her teeth and questioned, "Do you think you can hold off two predators alone, or do you think I can outrun either of them?"
"How did they end up here?"
Suddenly, the air turned heavy, the tension climaxing.
A brief standoff was shattered by a piercing shriek. Unable to contain its hunger any longer, one of the predators lunged toward Frei.
The craving for fresh meat made its blood boil, its instincts telling it that this Charm Girl was far more tender and juicy than the scrawny Xiaoliu beside her.
Xiaoliu rushed forward, seizing the opportunity, and clamped down on the predator’s jaws with both hands. The comparison of strength ended the moment they touched. Xiaoliu’s frail frame was nearly overpowered by the predator, pinned directly against a nearby tree trunk.
As his back hit the tree, Xiaoliu felt a metallic tang in his throat, his consciousness almost scattering.
Reacting, Frei seized a branch with trembling hands, rushed forward, and forcefully stabbed at the predator’s primary eye, driving half the branch into it.
The excruciating pain caused the predator to let out an ear-piercing howl, violently shaking its head to fling Frei away. Simultaneously blinded, it briefly lost its balance, its agitated breaths heavy, its form starting to teeter.
Despite his body threatening to fall apart, Xiaoliu pulled out a tactical knife and repeatedly jabbed at the predator’s neck, the spurting blood splattering onto his cheeks.
At this moment, the other predator charged over as well, flipping Xiaoliu to the ground, jaws wide open to crush the boy’s head.
In that split second, a deafening gunshot tore through the dark night, sending birds fluttering away.
Xiaoliu, still rattled, looked at the fallen predator in front of him, a bloody hole now marred its head.
"Damn, I really hit it."
Not far away, the soldier with the carefree attitude was trembling as he held the assault pistol, yet his voice was filled with excitement.
"My aim is really precise!"
