The sky gradually darkened, the afterglow of the sunset scattered across the vast forest, as if draped in a colorful robe. With no wind or clouds, the temperature in the forest was sweltering. Under a waterfall, water splashed everywhere with a thunderous roar, and reeds grew densely by the pool. A kingfisher stood tightly on a reed stalk, tilting its head to watch the water surface, waiting for prey to appear. Suddenly, with a swoosh, it dived into the water, then fluttered up into the air, with a little fish in its mouth, and flew away.
Near the waterfall, at a concealed vantage point, a bush suddenly relaxed gently and lifted slightly, revealing a human face. Black and white eyes glead with intelligence. After taking a couple of sips of water, Zhou Gang observed his surroundings alertly for a mont and then lay back down motionless, becoming part of the bush again.
Having been in hiding since the weather changed drastically, Zhou Gang hadn't spotted any enemy activity. He wanted to stretch his stiff body but only took a few sips of water to replenish himself before resuming his watch, calmly observing the surroundings to guard against enemy ambushes. It was a critical mont where life and death hung in the balance, so he couldn't afford to be careless.
In the cave behind the waterfall, Luo Zheng and others were quietly sitting and resting. After resting for most of the day, everyone had regained their strength, and those with a fever had their temperatures co down. Luo Zheng raised his hand to look at his watch; it was already five forty in the afternoon, almost ti for nightfall. He glanced at Ghost Hand and said softly, "Take a few people and gather so dry wood, we collected quite a bit of ga along the way, just right for everyone to replenish their energy. Although the enemy has already gone far, we still can't be careless, be cautious."
"Understood," Ghost Hand replied casually, taking two people and heading out of the cave.
Luo Zheng followed and ca out into the open outside the waterfall, found a hidden spot to conceal himself, and then activated the signal transmitter tied to his lower back. To avoid enemy signal tracking, everyone had turned off the signal transmitters while hiding in the cave and thus couldn't communicate with the outside world.
The signal transmitter can receive satellite signals, which are then connected wirelessly via Bluetooth to the invisible earpiece in the ear for signal transmission. Luo Zheng connected to the outside world through the earpiece and asked, "What's the situation with the enemy's pursuit now?"
Soon, Lan Xing's voice sounded in the earpiece: "They're twenty kiloters away from you, conducting a grid search, with troops heavily dispatched to the border. Once the border is locked down, returning ho discreetly won't be easy. What do you need to do?" Lan Xing reminded cautiously.
"Find a safe route for us, either towards the south or the north; it doesn't necessarily have to be east. Avoid the enemy blockade as much as possible. The border is so long, I refuse to believe there aren't any loopholes. I need you to find a safe route quickly, tonight we'll march overnight," Luo Zheng said in a low voice.
"Understood, we'll start looking imdiately," Lan Xing quickly agreed. With satellites, she could see the enemy's troop deploynt locations; finding loopholes combined with the surrounding terrain would lead to a safe route. This task posed no difficulty for Lan Xing.
Ten minutes later, Ghost Hand discreetly returned with so smokeless dry wood that, once burned, wouldn't produce much smoke. A bonfire was set up in the cave, and the ga hunted was gutted and cleaned under the waterfall before being roasted over the fire, or buried in the earth to stew. The wounded needed nutrition, and everyone needed at to replenish their strength.
Half an hour later, having shared and finished the roasted ga, everyone drank so water. Luo Zheng saw the sky gradually darken. Just then, Lan Xing sent the route. Luo Zheng took out his phone to check, confird the coordinates and direction, and led the team along the route.
Along the way, everyone forged through dense forest to avoid being detected by Sam Country satellites and attracting the Yue Country Army. The sky unknowingly turned dark. They used a few flashlights, enough for illumination. Excessive flashlight usage might attract satellite attention, hence they had to be cautious. Being discovered would be a matter of fate.
Luckily, satellites operated by Lan Xing hadn't detected any abnormal enemy pursuit, which gradually relieved Luo Zheng. He urged the troops to march overnight and found a dense forest to rest at dawn, consuming dry rations to regain strength.
The enemy hadn't detected their trail yet, giving Luo Zheng so relief. He contacted Lan Xing again, learning that after not spotting them, the enemy concentrated on the border line. Including other troops dispatched from elsewhere, over twenty thousand troops had gathered, sealing more than fifty kiloters of the border.
Luo Zheng chuckled bitterly upon hearing the grand move made by Yue Country, unsure if he should feel pleased or frustrated. Thankfully, satellite intelligence provided tily reports, avoiding running headlong into the blockade. Lan Xing inford Luo Zheng about another good news: the rescue team would be able to reunite with them before nightfall.
With reinforcents, their strength was greatly enhanced, assuring Luo Zheng. The team rested on site for about two hours before proceeding, stopping occasionally. As night fell, Shu Sheng rushed over with a special operations squad, successfully rging with the team. Luo Zheng was overjoyed, and chatted rrily with Shu Sheng, whom he hadn't seen for a while.
Lan Xue and others were old acquaintances with Shu Sheng, coming forward to greet him. They talked about battles in the prival forest, ntioned wounded comrades, and mourned fallen soldiers, leading to heavy hearts. At this mont, a recently rescued person excitedly ran up to salute Shu Sheng, exclaiming uncertainly, "Are you Instructor Shu Sheng?"
"Who are you?" Shu Sheng asked, surprised and looked at the other person, feeling sowhat familiar. Suddenly recalling soone, he exclaid joyfully, "Is it you? Man Niu?"
"You rember , Instructor!" The other person exclaid excitedly.
Luo Zheng sized up the other person, noting how skinny he was, contrasting with the na Man Niu, leaving Luo Zheng puzzled as he looked towards Shu Sheng. Seeing Luo Zheng's confusion, Shu Sheng laughed, "This guy used to be a reconnaissance platoon leader; I trained their platoon for a while." He then looked at the other person, asking in disbelief, "I heard you transferred to national security, your comrades said you embarked on a secret mission a year ago and then vanished without a trace. Everyone thought you had died in service; you must have a strong fate, but how did you beco so thin? You must have suffered a lot."
"Not too bad, being locked up for over a year, of course, I'd be thin. Thanks to him for the rescue," Man Niu said, looking at Luo Zheng.
"This is my captain," Shu Sheng smiled.
"Really your captain, really one of ours?" Man Niu asked in surprise.
"Nonsense, not one of ours, then who would rescue you?" Shu Sheng retorted irritably. Suddenly realizing sothing, he looked at the other person in surprise and asked, "Do you have sothing to say?"
"Yes, because I wasn't sure about the chief's true identity. Working in secrecy, keeping secrets is the top priority, having seen too much deception and trickery, naturally, I wouldn't trust easily. Now that the identity is confird, there is very important intelligence to report imdiately, concerning national security," Man Niu said in a low voice.
"Your vigilance is quite high; even now, you haven't forgotten discipline, impressive. Speak up," Shu Sheng asked in a low voice too, making Luo Zheng tense up inexplicably, staring intently at the other person.
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