Brushing aside the snowflakes, there was indeed a corpse. The body had been cleanly gnawed at by wild animals, leaving only a skeleton. Luo Zheng picked up the clothes on the ground that were torn and riddled with holes, covered in bloodstains. It was barely discernible as a snow camouflage combat uniform, heavy and durable for winter, without any rank insignias or emblems, so the nationality was indiscernible. Luo Zheng tossed the clothes aside and saw a pair of military boots nearby, marred by tooth marks from being chewed on.
The boots still looked wearable, and Luo Zheng picked them up with delight. He poured out the snow inside to check and found they weren't too bad. He picked up the torn clothes to wipe the interior of the boots clean. They were certainly better than his own leather shoes. Luo Zheng tried on one boot; it was slightly too big, but with wolf skin wrapped around his foot, it was a perfect fit. Elated, he put on the other boot as well, stamped his feet, and felt much more comfortable.
"Huh?" Luo Zheng cast a surprised look to the side at a mound of snow that didn't seem to hide a stone. He walked over and kicked it, revealing a backpack. Luo Zheng squatted down with excitent and examined it. Inside, there was a radio communicator, a dical kit, a marching sleeping bag, and a pack of compressed biscuits—but no weapons or ammunition.
Luo Zheng excitedly picked up the radio communicator and inspected it. It had frozen and was no longer functional. Reluctant to accept it, he tossed it aside but did not lose heart. He opened the dical kit, which was well-stocked with ergency supplies. The sleeping bag was also useable, and the compressed biscuits were intact. Luo Zheng suddenly felt overjoyed with hope; with these items, the chances of getting out of this cursed snowfield had greatly increased.
Soon, Luo Zheng beca puzzled. The dical supplies in the kit were all labeled in foreign languages, different from the dostic equipnt. Recalling the boots were several sizes too big, he thought to himself, "Judging from these supplies, could they belong to a foreign soldier? What would a foreign soldier be doing here?"
In his perplexity, Luo Zheng noticed a handgun not far away and was montarily stunned. He reasoned that the gun must have belonged to the dead person and been dragged off by wild animals. Excited, he ran over to pick it up. The handgun had also frozen and was inoperative. Regretfully, Luo Zheng threw it aside. In such low temperatures and without regular maintenance, firearms were useless. Luo Zheng couldn't be bothered to check the surroundings further and continued on his way.
With hope for life increasing, Luo Zheng seed to see a chance to survive. His confidence surged, and he felt an inexhaustible strength flowing through his body. The snow was getting shallower, and he nearly marched at a quick pace. Midday, Luo Zheng ate a wild chicken. By night, with the sleeping bag at hand, he found a wind-sheltered cliff, climbed to a broad plateau halfway up, laid out the sleeping bag behind a huge rock, and set up a few stones as a windbreak for protection.
After completing these preparations, Luo Zheng sighed with relief, devoured the last snow chicken, drank so lted snow, then crawled into the sleeping bag to rest. The sleeping bag was very warm, likely a specially made military product—windproof, moisture-resistant, and thermally insulated. Sleeping in it felt like sleeping in his own bed at ho, and Luo Zheng quickly drifted into dreams.
There was no need to worry about wild animals appearing on this stretch of the cliff. Even if wild animals did show up, it shouldn't be an issue. Tucked inside the sleeping bag, the Wild Wolf wouldn't easily power through without seeing food, and the huge rock would prevent him from rolling down the cliffside. Luo Zheng swiftly entered his dreams after days of continuous travel, exhausted and in desperate need of sleep. Now that he had the conditions to rest, Luo Zheng didn't hesitate to choose sleep. With enough rest, the hope of survival was greater.
He didn't know how much ti had passed when Luo Zheng vaguely heard thunder and thought it was going to rain. Considering that the sleeping bag was waterproof, he wasn't concerned and planned to continue sleeping. Suddenly, he rembered he was on a snowy plateau during this season when thunderstorms were unlikely, and he jolted awake. Opening his eyes, he saw that the sun was shining brightly outside.
Having slept for a while, Luo Zheng felt much more refreshed, and even the frostbite on parts of his body had significantly improved. He was quite puzzled, wondering if it might have sothing to do with the familial "Breathing Skill." Lately, Luo Zheng had noticed his body's healing ability strengthening. He picked up the handgun, unzipped the sleeping bag, and, after making sure there was no danger outside, crawled out.
"Boom!" Another distant thunderclap ca, and Luo Zheng, startled and suspicious, turned his head to look. It was coming from the east, quite a few dozen miles away from him. Because it was utterly silent around, the thunder could be heard from far away. However, this thunder didn't sound like nature's doing; it seed more like the explosion of a hand grenade?
At that thought, Luo Zheng shivered, quickly gathered his things, and rushed down the mountainside, heading east at a fast pace. The strange corpses, the odd thunder, combined with this unregulated area bordering several countries, made Luo Zheng suspect there might be a battle ahead. He decided to take a look—it was on his way, anyway. If possible, he wanted to find so communication equipnt to quickly get in touch with the outside, to prevent Lan Xue from doing sothing rash in her fury.
Several days had passed, and he had no idea what the situation outside had beco. Lan Xue was probably avenging him by hunting down the Wolf King, right? Thinking about the terrible outco if Lan Xue succeeded in her vengeance and then took her own life, Luo Zheng felt desperate and quickened his pace. Half an hour later, the sounds ahead stopped abruptly, and Luo Zheng continued his trek.
Another half hour later, Luo Zheng arrived at a canyon. The canyon wasn't large and was well-suited for an ambush. Surrounded by mountains, the only way to cross was through the canyon, making it an ideal ambush spot. Luo Zheng watched warily for a while, not daring to walk through the canyon directly, in case there was still soone lying in ambush who might accidentally injure him. He ran towards the mountains instead.
Half an hour after that, Luo Zheng had climbed atop a peak and continued eastward along the ridge. A few minutes later, he saw traces of an explosion in the canyon ahead. It looked like soone had set up an ambush there. There were no bodies in sight, but, intent on finding communication equipnt and not one to ddle in others' business, Luo Zheng sped up and rushed forward.
He hurried along without encountering any suspicious activity, and reluctantly, Luo Zheng slowed his steps, vigilantly observing and searching his surroundings. Suddenly, he heard faint gunfire ahead. Luo Zheng paused, listening intently. More gunshots followed, and this ti Luo Zheng heard them clearly. With a start, he quickened his pace again.
After cresting a mountain, the slope opened up before him, extending his line of sight. Luo Zheng saw with surprise that there were two groups fighting in the distance: one chasing, the other retreating while returning fire, in a dire situation. Out of curiosity and because the distance was too great to see clearly, he hastened his steps.
Minutes later, Luo Zheng carefully climbed up another peak and hid behind a rock. The snow on the mountain was shallow, and the view was unobstructed. He saw the pursuing party was fully ard, looking like a military force, while the retreating party was also dressed in full military gear, but their identities were indiscernible. Startled, Luo Zheng decided to wait and watch.
"Fuck your granny, co on, rat-a-tat-tat." Just then, a person covering the retreat for the pursued group roared furiously, his voice filled with despair and murderous intent, as if he wanted to pierce the accursed sky. The angry bullets fiercely cut through the air barrier, seemingly intent on shredding the pursuing enemy. But he was quickly suppressed by the accurate gunfire of the pursuers and forced to take cover behind a rock, unable to move.
"Huh?" Luo Zheng recognized the voice as one of his own, and it sounded very familiar. He couldn't help but be greatly shocked.
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