The two hurried to catch up, uncertain if there were any pursuers behind them. After regrouping, everyone donned the captured coats and continued their forced march. Two hours later, Luo Zheng noticed the sky was growing dark and spotted a wind-sheltered slope ahead. Recalling the recent battle and considering everyone's high tension, the two hours of rapid travel, and their physical exhaustion, he knew they needed to rest, so they made for the wind-sheltered slope to dig out a snow cave for shelter.
Lan Xue signaled Luo Zheng to co over and check the spoils they had captured together. The gear from nine people included various weapons and ammunition, as well as backpacks and sleds filled with a variety of wilderness survival supplies. Food and water were plentiful—the very things they urgently needed. Seeing all this, Luo Zheng couldn't help but smile.
"With these things, we should have no trouble getting out of the snow mountains," Lan Xue whispered excitedly.
"Who knows how to use a sled?" Luo Zheng, excited at the sight of the sleds, asked eagerly.
Everyone claid to have so skill, making Luo Zheng feel a bit dejected when he realized he was the only one who didn't know how to use one. However, he quickly cheered up. If he didn't know, he could learn—especially since they had so downti. Eager to put the ti to good use, he asked for instruction. Lan Xue taught him by demonstrating, and after morizing the key points, Luo Zheng started experinting on his own.
Watching Luo Zheng fall and get up only to fall again, Lan Xue couldn't help but smile. A while later, Mountain Eagle approached and said in a low voice, "Captain, the snow cave is ready. What do you think?"
Lan Xue's smile froze as she looked up at the sky and said softly, "There must be many satellites monitoring us; our location is not secure. Although this is a lawless area, do you think Arctic Bear Country would viciously attack us with missiles?"
"It's possible, but if they do, it would amount to aggression against neighboring countries. This place is supposed to be no man's land, but strictly speaking, it belongs to a neighboring country. If no one paid attention to us, it would be one thing, but now many countries are watching us. Arctic Bear wouldn't risk such a huge transgression, would they?" Mountain Eagle lifted his gaze skyward with so anxiety and murmured.
"Hard to say. Don't forget Arctic Bear's typical hardline approach. They might not dare during the day, but at night it might be a different story. Satellite monitoring is less effective at night, providing enough ti to prepare. It's entirely possible for Arctic Bear to make a move on us and then bla a third party," Lan Xue said with concern.
"Hiss?" Mountain Eagle's face paled as his eyes, recently filled with joy, grew serious. Looking at Luo Zheng, who was still learning how to use the sled, he asked worriedly, "Should we call little brother over to discuss this together?"
"Let him practice a bit more; if Arctic Bear is going to make a move, they'll wait for nightfall," Lan Xue discouraged him, then turned to glance at Ghost Hand and Snow Leopard, who were strengthening the snow cave, and added, "Everyone should rest for a bit, regain so strength before we set out again. You can't all be holding up well, right?"
"Not bad," Mountain Eagle replied sheepishly. Just then, he saw Luo Zheng tumble to the ground, sending up a spray of snow, and chuckled, "Captain, congratulations on your newfound skill."
"Stop the nonsense and get back to work," Lan Xue said, blushing and glaring at Mountain Eagle. Once he had left with a snicker, Lan Xue looked back at Luo Zheng learning to use the sled. His persistence in getting up after each fall was like that of a playful and determined child, which made her smile comfortably. Maybe that tenacity was what she had been hoping for all along?
Tired from playing, Luo Zheng returned to the snow cave and saw that everyone was resting inside, eating dry food. Ghost Hand threw a bag of beef jerky to him, which Luo Zheng caught and began to eat. The taste was good, and he exclaid, "The food supply of these Snow Bears is not bad, they even have beef, which turned out to be a boon for us."
"We must find a way to leave here before nightfall, I'm worried Arctic Bear Country will attack us at any cost," Lan Xue said with a sudden seriousness on her face.
Luo Zheng was startled and started to ponder. While chewing on the beef jerky, his excited expression gradually beca somber, and his relaxed gaze sharpened. After a while, with knitted brows, Luo Zheng spoke in a low voice, "That's highly possible. Our victory has swept the Arctic Bear's pride on the ground; they definitely can't swallow this humiliation. A missile could finish us off. What does everyone think?"
"We've discussed it just now, and we can't rest for more than two hours before leaving," Lan Xue said in a low voice.
"Two hours?" Luo Zheng pondered, quickly finishing a small bag of beef jerky, took a sip of water, and said gravely, "Two hours is too late. Our position must have been locked on already. If Arctic Bear Country decides to make a move, they won't drag it out for too long, but going out directly will expose us."
"Yes, but we haven't recovered our strength, we won't be able to run," Lan Xue said, looking grave.
"That's not a big problem. Let's do this," Luo Zheng said as he sorted out his thoughts then continued, "We'll leave the sleds and such outside to confuse the Arctic Bear, take everything useful with us, including the captured thick coats and hats. We can crawl across the snow without fear in those. Leave behind anything extra, cover ourselves with the white camouflage, and dig another snow cave to exit from a different place. Then, we crawl forward, the farther, the better. We find a new place to hide and wait until daylight to move again. This is 'the crafty rabbit has three burrows.'
"Makes sense. Dig a snow cave to leave here, then crawl for a distance. We can manage that if we grit our teeth. The white camouflage could hide us, preventing satellite detection, but rember, we can't crawl too fast. Let's prepare," Lan Xue agreed approvingly.
Everyone agreed, and Snow Leopard picked up a shovel and started digging in a chosen direction. Others continued eating dry food, taking turns to dig when Snow Leopard beca tired. Half an hour later, they had dug a tunnel over ten ters long. They carried their gear and crawled forward through the tunnel and soon exited the cave. Continuing to crawl under the cover of the white camouflage, they each looked like a pile of snow, crawling at a slow pace that was difficult to distinguish.
Luo Zheng surveyed the terrain and directed everyone to climb towards the summit. Normally, the open view from the top made it easier to be detected by satellites, but he decided to go against the norm, taking a gamble. If they could be spotted, they would be discovered wherever they went, unable to escape a missile strike. If not, once they reached the other side of the summit and hid, the top of the mountain could block the shockwave from a missile explosion.
Half an hour later, everyone had climbed to the summit. Luo Zheng looked around and imdiately said through the earpiece, "We can't go down the mountain. After the missile explosion, the powerful shockwave will shake the ice and snow, causing an avalanche. Going down would be suicide. Keep moving along the summit, the farther, the better."
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces turned pale, and without objection, they crawled quickly along the summit. Twenty minutes later, they saw a missile whistling towards them, like a demon from the ninth heaven, bringing a breath of endless slaughter, which frightened everyone into using their hands and feet to crawl forward desperately.
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