Night had fallen, and the curtain of darkness descended upon the land. A crescent moon hung in the sky, and a few stars lazily opened their eyes, silently observing the frozen highland snow mountains. A gentle breeze swept by, lifting a few snowflakes into the air, letting them drift away; the silence around was deathly, devoid of any signs of life—not even a flying bird or a blade of grass could be seen.
After the avalanche, many valleys had been filled in, and the surrounding mountainous terrain seed to have changed its appearance overnight. So places now exposed the original face of the mountains. On a mountain peak, five lumps of snow suddenly began to move, slowly joining together; it was Luo Zheng and his group. To avoid satellite surveillance from above, they had been hiding here for most of the day, motionless, not even daring to make phone calls for fear of being detected by Arctic Bear.
Waiting painstakingly for night to co, Luo Zheng had everyone huddle together. After asking each other a few caring questions, Luo Zheng looked at the thick layer of snow below and said, "There's been no reaction for so long, Arctic Bear likely hasn't discovered our tracks. The wind is too strong on the mountain peak. Let's dig a Snow Cave below to hide in and wait for daylight."
So much had happened that day, so much that everyone was numb with shock, exhausted ntally and physically; they really needed to find a place to sleep. Having seized enough supplies and equipnt, they didn't need to worry about the consequences of spending the night in the snow. Everyone agreed, and Luo Zheng continued, "We can't walk; spread out and crawl down. Even if spotted by the satellites, they will think we are just snow drifts rolling down."
Understanding his intent, they all agreed, and, spreading out, they began to crawl down the mountain at a slow pace, trying as much as possible not to alert the satellite. Though a lot of ti had passed and Arctic Bear's satellite might have flown away, one could never be too sure. About fifteen minutes later, they reached the snowy base of the mountain and began digging out a Snow Cave.
After everyone squeezed into the Snow Cave, they took out their rations and began to eat. Well-fed and quenched, they then crawled into their sleeping bags to sleep, utterly exhausted. At this mont, none could stay awake any longer, not even Luo Zheng. Believing no enemy would co, he slept soundly and without worry.
Fatigued from several days of relentless combat, they were all severely drained. If Arctic Bear were to discover them, they'd likely die, but if not, failing to sleep would an death all the sa. In this icy wilderness, lacking adequate sleep and not maintaining a good ntal state could lead to illness, and with little dical supplies, falling ill was tantamount to death. So, they threw caution to the wind and fell into a deep slumber.
When they woke up, the outside world was dim with twilight; it was evening. Luo Zheng looked at his watch and saw they had slept for over twenty hours, into the night of the following day. However, he noticed that everyone's spirits had lifted considerably, and he let out a sigh of relief, saying, "Brothers, it's ti to move."
"I need to contact my family; it's been so long, they must be worried sick," Lan Xue said.
Upon hearing this, Luo Zheng smiled wryly and said, "That's true, I neglected this issue."
Lan Xue quickly took out the satellite phone, inserted the battery, and dialed Wu Jin's private number. Wu Jin was in his office, anxious as the search and rescue team would take another day to arrive. With no good news for so long, he felt extrely heavy-hearted. Hearing the phone ring, he had no desire to pick it up.
After a while, the phone stopped ringing. Wu Jin, thinking it might be a relative, didn't give it much thought. Suddenly, the phone on his office desk rang out with a distinctive tone that gave Wu Jin quite a start. When he saw it was a secret line, he was shocked; only those out on missions used this line. Fearing the worst, he quickly composed himself, answered the call, and asked, "It's , who is it?"
"It's , Commanding Officer, Lan Xue," ca the voice from the handset.
"Oh, what's up?" Wu Jin asked instinctively, then it suddenly hit him, and he shouted into the phone excitedly, "Is that you, Lan Xue? You're alive?"
"I am, just reporting in. Short and sweet in case Arctic Bear finds out. We're continuing westward. Everyone's fine—don't worry." Lan Xue said gratefully, and quickly hung up the phone, dismantling the battery.
Although the satellite phone signal was encrypted and not easy to intercept, the signal source could still be detected. If Arctic Bear discovered a signal source on the snow mountain, they could guess who it was. If the satellite scanned over, they still couldn't escape. With their lives on the line, Lan Xue dared not chat for long.
"What?" Wu Jin, hearing the disconnection, wasn't the slightest bit angry. Instead, his spirits soared with excitent. He rushed to the information command center, clapped his hands to get everyone's attention and shouted, "Everyone, snap to it! Get the satellites to monitor their position right this instant!"
The information staff knew who Wu Jin ant by 'them.' With no news for such a long ti, everyone had given up hope in their hearts, though they didn't say it. But hearing Wu Jin's order and seeing his excitent, they couldn't help but feel a wave of hope, and they acted quickly, their fingers tapping away at keyboards.
Soon after, they spotted several suspicious, pale, moving targets through the satellite. It was hard to tell whether they were human or animal, but nobody was fooled. Counting them—five, no more, no fewer—and checking the location, not far from the blast site, they quickly realized the truth and broke into excited laughter, clapping their hands and their faces glowing with genuine respect.
Surviving under the conditions of a missile attack and a widespread avalanche was inconceivable. Nobody knew how this team managed to escape, but that didn't diminish their admiration for them. Watching the five moving targets, Wu Jin, though unable to see them, was certain it was them. It was impossible for wild animals to be in an area devastated by an avalanche, and there were exactly five. Moreover, the shapes of the targets appeared human. Combining this with the recent call, there was no doubt in his mind. Wu Jin laughed with joy and cursed under his breath, "These stinky guys, scared to death. When they get back, I'll have to settle the score."
"Alright, call back the search teams imdiately, and rember, strict confidentiality," Wu Jin said, overjoyed.
"Yes!" ca the enthusiastic replies.
Wu Jin hurried outside, ready to share the good news with Mr. Li. Seeing Wu Miao standing there with a worried face, he paused, then guessed what was going on and walked over, saying, "Don't worry, they've made contact, none of them is hard, they're all safe and sound."
"Really?" Wu Miao gasped, disbelief written all over her face. She too had seen the satellite footage of the explosion and avalanche—how could anyone survive that? But seeing Wu Jin's sincere expression, she suddenly burst into joy. Catching Wu Jin's quizzical look, she realized her own overreaction and, flustered, turned and ran.
"Ah, the sorrows of passionate love from ages past," Wu Jin shook his head. Considering the bonds forged between Lan Xue and Luo Zheng amid battle and near-death experiences, their relationship could be compared to pure gold. Wu Jin might not be optimistic about a 'five-second girl,' but he wouldn't interfere. Rembering Mr. Li was still worried, he ran excitedly back to the office.
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