First shot

Uncle Scar sat nearby, silently gazing at the hazy moonlight.

He must be missing home just like I am. But in this godforsaken place, without a phone, how could we contact the embassy for help? Even if we had Chen Weiqiang's phone, I wouldn't dare use it because it could be tracked and monitored. If I used it, the warlords would probably catch us before the embassy could help.

The departure of the woman in white didn't affect us much. But Hei Zi's betrayal hit me hard. The worst part was that he took all our rations and medicines. This was especially devastating for Sister Dragon, who needed the medicine the most.

The only solace was that I still had the AK-47 hanging around my neck. At least with a gun, we could protect ourselves in an emergency.

I suddenly realized why Chen Weiqiang insisted I keep the gun close and be the last one to escape through the tunnel. He knew my personality too well and wanted to protect me. But we could never go back to the way things were.

I sat on the ground, feeling a pain so intense it nearly killed me.

"Let's keep moving. Grit your teeth, and we'll get through this!" Uncle Scar gave a bitter smile, patting my shoulder for encouragement.

"Uncle…" I wanted to tell him to go ahead on his own, to get as far as he could without us holding him back.

"Don't say that. I'm not a coward. We'll go together." He cut me off, helping the barely conscious Sister Dragon up.

I swallowed my words, took her other arm, and we continued our journey, stumbling over the uneven terrain.

Soon, the sky started to lighten. With the rising sun, we could roughly determine the directions. Chen Weiqiang had mentioned that the forest to the north showed signs of human activity, likely from smugglers. The grass on both sides was waist-high, and the ground was covered in thorns, making it hard to walk.

The rustling of the trees and bushes in the wind was terrifying! I couldn't understand why anyone would cross into the impoverished region of northern Myanmar alone.

After about half an hour, Sister Dragon's fever worsened, even more severe than last night. She was burning up, her face flushed red, and she was coughing violently and shivering. Sometimes she said she was cold, sometimes hot. Her condition was worse than mine had been at the compound.

"Uncle, watch over her. I'll look for water nearby." We laid her under a large tree. Desperate, I decided to scout the area.

"Okay, I'll stay and take care of her. Don't go too far, or you might get lost." Uncle Scar, eyes red with worry, warned.

"Got it. Thank you." I wiped away my tears and headed down a small path.

Sister Dragon seemed to understand I was looking for food. She stared at me with a look I couldn't describe, but couldn't say a word.

"Sis, rest well. I promised I wouldn't leave you, and I'll take you home!" I forced a weak smile and quickly walked down the path.

How great it would be to meet some smugglers. At least there'd be hope, or maybe we could buy some food.

But after circling the area several times, I didn't even see a rat, let alone a stream or spring.

I didn't dare go too far, fearing I'd get lost or something might happen to them.

Wasn't this supposed to be a forest full of animals? Where were they? Not a single hair in sight!

Holding the gun, I searched for anything edible. Suddenly, I spotted a thick, arm-sized snake resting in a tree ahead. Cold sweat poured down my back, and my hands shook.

The black snake had a swollen belly, likely digesting its prey, lying lazily in the tree.

Terrifying and tricky. I couldn't fight it barehanded. Running would alert it. Shooting might make too much noise and attract our pursuers.

But without killing it, what would we eat? Snake gallbladder could cool fever and cure coughs, just what Sister Dragon needed…

Finally spotting a big snake, I couldn't back down out of fear.

I stood still, watching it silently, holding my breath. Where there's one snake, there's usually a pair. After scanning the area and seeing nothing, I cautiously moved to a spot where I could see the snake's head.

Its four or five-meter-long body hung in the air, with its head resting comfortably on an ancient tree branch.

If I were any less brave, I'd be scared to death.

Steadying myself, I aimed the AK-47 at its head, deciding to use it for target practice. Large snakes have strong vitality; using a knife, one wrong move, and I'd be the one dead.

My first time shooting a living creature, my heart raced, and my hands shook. But I had to take this step. There was no time to lose.

"Sorry, snake, but eating you to save someone is a good deed. Please don't blame me!" I whispered, aimed at its head, chambered a bullet, and quickly pulled the trigger.

"Bang"

The recoil from the shoddy AK-47 nearly knocked me over. I was so nervous my hands shook, and I took several steps back to steady myself.

With a gunshot, the gluttonous snake's head exploded, and it fell heavily from the tree.

Seeing its five-meter-long black body sent chills down my spine. I'd always been terrified of snakes.

But I didn't hesitate. I carefully extracted the snake's gallbladder, cut off a piece of snake meat, wrapped it in leaves, and ran back.

What if the gunshot scared them into running? That would waste all my efforts.

Soon, I reached our resting spot. Sure enough, the gunshot had startled them, and they were preparing to flee.

"Don't panic, it was me." Seeing the bloody snake meat in my hands, Sister Dragon vomited.

"Find a hidden spot to hide." Uncle Scar looked around anxiously, fearing goons might suddenly appear.

The quiet forest was filled only with the rustling of grass in the wind and the occasional eerie bird call.

Walking alone on this deserted mountain path, you'd either die from a snake bite or scare yourself to death.

I covered the vomit with grass, helped the weak Sister Dragon, and moved forward a bit before jumping into a nearby pit to rest.

Northern Myanmar wasn't as hot as Hunan, but the dense, water-scarce jungle was suffocating.

"Sis, eat this. It'll make you feel better." I took out the snake gallbladder, helped her sit up, and prepared to feed it to her.

"I can't… Little Bottle, don't waste time here. You two go!"