take off

Before long, they discovered that I was alone and calmly began to suppress me steadily, as if they were certain of subduing me. The speeding bullets shattered the already wind - eroded stones, sending out splashes of powder like spilled ink. The fragments hit my face, causing a dense itch.

The not - so - intense gunshots woke Ji Han. She opened her eyes in confusion and after a while, said, "Xiaoyao... Why am I here?"

"Nothing's wrong," I lowered my head and said to her as softly as possible. "Rest for a while... We'll go home soon. Um!!!"

In a brief flash of my mind, I felt as if my chest had been hit by a heavy hammer. The oppressive pain covered all my ribs, and my expanding alveoli were also forcefully compressed. Before my brain could react, I fell to the ground, and many things flashed before my eyes. Ji Han, struggling to get up only to fall again; Liang Dong, the muzzle flash of the light machine gun blindingly bright; Ji Ling, sliding to kneel in front of me, shouting something, his teeth standing out clearly. Why? I began to relax gradually, my consciousness floating, and I couldn't even understand what they were saying.

"The bullet - proof plates are all broken. How the hell did he rush over here?" It was Liang Dong. "Fuck, it seems like he's passed out!"

"Adrenaline," said Luo Bing. "It's the fatigue period. Maybe he has hyperthyroidism. I suggest giving him a shot."

"Damn it, if he has hyperthyroidism, how did he pass the physical examination and get in here?" It was Ji Ling. "But I also suggest giving him a shot... Are you okay, little sister?"

"I'm fine... I'll find the blood vessel."

Alcohol was wiped across my skin, feeling cold and slippery. There was a slight sting. Someone lifted my eyelid. It was Lu Wanqing: "Excessive blood loss... Alas, the bullet - proof plate might have pierced into his body after being shattered. Zhuge, you take over the command."

"Am I... really up to it?"

"I told you to take it, so just do it. Don't be all whiny about it."

Were they talking about me?

I was so tired. I really wanted to sleep. Something was flowing in my body. It was so hot.

I drifted vaguely for a long time, and then I heard Heidevili's voice: "How could he be so seriously injured?"

My body was being turned over. It was still Heidevili: "Did he engage in bayonet fighting? Ivan, be careful."

Ivan's voice was rough: "I'm professional."

"Forget it. Do you think I don't know what you've done? Nightingale, tell me how he got injured."

"What else could it be? He rushed to save people all by himself in a fit of impulse." Jiang Li said.

"He's really like his sister." Dongfang Muxue sighed.

Sister?

I struggled to wake up. A hand reached out from the abyss, and I was helplessly and reluctantly dragged into the darkness. Before I lost consciousness, I heard Dongfang Muxue's words again: "Look, he reacted as soon as he heard about his sister. He's still a child who hasn't grown up."

...

The jolting pain woke me up again. Someone was carrying my head and legs, running at full speed.

Why... not use a stretcher?

I opened my eyes and saw Ji Ling's back swaying as he ran. It was very noisy and chaotic around me, like someone was beating a gong in my left ear and blowing a suona in my right ear. It was unbearable on either side.

My mind was empty, unable to think of anything. I could only look blankly at my teammates fighting.

"The last one!" Liang Dong was covered in blood as he changed the last drum magazine for the light machine gun. I clearly saw his hands shaking. There was a blue guiding smoke screen on the open ground. Zhuge Yu was running while retracting the drone.

The Black Hawk was parked not far away, and the propeller created a blurry, surging shadow. I heard the turbid wind passing by my ears. I heard Lu Wanqing shouting loudly: "Hurry up! Throw him over here directly!"

In the moment of being thrown into the air, I stared straight at the sun. Something like a bird was soaring in the blue sky, followed by tiny and dense black dots. I stared intently at the flying bird until I fell into the cabin and was caught by Jiang Li and Lu Wanqing.

"What's that?" I murmured, but no one paid attention. Everyone was boarding the plane at the fastest speed. Amidst the sparks from various light - weapon attacks, the helicopter took off and soared into the sky.

On the ground, there burst out intense light and heat. The nitro - based explosives bloomed like a new sun. The Black Hawk accelerated to escape, and the original ground had turned into a sea of pure flames, rolling like waves.

In silence, I got farther and farther away from the sea of fire. Only the wind was whistling restlessly. No one said anything anymore. The relaxation and fatigue after the battle spread to every corner. After an unknown amount of time, the plane landed. The medical team rushed in from the airport and carried me onto a stretcher to take me away.

"Wait a moment." Jiang Li stopped them, winked at me, and said, "See you tomorrow."

This was!

I blinked.

——————————

"Actually, I knew one more thing that night," said Lu Wanqing with the long - haired ponytail, wearing a mischievous, even lewd smile. "Actually..."

"Tell us, tell us, tell us!" Liang Dong, who was also strapped in by the safety protection device, was impatient.

"If you ask me to tell, where am I supposed to put my pride?"

"Ah well..."

"Then may you have no * when you give birth, whether it's a boy or a girl." Yang Shixiu cursed.

"Heh," Lu Wanqing sneered. "As long as I don't give birth, there won't be any."

"Why are you still like this..." Zhuge Yu shook her head and pretended to sigh. Her experience as a bookstore owner had added a lot of scholarly air to her. Her curly hair was bouncing actively in the low - gravity environment. In the end, she burst out laughing and said, "It's so nice."

I watched them quietly without speaking, with a hint of... dampness in my eyes. The girl beside me leaned against me, also not speaking. She held my palm.

"Actually..." As Lu Wanqing continued to tell the story, we seemed to return to that night.

Jiang Li sat next to Ji Han: "Can we talk?"

Ji Han turned her head, and the two looked at each other. They could clearly see their reflections in each other's pupils: "About what?"

Jiang Li lowered her head, as if preparing for something: "Your talent is extremely high, incredibly high. Except for those two times, you've never been injured. Normally, you should become a sniper, even a sniper stronger than me..."

"But you didn't." She looked at Ji Han. "That means you resist this battlefield. So what made you come to Yiteland? Was it Gu Xiaoyao?"

"No." Jiang Li immediately shook her head and denied it. "If that were the case, you could have just stayed in China and waited for him. So what made you come here?"

"Jiang Li," Ji Han looked at her calmly. "You... were sent by Rou - jie, right? She asked you to take care of him, didn't she?"

Jiang Li's movement froze. After a long time, she nodded: "Yes."

"Then that's it." Ji Han stood up.

"Did you think you were the only one who promised her?" The girl looked at the girl, and the moonlight shone on their hair.

"That's not right." Yang Shixiu immediately raised an objection. "How could the two of them together not notice you? You're talking nonsense."

"Surely it was on purpose. You're so lame." Liang Dong spun a ball and looked at me for agreement. "Right, Lao Gu? Lao Gu?"

I didn't answer him. I just moved my gaze outside the porthole. The dawn and dusk drew a clear outline on the blue planet. At the end of my sight, the sun was dazzling.