Searching for a Way Out

"You're awake? Oh my god, you scared me to death!" The girl patted her chest, clearly still shaken. She didn't seem to realize that her unconscious little gesture nearly made Ryan's eyes pop out of his head.

After all, Ryan was a young man in his prime. It was natural for him to be drawn to the opposite s*x, and since there were hardly any women in the military, suddenly seeing a gorgeous woman with such a stunning figure was bound to grab his attention.

"Who are you? And where is this place?" Ryan asked. Despite the beauty in front of him, his main concern was still survival on the battlefield.

"I'm Lucia, a medic from the 4th Rescue Team. I think we're somewhere near the Isis Beach in Sector Four. What's your name?" Lucia replied with a blink of her big eyes. She didn't seem to be on guard at all, but given this was a battlefield between humans and the Zerg, there wasn't much need to worry about bad guys—any human was a friend here.

"I'm Ryan, mobile infantry from the 106th Mechanized Infantry Division. Do you have anything to eat?" Ryan introduced himself and immediately asked for food. He was starving. Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the cave.

"Lucia, is that guy still alive?" came another female voice. Unlike Lucia's sweet tone, this one was deep and firm, full of a commanding presence.

"Not only alive, but awake too!" Lucia shouted excitedly, then shrugged at Ryan to show she didn't have any food either.

"Great, another burden…" the woman outside muttered under her breath. But Ryan heard her clearly, perhaps thanks to the mutated effect of the golden-horned beetle's brain matter. Whatever the reason, her grumbling didn't escape his ears.

Soon, the woman stepped into the cave. She was strikingly androgynous, with short-cropped hair and a male-style outfit. If she hadn't spoken, one might've mistaken her for a particularly handsome young man.

When Ryan saw her, he didn't underestimate her. In fact, a hint of respect welled up in his heart. She wore a highly advanced light combat armor manufactured by the Erik Arms Corporation.

This kind of armor, based on powered exoskeleton technology, was reinforced with Z5 superalloy plates and other advanced systems. It could protect against most small arms fire and shield the wearer from extreme temperatures and toxic environments.

Because of its steep cost, such gear was normally reserved for special forces. Ordinary grunts like Ryan could only dream of it.

So when he saw her wearing it, envy and admiration stirred within him. Being a special forces soldier wasn't something just anyone could handle—let alone a woman.

"Lucia, can he walk on his own?" the special forces girl asked bluntly, clearly thinking Ryan was dead weight. From her perspective, bringing him along would only lower their odds of escaping the Zerg-occupied area.

"I'll ask him," Lucia said, then turned back to Ryan with a gentle tone. "Ryan, how do you feel? Can you walk?"

"My injuries aren't too serious. I can move," Ryan replied. There was something naturally comforting about Lucia that made it hard to refuse her.

"Nicole, he's fine—he can walk on his own!" Lucia called back cheerfully.

"I can hear you…" Nicole rolled her eyes. Ryan was right in front of her, after all—of course she heard his reply.

"Hehe…" Lucia giggled sheepishly.

Beep beep. Nicole tapped on her shoulder-mounted battlefield recorder. After a few quick swipes, she gave Ryan a sharp look—clearly she now considered him even more of a burden.

"What's a mess cook doing in this sector of the battlefield?" she asked with a frown. As a lieutenant, she had access to Ryan's military records and combat data.

"We were tasked with marking coordinates for the bomber squadron. My unit charged ahead to get it done. Then…" Ryan trailed off. But Nicole had already read the report—Ryan's entire platoon had perished in action. He was the sole survivor.

"Sigh…" Nicole sighed heavily. While she still considered Ryan a liability, she couldn't bring herself to abandon him. His entire unit had given their lives protecting the mission. She wouldn't let that sacrifice be for nothing.

"We can't stay here. The bugs will find this place soon. We need to move out—now," Nicole said decisively after a short pause.

"Got it." Ryan nodded. Though he had some combat experience, Nicole was a bona fide special forces soldier. It made sense to follow her lead.

Lucia, being a medic, didn't object either.

The three of them quickly left the cave that had briefly offered shelter and disappeared into the thick tropical jungle.

On this planet, the Zerg were the rulers. Since they didn't care about technology, the natural environment had been left untouched. The rainforest near the coastline was dense and untamed, offering the trio cover as they moved.

Nicole led the way, cutting a path forward. Lucia and Ryan followed behind. Though the terrain was rough, Lucia's powered exoskeleton allowed her to keep up easily.

Ryan, on the other hand, had it tough. His own exosuit had been destroyed by an aerial bomb, so now he had to rely purely on his own strength to push through the jungle.

As they moved, Ryan chatted softly with Lucia. Through their quiet exchange, he gradually learned how the two girls had ended up there—and how they'd found him.

Lucia's medical team had been assigned to extract wounded soldiers from the battle at Isis Beach. Nicole was the pilot and security chief of their medevac shuttle. Unfortunately, their craft had been shot down by a plasma bug and crashed near the corpse of a giant beast.

By the time they regained consciousness, the giant beast had already been killed, and the nearby armored bugs had been wiped out by airstrikes. So, when the two crawled out of the wreckage, they were miraculously safe.

Their original plan was to reach the nearest human stronghold—Outpost Z3—but the route had been cut off by Zerg forces. Forced to find a detour, they stumbled upon Ryan while scouting the jungle.

Lucia had done what she could to treat his injuries, then the two left him in the cave while scouting a safe path. Honestly, they hadn't expected him to survive. They just wanted to give him a dignified farewell.

But to everyone's surprise, Ryan had clung to life—even after enduring such a devastating explosion.