SCOM - Chapter 29
Chapter 29
The group rested at the fork in the road for two hours before setting off again. The mountain to the right looked close but was actually still some distance away. It took them an hour of walking just to reach the foot of the mountain.
The night deepened. The chirping of insects by the roadside had completely ceased, as if fallen into slumber. Looking at the so-called mountain path, the entrance was a long slope, surrounded by waist-high wild grass. The not-so-wide road surface was cracked like a spiderweb.
Ji Yuezhi was still looking at the map, his gaze lingering for a long time on several mountain ranges. Hearing Jiang Hong and the others preparing to move out behind him, he finally put away the map and walked forward.
The mountain path was rugged and narrow, with many cracks. Everyone walked cautiously. However, just as they pushed aside the wild grass and stepped onto the entrance, a wild boar suddenly charged out, attacking them. Without needing a reminder, Yan Yan, at the very front, instantly reacted.
This wild boar weighed about four hundred pounds, its charge carrying considerable force. If its tusks hit someone, it would definitely cause serious injury. But Yan Yan was also quite strong. Standing there, he directly grabbed the boar's tusks with both hands, swung it aside, and knocked it unconscious.
"Too bad we still have to travel," Guan Xue shook her head. "Can't eat wild boar meat now."
Just as the group prepared to continue forward, Zuo Luohuan, at the very back, suddenly spoke: "Jiang Hong and Guan Xue, you two take the lead."
The two called out didn't ask why, immediately moving to the front. Yan Yan also said nothing, quietly falling into the middle. Only Ji Yuezhi glanced back at Zuo Luohuan.
In the tent outside the dense forest.
"These people seem to obey Zuo Luohuan more," Bai Feng observed the surveillance footage thoughtfully. For a commander to lead, they inevitably needed the trust of those below. From daytime until now, Zuo Luohuan had rarely spoken, seemingly having no intention of taking central command of the team, yet now it seemed most people listened more to her.
"Normal, these people know each other," Jia Hailan pointed to Qian Mao, standing in the middle towards the back. "He's also more familiar with Zuo Luohuan, subconsciously sticking close to her the whole way."
Although He Yue had just returned to the Capital, she knew the basic situation. She frowned slightly. "Zuo Luohuan skipped class for a year. Ji Yuezhi and the others have always been at school."
"Body language doesn't lie," Jia Hailan explained gently. "Ji Yuezhi interacts most with people from the Disciplinary Committee. Only two here are from the Disciplinary Committee, but Jiang Hong has been friends with Zuo Luohuan since childhood. Qian Mao and Guan Xue are also more casual with Zuo Luohuan."
"Then the commander should be Zuo Luohuan," Kang Guang concluded after hearing this.
Jia Hailan shook his head. "Not necessarily. Although Zuo Luohuan has the advantage of familiarity, it's still too early to be certain."
On the mountain path, Jiang Hong and Guan Xue, having switched positions, walked at the very front. Ji Yuezhi quietly followed behind them, occasionally observing the surrounding environment.
As the seven ascended, the mountain path gradually formed a complete picture: it spiraled upwards around the mountain body, with rock faces on the inner side and the large river below on the outer side. At this point, Ji Yuezhi became certain.
He stopped, took out the map, pointed out several locations for everyone to see clearly: "Aside from wild beasts on the mountain path, the instructors might make moves at these few places."
In the tent, Kang Guang enlarged the surveillance footage, his gaze following Ji Yuezhi's finger. Finally, he couldn't help cursing softly, then asked Jia Hailan, "He guessed them all. Should we change?"
Jia Hailan waved his hand. "These few locations are the best places to ambush them. Missing them won't be effective. Besides... a commander's job is to predict enemy traps."
On the mountain path, Ji Yuezhi pointed out these locations and said, "It should be the Gashro Empire's robot dogs, probably around thirty or more. On the final downhill section, the concentration of robot dogs will be highest."
After speaking, his gaze unconsciously drifted past the others towards Zuo Luohuan. The 'something' she mentioned encountering several hours ago must have been the robot dogs.
"Robot dogs?" Ding Wuming asked blankly. "What's that?"
"A machine with a dog's head and human body designed by the Gashro Empire in the past, extremely fast. It can still move even after losing limbs and head, unless its cranial neural chip is destroyed." Jiang Hong kindly explained. "If you don't destroy the neural chip, even if you cut off the robot dog's head, its severed head can still sneak over and attack you with its mouth."
Ding Wuming fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Are we going to fight those things later?"
"Probably." Jiang Hong shrugged and comforted him, "Newbie, don't be scared. When you die, I'll definitely run for my life."
Ding Wuming: "..." Thanks.
Ji Yuezhi had pointed out three locations. The nearest one was halfway up the mountain, where the path was extremely narrow and winding. The massive rock face on the inner side was steep and sheer, difficult for humans to climb, but the perfect hiding spot for robot dogs. At their current speed, they would arrive in an hour and a half.
Hard-soled military boots stepped on the old concrete mountain path, emitting muffled, uniform footsteps. Qian Mao wanted to break the silence and initiated conversation with Ji Yuezhi: "Um, Classmate Ji, why are you sure there will be robot dogs ambushing us? Maybe it's people dispatched by the instructors."
"Before entering the dense forest, there were two sets of tire tracks on the road surface. High-density S-pattern cord, diameter around 4 meters. Only transport vehicles carrying robot dogs require such a large axle load; the items in the tent don't," Ji Yuezhi said lightly.
Qian Mao carefully recalled for a moment, realizing he only remembered the muddy road surface, couldn't see any 4-meter tire tracks, let alone discern the tire cord. The messy tire tracks were everywhere.
Ji Yuezhi didn't care if Qian Mao understood; he knew one person definitely did.
Approaching the halfway point, everyone began to raise their guard, moving forward slowly. Guan Xue looked up, observing the rock face, waiting for the robot dogs to appear. But even as they were about to pass the area, there was still no movement.
"Was the prediction wrong?" Yan Yan turned his head to ask Ji Yuezhi. He initially held some prejudice against the Disciplinary Committee Head, feeling Ji Yuezhi and his group focused too much on superficial appearances. However, after a week of evening training, his opinion had somewhat changed.
Ji Yuezhi was strong, in every aspect.
"They're here!" Before Ji Yuezhi could answer, Jiang Hong suddenly reminded everyone in a low voice.
Ten metallic robot dogs instantly flipped down from the cliff face, blocking their path forward and backward.
The robot dogs were nearly two meters tall, eyes glowing red, baring their teeth, staring at them all. They held curved blades with fine serrations in both hands.
As they jumped down, the entire mountain path trembled, some cracks even widening. The robot dogs gave the group no time to react, moving as fast as lightning, their curved blades slashing directly towards them.
"Damn!" Qian Mao couldn't fight, simply hiding in the very middle. With Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan protecting him, he saw a robot dog's blade leave a deep gash on the rock face and exclaimed in shock, "For real?!"
Weren't the previous traps fake? This was just training; why were they using real Gashro Empire robot dogs?!
"These are just the oldest model robot dogs," Zuo Luohuan said, kicking one away. "If it were the later generation human-dogs created by the Gashro Empire, all our weapons today would be useless."
But this model of robot dog was still terrifyingly fierce. Guan Xue held a submachine gun, aiming specifically at their heads, but struggled to target the chip inside. Not only because the robot dogs were too fast, but also because she wasn't familiar with them.
She wasn't the only one; basically, everyone present was unfamiliar with fighting robot dogs. Soon, they sustained injuries.
Jiang Hong, Guan Xue, Yan Yan, and Ding Wuming were responsible for dealing with the five robot dogs in front. Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi brought up the rear. Qian Mao in the middle held a rifle, hesitantly aiming at a robot dog, hand wavering. Finally, he fired a shot, missed the robot dog, and nearly hit Zuo Luohuan.
Zuo Luohuan turned back: "...Please save your bullets."
Qian Mao instantly became obedient: "Okay, do you want this gun?"
Zuo Luohuan ignored him, approached a robot dog, grabbed its wrists with both hands, and pulled hard. Just then, another robot dog stepped on the rock face, leaped over, landed behind her, and slashed down fiercely with its curved blade.
"Watch out!" Qian Mao had just shouted when he saw Ji Yuezhi rush over and kick down that robot dog. But simultaneously, the other three robot dogs all slashed towards him.
Hearing the commotion behind her, Zuo Luohuan knew Ji Yuezhi had come over. She didn't turn back, pulled and twisted, forcefully snapping off the robot dog's hands.
Only then did Zuo Luohuan turn around: "Ji Yuezhi, catch."
She threw one of the curved blades to him, simultaneously rushing forward, using the other curved blade to fiercely pierce a robot dog's head. With a twist of her wrist, she hooked out the chip inside, crushing it in her hand.
Ji Yuezhi ducked to catch the curved blade, used the momentum to slash horizontally across the legs of the other robot dogs. By the time he stood up, Zuo Luohuan had already eliminated one. He similarly used the curved blade to pierce and destroy another robot dog from a meter away.
The path was originally narrow. Three robot dogs crowded together weren't light. Combined with their attack force, Ji Yuezhi unknowingly stood near the outer edge of the mountain path. Before he could destroy the last robot dog, the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed, sending him plummeting towards the cliff.
Falling, Ji Yuezhi felt a moment of blankness. He only had time to throw away the curved blade in his hand. A plan for self-rescue flashed hazily through his mind; he prepared to try and grab onto the cliff edge.
The expected feeling of weightlessness didn't come. Ji Yuezhi was forcefully pulled back by Zuo Luohuan. However, she used too much force, pulling him back with such momentum that they half-fell, half-leaned against the inner rock face.
One of Ji Yuezhi's wrists was held by Zuo Luohuan. His other hand, in that instant, subconsciously wrapped around her waist. His entire body pressed close against hers, his face accidentally brushing against the skin of Zuo Luohuan's neck. The distance between them was so close he could smell that hint of ice and snow.
The embracing posture lasted only a moment. Zuo Luohuan released his hand, pushed him away, said nothing, and went forward to help Guan Xue and the others deal with the robot dogs.
Ji Yuezhi lowered his eyes, then looked up again, regaining his composure.
Only Qian Mao in the middle, having witnessed the whole thing, felt his heart still pounding. He almost thought Ji Yuezhi was going to fall. From such a high mountain, without any protection, even if there was water below, he would be seriously injured.
"Keep up." Ji Yuezhi brushed past him, spoke sideways to Qian Mao. They needed to break through first.
With Zuo Luohuan joining, the five robot dogs were quickly suppressed. Ji Yuezhi led Qian Mao and Ding Wuming out first, the others bringing up the rear.
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