SCOM - Chapter 29
Chapter 29
The group rested for two hours at the fork in the road before setting off again. The mountain to the right looked close, but it was actually still some distance away. It took them an hour of walking just to reach its base.
The night grew darker, and the chirping of insects by the roadside completely vanished, as if they had fallen into a deep slumber. The so-called mountain path began with a long slope at its entrance, surrounded by waist-high wild grass. The road surface, not particularly wide, was cracked like a spiderweb.
Ji Yuezhi was still looking at the map, his gaze lingering on several mountain ranges. Hearing Jiang Hong and the others preparing to move out behind him, he finally folded the map and walked forward.
The mountain path was rugged, narrow, and riddled with cracks, so everyone proceeded with caution. Just as they pushed aside the wild grass and stepped onto the path, a wild boar suddenly charged, intending to attack them. Without needing a reminder, Yan Yan, who was at the very front, acted instantly.
The boar weighed over four hundred pounds, and its charge carried considerable force. If its tusks pierced a person, it would undoubtedly cause a severe injury. However, Yan Yan's strength was also formidable. He stood his ground and actually grabbed the boar's tusks with his bare hands, flinging it aside and knocking it unconscious.
"A pity we have to keep moving," Guan Xue said, shaking her head. "Guess we won't be having wild boar meat."
Just as they were about to continue forward, Zuo Luohuan, who was at the very back, suddenly spoke up: "Jiang Hong and Guan Xue, you two go to the front and clear the way."
The two who were called out didn't ask why and moved directly to the front. Yan Yan also said nothing, quietly falling into the middle of the formation. Only Ji Yuezhi glanced at Zuo Luohuan.
The tent outside the dense forest.
"It seems these people are more obedient to Zuo Luohuan," Bai Feng said thoughtfully while watching the surveillance feed. "For a commander to lead, they must have the trust of their subordinates. From day until now, Zuo Luohuan has rarely spoken, seemingly with no intention of taking central command of the team. But now it seems most of them are more inclined to listen to her."
"That's normal. These few know each other," Jia Hailan said, raising a finger to point at Qian Mao, who was standing toward the back of the middle group. "He's also more familiar with Zuo Luohuan. He's been subconsciously staying close to her the whole way."
Although He Yue had only recently returned to the capital, she knew the basic situation. She frowned. "Zuo Luohuan skipped a year of classes, while Ji Yuezhi and the others have been at the academy the whole time."
"Body language doesn't lie," Jia Hailan explained gently. "Ji Yuezhi has spent the most time with people from the Disciplinary Committee. Only two people 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 at ease with Zuo Luohuan."
"Then the commander should be Zuo Luohuan," Kang Guang concluded after listening.
Jia Hailan shook his head. “Not necessarily. Although Zuo Luohuan has the advantage of knowing them, it’s still too early to be certain.”
Back on the mountain path, Jiang Hong and Guan Xue, having switched positions, walked at the very front. Ji Yuezhi followed quietly behind them, occasionally observing the surroundings.
As the seven of them ascended, the overall shape of the mountain path became clear. It spiraled up around the mountain, with the inner side against the rock face and the outer side overlooking the great river they had seen earlier. At this point, Ji Yuezhi became certain.
He stopped, took out his map, and pointed to several spots for everyone to see clearly. "Aside from the wild animals on the path, the instructors will likely set something up in these locations."
In the tent, Kang Guang enlarged the surveillance feed, his gaze following Ji Yuezhi's finger. In the end, he couldn't help but curse under his breath, then asked Jia Hailan, "He guessed everything. Should we change it?"
Jia Hailan waved his hand. “These are the best spots to ambush them. If we miss them, it won't be effective. Besides... a commander's job is to predict the traps set by the enemy.”
On the mountain path, after pointing out the locations, Ji Yuezhi said, "It should be the Gashiro Empire's robot dogs. The number will likely be over thirty, and the final stretch down the mountain will have the highest concentration of them."
After he finished speaking, his gaze unconsciously passed over the others to land on Zuo Luohuan. The thing she had said they might encounter a few hours ago was the robot dogs.
"Robot dogs?" Ding Wuming asked blankly. "What are those?"
"A machine with a dog's head and a humanoid body, designed by the Gashiro Empire a while back. They're extremely fast. They can still move even after losing their limbs and head, unless you destroy the neural chip in their skulls," Jiang Hong kindly explained. "If you don't destroy the neural chip, even if you cut off a robot dog's head, the severed head can still scurry over and attack you with its mouth."
Ding Wuming was silent for a moment before asking, "Are we going to have to fight those things later?"
"Probably," Jiang Hong shrugged, offering some comfort. "Freshman, don't be scared. When you die, I'll definitely run for my life."
Ding Wuming: "..." Thank you.
Ji Yuezhi pointed out a total of three locations. The closest 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 a person to climb, but it was the perfect hiding spot for robot dogs. At their current pace, they would reach it in an hour and a half.
Hard-soled military boots trod on the old concrete mountain path, making dull, unified footsteps. Qian Mao, wanting to break the silence, took the initiative to speak to Ji Yuezhi. "Um, Classmate Ji, why are you so sure there will be an ambush of robot dogs? Maybe it's just people sent by the instructors."
"On the road before we entered the dense forest, there were two sets of tire tracks. High-density S-pattern cord, with a diameter of about four meters. Only a vehicle with such a heavy axle load, used for transporting robot dogs, would make such tracks. The things in the tents don't require it," Ji Yuezhi said flatly.
Qian Mao tried to recall for a moment, but found he could only remember the muddy road surface. He hadn't seen any four-meter tire tracks at all, let alone distinguished the tire's cord pattern. To him, there had just been a mess of tire tracks crushed all over the place.
Ji Yuezhi didn't care whether Qian Mao understood or not. He knew there was one person who definitely did.
As they neared the halfway point of the mountain, everyone began to heighten their vigilance, moving forward slowly. Guan Xue looked up, scanning the edge of the rock face, waiting for the robot dogs to appear. But they were almost past the area, and there was still no movement around them.
"Was the deduction wrong?" Yan Yan turned his head to ask Ji Yuezhi. He had actually held a prejudice against the head of the Disciplinary Committee from the start, feeling that Ji Yuezhi and his people were all about superficial appearances. However, after a week of evening training, his opinion had started to change.
Ji Yuezhi was very strong, in every aspect.
"They're here!" Before Ji Yuezhi could answer, Jiang Hong suddenly warned everyone in a low voice.
Ten metallic robot dogs instantly vaulted down from the side of the rocky cliff, blocking their path from both the front and the rear.
The robot dogs were nearly two meters tall. Their eyes glowed red, and they bared their teeth, staring at all of them. They held curved blades in both hands, the edges lined with fine serrations.
The moment they landed, the entire mountain path trembled, and some cracks even widened. The robot dogs gave the group no time to react, moving with lightning speed as they swung their curved blades directly at them.
"Holy shit!" Qian Mao, unable to fight them, simply hid in the very center, protected by Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan. He was shocked when he saw a robot dog's blade cut a deep gash into the rock face. "This is for real?!"
Weren't the previous traps fake? This was just a training exercise, so why were they using real robot dogs from the Gashiro Empire!
"These are just the oldest model of robot dogs," Zuo Luohuan said, kicking one away. "If these were the later models the Gashiro Empire developed, all of our weapons today would be useless."
But even this model of robot dog was still terrifyingly ferocious. Guan Xue had a submachine gun and aimed specifically for their heads, but it was difficult to target the chips inside, not only because the robot dogs were too fast, but also because she was unfamiliar with them.
She wasn't the only one; almost everyone present was unfamiliar with how to deal with robot dogs, and it wasn't long before they started sustaining injuries.
Jiang Hong and Guan Xue, along with Yan Yan and Ding Wuming, were responsible for dealing with the five robot dogs in front. Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi were at the rear. In the middle, Qian Mao held his gun, hesitantly aiming at a robot dog. His hand wavered back and forth before he finally fired a shot. He missed the robot dog and nearly hit Zuo Luohuan.
Zuo Luohuan turned her head. "...Do me a favor and save your bullets."
Qian Mao instantly became obedient. "Okay. Do you want this gun?"
Zuo Luohuan ignored him. She 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, and landed behind her, swinging its curved blade down viciously.
"Watch out!" Just as Qian Mao shouted, he saw Ji Yuezhi rush over and kick down that robot dog. But at the same time, the other three robot dogs all swung their blades at him.
Hearing the commotion behind her, Zuo Luohuan knew Ji Yuezhi had come. She didn't turn back. With a pull and a twist, she snapped the robot dog's arms clean off.
Only then did Zuo Luohuan turn around. "Ji Yuezhi, catch."
She threw one of the curved blades to him while simultaneously rushing forward. She used the other blade to viciously pierce the head of a robot dog, and with a twist of her wrist, she hooked out the chip inside and crushed it in her hand.
Ji Yuezhi ducked to catch the curved blade and, in the same motion, swept it across the thighs of the other robot dogs. By the time he straightened up, Zuo Luohuan had already eliminated one. He, too, used the curved blade to pierce and destroy a robot dog from a meter away.
The path was already narrow, and the combined weight of three robot dogs crowded together, plus the force of their attacks, had unknowingly pushed Ji Yuezhi to the outer edge of the path. Before he could destroy the last robot dog, a large section of the path beneath his feet collapsed, and he fell straight toward the cliff.
As he fell, a momentary blankness appeared in Ji Yuezhi's eyes. He only had time to throw away the curved blade in his hand as a vague self-rescue plan flashed through his mind, preparing to do his best to grab onto the cliff edge.
The expected sensation of weightlessness never came. Ji Yuezhi was yanked back by Zuo Luohuan. However, she used too much force, and he was pulled 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, while his other hand had subconsciously wrapped around her waist in that instant. His entire body was pressed against hers, his face accidentally brushing against the skin of her neck. The distance between them was so close that he could smell a faint scent of ice and snow.
Their embracing posture lasted only for a moment before Zuo Luohuan released his hand, pushed him away, and, without a word, went forward to help Guan Xue and the others deal with the robot dogs.
Ji Yuezhi lowered his gaze, and when he looked up again, his composure was restored.
Only Qian Mao, who had witnessed the entire event from the middle, felt his heart still pounding. He had almost thought Ji Yuezhi was going to fall. From such a high mountain, with no protection, even if there was water below, he would have been severely injured.
"Keep up," Ji Yuezhi said to Qian Mao out of the side of his mouth as he brushed past him. They needed to break through first.
With Zuo Luohuan joining the fight, the five robot dogs were quickly suppressed. Ji Yuezhi led Qian Mao and Ding Wuming to break out first, while the rest covered the rear.
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