SCOM - Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Ji Yuezhi led Qian Mao and Ding Wuming against the wind on the silent night road. After a while, he slowed down to wait for Zuo Luohuan and the others to catch up.
“The Gashiro robot dogs are way too fast.” Qian Mao was still shaken. “And this is just the first generation. How strong is the second generation?”
Back then, the Gashiro Empire had nearly swallowed the entire Federation with its second-generation robot dogs. Today, the Federation's borders were all reclaimed by the various army groups at the cost of human lives. The second-generation robot dogs not only had increased speed but were also equipped with light guns. The light gun weapons currently being developed by the Federation were reverse-engineered from second-generation robot dogs captured from the Gashiro Empire.
The second-generation robot dogs were made with a special metal that only the Gashiro Empire possessed, which was why the Federation had no robot dogs of its own.
“No matter how strong they were, they were pushed back by the army groups,” Ding Wuming said. “The Gashiro Empire can’t compare to the Federation now.”
Qian Mao was not comforted. Instead, a sense of awe stirred within him, giving rise to the grand ambition of developing advanced weaponry in the future. Only when the Federation possessed weapons of the same caliber to counter the Gashiro Empire could they truly be at ease; otherwise, they would forever live in their shadow.
“So, why did you reach out? I was injured…”
Ji Yuezhi slowed down, quietly listening to Ding Wuming and the other talk. A moment later, he faintly heard another voice approaching. At the same time, he smelled the extremely faint scent of Alpha pheromones in the air. He turned his head abruptly and, sure enough, saw Zuo Luohuan and Jiang Hong’s group catching up. The last sentence had been spoken by Jiang Hong.
“Guan Xue!” Qian Mao spotted them too and waved. “Are you guys okay?”
Although they had prepared beforehand, it was their first real combat with robot dogs. It was inevitable that they would be flustered, unaccustomed, and injured.
“We’re fine, just some bruises and scratches at most.” Guan Xue walked over and looked at Zuo Luohuan. “She was hit in the shoulder by a robot dog just now.”
As the four of them drew closer, Qian Mao went to look at Zuo Luohuan and saw a deep gash on her shoulder and back, made by a serrated blade. He exclaimed in shock, “What happened?”
Previously, Zuo Luohuan had been able to handle two or three robot dogs at once and emerge unscathed. How did she get injured now?
“My fault.” Jiang Hong’s expression was grim. For some reason, he had been distracted for a moment. A robot dog had swung at his neck, and Zuo Luohuan, who was already dealing with another one, could only use her back to block the blow.
“Let’s bandage the wound first.” Ji Yuezhi suppressed his emotions and took out medical supplies from his backpack. He said calmly, “The robots on the mountainside have been dealt with. We can take a break and regroup.”
They had passed the narrowest part of the mountainside path. The mountain road where they now stood was much wider, with a row of low stone blocks along the outer edge. Zuo Luohuan sat directly on one, took off her jacket, and looked up at Ji Yuezhi, who had walked over to her, reaching out to take the medical kit.
“…I’ll help you,” Ji Yuezhi added. “It’ll be faster.”
Zuo Luohuan glanced at the others, who were also sitting on the low stone blocks and tending to each other’s wounds. She shifted over, turning her side to Ji Yuezhi. “Thanks.”
The stone block was about half a meter long, barely enough for two people. When Ji Yuezhi sat down, he was only a fist’s distance away from her. He lowered his head to open the medical kit, then looked up at the wound on her shoulder blade, unconsciously pressing his lips together.
“It just looks scary. It didn’t hit the bone,” Zuo Luohuan said casually.
“Mm.” Ji Yuezhi cut open the back of her shirt and took out a needle and a vial of anesthetic. Before the needle could enter the vial, Zuo Luohuan grabbed his wrist.
She turned her head to look at him. “I don’t need an anesthetic. Just stitch it up directly.”
“…We’ll reach the finish line tomorrow. There’s no need to save the anesthetic,” Ji Yuezhi said with a frown.
Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow. “I don’t like anesthetics.” Anesthetics were ineffective on her, so it was better not to use them.
Ji Yuezhi pulled his hand away, put the needle and anesthetic back, and used forceps to pick up an alcohol-soaked cotton ball to clean and disinfect her wound. Zuo Luohuan’s expression didn’t change at all, as if the alcohol wasn’t even touching her wound.
Once the blood around the wound was mostly cleaned away, its true appearance was revealed. The serrations from the blade were clearly visible on her skin. Ji Yuezhi subconsciously reached out with his fingertips, but they ultimately landed only on the area around the wound.
Zuo Luohuan didn’t pay much mind to the wound from the blade; it was nothing compared to the pain she had endured before. But when it was time for stitches, the warmth of Ji Yuezhi’s fingertips gently pressing against her skin made her back tense up uncomfortably.
“I’m starting the stitches now,” Ji Yuezhi said in a low voice after threading the medical needle.
Zuo Luohuan: “…Mm.” She slightly regretted letting Ji Yuezhi help. He was sitting behind her, stitching her wound, and he was too close. She could even feel his light breathing.
“Does it hurt?” Noticing the muscles in Zuo Luohuan’s back tense up, Ji Yuezhi couldn’t help but lighten his movements again.
Zuo Luohuan silently stared at the pitch-black cliff below. After a moment, she said, “Why don’t you just hurry up? I’ll suffer less torture that way.”
After she said this, Ji Yuezhi didn’t reply. His movements remained gentle, but his stitching speed increased.
After carefully stitching Zuo Luohuan’s wound, Ji Yuezhi still needed to wrap it with gauze. Since the injury was on her shoulder and back, the gauze had to be wrapped around her front and back.
Because he was sitting behind her, Ji Yuezhi was practically pressed against Zuo Luohuan’s back. As his hands reached forward to wrap the gauze, it looked very much like he was hugging her from behind. He didn’t notice, his eyes lowered, focused on the bandaging.
Zuo Luohuan, on the other hand, looked down at his long, beautiful fingers wrapping the gauze back and forth, feeling an impulse to grab them.
To distract herself, Zuo Luohuan looked at the others who had finished treating their wounds and said, “There are two more ambush points. Everyone, stay sharp. The first-generation robot dogs’ greatest advantage is their speed. Their moves are pre-programmed, so once you get used to them, they won’t be too hard to deal with.”
“Done,” Ji Yuezhi said in a low voice after finishing the bandaging.
Zuo Luohuan heard him and put her jacket back on. She stood up. “Thanks.”
After regrouping, the group set off again. However, they had underestimated the instructors’ ruthlessness. The number of robot dogs at the next two ambush points was surprisingly large, far more than thirty. Eventually, all their guns ran out of bullets, and they had to snatch the curved blades from the robot dogs to use as weapons.
But as time went on, everyone gradually became familiar with the first-generation robot dogs’ attack patterns, and dealing with them was not as difficult as the first time.
The night fog dissipated, the clouds parted to reveal the sun, and the distant horizon slowly brightened. They had been entangled with the first-generation robot dogs for an entire night, or perhaps ‘pursued’ was a more accurate word.
“The terrain at the foot of the mountain is flat. The instructor won’t let the robot dogs enter the village.” Ji Yuezhi planted his foot on the head of a robot dog, his bangs slightly damp. He forcefully pulled out the curved blade and said to the others, “Just rush down the mountain. We don’t need to waste any more energy getting rid of these robot dogs.”
The robot dogs’ attack range could be set, and Ji Yuezhi was betting that the instructor had only set the range to this mountain.
“Let’s go.” Zuo Luohuan was the first to break through the blocking robot dogs and charge down the mountain, with the others immediately following.
The robot dogs behind them were still in pursuit, but after the seven of them emerged from the mountain path exit, the dogs indeed stopped advancing, merely gathering at the exit.
“Finally got rid of these damn things,” Qian Mao said with a sigh of relief. As a military academy student from the weapons development department, his combat skills were truly lacking, and he had needed others to protect him the whole time.
Jiang Hong pointed ahead. “Once we enter the village, we’ll find the finish line.”
Below the mountain path was a small road with a sign indicating the village’s name. The map showed that after they entered the village ahead, the finish line would be inside.
Ji Yuezhi stood behind Zuo Luohuan, his gaze falling on the tear in her jacket. Through it, faint red stains were visible on the white gauze. It was blood.
After killing so many robot dogs in the latter half of the night, even the stitched wound had bled.
“What’s wrong?” Zuo Luohuan sensed the gaze behind her and turned to meet Ji Yuezhi’s eyes. Perhaps because they had just fought their way through, her tone was uncharacteristically serious, even carrying a hint of gentleness she herself hadn’t noticed.
“Do you need to rest?” Ji Yuezhi averted his gaze and asked the others.
Guan Xue, still with an empty submachine gun slung around her neck, wiped away a bead of sweat. “We’re almost at the finish line. Let’s just push through and grab the flag. We can get back to the academy and rest sooner.”
The others nodded in agreement.
Everyone continued forward. After walking for about two kilometers, a village finally appeared before them.
“We’re here!” Yan Yan shouted. His military uniform jacket was long gone, and his upper body was covered in scratches, looking quite wretched.
“The center of the village is the finish line. Let’s go pull the flag,” Jiang Hong said, walking quickly at the front.
As they walked, many people looked at them. Clearly, the appearance of the seven was drawing a lot of attention. Some kind-hearted residents even came over to ask if they needed help.
“No need, we’ll be heading back after we pick something up,” Guan Xue said with a smile, greeting the well-meaning person.
They followed the route on the map, circled around, and finally reached the center of the village, where a Federation flag stood on a central flagpole platform.
“Get ready to clock out and rest.” Jiang Hong raised his hand to check the time on his optical computer. “It’s still nine in the morning. We can even make it back for lunch.”
“Seniors, I’ll go pull the flag,” Ding Wuming volunteered when he saw that no one else was moving forward.
“Go ahead.” Guan Xue had already sat down, not wanting to move.
Almost everyone relaxed, except for Ji Yuezhi, who frowned as he watched Ding Wuming walk toward the flagpole. He had a strange, indescribable feeling. “Don’t pull the flag yet.”
By this time, Ding Wuming was already on the platform. He gripped the flagpole and turned his head to ask, “Senior Ji, what’s wrong?”
Ji Yuezhi didn’t answer, his mind rapidly piecing together the details of their journey. Ding Wuming waited there, getting a bit impatient. He gripped the flagpole and was about to pull it out with force.
“I said don’t pull it.” Zuo Luohuan shot forward and yanked him away.
Ding Wuming was indeed pulled away, but his hand didn’t let go, and the flagpole came out with him.
In the next second, an arrow shot out from the platform’s floor, heading straight for Ding Wuming and piercing his thigh.
At the same time, Ji Yuezhi finally understood the strange feeling and looked up. “This isn’t the destination village.”
“Holy shit!” Jiang Hong didn’t hear what Ji Yuezhi said, but the hidden arrow from the platform made him jump up from the ground instantly.
On the platform, Ding Wuming knelt on the ground, clutching his thigh, his face pale with pain. He hadn’t even processed what had happened.
Zuo Luohuan dragged him down, while Ji Yuezhi and the others were already on high alert.
“The flag has been pulled. Haven’t we completed the mission?” Qian Mao asked, pointing at the fallen flag beside the platform.
Ji Yuezhi scanned their surroundings and said coldly, “This is a fake village.”
As his words fell, people began to surround them, including many of the kind-hearted residents who had approached them earlier.
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