The voice was very familiar; Andrew Clark didn’t even need to look to know it was that female soldier. Just as he was preparing to retreat, he spotted a weapon discarded by an enemy he had just killed not far away. He decisively dove over, grabbed the gun, and quickly rolled to the side. A bullet whizzed past his ear—he didn’t dare look back, scrambled to his feet, hunched over, and sprinted madly eastward. He recalled the female soldier mentioning something about zigzag running and feint running earlier, but didn’t really understand. He figured zigzag running meant running in curves, so he kept changing direction, dashing for his life.

The female soldier covering the rear saw Andrew Clark running. Her icy face showed a hint of surprise, but quickly returned to its frosty coldness. She fired to stop an enemy who tried to pursue, waited a moment, and seeing that enemy reinforcements were about to arrive, decisively retreated as well. With a few quick movements, she disappeared, her speed astonishing.

After sprinting for a while, Andrew Clark felt his chest so tight he could hardly breathe. He quickly slowed down, and when his breathing eased, he stopped. Seeing that dusk was falling and the female soldier hadn’t caught up, he couldn’t help but worry. Moving after dark would be troublesome, and he had no idea where his rucksack had gone. With nothing to eat or drink, the night would be tough.

“Why did you stop?” a cold female voice suddenly called from the woods.

Hearing that icy voice, Andrew Clark actually felt relieved. He looked toward the sound and saw the female soldier walking over, her steps a bit unsteady. He suddenly remembered she was wounded in the thigh and hurried over to help her. But when he met her cold gaze, his outstretched hand froze awkwardly in midair. He gave an embarrassed smile and said, “It’s almost dark. What should we do next?”

The female soldier didn’t answer Andrew Clark, but instead coldly surveyed the surroundings, glanced up at the sky—the North Star was already out—then lowered her head in thought, lost in whatever she was considering. After a while, she didn’t waste words, picked a direction, and started walking.

Andrew Clark could tell this female soldier didn’t like to talk and didn’t bother saying more. He followed closely behind, examining the advanced weapon he’d risked his life to grab. Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand it or use it. He said, “I don’t know how to use this gun. You take it. I’ll be fine with a pistol.”

The female soldier suddenly paused, slung her own gun over her back, took the weapon from Andrew Clark and glanced at it. “M16A4 automatic rifle. Effective range: 600 meters. Magazine capacity: 30.” As she spoke, she quickly removed the magazine to check it—half full—then snapped it back in with practiced ease. Andrew Clark stared in awe and envy. Now that was a real soldier.

“It comes with an optical sight package, including an AN/PEQ-5 laser designator, holographic diffraction sight (HDS), and AN/PVS-14 night vision aiming system. It has single, burst, and fully automatic firing modes.” The female soldier explained coldly to Andrew Clark as she disassembled and inspected the parts, then finally showed Andrew Clark how to engage the safety and fire. She handed the gun back to him.

Andrew Clark stared at her, dumbfounded. The explanation had been detailed, but he only remembered most of it. At least he knew how to work the safety and fire, but he didn’t take the gun. Self-mockingly, he said, “To be honest, I’m only good with old shotguns. I used to hunt with them as a kid. I only fired a few rounds with this kind of gun during basic training. I’ve never touched anything this advanced. It’d be wasted on me.”

“Just use it like a shotgun,” the female soldier said coldly, tossing the gun to Andrew Clark and turning to walk ahead.

“Huh?” Andrew Clark looked in surprise at the female soldier’s retreating figure. Her camouflage uniform was covered in mud, but it only made her look more valiant and striking. He quickly pushed aside the messy thoughts in his mind and hurried after her, asking about how to use the gun. The female soldier didn’t hold back—she answered every question.

In a short while, Andrew Clark had basically mastered how to use the gun and fiddled with it fondly. As a soldier, Andrew Clark also loved guns. He turned on the night vision aiming function, occasionally aiming ahead, getting excited. He asked, “Hey, I can’t just keep calling you ‘hey’—that’s rude. My name is Andrew Clark. What’s yours?”

The female soldier suddenly stopped, turned to look at Andrew Clark, her icy eyes full of scrutiny, making his scalp tingle. She turned and continued on without saying a word. Andrew Clark didn’t dare ask again, quickly caught up, and kept fiddling with his weapon.

Soon, it was so dark they couldn’t see the path. The female soldier suddenly stopped, looked around, found a spot to sit and rest, completely ignoring Andrew Clark. Andrew Clark had no choice but to find a place nearby to sit and rest as well. Using the gun’s sight, he scanned the surroundings—trees everywhere, lush and endless. He said, “You rest for a while, I’ll keep watch.”

Chapter 11: Healing the Sick and Saving Lives

The female soldier didn’t say much, but really did close her eyes to rest. Andrew Clark gave an awkward smile, thinking of how much blood she’d lost and her wounded leg. The wound must have reopened along the way, and she must be weak. It hadn’t been easy getting this far. Unfortunately, the rucksack was gone, so there was no way to re-bandage or change the dressing. Spotting a tree branch not far away, about as thick as an arm, he picked it up and started whittling it with the reclaimed Type 65 army knife. Before long, he had fashioned a simple crutch.