Page 217

Half an hour later, Gu Xiaoxi found a mound and crawled directly into the snow, gasping for air exhaustedly.

That delicate little face was flushed, and even under the reflection of the snow light, no amount of oil paint could conceal its radiance.

Gu Xiaoxi cursed inwardly!

Heavy weapons were too terrifying.

They had immense destructive power, and if it weren’t for her abilities, she would have already sacrificed herself for her country.

Gu Xiaoxi shed two noodle-thin tears, now bereft of her weapons and supplies—her backpack with food and water was gone too.

It was a situation of being utterly out of ammunition and provisions.

She just had no idea how Zhao Zilong was faring at the moment.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard footsteps not far away.

Gu Xiaoxi lifted her head and saw Zhao Zilong running toward her, very quickly.

She immediately waved at Zhao Zilong, who took several vigorous strides to reach her and then lay beside her, panting heavily.

It was evident that both of them had depleted their Inner Strength, having sprinted several kilometers at high speed.

"How is it, did they come after us?" Gu Xiaoxi scanned Zhao Zilong’s body, noticing the absence of any weapons. Without guessing, she knew he was probably in the same dire straits as her—out of ammunition and provisions.

"No, but I feel like they won’t let this go so easily!" Zhao Zilong gasped for air, sweat-soaked even then.

Although it was winter, the sweat simply wouldn’t stop flowing. The intense running was killing him with heat.

"What now? There are still more than a dozen of them we haven’t dealt with, and we have no weapons. We can’t approach them, and if they come after us with a helicopter, we’re done for!" Gu Xiaoxi wiped off her sweat and bitterly complained in her mind.

This was simply a battle with no certainty of victory.

Zhao Zilong clenched his fists, his body drenched with sweat and heart pounding like a drum, "No choice, during our escape just now, we lost our communicators and can’t even call the headquarters for help."

Gu Xiaoxi sighed and looked up into the distance. Suddenly, she saw a helicopter flying low and gradually heading toward them—obviously searching for them.

"Damn it! Jinx!" Gu Xiaoxi slapped her own mouth. She had just mentioned that Said better not send helicopters after them.

And then, they really did come after them with a helicopter.

Zhao Zilong quickly started digging in the snow, covering Gu Xiaoxi with it and then covering himself, whispering, "Don’t move!"

This was to lurk, to hide themselves.

Gu Xiaoxi lay there, carefully listening to the sounds until the helicopter passed directly overhead and moved further away.

Only then did Gu Xiaoxi quietly raise her head, "What do we do now? We can’t just wait here for rescue, can we?"

A glint passed through Zhao Zilong’s eyes, his handsome features looking even more dashing. He gave Gu Xiaoxi a mysterious smile, "Let’s backtrack, their headquarters will definitely have more helicopters and weapons."

Gu Xiaoxi immediately sprang up from the ground, slapping her forehead, "Right! Our seniors always said, if you have no weapons, capture them yourself."

Immediately, the two crafty little foxes exchanged a look and then ran back the way they had come.

Half an hour later.

Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong arrived, panting, at the Hunter’s camp.

The Hunters seemed to have assumed that Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong had fled for their lives and would not return. At the moment, only two people were left on guard at the camp.

Without much effort, they took over the camp, seized heavy weapons, and prepared confidently for a counterattack.

Unexpectedly, what they waited for was their own forces’ helicopters.

Said and his subordinates were successfully eliminated by the backup combat aircraft sent by the command. It was a fierce battle, but they won in the end.

Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong... ended up not having a chance to fight at all...

When the Military Department’s helicopter landed in the forest,

a somewhat plump man with an imposing demeanor got off the helicopter and strode toward Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong, who were already standing at attention.

"You... you... you... you guys... tell me, how should you be punished! Disobeying orders... you..." Xia Zhongguo was so angry his fingers trembled as he pointed at Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong, struggling to utter a few words.

Subsequently, Yi Chentian and Shao Changfeng also stepped out of the helicopter.

Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong had indeed made a mistake. And it was the kind of mistake most forbidden to soldiers.

Although their actions had successfully eradicated a group of poachers, disobeying a military order not only offset their achievements, but also warranted punishment.

The commander of the Fourth Military Sixth Regiment, not only Yi Chentian’s commander but also Gu Xiaoxi’s, was now dealing with subordinates who had grown too bold, even disregarding the orders of their superiors.

In the end, Xia Zhongguo was so angry that his face turned an iron blue, as if he couldn’t catch a breath, his cheeks then turning red from holding it in, his complexion changing in various shades, clearly extremely furious.

He glared at Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong, violently flung his sleeves, turned around, and angrily said to Yi Chentian and Shao Changfeng, "Take these two back, put them in solitary confinement, and then have them write a self-criticism, awaiting punishment. Shao Changfeng, they are your men, your soldiers. If they won’t follow orders, you are to take full responsibility. "

"Yes, commander!" Shao Changfeng also looked very unsightly. They didn’t have any grounds for retort regarding this matter.

Disobeying a military order was a mistake! A grave mistake!

Yi Chentian shook his head looking at Zhao Zilong, "If she didn’t understand the severity of military regulations, then how could you not know, and yet you still caused such a ruckus."

If Zhao Zilong hadn’t joined the fight, Gu Xiaoxi certainly wouldn’t have acted rashly all by herself.

Zhao Zilong raised his head proudly, assertively said, "We intercepted the enemy’s heavy firepower, preventing their counterattack on our comrades. We reduced casualties, there’s nothing wrong with that, we even made meritorious achievements."

"You think you have a point, do you!" Shao Changfeng bellowed, eyes wide, "You should know better than anyone the consequences of defying a military order."

Then, he turned to Gu Xiaoxi and scolded angrily, "Gu Xiaoxi, do you have any idea how dangerous that was just now?"

Danger was natural, but she had escaped, hadn’t she!

Gu Xiaoxi pursed her lips, said nothing. The enemy was wiped out anyways, she was in the wrong, so no need for excuses.

Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Shao Changfeng was beside himself with anger.

Both of them had always been at the top of the game, whether in written exams, physical fitness, or tactical assessments, but they made such a fundamental and grave mistake in principle.

Yi Chentian looked at Gu Xiaoxi’s slightly cute cheeks, momentarily at a loss for what to say. Perhaps this was just Gu Xiaoxi, if she played by the book, she wouldn’t be herself.

"Let’s go! It’s cold, and we can discuss this back home," Yi Chentian said in a relaxed tone.

Zhao Zilong and Gu Xiaoxi boarded the helicopter under the watchful eyes of Shao Changfeng and Yi Chentian.

Xia Zhongguo felt unsatisfied, and as soon as Gu Xiaoxi and Shao Changfeng got on the plane, he launched into a tirade of scolding.

"You two, you were the soldiers I had the highest hopes for. Look what you’ve done!

Defying a military order, even if you have skills, I can’t keep you anymore.

Go back, read your self-criticisms aloud in front of the whole company.

Then pack up and leave. We don’t need soldiers who won’t follow orders. .."

Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong stood firm, wanting to say something, but unable to refute, they could only obediently accept the scolding.

Gu Xiaoxi didn’t expect the commander to take it so seriously, even though they had made meritorious accomplishments by wiping out the enemy, it still didn’t absolve them of their wrongdoing of disobeying a military order.

Not until they returned to the Sixth Regiment, back to the Reconnaissance Company.

She and Zhao Zilong still felt a lingering fear. As if the battle just now was an unreal dream. But they had just truly lived through it.

Because, the scent of gunpowder and war still lingered on them...

The helicopter stopped on the apron of the Reconnaissance Company, and Chen Zhigang was already there waiting.

Seeing Shao Changfeng and Gu Xiaoxi, along with Zhao Zilong and ten others, walking off the plane with their heads down, his heart sank, "What happened? Did we lose?"

Shao Changfeng pursed his lips, his long eyelashes trembling, then in a low voice said, "Report, commander, we achieved victory. Twenty prisoners captured, fifty-seven enemies killed. We seized up to a ton of animal furs."

Wow!

Chen Zhigang had never expected that twenty people could achieve such a record, puzzled by their solemn expressions, "Didn’t all the ones we sent out come back? What’s wrong with you guys? Did someone from another company make a sacrifice?"

Otherwise, why would each and every one of them look so solemn! He had already counted his men as they got off the plane, no casualties.

Especially, Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong, with their heads bowed, not saying a word, made him feel even more uneasy.

Shao Changfeng coughed awkwardly, and then carefully explained to Chen Zhigang, "These two disobeyed military orders, the commander wants to expel them..."

"What?" Chen Zhigang, upon hearing Shao Changfeng’s explanation, instantly became so angry his eyebrows shot up. His expression looked fierce enough to eat someone.

Gu Xiaoxi and Zhao Zilong, startled, hastily stepped back.

Chen Zhigang immediately flew into a rage, brandishing his shoe like a weapon, intending to strike, "You two, I had such high hopes for you, and you give me military disobedience? How have I trained you all along? Gu Xiaoxi, tell me, why did you disobey an order? Zhao Zilong, you’ve even won major awards; how could you do something so foolish. .."