Chapter 45: Hero (8)

  If Xiao Lie heard the general's words now, he would definitely cry out in grievance. Now, apart from a dozen or so empty shell casings on his body, there was not even a needle, let alone any distress signals.

  "Little one, will you blame me?" Ouyang Yuanye said.

  "What's wrong with you?" Xiao Lie felt his mouth was very dry, but he didn't dare to lick it, and could only take a small sip of water when he really couldn't bear it.

  "Now if we fall down, it's impossible to even send out a distress signal."

  "So we must get out of the desert." Xiao Lie said: "I still have to find my brother. I can't die here, and my mother won't let me die here either."

  "You've got guts, I like that. If you're going out, I'll help you find news about your brother."

  "Really?"

  "Don't believe me or not, I'm a fifth-grade officer, what kind of person haven't you seen? Even your team leader sees this old bone, and fellow comrades should be polite." Ouyang Yuanye smiled.

  "That's right, old comrades have made many contributions, and it's only natural for younger generations to show respect. Thank you, elder brother."

  "You're welcome, I just lent a hand."

  An hour later, Xiao Lie and Ouyang Yuanye were already exhausted. Several times Xiao Lie wanted to help him up, but Ouyang Yuanye refused, saying: "As long as there is a breath left, I will absolutely not fall down."

  The two people finally found a place with their backs to the sun, and then they looked at the bottle containing several scorpions that were still brandishing their claws. The little guys had no idea that they were facing two humans who were extremely hungry, and their predetermined fate was to become food in their stomachs.

  Ouyang Yuanchao had no experience in eating such things, fortunately he was quite experienced in this regard, but after becoming a high-ranking military officer, it was impossible to eat these things, and for a moment, he felt like he was back in his early twenties when he was leading troops at the grassroots level.

  Ouyang Yuanye removed the venomous part of the scorpion's tail and then suddenly dissected the scorpion. The still-moving body parts were put into his mouth, chewed for a bit, and those who didn't know thought he was eating something delicious.

  "Oh, I remember now, we've been walking for so long, it's time to add some salt."

  Xiao Lie hadn't even asked where the salt was when he saw Ouyang Yuanye pick up the water bottle on his body. Xiao Lie suddenly remembered that it wasn't the urine he had collected himself. Ouyang Yuanye tore off another scorpion, picked up the water bottle, and took a sip, swallowing it immediately, without even raising an eyebrow throughout the process. Then, he drank another small mouthful of clear water. He stretched his waist, as if he had just eaten a satisfying meal.

  "What? Not hungry?" Ouyang Yuanye asked Xiao Lie in front of him.

  "No, it is."

  "What's wrong with you, not to your taste? If you want to starve and dehydrate yourself, I believe you can walk out of this desert with sheer willpower. But when you do, it'll be the moment you collapse, and that's when the real danger begins. Didn't you say you wanted to avenge your squad leader, your comrades? If you die of thirst or hunger, who's going to take revenge for them? If this were a real war, with the enemy invading your country, would you just starve yourself to death and let your enemies ravage your homeland?"

  Ouyang hadn't finished speaking when Xiao Lie suddenly tore open the scorpion and took a big gulp of the urine, then put the scorpion in his mouth and chewed it for a bit to get rid of the taste. The feeling was really disgusting, and his expression looked like he was eating his enemy.

  After the two of them had rested for a while, when it was time to leave, Ouyang Yuanye whispered something in Xiao Lie's ear, and then Xiao Lie drew a few lines on the ground before following him as they walked away.

  In the exercise command department, a staff member enlarged the place where Xiao Lie had just drawn and wrote a neat bird character on the sand. Seeing this word, General Shang couldn't help but smile and said: "This guy's temper hasn't changed yet, he knows we're watching him."

  There is no shortage of generals in the exercise room. Some people do not know what Ouyang Yuanye said to that little boy's ear, but they know that everything he does now is being broadcast live via satellite, and these videos will also be backed up in the archives. For a high-ranking commander like Ouyang Yuanye, every word and deed will be recorded in military files.

  The desert sun at noon was scorching hot, and the ultraviolet rays were very strong. The two of them covered their entire bodies with camouflage cloths they carried with them to prevent body fluids from evaporating too quickly. However, without sunglasses, the sand under the sunlight was extremely dazzling.

  Xiao Lie walked for ten kilometers when he suddenly saw a few green plants in front of him. As he drew closer, they turned out to be several cacti, almost as tall as a person. The thorns were all pointing outward, warning others not to mess with them.

  "Be careful if there are other animals around, especially those poisonous ones." Ou Yang Yuan Ye reminded.

  After being reminded by Ouyang Yuanye, Xiao Lie realized that places with green plants usually have some small animals, and not all cacti can be eaten or used to get water. In the harsh environment of natural selection, survival has its own logic, and some plants in nature will produce neurotoxins to protect themselves from being eaten by herbivores. Fortunately, after Ouyang Yuanye confirmed that these three cacti were edible, they carefully removed all the thorns and cut off the cactus, putting it in their bag to extract water to quench their thirst. Xiao Ran's confidence also increased greatly at this time. Those who have not been through the desert do not know that when one is in a world of nothing but sand, without water, plants, or direction, it is easy to get lost and collapse if one's willpower is not strong enough.

  After collecting a big bundle of cacti, the two continued on their way, but this time Xiao Lie left a large smiling symbol on the ground.

  Xiao Lie never asked how many kilometers were left, and he didn't need to ask. He knew that by the time night fell, they wouldn't be able to leave the desert anyway, as long as their direction was correct. Fortunately, the sun in the sky could provide a sense of direction. However, at noon when the sun was directly overhead, it would be impossible to determine the direction using the sun. So, the two of them had no choice but to rely on whether the footprints behind them were in a straight line to confirm their direction. As long as they passed noon, everything would be fine.

  Xiao Lie couldn't help but feel a deep sense of admiration for the old officer in front of him, who seemed to be far from complete exhaustion despite his advanced age.

  "I really don't know how the war is going now? Don't let us go out and find that the Blue Army has been annihilated." Xiao Lie said to himself.

  "You're quite confident in us, aren't you?" Ou Yang Yuan Ye said.

  "No, I just want to avenge my squad leader with my own hands. Otherwise, his sacrifice would be too unjust. It's just a repair squad, what could they have done to provoke them? They actually wiped them out completely. Big brother, you also said that if this were real combat, then my squad leader and the others would really become martyrs. Their families would be so heartbroken, and it would be even more heartbreaking that the enemies who killed them couldn't be found. If I could avenge them, they would be happy in the afterlife, and their families wouldn't be too grief-stricken. After all, being a soldier isn't about being afraid of death, but rather being afraid that after you die, the enemy is still alive. So, the rest of this matter will have to be taken care of by those who are still alive."

  Ouyang Yuanye was astonished to look at the little soldier in front of him. With such military quality, he would be assigned to a destruction company. With his spirit, even if he were placed in a reconnaissance company, he wouldn't be a mediocre soldier. If every soldier were like him, China wouldn't worry about lacking brave soldiers. No matter how powerful the military strength and ideology are, they need to be passed down from generation to generation.

  "Don't worry, it's not over yet and it won't end soon. The Blue Army's attack was very fierce earlier, and they used surprise and ambush to the extreme, plus they had the assistance of a special forces unit, so their initial gains were huge. But later on, the Red Army quickly changed its strategic thinking, and suddenly the Red Army stabilized as well. Now both sides are at a balance point, and whoever has even a slight advantage will win." said Ou Yang Yuan Ye.

  "I didn't expect you to see through it so clearly, big brother. You seem quite perceptive." Xiao Lie said with a smile.

  "How can I say it, I've participated in many rehearsals before, so I still have some discerning eyes." Ouyang Yuanye smiled.

  "You didn't say that the strength of both sides is on the same scale now, and whoever has a slight advantage will win? Brother Ouyang, do you think we two are an advantage for the Blue Army?" Xiao Lie said calmly: "If we suddenly appear in a very critical place for the Red Army and give them a heavy blow, then victory will be ours."

  Upon hearing Xiao Lie's words, Ouyang Yuanye's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Ah, yes! If he were to appear at the most critical place of the Red Army right now and strike him with a ruthless blow, it would accelerate the Red Army's victory. However, there were too few troops around that could be mobilized, only one soldier.

  Seeing Ouyang Yuan Ye's appearance, Xiao Lie thought he felt his own idea was too naive. So Xiao Ran told him about many ancient battles where the minority won over the majority, and with his previous understanding of special forces tactics, he firmly told him that as long as they could get through this desert, finding the Red Army commander wouldn't be difficult, would it? Could it be that the opponent's command center was even more terrifying than this desert? The threat of the desert is invisible, but people can see it in reality.

  "What if we get caught?" said Ouyang Yuanye.

  "If we get caught, then so be it. That's just our bad luck. Anyway, I'd rather die than surrender." Xiao Ran said calmly.

  Ouyang Yuanye looked at his face, that face was very calm, the momentum seemed to have already seen through life and death, unimpeded by the world. He didn't know what had happened to Xiao Lie in the past, which made him different from his peers in terms of determination and calmness.

  Along the way, the two people didn't have much to say, but they supported each other with firm steps, walking forward one step at a time, leaving behind a long string of footprints.