Chapter 12: Breaking Out of the Siege (Part 2)

  "Run to the forest!" Geng Guohui shouted while counterattacking. Yang Xinxin continuously threw smoke bombs at the enemy, and the milky white smoke obscured the mercenaries' vision. Taking advantage of this opportunity, she and Lin Ruolan worked together to support the almost fainting Mr. Mark and retreated into the dense forest. Geng Guohui braved the continuous gunfire and kept throwing small packets of plastic explosives at the mercenaries for directional explosions, causing them to be blown away and gradually unable to pursue.

  The woods in this area were low-lying, with a gloomy and humid atmosphere. Lin Ruo was running and panting urgently, her previous three-step breathing technique now useless as she felt her lungs about to explode, with blackness flashing before her eyes. She kept slipping and falling, each time getting more injured, her clothes soaked with sweat and torn by branches. Geng Guohui took over supporting Mr. Mark, and they struggled to run through the vast forest.

  An hour of forced march, four people ran a good distance in the forest, at intervals, Geng Guohui would stop and draw an arrow on the tree root with his dagger. After confirming that there were no pursuers, Geng Guohui found a hunter's hut and sneaked in quietly. This was an empty house, with thick dust inside, obviously no one had been here for a long time. These hunter huts would only be occupied by hunters during the hunting season. He pressed down on the intercom: "Safe, come in."

  Lin Ruo Lan almost crawled in on all fours, found a corner to lean against and didn't move again. Yang Xinxin helped the limp Mr. Mark into the small hut, then went to see Lin Ruo Lan, who waved her hand, "I'm fine, go take a look at Leng Jian, he's injured."

  Geng Guohui's head was spinning and throbbing with pain, a manifestation of excessive blood loss and insufficient oxygen supply to the brain. He tore off the bandage, took off his combat uniform, and sprinkled hemostatic powder on the wound. The intense stinging pain made him break out in a cold sweat. Yang Xinxin walked over to examine his injury, and saw that the bullet had torn away a large piece of muscle, exposing the white collarbone, with fresh blood flowing profusely. Yang Xinxin helped him sprinkle hemostatic powder on the wound, stuffed medical cotton into the gaping wound, and quickly bandaged it up for him. Geng Guohui gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound, his face deathly pale, with large beads of sweat rolling down from his forehead.

  "You've lost too much blood, can you hold on?" Yang Xinxin looked at his wound with concern.

  "It's okay, the bullet didn't stay in my body, I won't die." Geng Guohui panted heavily as he put on his combat uniform and took out two empty magazines to reload bullets.

  Yang Xinxin snatched a magazine from his hand, loading the bullets for him while asking: "Can you contact Jin Dafu and request support?"

  "They're already under a lot of pressure over there, if we ask for support again, it'll only add chaos. Let's take a rest and leave later, try to shake off the pursuers before dawn." Geng Guohui's right hand was no longer usable, he tucked his assault rifle under his left armpit.

  Yang Xinxin turned around and took a look at Lin Ruolan and Mr. Ma's condition, shook her head and said: "I'm afraid it won't work, they need to rest."

  Geng Guohui silently sighed, "I'm afraid we've left too many traces, the mercenaries will catch up with us soon." He opened the map to use GPS positioning, only to suddenly discover that there was no GPS signal, "Damn it, why is there no GPS signal?"

  "Open up your laptop and take a look."

  The handheld radio also failed to send out messages, the two men looked at each other in dismay, they realized that they had inadvertently entered a high-power electronic shielding area, the mercenaries' equipment level was not high, and they were not capable of this. This suggests that the enemy in front of them is not just a group of mercenaries, but also possibly M-country special forces!

  "Are we going to get lost?" Yang Xinxin stared at the GPS with no signal.

  "No, I left marks at every turn, as long as we follow these marks, we can get out." Geng Guohui looked over at Lin Ruolan and Mr. Mark with a worried gaze. "Advisor Lin, are you still able to move? We can't stay here for long."

  Lin Ruo Lan's physical strength had somewhat recovered, after all she was a long-distance runner for ten years, her endurance was better than the average girl. She slowly sat up straight, supporting herself, "I can hold on, don't worry about me." She looked at Mr. Mark who was still paralyzed on the ground not far from her and asked: "Mr. Mark, can you walk?"

  "Oh, all right, my boy. I was a soldier myself when I was young." Mr. Mark forced himself to reply: "However, my boy, if possible, I'd still like to take a look at the engine with my own eyes."

  Lin Ruo Lan took a deep breath, unsure whether she should admire Mr. Mark's professionalism or scold him for being too stubborn.

  "What did he say?" Geng Guohui and Yang Xinxin asked in unison.

  "He said he still wants to take a look at the engine."

  "I'm dizzy!" Yang Xinxin said with her hand on her forehead, speaking in a low voice.

  Geng Guohui measured the route on the map, thinking carefully for a while before saying to Yang Xinxin and Lin Ruolan: "Alright, let's head towards the plane crash site. If we can meet up with the assault team, these few pursuers behind us won't be a problem. Director Lin, tell him that we'll take him to see the engine. Nightingale, replenish your ammo, tidy up your gear, and we'll set off in ten minutes."

  Yang Xinxin handed compressed biscuits and water to Lin Ruolan and Mr. Ma, "Eat something, the road ahead is even harder to walk."

  Lin Ruo Lan really had no appetite, and with a sip of water, she forced down a small mouthful of compressed biscuits. The remaining biscuits were packed into her bag by her. She slowly got up, supporting herself against the wall made of original wood, feeling like her whole body was stiff as if it had been beaten, and her bones seemed to have changed shape. Every movement caused acid pain that was hard to bear. Although it hurt a lot, Lin Ruo Lan knew she couldn't stop moving. She gritted her teeth and walked around the small room several times, and the acid pain gradually eased up a bit.

  Suddenly, she missed Jin Huang terribly. Is this man who loves her dearly now safe? Has he achieved his purpose for this trip? Can she still see him alive? Her thoughts suddenly came to a halt here. She picked up the backpack that had been with her all along from the ground and held it tightly in her arms, using this action to express the many emotions buried deep within her heart that could not be put into words.

  Yang Xinxin adjusted her backpack and gave a hand signal to Lin Ruolan. The two women, one on the left and one on the right, pulled Mr. Mark up from the ground. After all, he had been a soldier before, and although he was older now, Mr. Mark quickly regained his composure. A compressed energy bar also helped him recover some of his physical strength.

  Geng Guohui signaled to everyone to crouch on both sides of the door, and he slowly opened a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through. One rolled out of the hut, severely injured and bleeding profusely, his head spinning dizzily, his vision blurry, and his footsteps unsteady. He silently cursed himself, desperately shaking his head, stumbling forward two steps, hiding behind a tall banyan tree, raising night vision binoculars to observe the surroundings.

  The jungle night was eerily quiet, Geng Guohui waved his hand back, Lin Ruolan immediately pulled Mark's arm and crouched out of the small house, Yang Xinxin holding an assault rifle followed behind. The three people followed Geng Guohui, preparing to bypass the hunting hut and run deep into the jungle.

  Geng Guohui suddenly felt the air around him being squeezed tightly, as if his breath was suffocated in an instant. Suddenly, a group of birds flew out of the forest in front of him with a loud noise. There's an ambush! He shouted loudly: "Disperse!" At the same time, he turned around and rushed backwards, knocking Lin Ruo Lan and Mr. Mark to the ground.

  A burst of machine gun bullets flew out from the woods across, Yang Xinxin dived to a bush on her left, dodging the first wave of bullets. As soon as the gunfire paused briefly, she leapt up and fired a 35mm grenade at the enemy position. Two blood-curdling screams followed, and the machine gun on the other side fell silent.

  Geng Guohui and Yang Xinxin hid behind a tree trunk, firing continuously.

  "There are only two of them, kill them and the dollars are ours!" The loud shout came from the opposite side, 6 AK47s spitting fire tongues pinned Geng Guohui and Yang Xinxin firmly behind a tree, unable to show their heads. Lin Ruolan and Mr. Mark lay flat on the damp muddy ground, covering their ears with their hands, not daring to move.

  Six mercenaries fired continuously while jumping forward, moving closer and closer to their target.

  "Grenade!" Geng Guohui shouted as he and Yang Xinxin continuously threw grenades at the mercenaries. Amidst the "boom boom" of explosions, the mercenaries panicked and their firepower weakened. Yang Xinxin and Geng Guohui immediately rolled away from their hiding spot, their assault rifles spitting out flames non-stop. Taking advantage of the mercenaries' momentary confusion as they sought cover, Yang Xinxin fired another 35mm grenade launcher, which exploded on top of three mercenaries huddled together. The remaining three mercenaries scattered and lay flat on the ground, returning fire at Yang Xinxin's position.

  Yang Xinxin's assault rifle bullets were all used up, she took down the silencer from her back and fired "tutu" sounds to counterattack. Geng Guohui threw out the only 5 hand grenades left towards the opposite position, the loud explosion sound mixed with the mercenaries' screams.

  The explosion stopped, the jungle was filled with a choking smell of gunpowder, and everything returned to calmness. After waiting for several minutes without any movement, Yang Xinxin slowly poked her head out from her hiding place.

  Geng Guohui said in a low voice, "Don't move!" He pressed his abdomen, which was suffering from severe pain, and knew that the wound had been torn open due to excessive force.

  After a few more minutes of silence, Yang Xinxin asked in a low voice, "Should I go take a look?"

  Geng Guohui endured the severe pain in his abdomen and shoulders, listened carefully for a moment, then whispered: "Feint."

  Yang Xinxin quickly stood up, took a step to the side, and then quickly retreated back to the hiding point. There was no gunshot sound, she let out a sigh of relief, "Don't worry, except for us there's no one else alive." She looked towards Geng Guohui's position and immediately gasped in shock, "Ah, your wound is bleeding!"

  The fresh blood flowing from Geng Guohui's abdomen had already soaked through his combat uniform, Yang Xinxin was frantically rummaging through her backpack for a first-aid kit while rushing towards Geng Guohui.

  Lin Ruolan also wanted to get up and help Geng Guohui, but as soon as she moved, he gave a stern order: "Get down, don't move!"

  Geng Guohui's eyes suddenly caught a glint of light in the woods, which was the reflection of a sniper scope. He shouted loudly: "Ten o'clock direction, sniper!" As he shouted, he jumped up and knocked Yang Xinxin three meters away with his shoulder.

  A loud "bang" sounded, Yang Xinxin rolled continuously into the bushes, firing a burst of bullets that knocked down the sniper who was changing positions. "Leng Jian, how are you?"

  There was no answer. Yang Xinxin turned back to look, and Geng Guohui fell to the ground, his left hand covering the wound on his neck, with frothy blood flowing out from between his fingers, the bullet had entered from the left side of his neck, cutting off his carotid artery, and his life was slowly slipping away.

  "Leng Jian! Geng Guohui! You're not allowed to die!" Yang Xinxin rushed over and pressed down on his neck, shouting hoarsely, "Hold on, what are we going to do if you die?"

  Lin Ruolan helped Mr. Mark up for three steps and ran two steps forward, she was completely stunned by the fact that her comrade was about to sacrifice herself, her legs softened and knelt down beside Geng Guohui.

  "Listen... listen..." Geng Guohui's weak voice interrupted Yang Xinxin's shouting: "You must... must take them out safely... safely according to the map, go find Jin Da, finding him will be safe..." His head tilted to one side, and he stopped breathing forever.

  Yang Xinxin hugged Geng Guohui's gradually cooling body and wailed, people who have not experienced it personally will never understand this intense emotion that cannot be mixed with any impurities; those who have not entered the military camp will also not understand the true meaning of the word "comrade-in-arms"; those who have not been to the battlefield and have not undergone life-and-death tests will even more so fail to appreciate the kind of emotions that can entrust one's life to each other, sharing life and death together. This is a bond closer than kinship, its name is called — Comrade-in-Arms!

  Mr. Mark stared blankly at the Chinese soldier who had lost his life for him, his right hand tracing a cross, muttering something inaudibly to himself.

  Lin Ruo Lan was stunned by the pain of losing her comrade, unable to hear any sound, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, weakly calling out Geng Guo Hui's name in her heart. After a while, she seemed to remember something, took out a piece of gauze from her backpack, dipped it in water and gently wiped the mud and dust off Geng Guo Hui's face.

  This action awakened Yang Xinxin, who had been crying loudly. She stared at Lin Ruolan for a while, then used her sleeve to wipe away her tears fiercely, and carried Geng Guohui's body into the wooden house. She gently laid it on the ground, and in a low voice, as if making an oath, said: "Don't worry, I will definitely bring them safely out of this damn forest!" She stood up and saluted the body with a military salute.

  "Go!" Grabbing the gun left behind by Geng Guohui, Yang Xinxin pulled Lin Ruolan and Mr. Ma out of the wooden house.

  "Are we... just going to leave him here?" Lin Ruolan asked hesitantly as she was pulled along by her, looking back involuntarily.

  "A soldier dies for his country on the battlefield, why must he be wrapped in horsehide to return? Go! Don't waste time, can't let him die in vain!" Yang Xinxin replied without turning her head back, her voice carrying a metallic tremolo, revealing the ruthlessness and decisiveness of an Iron Blood soldier.

  Two hours later, a six-man patrol team from Country M passed by the cabin. They carefully examined the bodies of the dead mercenaries in the forest and Geng Guohui's body placed inside the cabin.

  "Three targets, heading northwest." The leading lieutenant said in a low voice. "Pursue!"

  ……

  At 3:30 in the morning, Jin Hwang and his team followed Geng Guohui's marks to the outside of the wooden house. They soon discovered the bodies of mercenaries in the thicket.

  Cheng Xiaopeng examined all the bodies, "Leopard, the gun battle took place five hours ago. They were hit by 95-type assault rifle bullets. It's certain that they exchanged fire with Cold Arrow and Nightingale. The odds were 9 to 2, the situation was extremely brutal."

  "Go take a look inside the wooden house." Jin Huan gave a low command: "Be careful to hide." Cheng Xiaopeng responded and went.

  Xu Mingliang quickly searched the surrounding thicket and exclaimed, "Strange, there are signs that 3 people walked northwest, how can it be 3 people? Why didn't Lengjian leave a mark here?"

  Jin Huang furrowed his brow, and Cheng Xiaopeng, who had already entered the wooden hut, rushed to the door and poked his head out, calling out in a low voice, "Hunting leopard, come see!" His voice was trembling with suppressed sobs.

  In the wooden house, Geng Guohui lay calmly on the ground.

  In an instant, a chill ran through Jin Huang's chest, his fingers trembling slightly. In his life, he had never been so frightened, that fear almost crushing his heart.

  Geng Guohui had followed him through thick and thin for many years, with how high combat power and how rich combat experience, no one knew better than Jin Huan. But now, he actually sacrificed! What on earth did they encounter?

  However, the loss of composure was only for a moment. Soon, Jin Huan took a deep breath, and the humid air filled with blood quickly filled his chest cavity. His eyes were deeply calm and quiet.

  This is not the time to panic. It must be determined whether, apart from the nine mercenaries who died in the woods, there are any other enemies pursuing Lin Ruolan and her party as they flee.

  "Mark this location on the map, and send someone to collect the martyr's remains after we return home!" Jin Hao gave orders to Cheng Xiaopeng. He took off his helmet and stood still for a moment in front of Geng Guohui's body, then turned around and walked out of the wooden hut with big strides. Xu Mingliang took out his sleeping bag from his backpack, carefully placed the remains inside, and zipped it up.

  After leaving the wooden house, Xu Mingliang tightly closed the door. Jin Huan carefully examined the traces left by Lin Ruolan and others, he found a quarter of a muddy shoe print on a fallen leaf, which was left by an American jungle combat boot, the shoe print pointed directly to the northwest direction, he stretched out his hand to gently touch the shoe print, the mud was still wet. He suddenly stood up, "Quick! There are pursuers behind them!"

  Cheng Xiaopeng and Xu Mingliang followed closely behind Jin Huang, sprinting at top speed. The waist-high bushes were no longer a detour, but a hurdle to be cleared in one leap. In his heart, Jin Huang kept telling himself: "Faster, just a bit faster! Even if I die from exhaustion, it's worth it! Every minute counts, and every second Lan'er is safer."

  ……

  Author's note: Dear reader friends, this is the last update of this book on this website. Due to 17K refusing to sign a contract, from tomorrow onwards, this book will be published on other websites. Thank you for your support and care for this book all along. If you are willing to continue following this book, please add QQ: 1057541800. Thank you again!