Chapter 40: The Abandoned Wolf Pack

  "Hey, Baron! I'm fine. Looks like it's going to rain today!" The guitarist also greeted Yoruaki with a smile, but his pale face betrayed his true condition - he was already very weak. He had lost count of how many times he had fainted in pain over the past few days; fainting was actually better than not fainting, because every time that happened, the vet would give him an injection of morphine. There were only ten injections left now, and the vet's supply of medicine was dwindling fast.

  "It's okay, we're all ready. It's better if it rains, then we'll have fresh water." Yè Yáng Jiàn chuckled and said, as he looked at the guitarist with a pang in his heart. Pretending that sand had gotten into his eyes, he used his hand to dig at the corner of his eye and wiped away a tear that he couldn't hold back.

  "Haha, I'm telling you, big brother! Are you kidding me? You're a warrior of 177, but I'm not?" The guitarist chuckled and interrupted Night Yangjian's performance. The situation was not optimistic, the storm at sea was no joke, they were in this open and exposed place, if it got serious, they might be blown away directly, if it was light, those storms were not easy to withstand either. The raging sea storm would bring massive physical energy loss. In the absence of supplies and shelter, anything could happen. It wasn't until now that people would feel their own powerlessness. An individual's strength in front of nature was really too small...

  "Listen up! Class 177, we live together and die together. We will never abandon you, nor should you abandon yourself or think about abandoning us first! Otherwise, I'll lead the brothers to take action, even if it means storming into the underworld, we'll drag you out and give you a good beating, just like you beat those new recruits. Got it?" Night Yang Jian pretended to be fierce and swung his fist.

  "Alright! Big brother! I'll listen to you, we'll live together and die together, no one will be left behind!" The guitarist said with a trembling lip, smiling. He was an orphan, and from the first day he joined the troops, he had been with Ye Yangjian and others. After years of living together, they were closer than real brothers. Ye Yangjian was older and also played the guitar. During breaks in training or on holidays, Ye Yangjian would often pull him aside to play a duet on the edge of the training field. Playing and singing by themselves was so comfortable. In private, the guitarist always called him "big brother".

  "Alright, you know what I mean, don't worry, I know what you're thinking. With medical technology advancing so much, getting a prosthetic leg that's as good as new is easy. The army isn't poor either, maybe they can even get you a high-end one, like the ones in Mechanical Warrior Police! Haha! Then your guitar skills will be awesome, Golden Left Foot! Who knows, maybe you'll even lead the national team to conquer Asia and take on the world! I'll go back and pester my uncle for funding, if he doesn't approve it, we've got enough brothers here who can help. If he dares not to approve it, I'll steal all his special supplies and sell them, I reckon they'd be worth a lot!

  Night Yang Jian sat down beside the guitarist, patting his shoulder and saying this in a joking manner, but actually trying to give him hope. People live for hope, and Night Yang Jian was afraid that this brother who loved playing guitar and football would lose all will to live."

  "Mao! You want me to take those idiots to play soccer? Are you kidding me?! Our class of ten, if we were to participate in the World Cup, wouldn't even need a goalkeeper, just use an empty goal tactic. With just us ten, we could charge out of Asia. If others score one goal against us, we'd dare to score two against them. What can those national teams do? A tank could flip over their entire team, and also take care of the bench players and coaches." The guitarist seemed to be in a good mood, chatting with Ye Yangjian about Big Mountain.

  "Alright! Just for that sentence, we'll go back and collectively apply to join the August 1st team. We'll take them down one by one on the soccer field and avenge you. We won't shoot goals, we'll just kick them in the crotch. One down is one down, red card or not, we don't care. If the referee dares to argue, we'll call our squad leader to take him away, tie him up at the goalpost, and let those new recruits practice throwing hand grenades!" Yeyang Jian also laughed.

  "Haha, that was a good feeling. I remember when we first enlisted and had our first grenade throwing practice. Big Bear was the first to go up, but despite his tall stature, he's an idiot. He threw the grenade behind him, causing all of us to hit the ground. It wasn't until later that our squad leader told us it was just a fake grenade. I almost peed my pants back then..." The guitarist said, laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face.

  "It's just that, you remember, the second year, we were old soldiers, watching those new recruits training, practicing shooting. One look at them and they seemed pretty cool, but as soon as they fired a shot, their pants got wet instantly..." Ye Yangjian lit a cigarette and sat next to the guitarist, non-stop chatting about the good times when they were in the army. Every time they talked about something funny, both of them burst out laughing, tears streaming down their faces for a long time.

  "Big brother, it's going to rain, give me a cigarette to smoke! Once the rain starts, I won't be able to smoke anymore. These past few days have been killing me." The guitarist said quietly as he gazed at the dark clouds rolling in.

  He pulled out a special supply of cigarettes, lit one up, took a hard drag, and handed it to the guitarist.

  The guitarist took a puff of the cigarette, inhaled deeply, puffed out his cheeks, and blew out a smoke ring. The wind on the island picked up, and as soon as the smoke ring came out, it was immediately blown away by the sea breeze.

  "Looks like I'll never have the chance to master the heart-shaped smoke ring in this lifetime! I've always thought that if one day I had a girlfriend, we'd sit on the beach at night, watching the moon, and I'd play my guitar, puffing on a cigarette. When the song ends, I'd blow a heart-shaped smoke ring and give it to my beloved girl... what a wonderful feeling that would be! Haha, right?!" said the guitarist with a smile.

  "Ma! You're stealing the spotlight from your big brother me! Want to show off? When we get back, I'll take you to the university entrance next to my house, the one I attended. We'll sit at the entrance and play a guitar duet, then blow smoke rings together. At least we can deceive 10 or 20 lovesick girls! You think about it, really no shame. From now on, don't say you're my brother!" Night Yang Jian laughed with tears...

  While the wolf pack team was still making tense preparations, the storm finally arrived. The sky was overcast with dark clouds just a moment ago, and in an instant, soybean-sized raindrops fell from the sky.

  The storm came suddenly. With the strong wind blowing, the rain curtain poured over from behind the mountain and instantly turned the sky and earth into a vast expanse of white.

  Just now it was overcast, suddenly there was a heavy rainstorm, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and suddenly a clear sky appeared in the sky, followed by another loud rumble of thunder. In an instant, the sky became gloomy, dark clouds gathered, and raindrops fell like beans, "patter, patter". The torrential rain poured down suddenly, the strong wind was chaotic, weaving a huge curtain of rain, connecting the sea and the sky together, all the scenery was blurred and indistinct.

  At that moment, thunder boomed and lightning flashed! The wind howled and the rain poured down. The sky was dark and foreboding, as if God had overturned an ink bottle. Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder shook the air, followed by a flash of lightning that seemed to tear through the sky. Rain pounded against the deserted island with a deafening crash, and in an instant, the storm intensified, with lightning illuminating the dark clouds and strong winds whipping up the rain. Yang Jian and his companions, hiding behind a hill, felt the earth-shaking power of the tempest. Everything was blown about by the fierce gusts, swaying precariously, as if on the verge of collapse. The thunder boomed in their ears, deafening them.

  Heavy rain mixed with cruel sea winds tormented the small team abandoned on a deserted island.

  The big bear and AK stood upright in the rain! Holding up a rain shelter made of an open backpack, protecting the guitarist, the guitarist's condition was already very bad, if he got a fever or caught a cold from getting rained on, then, without any medical supplies, almost any illness could take his life...

  "Hold on a bit! Brother! If you get rained on, be sure to say something!" AK shouted with his face towards the outside in the heavy rain. The rainwater stung his face, but since the wind and rain came quickly, they should also pass quickly... maybe if we hold on a bit longer, the rain might just pass...

  "I'm fine! With you loyal guards protecting me, I am very relieved!" The guitarist said with a smile, although his pants were already soaked from the rain.

  "Heh heh, stinky poor mouth! Don't worry, I'm here, won't let you get rained on, eat something first." Big Bear smiled with an open mouth.

  "I'm not hungry!" The guitarist refused the high-calorie compressed biscuits handed to him by the veterinarian. Although the "gulp" sound from his throat betrayed him, he still stubbornly refused, and there wasn't much food left. The heavy rain didn't know when it would stop, and they couldn't contact headquarters now. Ten robust men, although strictly trained, were indeed more tolerant than ordinary people, but humans can't go without eating forever. Fortunately, the rain allowed them to collect more freshwater, so they could hold on for a while longer... The guitarist looked at the not-too-distant Viper and Eyesnake, who were silently pouring water from their backpacks into a kettle in the rain, thinking that he should do something for his brothers.

  "Eat when you're told to eat! Don't drag us down, damn it!" Yang Jian grabbed a compressed biscuit and slapped it into Jita's hand, saying viciously.

  "Rations are running low! We should conserve as much as we can! I wonder when we'll be able to contact HQ again!" The guitarist spoke his mind, at times like these they couldn't afford to waste any more rations just because Niyas and the others were taking care of them. He didn't want to become a burden.

  "You're a big man, how can you be so fussy! We'll leave the last bite for you even if we have nothing to eat! Brothers who share life and death! What's with your pretentiousness!" Ye Yang Jian was furious, bellowing loudly. His emotions were so intense that he almost fell backwards, and the surrounding team members who were looking for a place to take shelter from the rain all gave him a discerning look! Yes, they had all gone a whole day without eating, not because their supplies had run out, but because they had all been saving food for Jita Hand.

  The cold rain consumed a lot of body heat, in this open space, it's impossible to avoid the rain... can only endure it.

  "Veterinarian! How much food do we have left?" Yèyáng Jiàn asked the veterinarian who was lying on the ground in a low voice. The food and medicine were all taken care of by him.

  "Our ration is reduced to the limit, everyone can hold on for three more days, mainly because there are wounded men, and we must adjust some more rations for the guitarist. Everyone will have about two days' worth of fixed rations." The veterinarian patted the wild combat backpack beside him.

  "When the rain stops, we'll contact the base again. Hopefully, we can get in touch with them; otherwise, we're really done for! It's my fault that I sank the boat back then; at least we would have had a chance." Night Yang Jian said gloomily.

  "What's the point, if we hadn't sunk the submarine, we wouldn't have gotten very far anyway. Their main cannon would have blown us to smithereens, not even leaving any scraps behind. Your decision wasn't wrong, the only mistake was that we thought there really would be a helicopter." The veterinarian comforted.