Chapter 23

  I'm tired.

  I don't know how long I've been walking, nor do I know if I'm heading in the right direction. I can barely see ahead to tell if there are still any footprints of that prey.

  I think I'm lost!

  It must be said that even a brave and talented general would probably not be able to contend with the mighty power of nature. Let alone me, a soldier who has only worn his armor for one year.

  Footprints were completely covered by heavy snow an hour ago, and the increasingly larger snow turned everything I could see into white. Only black and white colors remained in my eyes.

  The sky is black, and the ground under my feet has turned a pure white.

  No reference, no landmark, no compass, I couldn't even tell the direction of the wind! The snowstorm that wrapped around me with goose feather-like big snowflakes was almost swirling, making it impossible for me to sense the direction.

  My ears need to be cleaned every few minutes, but I don't dare wear earplugs or else I won't hear any sound mixed in with the wind.

  My rifle I can only wrap a piece of cloth torn from my clothes around the muzzle or else in just a few seconds the barrel will be all snow.

  And my boots, one of which had been stuck between the ice and rocks for ten minutes, I couldn't pull it out no matter what. I knew that in half an hour, my feet would be frostbitten, then slowly turn black and die, and eventually I wouldn't be able to move at all, only to become a frozen corpse on the snowy mountain.

  But I won't die!

  My arhat brother hasn't gone far he's still watching me from up in the sky although I can't see him but I know he's watching me.

  I'm a tough guy, I'm a wolf. I wear the uniform of a Chinese army major. I haven't caught my prey yet, and I won't die!

  Those wilderness survival skills I learned in peacetime are starting to come in handy now.

  I know I'm a god now, but I have no way to track down that kid who ran away. That kid is probably also a god and can't run far either. He's probably found a place to hide from the storm and recover his strength. I'm not stupid either, I need rest too.

  I found a gap in the rock to avoid the wind, then I dug out some snow and made a triangular windbreak, and I started resting with my body shrunk up.

  My toes are already numb from the cold, but I'm not afraid. I'll just use some snow to rub them and then pour some urine on them before quickly wrapping them up. I reckon it's definitely a mild frostbite, but at least I won't lose any toes.

  My stomach was hungry, but I solved it. I should say that my luck is good. There was still half a pack of field rations in the pocket of my jacket. I held a mouthful of snow and let it melt slowly, feeling a little warmth, then carefully drank it down.

  I was very satisfied at that time!

  I'm wearing a Chinese military overcoat, one foot in boots and the other wrapped in clothing, with half a package of field rations in my hand and a mouthful of snow water. I sat in a stone crevice in the icy Tian Shan mountains, feeling truly satisfied.

  I have food and drink, clothes, and a small harbor to shelter from wind and snow. What more could I want? I don't need anything else!

  Later, I always found it incomprehensible that those corrupt officials who embezzled hundreds of millions or even billions of yuan would end up being punished.

  You're just sleeping in a bed and eating a bowl of rice, at most with a woman, why do you need so much money?

  Don't you think that eating a whale in one meal and sleeping through the entire area of Australia is XXX? Can you really sleep with piles of money to nourish your body and prolong your life?

  At that time, I also understood some things in my mind. I don't know if what I said was right or wrong. Anyway, I said it out and everyone laughed at me.

  When I was a kid, I saw in my textbook that the volunteer army uncles were fighting in Korea, eating snow and fried noodles, wearing single clothes in the pit, waiting for the charge number. At that time, I felt that it was particularly lofty and great, making me feel that it was not something that ordinary people could do.

  Now I think I have a bit of an idea what Uncle Volunteer Army is thinking!

  The snow is falling heavily, and it's true that going hungry and thirsty is bitter. But think about those brothers who died in battle, and think about how if I die here, my family back home will be able to warm themselves by the fire, drink tea, and watch TV, and with that thought, my heart is truly at peace!

  People, sometimes it's hard to be satisfied, but sometimes it's surprisingly easy!

  I ate the field rations with relish, drank a few mouthfuls of snow water, and then huddled up and dozed off for a little while. I vaguely heard some movement in the wind and snow.

  Still quite a commotion, it seems like someone is walking towards me with a splashing sound and not hiding their figure at all, just so openly and dignifiedly heading towards the rock crevice!

  I was electrified at the time.

  Listening is absolutely not one person!

  Thinking of catching that runaway grandson, how come I didn't think that if the grandson was in a deep mountain and had a supporting base?

  At that time, they were well-fed and had a large crowd, but I was alone with a single gun. I even lost one of my boots, how could I fight to the death with those guys?

  I am a special forces soldier, I am brave and unyielding. I'm not afraid to sacrifice myself. I still have to keep my life to avenge my brothers. I absolutely cannot be a coward and clash with others head-on!

  I quietly loaded the bullet and unsheathed my dagger. I crawled out of the rock crevice and hid in a snow pit, carefully staring at the place where the movement came from. I was waiting for those bastards to appear.

  I know that Rambo taking down an entire base by himself is nonsense. I know that Ah-nold Schwarzenegger's character in Terminator can take on hundreds of people with a machine gun and still not die, that's because he's the Terminator.

  But I have no other choice.

  I have no backup, I've lost contact. It's impossible for me to scout ahead and then return to report back because I'm completely lost! Even if I wasn't lost, it would be impossible for me to walk that far again!

  I can only follow these descendants to find their base and then I'll take up my gun and charge in, becoming a lone hero. Killing one is enough to break even, killing two is to make a profit for the Luohan brothers, and if I kill a few more, I'll be making pure profit!

  In the midst of the wind and snow, I lay down in the snow nest, straining to stare with wide eyes at the direction where there was movement.

  Then I saw two white shadows mixed in the wind and snow, dragging and pulling towards the stone seam where I was hiding.

  It's also thanks to heaven that when I rushed out of the rock crevice just now, I happened to kick down that triangular windbreak wall with one foot. It was only a short while ago, but the heavy snowfall has already covered up all the man-made traces of the triangular windbreak wall!

  But why is the target two people?

  I'm staring at the Arhat brothers' bunker and there's only one set of footprints, I won't be mistaken! When I was learning tactical tracking, I was the best in the training camp!

  Damn it!

  It doesn't matter if he is one or two old men, I'll just wait for you two sons to take shelter from the wind!

  I've just realized that the rock crevice is a dead end. As long as I seal off the exit with my rifle, those two bastards won't be able to escape my bullets even if they're gods!

  Did those two guys realize something?

  Why did you stop in front of the windbreak wall I kicked and didn't go further?

  Am I leaving some clues in the stone crevices?

  Those bunch of descendants are also seasoned fighters, if they were to find out, I'd be the first to take them down, even in this heavy snowstorm, I wouldn't hold back and would knock them out with just one slap!

  The whirlwind of Karakoram Mountain, or rather, I'd like to believe it was my Arhat brother who helped me once again!

  I've heard a legend from Xinjiang that says those small whirlwinds rising from the ground must have a spirit inside, and they always hover around the places where they used to live or the people they care about, lingering for a long time without dispersing.

  That whirlwind wrapped up the heavy snow and slammed it onto those two guys, just like my arhat brother kicked them with all his might. Those two bastards didn't even take a closer look before they rushed into that stone crevice.

  I guess those two grandsons must have received professional wilderness survival training too? Anyway, I just saw the two grandsons use their hands and feet to set up a horizontal windbreak wall at the stone seam, almost completely covering the stone seam. They left a small opening on the windbreak wall for ventilation to prevent being suffocated by the snow.

  Then in the crack of the rock, I saw a faint light flashing, probably those two grandsons starting to make a fire for warmth.

  Don't rush!

  I told myself I couldn't rush in now and crash into that windbreak wall, I needed a second of hesitation, then one of those two bastards would definitely have time to aim the muzzle at me. I had to wait again, I only had one chance, I couldn't mess it up.

  I just need to wait a bit, I know that those two grandsons will definitely take care of their own feet first after starting the fire, this is human instinct and also a habit in the army, without a pair of feet it's impossible to survive and walk out of these deep mountains covered in heavy snow.

  I quietly counted the seconds I counted up to thirty and then I wanted to rush out!

  I don't know if it's heaven helping me or if my arhat brothers are really by my side.

  The heavy snowstorm reduced visibility to almost zero, but I saw three small black objects on the snowy ground in front of the cave entrance, which were about to be buried by the thick falling snow.

  Scatterable anti-tracking mines for individual soldiers.

  This thing is also a specialty of America.

  At that time, the US military in Vietnam had suffered enough at the hands of guerrilla forces. Especially those small teams that went out to explore the road as soon as they rushed into the ambush circle of the guerrilla forces were basically doomed to be annihilated.

  Even if they didn't die in the ambush, escaping through unfamiliar terrain and dense jungle, plus the Vietnamese booby traps, it's basically impossible to get out without reinforcements.

  So Amurukan's army was equipped with a batch of single-soldier scattered anti-tracking landmines, specifically used for delaying the pursuit of enemy forces to facilitate their own escape.

  This small thing is only half the size of a fist, and it looks like a stone when thrown to the ground casually. If you don't look carefully, you can't see it at all.

  Especially the power control of the explosion is quite despicable, a single anti-pursuit mine explosion can at most blow off half of the pursuer's foot, forcing one to arrange people to take care of the wounded. And even if the wounded are rescued, they will be disabled and unable to fight again!

  This stuff is extremely poisonous!

  The guy who threw the three anti-tracking landmines was quite an expert, the positions of the three landmines just happened to seal off a small area in front of the cave entrance, if they tried to go around it, the windproof wall at the entrance wouldn't be able to be instantly destroyed and the two guys inside would have reaction time.

  As for using hand grenades to blast, I estimate that anyone with a bit of combat experience would not dare to randomly blast at this time!

  A massive explosion in the midst of heavy snowfall! No need to say more, if it shakes off the accumulated snow on the mountain top, that would be an unstoppable avalanche!

  Unless they're planning on dying together, no one would use a hand grenade to attack this narrow opening!

  But how can I dismantle this thing now?

  I didn't even bring any explosives equipment, and this little thing will explode as soon as it touches the ground after falling. Relying solely on a multi-purpose dagger in my hand, I really don't have confidence in safely disarming the bomb in such a dark environment.

  It turns out I'm really a model of wisdom born from urgency!

  I was in a hurry and I had an urgent need to urinate, and at that moment, I thought of a solution.

  I knelt down on the ground, pulled open my pants and slowly urinated onto the anti-tank mine. Then I watched as the melted snow began to freeze into an ice chunk in just a few short minutes.

  As long as you don't deliberately step on that ice chunk with force, this thing absolutely won't explode, right?

  Carefully pick up the icy landmine from the snowy ground and put it aside, I used my shoulder to bump into the windbreak wall, and the snow blocks flew everywhere. I took advantage of the momentum to aim the muzzle at the two grandsons inside!

  My guess wasn't wrong, I saw the two grandsons taking off their boots and rubbing their feet hard. One of them reacted really quickly and grabbed a gun aiming at me, but I didn't hesitate at all and opened fire! I also knew that in such a small space there would definitely be ricochets, but I couldn't care less about it!

  At such a close distance, with such a short reaction time, I still managed to get the first shot. With just one long burst of fire, I didn't even have time to sweep my gun in an arc before that son of a gun had already blown a big hole in my belly. Water splashed everywhere, and my mouth was filled with the taste of blood. I knew for sure that my face was now completely covered in blood, making me look like a living ghost.

  I'm a living devil, I'm Yan Wang who takes lives. You guys killed my brother, now you sons of bitches owe me your lives!

  I pointed the muzzle at that son, and he fell to the ground, kowtowing to me with his mouth open, speaking fluent Chinese, saying "Spare my life, spare my life! I surrender! I know you PLA treat prisoners of war well, take our guns but don't kill!"

  I found it strange!

  That golden-haired white-skinned kid who I beat up and sent flying into the water didn't look like a Chinese person no matter how you looked at him, but this guy in front of me is clearly yellow-skinned and black-haired and looks like a Chinese person no matter how you look at him.

  Damn it! The thing I hate most in this life is a traitor! I hate them more than I hate the Japanese devils!

  I went up and knocked that guy down with a rifle butt, then it was ropes and bindings all the way. This traitor still had a full set of wilderness survival gear on him, so rope was definitely not in short supply.

  Then I didn't say a word, I first took off the boots of that little scoundrel who was splashing water everywhere and put them on myself. My feet were almost frozen into ice blocks.

  After re-examining it, I've caught on to some of its meaning.

  This golden-haired and white-skinned guy basically didn't have anything on him, just a small box about the size of two packs of cigarettes stuck to his body, but no matter what I did, I couldn't open it.

  There is also a waterproof map in the pocket, with circles and dots marked all over it. I still know that some of the places circled and dotted are the stationed locations and patrol areas of the border defense and armed police brothers.

  There's also something that looks like a GPS device, no wonder this traitor was able to find this guy with the full set of outdoor survival equipment!

  If I were to translate those traitorous Han Chinese again, I would have a bit of a grudge against Heaven itself.

  You said that the jump was unavoidable, if you jumped and killed this man, it wouldn't be a big deal, but can't you just avoid jumping all over the place and destroying several bags of field rations?

  If there's food and drink, I'm not afraid to stay in the deep mountains for a few more days. But without anything to eat or drink, it's so cold that I think I can only hold on for two more days at most.

  How can I be sure this golden-haired white-skinned guy has washed his bath or what kind of disease he might have?

  It's still okay, just now that burst of gunfire made water splashing everywhere, but the wild combat ration that was on fire didn't get wet at all and can still be eaten.

  Let's eat!

  I've eaten my fill, now I'll take you to a remote mountain to interrogate the traitor. Anyway, in this place, heaven is the greatest and I am the second... three. At that time, if you're a coward, you dare not confess, I'll let you taste what it's like to be frozen to death and burned by fire!

  No torture allowed?

  That's what the police officer said, I'm not a police officer!