Chapter Sixteen In the Sébastopol Military Hospital

  Text - Two

  The full name of the hospital where I was treated is Seabury Allied Field Hospital. Please visit us using the pinyin domain name of this site. Although it's called a hospital, due to the need to respond to changes in the war situation, all the wards are movable board houses, and the reserve of medicines is extremely limited, with very simple medical conditions, and most of the medical staff are hastily assembled, so the level of service is uneven. However, despite this, I still received quite good treatment and care at Seabury Hospital. Of course, one of the main reasons why the Allies treated me like this was because I am a Chinese person, their ally.

  After ten days of rest, the wounds on my body had healed six or seven parts. In these ten days, I received Alisha's meticulous care, she was like a lovely angel, smiling every day, full of energy every day, and there was no war or death to be seen from her, only the true goodness and beauty of human nature. Every time after changing the medicine, she would sit by my bed and chat with me for a few minutes, telling me about local customs and often laughing that I looked like a clumsy big alligator lying in bed. Thanks to Alisha, my mood gradually improved, and my tightly locked eyebrows slowly relaxed. During this period, Ah Xi only came once, and he had a long conversation with me like an old friend who had known each other for many years.

  Yaxi told me a lot about the situation on the front lines. According to Yaxi, the first round of military strikes by the multi-national coalition against the "Gurital" cult organization has ended. This battle destroyed four cult military bases, killed over 8,000 enemies, and successfully captured one of the organization's newly developed anti-gravity aircraft. Yaxi also emphasized the anti-gravity aircraft to me, telling me that its materials are extremely special, made from high-purity carbon crystals combined with nickel and some unknown substance. The aircraft uses a geomagnetic conversion device to effectively cancel out the Earth's gravitational constraints, using compressed air as its power source, with a flight speed approaching sub-light speeds. During flight, it can also flexibly change its flight posture and direction, with both attack and defense capabilities, possessing excellent properties that traditional aircraft cannot match.

  I asked Ah Xi, how accurate is this intelligence? Ah Xi told me that some of the military achievements in the intelligence may have been exaggerated by the Military Propaganda Department, but overall it still conforms to objective facts. I asked Ah Xi if this round of military strikes could severely damage the Guleitar organization. Ah Xi said it was enough to hurt the extremist organization's tendons and bones, but not a fatal blow. And when I asked about the two things that concern me most, Ah Xi's answer left me in deep anxiety and depression.

  I asked Ah Xi how many troops the Allied Forces lost in this battle, and whether they had obtained any intelligence about the "Dark Ghost" from some prisoners of war. Ah Xi told me that the Allied Forces lost 4013 soldiers, and he particularly emphasized that the Chinese troops lost 541 people; as for the question of the "Dark Ghost", Ah Xi said that he was a low-ranking officer in the ground forces, and this kind of top-secret intelligence was not something he could know. However, through Ah Xi's subtle changes in expression when he said these words, I judged that he had deliberately concealed something. And more importantly, what he deliberately concealed was very likely to have an important connection with me, which was confirmed three days later.

  This morning, Alisha took me to the military medical training ground for rehabilitation exercises. On the training ground, many wounded soldiers of the government army were undergoing rehabilitation training. They either had thick gauze wrapped around their heads, or wore slings on their arms, or leaned on crutches; they had lost arms, broken legs, gone blind, or been disfigured... In short, they were all different, suffering from different pains as wounded soldiers in the war. There were also some foreign wounded soldiers among them. The medical staff were scattered among them like white jasmine flowers in a lush green forest.

  After running 5 kilometers, I also did a series of strength training. Alisha was very happy to see my physical recovery so well. She said to me: "Muddy loach, your physical quality is really good. If an ordinary person suffered such injuries as you, it would take at least three or two months to recover. But now look at you, less than half a month and you're running and jumping again." I was doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar while saying to Alisha: "This is nothing, we are this kind of people with thick skin and flesh, such injuries don't count as anything." Alisha asked: "What were you like before joining the army?" "A good student in the teacher's eyes, a good child in the parents' eyes, afraid to fight but fighting desperately when it comes to it, a 'maverick' young man!" I replied to Alisha without thinking.

  Arisa laughed and said, "Really interesting, it seems like you were a hot-headed guy when you were a student!" "98... 99... 100..." I finished my 100th pull-up on the horizontal bar and jumped down, saying to Arisa, "I guess so, but I'm not someone who likes to cause trouble." Arisa clapped her hands and said, "Amazing! One hundred. I think you're a guy who doesn't like to cause trouble, but also isn't someone who gets pushed around! Right?" I smiled faintly and said, "About that..." "And what about your personality? Was it always as cool as it is now?" Arisa asked next. I thought for a moment before saying, "Before I enlisted, I loved talking and laughing, my personality was very outgoing... but after... probably after killing the first person in war, I just couldn't seem to laugh or talk much anymore." After that, I picked up another dumbbell and started practicing my arm strength.

  Arisa gazed at me with an unfathomable look in her eyes and asked, "Muduo, how many people have you killed in battle?" I stared blankly into the distance, where the lush trees of the mountains stood, and gripped my wrestling staff tightly. My mind was filled with the anguished expressions of the dead. I replied to Arisa, "Two people - one was a comrade, and the other was an enemy!" "Comrade?!" Arisa's eyes widened in shock at my response. She understood that there was more to my words than met the eye when I said I had killed "two people", but she still felt extremely surprised that I had actually killed my own comrade.

  She asked, "Did you kill your own comrade?" "Yes, I killed my comrade!" I replied coldly, pressing the equipment even harder, and the wounds on my body began to throb with pain. Alisha stepped forward, grasping my arm, and said angrily, "Alright, mudfish, stop practicing! If you keep going like this, your wound will burst open." I sat down heavily on the grassy ground covered in dew, panting loudly. Alisha squatted down beside me, asking softly, "Mudfish, tell me what happened?" I said calmly, "Two years ago, during a top-secret mission, my comrade Yuanshan was captured by the enemy. We had an agreement that if one of us was caught, the other would help them die quickly to keep the secret safe. At the time, Yuanshan was tied to a stake and being stabbed repeatedly with bayonets. I saw everything clearly through my scope, and in the end, I gritted my teeth and shot him through the heart, sending him on his final journey."

  Alisha gently patted my shoulder and said, "Don't be too sad, I'm not Far Mountain, but I believe Far Mountain won't blame you." Alisha, don't comfort me, I'm fine, I know how to face the departure of a comrade," I replied calmly. Alisha said, "That's good! By the way..." Perhaps to change the subject and make me feel better, Alisha asked me, "I heard that Chinese kung fu is very powerful, but I've never seen it before. As a special forces soldier from China, your kung fu must be great, right?" "It's okay," I nodded mechanically. Alisha excitedly said, "Can you show me some then?" "Sorry Alisha, our military skills are for killing enemies and protecting the country, not for showing off!" I replied coldly. Alisha didn't seem to expect my attitude, and she quickly explained, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything else, I just hope you don't get too caught up in past memories." I realized that my tone had hurt Alisha, so I softened my voice and said, "Alisha, don't be angry, my attitude wasn't good earlier. I know your intentions, actually, I've been practicing martial arts since I was a kid. When I have the chance, I'll practice a beautiful fist style for you to see." Alisha smiled and said, "Don't take it too seriously, I'm not angry. Alright, let's end our training here and go back to rest." After that, Alisha helped me up from the ground.

  "Hold on!" Just as we were about to return to the ward, a big black guy stopped us. "What's up?" I asked coldly without even turning my head. "Chinese soldier, I've been watching you for two days and I don't like your arrogant attitude." I turned around and looked at him.

  He was very tall, about 1.9 meters, with dark and shiny skin, a strong and muscular build, and muscles as hard as steel. He wore a pair of deep black sunglasses on the bridge of his slightly upturned nose. "What do you want to do?" I asked. The big guy said proudly, "Nothing, just want to spar with you... huh! How about it?" As he spoke, he struck a pose like Huang Feihong from an old movie. "Ben Jenson, what are you doing? Are your leg bones fully healed yet?" Alisha walked up to the big guy and punched him hard on the chest, saying. The big guy's face lit up with a smile after being hit by Alisha, and he said, "Dear Alisha, I don't want to do anything, just heard that this soldier is good at martial arts, so I wanted to spar with him... besides..." He lowered his voice and said to Alisha in a serious tone, "I think you're getting too close to him, it's making me angry, so I want to teach him a lesson!" Alisha punched the big guy's chest again. "You must be itching for a fight! If your injuries are okay, then hurry back to your US military base!" The big guy smiled slyly and said, "Dear Alisha, you don't know, actually, I'm still hurting here, here, and here... but sparring with him will help my wounds recover. Let us just exchange a few moves, I promise God and you that I won't hurt him." "Absolutely not! Muddy's injuries are still fragile now, if he spars with you, there will definitely be problems!" Alisha's tone was very firm.

  "Whatever, I'm not talking to you anymore. I'll talk to this big soldier instead." The black big guy seemed unwilling to continue bantering with Alisha and turned his attention to me: "How about it, soldier? Let's have a real fight like men, instead of always hiding under the 'wings' of women?" "Sorry!" I replied coldly: "I'm not in the mood for fighting." After finishing speaking, I turned around to leave. "Don't be like that, don't be afraid. We'll just use our fists and feet to see who's better, Jason won't hurt you." "I already said I'm not in the mood!" I said stiffly, as he continued to pester me.

  "Wait..." Hei Da Ge saw that I was determined to leave, so he grabbed my shoulder and said, "Don't be a coward, let's exchange a few moves!" His behavior made me somewhat angry, and I pushed his hand away from my shoulder, saying, "How can you be so shameless?" After finishing speaking, I turned around to leave again. He once again grabbed my shoulder. This time, I was truly angry, but before I could get angry, he suddenly hugged me from behind. "No way, you can't leave, we must exchange a few moves..." His actions made me both angry and want to laugh. I helplessly said to him, "You're acting like a child, fine, let's exchange a few moves, but we agreed to only use fists and feet, and stop as soon as someone gets hit."

  As soon as I agreed, he jumped up excitedly. "Great, let's get started!" He said, and before I could even prepare myself, he launched a kick at me. I dodged hastily... "Good kid, taking advantage of my unpreparedness, striking first! Look out..." I grabbed his arm from the side and locked his shoulder joint. He twisted his body to avoid my attack and grabbed my shoulders, throwing me away. I did a 'lotus flower' kick to steady myself, and after landing, I charged at him with a combination of punches. The big black guy responded nimbly, and we exchanged blows. Ba-ba-ba... His jaw and chest took several heavy punches from me. Ah... He was getting angry, shouting and increasing his punching speed. I leaped up, wrapped my arms around his head, and struck his forehead with my knee. He reacted faster, using his thick hands to block my attack. After being countered, I jumped up again and flew at him with a kick... He dodged to the side, avoiding my 'leg', and took advantage of his height and long arms to land a heavy hook punch on my abdomen. The force of this punch was immense, and I was knocked heavily to the ground, coughing twice. Seeing me fall, he took advantage of the situation and charged at me with two quick steps... I saw that things were not looking good, so I quickly turned around and used an 'upside-down kick' to throw him away. His charging speed was extremely fast, and combined with my 'four ounces moving a thousand pounds' throw, he crashed into the grass like a small glider, belly-flopping onto the ground, getting intimate with the earth, and covering himself in mud and grass from head to toe.

  Pfft... Hei Da Ge spat out the dirt and grass from his mouth, tore off his upper garment, and shouted as he charged at me again. After dozens of rounds, we were both panting heavily, and although Hei Da Ge was now on the losing end, his fighting spirit remained strong, with no intention of admitting defeat. A few more rounds later, I seized the opportunity and struck him down to the ground with a "Luohan drying corpse".

  "Ah... He sat on the ground, clutching his stomach and said: "Your fist is so hard, you must have used a hidden weapon. Look, my stomach is bleeding!" I took a look and indeed there were two bloody gashes on Black Big Guy's stomach. I was also puzzled, but when I looked at my own fist, I understood. "What hidden weapon? It was just my little finger bone that scratched your stomach." I said, showing him my palm. He looked at it and saw that I was missing a small finger. "Oh... so that's what happened. Alright, alright... let's stop fighting, I, Jason, admit defeat." I smiled and walked over to help him up, saying: "It's not about who won or lost, you're also quite formidable. We're evenly matched." "Haha... I think we should become good friends!" Black Big Guy said with a smile, extending his hand. I shook it firmly and said: "I'm glad we can be friends!" Alisa looked at us and saw that we had finally stopped fighting and were shaking hands, she was also very happy. She smiled and said: "Now this is great! A big crocodile and a big gorilla becoming good friends!" We three burst out laughing. I hadn't laughed like this in a long time. We were happy and carefree, but who could have thought that at the same time, two soldiers were watching us from the corner of the training ground with complex expressions."

  It wasn't long before, to be exact it was the sixteenth day I was sent to the Seabury Field Hospital, that Ah Xi came to my ward and said a lot of things to me...

  From that day on, I returned to the battlefield once again and plunged into a new round of even more brutal fighting...

  Jason and I can be said to have a deep understanding of each other, and later we became brothers who could entrust our lives to each other. Jason is an unyielding iron-blooded warrior with a prominent family background and an interesting life story; he refused to be a spoiled son in a powerful family, and resolutely chose to join the army, participating in the war against evil cults, writing his own legendary military career. Jason once told me that making friends like me was God's gift to him. But I think what I want to say to Jason is that he is actually God's gift to me. Of course, another gift from God to me is Alisha...