Chapter 8

  Today, the mountain bear finally helped me bring back all my equipment. Of course, there's also Ouyang's remains. Some have been sent back to her parents, I only have a photo of her here, the fragment of that dagger, and the letter I returned to her.

  Sitting on the hospital bed, Ou Yang's photo is placed at my bedside. In front of me lies my sniper rifle, disassembled into a pile of parts for easy maintenance. I carefully wipe each piece one by one, occasionally giving Ou Yang a reassuring glance. I know she understands what I mean; she's also afraid that I'll do something stupid. Shan Xiong and the others are waiting outside the door, ready to rush in and stop me if I show any sign of being off.

  "Ouyang, look, I'm wiping my gun~ Tomorrow I'll be discharged from the hospital. Today I was very well-behaved, really didn't cry, don't believe me? Look at me, not a single tear stain on my face. Don't laugh at me~, two days ago I got into a fight with Shan Xiong and ended up with a bunch of injuries all over my face. It doesn't hurt, don't worry, today it already doesn't hurt, but that guy beat me until I looked like a panda. Hehe~ don't laugh anymore, it's really embarrassing... but that guy isn't much better off either, at the very least he's now a raccoon dog too! This time, no need to call him Shan Xiong anymore. Haha~ you once asked me if one day I recovered, would I still remember how to wipe my gun? Look, it seems like I haven't gotten rusty yet~"

  I reassembled the sniper rifle that had been wiped clean, loaded a new magazine, and with a loud "click" cocked the gun. I took aim at the door, my hand already on the safety. Just as Mountain Bear thought I was about to fire, I disengaged the safety, removed the magazine, and pulled the bolt back again, ejecting the bullet inside. "Take a look, that guy outside must be regretting giving me bullets along with the gun. Hehe, no need to look at me like that, you know I wouldn't shoot my best brother. Do you remember when you asked me why I use such a powerful anti-materiel sniper rifle? At the time, I didn't answer you... I think you were asking for those curious sisters of yours, right? Hehe, don't laugh at me, but I used to be really bad at shooting, and with this gun's power, as long as it hits the upper body, there's no way to survive. That's why I use it."

  Here is the translation:

  "Again, I started wiping down other firearms. There were only two handguns. You once asked me why I didn't carry a submachine gun like other snipers do. I didn't answer you then, but actually, I still love showing off. Don't laugh at me. Haven't you noticed that carrying two handguns looks really cool? Don't be angry, don't be angry, I'm telling the truth. If I carried a submachine gun, I'd also have to carry all the matching bullets and stuff, it's too heavy. My physical strength isn't great either, and if I didn't carry that thing, I could bring more bullets instead. Look! The rifle I gave you, Mountain Bear has already returned it to me, and I've cleaned it up too.

  Anla, I know you don't want me to bury this with you, but don't worry, I'll still use it. I'll use my left hand to hold it. Want to know why? Not telling you! Hehe, don't be angry at your husband anymore, I'm not going to tell you anyway.

  Engagement rings are worn on the left hand, right? Don't laugh at me! I know we don't have an engagement ring or a wedding ring, but this rifle was my gift to you, and then you gave it back to me through Mountain Bear's hands. Let's just consider it our engagement gift, okay? You'll say yes, won't you? Your husband is so clever!"

  Today, I was discharged from the hospital. The sky was drizzling with small raindrops. I refused Mountain Bear's offer to hold an umbrella for me and insisted on walking in the rain. Rainwater flowed down my face, feeling like my own tears. I knew I wasn't crying because I told myself: if I keep crying, Ouyang will think that this man has no sense of security.

  I also rejected the idea of stripping off my equipment as Hill Bear suggested, insisting on wearing the full set and carrying all my weapons. Under the admiring or disdainful gazes of passersby, I walked with Hill Bear towards the Martyrs' Mausoleum built in the suburban hills, where Ouyang was.

  Now that we're here, I stand in front of Ouyang's grave, and she still smiles so happily. I gently take the gun off my body and give Shan Xiong a "don't worry, I have control" look, and he leaves. I sit down beside her tombstone. "Ouyang, today is my first time visiting you, but it's also the last time I'll talk to you here. Today I've been discharged from the hospital, and I need to report to Shan Xiong's squad. You know that I already refused the military district chief's proposal for me to lead a squad? Don't say I don't have ambition, my foundation is still unknown to you. If I were in command, I'd definitely send everyone to their deaths, so I went to Shan Xiong's squad instead. Don't worry, with Shan Xiong taking care of me, I won't be too impulsive. Their squad has a big personnel shortage, and they just received a batch of new recruits. My husband, I've been in the hospital for too long, so I need to go participate in adaptive training with the new recruits. The fragment of that dagger is now tied together with my ID tag; it was your protective charm, but now it's mine. If you ever miss me, just call me over to your side, and we can get married there. But don't invite Shan Xiong, or I'll spank you!"

  Gently standing up, shouldering the gun, adjusting my clothes, I stood in front of Ouyang's tombstone. "I know you've always wanted to see me wear a military uniform, look, not only did I put it on, but I also brought all the equipment." Turning around in front of the tombstone, "Don't you think your husband looks handsome?" Taking out my medal from my breast pocket, "I once said that this also belongs to half of you, but it's too hard for me to break apart, so please help me keep it safe. When I come to find you, I'll bring another one with me, and then we can each have one without having to break it." Gently placing the medal on top of the tombstone, I leaned down and kissed Ouyang's photo deeply, "Farewell, my love." Turning around, I left without looking back, not even calling out to Shan Xiong who was waiting at the side, because I feared that I wouldn't be able to hold back my tears.

  Adaptability training has been going on for two weeks, and when I and Shan Xiong returned to the unit to report, we met that chief again, and once again rejected his suggestion that I become a squad leader, because I had no experience leading troops, and I didn't want to leave Shan Xiong either. There was an idea that nobody knew about: "Shan Xiong is my brother, I won't let him leave." A simple thought, but if Shan Xiong found out, he would probably punch me in the face again, shouting "Your big brother doesn't need you to protect him!!"

  Among these new recruits, they only know that my name is Wang Kun, no one knows that I am called Yun, in their eyes, I am just a namesake of that battle hero and admire him very much, and then imitate his guy.

  "Look, our 'fighting hero' has arrived~" The speaker was a new recruit, Xia. I wasn't interested in knowing his name.

  "What's wrong, shy? Girly." That guy looked at me again and saw that I wasn't speaking as usual, so he started teasing me. Oh, I forgot to mention, I already got the approval of the military district commander. When he asked me what my requirements were, I only told him that I wanted to keep my long hair. He was stunned but still agreed to my request. However, in the eyes of these new recruits, with fair skin and growing long hair, I must be the son of some high-ranking official, sent here for a golden opportunity, and then waiting to be discharged."

  Behind me, the new recruit who was also a sniper grabbed me, although I didn't have any intention of moving. But he still held onto me, after all, in the army, snipers hiding in safe places to shoot are even looked down upon by ordinary soldiers more than their artillery brothers. "Have you had enough?" This was my second sentence since arriving here, the first being an introduction to them, apart from shouting orders, I hadn't spoken a word otherwise.

  "What? Want to try? With your small build, I'm afraid that if I'm not careful, I'll break you and you'll go cry to your dad."

  "Hahaha......" Then came the laughter of others, and he took off his shirt in the midst of the laughter, deliberately showing the scars on his body and the tangled muscles.

  I didn't say a word, nor did I take off my clothes like him. I just stood up quietly and stared at him with a provocative gaze. After all, I used to be a scout.

  "Ah~~~~" He, who was stared at by my gaze until his hair stood on end, charged up roaring, but was easily dodged by me. I kicked him lightly with the sole of my foot, and accompanied by a piercing sound, he directly fell onto the washbasin placed in the corner of the wall. "The quality of new recruits is getting worse and worse these days" This voice echoed in my heart at the same time.

  Before he could get up from the ground, I quickly walked over and stepped on his chest with one foot, holding a gun that I had conveniently pulled out of my backpack. Probably no one would have thought that I could pull out a gun from my backpack (new recruits are only allowed to receive guns before going into battle or during shooting training). No one tried to stop me as I removed the magazine and let the people around see that it was fully loaded, then reinserted it with a "click". Under the frightened gaze of onlookers, I slowly bent down and pressed the gun against the chin of the person under my foot. "Kid, remember, you need to have the corresponding strength before you can say something."

  "What are you doing?" The roar of the mountain bear came again from beside my ear, someone must have told him, judging by his hat which was not even properly worn, he rushed over here in a hurry, is he afraid that I will kill someone?

  "Kaito, put down the gun." The bear's voice had become very gentle now, it seemed he was really afraid I'd shoot. His gentle words had turned the people around him into stone statues, they must have been quite different, Kaito was actually training with them. The person at his feet looked like they were about to cry, he must have been very scared too, and there was no more "be a man and pull the trigger" expression on his face.

  "Kite, calm down. Have you forgotten what you said? A gun is for killing the enemy, not for pointing at your own brothers."

  Come on, I never said that!

  "I don't remember saying that, and my brother isn't him either." With a casual flick of his wrist, the safety catch was released, Mountain Bear's sweat had already started dripping down from his forehead, and the guy below was almost pissing in his pants.

  "Ying, it's not long since Ouyang left, and you still haven't avenged her. Do you really want to go find her?" Shan Xiong's words were like a heavy hammer hitting my chest, 'Ouyang, Ouyang' I repeated this name that was etched in my heart.

  "Listen up, kid. You're lucky. One last piece of advice: nobody's a good target, and don't underestimate snipers. Without them, you'd be the enemy's next trophy as soon as you stick your head out." I flipped the safety on, pulled the gun away from his chin, dropped my words, grabbed my backpack, and walked out with Mountain Bear in big strides. The new recruits' physical training was over; it was time to practice our marksmanship. It had been a while since I last fired a shot... wonder if I still have what it takes...