Strongest Soldier King

Five days later, Lan Xue's leg injury had completely healed, and the two had entered the national border. Luo Zheng saw that Lan Xue had no intention of signaling for rescue with a smoke fire, and he didn't bring it up either. He continued to carry Lan Xue on his back. Since accidentally hunting a leaf monkey last time, Luo Zheng had managed to hit an animal each day. Of course, all the hundreds of bullets they had scrounged up were used up. Without bullets, there was no way to practice shooting, but as Lan Xue said, "You can't stop working on your arm strength," so Luo Zheng had to continue carrying her on their journey.

That afternoon, the two came to a small river in the gorge, planning to rest for a bit, failing to notice that in a nearby thicket, a wolf was drinking water. Spotting the bull-calf-sized wild wolf, Luo Zheng was startled. There was no chance of running; the terrain was open with good visibility and nowhere to hide. Luo Zheng prepared to use his gun, then realized with shock that he had no bullets left. Decisively, he drew his Army dagger.

Lan Xue glanced indifferently at the wild wolf that had appeared. Seeing that Luo Zheng was dealing with it, Lan Xue didn't move, leaving the matter to Luo Zheng. It was just a wild wolf after all. On the journey so far, Lan Xue had dug up plenty of Luo Zheng's childhood stories and knew this guy had been hunting since he was young and had faced a bear alone. Dealing with a wolf shouldn't be much of a problem, and through this, Lan Xue had completely understood why Luo Zheng's gun skills had improved so fast and so well, almost catching up with her five years of hard training.

Luo Zheng was fuming from not having had good food or sleep these days. Seeing that the wild wolf didn't leave but instead looked provocative, he became instantly enraged, striding forward with a lean face full of intense desire for battle, and eyes cold and murderous. He let out a sudden long howl, as if a tiger roaring through the forests, filled with rolling provocation.

The wild wolf was startled, unable to comprehend why this bipedal creature exuded such an intense killing aura? The constant life-and-death experiences had made the wild wolf wary, realizing that the creature before it was dangerous and not to be trifled with. Angrily, it turned its head and started to move away slowly.

"Huh, is that your pet? You actually scared it away," Lan Xue said with a chuckle.

"That's right," Luo Zheng admitted, somewhat puzzled himself. Hearing Lan Xue's words, he couldn't help but show off a bit, "If it hadn't left, I would've chopped it up. But, wild wolf meat is too tough and sour, not tasty. Later, I'll get a wild rabbit for our dinner. However, right now, we need to hide in the woods. Wolves hold grudges. Having been scared away, it will definitely call more wolves over, and they're not easy to deal with."

"It's good you're still level-headed. Let's get moving," Lan Xue said with satisfaction, knowing full well the nature of wolves and smiling at the recognition.

The two quickly washed their faces and headed into the forest. With the appearance of the wild wolf, Lan Xue hadn't insisted on being carried by Luo Zheng anymore. They marched quickly, managing to hunt a startled wild chicken along the way, and by dusk, they roasted meat over a fire they had built in the woods—an scene that reminded Lan Xue of the past.

After they had feasted and quenched their thirst, they climbed up a tree to rest for a while, and several wild wolves charged over, howling and yelping at them, unable to climb the tree. The wolves had no better strategy. Up in the tree, Lan Xue and Luo Zheng used vines to secure themselves, sitting on the branches to rest, completely ignoring the pack of wild wolves.

It wasn't until the next morning, when the day brightened, that life awakened and the birds sang joyfully with sunlight scattering through, the forest full of vitality, a scene of peacefulness. The wolves had not shown any intention of leaving. Luo Zheng said with a wry smile, "This vengeance has grown too big, a matter of life and death. It looks like we'll have to take action. Wait for me a moment; I'll go deal with them."

"Don't rush; use this." Lan Xue handed Luo Zheng his 92 semi-automatic pistol and then, as if conjuring magic, produced a magazine, smiling, "Every Sniper always keeps one bullet on them—either to kill the enemy or for suicide. Look at me; I've kept quite a few. There should be enough for you to deal with the wolves."

"That's enough," Luo Zheng agreed, taking the gun and ready to aim and shoot when Lan Xue suddenly said, "Don't aim; use your intuition. If you can't kill them, then we'll both end up in the wolves' bellies."

"Ah? Okay." Luo Zheng felt the pressure mount, took a deep breath to calm himself, then carefully sensed his surroundings. It seemed as though he could almost see where the wolves were hiding. He raised his hand and fired a shot, "Bang!"

"Ooo-ooo!" A mournful howl of a wild wolf echoed.

Lan Xue never expected Luo Zheng to actually manage it and couldn't help being overjoyed. Although they were only about ten meters away, and there was some element of luck involved, at least it indicated that Luo Zheng had felt something, which was cause for celebration.

When Luo Zheng heard the wolf's whimpering, he knew he had hit his target and was also very pleased. He continued to sense the surrounding wild wolves, aiming and shooting by intuition. In no time, he had emptied a magazine. Checking his results, he hadn't hit another wolf, which made him feel depressed, and he awkwardly turned to Lan Xue and said, "I've let you down."

"It's okay. If one could become a master in a few days of training, that would be strange. Use this to finish them off," Lan Xue said with a charming smile, handing over another magazine.

Luo Zheng nodded, loaded the bullets, and aimed carefully this time, hitting a wild wolf with one shot. The other wolves scattered in an instant. Luo Zheng breathed a sigh of relief but suddenly felt something was wrong. Turning to Lan Xue, he saw her expression was also serious as she stared into the depths of the jungle. She warned in a low voice, "Someone's coming. Be careful."

"Understood." Luo Zheng handed over the Type 92 pistol to Lan Xue and drew out his Type 65 army dagger, swiftly sliding down the big tree. He concealed himself behind it, calmly watching the direction of the danger, ready for action.

Before long, a soldier emerged from the dense forest ahead. Familiar uniform, familiar emblem. Luo Zheng was relieved and called out loudly, "Which unit is up ahead?"

"Which unit are you from?" the other, also taking cover, called back in a cautious and loud voice.

Familiar Mandarin with a bit of a regional accent. Luo Zheng let out a sigh of relief, stepped out from behind the tree, made a covert hand signal to Lan Xue up in the tree for cover, and walked forward. A soldier also approached him, aiming his weapon with full vigilance. Luo Zheng passed by the soldier and took a quick glance deeper into the area, certain that several more soldiers were concealed there. He smiled and said, "Tell me, are you a reconnaissance team?"

"State your identification number," the soldier asked cautiously, not answering Luo Zheng's question.

Luo Zheng knew that military units have their disciplines and wouldn't divulge their numbers to strangers during a mission. He didn't bother to ask further and laughed, saying, "We're on the same side, from the Northwest Military Region. Put your weapon down."

"How can you prove it?" the other persisted skeptically.

"That's a silly question. Look at me, how can I prove it? Just take me back, that's all. I have a partner behind me, and I warn you, don't shoot recklessly," Luo Zheng retorted with annoyance while signaling to Lan Xue.