Chapter 190: Chapter 190: Escaping Danger

Xu Huaian was alone, leading dozens—nearly a hundred—people in circles through the mountains, going days and nights without sleep.

Even worse, he was about to run out of ammunition and supplies. Despite his careful use of weapons, bullets were getting scarcer and scarcer.

Food had long since run out. He survived by relying on his childhood experience in the deep forests, occasionally foraging for something to eat. When thirsty, he’d grab a handful of snow to quench his thirst.

At first, after eliminating enemies, he could sometimes pick up some of their weapons and ammo.

But at some point, the enemy became especially vigilant, always cleaning up the battlefield thoroughly when they retreated, leaving him with nothing to scavenge.

Normally, anyone forced to endure this, unable to even catch a nap, would have collapsed by now. Xu Huaian, however, had the spiritual spring water Gu Qinghuan had prepared for him, which restored his strength and energy.

Whenever he truly couldn’t go on, he’d carefully sip a little, and soon regain some stamina and focus.

He was like a human machine, never seeming to tire, always on alert, which even confused the enemy. They began to believe they were up against the entire special ops team, even demonizing him in their minds.

After all, who would believe a single person could run circles around all of them?

Xu Huaian’s eyes were bloodshot, like a messenger from hell. Calmly, he wiped down his gun and sorted out his last remaining bullets.

The spiritual spring water was gone, and he was out of medicine.

If there was still no news from the other side today, and he ran out of ammo, he would be finished.

In four days, it would be New Year’s Eve. He wondered how she and the kids were doing.

He took out a family photo, gazed at it for a while, then pressed it to his chest, cherishing it.

If he died, would she be heartbroken?

Probably, right?

He didn’t know.

He used to be a staunch atheist, but because of her, he found himself hoping for another life.

He silently prayed: If there is a next life, let me meet her again.

Meanwhile, Zhu Hao and the special ops team, after discovering the enemy’s stronghold, didn’t act rashly. Instead, they staked out the place.

They were more anxious than anyone, but forced themselves to stay calm.

Captain Xu was bearing all the pressure alone. If they failed to deliver results, they’d have wasted his sacrifice.

After thoroughly scouting the enemy’s numbers and situation, today Zhu Hao finally led the team in infiltrating the enemy’s base.

With a thunderous explosion echoing through the mountains, the enemy’s entire lair was razed to the ground.

The six-man team quickly retreated to a safe zone, heavy-hearted.

They felt they’d taken too long; deep down, they were sure Xu Huaian couldn’t have held out.

After all, they were only human and needed rest. For one man to fight so many—no one, not even a god, could do that!

The explosion rang in Xu Huaian’s ears, but to him it wasn’t harsh—it was like celestial music.

They’d succeeded!

He immediately reacted, withdrawing at once, not daring to linger even a second. This place was about to become a living hell.

The enemy heard the explosion too, turned toward the sound, and cursed in fury—their base had been wiped out.

Inside were critical documents from Beijing, weapons, and homemade explosives—all gone in an instant!

Wasn’t there supposed to be only one special ops team in the mountains? How did a handful of people manage such a feint?

They’d been outplayed.

Mainly, they’d gotten addicted to the chase these past few days, focused solely on wiping out the special ops team and neglecting their own defenses, giving the others an opening.

In their rage, the enemy began indiscriminately firing homemade explosives into the forest, smoke and gunpowder everywhere, determined to flush Xu Huaian out.

But he had already completed his mission and was retreating to safety.

Having grown up in the deep forests of Northeast China, these mountains were like his own backyard.

Outside, the Chinese army waiting in support also noticed the deafening explosion and the signal flares from the six-man team.

They cheered in excitement—they’d done it!

With the enemy’s stronghold destroyed, the enemy was now a toothless tiger, easy to round up and eliminate.

The six-man team waited at the prearranged spot at the mountain’s edge, hearts heavy as they waited for Xu Huaian.

That was the promise—they’d wait, even though they were sure he couldn’t have made it out. Still, they waited from afternoon until nightfall.

Each of them stared toward the mountains, hoping for a miracle, hoping that tall, handsome man would appear again and say, “You guys are all weaklings!”

Finally, Number Three couldn’t take it anymore. Eyes red, he stood, took off his cap, straightened his uniform, and saluted toward the mountains.

The others followed suit.

In their hearts, they’d almost accepted that Xu Huaian had fallen here.

They’d seen him take out the family photo several times, caressing it before carefully putting it back against his chest.

If his wife and kids knew he’d died, how much would it hurt?

“Captain Xu, rest in peace!”

“Rest in peace!”

“…”

They all broke down in tears.

Men don’t cry easily—unless their hearts are truly broken.

He didn’t have to do this! He wasn’t even an active-duty soldier, just a temporary addition to their team.

Yet he chose to give them the chance to survive, taking on the most dangerous tasks himself.

He risked his life to complete the mission entrusted to him.

In this moment, Xu Huaian’s image in their hearts was larger than life. Never before had anyone earned their genuine respect and admiration like this.

Only Xu Huaian.

As they wept in grief, unable to calm themselves, Xu Huaian quietly made his way down from above.

From a distance, he saw the special ops team waiting at their agreed spot, and could even faintly hear sobbing.

Xu Huaian thought someone must have died. His heart skipped a beat, but when he counted heads, everyone was there.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

He never imagined they were crying for him—after all, these guys had always acted tough and barely acknowledged him before.

“What are you guys doing out here wailing in the middle of the night?”

They thought they’d seen a ghost! One by one, they looked up at Xu Huaian in disbelief.

He was back—alive and well!

A miracle had really happened!

Number Four rushed over and hugged Xu Huaian, then turned back to the team in delight, “He’s warm! It’s really Captain Xu!”

He’d heard too many ghost stories and half-expected Xu’s ghost to come back for them.

They say the living can’t hug ghosts, and ghosts don’t have warm skin.

No one laughed at him for saying that.

Instead, in the next second, everyone crowded around, lifted Xu Huaian up, and tossed him into the air in celebration.

Xu Huaian was startled. He’d done this sort of thing himself as a rookie, but it had been years since anyone dared toss him over their heads.

But he was truly happy.

He felt the warmth of his teammates and the camaraderie he’d missed for so long.

After a few tosses, they finally let him down, surrounding him.

“Captain Xu, you really made it back? I still can’t believe it!”

“Captain Xu, I’ve never admired anyone in my life, but I admire you.”

“Captain Xu, tell us how you led them in circles in the woods!”

“Captain Xu…”

…

Everyone had so much to ask, so much to say, like excited kids.

Xu Huaian’s head was spinning from all the chatter.

“This isn’t a completely safe zone. Let’s fall back and regroup with the main force. We’ll talk later, okay?”

Though he’d done his best to avoid injury, after days of running for his life in the forest, he’d inevitably picked up some minor wounds.

More importantly, his mind was at its limit—he was only holding on by sheer willpower.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed on the spot, startling the special ops team.

“Captain Xu? Are you okay?”

“Where are you hurt?”

“Captain Xu!”

They hurried to check him over, finding many small cuts and scrapes from the forest, but no major injuries.

He was still breathing, so they relaxed. If he’d made it out, only to die in front of them, that would have been truly unbearable.

“Captain Xu is probably just exhausted from being on high alert for so long. Let him sleep. Let’s carry him back and regroup with the main force,” said Number Seven, Zhu Hao.

Everyone agreed, quickly fashioning a makeshift stretcher to carry him.

Xu Huaian had a dream—a very vivid dream.

A boundless sea of blood dyed the mountains red. Many comrades hadn’t even had time to draw their guns before they fell, lives lost in an instant.

He searched the entire mountain range with his bare hands, but couldn’t find a single survivor. Each one had a deep bullet hole in their chest—someone had made sure they were dead with a final shot.

Judging from the scene, they’d been ambushed and slaughtered before they could react.

Who could have done this? The enemy? Or someone else?

These were comrades he’d trained and fought alongside, people he could trust with his back—brothers-in-arms, closer than family."