There was a lot of mud on his rough fingers, and they were a bit wet after he rubbed his eyes. Xu Le's lungs hurt. He did not know if it was because the bullets of the Imperium did not penetrate his hard bulletproof vest but broke his ribs. He also did not know if the wetness on his fingers was because of the pain or because of something else.
The dry cigarette between his dry lips swayed softly in the night wind. Looking at the trembling cannons in the sky and the sky, he asked silently, "You should be calculating the massive data on the command starship, making suggestions, and controlling the overall situation. But instead, you came to chat with a lone ghost like me. Will anything go wrong?"
"I'm everywhere. One of them stopped by your side and saved your life. Are you grateful?" The Federation Central Computer answered the question in a mechanical manner. The latter half of the sentence was boring.
Xu Le took off the burning cigarette. This inadvertent action cut off a piece of his lip. He frowned in pain and said angrily, "Go to hell."
The silver light on the rocks was beautiful, and the night wind was cool. He sat on the rocks alone and watched the magnificent war like a spectator. It was hard for him to feel proud of himself for causing all this. Instead, he felt a bit lonely. Fortunately, there was a boring but interesting program chatting with him.
A self-mocking smile appeared on his face. He sighed in his heart. "If you couldn't find me today, I would've been dead. I've always been curious. You should be deep underground in the Bureau of Proclamation. Even if the information passed through the mini twisting hole, it would take at least two to three minutes to reach you. How could you be so fast?"
"I am not afraid of time." The old guy answered philosophically with the light talisman. "I am everywhere I can. Returning to this planet again, I feel that I am full of strength."
Xu Le had been used to the more and more nonsensical expressions of the supposedly cold central computer. He was never bothered by the state that he could not explain, so he did not feel scared or frustrated. On the contrary, he understood the answer easily.
After a moment of silence, he said mockingly, "Won't you be schizophrenic if you have thousands of incarnations?"
…
…
The fierce battle occupied every inch of land on the east side of the planet. Every second, soldiers fell and died, turning into mindless flesh and ashes. The battle was too intense. Xu Le hid alone in the Rocky Peak until noon the next day. The Federal military finally pulled out a combat helicopter and picked him up from the mountain.
The loud roar of the helicopter covered the loud question of the pilot. The pale-faced Xu Le was half-leaning in the cabin full of the smell of engine oil, looking at the mountains and grassland below.
The closer they got to the Federation base in the west, the more troops they saw on the ground. Looking down from the sky, countless torrents of steel occupied all the space in their field of vision. They were slowly but firmly pressing toward the territory controlled by the Empire. It was a magnificent sight.
The helicopter stopped about ten kilometers away from the rhombus-shaped base and immediately took off again to join the tense battle. At the airstrip, there were already military vehicles waiting for Xu Le.
The violently shaking military vehicle drove along the quick-solidifying cement military road toward the base. Along the way, Xu Le saw many small troops, like himself, moving against the torrent of large troops and converging toward the base.
These small troops were like Group 7, special teams that carried out net-laying work on the planet. Looking at the tanned and haggard faces of his comrades, Xu Le quickly recognized that this included most of the combat teams of the three major security companies of the Federation. The combat experts of Whitewater, Blackhawk, and Bluebird seemed to have all gathered on this planet.
Although these net-laying teams retreated earlier than Group 7, in the end, under the crazy scattered attacks of the Empire, they still suffered heavy casualties.
What shocked him was that among these combat teams carrying out dangerous missions, there were also many soldiers in ragged clothes. These soldiers had obviously risked their lives and worked in the Empire's territory for a long time, but they still maintained an upright state of mind. It was just that their firearms and equipment were obviously a bit outdated.
His eyes fell on the tattered military uniforms of these soldiers and the somewhat painful formation of wounded soldiers. His eyes narrowed, and his right hand gripped the handle of the military vehicle tightly.
The anti-government forces of Green Dragon Mountain had finally arrived.
The military road was filled with the second wave of Federal military forces. The Federation soldiers on the armored vehicles and mechas looked at these "bumpkins" of Green Dragon Mountain with complicated expressions.
They knew very well that although these heavily injured troops were retreating toward the base, they were definitely not deserters. On the contrary, they were all warriors worthy of respect. It was just that a few years ago, both sides were sworn enemies, but today, they were comrades in the trenches. For many people in the government forces, it was very difficult for them to adapt to this change.
A shout came from who knew where. The soldiers of the main force slowly raised their right hand and saluted the mercenaries of the three major security companies and the anti-government forces of Green Dragon Mountain. At the same time, they cast looks of trust and gratitude.
…
…
The military vehicle quickly drove to the front of the barracks. Xu Le leaned on the 2126 long sniper rifle and limped out of the military vehicle with difficulty. He smiled and said a few words to the soldier driving and patted the soldier's shoulder.
A member of Group 7 who was the first to retreat in the early morning had been waiting outside the barracks all night. At this time, when he saw Xu Le come out of the military vehicle, his face showed a trace of shock and ecstasy. He screamed and rushed into the barracks.
"Boss is back!"
"Really?"
A burst of exclamations and footsteps came from Group 7's barracks. Dozens of members rushed out of the barracks at the same time. Except for the members who were seriously injured and were receiving treatment, all of them rushed out to welcome Xu Le's return. Even Da Vinci, who was seriously injured in the leg, jumped out with crutches.
Xu Le grinned and looked at the members in front of him. He wanted to say a few words, but in the end, he didn't say anything. He silently walked forward and handed the rifle to Magnolia. Then he took a whole pack of cigarettes from Lan Xiaolong and opened it. He dragged his injured and tired body and seriously gave cigarettes to each member.
After a pack of cigarettes was finished, Cong Zhenzi patted his head and quickly ran into the barracks to take half of the stock and handed it to him.
Xu Le continued to seriously give cigarettes to each member and then lit them up. At the same time, he sincerely said in a hoarse voice, "You worked hard."
"You worked hard."
Yesterday morning, Lan Xiaolong had led the dozens of new members to retreat first, and their faces were filled with shame and unwillingness. As for the members who had followed Xu Le to kill their way to the peak of the green-gray rock, their faces were filled with excitement and excitement.
Then.
Xu Le walked to the somewhat familiar tree next to the barracks. He put three cigarettes between his lips and lit them up. He took two puffs and seriously inserted them into the loose soil under the tree.
Bursts of smoke, there was a deathly silence. Many people's eyes were red. It was not necessarily sadness, but mixed with some kind of complicated emotion.
On this planet, Group 7 had not lost a single person for more than two months. However, in the last mission before the great counterattack, they were ruthlessly slashed by the Imperium. In the river bank and the subsequent retreat, more than ten of their brothers fell into eternal slumber.
In this deathly silent atmosphere, some new members could not help but cry. Immediately, they were fiercely yelled back by their companions. The team members fiercely smoked one cigarette after another, like burning paper rolls between their lips. This was the life of the Empire people. The entire barracks was shrouded in silence and the pungent smell of 37 brand cigarettes.
Da Vinci smoked the most fiercely. He silently squatted under the eaves of the barracks. He thought of the big guy who lived in the same room, the farmer's son. He thought of the helmet sprayed with blood on the river bank. He thought of not being able to smell the smell of that guy's feet in the future. His eyes had long since turned red. There was a hint of viciousness in the scarlet red that was hard to describe.
At this time, the camera crew of the Venus Documentary Film Studio of the Ministry of National Defense quietly appeared in the barracks. The buzzing sound of the equipment operating woke up the team members who were immersed in the sad atmosphere. There were only two people in the camera crew. Yesterday, they withdrew halfway through the mission, so they did not film the fierce battle on the river bank. At this time, of course, they did not want to miss the scene that was enough to move all the people of the Federation.
"Stop filming," Xu Le stood up with the help of a tree trunk. He glanced at his left arm that was bleeding and said to the cameraman.
The cameraman hesitated and looked at the host next to him.
"F * ck, I told you to stop filming!"
Da Vinci stared with his bloodshot eyes and rushed over like a tiger. He kicked the cameraman away, grabbed the camera, and slammed it on the ground, shattering it into pieces.
Xu Le lowered his head and waved his hand. Lan Xiaolong and Xiong Linquan rushed up and blocked Da Vinci behind them. Bai Yulan used her sharp and cold eyes to force the cameraman and the host out of the barracks.
The doctor, Hou Xiandong, shook his head and gave Da Vinci a sedative injection. As veterans of Group 7, they had all experienced the emotions of these rookies when they first encountered life and death. At this time, looking at Da Vinci, who was gradually relaxing and sleeping in their arms, they also felt depressed.
…
…
The military camp prohibited alcohol and cigarettes. In the face of a life and death situation, soldiers all needed the stimulation of cigarettes. In the legends of the military camp, there was naturally a reference to this. That was, a fire.
A fire was a reference to when a soldier woke up early in the morning and went to the toilet. Then, he would light up one cigarette after another and smoke until he went to sleep.
In the first three days after the mission, Xu Le and many people in Group 7 lived a life that was similar to a fire. The laughter of their dead comrades, the exhaustion after the fierce battle, and the trembling of surviving a disaster could only be slightly relieved by the company of cigarettes.
Xu Le also hid a fire in his heart. If it wasn't for the stupid mistake made by the Bureau of Proclamation, Group 7 wouldn't have had to take that last risk. Those men would have been happily chatting in the barracks and smoking like him.
Xu Le knew his weakness. If he couldn't avenge his comrades who didn't deserve to die, the fire in his heart would never be extinguished. It would only burn more and more fiercely.
However, the opponent was the mysterious and indifferent Bureau of Proclamation. Before he had time to write a report to the Ministry of Defense, the Bureau of Proclamation had found him first.
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