Arriving at the periphery of the southwest war zone by the Empire's transport aircraft, he hitched a ride to the town that was under continuous artillery fire. Sneaking into the ruins at night, Xu Le finally arrived at the place where Paul was captured according to the intelligence. After observing for more than ten minutes, he quickly left and sneaked into the deeper night.
Because the bombardment density of the southwest war zone was too high, the intensity of the electronic warfare was too terrifying, and because the lead-like heavy clouds above his head were too thick, when Xu Le first saw the dilapidated scene of Ferre City on the hill, he lost contact with Philip. The black spaceship silently stayed in a certain asteroid belt outside the atmosphere of Mo Hua Planet, and could no longer provide him with any more help.
These days, he had been searching under the heavy gray clouds, in the town where missiles were flying, and on the deserted hillside. He had no companions, no travel companions, and no comrades. He just walked alone. Fortunately, he had long been used to walking and fighting alone.
Being good at fighting alone did not mean that one could defeat all the enemies alone. Xu Le knew very well that on the magnificent and tragic battlefield, the strength of an individual was very insignificant. No matter which side of the battle launched a volley of grenades, he would be blown into meat paste.
Therefore, he carefully hid his figure, gradually leaving the most dangerous streets and returning to the green hills in the suburbs. Only in the deepest night would he return to the city like a ghost.
At night, he walked past the broken bell tower, jumped over the thick sycamore tree, wiped away the heavy dust on the window, and peeped at the messy floor of the warehouse. He carefully searched for all the slightest traces. Because of his determination or luck, he found the right path and saw the dark cellar, as well as the three corpses whose blood had long dried up.
The battle between the two sides sounded every moment in every corner, even in the seemingly quiet hills and forests. In just three days, Xu Le searched along the northeast edge of Ferre City and witnessed four tragic street battles with his own eyes.
He saw the Empire's mecha and the Federation's armored vehicles colliding fiercely. He saw the waist of a Federation soldier being blasted in half by a howitzer fired from the Empire's position. He saw the legs of a Empire medic being severed by Federation machine gun bullets. He screamed in agony as he crawled futilely towards his position. He saw many youths screaming as they died, and then fell silent.
The Empire was related to him by blood, and the Federation was related to his emotions. No matter how desperate the battle was, Xu Le could not do anything other than remain silent. He could not help either side in the battle, and it was very painful for him to move his butt back and forth on the two chairs full of blades.
The night was getting darker. A round and white moon slowly rose from the horizon in the east, generously illuminating the world through the gaps below the dark clouds in the southwest theater of operations.
Xu Le was lying in the camp pit that he dug in the evening. Looking at the full moon in the sky, he felt the slightly cold and wet sensation coming from below his body. He cupped his left hand into a ball and covered the cigarette butt. Bringing it to his lips, he inhaled deeply, blinked his eyes, and then turned around to look at the city behind him that was shrouded in darkness.
Then he narrowed his eyes, because he saw a girl in a white dress suddenly appear on the street that was full of wutong tree limbs and bomb scars.
The thin white dress hung down on her thin body. Because of the dirt, it was extremely dark. However, in such a silent and dangerous night, it was as white as a handful of snowflakes that made people pity her.
Xu Le's eyesight was very sharp. Even in such a dark night, with the help of the fading moonlight in the sky, he could clearly see the details of the buildings several kilometers away, not to mention the street that was only five hundred meters away from him.
The girl in the white dress looked very tired, but her expression was extremely numb, as if she had no vitality at all. Her cheeks were pale, and there were bloodstains on her dress. It was unknown where she was wounded.
Xu Le narrowed his eyes. He didn't know why this girl would appear on the street of Ferre City at night like a lonely ghost. It should be noted that although it was already night, this city was still very dangerous. A battle could break out at any time, and stray bullets would occasionally cut through the silent night sky.
Could it be that she was really a lonely ghost?
Seeing the girl in the white dress walking toward the corner of the street in a daze, Xu Le narrowed his eyes even more. During the day, he had confirmed that there was a troop of soldiers of the empire stationed at the end of the street. The Night Tiger Regiment, which was famous for its cruelty and ruthlessness, would definitely pull the trigger on anyone who dared to appear in front of their defense line without hesitation, no matter if the person was from the Federation or the empire.
Xu Le seemed to see the girl's body being cut in half by the cold bullets in the next moment. His narrowed eyes suddenly relaxed, and the moonlight on the horizon reflected into his eyes, very bright.
…
…
The girl, Azra, had been wandering on the streets of Ferre City for more than two days. Her will to live had been crushed by sadness, and she seemed to have no feelings or fear. She walked in the smoke and rubble, between the blazing day and the cold night.
She couldn't feel the pain of stepping on hot bullet shells with her bare feet, and she couldn't hear the sizzling sound of flesh burning. She couldn't see the mecha battle that was often only a few hundred meters away, and she couldn't hear the loud sounds of heavy metal colliding. She didn't know anything. She just walked like this aimlessly, preparing to welcome death, or perhaps she didn't even think about death at all.
There was a saying in the empire, "Those who don't see Death are not easily seen by Death." Perhaps it was because even the cold and heartless God of Creation felt that her experience was too tragic. Therefore, the girl, Azra, who had no family and no relatives, walked in a daze for a long time. Fortunately, she was not noticed by the dangerous stray bullets or the more dangerous soldiers.
"Why didn't I close the door? How could I forget to close the door?
"This dress is already so dirty. When grandpa asked me to close the door, why did I pick it up? Why was I so slow?
"If I was faster, if I didn't pick up the dress, I definitely could have closed the door."
Azra staggered along the street full of debris. She numbly walked around the fallen sycamore trees when she saw them. Her body was so tired that it seemed like she could collapse at any time. She felt that she was a prisoner who didn't deserve forgiveness. She lowered her head in self-abasement and sorrow, looking at her blurry figure on the ground. She felt that it was a sin, and so she repeated those words in a tone as soft as a mosquito's.
Turning around the corner, she heard a furious curse from the darkness in the distance. There was also the clear sound of gunshots. Azra looked up, tired and numb. She could vaguely see the soldiers in front of her. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and then she smiled in relief. She knew that everything was over.
The leaves of autumn left the trees because the trees didn't care. The trees fell on the streets because the people didn't care. In this world, in this ruined city that was like an abyss on earth, who would care about the departure of the poor, weak girl Azra? Except for that gust of wind that was starting to weaken on her frail body.
Tut-tut. The shrill sound of empire-made machine gun shots rang out continuously, and then suddenly stopped.
A wind blew from the side of the street, sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground and the small pebbles under the tree trunks. It also swept away the helpless girl's figure.
…
…
In a low-lying area covered by bushes, Xu Le rummaged through his military backpack for a long time. He found two boxes of instant nutrition packs and couldn't help but smile in surprise.
He didn't use his military knife. Instead, he pressed the heating spring with his strong fingers. After a dozen seconds of silence, he walked to the side of the military pit and handed the food to the girl. He calmly said, "Eat."
Azra ignored him. She just hugged her thin knees and stared blankly at her hometown on the other side of the bushes.
Xu Le sat down two meters away from the girl. He waited in silence for a long time. After confirming that she had no intention of speaking or eating, he stood up and walked over again.
Using his steel-like left hand to open the girl's jaw, Xu Le roughly stuffed the instant food into her mouth. Fortunately, the temperature had dropped a lot, so he didn't have to worry about burning her to death.
"I still have a lot of things to do. Whether you deserve to be saved or not, since I saved you, I have to give you a full meal. There's no point in being a hungry ghost."
In a very short time, he stuffed an entire box of food into the girl's mouth. Azra choked and coughed repeatedly. After taking the water that Xu Le handed her, she couldn't be bothered to refuse anymore and drank a few mouthfuls.
Then, the two fell silent again. The military pit in the hills was silent. After Xu Le finished smoking a cigarette, he looked at the wounds on the back of the girl's torn white dress. He suddenly cursed under his breath and took out the medical kit to bandage her wounds.
This time, Azila did not refuse, nor did he express his gratitude. Instead, he hugged his knees even tighter. His thin body shook back and forth nervously for a while. Suddenly, he buried his head in his hands and cried. "Close the door … The dress is so dirty. I shouldn't have lifted it. I'm too slow. I deserve to die."
The girl suddenly broke down and cried, startling several nocturnal animals in the bushes. It also woke Xu Le up. He stood up vigilantly, and at the same time, quickly turned on the filter detection device to monitor the surroundings of the hills to see if anyone was approaching. Then he heard the girl continue to cry.
"If I wasn't me … Grandpa wouldn't have died … He's the best … clockmaker. He can make the most punctual clocks …"
Be it friend or foe, they all agreed that Xu Le was a good person in the general sense. And he always had a certain trait, a trait that made people trust him easily and feel close to him.
Because of this trait and the fact that he was saved, and also because of his noble accent and black hair, Xu Le won the trust of the girl, Azra. She didn't hide anything from him as she recounted her tragic experience in the past few days, including the fact that she was raped.
Xu Le keenly noticed that the girl mentioned the Federation officers later. He then looked at the crying girl and said, "Your grandpa was right. Happy people only need to do one thing, and that is to live. You didn't do anything wrong, so you have the right to live happily. "
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