Chapter 72 Reversal of Public Opinion

Feng Xu's face turned pale. As if his consciousness had been detached and he was buried in the clouds, he still retained some perception and memory of the outside world, especially of Qi An.

The overwhelming emotions of shame, regret, and self-blame surged up to my throat, and for a moment I couldn't even say the words of apology!

Yu Shuang quickly wrapped gauze around Qi An's waist twice, hoping to stop the bleeding temporarily.

Qi An put a new protective suit on his tattered clothes, and he was once again a snow-white "little white" (referring to a protective suit).

The new protective suits weren't the carefully chosen size; the crotch was knee-length and the pant legs were bunched up seventeen or eighteen times at the ankles.

"Please carry me on your back, thank you," Qi An said to Feng Xu.

Feng Xu was taken aback.

Qi An waited two seconds for a reply, then glanced at Feng Xu's injuries before looking around.

After all, it was a load of more than 40 kilograms. The fire was burning fast, and the retreat also had to be quick. Everyone had gone through a fierce battle and was also affected by radiation. Who had enough physical strength left?

The captain's back was injured, so he couldn't think about it. The boy next to him with the long spear was very strong, but they had just met and weren't familiar with each other.

Qiao Zheng? Yes! The South China team member who carried Zhuang Xiao through; she saved his life.

Qi An shouted directly, and Qiao Zheng, who was in the distance, turned around: ?

He was a little confused, but someone called out to him, and judging from the size, it seemed to be that young Dr. Qi again! So he walked over there.

But after taking only two steps, he received a message from the headquarters through his earpiece: "Get away."

Qiao Zheng: ......

Feng Xu squatted down in front of Qi An.

Qi An raised an eyebrow, while the boy beside him pouted and walked away with his gun.

Time was of the essence, so Qi An didn't say much and lay down on it.

Feng Xu, with his spear slumped in front of him, stood up steadily and took a step forward.

The fire was raging, and most of the combat personnel who were still able to move had already run north. The helicopters in the sky also flew away, one carrying the critically wounded directly back to base, while the other hovered above the fire for a moment.

The reconnaissance drones had already been launched to record the battlefield situation accurately and upload the data to the command center.

For the first time, a smile appeared on the face of the solemn officer in the command post.

When a person who rarely smiles finally does, an intense sense of relief and joy practically overflows from the wrinkles around their eyes!

Blessings are merely a way for those on the sidelines to seek reassurance, but the soldiers reassured all military personnel and civilians with their true strength!

This puts the fallen insects at ease!

How many mutated white priests can there be in a forest?

There were at most three! The joint team from the New Base and North Base 1 encountered one at 3 AM and killed it. The Stars team encountered an even stronger one at 6 AM and also successfully eliminated it!

At this point, the heavily damaged squads were already withdrawing, and there were no unexpected developments. Therefore, the next operation, at least the operation to wipe out the remaining insect nests, was very likely to proceed smoothly!

Lying on his broad, smooth back, Qi An also said, "The battle is not over yet."

Feng Xu simply hummed in response.

They had already spotted several teams traveling in the opposite direction on the road.

These were all second-wave support teams, mostly soldiers from South China, either supporting the first batch of teams still in danger, or going to selected locations for reconnaissance and operations.

Feng Xu had caught up with the main group and began to slow down his running speed.

Qi An reached into his tactical backpack at his lower back... The tactical backpack was inside his new protective suit. It took Qi An a while to finally pull out the first aid kit.

Amidst the jolts, she unscrewed the small water bottle, rinsed the wound on Feng Xu's arm, then rinsed it with iodine, shook the gauze—it wobbled but was tightly wrapped and tied in a knot.

Feng Xu paused slightly, turning back to look at Qi An, his brows furrowed, seemingly uneasy and confused:

Why aren't you angry with me?

Qi An: "Huh?"

It took her a while to realize that Feng Xu was referring to the time he pressed on her wound.

Was he guilty for not immediately agreeing to carry her?

Is being pretentious another side of Feng Xu? Or is he just too gentle and too thoughtful?

"The wound was caused by the White Priest, it has nothing to do with you, it was purely an accident."

We've caught up with the main force. Stop for a moment and put on your protective suit.

Before leaving, Qi An took an extra set of protective clothing from the captain, which was prepared for Feng Xu, who was too rushed to change into a new one in order to avoid the fire.

Feng Xu stopped. He turned his head to look at her, his gentle and handsome face flushed slightly, yet a smile as warm and gentle as spring water spread across it.

Their northward retreat covered a considerable distance, almost reaching the area where the mutated bougainvillea grew.

When everyone arrived at the reception camp, they were almost completely exhausted.

Qi An dozed off on Feng Xu's shoulder halfway through the journey, but immediately snapped back to reality upon arrival. Together with several purification masters, he checked the pollution levels of all team members again.

Of the two identical-looking boys, the one who didn't display much combat power or fighting style had a higher level of contamination and was purified by Lin Ran's other clone girl.

The boy with the long spear had a pollution level of just 50%, so it didn't matter whether he was cleaned or not, and the girl didn't bother with him.

When Qi An passed by, he asked a question out of gratitude and politeness.

The response was a rejection.

This reminded her of when she asked Feng Xu if he wanted purification after the reconnaissance mission, and Feng Xu nodded immediately.

If we have purification resources, we must cherish them; if we don't use them, we might as well use them. With this mindset, Feng Xu is perfectly normal.

Qi An nodded to the boy with the long spear and then walked away.

They entered the large camp built by the ground support troops.

This camp was just set up to receive the retreating squad.

The Stars Squad arrived relatively late, and the camp was already quite lively.

The leaderboard is still being updated in real time, and Team Stars is still firmly in the top spot.

But the second-place team's points were almost right up theirs.

The second place is no longer Southeast Team No. 1, but the Freshman Team!

When the Stars Squad entered the camp, Peng Qiao, who was wrapped up like a dumpling, recognized them at a glance and shielded his eyes as if he had been hit by a dazzling light.

"The number one player in the entire server!" he exclaimed with utmost reverence.

Even with that remark and many admiring glances, the new student team still received more attention.

"The power of technology is indeed..." Some people looked at the ridiculously strong spear-wielding boy, the burly man with immense strength and speed, and the girl with terrifyingly powerful purifying abilities.

In fact, it's not just these three outstanding individuals; all eight members of the new recruit base team are clones.

The burly man, the three team members who had already died, and the female vice-captain who had left with the North 1 squad due to serious injuries were all among them.

There were still whispers and curious stares, but the new recruit team had rescued too many teams in the past two days, and many people had shown genuine kindness and gratitude.

This was only natural, Qi An thought. Although it was clearly the new student base advertising its cloning technology, she couldn't help but feel happy for the young people.

She only walked around the outer open area once before entering the medical tent. As a member of the Stars Squad, she was guaranteed a bed upon entering.

The wound cleaning was so painful that Qi An took out his phone to distract himself, and then he noticed that there was an extra sentence in the newly created blank memo!