Chapter 295 Two men make a drama, she can't handle it. On the playground, the deathly silence lasted only three seconds.

The next moment, the more than 30 soldiers of the No. 3 Battalion who were holding the base camp erupted in a cheer that was a hundred times more enthusiastic and earth-shaking than when they had just learned of the victory!

"They're back—! They're back!"

"It's Su An! It's Gao Kai! They're all back!"

Zhuoyue could no longer maintain his calm expression and charged out like a cheetah. His usual composure was completely gone; as he ran, the muscles in his arms bulged, carrying a fierce force that seemed capable of crushing everything in its path.

Xu Gaogui, a theoretical genius who was usually as frail as a scholar, now had tears in his eyes. He pushed up his glasses, which were covered in mud, and followed behind Zhuo Yue, rushing towards the group of figures without a care in the world. His training shoes splashed mud on his trousers, but he didn't even notice.

"You bunch of bastards are finally back!" Zhuoyue rushed to the front of the group, grabbed Wang Jin who was walking next to Gao Kai, and slapped him hard on the back with his large, fan-like hand, making a few muffled "thump" sounds. "Damn it, I thought you all died in the swamp!"

Wang Jin stumbled from the blow, grinning and cursing, "Zhuoyue, you son of a bitch, go easy on me! You almost broke my bones!"

"It's worth it even if it falls apart!" Zhuoyue roared, his eyes reddening. "It's good that we won, it's good that we won!"

All the worries and fears that had been suppressed all night were transformed into overwhelming joy and tears of excitement at the reunion.

The soldiers rushed forward and embraced their returning comrades tightly. They didn't care about the filth that could have been scraped off three pounds of mud from each other's bodies, nor about the stench emanating from the swamp; they simply hugged each other tightly and fiercely.

Jiang Yan did not rush forward immediately.

He stood there, gazing at the sea of ​​revelry before him. His gaze pierced through the excited crowd, landing precisely on the figure surrounded by Gao Kai, Wang Xiaoya, and others at the center.

She was covered in mud, her hair was wet with sweat and dew, and strands clung to her cheeks. She looked so thin that a gust of wind could blow her over.

He took a deep breath and slowly walked over.

He was equally disheveled, with a thin, long bloody scratch on his face from a tree branch, and his military uniform was stained with paint all over the chest.

As the commander-in-chief, he personally experienced the most brutal battles on the front lines. The despair of watching his comrades "die" one by one without being able to do anything about it is still etched in his heart.

He walked up to Su An and stopped.

The surrounding noise seemed to vanish instantly, leaving only the two of them in the whole world.

Jiang Yan looked at Su An with an extremely complicated expression.

There was relief at surviving a disaster, heartfelt gratitude, and admiration for the incredible tactics, but more than anything, there was a sense of distance he himself was unaware of, stemming from the vast difference in strength.

He had always thought of himself as the strongest soldier in the Third Battalion, the natural leader. But during this exercise, he realized that, on a true strategic and tactical level, there was an insurmountable chasm between him and the seemingly frail female soldier before him.

All he did was follow her script and play his role well.

He opened his mouth, but his throat was terribly dry. A thousand words were stuck in his chest, but in the end, they could only be uttered into three words, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Su An's gaze fell on the wound on his face, lingered for half a second, and then met his gaze, her tone so calm that it was impossible to detect a ripple of emotion.

"It's my duty."

Yes, it's my duty.

Jiang Yan smiled bitterly to herself. For him, it was a life-or-death battle where he had to risk everything, but for her, it was simply her duty.

He suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, and even a touch of self-mockery.

For the first time, he felt so clearly how insignificant his pride in his strength, composure, and leadership skills were in the face of this woman.

Beneath this immense sense of frustration, a strange emotion, one that he himself was unaware of, quietly began to sprout.

He found himself unable to look away from her calm, serene eyes; the turbulent emotions hidden behind that composure made his heart skip a beat.

The two looked at each other, and silence spread between them.

The surrounding soldiers also sensed this strange atmosphere and gradually quieted down, their gazes shifting back and forth between the two of them.