"Old Xiao, where did the equipment box fall? I'll go get it." Jiang Ling placed the exoskeleton carrying Political Commissar Xiao on a floating object and messaged him.
"No, ahem, stay...it's almost time, and the sunrise over the sea will be beautiful."
Political Commissar Xiao grabbed at the air a few times and then caught Jiang Ling's tail.
【Oh well!】
Feeling the strange touch coming from an extra part of his body, Jiang Ling returned to his human form, found a relatively dry place next to the exoskeleton, and sat down, hugging his knees.
A cool sea breeze gently blew past their position, carrying away the stench of flesh and digested waste, making the air slightly more pleasant. A faint crimson glow appeared on the eastern sea, the morning light reflected by both the ice belt and the atmosphere. The blood-red light coated the sky with a layer of blood. Passing clouds intensified the crimson glow, as if it were about to drip down. It foreshadowed some kind of bloody disaster, deepening the despair of the desperate.
“Ahem…”
"Old Xiao, what do you want to say?"
"Help me sit up." Some bubbling sounds came from inside the exoskeleton.
Jiang Ling helped him, but he started coughing even more violently as he sat up straight.
A cylindrical piece of equipment fell off the back of the exoskeleton. Political Commissar Xiao tried to grab it with his hands, which had become less flexible, but soon gave up helplessly.
"Take this...it's the locator of the equipment box." Lao Xiao said.
Jiang Ling picked up the cylinder from the monster's corpse and twisted it half a turn. The two round surfaces of the cylinder immediately flashed red light. She turned off the locator and placed it in the gap between her legs.
The two of them quietly watched the morning glow in the distance. The sky above became increasingly brilliant, and the clouds were gradually rimmed with gold. Jiang Ling's eyes were a little blurry. She seemed to see someone standing at the junction of heaven and earth, waving in their direction.
"It's really similar..." Lao Xiao said slowly.
"Like what?" Jiang Ling blinked.
There was a long silence. Just when Jiang Ling thought he would stop talking, Political Commissar Xiao said, "My captain. I think I told you about that? That was the last ship I served on in my naval career. The captain was a typical second-generation military officer. I'm not saying he's a bad person, I'm just saying his ambitions are limited. After all, you know, there are always soldiers who don't want to be generals, and there are always ordinary people who don't want to be superior to others..."
He spoke rapidly, taking several breaths, then continued in a voice thick with phlegm, "It was just like that day. A fiery red sky, a golden horizon, a calm sea, a cool breeze. Only the season was a little off; it was just the beginning of winter, still retaining a hint of autumn heat... I smelled steak. Believe it or not, I was young and hot-headed back then, and my favorite was medium-rare, with some blood in it. The captain would take a few of us, the staff officers who couldn't even fart, and use the waste heat from the fusion reactor to grill. He really wasn't afraid of death. If that pipeline had cracked, none of us would have escaped..."
"That was the last meal... I was knocked unconscious by the shockwave of the explosion and was a little late... The captain was blocking the door to the dining room. I said I was late, and he said I was early. I asked if I could help, and he told me to go to the deck... When I got there, everyone was gone. The flames had scorched the armor plates red, the camouflage was emitting black smoke, and there was burnt debris everywhere... I, I was a deserter, but they said I was a hero!"
As the sun gradually rose, Lao Xiao's voice became weaker and weaker, and at a certain moment, the light of his life dissipated.
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