Before I even opened my eyes, I felt a sharp pain in my arm and heard a constant whooshing sound in my ears.
"Quick, hide! The enemy is attacking!"
A hand reached out, placed Xiang Wan's arm on her shoulder, wrapped around her waist, and dragged her into the pit.
"You almost broke a bone, thankfully you just had to bear with it."
Sweat beaded on Xiang Wan's forehead, and droplets of sweat dripped into her eyes, stinging them painfully. She tried to wipe her eyes with her good hand, but found that she was still clutching a gun, her hand too weak to support it, and she had to tie it to her wrist with straps.
"Just hang in there a little longer, it'll be over soon."
My arms were tightly bound, which eased the pain slightly, but left them somewhat swollen. I straightened up and sat up, leaning against the earthen wall, panting heavily. My chest felt heavy, and my throat felt like it was on fire. My legs were utterly exhausted, as if they didn't belong to me.
Busy beside her was a woman just like her, completely clad in a black combat uniform. After tending to Xiang Wan's wound, this female companion would occasionally try to peek out to see what was happening outside. But every time she went back and forth, bullets would whiz into the ground, splashing up a ring of dirt, which would fall like rain, soon covering the area around Xiang Wan.
"Team Leader Zhao, the enemy's attack is too fierce, we can't get out."
The woman sat down beside her, panting. She took a water bottle from her backpack, gulped down a large mouthful, and handed it to Xiang Wan. "At this rate, we're just waiting to die."
Xiang Wan's left hand was injured and she couldn't lift it, while her right hand was firmly strapped to a pistol, making even wiping her face difficult, let alone drinking water. She stared at the water bottle for a while, then fixed her gaze on the woman, her meaning clear: give her water!
"Pfft, I forgot you were injured. Come on, have a drink to soothe your throat. We can't escape anyway, so drink up and don't leave the enemy a drop of water."
The cool water soothed my throat, relieving the intense thirst. After resting for a while in the evening, my strength gradually returned, and I felt much better.
"Don't be discouraged, we will definitely get out of here."
When Xiang Wan spoke, her deep, magnetic voice startled even herself.
"Xiao Qi, what's going on now?"
“If you don’t act now, you’re really going to die. Someone’s sneaking up on us, retreat immediately. There’s a bush not far to the left with a hole underneath; you can hide there.”
Xiang Wan roused herself and instructed the woman to stay close to her. To confuse the enemy, she had the woman tear off her blood-stained clothes and throw them onto another path.
The bushes were very short, and from the outside, there was absolutely no place to hide; it would be difficult for even a person to lie down. But she trusted the system; no matter how unreliable it was, it wouldn't risk her life.
The woman trusted Xiang Wan completely. When she said there was a hole below, she slid down without hesitation. Once she had a firm footing, Xiang Wan gestured and helped her slide down slowly.
Beneath the bushes was a mud pit, next to which was a round hole about an arm's length wide, its entrance partially obscured by grass. The woman gestured for Xiang Wan to hide, saying she would stay outside. Xiang Wan kicked her towards the hole's entrance, gesturing for her to go in first, brooking no objection.
Time was of the essence, so the woman quickly entered the cave, leaving half the space for Xiang Wan to follow. The cave didn't seem very big; it was just right for the two of them. After hiding, the woman placed the portable backpack she had taken off earlier over her head.
Soon, footsteps could be heard from above. After lingering near the bushes for a while, they gradually moved away in the other direction.
Inside the damp cave, it became hot and stuffy after a while, so they breathed very softly. Hearing the footsteps recede, the woman wanted to go out, but Xiang Wan stopped her. A moment later, sure enough, they heard footsteps approaching again, stopping near the bushes.
"Boss, there aren't any here."
"There aren't any here either."
"Keep searching! She's been shot; she can't have gone far. We must catch her!"
"yes!"
The disordered footsteps faded into the distance, and neither Xiang Wan nor the other moved. The person giving orders from above must still be there.
The earthy smell filled her nostrils, and her heart pounded. Time ticked by, and every now and then a half-extinguished cigarette butt would be tossed down from above, landing in the mud, gathering moisture, and gradually going out. Wisps of smoke seeped into the cave, making Xiang Wan feel like she was suffocating. She tried to hold it in, slowing her breathing as much as possible, afraid of giving away her location.
After an unknown amount of time, the people above them, perhaps growing impatient, began pacing back and forth.
"Damn it, they're all a bunch of useless trash, they can't even keep an eye on one person!"
The sound of guns being cocked rang out, followed by the sound of rapid running, and then silence.
After listening for a while, there were no other sounds outside. Her companion quietly opened her backpack a crack and peeked out. She saw no one else, so she pretended to climb up.
Shh, wait a little longer.
The companion stopped what he was doing and waited quietly.
"Xiao Qi, is anyone else outside?"
"Don't go out, those people are lying in wait."
What do they do?
"Human traffickers, gangsters, and vicious criminals—falling into their hands means death is the least of your worries."
Xiang Wan was speechless. The worlds she had experienced were all more dangerous than the last. What else could she say?
Waiting is a long process, especially aimless waiting. The wound on her arm was swollen, painful, and itchy. To distract herself, she checked her so-called attribute box.
Name: Xiang Wan
Gender: None
Level: 210
intelligence:
charm:
force:
Skills: Ink painting, Xuanyuan medical techniques, Soul-soliciting spell
After that adventurous and risky battle, she had improved in all aspects, and gained a new skill called "Soul-Stabilizing Spell," which puzzled Xiang Wan. She didn't seem to remember learning this skill at all.
"You should be secretly happy. This is a gift from Fenrina. In the future, if you encounter a great demon king who absorbs souls, at least you won't lose your soul right away."
Hmm, that sounds pretty good.
"What about the reward?"
"You wait and see."
A surge of energy was sent into her mind by the system, and Xiang Wan felt much more energetic. Her bodily functions were gradually recovering, and the soreness and numbness throughout her body dissipated, while the pain in her arms lessened considerably.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiang Wan felt a head gently rest on her shoulder. The woman following her was already snoring softly; she could fall asleep standing up, which showed how exhausted she was.
Having received the reward, and seeing that she wouldn't be able to leave anytime soon, she remained standing, letting her companion lean against her for a while, and slowly unwrapped the gauze binding her pistol. Her right hand was numb from being bound so tightly that she couldn't move it, and she couldn't even hold the gun down. She slowly changed her position, letting her right hand rest against the cave wall to allow blood to circulate.
"They've already left."
Xiang Wan let out a long sigh, took off her pistol, hung it on the holster at her waist, flexed her right hand fingers, and feeling that everything was fine, she asked the system to send over the plot; she couldn't keep being blindly chased and killed.
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