Chapter 14: Affections Grow Secretly

Luo Zheng gratefully expressed his thanks and listened intently. These were all life-saving techniques on the battlefield, skills that were said to be taught only to Special Forces. Seizing the rare opportunity, Luo Zheng, of course, did not miss out and learned earnestly. Half an hour later, Lan Xue was so tired that she could hardly speak. Luo Zheng gratefully persuaded her, "Take a break. The food should be cooked by now. It's a pity we don't have any spices, but make do and eat something." Saying this, he moved aside the campfire and dug out the wild chicken buried underneath, broke off the mud from the outside, and handed over a chicken leg.

Lan Xue received it without any fuss and began to eat. In a short while, only the skeleton of the plump wild chicken remained. The two ate their fill but were unbearably thirsty. Luo Zheng planned to go find some water to drink, but there was no water nearby. Just then, Lan Xue suddenly said, "I'm tired. I'll teach you how to find water later. See those grapevines? The water inside is rich in vitamins. Just get a few of those vines."

"Okay," Luo Zheng replied. He spotted thick vines entwining a big tree not far away. He agreed, pulled out an Army dagger, and went over. Climbing the tree, he cut several vines and saw that indeed a good amount of water flowed out. He tasted it; it was somewhat sweet. Overjoyed, he cut several more vines, jumped down from the tree, and ran to hand them over to Lan Xue.

Lan Xue saw that Luo Zheng had not drunk any himself, merely tasting a bit before handing it to her first. Under her tough exterior, that tender spot seemed to have been touched, and a strange feeling surged within her. Her face flushed with embarrassment as she lowered her head. Luo Zheng did not notice and handed all the vines to Lan Xue, then turned back to the tree to drink his fill. Looking out from his high vantage point into the endless forest, his expression grew solemn. Jumping down from the tree, he said, "Do you feel better? We should rest a bit and then hit the road, right?"

"No problem," Lan Xue replied with her usual calm demeanor, glancing up at the sky with a slight frown, she spoke softly, "It looks like it's going to rain tonight. We must cover some distance."

Luo Zheng looked up at the clear sky. It didn't look like rain, but considering that Lan Xue might be an all-capable Special Forces member, Luo Zheng said with conviction, "If so, that's troubling. How about your illness?"

"No problem," Lan Xue said, her expression turning indifferent as she started walking forward with the help of a cane. Luo Zheng held back whatever he wanted to say and followed.

Along the way, Lan Xue continuously taught Luo Zheng military signs. Whenever they saw wild fruit, Luo Zheng would pick some for Lan Xue, who, recovering from a serious illness, needed vitamins. When they saw game, they hunted it for their evening meal. When Lan Xue saw essential herbs, she picked them, chewed them up, and applied them to her wounds, changing bandages at sensitive spots. Lan Xue preferred not to rely on Luo Zheng for this. Neither of them inquired about each other's identities any longer, yet trust between them was unconsciously deepening.

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, evening arrived. They had not encountered any dangers, but they found traces left by enemies— a pile of burnt-out campfire. The enemies had not cleaned up their campfire thoroughly, perhaps thinking that Luo Zheng and Lan Xue would no longer be able to catch up and didn't bother to make the effort.

Seeing that night had fallen, Luo Zheng decided to start a fire right at the enemies' leftover campfire site. He handed the food roasting task to Lan Xue, while he used a machete to build a rain shelter with trees. Although it wasn't raining, Lan Xue had predicted it would, so Luo Zheng did not take it lightly; a person who had just recovered from a fever should not get wet.

The rain shelter wasn't large, built under a big tree. Four tree stakes were set up, and sticks were laid across them. Thick branches and broad leaves were placed on top, followed by a layer of mud, another layer of branches and leaves, and one more layer of mud. It took more than an hour to finish. He redirected the fire under the rain shelter and quickly gathered a pile of dry firewood for the night.

Having eaten their fill and drunk heartily, the two sat on dry firewood under a shelter to continue learning combat skills. Watching Lan Xue, who generously shared her knowledge, Luo Zheng felt nothing but gratitude in his heart, with not a single improper thought. By the end of the day, he had essentially mastered military hand signals, and Lan Xue began to teach him about using firearms.

"Luo Zheng, you said you played with 'dirt sprayers' since you were a child; I've played with them too. They have a maximum range of one hundred meters. The effective range of a typical sniper rifle is between eight hundred to one thousand meters, a completely different concept from 'dirt sprayers.' Snipers can't be trained overnight, but since you have the basics, just treat the sniper rifle like a 'dirt sprayer' for now. Don't worry. The first thing you need to learn is anti-sniping. Only by understanding anti-sniping can you save your life, and only by living can you seek revenge." As Lan Xue spoke, her face turned pale with emotion.

"I understand. Was the owner of this gun your comrade?" Luo Zheng asked, pointing to the gun in Lan Xue's arms.

"This QBU88 sniper rifle is a domestically independently developed small-caliber sniper rifle. Its debut marks the entry of our country's sniper weapon development into the world's advanced ranks. The performance is very outstanding, with high accuracy, strong power, high reliability, safe usage, good concealment, and adaptiveness." Lan Xue explained as she disassembled the gun.

In the firelight, the uniquely cool and beautiful Lan Xue carefully explained the performance and usage of the QBU88 sniper rifle, lending a particular charm to her words. Luo Zheng was mesmerized, not really absorbing what was said. Sensing something was amiss with her exceptional perception, Lan Xue glared at Luo Zheng, her face flushing with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance, and snapped, "You assemble the gun."

"Err, what?" Luo Zheng began to feel embarrassed, quickly casting aside his distracting thoughts and humbly asked for guidance, "Could you say that again? It's my first time handling such advanced weaponry. I didn't catch everything; it won't happen again."

Lan Xue withdrew her icy stare but couldn't help feeling amused inside, a strange sensation tugging at her. Her face remained expressionless as she continued, "As the world's first to adopt the 5.8mm small caliber for sniper rifles, the QBU88 sniper rifle has no stock, no handle, and no cheek pad—quite different from similar foreign firearms. It's not very long, only about 920mm, with a barrel length of around 620mm. The rifle holds ten bullets and uses a 3x-9x telescopic sight, along with fitted mechanical sights..."

Time slipped away as Lan Xue's lecture continued unabated, only when the rain began to fall did they notice. Luo Zheng, seeing Lan Xue looking pale and weak, chastised himself and quickly said, "You should rest for a bit. You shouldn't overtax yourself recovering from a serious illness; I'll keep watch." As he spoke, he added some dry wood to the campfire.

"That might be best. I just went through the methods to locate an enemy sniper—using sound positioning, judging by the gun smoke, the possible hiding areas of the sniper, the angle of entry of the bullet, the rifle's range, and the surrounding terrain and features that are suspicious. There's a lot to digest, so take your time with it." Lan Xue finished speaking and closed her eyes to rest.

Looking at Lan Xue resting, Luo Zheng swore to himself that he would protect her at all costs, even if it cost him his life. He built two more campfires and chopped extra branches to dry by the fire for later use. Then, sitting by the fire, he became lost in his thoughts.