Chapter 19: Enemy Ambush
"Dad, Mom, I'm back!" Jobs burst into a grain store, his excitement echoing through the air as he joyously exclaimed.
"Oh, my goodness! Jobs, you're back! I almost can't believe my eyes. It feels like a dream," a middle-aged man's voice followed Jobs' shout, filled with delight. The man was none other than Jobs' father, Old Jobs.
"Yes, I'm back. The army granted us a day off today, so I brought my friends into the city," Jobs replied, clearly thrilled as he rushed to embrace his father.
"My Jobs, you're finally back. It's been so long since I've seen you. You've grown so strong," Old Jobs beamed with pride and happiness as he looked at his son. Clearly, Jobs had matured a great deal during his time in the military.
"Father, these are all my friends," Jobs then stepped away from his father's embrace and approached Roland and the others, introducing them.
"Father, this is Roland, my best friend from Marseille," Jobs pointed to Roland and introduced.
"Hello, Uncle Jobs," Roland hurriedly greeted Old Jobs after hearing Jobs' introduction.
"Hello! Nice to meet you, young man. Jobs must have caused you a lot of trouble on regular days! Really appreciate your help," Old Jobs spoke kindly, engaging with Roland and the others in a friendly manner rather than assuming a superior air due to his seniority.
"Uncle, you exaggerate. Jobs is also like a brother to me. Friends don't dwell on such things," Roland replied with a smile.
"Father, let me continue introducing. This is John... and this is Marlin," Jobs continued with the introductions.
"Hello to you all!" Old Jobs smiled warmly at John and the others.
"You guys shouldn't go back today. Stay at my house for dinner," Old Jobs warmly insisted.
"Oh... that's really too much trouble," Roland said, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Nonsense! You've come all this way to protect us. We're grateful beyond words! Stay here for lunch today, my little heroes," Old Jobs smiled at everyone, not giving them a chance to refuse.
With that said, he left without waiting for their rejection.
"Jobs..." Roland was about to speak but was interrupted by Jobs.
"Roland, just stay! My dad is very hospitable. It's perfect timing for us to have a big feast at noon," Jobs warmly invited Roland and the others.
"Well... alright then. Thank you," Roland reluctantly accepted. After exchanging glances with Marlin and the others, they chose to stay and enjoyed a meal at Jobs' house.
The lunch was naturally sumptuous, with a wide array of delicacies. Roland and his companions, being from the countryside, were not accustomed to such extravagance and eagerly indulged themselves. If they didn't have to return to base in the evening, they might have even sampled some French wine. Nevertheless, they all left the table feeling completely satiated.
"Jobs, honestly, is your family wealthy?" On the way back, John asked Jobs curiously.
"Why do you say that?" Jobs' eyes betrayed a hint of unease at the question, but he quickly masked it.
"Just look at the lunch today! My, oh my, such a feast, and all of it delicious. That must have cost your family a week's worth of rations. I never would have guessed, Jobs, that you're actually from a wealthy background," John teased.
"Stop teasing me. If I were truly wealthy, I wouldn't have joined the military," Jobs wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"You never know, nowadays wealthy kids are all into experiencing rural life!" John winked at Jobs.
"Get out of here," Jobs playfully pushed John away.
"Ha ha! John, you're becoming quite the troublemaker now, teasing Jobs like that," Roland chuckled.
"Ah, you guys. Always picking on me. I'm losing my status among you all," Jobs feigned a pout, looking at everyone with mock hurt.
"Haha, look at Jobs' expression."
"Jobs, I didn't know you had acting skills too. Maybe you should have pursued a career in acting instead of joining the military."
Seeing Jobs' "dramatic" performance, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.
They continued joking and laughing as they made their way back to the Marken Village camp.
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"Something's not right. Be careful." As Roland and the others laughed and headed towards their base, Marlin, who had been silent for a while, suddenly spoke up.
His brow furrowed, his pupils dilated, his eyes scanning the surroundings like a tiger searching for prey.
Upon hearing Marlin's warning, Roland immediately adopted a defensive posture, a testament to the training they had received at the military academy.
In just a few short minutes, Roland, Marlin, John, and Jobs had already formed a defensive formation. It was the standard infantry search formation.
"What's wrong, Marlin? Where's the issue?" Roland looked around several times but couldn't see anything wrong. He trusted Marlin implicitly. He was a born soldier, far superior in reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance.
"Look by the bushes on the side of the road," Marlin pointed to the shrubbery on both sides of the path.
"What is it?" Hearing Marlin's words, Roland hurried forward, squatting down to observe carefully. He noticed something unusual by the bushes - several pairs of footprints inexplicably appeared.
"Whose footprints are these? They don't look like villagers'. And judging by the distribution of the footprints, there are at least three people, but they're all wearing the same kind of shoes. That suggests they're likely from the military. Only the military issues standardized shoes to soldiers."
"Roland, be careful, come back," Marlin's urgent voice suddenly rang out as Roland crouched down to examine the footprints.
Hearing the voice, Roland quickly looked up and saw three burly men standing in front of him, their eyes fierce and menacing.