The word ‘landmine’ froze the air inside the sandstorm. The temperature dropped by almost ten degrees.
Bai Xiaolu was so scared that she did not dare to move at all. Wan Canghai even stood on his tiptoes and screamed. He was scared that he might have stepped on a landmine, too. After making sure that there was nothing below his feet, he took two steps back and shouted at Bai Xiaolu, “How could you be so careless?”
“I—I—”
Bai Xiaolu was rendered speechless. Her two rows of teeth and the muscles and bones all over her body were fighting.
“Don’t move. Don’t panic. Stay calm. Let me see.”
The red eyes of the leader of the Gold Teeth Brotherhood were expanding and shrinking. Weird noises were echoing deep inside his temples. He crouched beside Bai Xiaolu’s feet and unsheathed his dagger slowly. Then he turned the dagger into a feather with the gentlest of movements and pushed away the dust below Bai Xiaolu’s right foot.
An anti-infantry mine the size of two to three palms that looked like a flattened can revealed a hideous corner.
“Aha…”
The gold-tooth leader laughed in an ugly way. “We’ve won the lottery. This is a K141 anti-infantry landmine from the ‘Contract’ whose nickname is ‘Spider-catcher’. Do you know what a ‘Spider-Catcher’ is? It is a giant spider that is unique to Papua New Guinea. It hunts in a very strange way. It does not send out webs but lurks in the darkness. When a bird passes by, it jumps high and kills the bird like a hungry tiger attacking a lamb.
“It’s the same for this kind of ‘Spider-Fishing Landmine’. It contains a bouncing combat department that can jump up to 4-5 meters high. The combat department carries over 500 diamond-shaped fragments. Once they explode, it is enough to kill all the enemy’s scattered soldiers within a hundred meter radius. There are practically no blind spots in all directions. Even if you are wearing a level 3 armor, the casualty rate is still above 85%… Kid, you really know how to step on things!”
“So awesome!”
Bai Xiaolu was so scared that she didn’t know what to say. Wan Zanghai was the first to scream. He subconsciously ran a hundred meters away, but after thinking for a moment, he turned back and waved at the leader of the Gold Teeth Gang. “Uncle, it’s too dangerous there. Come here now!”
“Boss, I…”
Bai Xiaolu’s brain went blank. She wanted to ask Boss Gold Tooth for help, but she didn’t know what to say. They were merely taking advantage of each other’s relationship. She was unlucky enough to have stepped on such a deadly weapon. How could she ask Boss Gold Tooth to die with her?
“What?”
Boss Gold Tooth glanced at Wan Canghai in the distance with a smile that was not a smile. “Are you abandoning your ‘classmates’?”
“Of course not.”
Wan Canghai’s face flushed red. He coughed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not easy for me to reach this place hand in hand with Little Lu. We are deeply in love with each other. But he has stepped on such a powerful landmine. What can we do? We can’t save him at all! How about this? Let’s go to the winery in front and see if there are any tools that can dismantle the landmine. If there are none, we—we will go to the place that Uncle wanted to go to in the first place. There must be a lot of professionals and tools there, right? By then, we will definitely come back to save Little Lu! Little Lu, don’t worry. ‘Never abandon, never give up’ is my motto. You must persevere. Gritting your teeth, wait for help. Really, in a day or two, three to five days, the reinforcements will definitely come.”
Bai Xiaolu was dumbfounded. She thought carefully and was rendered speechless.
Holding back his tears and trembling, he tried to maintain the last bit of his dignity as he said in a trembling voice, “That’s—that’s right, Boss. You should leave now. I’m here… It’s alright. I can do it.”
“Shh.”
Boss Gold Tooth continued digging the sand around the landmines until more than half of the tarantula was exposed. He was greatly relieved. Wiping the sweat on his forehead, he gestured to Wan Zanghai. “What else do we have in our backpacks?”
“Uncle—”
Wan Zanghai was dazed. He stammered, “What—what are you trying to do? Didn’t you say that the range and damage of such landmines are enormous? Don’t get yourself killed in vain. We are counting on you for the rest of the journey. I can’t do it alone!”
“I asked you to bring the backpack over.”
Boss Gold Tooth stared at Wan Canghai and said, one word after another, “Then, dig two pits that are more than one meter deep enough to accommodate us 110 meters away and finish them within two hours. The soil in this area used to be very fertile. Right now, there is only a layer of sand on the top. It should not be difficult to dig. After you are done, hide yourself 150 meters away. Do you understand?”
Wan Canghai’s mouth was wide open. He looked at Boss Gold Tooth’s bloodshot eyes, which were about to spurt out, and then at the gold boa pistol on his waist. He stopped talking and tossed the backpack to Li Yao before he started digging the pit.
“At least our luck is not too bad.
Boss Gold Tooth took out a few shabby tools from his backpack. “There’s a screwdriver, a few razor blades, and some sticky gel to stop the bleeding.”
“Boss…”
Bai Xiaolu felt that her calf was cramping in pain. “Can we dismantle the ‘Spider Catcher’ landmines?”
“Let’s give it a try. Thankfully, we still have the sticky gel.”
The leader of the Gold Teeth Gang explained, “Listen, I need you to remain absolutely calm and collected, especially the force that your right foot exerts on the landmine. There must be no change.
“Then, I will slowly remove the shell of the landmine and fill it with sticky gel.
“This kind of landmine is very sensitive. Your strength will be slightly altered. BOOM! Whoever wants to dismantle its sensor components, BOOM! Whoever wants to freeze its sensor components, BOOM! Whoever wants to replace your right foot with something else, BOOM! However, if you slowly inject some sticky gel into the sensor components, you should be able to delay its jump and detonation. The delay should be… around ten to fifteen seconds, right?”
“Ten, ten to fifteen seconds?”
Bai Xiaolu calculated quickly, “So, we have to run a hundred meters in ten seconds and jump into the ‘bulletproof pit’? I can’t do that!”
Before the nuclear war, the maximum speed of a human being had just surpassed ten seconds, but it was the result of repeated attempts under the most perfect conditions.
Although the mutation of radiation had strengthened the bodies of some of the devils, it did not mean that they could surpass the limits of the speed of human beings easily, not to mention that Bai Xiaolu and Boss Gold Tooth were both heavily wounded and on the verge of collapse after two days and two nights of long journey.
“If you can’t, go to hell.
The leader of the Gold Teeth Clan raised his head and looked at Bai Xiaolu in the eyes. “There are many good-for-nothing kids in the Furious Blood Wasteland who can’t do anything like you. Later, they all died. Nobody cared about you except yourself. Nobody.
He was not looking forward to Bai Xiaolu’s answer. He continued to concentrate on dismantling the landmines. Soon, the curved shell was removed, and his hands that were as precise as scalpels were moved away, revealing the internal structure that was as delicate as a clock.
“I—I can’t hold on any longer.”
Bai Xiaolu saw the cold, deadly scraps that were overlapping each other. She imagined herself being torn apart by the scraps and gnawed by the vultures. Her heart, abdomen, and calves were cramping again, and she was crying again. “I can’t stand it any longer. Run away, boss. Run a hundred meters away, or I will kill you.”
“You’d better stop. Stand still. Stand still.”
The leader of the Gold Tooth Legion did not even raise his head. “Or I will kill you.”
“Why?”
Bai Xiaolu was truly confused. “Why did you save me?”
“Stupid brat, you better understand one thing for me—no one wants to save you. I just want the password to retrieve the cutting-edge water purification technology!”
The gold-tooth leader gnashed his teeth. “If you are blown into pieces, who can hypnotize the other kid and get the password for me?”
“This—this is not important at all!”
Bai Xiaolu couldn’t help it any longer and said, “No matter how smart Wan Zanghai is, he is just a teenager. I don’t believe that you, who used to be an elite Navy SEAL and the dominator of the desert for more than ten years, can’t figure out a way to torture him. Many modern punishments are beyond the limits of the human body. Any secret can be dug out easily!
“You…”
The leader of the Gold Teeth Gang was dazed for a long time. He spat and said, “Then, what about my investment in you? I still need you to revive the Citigroup. That’s why I taught you Yuri’s notes. Your life is mine until I collect all my investment with interest!”
“But—”
Bai Xiaolu shouted, “Brother said that you are about to die. What’s the point of reviving the Citigroup for a dying man?”
“…” Boss Gold Tooth.
His brother was speechless.
“Smelly brat, you really will die if you don’t talk!”
The gold-tooth leader gnashed his teeth. “Shut up. From this moment on, you will keep your mouth shut, or I will really leave you here to die!”
Bai Xiaolu shut her mouth obediently.
However, strangely enough, after the conversation with Boss Gold Tooth, his heart, stomach, and legs had calmed down. There was no pain or cramp anymore.
Watching Boss Gold Tooth risking his life to save him, the boy felt like a colorful radiation cloud was rising in his heart. There was no telling what he was feeling.
Although he knew that ‘unintentionally dropped minced meat’ did not exist… If it did exist, even just once, just for one second, how wonderful would that be!
“Alright.”
Boss Gold Tooth injected the remaining one third of the can of sticky gel into the battle unit and the sensor component of the landmine. He struggled to his feet and warmed up his stiff limbs. “On the count of three, prepare to run.”
“So fast?”
Bai Xiaolu was shocked. Her muscles were cramping again.
In fact, it was not fast. Two and a half hours had passed. Wan Zanghai had finished digging the pits in the distance.
Bai Xiaolu should’ve felt that every second was like a year.
“I—I don’t think I can move.”
The boy said weakly.
“Look at my eyes, brat. I believe you. You did very well just now. You really didn’t move at all.”
Boss Gold Tooth fixed Bai Xiaolu’s face with his giant hands and said firmly, one word after another, “I still believe in you. I believe that you can run a hundred meters in fifteen seconds. You must believe in me, too. Believe in my every word. Do you believe in me?”
Bai Xiaolu nodded her head.
“Very good. You believe me. I believe you.”
The gold-tooth leader said, “That way, we can all survive.”
“But—”
With a long face, Bai Xiaolu said, “A few days ago, you told me that nobody could be trusted. Those who shouted ‘believe’ were the people who would stab me in the back.
“…”
Boss Gold Tooth took a deep breath and pulled Bai Xiaolu hard. “Three! Run!”
The dominator of the Wasteland pulled the boy and dashed out like an arrow released from a bow!
