Right now, Ren Xiaosu’s status within the Pyro Company’s troops was indeed special. After all, to be reading the newspapers together with P5092, who knew what the relationship between them was like?
As such, the Pyro Company soldiers who witnessed the friendly scene in the morning started becoming very courteous towards Ren Xiaosu. Those who did not see it had heard about an escapee who was on good terms with their commander, so they took care not to offend him.
Honestly, the Pyro Company soldiers were also very puzzled about the relationship between their commander and this young man.
As a result, when Ren Xiaosu returned to the Trinity Institute’s truck, the three soldiers who had accepted his watches actually ran over and said they wanted to return them. However, Ren Xiaosu refused to take them back and even comforted the three soldiers in turn, “Y’all can just keep them without any worries. It’s alright, I gave it to y’all as thanks for your help on the journey. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have to thank y’all just because I’m bros with your commander. That’s not right!”
After Ren Xiaosu convinced the three soldiers and sent them away, the news that Ren Xiaosu and P5092 were bros spread like wildfire. When it was time to collect their food the next morning, the cooks even enthusiastically asked Ren Xiaosu what he wanted to eat for lunch…
Looking on, the other escapees could not accept this situation. They were still unable to get any food, yet this young man was allowed to order whatever dishes he liked with the Pyro Company’s troops!
Why was there such a huge difference in their treatment?!
On the same day, the Pyro Company’s marching plan was suddenly accelerated. Ren Xiaosu could clearly sense the vehicle driving faster, so he leaned on the guardrail at the front of the bed and asked the soldiers, “Why have y’all suddenly sped up?”
The three soldiers said, “The higher-ups have ordered that we must get to the front line within two days. It’s not only Stronghold 176 that has been attacked; the northern tribe has also appeared to the north of our Pyro Company. They’ve already slaughtered the workers in two of our factories, so we need to drive them away and build a defensive line at our north before their main forces arrive in the Central Plains.”
Ren Xiaosu started thinking. It seemed that this northern tribe was launching an all-out attack on the Central Plains. They actually intended to take on the Wang Consortium and the Pyro Company together?!
Were they being too confident, or did they not understand the situation in the Central Plains at all?
He sat back down in the truck bed and watched the long stretch of vehicles crossing mountains and rivers. Ren Xiaosu suddenly felt like he was fighting alongside the Pyro Company to overcome the difficulties in front of them. It was a very strange feeling, and Ren Xiaosu was unable to explain how two initially opposing sides would suddenly work together to deal with a foreign enemy.
As spring was already here, the entire wilderness was starting to turn green. The frozen streams had broken through their icy seal as snowmelt began flowing down the mountains, converging into a turbulent river. When the river crashed into the rocks, whitewater rapids surged.
If the Pyro Company succeeded in fending off the foreign enemies, the sight of everything here would be preserved. But if they failed, the mountain streams would run red with blood.
On the third day, the Pyro Company troops finally made it to the forward operating base that was rearmost of the front line. But to Ren Xiaosu and the others’ surprise, the entire forward operating base was in a state of chaos. The veterans who had returned from the front line were leaning against the walls and hugging their guns as they slept. They were all grimy and looked extremely pathetic.
Ren Xiaosu and the others also saw a lot of wounded soldiers being carried into the base’s medical center from the north.
Outside the medical center, someone had built a drying area for clothes with hundreds of wooden stakes and steel wire. There were bed sheets, clothes, and bandages hanging.
It was a ghastly sight to still see bloodstains on those clothes that were washed and dried.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly realized the war in the North was far more brutal than he had imagined while they were rushing to the front line the past few days!
Someone was carrying a wounded person and crying out loudly outside the three-story building of the temporary medical center, “Someone, please save our platoon commander!”
Ren Xiaosu watched this scene from afar. It was the first time he had seen a Pyro Company member crying. So it turned out these people’s emotions were also normal and they would feel sad for their comrades.
Ren Xiaosu had never seen such a sight before. In his impression, these people would not show any emotions even if their teammates had died.
It did not matter whether it was the Midnight or Dusk teams. They were all the same.
Yang Xiaojin seemed to have sensed his confusion. “The people in the intelligence agency are different from those in the fighting forces. People in the intelligence agency don’t spend much time together. Some of them only work together temporarily when carrying out their missions. Moreover, those in the intelligence business tend to always abandon any useless emotions.”
Some other soldiers were standing next to the Pyro Company combatant who was wailing. Next to them on the ground was another Pyro Company combatant on a stretcher who no one knew was dead or alive.
Someone ran out from the medical center to receive the patient. However, he said awkwardly, “There aren’t enough doctors in the medical center right now. All of them are busy treating the patients who were sent here earlier on. You all can carry him inside first and wait for a while!”
The Pyro Company combatants who had brought the wounded soldier over were unwilling to comply. They pulled the nurse back. “Please save him. He was hacked in the abdomen with an axe. If you don’t save him now, it’ll be too late!”
The Pyro Company combatants were physically stronger than most people. So even though the wounded soldier was axed in the abdomen, he was still able to endure the pain for almost half an hour. But no matter how strong he might be, he could still die.
“Quick, save him!” Wang Jing beckoned for everyone to get out of the vehicle.
The doctors from the Trinity Institute experienced a lot of resentment and disappointment on their way here. But when they saw a dying person in front of them, the first thing they thought of was to save him. Everything else could be left for later.
Ren Xiaosu helped Wang Jing down from the truck. Wang Jing said to the nurse, “I’m Wang Jing from the Wang Consortium’s Trinity Institute. Please prep for surgery!”
The nurse looked pleasantly surprised upon hearing Wang Jing’s name. “You’re Dr. Wang Jing?”
Only now did Ren Xiaosu realize how well-known Wang Jing’s name was in the medical industry. The nurse absolutely trusted him after only hearing his name.
But the nurse said hesitantly, “The OR is fully occupied. It’s not that we refuse to let you use them, but there’s just too many wounded around. All the doctors capable of performing surgery are already working hard to save lives. Some of them haven’t even slept for an entire day.”
Wang Jing was caught in a dilemma. What should they do if they could not even get an operating room to work in? How could he possibly operate on a patient in a non-sterile environment?
Nearby, Ren Xiaosu suddenly said to Wang Jing and the nurse, “Nurse, please bring over the suture needles and thread. Elder, can you help do the stitching? I still have some ancestral medicine here that should be able to save him.”
With that, the nurse turned around and went back into the medical center to bring out a tray of medical equipment such as hemostatic forceps, suture needles, and thread. Wang Jing gave Ren Xiaosu a look. “You should know how serious the consequences will be if bacteria and viruses remain in his body without proper disinfection. Are you sure of it?”
Ren Xiaosu grinned. “Elder, don’t worry.”
After that, Wang Jing actually started stitching up the patient’s wounds. This Pyro Company combatant was so seriously injured that even his intestines had been cut into, and his entire person was in a state of shock due to blood loss. In the nurse’s opinion, it was impossible to save this person. But it seemed that Wang Jing trusted the young man next to him very much.
Each time Wang Jing stitched up a wound, Ren Xiaosu would apply some black medicine onto it. He didn’t care whether the black medicine would have the same effects after being applied onto internal organs as compared to taking it orally. He would have to make sure the wounded soldier survived first.
The Pyro Company combatants next to them were still in a state of despair. But they suddenly realized that when the black medicine was applied onto the first wound, their platoon commander’s pallid face regained some color. They looked at one another and wondered what kind of medicine that was. How could it be so miraculous?!
Not far away, P5092 was watching this scene with great interest. The deputy commander next to him wanted to say something, but P5092 stopped him. “Let’s watch and see.”
