Chapter 885 - 499: Embers of the Long Night (Part 8)_2

Before Qin Mian could respond, the other man patted him on the shoulder and left.

Qin Mian watched this usually silent comrade, not knowing what to say, so he simply said nothing and continued with his task.

"Don’t carry such a heavy psychological burden. It’s not even certain whether we can make it back alive. Do you have any grenades left? Give me a few more."

The wounded soldier chuckled through the pain.

This guy was famous in the company for his loose talk; because of that, he had gotten slapped by the squad leader multiple times in the past.

Qin Mian tightened the bandage forcefully and shook his head, "I used them up in a moment of inattention, now there’s only one left."

The other man drew a sharp breath, "A glory grenade, huh? Then keep it for yourself."

Qin Mian wrapped the other man’s wound with a thermal blanket to prevent him from freezing to death due to heat loss.

The team hadn’t yet moved forward when they heard a boom in the distance on the barren plains.

The sound was intense, as if it came from afar, followed by four consecutive blasts.

Everyone instinctively dropped to the ground, then looked at each other in bewilderment.

"It’s over thirty kilometers out, how can there still be cannon fire?"

"Did we circle back?"

"Bullshit, we haven’t walked this path before!"

Qin Mian felt a poke and found it was the loose-talker, who whispered, "Is it coming from behind us?"

Qin Mian listened intently for a while and shook his head. The battlefield still resonated with continuous artillery sounds, not as dense and orderly as before.

This rumbling was indeed very close.

He rose slightly, looked toward the distant wilderness, and saw a stable light spot slowly moving toward them.

The speed of the light spot increased rapidly, and inside was a man.

The figure was tall, wearing a round-neck black half-sleeve, holding a double-barreled rifle, occasionally firing into the night. Each shot took out one or more enemies dressed in cotton armor.

The man’s smile grew more radiant as he leisurely strolled through the perilous wildlands, like playing a newly released game, while they were mere NPCs.

Were they NPCs?

Qin Mian was no longer sure.

With the light, even ordinary soldiers could see the distant situation clearly, especially the cotton-armored enemies. Their numbers and positions made them shiver; initially, they thought there was only one, not realizing they were surrounded, waiting to be wiped out!

If not for the strange shotgun youth barging into the battlefield, they might have been done for by now.

In a moment’s distraction, the wildland fell silent, the chilly wind bringing a pungent blood scent.

The man approached the soldiers, and due to his actions of attacking the enemy and his distinctly Donghuang appearance, the soldiers refrained from rash actions, merely holding their guns alertly.

The man raised his hands to indicate no malice.

The forefront soldier, Gangdan, turned off his flashlight, watched the illuminated silhouette, and cautiously asked, "Who are you?"

The man responded calmly, "Just entered here, an outsider, Su Huan."

...

Su Huan hadn’t walked long before he heard the battlefield’s gunfire and artillery. Although he didn’t know exactly what they were fighting, one side must be human; finding someone who could speak Donghuang would unravel all mysteries.

Then he followed the direction of the sounds over.

The first person he saw, although with a similar face to his, wore an almost ancient outfit that perplexed him greatly; no matter how resource-scarce, the military couldn’t have regressed thousands of years, right?

Moreover, the man had already initiated an attack on him; Su Huan took him down but couldn’t extract a single human word despite long questioning. Finally, when the man did open his mouth, he babbled in an unheard language, making no sense. Su Huan originally considered capturing him for slow interrogation, but he died from injuries.

Then he realized this being was indeed alive, a human who would die from limb removal.

The closer he walked toward the battlefield, the more he encountered these peculiar people, each tenacious, fearless of death, rushing at him red-eyed as if he had violated their daughters.

If it was plants or animals, Su Huan could even attempt communication, but not with humans.

Helplessly, he had to dispatch them first and search for information on their bodies.

Through dissection, Su Huan found these people only outwardly resembled Donghuang People, but were quite different internally.

They were born with two hearts, with far more bones than Donghuang People, notably oversized wrist joints and vertebrae, with additional small supporting bones. Their thoracic, pelvic, eye, and muscle structures had subtle differences, indicating bodies suited for mounted archery; however, Su Huan’s dissection skills were mediocre. Pulling them back to the train might let Director Xu discern each organ’s specific function.

Then he heard Qin Mian and others’ gunfire and rushed over.

It was yet another last-moment rescue; any later, and he would have been groping in the dark alone.

However, for Su Huan’s explanations, the soldiers were not easily convinced, asking him about over a dozen popular memes.

Unfortunately... with his loose memory, the conductor couldn’t remember such fringe information, leading to an awkward, increasingly eerie atmosphere.

Silent, Su Huan caused Steel Egg, closest to him, to break into a cold sweat, exasperatedly saying, "Can’t you ask something common?"

They exchanged puzzled looks; how would asking common things confirm he belonged?

The Eternal Night Zone is in chaos now, besides ancient-looking people resembling Donghuang, there are evil anomalies camouflaging as humans.

Qin Mian suddenly asked, "Should tofu pudding be sour or spicy?"

Su Huan hesitated; he had no strong preference, being a northerner studying in the south, having dined both on sweet bean curd and savory tofu pudding. What was this sour or spicy notion? However, his taste had grown peculiar; anything stimulating the taste buds, he could ingest even if bitter.

So he sincerely answered, "Both are fine."

He noticed after responding, the expression on Steel Egg’s face seemed even more panicked.

"What’s wrong, did I answer incorrectly?"

Su Huan asked puzzled.

The soldiers remained silent.

"It’s fine; as a child, I liked sour pickled beans on my tofu pudding. They, from other provinces, don’t get it." Qin Mian lowered his gun, chuckling.

Su Huan looked at the young man before him, younger than himself, yet the most evolved among them. Despite clear vigilance in his eyes, he feigned relaxation, but his muscles, heartbeat, and secretions betrayed him.

He passed through his comrades, standing before Su Huan, warmly extending a hand, "Long time no hear. How are things outside now?"

Su Huan gazed at the offered hand, then grinned, grasping the grenade in it, holding the pin down securely, curiously questioning, "Aren’t you afraid of dying?"

Closest, Steel Egg’s expression fluctuated upon seeing the item in Qin Mian’s hand.

"Once feared, just forgot earlier."

Qin Mian glared into Su Huan’s eyes, thinking that Su Huan recognized the object but questioned why he dared grasp it.

Not afraid of death?

Or was he misjudged?

As he pondered, Su Huan effortlessly latched the grenade from his hand, naturally releasing the pin, activating the delayed fuse.

"And now?"

The opponent’s genial smile unnerved Qin Mian, but rationality fixed him firmly in place.

He couldn’t move; the grenade’s detonation was in just 2.8 seconds. If thrown toward his comrades, his current position still allowed him to intercept; if he dodged, everyone behind him would be done for.

Cold sweat dripped down his temples. In mere instants, in minus thirty-degree conditions, Qin Mian felt his clothes were drenched.

But puzzling him was, wasn’t the grenade’s detonation timing... a bit too long?