Chapter 671: Zhao Meng: Do You Truly See the Road I've Walked? (7)

Old Wang and I descended into the trenches and soon encountered Liang Erxi.

His arm was wrapped in a bandage, and Old Wang and I immediately tensed up.

He shook his head at us and said, “It’s not a big deal. The bullet just grazed the skin, didn’t hit the bone. Just a minor issue.”

We placed all the remains of the fallen in the trenches. Just from the preliminary count, our company’s casualties exceeded one-third.

No one shed tears anymore.

When you see countless people fall in an instant, the boundary between life and death becomes blurred.

At that moment, there was only one thought in my mind: to avenge our comrades!

Blood for blood, tooth for tooth!

Just then, we saw Li Hai lying in his squad leader’s arms: “How is he?”

“He’s okay.” The squad leader was relatively calm: “He’s just dehydrated, it’s not a big issue. He made a great contribution today, sneaking off alone to blow up a bunker, impressive!”

“Good! I never thought this kid could be so bold!”

Wenxi never held back his praise for those he admired.

Liang Erxi handed over his canteen: “Quick, give him something to drink.”

The squad leader refused to take it, and Liang Erxi got angry: “Is this the time to be fussy? Stop being such a wimp!”

As the water from the canteen drained into Li Hai’s mouth, he gradually came to.

Li Hai opened his eyes, and his lips moved, but he was too weak to speak.

Even though he didn’t say anything, the tears silently fell from the corners of his eyes…

“At the foot of the mountain… there’s a sugarcane field…”

Wang Wenxi reached out to me: “Instructor, do you have any cigarettes? I left in such a hurry, I must have dropped mine on the way.”

Before I could respond, Liang Erxi had already handed over two cigarettes from Soft Zhonghua.

Wang Wenxi greedily sucked on the cigarette, exhaling clouds of smoke as he said, “Instructor, I’ll go get something good back.”

I naturally understood what he meant and stood up, declaring, “I’ll head out. I’ll take a few soldiers with me and bring back a few bundles.”

Wang Wenxi immediately stopped me: “No way! You’re the instructor, you can’t do that! It’s against the rules!”

“I’ve always been the odd one out, unloved by everyone. The more I’m opposed, the more I enjoy doing it! How can I let you go?”

Before the war started, we held a meeting to communicate the orders from the higher-ups.

Even after entering the enemy country, we were to behave as if we were still in our own country, adhering to the principle of restraint.

We must not take anything from the civilians, not even a needle or thread.

Anyone who breaks the rules will face increased penalties!

Wang Wenxi snorted coldly: “Damn it! We’re tightening our belts, but still aiding them freely, for what reason!”

“Today, I’ll take a few bundles of their sugarcane, as interest!”

With that, he turned to the second squad leader: “Take your men and come with me!”

As Wang Wenxi and his group left, Liang Erxi and I began checking on the other soldiers.

Now, there were even more wounded in the company, all gritting their teeth to endure.

Everyone had dry lips and tongues, under the scorching sun, they barely had the energy to move…

Everyone was desperately thirsty!

Even Liang Erxi couldn’t hold on, plopping down onto the ground.

Just as we were catching our breath, there was suddenly a loud explosion from the foot of the mountain.

Liang Erxi and I thought the enemy on the main peak was causing trouble again, so we quickly got up, instructing the soldiers to prepare for battle.

But after waiting a long while, no further commotion came.

Just then, the third squad leader burst into the trench with a large bundle of sugarcane:

“This is bad! On our way back, the deputy company commander stepped on a mine and it exploded… He always had to be at the front. It’s my fault too, I should have stopped him, I should have been in front…”

The third squad leader was in tears.

After a while, the brothers from the third squad carried Wang Wenxi back.

Liang Erxi and I quickly went over to help.

At this point, Wang Wenxi had lost all his previous swagger and was barely alive.

His entire right leg was gone from the explosion, his body covered in wounds, bloodstains everywhere.

As we were hastily bandaging him, Wang Wenxi painfully waved us off:

“No… don’t waste resources on me, I know… I’m done for.”

“Let everyone… eat the sugarcane… instead…”