Chapter 54: Desert Eagle (Part 2)

Less than fifty meters away, there was a small pool. The pool was really small, so small that there were at most five or six bowls of water left. Beside this tiny pool, seven or eight little birds and two or three small animals were bustling with water. This shows that the water in this pool is truly drinkable fresh water—perhaps this is the last water source in this mountain desert!
Unless another miracle happened, with Zhao Haiping's survival skills and understanding of the desert, he probably would never find a new water source!
Zhao Haiping used the fastest move of his life, fiercely charging into the pool. While he was still running wildly, he suddenly drew his self-defense pistol and fired at the flock of small birds and animals. "Get lost, don't steal my master's water!" Did you hear that? This is the water that saved my master's life! ”
At that moment, the area around the small pool was truly like birds flying and rabbits scurrying. Zhao Haiping, like a fierce tiger pouncing on its prey, lunged fiercely onto the pond, his body tightly covering the entire pool, declaring his claim to the last water source. At that moment, Zhao Haiping suddenly felt a slight numbness in his left arm.
Without hesitation, Zhao Haiping drew the remaining half of his combat knife and slashed fiercely at his left arm. Amid an uncontrollable scream, large chunks of flesh and the two deeply visible bite marks left by a venomous snake on his arm scattered through the air.
Zhao Haiping trembled all over in pain. He swung the bloody military knife in his hand and roared wildly, "I can't die! I haven't saved Master yet—how could I die?!" ”
Stabbing his military knife into the ground, Zhao Haiping grabbed the snake over three feet long, which had just bitten him and was about to escape. He grabbed the snake, weighing two or three jin, and swung it wildly at the ground. The snake, over three feet long, wildly swung around Zhao Haiping, its joints making terrifying sounds as they fell off. Zhao Haiping grabbed the snake and flailed wildly while shrieking, "You want me dead, you want me to die, Master! If you want my master dead, then I want you to die first!" Die! Die! Die! Die! !! died ”
Countless creatures hiding in this valley—perhaps a tiny scorpion, perhaps a bird spreading their wings in the sky—all stared with terror at the humans who had monopolized the water source they had shared, going mad, going mad, thrashing wildly, releasing waves of chilling murderous intent outward like radiation.
Finally, Zhao Haiping brought a pot of salty, bitter, astringent pool water, a pot of water that was drinkable, and a snake whose bones had been shattered and died in a gruesome state—weighing two or three jin—along with dried branches he had collected from the valley, and returned to Zhanxia Ge's side.
That night, Zhan Xiaoge actually tasted delicious snake soup in the desert. Considering that his body was not only dehydrated but also lacked salt, Zhao Haiping scraped a piece of white salt from a rock. Although it tasted a bit bitter, it was still good for the body—good medicine tastes bitter!
Zhao Haiping used a spoon made from a heavy machine gun shell casing that had fallen from a helicopter, raised the steel helmet he had once again dressed up as a hotpot, and slowly fed the snake soup into Zhanxiage's mouth. Zhanxiage's vacant eyes suddenly regained their composure as he devoured the food Zhao Haiping had fed him, his teeth biting hard against the bullet casings, producing a terrifying "sss-ss" sound that sent chills down one's spine.
But on Zhanxia Ge's face, a trace of satisfaction and happiness slowly appeared.
Satisfaction and happiness are almost heartbreaking!
Zhao Haiping asked in a strange voice, "Master, is it good?" ”
"Delicious, delicious, really delicious!" Zhanxiage nodded happily repeatedly, then looked at Zhao Haiping with confusion and asked, "Good disciple, why aren't you eating?" ”
"As soon as the snake soup was ready, I ate it first. I'm so full now!"
Smelling the aroma wafting from the steel helmet he was using as a pot, Zhao Haiping kept swallowing nervously. After feeding Zhanxiage nearly half the snake soup, his face had improved a lot. After covering him with the canvas, he lay down on a bed made from two military backpacks, resting his head in Zhao Haiping's arms. Soon, he let out a heavy, comfortable little snoring.
Zhao Haiping reached out and touched Zhan Xiaoge's forehead; it was no longer so cold. It seemed that the half pot of snake soup and the water splashed on Zhan Xiaoge had played a significant role.
Zhao Haiping let out a long breath. Hesitating, he carefully turned the spoon made from the bullet casing upside down. A drop of water mixed with the milky white color of snake meat slowly gathered at the edge of the shell and gradually plummeted. When gravity and its own mass reached nearly saturation, the drop of snake soup traced a beautiful straight line through the air and fell straight into Zhao Haiping's wide-open mouth.
Zhao Haiping clicked his lips in satisfaction and carefully wrapped the remaining half pot of snake soup tightly with a piece of canvas. After making sure no scorpions, centipedes, or other insects could crawl in, he rummaged through Zhanxiage's backpack and found that barley flour bun that someone had gnawed on and had casually tossed into the desert.
Zhao Haiping slowly licked the barley flour bun with his saliva-hungry tongue, harder than a stone and impossible to bite through. With just a little saliva to soak the surface of the bread, he carefully scraped off the surface layer with his teeth. Because he had plenty of time, Zhao Haiping ate calmly and calmly.
Except for Zhao Haiping, no one knew what that barley flour bun tasted like.
The dark night enveloped the entire land. Under the vast and boundless sky, in this boundless universe, where even the wisdom and vitality of all humanity could not reach the boundaries and roots, in a corner of this tiny blue planet, two loyal Republic soldiers, two brothers who illuminated each other's paths with their lives, quietly leaned on each other.
The surroundings fell into a deathly silence, so quiet that they could only hear each other's breathing, so quiet that even the sound of grains of sand rolling slowly under the wind could be heard clearly. So quiet that even above their heads, the silver full moon and the countless stars shining like jewels with flowing light seemed lonely.
"Dad......"
In his sleep, Zhanxiage let out a low, hoarse, and aggrieved cry. He twisted his body and shifted into a more comfortable position in Zhao Haiping's arms. The corners of his eyes shimmered with two thin silver lines under the silver moonlight.
A rustling sound came from all around—the wind was picking up.
After enduring the absolute heat and scorching heat at noon, staying in this world of only a dozen degrees Celsius, Zhan Xiaoge's whole body began to tremble. Zhao Haiping took off his clothes and wrapped them around him. Feeling Zhao Haiping's hand, Zhanxia Ge, still asleep, murmured softly, to himself, and even with a hint of pleading, murmuring, "It's so cold. Can I skip going out for a run today?" Dad, Mom, Brother Sun Jing, Brother Long Jianhui, Brother Zhu Jianjun, two unknown older brothers, Brother Zhang Xiangshang, I ...... Can I slack off once today? Really, once is enough! I, I, I'm really tired! ”
Zhanxiage was sleeping restlessly. He kept rambling nonsense in his sleep, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, sometimes frowning, sometimes a gentle smile appearing on his face. "Yajie'er, you actually ignored my explanation and hung up on me. You want me to die on the battlefield and never go back. Yajie'er, you're really ruthless!" Yajie'er ...... I hate you! But I think of you every day......
This was the first time Zhao Haiping had heard the name "Yajie'er" from Zhan Xiaoge. He didn't know who this woman was, but seeing the gentle smile on Zhan Xiaoge's face that had never appeared before, and the melancholy and sadness that should never have appeared on his face, Zhao Haiping knew that something deeply unforgettable must have happened between Zhan Xiagege and this woman named "Yajie'er."
"Thank you, my brothers! Thank you for not forgetting me, the 'company commander' from six years ago. Thank you for everything you did for me. It was you who helped me get back up, thank you for helping me find my ...... On the way home! ”
Zhao Haiping knew who the brothers Zhan Xiaoge was talking about were. He had already learned from Bai Yi that behind Zhanxiage was a group of true brothers. Zhao Haiping really couldn't imagine what methods and mindsets they used to raise a massive sum of 102 million dollars in just forty-eight hours for Zhanxia Ge, the "company commander" he'd only worked with for less than a year!
To meet such a brother who would go to great lengths for a friend, in this era, is already extremely precious. But Zhanxiage has more than 120 such friends. Although they have no blood relation, they are closer than real brothers!
Zhanxiage embodies countless enviable strengths and backgrounds. He possesses an almost great power that Zhao Haiping envies most, possesses terrifying military wisdom that Zhao Haiping could only outshine throughout his life, possesses creative thinking in the military field that, if a real war breaks out, his career will soar. He also possesses the almost abnormal persistence and strength that the children of high-ranking officials lack today.
Although Zhan Xiagege never told Zhao Haiping about his family, Zhao Haiping could tell from some details that he must have come from a family of high-ranking officials. No matter what kind of inhuman training Zhanxiage undergoes, no matter how strong or heroic he is, the pride and disdain typical of a high-ranking official's son still left a deep mark on him.
Otherwise, Zhan Xia Ge wouldn't have repeatedly defied orders from above on the battlefield. Although he had tried to restrain his personality, he was still far from meeting the standards of a qualified soldier.
Compared to those soldiers from remote rural areas who are honest and honest, Zhanxiage seems more like someone influenced by too many martial arts novel theories, preferring to face the world with his own attitude and understanding, and handling matters in a flamboyant, even bloody, and romantic way...... Hero!
One wears a uniform but often performs astonishing deeds, willing to die heroically when necessary, willing to risk everything for a friend, fighting for honor and a chance of honor, dying in a grand and dramatic way...... The chivalrous warrior!
The war hero song intermittently told Zhao Haiping about his hardships and joys, his grievances and unwillingness. At that moment, what did Zhao Haiping mean to him? Was it his father's shadow, his mother's smile, Yajie'er's tenderness, or the strong embraces and cheers of those "special agent company" brothers?
"I hate being a soldier. I've hated being a soldier since I was a child. I still hate being a soldier, and I hate going to war even more. Watching my good brothers fall one by one before me, my heart ...... It hurts! ”
Zhao Haiping was also stunned. After a long while, he softly asked, "Zhanxiage, tell me, since you hate being a soldier so much, why do you still wear the uniform? Why do you still pick up a gun? Why do you still fight so the battlefield?" ”
The war hero fan replied drowsily, "Someone has to join the army, someone has to pick up a gun to defend the country, someone must go to the battlefield and fight the enemy to the death, right?!" ”