The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
As if some strange switch had been flipped, over the next four days, Ling Chen led the team, fully leveraging their initiative. While installing data probes at the fourth and fifth coordinate points, they also managed to ambush two squads from the Holy Judgement Organization, striking it rich overnight—so rich that they were practically dripping with wealth.
Jiang Cancan slept hugging a can of tuna at night and laughing in his dreams.
The weather was fine today.
Ye Xiao held a can of cherries as a snack, while Ling Chen lay on the grass with his eyes closed, basking in the sun. From time to time, he would lean over and let Ye Xiao feed him a cherry—even though he had never been fond of such sour, overly sweet, and somewhat effeminate things.
Not far away, Jiang Mu jumped out of the driver's seat of an armored vehicle, grabbed Jiang Cancan, who was munching on chicken wings with greasy hands, and sat down next to Ling Chen.
Ling Chen lazily sat up before casually brushing off the grass stuck to his clothes, looking as relaxed as a big cat that had been sunbathing too long. "Finished decrypting the information?"
"Mm," Jiang Mu nodded. "The intel from the command center was wrong."
Ling Chen scoffed before tilting his head to let Ye Xiao feed him another cherry and speaking with little energy, "The command center's intel said Holy Judgement sent three groups—one, five, and seven—totaling twenty-four people. But in reality, including the nine-man squad we just took out, we've intercepted four squads from Holy Judgement, eliminating thirty-nine people. Where did all these extras come from? Did they spring out of the cracks in the rocks?"
Inaccurate intelligence was deadly, especially since they were isolated in the D Zone with limited channels for information. The command center's faulty intel would completely derail their plans, and underestimating the enemy's strength could lead to unnecessary casualties.
Logically, the command center shouldn't make such a basic mistake.
Ling Chen rubbed his fingers together but didn't continue the topic. Instead, he asked, "Did you figure out this squad's objective?"
Jiang Mu pinched the bridge of his nose. "Yes, same as the previous three squads. The final destination set in their vehicle system is the central ring of D Zone. On this point, the command center's intel was correct—they are indeed after the Regional Core."
Ling Chen offered no comment. "Go on."
Jiang Mu continued, "From their communication logs, we can see that the four squads we encountered are all from Holy Judgement's Group Seven. After entering D Zone, they split into five squads. But due to the unstable magnetic field in D Zone, their communicators were basically useless, so they quickly got separated. That gave us the chance to take them out one by one. Also,"
A faint smile appeared on Jiang Mu's usually calm face, "When Holy Judgement entered D Zone, they were assigned a kill mission. Whoever takes out Ling Chen, the commander of the Second Division, will receive a bounty in the eight-figure range."
Before Ling Chen could react, Ye Xiao, who had been quietly eating cherries, exploded. His grip on the long blade tightened instantly, and the lines of his small face tensed up. "No one is allowed to touch the Captain!"
His words were full of authority, though the faint red cherry stain at the corner of his mouth slightly diminished the fierceness.
A soft chuckle escaped Ling Chen's lips as he turned to soothe the bristling Ye Xiao. "Mm, our Ye Xiao will protect me. Anyone who thinks they can claim that bounty is delusional."
Ye Xiao, with a cherry pit in his mouth, nodded emphatically. "Right, delusional!"
After casually ruffling his hair, Ling Chen turned his attention back to Jiang Mu and instructed, "Move all the usable instruments, food, and medicine back to our vehicle. After that, blow up that car."
Jiang Cancan, having just finished gnawing on a chicken wing, nodded vigorously in response to Chen Ge's call. "Move, move, move! Life as a bandit is just too good!"
Half an hour later, the Armored Vehicle set off again, laden with a rich haul of spoils. Jiang Mu and Jiang Cancan were in the driver's cabin, leaving only Ling Chen and Ye Xiao in the rear compartment.
Ling Chen pulled out a weapons case and patiently taught Ye Xiao how to identify the characteristics of various firearms. After the lesson, he quizzed Ye Xiao and offered two pieces of candy as a reward for correct answers. Ye Xiao, being both clever and diligent, successfully tucked the two candies into the small pocket of his jeans.
Ling Chen asked him, "Why do you like candy so much?"
Ye Xiao was silent for a moment before hesitantly replying, "I... lived in an orphanage when I was young. The conditions were terrible, and food was especially scarce. Everyone had to eat colorless and tasteless nutrient solution."
Ling Chen's heart skipped a beat, though his expression remained unchanged. "That's true. Nutrient solution can really make you feel nauseous if you eat too much of it."
"Yeah," Ye Xiao nodded, speaking more smoothly now. "I was the youngest in the orphanage. If I could go a whole day without crying or causing trouble, playing by myself and not bothering the adults, I would get a piece of candy as a reward every week."
Ling Chen remembered that when they first met, he had given Ye Xiao a piece of candy, and Ye Xiao had mentioned that candy was a reward. For some reason, he felt a pang of heartache. Ling Chen fished out a piece of fruit candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and held it to Ye Xiao's lips. Watching him take it into his mouth, Ling Chen felt a little better.
The candy was orange-flavored, and the sweet and tangy taste exploded in Ye Xiao's mouth, leaving him momentarily lost in thought. He couldn't help but recall that after being taken to the training base by Silver Blade, receiving a piece of candy every week became his most cherished memory. Whenever he felt like he couldn't go on, he would repeatedly think back to the taste of that candy.
Suddenly, the Armored Vehicle came to an abrupt stop. Jiang Cancan shouted from the driver's cabin, "Chen Ge, someone's come to deliver supplies to us again!"
Ling Chen patted Ye Xiao's head in reassurance before leading the group out of the vehicle. Sure enough, there was a fresh tire track on the ground, indicating that someone had passed by not long ago.
Ling Chen raised an eyebrow. "The tracks are shallow, so there probably aren't many people or supplies inside. Let's catch up."
Chasing vehicles was something the four of them had become quite adept at. After switching the Armored Vehicle to tracking mode, there was almost no extra noise apart from the sound of tires crushing grass.
Jiang Cancan, holding a military-grade telescope, leaned out from the passenger seat to report his observations. "It's a small S7, fast and highly maneuverable, but the space is narrow, so it can't hold many people. Oh dear, this guy's in a bit of a sorry state. The back door of the vehicle is dented by something, all battered and broken, and even the Vehicle-Mounted Machine Gun is damaged."
After listening, Ling Chen thought for a moment and said, "Speed up and catch up, then turn on the vehicle's loudspeaker."
Jiang Cancan retracted back into the passenger seat with his expression excited. "Chen Ge, Chen Ge, are you about to start spouting your smooth talk again?"
"What smooth talk?" Ling Chen shot him a glance. "This is called strategic persuasion to surrender."
After speaking, he lazily picked up a fist-sized circular communication microphone from the wall of the vehicle compartment and said, "Comrade driving the S7 up ahead, let's make a deal. Hit the brakes and wait for us, let's get to know each other."
Jiang Cancan, holding a military telescope, eagerly reported, "Chen Ge, the comrade up ahead doesn’t seem interested in talking to you!"
Ling Chen had a casual smile on his lips. His hand, which wasn’t holding the microphone, rested lightly on Ye Xiao’s shoulder, then moved to his neck before gently massaging it as he continued, "D Zone is so vast, and yet we’ve met here. It’s fate. Let’s support each other, share resources, and help one another."
Jiang Cancan was struggling to hold back his laughter and leaning toward Jiang Mu, "Hahaha, Can Ye is dying of laughter… What the hell does 'support each other and share resources' even mean?!"
After saying this, Ling Chen noticed that the vehicle ahead hadn’t slowed down.
He immediately instructed Jiang Mu to raise the vehicle-mounted machine gun assembly before aiming the barrel at the rear door of the small S7 Series Armored Car ahead. His tone remained unchanged, "If the comrade up ahead insists on not hitting the brakes, how about we introduce you to armor-piercing incendiary rounds?"
As soon as he finished speaking, something trembling extended from the driver’s window of the vehicle ahead. A white cloth fluttered in the wind. Jiang Cancan was shocked, "Holy shit, is that a white flag? Did they just surrender so easily to the threat of evil forces?"
The leader of the "evil forces", Ling Chen, put down the communication microphone. His hand was still gently kneading the back of Ye Xiao’s neck as he asked, "Want to see the Captain stir up some trouble?"
Ye Xiao’s ears turned red from the neck massage. He nodded obediently, "Yes."
Ling Chen: "Alright, I’ll show you."
Ling Chen bent down to pull out a heavy sniper rifle from under the seat, opened the sunroof, and extended the barrel out. "Be good, cover your ears."
Ye Xiao responded with an "Oh", then stepped closer to Ling Chen before raising his hands to cover Ling Chen’s ears instead.
Ling Chen glanced at him with a smile but said nothing. Five seconds later, a loud "bang" echoed as a micro incendiary bomb hit the center of the white flag, causing the cloth to quickly catch fire.
However, the people in the small armored car ahead were quite peculiar. After realizing the white flag had been burned, within half a minute, a pair of camouflage pants was extended from the driver’s window to flutter in the wind.
Jiang Cancan burst into laughter, "Hahaha, brilliant! What are they trying to express? They’ve even taken off their pants?!"
Ling Chen stared at the pants fluttering in the wind, picked up the communication microphone again, and spoke in a more serious tone, "You’ve recognized me. Drive in an S shape."
As soon as he finished speaking, the rear of the vehicle ahead swerved, neatly forming an S shape.
Ling Chen then added, "It’s Jian Lan. Now do a C shape."
Hearing this name, Jiang Cancan was stunned, "Holy shit, are they one of us?"
When the vehicle actually formed a C shape, Ling Chen’s voice carried a hint of amusement, "If your vehicle has a malfunction and needs help, like brake failure, drive in an SOS pattern to show us."
Hearing this, Jiang Cancan clung to Jiang Mu’s hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel and laughed so hard he couldn’t straighten his back.
The vehicle ahead seemed to be in a daze, swerving in two S-shaped curves before slowing down. Ling Chen didn’t say anything more, reloaded his gun, and fired four consecutive shots at the tires. After the tires burst, the miniature armored vehicle rammed into the trunk of a large tree by the roadside and finally came to a stop.
The driver’s door opened, and a person wearing a military green tank top and camouflage pants jumped out nimbly. She carried a black heavy sniper rifle taller than herself and stomped over to Ling Chen’s armored vehicle with a fierce demeanor. She kicked the front of the vehicle with her military boots and shouted, “Get the hell out!”
She had a buzz cut, and her features were striking, but the ferocious killing intent in her eyes overshadowed them. Jiang Cancan was the first to hop out of the vehicle while laughing mercilessly, “Hahaha, Can Ye is dying of laughter! You even took off your pants! Jian Lan, you’re really something!”
Jian Lan raised her chin, “Get lost, laughing at me? Is there no brotherly love left?”
Jiang Cancan waved her hands repeatedly, indicating that there was indeed no brotherly love to speak of.
Ling Chen and Ye Xiao were the last to get out. As soon as Jian Lan saw the tall and long-legged Ling Chen approaching, she instinctively stood at attention with her previously casual smile disappearing. Her heels clicked together with a sharp “snap”, and she reported, “Commander, Jian Lan reporting!”
Ling Chen returned the salute, “Hmm, hand over all the seized supplies, and you’ll be allowed to rejoin the team.”
Jian Lan hadn’t driven the armored vehicle when she left, and it was clear that the vehicle had been violently commandeered—it couldn’t be more battered.
Hearing this, Jian Lan instantly deflated, “Fine, hand it over then. Good thing I already made sure to finish the braised pork ribs inside.”
Her excitement at the successful reunion was forced to cool down, and only then did she notice the unfamiliar face standing behind Ling Chen.
“Holy shit, such a delicate and pretty little friend! Where did you guys kidnap him from?”
Jiang Cancan was quick to answer, “Our Chen Ge sacrificed his charm to bring him back!”
Jian Lan was stunned, “Our Chen Ge… has charm?”
Ling Chen couldn’t be bothered to listen to their banter, “This is Ye Xiao, ‘Ye’ as in leaf, ‘Xiao’ as in the Lantern Festival.” Then, he introduced Jian Lan to Ye Xiao, “That’s Jian Lan, ‘Jian’ as in subtraction, ‘Lan’ as in orchid.”
Jiang Cancan chimed in, “Jian Lan as in the poem ‘Jian Zi Mu Lan Hua’, but she’s completely wasted such a literary and elegant name!”
Jian Lan glared at him, then suddenly slapped her forehead, “Shit, I was so excited I almost forgot! There’s a wounded person in the back of my vehicle!”
Ling Chen looked over, “A wounded person?”
Jian Lan nodded, “I rescued him on the way. Soaring Dragon was ambushed by Holy Judgement, and he’s the only one who escaped. I happened to run into him, so I stuffed him in the back. His name is Fang Wenzhe, ID number YL75742.”
Ling Chen narrowed his eyes, “Bring him over for a look.” As if sensing something, he glanced at Ye Xiao standing beside him and noticed that his face had turned pale.
He reached out and pulled Ye Xiao closer, lowering his voice to ask, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
It took a couple of seconds before Ye Xiao shook his head, indicating that it was nothing.
But he was recalling the name Jian Lan had just mentioned—Fang Wenzhe.
Ye Xiao bit down hard on his tongue.