The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
The bomb exploded nearby, causing Jiang Cancan's ears to ring and filling his nose and mouth with sand. He shook his head a few times and looked toward where Ling Chen had been, but he couldn't see anyone. His eyelids twitches violently, and Jiang Cancan quickly dragged his injured leg as he crouched and ran over.
In the mound of yellow sand, only the slight curve of a bulletproof helmet was visible. Jiang Cancan dug frantically while shouting hoarsely, "You better not be fucking hurt... Xiao Mu, come quick! Chen Ge and the others are buried!"
Jiang Mu arrived quickly before casually tossing the military binoculars aside as he dug with his hands and spoke, "Jian Lan and the enemy sniper are locked in a stalemate. Taking advantage of the lull, two more people went up to the mortar platform."
Jiang Cancan punched the ground while pursing his lips without saying a word, but his hands moved faster. Soon, Ling Chen's back was exposed.
Because the bomb had exploded so close, the back of Ling Chen's combat uniform was riddled with holes, and his back was covered in wounds.
A piece of shrapnel was deeply embedded near his lower back and blood gushing out that soak the fabric completely.
"Chen Ge—"
At that moment, Ling Chen's fingers twitched, and he coughed a few times, his voice hoarse as he said, "Are you fucking calling my ghost?"
Jiang Cancan, overwhelmed with emotion, shouted "Chen Ge" several more times, indeed creating quite the ghost-summoning effect.
Ling Chen steadied his breathing, "Little Fuzzball, come out first."
At the moment of the explosion, Ling Chen had used his entire body as a shield, protecting Ye Xiao well. He had even carefully covered Ye Xiao's ears with his hands, and after landing, he had firmly shielded him beneath his body.
Ye Xiao arched his back before carefully crawling out from under Ling Chen. Staring at Ling Chen's wounded back and the unstoppable bleeding, his eyes instantly reddened, and his fingers gripping the scabbard spasmed with tension.
After hastily stopping the bleeding, Ling Chen was helped up by Jiang Mu and Jiang Cancan. He didn't bother with the wounds on his back and waist, asking directly in a hoarse voice, "Did more people go up to the platform?"
Jiang Mu nodded, "Two more."
Ling Chen understood, "Jian Lan's pinned down? Cancan, go out and make some noise to draw their attention."
"Yes!" Jiang Cancan turned and ran with his gun, and Jiang Mu nodded at Ling Chen before following.
"Ye Xiao."
Without needing further instruction, Ye Xiao, leaning on his Long Blade, knelt on one knee. Ling Chen pulled out the M40 Sniper Rifle as he quickly assembled the barrel and scope, and rested it on Ye Xiao's shoulder.
Aiming the barrel toward the mortar platform, Ling Chen casually asked Ye Xiao, "Did we scare our Little Fuzzball just now?"
Ye Xiao remained motionless before replying softly, "No, I wasn't scared."
Ling Chen smirked, "Good." Then he added, "Little Fuzzball, help the Captain count down from three, like we did when we took down the giant elephant."
"Okay." Ye Xiao counted softly, "Three—two—one!"
The moment the count ended, Ling Chen pulled the trigger, and the bullet predictably veered off course. The gunners, who had been targeting Jiang Cancan and Jiang Mu, quickly noticed the source of the bullet and turned their attention toward Ling Chen.
Ling Chen's breathing remained steady as he quickly calculated the deviation and corrected the trajectory. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger a second time.
This time, the bullet fired from the gun accurately hit the chest of the gunner. The remaining gunner frantically tried to take cover behind the barricade but was not quick enough to evade Ling Chen's second bullet, and he fell to the ground in succession.
Ling Chen licked his dry lips as his tongue touched the rough grains of sand and his mouth filled with the taste of blood—the impact of the exploding shell was so strong that it hurt to breathe, the pain extending to his lungs. He glanced at Ye Xiao's sand-covered hair, and his mood strangely calmed down—he had to get everyone out.
Re-aligning with the scope, he repeatedly calculated various data in his mind.
Finally, with a composed expression, Ling Chen pulled the trigger.
A bullet, carrying wind and dust, shot straight into the barrel of the mortar before detonating the shell that had been loaded but not yet fired. With a loud "boom", the entire mortar platform instantly exploded, along with the nearby ammunition boxes, creating a spectacular secondary explosion!
Jiang Cancan was running back eith his voice hoarse but still shouting, "Damn, Chen Ge, that move was fucking brilliant!"
Ling Chen let go of the gun in his hand and his voice finally carried a hint of a smile, "Standard procedure."
Ye Xiao turned over and sat next to Ling Chen. His eyes were no longer red, but his expression was as cold as a frozen lake. He said softly, "You're still bleeding, I can smell it."
Ling Chen, having just fired those three shots, was a bit dazed and the nerves in his brain stretched to the breaking point. The shrapnel in his waist was deeply embedded, and the bleeding hadn't stopped. The continuous blood loss left him in a poor state, but he still gave Ye Xiao a reassuring smile, "Our Ye Xiao really has a puppy's nose!"
Ye Xiao gripped the Long Blade in his hand and said seriously, "The mortar platform is gone, the enemy sniper is pinned down."
"Right." Ling Chen felt a sense of foreboding, "Ye Xiao, what are you planning?"
Ye Xiao was covered in sand Nd even in his hair, but he didn't look the least bit disheveled. His skin had a cold, pale hue, and his expression was intimidating. His voice was steady and firm as he said, "Whoever touches you, I'll kill them."
With that, he turned and ran out.
Jiang Cancan, dragging his injured leg and covered in dust, rushed back just in time to hear the last sentence and muttered, "Damn, Little friend is just too cool!"
As Ye Xiao charged up the slope alone, he became as conspicuous as a moving target. In an instant, a hail of bullets rained down on him.
But his movements were incredibly fast, and the bullets were severely off-target, so not a single one hit him. Instead, he smoothly made his way from the edge of the slope to the middle of the undulating terrain.
As soon as the bullets around him started firing fiercely, Ye Xiao had already determined the source of the firepower by sound. When he charged up the terrain with the Long Blade in hand, he instantly became everyone's nightmare.
The black Long Blade was swiftly drawn, and his agile figure moved like a ghost.
A cold light flashed, and blood sprayed.
The person under the blade had wide eyes while clutching their neck as thick blood gushed from between their fingers, and they soon disappeared from the spot.
Ye Xiao, holding the Long Blade, didn't stop.
He leaped down the mountain wall and almost collided with the dark muzzle of a gun as he swung the blade, cutting the opponent's wrist and preventing them from firing. In a flash, the blade tip, carrying droplets of blood, moved upward. His wrist, wrapped in white bandages, twisted, and the cold, gleaming blade plunged directly into the opponent's chest.
With a stern expression, he drew his blade and sheathed it as if it were second nature, his movements fluid and unhindered. Each turn and every swing of his blade flowed seamlessly, and the pleas and screams of his dying enemies failed to elicit even a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
Jiang Cancan had just finished re-bandaging the wound on Ling Chen's back and managing to stop the bleeding. He didn't dare touch the deeply embedded shrapnel because he feared that it might cause severe bleeding, so he left it in place. After finishing, he lay on the slope, initially marveling at Ye Xiao's swift and ruthless efficiency that was like cutting through enemies like chopping vegetables. But gradually, he fell silent and the smile fading from his face.
Ling Chen, watching from the side, asked, "Are you scared?"
Jiang Cancan wiped his face with his hand, "Scared? Of course I'm scared. Thank goodness Little friend and I are on the same side!"
He still remembered the first time he killed someone on a mission. After returning to the team, he couldn't sleep for several nights because his mind was filled with images of blood. Over time, as he went on more missions, he became calmer, but every now and then, he would still drag Jiang Mu to the military psychologist's office for a chat.
Even now, he could shoot someone without fear, but he could never be like Ye Xiao—it was as if those people weren't lives in his eyes, and just vegetables to be chopped.
Ling Chen watched Ye Xiao from a distance, "Hmm, he's a teammate."
Jiang Cancan blinked, then grinned, "Suddenly, I realize I've latched onto a thick thigh!"
Ling Chen didn't respond further. With the wound on his back no longer bleeding, he picked up his M40 to provide cover for Ye Xiao. He recalled Ye Xiao's words, "Whoever touches you, I'll kill them," and raised an eyebrow with a light chuckle— ‘Little Fuzzball, you've stolen the Captain's line, that's not good.’
Ye Xiao was like a grim reaper wielding a Long Blade, charging into the mountainous terrain and overwhelming everything in his path. Only he could close in to kill; no one could get close to him.
The two blood grooves on the Long Blade were filled with deep red, but he had protected the small wooden rabbit hanging from the hilt as not a single drop of blood was staining it.
Hearing Ling Chen's shout faintly, Ye Xiao paused before he shifted his weight, and dodged to the side. With a loud "bang" three bullets exploded where he had just been standing, leaving a large crater.
Ye Xiao quickly looked in the direction of the gunfire and saw a man in camouflage combat uniform standing there while holding a rifle. Recognizing the man, Ye Xiao tightened his grip on the Long Blade.
Down the slope, Jiang Cancan's bullets were veering off course so badly that he resorted to throwing grenades wildly before successfully taking out five enemies. When he turned his head, his expression changed, "Holy crap, isn't that Shan Ya, the leader of Group One? He's facing off against Little friend?"
Because of Shan Ya's position, they couldn't get a clear shot from their angle. Jiang Cancan hurriedly tried to stand up, "No matter how strong Little friend is, he can't beat Shan Ya. I need to help!"
Ling Chen's fingers gripping the gun stock turned white, but he didn't move and stopped Jiang Cancan, "Don't interfere with Little Fuzzball, he can handle it. Let's take care of the people down here first."
On the other side, Ye Xiao stepped on the protruding gravel and charged straight to the top of the slope. He stood firm while looking at Shan Ya, "I know you."
"I know you too." Shan Ya said.
Standing over 1.9 meters tall, with bulging muscles, broad shoulders, and a scar visible on his neck, he exuded a menacing aura that perfectly matched the common image of a ruthless mercenary. Ye Xiao, who was only around 1.7 meters tall, seemed insignificant in comparison.
But Ye Xiao showed no sign of intimidation. He simply asked, "Do you want to kill Ling Chen?"
He rarely called Ling Chen by his full name because he usually referred to him as "Captain". Jiang Cancan had once tried to persuade Ye Xiao to unify the title and call him "Chen Ge" like everyone else, but Ye Xiao refused, sticking to "Captain."
Shan Ya raised an eyebrow. "Ling Chen? He’s killed so many of our Holy Judgement members. Of course, he has to pay with his life."
"Oh," Ye Xiao uttered a single syllable, then, as if stepping on the wind, he lunged at Shan Ya with astonishing speed!
Shan Ya dodged in time, but Ye Xiao still managed to leave a gash on his arm. The deep red blood quickly stained the camouflage fabric around the wound.
"I thought three years in the base had already crippled you." Shan Ya glanced at the cut on his arm with his eyes brimming with malice. He tossed aside his gun and pulled out a folding military knife from his waist. "Care to try again?"
This time, Ye Xiao stood still and carefully observed his opponent, including the way he held the knife and his stance. After making several mental predictions, Ye Xiao moved without hesitation and aiming only for the kill.
Shan Ya dodged the blade aimed at his chest and chuckled, "Going straight for the kill isn’t a good habit." As he spoke, he tightened his grip on the folding knife and thrust it toward Ye Xiao, who was closing in.
Ye Xiao used the dark scabbard of his blade to block. With a loud "clang", the knife and scabbard collided. The force was so strong that both their hands went numb as the pain spread all the way to their elbows and their weapons nearly slipped from their grasp.
With the military knife pressing closer, Ye Xiao took two steps back, then suddenly crouched low and kicked Shan Ya’s knee with a force that seemed impossible for his slender frame.
Shan Ya stumbled back several steps. In those brief moments, Ye Xiao pressed forward relentlessly with his long blade aimed at Shan Ya’s neck. The distance was mere inches, and Shan Ya instinctively moved before using his shoulder to take the blow!
Realizing he hadn’t hit a vital spot, Ye Xiao didn’t linger. He quickly retreated and narrowly avoided the knife that silently aimed for his abdomen.
The pain and blood fueled Shan Ya’s ferocity. With a cruel smile, he said, "When I capture you, I’ll crush one of your ribs every day and see if you make a sound!" With that, he charged at Ye Xiao with the folding knife in his hand moving at an almost invisible speed, straight toward Ye Xiao’s eyes!
As the blade closed in, Ye Xiao took half a step back before planting his foot firmly on the ground. And instead of retreating further, he braced himself and withstood the force of Shan Ya’s attack—in the blink of an eye, he sheathed his long blade and grabbed Shan Ya’s wrist with his bare hand, stopping the knife tip just centimeters from his eye.
At that moment, the sound of a bullet piercing flesh echoed. From the edge of the slope, Ling Chen’s lazy voice drifted over, "You said you’d capture him. Did you ask his Captain for permission?"
A bullet struck Shan Ya’s lower back. Ling Chen clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Damn this place. I was aiming for his heart."
Shan Ya's fingers twisted, and the tip of his blade thrust toward Ye Xiao's wrist. The moment Ye Xiao instinctively loosened his grip, Shan Ya swiftly retreated. He looked at Ling Chen and Ye Xiao, the scar on his brow making his expression even more ferocious. "Two against one? Is this the Second Division's way?"
"Oh, so we're just bullying you because you're outnumbered. Got a problem with that?"
As Ling Chen spoke, Ye Xiao didn’t plan on taking a break. He drew his long blade and charged at Shan Ya again.
With injuries to his lower back and shoulder, Shan Ya's movements were restricted. He couldn’t dodge in time, and a sharp pain shot through his neck—the edge of the long blade had sliced open his skin. Though he tried to sidestep, he couldn’t fully evade. Ye Xiao’s blade was like a demonic weapon that wouldn’t stop until it drew blood and relentlessly pursued him.
"Little Fuzzball, don’t kill him just yet."
The blade stopped, and Ye Xiao’s cold eyes locked onto Shan Ya. "Don’t move."
Ling Chen walked over with a gun in hand and his expression lazy. He asked Shan Ya, "I’ll ask, you answer. Will you cooperate?"
Shan Ya closed his eyes.
Without another word, Ling Chen raised his gun to pressed the muzzle against Shan Ya’s temple, and pulled the trigger.
The silencer muffled the sound, leaving only the faint noise of the bullet leaving the chamber. In an instant, Shan Ya vanished before the two of them.
The smile on Ling Chen’s face instantly turned to pain, and he collapsed onto Ye Xiao.
Ye Xiao sheathed his blade. His expression, which hadn’t wavered even in the face of Shan Ya’s fierce attack, now turned to panic as he looked at Ling Chen’s pained face. "Captain?" His voice trembled as he called out.
Ling Chen’s voice was faint. "Be good. Let your Captain... lean on you for a while."
Ye Xiao nodded, then realizing Ling Chen couldn’t see him, quickly said, "Okay."
He stood straight to let Ling Chen lean on him with his face filled with worry and his lower lip bitten until it became pale.
When Jiang Cancan, dragging his injured leg, and Jiang Mu climbed to the top of the slope, saw their Chen Ge shamelessly playing the weakling and leaning on Ye Xiao like a delicate willow swaying in the wind.
Jiang Cancan turned away while pretending to gag.
Jiang Mu spoke up, "Chen Ge, we’ve cleared everyone out. Only one sniper is left, and Jian Lan is chasing him down."
Ling Chen maintained his weakling act as he raised a hand to signal "got it", clearly not planning to get up from Ye Xiao’s shoulder.
Jiang Cancan couldn’t stand it.
An old man acting like this? Did he have no shame? So he said, "Chen Ge, there’s still shrapnel stuck in your waist. Aren’t you going to remove it?"
Ling Chen was perfectly content holding onto Ye Xiao and almost said, "What’s a little shrapnel? I’m not removing it!" But Ye Xiao was even more nervous than he was, asking softly, "Captain, can you not walk? I’ll carry you down."
Ling Chen, as if suddenly revived, instantly straightened up. Realizing he might have broken character, he quickly spoke in a weak voice, "No need, just help me down."
Damn it, if he really got carried down by Little Fuzzball like a princess, he might as well throw his face in the dirt. And with Jiang Cancan’s big mouth around, it would definitely make the front page of the military weekly!
So, the determined yet injured Ling Zihui leaned on Ye Xiao as they made their way down from the slope to level ground.
Their armored vehicle was still parked on the incline, though the rear compartment had two dents from the explosion, and the bulletproof windows were completely shattered. Jiang Mu reached out to open the rear door, found the medical kit, and prepared to remove the shrapnel from Ling Chen’s waist first.
Ling Chen, seeing Ye Xiao’s worried face all scrunched up, reached out to him. "Little Fuzzball, let your Captain lean on you."
Ye Xiao stepped closer to let Ling Chen lean on him with his eyes fixed on Jiang Mu as he pulled out the shrapnel.
Ye Xiao pursed his lips. "Isn’t there any anesthetic?"
Jiang Cancan shook his head, "No, we don't have such good conditions. Just pull it out casually."
In the few seconds it took to speak, Jiang Mu had already acted. Using pliers to grip a corner, he forcefully yanked out the shrapnel. Deep red blood immediately gushed out, and Jiang Mu calmly and swiftly pressed a gauze pad over the wound.
Then Jiang Cancan witnessed his commander's masterful performance—gripping the little friend's hand tightly and trembling all over from the pain, with a forehead full of cold sweat.
He recalled a time when they were on a mission, and Chen Ge had been shot. He had used a military knife to dig out the bullet himself, and back then, hadn't he not even let out a single groan?
Hmph, men!
Once the wound was treated, Ling Chen, shirtless and still holding Ye Xiao's hand, asked Jiang Mu, "Can we contact Jian Lan?"
Jiang Mu shook his head, "All the equipment is destroyed."
Ye Xiao spoke up, "I'll go find her."
Ling Chen immediately vetoed the idea, "Where do you think you're going? I'm seriously injured; I need you to stay with me."
But there were times when Ye Xiao didn't listen.
He let go of Ling Chen's hand, grabbed his knife, and ran off before disappearing in no time. With the car's tires stuck in the sand and Jiang Cancan's leg injured, Ling Chen, worried, grabbed a coat, threw it on, and chased after him.
Meanwhile, Ye Xiao, discerning the commotion, ran purposefully towards the southeast. He moved swiftly, and after a short distance, he spotted Jian Lan.
Presumably out of bullets, both Jian Lan and the Holy Judgement sniper had discarded their sniper rifles and were locked in hand-to-hand combat. Neither was an easy opponent, each wielding a dagger like bloodthirsty beasts and neither gaining the upper hand.
Ye Xiao stood by and did not rush in. After a dozen seconds, he suddenly moved.
Afraid of accidentally injuring Jian Lan, he gripped the scabbard with his right hand and slammed it heavily onto the enemy's arm with pinpoint accuracy.
With a "crack", the bone broke.
Jian Lan seized the opportunity and kicked out, but unexpectedly, the enemy caught her kick, using his already fractured hand to grab the dagger and thrust it fiercely towards Jian Lan!
Jian Lan, unable to block in time, braced herself for injury and bloodshed, but Ye Xiao, in an instant, reached out with his left hand and directly took the attack for her!
Blood immediately welled up from Ye Xiao's hand, and Jian Lan's eyes instantly turned red, "How dare you hurt my brother!" With a roar, Jian Lan kicked the enemy away, then pounced on him before landing several punches that knocked out a few of his teeth.
By the time Ling Chen arrived, the fight was already over.
Jian Lan had finally plunged her dagger into the enemy's chest with her emotions still unsettled, her eyes red and intimidating aura. Ye Xiao stood nearby while gripping his long blade, but Ling Chen immediately noticed something was off—Ye Xiao always preferred to hold their scabbard with his left hand, making it easier to draw the blade with his right hand for combat.
His eyelids twitches violently, "Little Fuzzball, are you hurt?"
Seeing Ye Xiao remain silent, Jian Lan spoke up, "The little friend saved me. When the dagger came at me, I couldn't dodge, and he reached out to take the blow for me."
Ling Chen's face was stern as he stepped forward to picked up the person, and ran back. Concerned about Ling Chen's injury, Ye Xiao didn't dare to struggle. "I can walk by myself—"
Ling Chen said coldly, "Your Captain is angry. Don't speak."
Ye Xiao didn't dare to make a sound. He pursed his lips and nuzzled Ling Chen's jaw with his forehead. "Captain, don't be angry."
Ling Chen's breath hitched— ‘Damn it, acting cute? Let me tell you, acting cute won't work!’
Carrying him all the way back to the Armored Vehicle, Ling Chen fetched some medicine and bandages to dress his wound.
When blocking the dagger, Ye Xiao had used a clever technique.
Instead of directly grabbing the blade with his hand, he had pinched the hilt with his fingers to force it to change direction. However, his palm was still sliced open by the blade as the flesh tore apart, causing a dull pain in Ling Chen's chest.
Throughout the bandaging process, Ling Chen didn't say a word. Ye Xiao knew he was truly angry but didn't know how to appease him. Meanwhile, Jiang Cancan and Jiang Mu had already shamelessly retreated from the rear compartment.
After a moment of silence, Ye Xiao murmured, "Captain, don't be angry."
Ling Chen, who was wrapping the bandage, said without looking up, "I'm not angry."
Ye Xiao: "You are angry."
The bandaging stopped, and Ling Chen finally looked up at him. "Do you know why the Captain is angry?"
Ye Xiao honestly shook his head.
Ling Chen suddenly felt that he had been angry for nothing, and the person involved didn't even understand! What a waste!
Sighing, Ling Chen's expression softened a bit. He tied a bow on the bandage around Ye Xiao's hand and met his eyes again before speaking earnestly, "I'm angry because you don't value your life."
Ye Xiao didn't understand.
Ling Chen: "I know you're strong, but there are many people in the world stronger than you." Realizing that reasoning might not work, Ling Chen changed his approach. "When Xiao Mu helped me remove the shrapnel, did it hurt you?"
Ye Xiao nodded. "It hurt."
Ling Chen: "Do you want me to get hurt?"
Ye Xiao shook his head: "No, I don't want you to get hurt."
Ling Chen: "Just like you don't want me to get hurt and feel sad when you see me bleed, I don't want you to get hurt either. Seeing you injured, it hurts me."
He took a shallow breath while gazing into Ye Xiao's eyes. "Ye Xiao, remember this: every time you charge at the enemy and every time you draw your blade, think in your heart that if you get hurt, my heart will ache ten, a hundred times more."
Ye Xiao nodded gently. "Okay."
No one had ever taught him to value his life, to avoid bleeding or to avoid getting hurt.
Ling Chen looked into Ye Xiao's clear, black-and-white eyes and felt his heart soften. He took out a piece of candy and fed it to him, then ruffled his hair. "Our Little Fuzzball is the most obedient."
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