The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
At half past ten in the morning, the Sabertooth Tiger was on its way to the Coordinate Point.
Inside the vehicle, Jiang Cancan and Jian Lan, wearing tank tops, were competing in push-ups. Ye Xiao, with a candy in his mouth, squatted at the front Nx supervising whether their movements were standard.
Jiang Mu sat in the driver's seat while holding the steering wheel. "Professor Bai is sending the Coordinate Point now. It's likely that they have settled down."
Ling Chen nodded, "Yes, I hope they're all safe."
Both of them were feeling somewhat heavy-hearted. Jiang Mu said calmly, "Looking at the situation along the way, it's quite chaotic."
A hint of sarcasm appeared in Ling Chen's smile.
Jiang Mu also sighed, "No matter when, humans are always keen on internal strife."
At that moment, cheers erupted from the back of the vehicle, with Jian Lan's voice being the loudest. "I won! I won! Jiang Cancan, you weakling!"
Jiang Cancan wailed, "Can Ye actually came in last, so frustrating!"
Ye Xiao clumsily comforted him, "It was only two less."
Jiang Cancan instantly revived, "Right, it was only two less! Next time! Can Ye will definitely win next time!"
The heavy atmosphere was dispelled, and Jiang Mu's expression also relaxed. He lowered his voice, "After handing over the Regional Core to Professor Bai, what are you planning to do?"
Knowing what Jiang Mu was asking, Ling Chen's expression became serious, and his tone involuntarily softened. "First, I'll confess properly, and then tell him, ‘These are my parents, I'll share half of them with you’."
Jiang Mu glanced at him and couldn't help but laugh, "Chen Ge, this confession is really quite bad."
"Really? That bad?" Ling Chen sat up straight and unusually humble in seeking advice, "Then give me some ideas?"
Jiang Mu shook his head, "Think of it yourself."
Ling Chen looked back at Ye Xiao, who was playing Gomoku with Jiang Cancan, and with Jian Lan standing behind him offering support. He turned back, propped his elbow on the car window, and curled his lips.
As it approached noon, the sky was bright. Ling Chen looked out the car window and suddenly frowned, "Something's not right."
Jiang Mu, thinking he sensed some danger, slowed down the car, "What's wrong?"
Ling Chen affirmed, "I smell plum blossoms.”
The Sabertooth Tiger came to an abrupt halt, stopping in place.
Jian Lan steadied herself against the car wall, "What's going on, are we going to fight?"
For the moment, no one answered her question.
Jiang Mu carefully observed the vegetation outside with his expression gradually becoming grave. "It's confirmed, the Seasonal Transition System where we are is disordered, and the instruments are not very sensitive."
Ling Chen concluded, "We've entered D Zone."
Jiang Cancan looked at Jiang Mu, then at Ling Chen, not quite getting it. "D Zone? But... but on the map, we didn't enter—"
He suddenly stopped as he remembered Qiu Guanghan's team's experience of mistakenly entering D Zone, and his face showed an "Oh shit" expression. "No way, has D Zone expanded again? We accidentally entered? What a coincidence!"
Jiang Mu nodded, "It should be similar to Qiu Guanghan's situation." He recalled the map in his mind, "We're probably about two hours away from the destination."
"Mm," Ling Chen tapped the car window frame with his fingers, "Let's keep moving forward for now."
For a moment, everyone lost their playful mood.
Jiang Cancan muttered softly, "The expansion speed of D Zone is a bit fast. But even so, those guys from Holy Judgement are still fighting and killing. They sure have big hearts."
Jian Lan was adjusting her precious heavy sniper rifle, "If they were as excellent as you, they would have already joined our army."
Jiang Cancan patted his buzz cut as he took the comment as a compliment and happily accepted it.
The vehicle drove forward for another half an hour. Ling Chen, with a hint of caution, once again asked Jiang Mu to slow down the speed. "Something feels off. My hairs are standing on end."
Instruments can malfunction, but the sense of danger honed from countless near-death experiences has saved Ling Chen and his team many times.
Ye Xiao, who had been napping on the seat, sat up before looking around with a somewhat dazed expression. "The air smells... foul."
Ling Chen and the others' senses weren't as sharp as Ye Xiao's. "Little Fuzzball, what kind of foul smell is it?"
Ye Xiao tried his best to describe it, "Bear, wild wolf, the kind of stench from not bathing for a long time." After saying this, his sleepy eyes suddenly turned sharp, and he warned, "Left side!"
Everyone looked out the car window and was shocked.
Jiang Cancan voiced everyone's thoughts, "Holy crap, what the hell is that? Thrilling... thrilling!"
Not far away, in a small grove, a huge, hairy monster suddenly stood up with its forelimbs on the ground, its brown fur spread out and its face like a painted mask from Peking opera, with a bright red nose bridge and upturned nostrils exhaling waves of stench.
Jiang Mu quickly assessed, "It's a mandrill, the largest primate in the monkey family. Fierce and combative, with sharp teeth and claws, capable of killing a leopard with a single swipe."
Jiang Cancan was not feeling well, "Our luck seems to have never been good!"
Ling Chen decisively ordered, "We can't fight it, run!"
But it was too late.
Discovering that unfamiliar living beings had invaded its territory, the mandrill turned around with agility that belied its massive size and charged towards the armored vehicle. As it moved, the ground trembled.
Jiang Mu floored the accelerator, and the Sabertooth Tiger shot out like an arrow from a bow.
Ling Chen watched the pursuing mandrill in the rearview mirror and got out of the passenger seat. "Jian Lan, come with me to the roof!"
"Yes!"
Jian Lan opened the sunroof with both hands and climbed up. Taking advantage of the moment, Ling Chen leaned in and kissed Ye Xiao's lips, "I'll be back in a bit."
The vehicle was speeding along, and the two of them lay steadily on the roof. Jian Lan squinted while staring at the mandrill chasing behind with her voice unusually shaky, "Chen Ge, I think this big guy is not easy to deal with."
Ling Chen's eye was pressed against the scope with his straight nose and tight jawline outlining a cold and stern expression. "Whether it's easy or not, we have to deal with it. Let's try to scare it off. If that doesn't work, we'll have to fight."
As he spoke, he fired the first shot with a steady hand then quickly calculating the bullet trajectory deviation and reporting it to Jian Lan, then fired three more shots in succession.
"The fur is very thick, with strong bulletproof capabilities. The three bullets are almost embedded in the fur and cause little damage."
Jian Lan was already in the zone, her finger on the trigger. "Suggest aiming for the eyes for a headshot."
Ling Chen: "Feasible."
As soon as the words were spoken, the two of them fired four bullets simultaneously while aiming for the mandrill's eyes from both sides. However, to their astonishment, the bullets didn't miss their mark but were swatted away by the mandrill's claws just before impact.
Ling Chen and Jian Lan's expressions grew increasingly grave.
Jiang Mu's voice faintly came from inside the vehicle, "The mandrill is one of the most intelligent primates!"
Jian Lan gritted her teeth, "Is it cheating? It's so big and so smart! Why doesn't it just fly to the sky?"
Inside the vehicle, Jiang Cancan stuck his head out to look back, "The mandrill is too overpowered. Guns and bullets alone aren't enough to take it down!" He pulled his head back in before rubbing his chin.
Just then, the mandrill suddenly stopped, then gathered its strength and leaped high into the air with its massive body pouncing directly toward the speeding Sabertooth Tiger!
Jiang Mu noticed the shadow above and yanked the steering wheel hard.
The tires screeched against the ground, sending sparks and gravel flying. With a loud "screech", the tires skidded into a sharp turn and narrowly avoided the mandrill's attack. Its sharp claws only grazed the side of the vehicle but still managed to pierce through the bulletproof steel layer.
The vehicle tilted dangerously to one side due to the force. Jiang Mu pressed a button, and with a "whoosh", a row of steel supports popped out from the bottom to forcibly stabilize the vehicle.
Jian Lan jumped down from the roof and urgently shouted, "Deploy the vehicle-mounted anti-aircraft gun! Can Can, load the ammunition!"
Soon, the anti-aircraft gun was fully assembled. With a "bang", it fired while leaving a trail of white smoke in the air. The entire vehicle shook violently, and the tires sank into the soil.
As expected, the first shell missed as it just grazed the top of the mandrill's head. Jiang Mu calmly adjusted the trajectory and quickly fired the second shell. This time, the shell hit the mandrill squarely on its arched back!
The piercing scream was deafening.
Ignoring the wound on its back, the mandrill suddenly accelerated while letting out a painful roar, and slammed its claw heavily onto the armored vehicle!
The entire armored vehicle was tossed aside like a toy.
Ye Xiao felt the world spinning around him but he reacted quickly by grabbing onto the handle on the vehicle wall, but his back still slammed hard against the bulletproof steel, feeling as if his spine was about to shatter.
Opening his eyes, he didn't have time to assess the situation and shouted in panic, "Ling Chen!"
Jiang Cancan's face had been hit, and his nose was severely injured as blood kept gushing down his face. He hissed in pain while pointing to the right, indicating where Ling Chen was.
When the vehicle was flipped over by the mandrill, Jian Lan, with nothing to hold onto, crashed into a chair and too hurt to get up immediately. Yet, she still managed to stutter out a comment, "It's rare to hear the little friend call out Chen Ge's name!"
Ye Xiao grabbed his long blade and quickly ran out of the vehicle, only to see Ling Chen lying not far away and clutching his abdomen.
It felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen in an instant and his pupils constricted. "Ling Chen..." Ye Xiao stumbled over and almost collapsed next to Ling Chen, panic-stricken.
Ling Chen's face was pale from blood loss amd his body reeked of blood. "I got scratched by that thing's claw, on the abdomen... It's okay, Little Fuzzball, don't be afraid. The Captain won't die."
He held his wound and instructed, "Now, work with Xiao Mu. He'll drive to distract the mandrill, and you prepare the explosives."
Ye Xiao bit down hard on the tip of his tongue to force himself to stay calm. "S01 Explosive, right?"
Ling Chen nodded lightly with his voice barely audible, "Right."
Ling Chen had taught him how to use it before, so he knew what to do. Ye Xiao leaned down and gently kissed Ling Chen's lips. "I'll definitely do it."
The Sabertooth Tiger, now restarted, carried only Jiang Mu and Ye Xiao. The walls of the vehicle were covered in claw marks, and the wind whistled through the gaps, stinging their faces.
He prepared the explosive and said to Jiang Mu, "I'm ready."
Jiang Mu's jaw tightened. "I'll count to three and slow down the vehicle. After you get out and place the explosive, you can't stay even a second longer. You must return to the vehicle immediately, and I'll accelerate to get us away from the blast zone."
"Got it."
"One—two—three!"
On the final count, Ye Xiao leaped out, rolled upon landing, and quickly placed the explosive on the ground before pressing the button. Hearing the "beep—", he turned around like lightning and sprinted back toward the armored vehicle.
The beeping of the explosive grew increasingly urgent. Ye Xiao glanced back to confirm that the Mandrill was about to pass over the explosive's location. He then sped up again, moving like a gust of wind. As he neared the rear of the vehicle, he suddenly jumped and lunged forward!
Behind him, a deafening "BOOM—" erupted. The scorching air current blew up Ye Xiao's clothes and hair, and the force of the blast pinned him hard against the outer wall of the vehicle.
The back of his neck burned with pain, likely from the sparks and debris that had scattered everywhere. Ignoring it, he agilely climbed back into the vehicle and shouted to Jiang Mu, "Done!"
Meanwhile, the S01 Explosive had delivered a devastating effect.
The Mandrill's lower limbs were severely injured, and its fur was now ablaze, filling the air with the acrid smell of burning.
The explosion had thoroughly enraged the Mandrill. Despite its injured leg, it still attempted to continue chasing the vehicle.
Ye Xiao mimicked Jiang Cancan's actions by loading the cannon. "Ready!"
The moment he spoke, Jiang Mu pressed the firing button. The anti-aircraft gun emitted a loud "THUD" as the shell launched. Jiang Mu adjusted the trajectory in three seconds, and two more shells followed, all aimed directly at the Mandrill's head!
A horrifying screech echoed. Jiang Mu's voice was tense. "Hit one eye."
Ye Xiao's lips were bitten bloody. Then, Jiang Mu spoke again, this time with surprise. "The other eye's been blown out too. It was Chen Ge, with an armor-piercing explosive bullet—a headshot!"
The massive beast, as large as a hill, gradually ceased its movements. A continuous stream of blood, mixed with charred fur and ash, flowed down, creating a gruesome spectacle.
Jiang Mu drove the battered Sabertooth Tiger back to the original spot. Before the vehicle even came to a complete stop, Ye Xiao jumped out and ran toward Ling Chen.
Ling Chen lay on the ground with his eyes closed, while Jian Lan pressed hard on his wound with a bandage and her hands covered in blood.
Ye Xiao stopped, unable to make a sound.
As if sensing something, Ling Chen opened his eyes and saw Ye Xiao approaching. He struggled to speak, "Are you hurt?"
Ye Xiao shook his head and worried Ling Chen might not see, he spoke aloud, "I'm not hurt." His lips trembled, and his voice shook. "But... but you're hurt."
Ling Chen's tone was gentle. "Yeah, I'm hurt. It's a bit serious, but it's okay. I won't die."
Ye Xiao's entire body was trembling with cold as he cautiously confirmed, "Is it true?"
"Yes, it's true. When has the Captain ever lied to you?" Ling Chen's voice grew weaker, but he still managed to smile. "Don't cry, it breaks my heart."
As the last words faded, Jian Lan quickly added, "Chen Ge has just passed out."
At that moment, Jiang Cancan came running over while panting heavily as he shouted, "Found it, found it!" He opened a palm-sized box, took out a syringe, and injected it into the edge of the wound on Ling Chen's abdomen. After the pale blue liquid was administered, the bleeding visibly decreased.
Jiang Cancan plopped down on the ground before letting out a sigh of relief himself. He patted Ye Xiao's shoulder to comfort him, "Little friend, it's okay, it's okay. With this injection, Chen Ge won't die. He's a troublemaker, and troublemakers live for a thousand years. He really won't die, won't die."
He repeated "won't die" several times, unsure whether he was reassuring Ye Xiao or calming his own racing heart.
Ye Xiao nodded with his eyes red but he did not shed tears. He stared at Ling Chen's wound as his expression suddenly turned fierce, like a small beast provoked into ferocity. He looked towards the northwest direction, "There's a car coming!"
Jiang Cancan sprang to his feet while looking into the distance. He was also tense; if they encountered enemies now, the chances of being wiped out were high.
Ye Xiao also stood up as he positioned himself in front of Ling Chen with his hand already on the hilt of his blade.
At this moment, he exuded a chilling, intimidating aura—anyone who wanted to approach Ling Chen would have to get past his blade first.
A convoy of four vehicles gradually approached and finally stopped at a safe distance. Then, a gentle female voice spoke, "I am Bai Hengyun."
"Professor Bai? Damn, we actually got lucky for once!" Jiang Cancan relaxed and started running towards the convoy.
Ye Xiao squatted back down next to Ling Chen with his chin resting on his knees and watching Jian Lan tend to Ling Chen's wound.
After tearing open the clothes, the wound on Ling Chen's abdomen looked gruesome, with flesh torn open deeply, and blood had already soaked through a large amount of gauze.
Jian Lan, with her hands covered in blood, managed to finish the bandaging. "Professor Bai and her team should have medical personnel. Chen Ge's life is completely saved. Besides, he's like a monster; his wounds heal exceptionally fast."
Ye Xiao remained silent and just kept guarding Ling Chen, fully focused.
Soon, Jiang Cancan brought people over.
Bai Hengyun was dressed neatly, with the sleeves of her light-colored shirt rolled up to her elbows. Seeing Ling Chen's condition, her eyes reddened, but she maintained her composure and quickly had the medics lift Ling Chen onto a stretcher.
Ye Xiao stayed by Ling Chen's side. When two strangers approached to move Ling Chen, his gaze alone made the two medics hesitate.
Realizing that the young boy holding the Long Blade was protecting her son, Bai Hengyun said gently, "Hello, I'm Ling Chen's mother. You can trust me."
Ye Xiao had no memory of parents in his life. He looked at Bai Hengyun, then at Ling Chen, whose lips had lost all color, and took half a step back. "I'll stay with him."
Bai Hengyun smiled and nodded, "Alright, we'll all stay with him."
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