Chapter 209: Bai Tiejun Undergoes Surgery
Wu Liu Yi, who grew up in the countryside since childhood, was already skilled at hunting wild game, and after training in the troops, his skills became even more exquisite.
Digging rat holes was a breeze for him; in just a few moves, he caught two.
With skilled hands, he cut off the heads, skinned them, gutted the bellies and removed the entrails, and two large chunks of bloody, steaming fresh meat appeared before everyone.
Catching the rats didn’t take much effort, and gutting them only took a few minutes.
But when it came time to eat, problems arose instead.
Cheng Cai was someone who would make any effort to achieve his goal; for the promotion to officer dream promised by Chen Jun, mere rat meat couldn’t stop him.
Even though the bloody rat meat was nauseating, he gritted his teeth and shoved it into his mouth.
Xu Sanduo didn’t have so many thoughts to begin with.
Seeing his squad leader Wu Liu Yi take the lead in eating, and his fellow villager and good friend Cheng Cai, who was also the deputy squad leader, eating too, he instinctively felt he should eat as well.
So he took a chunk of meat from Wu Liu Yi, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it down with a tilt of his head.
Though it had a strong gamey taste that instinctively made one want to vomit, since the squad leader and deputy squad leader didn’t spit it out, Xu Sanduo felt he couldn’t either.
His mind was just that simple.
Bai Tie Jun had always been excessively cautious, always thinking only of survival no matter the time; his fear of death was notorious in the whole squad.
But when it came to eating rat meat, he became the most positive one.
This actually fit his personality quite well.
As long as he could hang on and stay alive, nothing was a problem.
Only Gan Xiao Ning was exceptionally resistant; no matter what, he couldn’t eat it—it looked nauseating and made him want to vomit, and the smell made his stomach acid churn.
Wu Liu Yi still wanted to persuade him, pulling out the “no abandonment, no giving up” motivational tactic.
But Gan Xiao Ning directly laid it all out.
You guys really want to get into A Team, you’re desperate for it, but I’m different—I’m just here out of curiosity to take a look; I don’t want to go all out for this damn A Team.
I think our Steel Seventh Company is pretty good.
Last time we fought them to a draw; next time if we confront A Team again, our Steel Seventh Company can definitely take them down.
I won’t lose face for Steel Seventh Company, and I won’t eat this nauseating stuff.
I’ll hold out as long as I can.
With Gan Xiao Ning putting it that way, it was his own choice, and Wu Liu Yi really couldn’t say anything more; he could only let him be.
He continued eating with Xu Sanduo, Cheng Cai, and Bai Tie Jun, finishing both rats completely for stamina.
Raw rat meat was hard to eat and didn’t contain much energy, but once in his stomach, it was real fuel.
His stomach no longer growled from hunger, and his body instantly felt much more spirited.
“Let’s go, keep moving.”
After barely filling their stomachs and draining the last of the water from the water canteen, Wu Liu Yi continued leading the team toward the target direction.
A person can survive seven days without food, but only three without water.
The canteen of water they brought when departing yesterday was finished during the rat meat.
The Steel Seventh Company squad, now without water, faced a new difficulty: they must quickly find a water source to ensure completing the reconnaissance mission.
Otherwise, running all day today, with massive sweating carrying away moisture, would leave them all exhausted.
In exhaustion, combat effectiveness plummets.
At that point, forget completing the reconnaissance mission or evading the reconnaissance battalion’s pursuit—even walking would be a problem, let alone standing up.
The old A’s clearly knew this situation and understood how scarce water resources were on the loess plateau.
So instead of guarding intersections, they specifically watched the water troughs placed in various areas to replenish wildlife and herdsmen.
To protect wildlife ecology and herdsmen’s livestock grazing, the state built many public facilities.
Among them were large cement troughs placed on the loess plateau in water-scarce areas, periodically filled by water trucks.
Wu Liu Yi and the others didn’t know the old A’s were so cunning; upon seeing a water trough on the road, they immediately ran over to fill up.
As a result, they were attacked by the old A’s.
Gan Xiao Ning, who was already barely holding on and just needed a dignified way to exit, seized the opportunity to use his last strength.
He stayed behind to cover Wu Liu Yi and the others, buying time for their withdrawal.
Plus, the two old A’s on watch didn’t go all out; otherwise, with their marksmanship, the first wave of attack would have taken out at least two or three of Wu Liu Yi’s group.
Wu Liu Yi, Cheng Cai, and the others also knew this was Gan Xiao Ning’s own choice.
He had a reasonable reason to be eliminated.
So they didn’t hesitate at all, immediately retreating along the original path to create distance, leaving at the fastest speed to prevent being tailed by the old A’s.
Only Xu Sanduo was too simple and naive, too immersed in the role, and didn’t see through Gan Xiao Ning’s intentions.
Along the way, he was all excited and emotional about going back to save him.
With the situation too tense and no time to explain, Wu Liu Yi could only issue a squad leader’s order to force Xu Sanduo to withdraw.
Only after running for about half an hour and fully withdrawing to a safe position did Wu Liu Yi explain to Xu Sanduo.
Xu Sanduo, who had been too deep in the act and clueless, hadn’t expected so many complications; all he could do was scratch his head with a silly grin.
The large Steel Seventh Company team that set out now had only four left.
At this moment, everyone actually knew deep down that A Team would ultimately only take three; someone here would definitely leave.
But it wasn’t the last moment yet, so no one wanted to bring it up.
Moreover, Cheng Cai and Wu Liu Yi both had orders—though neither knew the other’s—and at this moment, their mindsets were the same.
They both had unavoidable reasons to go.
So their attitudes were very firm: they absolutely had to persist to the end.
Only Xu Sanduo and Bai Tie Jun were uncertain.
The two of them were now completely free agents; no outsider knew why they came for A Team’s selection assessment.
Bai Tie Jun hadn’t said, and Xu Sanduo hadn’t either.
In this subtle emotional atmosphere, the four persisted until nightfall.
Wu Liu Yi figured that in these two days, they had probably covered seventy or eighty kilometers, so the destination couldn’t be far.
He simply decided not to rest tonight, to travel through the night to find the reconnaissance point and complete the reconnaissance mission in the dark.
Then reach the withdrawal point before dawn.
The sooner to the withdrawal point, the better, to prevent others from arriving first and snatching the quota, leading to their elimination.
Cheng Cai had to join A Team’s training selection, so he unhesitatingly supported Wu Liu Yi’s decision.
With squad leader and deputy squad leader already stating their positions, Xu Sanduo and Bai Tie Jun’s opinions didn’t matter; the four continued onward.
They traveled for several hours straight, soon reaching midnight.
The tranquility of the marching team was broken by an accident.
Bai Tie Jun suddenly doubled over in severe abdominal pain!
Bai Tie Jun was only about 6 meters tall, weighing barely over 100 jin—skinnier than Xu Sanduo, with the weakest physique of the four.
After two days of continuous hunger, his body was very weak; plus, in the afternoon thirst was unbearable, and passing a cement pit, everyone drank some pit water.
Add to that the deep night chill piercing the bones, with gusts of cold wind.
Under this pile-up of factors, without Xu Sanduo’s super stamina cheat, Bai Tie Jun didn’t know which one caused it.
Whether it was hunger, thirst, and declining physique leading to catching a cold from the midnight chill.
Or the afternoon water being unclean, upsetting his stomach causing the pain.
Or appendicitis or some inflammation.
Unable to make any judgment, Wu Liu Yi and the others saw Bai Tie Jun’s face pale from pain, sweat pouring, lips trembling.
It was clear Bai Tie Jun’s situation was not optimistic; he needed urgent treatment.
So ignoring Bai Tie Jun’s wishes, to ensure his safety, Wu Liu Yi decided for him and pulled out the smoke signal, twisting it open directly.
“Puff~”
White smoke rose.
To prevent any accidents, Wu Liu Yi added a second safeguard, taking Bai Tie Jun’s gun and firing a burst into the air.
“Da da da…”
The gunshots were exceptionally piercing and loud in the silent night.
The sound could carry at least a few kilometers!
“Let’s go, move quickly; we’ve done all we can, the rest is beyond us.”
After finishing this, Wu Liu Yi immediately ordered the team to set off again, getting as far away as possible in the shortest time.
Otherwise, when the reconnaissance battalion or old A’s arrived, the three of them would become live targets too.
Cheng Cai got up without hesitation and followed.
Only Xu Sanduo lingered reluctantly, carefully instructing on various matters before leaving with Cheng Cai, looking back every few steps.
“I can only go this far; Steel Seventh Company… Steel Seventh Company is counting on you all, keep it up.”
Even as pain made his vision blur, Bai Tie Jun watched Wu Liu Yi and the others’ departing backs and gave his only blessing.
Though he didn’t want to join A Team, he shared one thing with Bart.
That was not losing face for Steel Seventh Company!
As members of the Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment’s most awesome company, even if they said they were just here to play, each was giving their all to uphold Steel Seventh Company’s honor.
Just like Wu Liu Yi said—
Steel Seventh Company’s soldiers have to be top students wherever they go!
…
Wu Liu Yi’s personal judgment was correct; the command post camp was indeed nearby, just under ten kilometers in a straight line.
But even at ten kilometers, the gunshots couldn’t be heard here.
And at night, the smoke couldn’t be seen either.
Fortunately, there was a reconnaissance battalion checkpoint deployed less than 2 kilometers nearby, which rushed over at the sound of the gunshots.
They found Bai Tie Jun pale from pain and immediately sent him to the command post.
A medical rescue vehicle was already prepared here; after initial diagnosis by the military doctor, it was confirmed as acute appendicitis, and he was sent that night to the division field hospital.
Bai Tie Jun thereby refreshed his personal record.
There were many injured competitors in this selection, but mostly minor skin wounds; Bai Tie Jun was the only one sent to the field hospital for surgery during the selection.
Though appendicitis isn’t major surgery—and many get it removed even when healthy—the hospital still notified Steel Seventh Company.
Chen Jun, Gao Cheng, and Hong Xingguo soon arrived at the hospital to visit Bai Tie Jun.
By then, the surgery was done.
Bai Tie Jun’s anesthesia had mostly worn off.
Seeing the company’s three cadres come together made Bai Tie Jun especially flattered; he nearly jumped up from the bed to salute and greet.
In all his time in the troops, Bai Tie Jun had never received treatment at this level.
However.
It was also pain mixed with joy.
Because Gao Cheng, the big rough guy, was very direct—patting Bai Tie Jun’s shoulder with a barrage of praise, oblivious that Bai Tie Jun wanted to cry out but couldn’t, forcing a smile.
Bai Tie Jun was almost in as much pain as an iron plate!
Fortunately, Chen Jun noticed something wrong in time, reminding Gao Cheng he’d just had surgery, which made Gao Cheng suddenly realize and stop his unwitting torment.
“Well done, good job.”
Chen Jun’s simple few words moved Bai Tie Jun to tears, feeling everything he’d done was worth it.
The remaining political instructor Hong Xingguo was different; he rambled on at length.
As expected of someone in political work, his eloquence was impressive.
…
While Chen Jun and the other two visited Bai Tie Jun at the hospital, it was already past four in the morning, with less than two hours until dawn.
And at this very moment, Wu Liu Yi and the other two’s persistence finally saw hope of victory.
Staggering at the front, Cheng Cai—throat abnormally dry and sore from the night chill—swallowed hard several times before climbing a small dirt slope.
The instant he crested the small dirt slope, Cheng Cai saw the scene before him.
His eyes went wide!
All the fatigue and discomfort from the journey turned to excitement in that moment.
Because he saw a small lake ahead; on the land opposite the small water canteen, by the clear moonlight, a position was distinctly visible.
Weren’t these the reference points Yuan Lang mentioned at the start?
Cheng Cai, nearly screaming with excitement, froze for several seconds before reacting; to avoid detection, he quickly dropped prone.
Making the Wu Liu Yi and Xu Sanduo behind think some danger appeared ahead.
They too nervously dropped to the ground!
“What’s going on? Cheng Cai, any situation?” Wu Liu Yi anxiously whispered.
“Squad leader, Three Stooge, haha, we won, we succeeded—the position is right ahead, haha, we found the position!”
Cheng Cai forcibly lowered his voice, but still couldn’t hide his bursting excitement.
“Found the position?”
Wu Liu Yi and Xu Sanduo, also exhausted to the point of staggering, perked up at his words with excitement.
Their originally drained bodies surged with strength again; they scrambled along the ground to the small dirt slope.
Looking ahead.
All three grinned.
Indeed, just as Cheng Cai said: a shuipaozi appeared before them, with the position behind it and a forest nearby.
As long as they reconned this position ahead, then crossed the nearby forest.
They could complete this assessment!!
Racing toward a brand new world, carrying their respective life goals and missions, embarking on a new life for the three of them.
