Chapter 212: Land Rover
Chang Ning, sprinting like mad, soon caught up with Xiao Zhuang and Lao Pao.
It turned out the two of them had run a distance and then stopped.
The distance they kept was quite precise—positioned here, they could quickly react and escape if they spotted Blue Team pursuers, and likewise, they could cover for Chang Ning.
Though everyone shared a friendship forged through life and death, when Xiao Zhuang and Lao Pao stayed behind to cover for him, Chang Ning couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion in his heart.
“What are you doing here? Hurry up and run.”
Touched in his heart, Chang Ning didn’t say it out loud.
As he passed the two, Chang Ning complained about them, upset that they hadn’t run off quickly and were waiting for him so close to the camp.
Though scolded by Chang Ning, Xiao Zhuang and Lao Pao weren’t upset.
They knew Chang Ning’s temperament—on the surface he said nothing and even complained about them, but deep down he appreciated their gesture.
After running another stretch, the three sensed something was off.
While running, Lao Pao glanced back, but behind them there were only trees as far as the eye could see, not even a human shadow.
“Why aren’t the Blue Team following?”
“Who knows, maybe they’re doing mine clearance?” Xiao Zhuang replied.
“Never mind the Blue Team. Let’s run a bit farther and then see.” Chang Ning urged the two to keep running.
Army troops had iron feet; this mountain road was no big obstacle for them or the Blue Team.
The three ran another five kilometers of mountain road in one breath before daring to stop and catch their breath.
“The Blue Team couldn’t possibly let us off this easily, so why no movement from them now?
Could your jump mine really have taken them out?” Xiao Zhuang looked at Chang Ning, somewhat incredulous.
Such a short time wasn’t enough to set a hidden mine either; careful observation would definitely spot it.
But if they weren’t eliminated, why didn’t the Blue Team keep chasing?
“Maybe Chang Ning really eliminated them,” Lao Pao said.
Whether the Blue Team chased or not, why overthink it? Chang Ning figured.
If the Blue Team caught up, they’d find a way to create trouble for them and take the opportunity to eliminate them.
If they didn’t catch up, even better—whatever the reason, knowing the result was enough.
“Why think so much? Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit longer with that time?”
The two felt Chang Ning was right and seized the time to rest.
The sky had brightened, and the mountain forest was very cold in the early morning. Chang Ning and the others were frozen awake; being behind enemy lines, they didn’t dare light a fire and could only tough it out.
“So cold!”
Chang Ning felt his nose was stuffy, breathing a bit difficult, and his voice had a nasal tone.
No more running, probably caught a cold.
But it was mild—a fortunate break amid the misfortune.
“How about you two? I’ve got a mild cold,” Chang Ning asked.
Xiao Zhuang and Lao Pao said they were fine.
“Can you still hold on?”
Xiao Zhuang looked at Chang Ning with concern.
“Don’t think just because I’ve got a cold I can’t outrun you—ten kilometers now, and I’d lap you three times.”
Chang Ning held up three fingers.
“Even with a cold, still competing!
Just settle down!”
Lao Pao watched Chang Ning helplessly from the side.
Seeing Chang Ning say he was fine, the three set off again.
Their mission target was not close; they needed to pick up the pace.
After encountering several waves of Blue Team in the forest, the three simply left the mountain forest and followed the highway.
Each time they ran into Blue Team in the mountains, Chang Ning and the others had to explain they were out for adventure.
The Blue Team saw the three wearing sneakers, heavy foreign-style backpacks, civilian Pan Am hats and sunglasses, with cameras and such slung over their shoulders, plus their burly builds—they looked like a professional outdoor team and believed their nonsense.
On the highway, Lao Pao grinned at the Blue Team military vehicles occasionally passing them, then said to Chang Ning and Xiao Zhuang in a barely audible voice: “Why do I feel like we won’t get through the Blue Team’s checkpoint like this.”
Chang Ning took a sip of water to moisten his throat: “We can’t go through the mountains anymore; patrols are denser there.”
“Walk right out in the open; fewer checks.
With our getup, every time we ran into a Blue Team search team in the forest, we’d get stopped and questioned,” Xiao Zhuang said.
“Relax, Squad Leader. Don’t be so stiff—the more relaxed we are, the less the Blue Team will question us.”
Chang Ning reassured the tense Lao Pao.
A Land Rover was stopped by the roadside, a man in sportswear tinkering with the engine under the hood.
The man had fair skin, gold-rimmed glasses, and looked quite gentle.
“What are we gonna do? I told you not to drive out alone, but you wouldn’t listen…”
Perhaps realizing he couldn’t fix it, the man muttered.
“Shut up!”
The stylishly dressed woman by the car shot a fierce glare at the gentle man.
The gentle man immediately fell silent and hurriedly pretended to work on the engine again.
Actually, he didn’t know how to fix cars; he was just doing it to show off to the woman.
But he’d clearly overestimated his abilities; faced with the stalled Land Rover, he was powerless.
The scene looked awfully familiar, though in the original plot it was Ma Qitong fixing the car while the pretty boy watched from the side.
So Chang Ning wasn’t sure if that woman was Ma Qitong.
“Looks like that car’s broken down. If we fix it, asking for a ride wouldn’t be too much, right?”
Chang Ning’s eyes darted as he eyed the Land Rover, coming up with a way to slip past the Blue Team checkpoint.
Whether it was Ma Qitong or not, they’d cross the checkpoint first.
“Sounds good,” Xiao Zhuang thought Chang Ning’s idea was solid.
“You go try first, see if you can fix it.”
Compared to Xiao Zhuang, Lao Pao was more cautious.
“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”
After saying so, Chang Ning straightened his clothes and walked toward the Land Rover.
“Car broken? Mind if I give it a try?”
Hearing someone speak behind him, the gentle man stood up and looked at Chang Ning with a hint of disdain in his eyes.
“Fix it?
Have you ever seen this car?
Can you even fix it?”
Facing the man’s rudeness, Chang Ning didn’t get angry; he just treated it like being bitten by a dog.
If a dog bites you, you don’t bite back!
Ignoring the blustering gentle man, Chang Ning turned to the stylish woman by the car.
He’d seen clearly earlier—the one in charge was this girl.
“Fix the car or not?”
“Huh?”
The woman had been staring at him since he approached; when Chang Ning seemed to ask something, she snapped back, her face visibly flushing red.
“Sorry, zoned out.”
“No problem. I was asking if you still need it fixed?” Chang Ning said mildly.
This the gentle man couldn’t stand—he’d never been ignored like this.
“Tongtong, you can’t let him fix it.
Look at him—he doesn’t seem like he’s ever seen this car.
What if he messes it up?”
