Zhao Qiang truly experienced the devastation; one of his legs was nearly broken by the impact, and his body was constantly bombarded by shrapnel from the landmines. If he hadn't been prepared and used an energy sphere to protect himself, he would likely be decapitated by now. This Mengta Valley was indeed difficult to traverse; it seemed he had been careless! The key issue was that the anti-gravity device suddenly malfunctioned; otherwise, these landmines would have been ineffective against Zhao Qiang.
Boom! It wasn't another landmine explosion, but rather the detonation of a time bomb planted by Zhao Qiang. The first to detonate was the weapons depot, which contained a large quantity of firearms, ammunition, and missiles. The explosion triggered a chain reaction. The soldiers, who had just begun to cheer, froze. Without even checking if Zhao Qiang was truly dead, they rushed into the base, which was now engulfed in flames, with explosions erupting everywhere. Besides the missiles exploding in the air, some of the explosions were caused by the time bombs Zhao Qiang had planted earlier.
Zhao Qiang lay on the ground, gasping for breath. His leg, which had been hit by the blast, was almost completely numb. If it weren't for the triple protection of his running shoes, armor, and energy sphere, he would surely be dead. He managed to stand up, but dared not move rashly. This was definitely still a minefield; otherwise, the soldiers would have already rushed in to see his dead body.
Zhao Qiang kicked the ground with his foot and realized that his running shoes were damaged. It was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly. What was he going to do? Was he going to die in Mengta Valley today? Hongtashan had said that this place was very dangerous, but he hadn't believed it. He always thought that with his advanced technology and equipment, there wouldn't be any problems. This is what they call man proposes, God disposes.
Zhao Qiang smiled wryly. There was no other way. Fortunately, he had a repair program for running shoes in his brain. He quickly started repairing them. It was also thanks to the time bombs he had planted that they detonated in time. If they hadn't temporarily drawn away the pursuers, he would be facing a barrage of fire right now, and he would be dead if he survived. Sometimes, a casual action can be a lifesaver.
It took Zhao Qiang ten minutes to repair his running shoe. During that time, the foot that had stepped on the landmine began to regain some feeling. Zhao Qiang observed that the flesh on the sole of his foot was torn open. The landmine was incredibly powerful; the sole of the running shoe was shattered inch by inch! If it weren't for the landmine acting as a protective barrier, Zhao Qiang's bones might have broken. He hadn't released much energy to protect himself, and his feet had no armor; the armor on his knees only extended to his ankles, leaving the rest of his body protected by the running shoe.
The explosions at the Muntadhar Valley base had long since ceased; only the fire in the weapons depot continued. The soldiers had transitioned from panic to standard firefighting procedures. Under the officers' command, a group of men were also dispatched to search along the valley entrances and exits, with the area where Zhao Qiang had stepped on the landmine being a priority. The searchlights were switched back on, and Zhao Qiang's location would soon be pinpointed.
Zhao Qiang had originally planned to repair the anti-gravity device, which, even if it only allowed him five more minutes, would enable him to return safely. However, it was clear he didn't have that time. So, he hurriedly put on his running shoes and hopped forward, scanning each step with his X-ray glasses before he dared to relax. It was like walking on thin ice; stepping on another landmine would be fatal.
The pursuers, unaware of Zhao Qiang's incredible resilience, had determined their search area based on his escape time. They couldn't have imagined that Zhao Qiang could leap dozens of meters in a single bound, thus missing their best opportunity to engage him. Only after searching the blast area and finding no body did they realize he had miraculously survived the landmine explosion.
General Li, who returned to Munta Valley by helicopter at dawn, was furious! His son had been killed in the explosion the night before when a house collapsed on him. He had escaped the tragedy because he was out. Grief-stricken, General Li dispatched all available troops and vowed to capture the attackers and bring them to their deaths!
Zhao Qiang returned to the riverside camp after daybreak, his heart filled with unease. It wasn't his own injury that made him anxious, but rather his worry that something might have happened to Yang Shiqi! After all, that minefield wasn't within the area of his intelligence; it was possible that Hongtashan had deliberately omitted it. Zhao Qiang clenched his fists tightly; none of those people could be spared.
Zhao Qiang was soaked to the bone. Because some sections of the river were too wide to jump across, he had to take off his shoes and wade in. The pain in his injured feet was so intense he almost bit his teeth off; blood kept flowing. Pale and weak, he managed to reach the bank with the help of a wooden raft. Seeing Hongtashan and a group of people standing motionless under a tree some distance away, Zhao Qiang breathed a sigh of relief. He dragged his leg ashore, leaving a trail of red blood. Hongtashan, seeing Zhao Qiang return, eagerly came running over to claim credit.
Without a word, Zhao Qiang shoved Hongtashan and the others aside with a single palm strike, then staggered to the foot of the tree, hopped onto the top on one leg, and found Yang Shiqi unconscious. Zhao Qiang took out fever-reducing medicine from his bag, fed it to Yang Shiqi with water, and then gave her anti-inflammatory medication. He had originally planned to clean her swollen wound with alcohol, but the alcohol bottle had been shattered by a landmine, so he had to abandon that plan.
Zhao Qiang collapsed into the tree hollow. He needed to rest; the energy he'd accumulated over the past few days was almost completely used up. Things in this world are never as simple as they seem. Now Zhao Qiang believed it: even the most powerful superhero has limitations. Countless unexpected events could force someone with their underwear on backwards to put it back on. Therefore, he needed to be even more careful in the future.
Zhao Qiang was woken up by Yang Shiqi at some point. It was a bright and sunny day, with sunlight filtering through the leaves and falling on him. Yang Shiqi was looking at him and grinning foolishly. Seeing that Zhao Qiang was awake, she said, "You're not dead? I thought many women would be widows for you."
Zhao Qiang lifted his injured leg; he could feel it, but the situation was still very serious. However, he still smiled and said, "It's alright. For the sake of those women, I've decided not to die. Better to live a miserable life than to die a good death."
Yang Shiqi stopped joking and said solemnly, "Thank you."
Volume 2 [327] Replenishing Energy
Zhao Qiang remained silent, understanding the meaning behind Yang Shiqi's words. Although Yang Shiqi didn't explain further, there was no need for explanation between them. Yang Shiqi picked up Zhao Qiang's injured leg: "What happened? Is it badly injured?" When Zhao Qiang was lying down, Yang Shiqi couldn't see anything wrong, because his shoes and clothes looked fine from the outside. The only problem was the blood seeping from his shoes.
Zhao Qiang looked up and asked, "Where are those people?"
Yang Shiqi said, "I regained some consciousness when you fed me the medicine. Later, I heard them talking down below, as if they wanted to come up and check, but in the end, no one dared to actually climb the tree. They then argued for a few more minutes and left on the raft. At that time, I was too weak to stop them."
A barely perceptible sneer flashed across Zhao Qiang's lips as he said, "Forget it, we'll deal with them later. Help me take off my shoes and check my injury; it still hurts a lot."
Hongtashan, of course, dared not climb the tree. They were terrified of Zhao Qiang, and they knew that Zhao Qiang had given the compressed gun to Yang Shiqi before leaving. Given their fear of Zhao Qiang's ruthlessness and Yang Shiqi's gun, they couldn't possibly climb a tree while Zhao Qiang was away. Leaving the riverbank would also be difficult unless they rebuilt the raft. Zhao Qiang returned the raft at dawn, clearly injured, and climbed the tree silently, giving them their opportunity. But attacking Zhao Qiang from the tree? They still dared not. If they were hit in the head, they would be reduced to ashes.
"Ah!" Yang Shiqi screamed, proving that she was still a woman at heart. "You...your foot..." Tears streamed down Yang Shiqi's face as she pointed to her bare foot. Zhao Qiang had been so badly injured while searching for fever-reducing medicine for her, and she hadn't even known...
Zhao Qiang took a deep breath and said, "It's nothing. It's probably because my repair system hasn't activated yet. It'll be repaired in a bit, don't worry, don't worry." Zhao Qiang knew that he had recovered from a much more serious chest injury last time, so this kind of injury should be completely healed by the time he woke up. Therefore, he could only guess that the super biochip hadn't activated the life form's repair function.
Zhao Qiang turned on his laptop screen. There was no need to hide too much from Yang Shiqi now. Yang Shiqi's trust and reliance on him were enough for Zhao Qiang to trust her in return; otherwise, future cooperation would be impossible.
"Xiaowei, why hasn't my injury healed?" Zhao Qiang was puzzled and could only consult someone who knew the answer.
Xiao Wei said, "Brother, we don't have enough energy left. Including my energy, I don't have any extra energy left to resist external damage. You need to replenish your food in time. Rice alone is far from enough."
Zhao Qiang slapped his forehead. Ever since the shooting in front of the Golden Pavilion, Xiao Wei hadn't charged up her batteries, and she'd even helped him repair his equipment. His physical strength had also plummeted; he was no longer the chubby kid he used to be. These days, he only ate rice for each meal, sometimes not at all. How could he possibly maintain sufficient stamina?
"Who...who is she?" Yang Shiqi asked in surprise. Although Zhao Qiang always carried his laptop bag with him, Yang Shiqi had no idea that there was such a cartoon little girl in his laptop.
Zhao Qiang said, "My repair assistant is there to provide me with advice and assistance, nothing to be surprised about. We need to leave here first and then get something to eat, otherwise it will really be troublesome."
The sounds of commotion could be heard from the opposite bank of the valley. It was General Li's Mengta Valley base, only a dozen kilometers away as the crow flies. He must be furious and preparing to search this forest area. The riverbank was not a good hiding spot, so Zhao Qiang insisted on getting out of bed and taking Yang Shiqi with him. The two walked back along the path they had come from, until dawn the next day. During this time, Zhao Qiang, despite his injury, insisted on using his running shoes to cover part of the distance. Finally, they arrived at the tree hollow where they had previously hidden.
Yang Shiqi said to Zhao Qiang, "Don't go any further. Let's rest here and recover. If we keep going, you'll lose your foot." Blood was seeping from Zhao Qiang's foot, and Yang Shiqi was anxious, but she dared not linger near the riverbank, so she had no choice but to continue walking.
Zhao Qiang nodded, and the two rearranged the cave entrance. The battle traces left from their previous ambush nearby were gradually being concealed by the growing vegetation. Even if someone could still find it, this was the best they could do. Zhao Qiang was truly exhausted. Fortunately, Yang Shiqi had recovered somewhat after taking her medicine, and she carried the tent and cooking pot over. However, Zhao Qiang didn't believe these tools would help him regain energy and repair himself.
The scorching sun outside couldn't penetrate the tree hollow hidden by the branches. Considering that the branches would wither and die after breaking, Zhao Qiang only used vines to pull nearby branches to the entrance of the hollow. The two of them lay comfortably inside the hollow. The clothes rack was still there, and Yang Shiqi had even cut a piece of wood for Zhao Qiang to use as a computer desk, placing his laptop on it. Both of them lay in the hollow, resting their heads on their hands, deep in thought.
"Rice isn't enough to provide energy, but there's no chocolate or anything like that either," Yang Shiqi said. She knew Zhao Qiang needed chocolate to purify 'G' substance, but it was impossible to buy any here.
Zhao Qiang lifted his still numb legs and said, "We need to hunt some game, but after a day and a night of forced travel, my legs can't take it anymore. I can't go hunting."
Yang Shiqi said, "Since you say eating some wild game is fine, then let me go. My fever has gone down, so it's a good opportunity to get some exercise."
Zhao Qiang said, "We can only rely on you at this crucial moment, but I'm still worried. You'd better stay nearby and find a tree to hide under. If it's a large wild animal, don't touch it. This is an electromagnetic gun. I'll teach you how to use it first. I'll lend you the X-ray glasses and the compression gun later."
Yang Shiqi said, "Don't look down on me. I'm a gunman too, and I've hunted with a gun before."
Zhao Qiang said, "Hunting is hunting, and back then you had others to take care of you, but now you have to rely on yourself, so you must be careful."
Yang Shiqi said, "Okay, I'll be careful. You rest for a while, and from now on, let me take care of you."
Zhao Qiang was indeed exhausted. To have withstood the bombardment of landmines with his bare body was unbelievable. He lay down in the tent in the tree hollow and closed his eyes. He was worried but had to let Yang Shiqi handle it; after all, she was a leader, and he hoped nothing would go wrong. Although he wasn't sure if what they encountered last time was a bear, any species capable of fighting a wild boar was unlikely to be gentle. He hoped Yang Shiqi wouldn't run into one.
As Yang Shiqi climbed down the tree, she pulled out a military knife from her bosom—equipment she'd found among American mercenaries—along with a rifle and two magazines. However, these weapons were too noisy, so Zhao Qiang wouldn't let Yang Shiqi use them. His electromagnetic gun, on the other hand, wouldn't alert the search party sent by General Li.
Yang Shiqi said, "Here's the military knife and rifle. Send a warning immediately if anything happens, and I'll be right back."
General Zhao Qiang threw down his knife: "You take this knife and use it for close-quarters defense. Leave the gun here; I'll shoot you as a warning if anything happens."
Yang Shiqi left. In the tree hollow, Xiao Wei silently watched the drowsy Zhao Qiang. Who could have imagined that the anti-gravity device would fail at the worst possible time? Now, the remaining energy wasn't enough to modify its structure. Sigh, brother, you must pull through this time.
Zhao Qiang really didn't want to sleep, but after traveling for so long, he had used up all his remaining energy, and now he was extremely thin. If Yang Shiqi hadn't often seen him like this when he was refining 'G' substance, she would probably have been shocked.
Half-asleep, Zhao Qiang didn't know how much time had passed when he was suddenly awakened by a loud thud under the tree. He struggled to climb to the edge of the tree hollow and peered down. The scene hidden by layers of leaves was unclear, but Zhao Qiang saw a bloodied man. He quickly grabbed his rifle and the monstrous screwdriver in his other hand. Lacking strength, who knew if the screwdriver would still be effective in a fight?
"Zhao Qiang, Zhao Qiang," the blood-soaked man suddenly looked up and called out softly. Zhao Qiang was startled: "Yang Shiqi? Is that you? You...you're injured?"
"No, I'm not hurt, I'm fine, don't worry, I'll talk to you when I climb the tree." Yang Shiqi probably spoke up to warn Zhao Qiang beforehand, fearing he might hit her in his dazed state.
Clinging to the vines that entwined the tree, Yang Shiqi climbed up a few minutes later. She reeked of blood, and her face was almost unrecognizable. If Zhao Qiang hadn't seen her climb the tree with his own eyes, he would have suspected she had crawled out of a pile of corpses.
"What exactly happened?" Zhao Qiang asked.
Yang Shiqi gasped for breath, looking visibly shaken, her eyes filled with panic. "I... I shot at some kind of prey, but the first shot didn't kill it. When I tried to drag it away, it woke up and tried to escape. I grabbed it and we fought, and I smashed its head open with my military knife."
Zhao Qiang was sweating profusely: "Why did you take such a big risk? Just let it get away, and then we can hunt another one later."
Yang Shiqi wiped the blood off her face with her sleeve, which was also soaked in blood. She said, "No, I'm afraid if I wait any longer, it will be too late. You need to eat before you can heal, but I can't pull myself up. What should I do?"
Zhao Qiang fused the monstrous screwdriver into a longsword and handed it to Yang Shiqi, saying, "Cut off a leg, then throw the sword to me. I'll lower the steel cable, you hang the leg on the hook, and then we'll work together to pull it up."
Yang Shiqi asked, "Where did the steel cable and hook come from?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Go down and chop away, then throw your sword back up."
Yang Shiqi went down and, with a single stroke, severed one of the prey's hind legs. She threw the sword into a tree, then looked up, intently watching how Zhao Qiang conjured the steel cable and hook.
To Yang Shiqi's astonishment, Zhao Qiang fused the longsword into a steel cable and hook, then hooked it onto the leg under the tree. The two of them pulled up together. After Yang Shiqi climbed up the tree, she plopped down on the ground and said, "This thing of yours is amazing! I demand that you make hundreds of these!"
As Zhao Qiang cut meat from the prey's leg, he said, "Let's talk about getting back alive first. Let's start a fire and roast the meat. Take the salt with us; we can't eat this meat without it."
The dry firewood left over from last time was still there. Yang Shiqi started a fire, and the two took turns tending to the roasting meat. After more than half an hour, the first batch of meat was cooked. Yang Shiqi blew on it and fed it to Zhao Qiang, saying, "Eat quickly, eat to heal your injuries. Otherwise, I won't feel at ease. It would be a big problem if bad guys came."
Zhao Qiang said, "You should eat with us too."
Yang Shiqi said, "Do you think I don't know your belly? This little bit of meat isn't enough. I'll chop up the other leg later."
Zhao Qiang said, "Even if it's not enough to eat, your little bit won't make a difference. You're tired too, let's eat together."
Yang Shiqi couldn't persuade Zhao Qiang otherwise, so the two sat in the tree hollow and began to tear into the roasted meat and devour it. Yang Shiqi didn't recognize it, saying it looked like deer, but it wasn't quite the same as the deer she had hunted before. Zhao Qiang thought to himself, who cares what it is, as long as it provides energy.
(Thanks to Little Adult and 19486938200 coins for the donation! Thank you to 32125873, Mango Hero, and Mad Swordsman for the donation!) V
Volume 2 [328] Improvements
By evening, the prey, which neither of them recognized, was reduced to a pile of entrails. Yang Shiqi hadn't eaten much; she had been traveling for two days and a night, dragging her ailing body. Although she had been taking medication, her body couldn't hold on any longer, and she fell into a deep sleep as night fell. Zhao Qiang tossed aside the bones in his hand; they had been chopped into pieces with his sword and boiled in a pot, roasting and boiling simultaneously to speed up the process. He patted his belly, and Xiao Wei nodded to Zhao Qiang, indicating that the wounds on her feet and legs could be repaired.
Zhao Qiang didn't know how the repair program for his body would work, but he only needed to give a mental command, and the super biochip would handle the rest. This repair program had been stored in the biochip long ago; otherwise, the chest wound at the Holiday Inn wouldn't have healed. However, last time he only used Xiao Wei's energy, and now Xiao Wei didn't have any extra energy to help Zhao Qiang repair himself.
"Brother, can you feel it?" Xiaowei asked anxiously. She was even more worried about her brother's recovery than Yang Shiqi was. After all, Yang Shiqi had a blind trust in Zhao Qiang, but Xiaowei knew the actual situation best.
After running for a few minutes, Zhao Qiang said, "It might feel a little itchy."
Xiao Wei said, "Okay, you should continue to maintain this, while also observing the energy levels within your body."
Zhao Qiang nodded: "It's decreasing. I think the cells should have started to divide and grow, but the speed isn't that fast, so it's not obvious to the naked eye. Don't worry, they definitely won't die, otherwise what would happen to all those unfulfilled wishes?"
Xiao Wei finally smiled in relief: "This Yang transvestite has become quite dependent on you. Now she's acting like a woman. She even fooled me before. Next time you encounter a situation like this, just do an X-ray of her body."
Zhao Qiang scratched his head, to be honest, he still felt uneasy, as if he had been messing around with a man. He said, "Let's not talk about her. I've thought of some improvements to the anti-gravity device. I'll type them out and we'll discuss them later."
Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I've thought of some things too. Anyway, we'll have to wait for your injury to heal slowly, so let's discuss it. Also, I'm considering reducing the size of the laptop, otherwise it's inconvenient for me to have you carrying it around all the time."
Zhao Qiang said, "Shrink? Your current size is already considered miniature for a laptop."
Xiao Wei said, "It's still too big. Most of the outer casing is unused. The optical drive bay and some of the ports are just for show. I want to make it about the size of my palm, so that even if it doesn't fit in my pocket, it can free up some space in my laptop bag to carry other things."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Have you improved the program?"
Xiao Wei said, "Most of it has been written, but a few lines won't be finished until midnight."
Zhao Qiang looked at his foot; the bleeding had stopped, and the mangled flesh no longer seemed so dark. "Body repair has begun. You continue writing. I'll go out and hunt another prey. If we have enough energy, we'll modify it for you today. If not, we'll talk about it when we get back."
Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'll watch over her, don't worry."
Zhao Qiang left the rifle with Yang Shiqi, but carried both the electromagnetic gun and the compression gun with him—one for long-range sniping and one for close combat. He seemed uneasy without either. As for the screwdriver, he saved it for melee; he rarely used it in combat.
Despite the still stinging pain in his foot, Zhao Qiang wandered around the area for nearly two hours. Sometimes you feel like the jungle is teeming with prey, but when you try to hunt them, you find that you can't find a single one. Zhao Qiang sat on a tree trunk, took off his shoes, and examined his wound. It was much better; most of the flesh had healed. This made Zhao Qiang somewhat proud. So what if it's a landmine? As long as I have the energy, I can blow up a leg and it will grow back!
However, his energy was still insufficient; otherwise, his self-healing speed would be even faster. Zhao Qiang reluctantly picked up his gun and continued searching. Occasionally, he would see startled birds, but Zhao Qiang didn't care. With his current appetite, how many birds would he eat to feel full? Besides, plucking birds would be too much trouble.
He wondered if he could find that tall, bear-like animal again. Eating it would definitely provide enough energy. Zhao Qiang hid in a large tree, observing his surroundings. But sometimes, the more you hope for something, the less likely it is to appear. Zhao Qiang was getting impatient. It was late at night; the prey were probably all asleep. Zhao Qiang decided to search even further.
Bang! A gunshot rang out from the distance of the forest, followed by several more bangs. Zhao Qiang felt a surge of anxiety. The gunshots weren't coming from the tree hole. He wasn't worried about Yang Shiqi's safety, but the gunshots were very likely coming from General Li's troops who were searching for them. Judging from the distance, they weren't far away!
The sporadic gunfire continued for over ten minutes before ceasing, suggesting a small-scale conflict. Zhao Qiang couldn't figure out who General Li's men had encountered. He hadn't yet repaired the anti-gravity device, so he couldn't get involved in this matter.
Thump, thump, thump—the sound of hurried running came from the woods ahead of Zhao Qiang. He quickly climbed a tree and used his X-ray glasses to zoom in. Initially, the sound source was outside the glasses' scanning range; it seemed the glasses needed further modification. The farther the viewing distance, the better for Zhao Qiang.
"A herd of bison!" Zhao Qiang was startled when they finally came into view. He wasn't a zoologist, so there were some species he couldn't identify, but as a farmer's son from the countryside, he could clearly distinguish these familiar cattle.
Overjoyed, Zhao Qiang didn't forget to take aim immediately. Although the working distance of the X-ray glasses was limited, his electromagnetic gun was not affected by this range. Bang! The first bullet was launched after being accelerated through the electromagnetic channel. The tree trunks that blocked the way were pierced one by one. The bison running in the lead was hit in the head. However, the huge body of the bison did not react much to the bullet. The bison seemed to run even faster. With a loud bang, it smashed a tree as thick as a thigh and broke it!
Zhao Qiang fired the remaining four bullets into the wounded bison's head. The immense impact created several sizable bullet holes in the bison's skull, but to Zhao Qiang's disappointment, it still didn't fall. He had to quickly reload, and by the time he raised his gun again, the bison herd was already upon him. A few, running too fast, crashed into the tree where he was hiding. Zhao Qiang managed to grab onto the trunk to avoid being knocked down. The tree's diameter was at least two people's embrace; otherwise, it would probably have been snapped in two. The explosive power of a frightened herd of bison was comparable to that of a tank.
Zhao Qiang clamped his legs around the tree trunk and fired again at the wounded bison that had just run past. The bullet hit its skull, and even if it were an elephant, it should have fallen to the ground!
Boom! The wounded bison slammed into a rock, sending it rolling several meters away. The bison rolled on the ground several times, unable to get up. Occasionally, it could be heard bellowing, but the sound grew weaker and weaker until it fell silent. Every now and then, its hooves could be seen twitching. Zhao Qiang jumped down from the tree; the herd was long gone. The earlier gunfight must have startled them, providing Zhao Qiang with ample food.