Chu's Compromise (1)

Zheng Zha's pain came and went quickly. Aside from his body feeling weak and powerless, the pain itself didn't seem to have caused him much damage. Once it passed, Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan quickly laid him on the ground. Both of them simultaneously took out bandages and styptic spray, hastily bandaging him until the bleeding from the hole in his stomach finally stopped again.

Zheng Zha let them bandage his wound, his ears pricked up, listening intently. When the bandaging was complete, he murmured to them, "I heard gunshots. Zhang Jie, did you hear them?"

Zhang Jie froze for a moment. He quickly listened intently for a few moments before nodding, "Yeah, I faintly heard gunshots... Does that mean they succeeded? They found firearms in the armory?"

Zheng Zha gave a wry smile. "They should have found firearms, but I estimate they're currently confronting those two Aliens. Otherwise, the gunshots wouldn't be so intense... How many grenades do you two have left? Give them all to me. Zhan Lan, hand me your Spiral Thorns too."

Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan both froze. Zhang Jie gave a wry smile and spread his hands. "None left. I gave my few to them earlier. Those bastards..."

Zhan Lan, however, pulled two grenades from her pocket. She smiled, "Good thing I was being careful back then... What are you planning to do? These are the last two, you know."

Zheng Zha also took out two grenades from his storage ring. He bit down on the pin of one of them and, under Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan's watchful eyes, fiercely threw the grenade with his left hand. Amidst the thunderous explosion, Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan were both thrown to the ground.

"I've roughly figured out the explosion time..."

Zheng Zha stared at the spot where the grenade had detonated. Without turning his head, he said to Zhang Jie, "Quick, tear some long strips of cloth from your clothes and tie the grenades to the Spiral Thorns. Make sure they're tied tightly!"

Zhang Jie immediately took off his clothes without a word. He ripped them into strips with a rustling sound and then began tying the grenades to the Spiral Thorns. Seeing this, Zhan Lan sighed, "Are you planning to risk your life fighting again? Your injuries..."

Zheng Zha turned back and smiled. "It's fine. That last grenade's explosion was loud. I estimate they all heard it. I can't speak for the other two, but with Chu Xuan's intelligence, he'll definitely be doing his best to tie down the Aliens. I just need to sneak up behind those two Aliens and attack. Besides, if I wrap the grenades around the Spiral Thorns, as long as I stab them into the Aliens before they explode, the blast will definitely deal significant damage. So don't worry."

Zhan Lan sighed and said no more. Only Zhang Jie, while tying the grenades, spoke up, "I underestimated you before, Zheng Zha. You have the talent for combat hidden deep within you. In our instructor's words, you're a born warrior. The more desperate the situation, the more you can unleash your potential, both in combat strength and strategic ability..."

Zheng Zha took the Spiral Thorn with the tied grenades from Zhang Jie. He tested his aim with his left hand before giving a wry smile. "What warrior am I? I'm just desperately trying to survive. Anyone would have some quick wit and strength in a situation like this. If someone as pathetic as me is a warrior, then what are Chu Xuan and the others? Super soldiers? Or super geniuses?"

"You can't say that," Zhang Jie chuckled a few times. He finished tying the last Spiral Thorn. "They were people who worked in killing in their original worlds, and basically the top of their respective fields. You? You were just an ordinary white-collar worker. Although your enhancements involved some luck, you're fighting desperately without dying, and gradually adapting to this harsh combat... That's the talent you have hidden within you. You're clearly a warrior in your bones who refuses to admit defeat!"

"A warrior?"

"I'm just desperately trying to survive..."

To recover his strength as quickly as possible, Zhang Jie continued to move forward, carrying Zheng Zha on his back. Zhan Lan still held the few Spiral Thorn steel bars. As they ran, Zhan Lan suddenly murmured, "Why are we going to save them? Won't that put us in danger?"

Zheng Zha was slowly circulating his internal force at this moment. He exhaled and said, "Actually, we've always been in danger. If we can't eliminate the Aliens, we're just delaying our deaths. So, Chu Xuan's analytical and strategic abilities, Zero Point and Overlord's control over modern weaponry, these are all very important combat strengths..."

Zhang Jie suddenly asked, "Then why did we split up from them back then? If we hadn't split up, we would have gotten decent weapons by now, right? Instead of you having to fight alone. And I think with our strength, Chu Xuan wouldn't have abandoned us, would he?"

Zheng Zha sighed. "Yes, if we had stayed with them, we wouldn't have been abandoned. And before Zero Point and Overlord died, the three of us would have been safe... at least you and I would have been safe. But! That's one of the reasons I chose to leave!"

"One reason is that I couldn't stand Chu Xuan's methods of discarding people who were already companions as expendable resources. Another reason is that I absolutely refuse to let my fate be decided by others. Perhaps after teaming up with them, we would have been safe for a short time, but what about in the long run? I don't consider how I might die; I only consider how to live as long as possible! As a companion, I will do my utmost to help and protect them. Similarly, as my partner, they absolutely cannot abandon me when I need help! Chu Xuan can't do this, so I chose to leave, because I want to stand on equal footing with him."

"Yes, since being his companion means being abandoned! Then I'll become someone who can obtain his wisdom even if I'm not his companion... an ally! Independent, yet mutually supportive. This is the only way I can think of to cooperate."

Zhan Lan, holding the Spiral Thorns with one hand, couldn't touch her forehead. She could only ponder, "Will allies not be abandoned? Then what's the difference between that and being partners?"

Zheng Zha smiled. "The biggest difference between an ally and a partner is that allies exist independently. Both sides will help each other, but even if they lose the other, they can still fight independently and won't become a burden to the other, at least not having to bear responsibility for the other's mistakes. The difference with partners is that many people with different specialties form a team that requires mutual protection. I can't trust Chu Xuan to protect his companions, so to obtain the strength of those three, I could only choose to become their ally."

"Only by leaving can we understand the importance of their team. And precisely because of this, we have the possibility of becoming their allies. Otherwise, we would only become pawns to be discarded by him... That last bomb was not only to test the precise time of the explosion but also to tell them... an ally has arrived!"