The Exercise Is Suspended

As Song Zhi stared in horror, Hill jumped down and crossed to her in a few strides. He bent over and pulled the stunned Song Zhi out.

"Little wildcat, you didn't cover your tracks. You were in too much of a hurry to run."

Song Zhi was still debating whether to draw her gun or her knife first.

But Hill moved faster, giving her no time to choose. He snatched the pistol strapped to her thigh and pinned her to the ground in one smooth motion, using little force but enough to hold her down as she struggled.

Song Zhi clenched her teeth and tried to drive her knee into his stomach, but Hill seemed to have anticipated it. He shifted slightly to one side, easily dodging her attack.

"Don't waste your energy, little wildcat." Hill's voice was low and teasing. "You ran off in such a panic just now, you didn't notice how many tracks you left behind, did you?"

Song Zhi cursed inwardly. Fuck!

She'd known there was no way she could slip away from Hill so easily. She'd thought she was more skilled, only to find she'd been all theory and no practice. She'd been reckless.

But regret wouldn't help her now. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, scanning her surroundings for any opportunity she could use.

"Don't be nervous. You're hurt, and it's a truce now. I mean no harm."

Hill leaned down and murmured in her ear, a hint of danger in his tone. His breath brushed her ear, making Song Zhi shiver all over, but she stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

Seeing this, Hill chuckled, then let go of her. He picked Song Zhi up and sat her on the raised platform, pulled a medical kit from his backpack, and took her hand to rinse the wound before disinfecting and bandaging it.

Hill's flashy move left Song Zhi dumbfounded. What was he doing?

Was this a friendly match?

Friendship first, competition second?

"All right, it's not serious." He stood up and looked down at her, seemingly checking her for other injuries. "But we don't have much time left for our truce. Have you eaten?"

Song Zhi stared at the wound Hill had treated and shook her head in a daze.

Hill took off his jacket and draped it over Song Zhi, leaving him in a tight T-shirt that showed the full, smooth contours of his muscles. He pressed one hand to his earpiece and said, "Song is injured. It's being treated."

"Share your coordinates. I have a tetanus vaccine in my medical kit." Kelante was the first to respond over the radio.

"Truce, truce... We can get a good night's sleep tonight." Lu Yu put away the sniper rifle, opened a tactical tablet, and tapped on the coordinates Hill had shared. Heh! What a well-hidden spot!

After receiving the message, Lai'en picked up the pace in his pursuit of Wilk. Seeing Wilk about to duck into an alley again, he hurriedly shouted, "Wilk, come back! Song is injured. Hill is with him." Then he gave an order over the radio. "The exercise is suspended. Stand by where you are."

Wilk stopped at the news and looked back at Lai'en, without a trace of doubt in his eyes. He gripped his weapon and turned to run toward Lai'en, his face full of anger and even disbelief. "Hill's gone crazy. Did he actually hurt her?! He's finished if he did!"

As he passed Lai'en, he added, "Lieutenant, you're too hard on Song. She's not your soldier... Her arms are so thin, they're not even as thick as a rocket launcher. Are you going to throw her onto the battlefield?"

Clearly, he was just complaining and didn't expect Lai'en to answer—or rather, he had no intention of listening to Lai'en's bullshit reasoning.

It was the first time Lai'en had heard Wilk complain so loudly, and the other three's reactions were also beyond his expectations. After all, Group A had always cared only about the data from completed missions. They had never made an exception to pause an exercise midway. It made him realize the subtle influence Song Zhi had on the entire team.

The situation was far beyond what he, as their commander, had anticipated. Lai'en frowned deeply, complicated emotions churning inside him. He tried to sort out his thoughts, only to find himself caught in an unprecedented state of confusion.

Song Zhi's arrival was like a stone thrown into a still lake, stirring ripples that were gradually spreading throughout the entire team. Her presence had not only broken Group A's usual cold rules, but had also brought the suppressed emotions and thoughts deep within each of them back to the surface.

Wilk's words still echoed in his ears. "She's not your soldier" struck a nerve. He had never thought he would change a decision because of an outsider, much less expected his teammates to react so strongly to this unexpected development.

Perhaps they had long since ceased to be mere machines carrying out orders and were instead people of flesh and blood. That fact had simply been buried so deeply beneath their long-held belief that the mission came first that even he had forgotten it.

Kelante arrived first. He twisted a glow stick and placed it on the ground, then quickly rummaged through his medical kit and took out a syringe and a refrigerated vial. He deftly snapped open the ampoule and drew the medicine into the syringe. "Bare your arm. You need an injection. It won't be good if you get an infection."

Hill stepped forward to help, taking the clothes off her before helping her remove her tactical vest and a pile of gear. Then he unfastened her jacket and held her arm.

Kelante swabbed her arm with a cool iodine-soaked cotton ball. Pressing his lips together, he inserted the fine needle into Song Zhi's arm and slowly pushed the clear liquid from the syringe into her body.

When Lu Yu arrived at the coordinates, Lu Yu saw Hill and Kelante gathered around Song Zhi, one holding an iodine swab to her arm and the other helping her get dressed. Each was more attentive than the other. Alas, what a cheap display.

A meaningful smile lifted the corner of Lu Yu's mouth. "Oh? Where are you hurt? Let me see."

Lu Yu walked over and unobtrusively squeezed Hill and Kelante aside. Gently taking Song Zhi's injured hand, Lu Yu lowered his head to examine it and teased, "Tsk, tsk, tsk... Good thing Hill notified us quickly and the second lieutenant got here in time. A few minutes later and this wound would have healed..."

Song Zhi said, "..."

Her cheeks burned, but fortunately the night was dark, and the glow stick didn't reveal her blush. She thought they were making a fuss over nothing, but the feeling was a little heady, and she was rather enjoying it.

Ah! Now I understand Princess Shanyin...

Lai'en and Wilk also hurried over. Wilk first checked Song Zhi's injury and only sighed in relief when he saw she was all right. "I didn't do a good enough job protecting Honey."

"How could this be your fault? I fell because I wasn't careful. Don't blame yourself. It's a minor injury." Song Zhi raised her bandaged palm, signaling for Wilk not to blame himself.

"Getting hurt on the battlefield is no small matter. It has nothing to do with how serious the injury is." Lai'en, standing some distance away, abruptly cut in. He looked at Song Zhi, his eyes cold and somber, his blue gaze like the surface of a frozen lake.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant."

Meeting Lai'en's gaze, Song Zhi lowered her head a little, feeling guilty.

Lai'en grunted in acknowledgment, then looked away and gave an order, as calm and composed as ever. "We'll camp here and rest tonight. The ghost hunt is suspended for now."

As soon as he gave the order, the others went about their tasks.

Hill went to clear the area and set up security. Lu Yu rubbed the top of Song Zhi's head and went to start a fire and cook. Kelante checked all the weapons and equipment, while Wilk laid out the sleeping bags beside the fire. Lai'en remained against the wall of the earthen pit, working on the tactical tablet.

Only Song Zhi sat on the raised platform, Hill's jacket draped over her. She raised the hand he had bandaged and fell into thought, even doubting herself.

Surely this little injury isn't enough to call a truce? Is tomorrow's exercise still going ahead?

Then she saw that her sleeping bag had been laid out right in the middle...

*?*

Was she going to be the filling in a sandwich tonight?!