Violent Loli

The rest of the team quickly got moving after receiving Lai'en's orders. Lu Yu and Kelante stayed at the lighthouse to guard the camp. Hill and Wilk geared up, shouldered their equipment, and picked up empty buckets. Following the coordinates Lai'en had shared, they hurried off, hoping to reach the location before dark.

Hill walked so fast that he left Wilk, who was carrying the empty buckets, far behind.

"Hill, I suggest you stop, or slow down and wait for your teammate, okay?" Wilk finally called out in complaint from behind him.

Hill seemed not to hear Wilk's complaint and continued striding forward. His gaze stayed fixed ahead as he said earnestly, "Once it gets dark, we won't be able to collect water for testing. They need supplies too."

Wilk shrugged and teased, "Are you questioning the lieutenant's survival skills in the wild? Or are you worried about honey? The lieutenant will take good care of honey! Don't be so nervous... They've only spent one night out there..."

Hill's lips moved, but he said nothing. He simply slowed down and waited for Wilk to catch up.

The two figures threaded their way through the woods as the scenery changed around them. Following the markers Lai'en had left, they headed for the cave where the fresh water had been found.

They made good time. When they reached the coordinates, they saw Song Zhi wearing only a black tactical vest and waving a saber aimlessly at a crooked tree, switching between a forward grip and a reverse grip. Lai'en sat beneath a tree with his arms folded, resting with his eyes closed.

To Hill, she was just waving it around aimlessly. Standing five meters away, he had already looked Song Zhi over from head to toe. His icy gaze finally settled on her red, swollen lips.

A chill suddenly ran down Song Zhi's spine, as though a venomous snake lurking in the dark had fixed its gaze on her. She drew back the saber and spun around, meeting Hill's dark, menacing eyes. Fortunately, Wilk hurried forward and squeezed between them, blocking Hill's gaze as he opened his arms to Song Zhi.

"Honey, did you miss me? I was really worried about you."

Song Zhi wiped the sweat from her forehead and threw herself into Wilk's arms, returning his embrace gently. "I missed that comfortable bed more..."

Hill walked past them, his already cold face growing even darker. He went over to Lai'en, put down the tactical backpack he had been carrying, and waited for his orders. But his gaze landed on Song Zhi without drawing attention, and stayed fixed on her.

"Rest here. Eat and replenish your supplies." Lai'en opened his eyes and rubbed the aching spot between his brows. His azure eyes had regained their usual grave, serious look.

A still-warm feast of grilled seafood appeared before Song Zhi. She looked up to see Hill staring at her with a dark expression. He said nothing, and his gloomy appearance was unnerving.

"Thank you." Song Zhi accepted it with both hands and thanked him quietly.

Hill gave a muffled grunt, set down a bottle of fresh coconut juice, and turned away. He returned to Lai'en's side and sat down with his back to Song Zhi, eating in silence as though he had suffered a terrible injustice.

Song Zhi: "..."

Wait, dude, who pissed you off?!

Wilk sat down beside Song Zhi and gave her a few compressed oat biscuits. "Honey, ignore him. He's always like this. He's been sulking all the way here. Eat up, it won't taste good once it gets cold."

Song Zhi nodded and ate the food in her meal box in small bites.

After a brief rest and meal, Lai'en gave the order to begin collecting water. Song Zhi and Wilk were responsible for standing guard outside the cave, keeping constant watch for anything that might happen around them so that the water collection inside could proceed safely and smoothly.

Lai'en and Hill carried the instruments into the cave and tested the water quality.

"Go get some rest. I'm enough here. You've had a hard time these past two days. Have you lost weight?"

Wilk waited until Lai'en and Hill had entered the cave before going over to Song Zhi. He raised her hand and looked her up and down, as though his eyes could weigh her. Then he held her hand gently against his cheek.

"Don't worry, it's only been two days. It's not that bad. Is everyone else okay?" Song Zhi didn't pull her hand away, letting Wilk hold it and accepting the sudden tenderness.

"They're doing great, but they've missed you and the lieutenant too... Go sit under that tree. Once we've collected the water, we'll head back. Lu and Hill got quite a bit of seafood. Speaking of which, Lu's really good at hunting. He said it's called foraging by the sea..." Wilk reluctantly kissed Song Zhi's hand, then raised the submachine gun in his arms and tipped his chin toward the rock where Lai'en had been sitting.

Song Zhi nodded and went to sit under the tree. If she remembered correctly, she and Lai'en had just kissed here... and it had been rather intense...

Before long, Hill emerged from the cave. He looked at Wilk and said, "The water's fine. Let's get to work!"

Wilk swung the submachine gun in his hand aside and laughed. "Great! We won't have to drink that filtered seawater anymore... It tasted awful!" He picked up two empty buckets and darted into the cave, his heavy footsteps echoing throughout it.

Hill watched Wilk enter the cave, then walked over to Song Zhi. Folding his arms, he leaned against the tree and looked down at her.

"Loli." He suddenly spoke, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" Song Zhi looked up at him from the rock.

"That Italian saber has a nice name: Loli. It suits you-Violent Loli." Hill looked at the saber strapped to Song Zhi's leg as he explained.

"Heh! Thanks..."

Before she could finish, Hill interrupted her again. "So you took the initiative and kissed that ice-faced god?" He removed his tactical glove and rubbed his thumb hard over Song Zhi's red, swollen lips. "Tsk, tsk, tsk... They're swollen. Pretty intense, huh..."

Hiss!

Wasn't this guy being a little tactless? How could he ask something like that to my face? Was he sick in the head?

What little reason she had left told her not to provoke this lunatic. He really was sick, and she really had no medicine for him.

"Heh! You actually took the initiative? Was it because he gave you the saber, or because you had to humble yourself and curry favor with him?" Hill sneered, his brown eyes seeming to frost over, cold to the extreme.

"No..." Song Zhi looked as though the thoughts she had hidden in her heart had been exposed. Her face burned red with embarrassment, but she stubbornly refused to admit it.

"Quibbling! You've never taken the initiative with any of the rest of us! This behavior of yours is very dangerous. I told you long ago not to compare us." Hill straightened up, the aura around him growing heavy and oppressive, making him look even more like a venomous snake ready to hunt at any moment.

Song Zhi bit her lip, trying to avoid Hill's aggressive gaze, but his eyes pinned her in place like nails. The temperature in the air seemed to drop abruptly, and even the surrounding leaves stopped rustling, as though cowed by the invisible pressure.

It was as if she had returned to that night in Sri Lanka, when she had been trapped in Hill's room.

Danger was ready to erupt at the slightest touch.

Song Zhi stood up and slowly backed away, keeping a safe distance from the lunatic. With every step she took back, Hill followed, closing in. His black tactical boots crushed patches of moss, leaving the ground in disarray.

She retreated, he pursued, and even with wings, she couldn't escape.

Song Zhi sighed. The hell, are you acting out a short drama with me here?!