Recaps

Song Zhi joined the others in cleaning their guns, then began a demanding tactical lesson with Lai'en. After she objected that she was a guide, not a soldier, Lai'en asked whether she knew how to soothe a soldier.

• Hill tried to take Song Zhi away, but she said she was going to learn gun maintenance from Lu Yu, so everyone joined them to clean their weapons.
• Song Zhi assembled a pistol with Lu Yu's help, and Lai'en returned its missing catch after reminding her to check her equipment carefully.
• The next morning, Lai'en drove Song Zhi to the shooting range and made her practice tactical movements in heavy combat gear.
• After Song Zhi struggled with the drills, she objected that she was a guide and should not be held to a soldier's standards.
• Lai'en explained that Group A members had to prepare for anything and asked Song Zhi whether she knew how to soothe a soldier.

Lai'en warned Song Zhi that blind loyalty could get her killed, then ordered her to continue studying with Hill. After exhaustion made her fall asleep in Hill’s room, she woke in his bed and found herself trapped in an intimate, unsettling situation with him.

• Lai'en questioned Song Zhi about her role in Group A and told her he would rather she survive than die out of blind loyalty.
• Song Zhi trained through the afternoon and obeyed Lai'en's order to study with Hill that night.
• Hill gave Song Zhi a tablet of Group A's medicines, and she fell asleep while compiling the medication list.
• Song Zhi woke in Hill's bed with his arm around her waist and tried to leave, but Hill pulled her back and told her to keep quiet.

After confronting Hill about the Bas mission, Song Zhi was caught in an intimate encounter with him during a rainy night and woke in his bed the next afternoon. The rain delayed training, and Kelante later offered to drive her out after finding her struggling to repair a bicycle.

• Song Zhi mentioned the Bas mission to Hill, provoking his anger, and tried to calm him by asking him to be gentle.
• Song Zhi woke in Hill's bed the next afternoon and hurried out, where she ran into Kelante wearing Hill's oversized T-shirt.
• Kelante told Song Zhi that the group had the day off because of the rain, and she showered, changed, and went to eat.
• Hill brought Song Zhi chocolate while she made coffee, and Kelante noticed Hill's brief smile toward her.
• After the rain stopped, Kelante found Song Zhi trying to fix a bicycle and offered to drive her to buy what she needed.

Song Zhi went shopping and watched the sunset with Kelante before joining Group A for an urban combat training exercise. After a flashbang left her separated from Lai'en and Wilk, she was stranded amid the simulated gunfire with no response on the radio.

• Kelante took Song Zhi shopping, held her hand, and stopped by the sea with her to watch the sunset before driving them back.
• Song Zhi rode to routine group training with Wilk, Lu Yu, Hill, and Kelante, and Lu Yu stole a piece of candy from her mouth.
• Group A and Group B began a simulated urban combat exercise, with Lai'en, Wilk, and Song Zhi on Group A against Kelante, Lu Yu, and Hill on Group B.
• Song Zhi struggled to navigate the exercise and nearly followed the enemy, so Wilk warned her to stay with her teammates.
• A flashbang separated Song Zhi from Lai'en and Wilk, and her radio calls went unanswered as gunfire erupted nearby.

Song Zhi accidentally entered the enemy trench during a military exercise and was captured, only to learn she had unknowingly completed a mission by transmitting the enemy’s coordinates. After negotiations failed, she endured a staged punishment and interrogation, then attacked Kelante and took him hostage.

• Song Zhi followed Lai'en’s directions to a trench but jumped into the enemy camp, where Hill tackled and captured her.
• Kelante found a hidden tracker on Song Zhi and explained that she had successfully transmitted their coordinates to Lai'en.
• After negotiations failed, Lu Yu and Hill staged a mock assault as Song Zhi’s punishment, while Kelante interrogated her for information.
• Song Zhi pretended to give Kelante a set of numbers, then looped her bound hands around his neck and took him hostage.

Song Zhi chose Wilk as her partner in Group A’s live-ammunition welcome ceremony and fled with him into the alleys. After Hill hacked their radio, Wilk decided they would hunt the others rather than hide, while Song Zhi rested under his watch.

• Song Zhi exposed Lai'en’s deception, learned the ambush was Group A’s welcome ceremony, and chose Wilk as her teammate.
• Lai'en started the game, and Wilk freed Song Zhi before they escaped into the alleys with their equipment and weapons.
• Lai'en ordered the others to begin searching after ten minutes, while Hill hacked into Song Zhi and Wilk’s radio channel.
• Song Zhi and Wilk cut their radio connection, and Wilk urged her to eliminate their pursuers instead of hiding for seventy-two hours.
• Wilk prepared a concealed place for Song Zhi to sleep and promised to keep watch.

Song Zhi and Wilk hid from Lai'en's squad through the night while the others searched for them and prepared an assault. After Song Zhi survived 12 hours, Wilk woke her at dawn so they could move before the squad attacked.

• Wilk built a heat-insulating shelter with Song Zhi, set traps, and explained the squad members' fighting styles.
• Wilk and Song Zhi hid together as Hill searched for them with a drone, while Lai'en's squad gathered at point C and arranged watches.
• Lai'en ordered a full assault for five the next morning, and the squad rested while Hill monitored Song Zhi's vital signs.
• Song Zhi survived 12 hours, and Wilk woke her at dawn, warning that the others had already made their move.

Song Zhi and Wilk crossed Zone A while Lai'en's team tried to track and ambush them. After evading the squad, they remained hidden as both sides prepared for a night encounter.

• Song Zhi and Wilk reached Zone A, rested in a concealed building, and continued toward its center.
• Song Zhi suspected a trap, and Wilk told her they had to keep moving despite the danger.
• Lu Yu spotted them from a sniper position, while Hill circled through Zone A and marked Wilk's booby traps.
• Song Zhi exposed herself to Lu Yu's scope, and Lai'en ordered him to withdraw before he could take the bait.
• Song Zhi and Wilk vanished, prompting Lai'en to initiate plan B and later assign his team positions for a night ambush.
• Lai'en heard a faint sound nearby and approached the suspicious spot with his gun raised.

Lai'en pursued Wilk while Hill used a drone and thermal imager to search for Song Zhi. After Song Zhi disabled the drone and escaped, she waited for Wilk in a pit, but Hill found her before Wilk returned.

• Lai'en spotted Wilk and pursued him while Hill stayed behind to watch for Song Zhi.
• Hill used a drone to locate Song Zhi, but she destroyed it with an electromagnetic gun and fled.
• Hill reported the damaged drone to Lai'en, then pursued Song Zhi through the dark.
• Song Zhi returned to their hiding place and waited for Wilk, who had planned to draw the enemy away.
• After an hour and thirty minutes, Hill found Song Zhi hiding in a pit and asked who she was waiting for.

After Hill found and treated Song Zhi’s injury, Lai'en suspended the exercise and ordered the team to camp for the night. As the others cared for her, Song Zhi wondered whether the exercise would resume tomorrow and why her sleeping bag was placed between theirs.

• Hill caught Song Zhi, disarmed her, then treated and bandaged her injured hand during the truce.
• Hill radioed the team that Song Zhi was hurt, and Kelante, Lu Yu, Lai'en, and Wilk responded as Lai'en suspended the exercise.
• Wilk rushed toward Hill and Song Zhi, angrily fearing Hill had hurt her and protesting that Lai'en had pushed her too hard.
• Kelante gave Song Zhi a tetanus shot, and Lu Yu teased her while checking her bandaged hand.
• Lai'en ordered the team to camp and rest for the night as they secured the area, prepared food, and set out sleeping bags.
• Song Zhi sat under Hill’s jacket, wondered whether the exercise would continue the next day, and noticed her sleeping bag was placed between the others.

Song Zhi’s warning helped the group survive a missile strike on the harbor, but the attack crippled the base’s defenses and communications. Lai'en sent the others to provide support while Wilk escorted Song Zhi to the hospital.

• As the camp slept, Kelante, Lu Yu, and Hill took turns watching over Song Zhi while Lai'en decided to continue the exercise with a synchronized teamwork assessment.
• Song Zhi woke to ringing in her ears and warned the group that missiles were incoming.
• Lai'en tried to alert Miller as a missile struck the harbor, and Kelante shielded Song Zhi while the group sheltered in a pit.
• After the explosions, Kelante checked Song Zhi for injuries, and Lu Yu caught her when she nearly fainted.
• Lai'en ordered Wilk to escort Song Zhi to the hospital while the others replenished ammunition and went to support the base.
• Kelante, Lu Yu, and Hill said goodbye to Song Zhi before Wilk led her away from the blast zone.

As the base came under attack, Miller tried to evacuate Song Zhi to Australia with Group A’s death-benefit documents, but she refused to leave them behind. She forced Miller out of the vehicle and drove toward the east coast, where Group A was fighting, with only an hour before the area would be destroyed.

• Wilk escorted Song Zhi to the hospital, then left as gunfire and explosions erupted nearby.
• Miller pulled Song Zhi from the hospital and told her the base had fallen and a transport plane was evacuating people to Australia.
• Song Zhi saw that Lai'en and the others had signed Group A’s death-benefit documents and realized they had arranged for her survival.
• Song Zhi refused to abandon Group A, threatened Miller with Truth, and took the vehicle.
• Miller told Song Zhi that Group A was on the east coast and that a helicopter was waiting in hangar five; she drove off toward the fighting.

Song Zhi drove to the east coast to rescue Group A as they fought off an enemy landing after their base defenses were sabotaged. She picked up the wounded team and headed for the airport, where a helicopter waited, as an intercontinental missile was locked onto the area.

• Miller left for the airport, believing a high-ranking Munich official had arranged an attack on Group A.
• Song Zhi contacted Lai'en over the radio and angrily rejected the idea of collecting death benefits for the team's five men.
• Enemy missiles destroyed a transport plane as Group A fought to defend the east coast with dwindling ammunition and no resupply.
• Lai'en ordered the team to retreat through the jungle toward the road while Lu Yu provided covering fire.
• Song Zhi found the wounded mercenaries on the coastal road, warned them of the incoming missile, and drove them toward the airport.
• Song Zhi told Lai'en that Miller had left a helicopter in hangar five.

Song Zhi rescued Group A and led them to a helicopter at the airport, where they prepared to escape their pursuers. As the team took off, Hill reacted shyly to Song Zhi’s tender care, while Lu Yu teased her for treating them differently.

• Song Zhi said she had forced Officer Miller to help them, and Hill replaced the blanks in her pistol with live ammunition.
• Wilk fired the last rocket at their pursuers as Song Zhi drove through the blast; Lai'en steadied the wheel and treated his bleeding arm.
• Song Zhi drove the group to hangar five, where they found a fueled Z-21 helicopter stocked with supplies.
• Kelante checked the cockpit while Lai'en set a flight path and assigned the team their positions for takeoff.
• Song Zhi wiped sweat from Hill’s face, leaving him flustered, then shoved an energy bar into Lu Yu’s mouth after he complained about her different treatment.

Song Zhi and the others escaped Sri Lanka by helicopter as a devastating blast destroyed the power station, then landed on an unnamed island when they ran low on fuel. Hill led Song Zhi and Kelante toward the others’ hiding place, leaving Song Zhi to wonder whether they were stranded on a deserted island.

• Wilk treated Lu Yu’s thirst while Song Zhi tended Wilk’s shoulder and found contraceptive injections in the medical supplies.
• As the helicopter took off, Lu Yu shot an enemy aiming a rocket launcher, and the resulting explosions let the group escape under Wilk’s covering fire.
• After the helicopter left Sri Lankan airspace, a bright projectile struck the power station and a heat wave devastated the land; Lu Yu and Song Zhi rested together as the others shared food and supplies.
• When Song Zhi woke, Kelante told her they had landed on an unnamed island because the helicopter lacked fuel, and he kissed her hand.
• Hill arrived, took Song Zhi to the others’ hiding place, and led her through dense vegetation toward a misty lighthouse while Kelante followed with the fuel can.

The Group A Special Task Squad settled into an abandoned lighthouse on a deserted island, where poisoned plants and a lack of fresh water threatened their plans to hide and recover. After spending the night with Lu Yu, Song Zhi went with him to bathe, where he teased her by jumping into the pool in his underwear.

• Song Zhi was excited by the lighthouse until Lai'en warned the squad that the island had no fresh water, little food, and poisonous plants, and ordered them to keep radio silence and take turns on watch.
• Song Zhi admitted she was afraid of ghosts, so Lu Yu offered to sleep beside her in the lighthouse attic.
• The squad spent the night in the lighthouse, and Lai'en planned to clean the cottage and find a solution to the water shortage.
• The next morning, Lu Yu helped Song Zhi remove her tactical vest and took her to a seawater pool to wash.
• Lu Yu jumped into the pool in his briefs and urged Song Zhi to join him before the others arrived.

Song Zhi bathed with Lu Yu and was flustered when he teased her, helped her dry off, and washed her clothes. When the other soldiers arrived, they joined her by the water, leaving her secretly admiring their physiques.

• Song Zhi jumped into the sea in her tank top and shorts, and Lu Yu massaged her shoulders before teasing her until she elbowed him.
• Lu Yu tripped Song Zhi into the water, carried her back to shore, dried her hair, lent her his shirt, and washed their clothes.
• Wilk, Hill, and Kelante arrived; Hill splashed Lu Yu while Kelante offered Song Zhi coconut water.
• Song Zhi watched the soldiers swim and pose by the shore, then tried to hide her flustered reaction by fussing with her water bottle.

Song Zhi and Lai'en searched for fresh water, using the island’s lush vegetation and terrain to locate a possible underground stream. As they headed toward a promising valley, Lai'en asked why Song Zhi had returned to the island, and she said she wanted everyone to survive without becoming a weakness others could exploit.

• Song Zhi proposed that the island’s dense vegetation and dew indicated hidden underground fresh water, and Lai'en agreed to search for it.
• Lai'en marked areas of especially lush vegetation on Hill’s topographic map and shared the planned search area with Hill.
• Song Zhi identified a promising valley, and she and Lai'en set off through the difficult coconut grove toward it.
• Lai'en slowed down, offered Song Zhi water, and asked whether returning to the island had been worth giving up safety in Australia.
• Song Zhi said she had been waiting to rejoin the team and had returned because she wanted everyone to survive, not to become a weakness others could use against Lai'en.

Song Zhi and Lai'en explored the island's damp interior, concluding that it likely held an underground freshwater river, before setting up camp in the rainforest for the night. Song Zhi realized they had only one sleeping bag for the two of them.

• Lai'en affirmed that Group A would not let anyone exploit Song Zhi's risky choice again.
• Song Zhi reasoned that the island's geology and moist soil pointed to an underground river and imagined using its fertile land to grow food.
• Song Zhi and Lai'en continued toward the valley and decided to camp rather than retrace their route in the dark.
• Lai'en made traps and set up a shelter at the edge of a broadleaf forest, while they avoided lighting a fire.
• Lai'en gave Song Zhi a self-heating meal and spread out their only sleeping bag, leaving Song Zhi worried about how they would share it.

Lai'en and Song Zhi shared the night watch in the rainforest after Song Zhi persuaded him to let her take a turn. The next morning, Lai'en relieved her and let her sleep before they continued their journey.

• Lai'en told Song Zhi he would keep watch alone through the night.
• Song Zhi woke in the damp darkness and offered to take over, but Lai'en told her to go back to sleep.
• Song Zhi insisted that they both needed rest for the journey, and Lai'en agreed to let her keep watch for two hours.
• Lai'en handed Song Zhi his submachine gun and rested while she watched beside him.
• Lai'en woke before Song Zhi could wake him, relieved her, and told her to sleep until the dew dried.
• Song Zhi woke in the nine o'clock sunlight and saw Lai'en handling his tactical tablet beside her.

Lai'en and Song Zhi discovered a volcanic cave containing a deep underground spring and reported it to Hill, though they could not test whether the water was safe to drink. After Song Zhi fed Lai'en chocolate outside the cave, he pulled her onto his lap, leaving their moment unexpectedly intimate.

• Lai'en and Song Zhi followed the damp, moss-covered terrain and found a vine-hidden cave after hearing water dripping inside.
• Lai'en sent a drone into the cave and found an underground river and a deep pool, with no signs of living creatures.
• Lai'en sent Hill footage and their coordinates, then he and Song Zhi entered the cave but left without collecting water because they lacked equipment to test it.
• Lai'en reported to Group A that they had found a spring and requested support for water testing.
• Song Zhi offered Lai'en chocolate, slipped it into his mouth, and Lai'en pulled her onto his lap.

Lai'en gave Song Zhi an Italian military knife and told her to keep it with her to protect herself. After Song Zhi kissed him, Lai'en returned the kiss passionately, and the chapter ended with her begging him to stop.

• Lai'en strapped an Italian military knife to Song Zhi's thigh and told her it was for self-defense.
• Song Zhi asked whether the knife was a gift, and Lai'en explained that she needed to learn to use it and keep it with her.
• Song Zhi compared the knife to Lai'en's Nepalese military knife, and he confirmed that his own knife was an old companion.
• Song Zhi thanked Lai'en and kissed him lightly, rekindling his desire.
• Lai'en pulled Song Zhi back and kissed her, then asked whether this was what she wanted.
• Song Zhi became overwhelmed by the kiss and begged Lai'en to spare her.

Hill and Wilk reached Lai'en and Song Zhi at the cave, where the team tested and began collecting fresh water. After Wilk went inside to help, Hill confronted Song Zhi about kissing Lai'en and backed her away beneath the tree.

• Hill and Wilk followed Lai'en's markers through the woods and found Song Zhi practicing with her saber while Lai'en rested.
• Hill brought Song Zhi grilled seafood and coconut juice, then Lai'en ordered the team to collect water after confirming it was safe.
• Wilk reassured Song Zhi that the others were doing well and told her the team had missed her and Lai'en.
• Hill told Song Zhi her saber's name, Loli, suited her as a Violent Loli, then questioned her about taking the initiative to kiss Lai'en.
• Song Zhi denied Hill's accusations and backed away as he followed her, closing in beneath the tree.

Song Zhi and Hill clashed in a tense confrontation, then kept their distance during a cold war back at the lighthouse. Lai'en later entered Song Zhi’s room to give her a shot, leaving her wary when he locked the door.

• Hill pressed Song Zhi to say whether she hated him, but she refused to answer, and he struck a tree before walking away.
• Lai'en and Wilk returned with fresh water, and the group headed back while Song Zhi and Hill stayed apart.
• After swimming, Song Zhi squeezed past Hill in the doorway and splashed water on him; he watched her retreat to her room.
• Lai'en knocked on Song Zhi’s door with his medical bag and said it was time for her shot.
• Lai'en entered Song Zhi’s small bedroom and locked the door behind him, making her wonder why the squad kept locking doors.

After Lai'en treated Song Zhi's arm, the two grew intimate, and he urged her not to go anywhere alone while the group remained in a quiet period. The next morning, Song Zhi discussed the island's comforts and defenses with Kelante, who invited her inside to show her something useful.

• Lai'en injected Song Zhi with medication, then kissed her, and they spent the night together.
• Lai'en told Song Zhi to stay with someone whenever she went anywhere because the island was still unsafe.
• The next morning, Kelante served Song Zhi breakfast while he worked on his tactical tablet.
• Song Zhi told Kelante she felt guilty about living comfortably, and he reassured her that she did not owe the world anything.
• Kelante suggested the coconut trees and poisonous plants formed the island's defenses, then invited Song Zhi inside to show her something interesting.