Chapter 19: This Is Not How You Taught Me

Chapter 19: That's Not How You Were Taught

“Hmph!” The female soldier let out a muffled grunt.

Seizing the opportunity, Sergeant Wu swung his hand in a knife strike. The opponent’s body went limp and collapsed directly onto Xu Qiao.

Seeing this, Xu Qiao quickly steadied the person and helped her sit down on a nearby chair. Only then did she turn to Sergeant Wu. “Sergeant, you... you really are a special forces soldier?”

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Sergeant Wu’s face before he cleared his throat. “I was careless.”

But as soon as he said that, he realized something was amiss and glanced at Xu Qiao. “How do you know hand-to-hand combat?”

Xu Qiao hesitated. She certainly couldn’t say it was from the training camp in her previous life. After a moment’s pause, she gave a perfunctory answer, “A special skills class when I was a child.”

Whether he believed her or not, he didn’t press further. Instead, he immediately sat at the communications equipment and began operating it skillfully.

Without hesitation, Sergeant Wu nudged her. “Quick, use the chaos to get away from here.”

Finally emerging from the forest, with no pursuers behind them, Xu Qiao, nearly exhausted, could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground. She realized that although following Sergeant Wu seemed no different, trying to walk on her own was an entirely different matter.

Sergeant Wu looked at her and smiled briefly. “Exactly—you.”

The military uniform she wore now was of little use; it was the blue army’s attire. The other items, though everyday supplies, were of no help to her.

However, Sergeant Wu had no intention of letting them succeed easily. He deliberately delayed the enemy, running and dodging bullets while occasionally counterattacking, instantly throwing the guard company into confusion.

What she didn’t expect was that she still underestimated Sergeant Wu—though at this moment, she was unaware of it.

“Cough, cough…” A violent fit of coughing nearly knocked the air from her lungs.

Though she wanted to rush out and fight alongside him, remembering the mission he had left behind, she clenched her teeth, grabbed a backpack from the communications vehicle, picked up a rifle, and dashed out.

“This exercise, whether it’s the initial response to the camp’s surprise attack or the perseverance along the way, all prove you are no less capable than them. I believe in you,” he said.

But then, in an instant, a tremendous explosion rang out.

“Don’t act rashly yet; they can’t confirm there’s a problem here immediately.” At that moment, Sergeant Wu finally completed his task.

Without giving her a chance to argue, Sergeant Wu gave a light chuckle and dashed out, pulling the trigger without hesitation.

When Xu Qiao saw the village ahead, she breathed a sigh of relief and finally stopped.

His calmness eased her anxious heart. “What do we do now?”

“Me?” Xu Qiao looked at him incredulously.

Before she could finish, Sergeant Wu cut her off. “Not us—it’s you.”

He glanced outside. By now, the entire guard company had deployed and begun searching everywhere.

“Leave this to me. You find it. If possible… take it down.”

A gunshot shattered the silence. The guard company, once methodical in their search, abruptly changed targets as gunfire erupted repeatedly.

After the explosions, the chaotic noise roused Xu Qiao. She took a long, hard look at the battlefield ahead, steeling herself to turn and run.

“This is another town. Even if we send the location back, a full-scale bombing is impossible.”

As she ran into the woods, Xu Qiao instinctively glanced back.

At a time like this, she no longer cared about what was left behind and stuffed it into her mouth like a starving ghost.

The backpack wasn’t heavy and contained no weapons—just a uniform and some routine supplies, which Xu Qiao found unremarkable. She rummaged through it and finally found a half-eaten compressed ration at the bottom.

Meanwhile, the guard company outside was drawing ever closer, almost upon them. If she didn’t leave now, escape would be impossible.

Though still very thirsty, after eating the ration, she no longer felt dizzy or faint and was able to focus on searching for other items.

Watching the chaotic scene outside and hearing the disordered gunfire, Xu Qiao felt dazed.

She picked up her rifle, keeping watch for Sergeant Wu while glancing over. “Sergeant, what are you doing...?”

If before this had felt like a mere exercise, now it was a real battle for her.

The scene before her was so familiar, yet Sergeant Wu’s words echoed clearly in her ears, “Sergeant... this isn’t how you taught me...”

Staggering, she finally emerged from the woods.

Just as Sergeant Wu sent out a message, an alarm blared suddenly outside.

But he quickly realized the purpose of his action, and she knew she could no longer delay here.

“How did they find us?” Xu Qiao asked instinctively, raising her rifle.

Seizing her momentary distraction, Sergeant Wu pointed to a spot on the screen. “According to their map, there should be troops in this town, though their exact location is still unknown.”

Looking up, his face was calm and composed, showing no hint of panic.

Xu Qiao seemed to understand his meaning. “You mean we head there? But now…”

By his lone efforts, Sergeant Wu kept them occupied, allowing Xu Qiao, dressed in the blue army uniform, to slip beyond their reach.

“Remember that camp we found before? Such a large force can’t just be ignored.” He connected to the red side’s own communication channel as he spoke.

“In both my past lives, I’ve never suffered like this...” Xu Qiao couldn’t help but complain.

Now thirsty, hungry, and exhausted, without Sergeant Wu’s skills to find food in the forest, she could only pin her hopes on the backpack.

Hearing this, Sergeant Wu laughed. “This time, it’s not about what we do, but what you do.”

Having not taken a drop of water all along, the bite of biscuit she just swallowed made her eyes roll back.

In the haste of their escape, she had grabbed their backpack without checking its contents. Now, after rummaging through it, she suddenly found a document tucked in a compartment. The photo showed the girl they had knocked unconscious.

She hadn’t paid much attention before, but now, looking at the photo, she noticed a striking resemblance to herself.

Staring at the photo, inspiration struck.

Suddenly standing up, her eyes shining brightly, she headed straight downward.

(End of Chapter)