Shan Ming treated his injuries and began to pack up, intending to leave this place as soon as possible.
Although the pain and exhaustion in his body had reached the limit that an ordinary person could bear, Shan Ming knew that he couldn’t let his guard down at this moment. He knew that his situation was becoming increasingly dire, and if he didn’t receive medicine and treatment soon, he would be dying here.
Although he had sustained unexpected injuries, discovering the river was a great gain. As long as he followed the river downstream, he would eventually reach a place with living people. If he was lucky enough, he can save his arm.
He endured the pain as he tidied up his backpack and then threw it in front of Shen Changze. “From now on, you carry it.”
The backpack wasn’t very heavy, it only contained ammunition and the most basic medical supplies, but it was still a considerable burden for a five-year-old child. However, the child didn’t whine or complain, and instead picked it up and carried it on his own.
Shan Ming picked up a thick and long wooden stick to use as a cane, limping along the river downstream.
The child followed him closely and said softly, “Uncle, thank you.”
Shan Ming ignored him. Right now, even talking felt like a waste of energy.
“If I see my Daddy, he will definitely thank you. My Daddy is very powerful.” After the child finished speaking, he glanced at him secretly. Seeing that Shan Ming did not respond, he was very disappointed.
He went silent for a while, then murmured, “Uncle, will you take me home?”
Shan Ming finally said, “No.”
A deep frown appeared on the child’s small face. “Why not? Uncle, can you take me home? My Daddy will give you a lot of money, please take me home.”
Shan Ming said, “When we reach a place with people, you can find your own way. Starting from now, don’t talk to me.”
Shen Changze opened his mouth to speak, but in the end, he still swallowed back what he wanted to say.
Due to his injured foot, Shan Ming couldn’t walk as quickly as before, and they had to stop frequently along the way. They only covered a distance of over twenty miles in a day, but thankfully there were no risks along the way. Shan Ming could feel the density of the surrounding foliage decreasing, and the number of animals they encountered also decreased, indicating that they were heading in the right direction towards an area with living people.
They still made a fire and rested at night. Shan Ming felt that the area was much safer, but he didn’t let his guard down and decided to take turns keeping watch with Shen Changze.
The child held onto his watch tightly and climbed onto Shan Ming. He looked at Shan Ming carefully, as if afraid that he would refuse.
Shan Ming glanced at him, then closed his eyes, “Wake me up in one hour.”
The child confidently nestled into his arms, searching for a warm spot to rest, “I won’t fall asleep.”
One hour later, Shan Ming was promptly awakened and stood guard for three hours to let Shen Changze sleep. They took turns resting like this and made it through the night.
The child shouted excitedly a few times, he hopped high with his little body that was held down by luggage.
Shan Ming let out a long sigh of relief.
They hurried down the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, they bumped into a local man with a child, who was cutting firewood.
The middle-aged man was first startled when he saw them, but then he tried to approach them.
Shan Ming was extremely vigilant. He put his hand on his waist to feel for his gun.
The man walked over and spoke a bunch of Burmese that they couldn’t understand. Finally, the man became anxious and said something to his son, who immediately turned his head and ran toward the village. The man then turned around and bent down, indicating that he would carry Shan Ming on his back.
Shan Ming looked at him coldly and continued to walk forward with the cane.
Seeing that Shan Ming ignored him, the man pulled on Shen Changze’s small arm, gesturing to his back.
When the child saw the man’s dark, dry, and thin face, he was so scared that he shrank closer to Shan Ming.
The man had no choice but to lead the way at the front.
Near the entrance of the village, a group of people ran towards them, led by a tall and muscular Caucasian man.
“Shan!” He waved to Shan Ming from afar.
When Shan Ming saw them, he stopped walking, threw his cane, and sat on the ground.
The Caucasian man ran over to him, laughing and patting him on the shoulder. “Finally found you! How did you get into such a mess?”
Shan Ming glared at him. “Stop the chit-chat, are there any decent doctors here, or are we going back to the base right away?”
“It’s better to treat this injury as soon as possible.” Two villagers behind them brought over a stretcher, and the man pointed at it, jokingly saying, “Do you need me to carry you, beauty?”
Shan Ming climbed onto the stretcher himself. “Jobb, I want to talk to Boss.”
“No hurry…” Jobb’s eyes fell on Shen Changze, “Eh? Why is there a kid here? You gave birth to him?”
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The child looked at the two people in confusion, they spoke in a language he could not understand. He tugged at Shan Ming’s sleeve, “Uncle…”
Jobb crouched down, his bear-like muscular physique casted a shadow over the child. He made an effort to squeeze out a gentle smile and with his severely corrected Mandarin, “Hi, hello?”
The child was frightened by Jobb’s facial scar and massive physique, and he trembled all over. He immediately threw himself onto Shan Ming and tears swirled in his eyes, “Uncle, who is he? Is he your friend?”
Shan Ming pushed him off, “Screw off.”
Immediately after that, the child was picked up by Jobb like a little chick, and those villagers also stood up following him, carrying Shan Ming towards the village.
The child was so frightened that he kept shouting, “Uncle! Uncle! Where are you going?! Uncle!”
Jobb flashed a set of gleaming white teeth toward him.
“Boss sent several people to search for you in the nearby villages and mountains. We all thought you couldn’t have died, but as expected, I was the first one to find you. Do you know why?” Jobb carved out a large piece of apple and stuffed it into his own mouth, “Because I’m a natural connoisseur, I have a radar for finding beauties.”
Shan Ming had just changed his wound dressing. He was too tired to joke around with him and simply ignored him.
“But why is your face swollen like this? Pelle will definitely be sad when she sees you like this. It doesn’t matter if you’re disfigured, but if you make my goddess Pelle sad, I will never forgive you.”
Shan Ming cursed, “Can you fucking shut up? I want to sleep.”
Jobb sliced off another piece of apple. Just as he was about to send it into his mouth, he suddenly noticed Shen Changze huddled up by Shan Ming’s bedside. So he handed him the knife with the apple stuck on its tip, “Kid, wanna eat an apple?”
The child could not understand what he was saying but he was greatly tempted by that apple. He hesitatingly looked at Jobb, then finally summoned up the courage to take the apple from the tip of the knife and stuffed it into his mouth.
Jobb said to Shan Ming with great interest, “Shan, how did you find him? How did you find a child in that hell of a place?”
Shan Ming fiercely glared at him, “I want to sleep. You may get lost now.”
Jobb pouted, “Fine, I’ll go contact Boss and send someone to pick us up.” He stood up, smiled at the child, and stretched out his hand. “Kid, do you want to come play with me?”
The child was so frightened that he crawled onto the bed and huddled next to Shan Ming.
Jobb went out dejectedly.
After Jobb went out, Shan Ming reached out and pushed Shen Changze to the ground, “You go out too.”
The child asked quietly, “Can I stay here please? I won’t talk.”
Shan Ming was too tired to argue with him. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.