“What was that?”  

The two men who had been talking immediately turned their heads alertly in her direction.  

Xia Zhi, hiding in the grass, felt her heart leap into her throat. Two armed men—this was a gamble. High risk, high reward.  

…  

At the foot of the mountain, Lu Beiting sat by the door, basking in the sunlight. His gaze lingered on the clearing Xia Zhi had been working on the night before. Just as he was about to turn and go back inside, something hit him on the head.  

Then, his arms suddenly felt heavy. Looking down, he saw a grimy little monkey rubbing its head in his arms, whimpering as if it really hurt.  

The little monkey looked up at him, then tugged at his clothes before frantically pawing at them.  

Lu Beiting stared at the monkey in his arms, baffled, before lifting it up with one hand. It wasn’t until he saw the candy fall from its body that he understood.  

“Zhang Yi! Zhang Yi!”  

Hearing the loud call, Zhang Yi rushed in. “Battalion Commander, what’s wrong?”  

“Follow it up the mountain and see if something’s happened. Take more men with you,” Lu Beiting said, tossing the little monkey to him.  

Zhang Yi carried the monkey and went to gather the others. Lu Beiting stared at the surrounding mountains, his brow furrowed. A few seconds later, he lowered his head in frustration, glaring at his legs.  

He couldn’t do anything. What use was he?  

He’d only drag Xia Zhi down. She deserved better.  

Lu Beiting’s hands on his legs clenched tightly before finally relaxing. His eyes darkened with unreadable emotion as he turned and went back inside.  

Led by the little monkey, Zhang Yi and the others made their way up the mountain. When they realized they were heading deep into the forest, Zhang Yi and Xu Rufeng exchanged a glance before cautiously advancing, crouching low.  

Meanwhile, Xia Zhi was sprinting through the woods.  

“Get her! Don’t let her report back!”  

“Dammit, that bitch smashed my suppressor! Otherwise, I’d have shot her dead already!”  

Xia Zhi zigzagged through the trees, the two men hot on her heels.  

At first, when the men had noticed her position and started approaching, a rabbit had suddenly darted out from behind her, temporarily diverting their suspicion.  

She had planned to stay hidden and wait for backup, but then the two men started heading in the direction of the giant panda. After a moment of hesitation, she picked up a rock and, seizing the opportunity during their argument, smashed the suppressor before turning to flee.  

Luckily, her gamble paid off—without the suppressor, the men didn’t dare fire their guns.  

She gripped the anesthetic in her hand tightly. If it came down to it, she could still fight back.  

Xia Zhi realized she had run quite far and began to panic. If this kept up, even if help arrived, they might not be able to find her.  

Zhang Yi and Xu Rufeng led the search party up the mountain and soon came across the scattered animal carcasses. Nearby, in the grass, they found fragments of a suppressor.  

“This… not good. Sister-in-law might have already run into the enemy.”  

Xu Rufeng’s expression turned grave. “The suppressor’s gone, but no gunshots were fired. That means she’s still safe. Pick up the pace.”  

He turned to one of the men. “Zhang San, rush back down and report. Have them flank from the opposite mountain.”  

“Got it.” Zhang San slung his gear over his shoulder and bolted downhill. For them, descending wasn’t hard—just pick a straight path and charge. (Haha, tested this in middle school! Straight down!)  

Once at the base, Zhang San sprinted straight into the military compound and started calling for reinforcements.  

Inside the house, Lu Beiting heard the commotion outside and finally stepped out. The moment he did, he ran into Zhang San, who was rallying the troops with fierce determination.  

“Zhang San, what’s going on?”  

His sharp eyes scanned the area, but there was no sign of Xia Zhi or the others. His frown deepened.  

“Oh, Battalion Commander, those bastards across the border are acting up again. They’ve crossed the line. Squad Leader Xu ordered me to bring men to flank them from the other mountain.” Zhang San pointed toward a neighboring peak.  

Lu Beiting’s first instinct was to stand, but after a moment, he remembered he couldn’t even get up.  

He exhaled heavily. “Understood. If necessary, no need to take prisoners.”  

“Sir!”  

Zhang San saluted before leading the team at full speed up the mountain.  

Lu Beiting went back inside, grabbed a pair of binoculars, and began scanning the mountains.  

He didn’t know what their objective was this time, but whatever it was, they would never make it past their line of defense!

……

“Damn it, Old Yao, how the hell is this bitch still running? I’m about to collapse!”  

The two men had been chasing Xia Zhi for half an hour, gradually running out of stamina, but the woman ahead showed no signs of stopping.  

“Shit, we should’ve brought more people. Keep chasing! There’s no way she can keep this up all day. If worse comes to worst—”  

Yao Dashan gave his companion a vicious look. “If worse comes to worst, we’ll drive her toward the border. The Burmese troops are there—it’s our turf. Let’s see how she gets out of that!”  

Liu Wen grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. “Old Yao, you’re ruthless. This woman’s got insane stamina—maybe we can even make some extra profit off her!”  

The two exchanged greedy smirks.  

Yao Dashan patted Liu Wen’s shoulder and pointed to a side path. “You cut her off from there.”  

Gasping for breath, Yao Dashan kept chasing. He couldn’t tell if she was doing it on purpose, but she kept running along the edge of the forest.  

Xia Zhi glanced back at the relentless pursuers, her strength waning. At this point, turning back wasn’t an option.  

She pulled out a syringe of adrenaline she had exchanged with system points and injected herself. Beads of sweat covered her pale face, and several small needle marks dotted her arm.  

She had to find a way to deal with these two—running endlessly wasn’t a solution.  

Surveying the terrain, she considered heading toward a pile of scattered rocks when Liu Wen suddenly appeared there, panting heavily.  

Liu Wen wiped the sweat from his forehead and sneered at Xia Zhi’s exhausted state. “Bitch, keep running! Go on! Damn, you’ve got legs of steel. I’ll break them myself when I catch you.”  

His eyes fell on the discarded syringe on the ground, and he scoffed. “No wonder this whore’s so fast—she’s doping.”  

His face twisted into a vicious grin as he raised his weapon at her.  

Xia Zhi’s breath hitched, a wave of primal fear tightening her chest.  

Calm down, Xia Zhi. You’ve faced worse than this. It’s just two men. You can handle this.

After steadying herself, she turned—only to see Yao Dashan closing in from the other side, his weapon also trained on her.  

“Run now, huh? Thought you were unstoppable? One more step, and I’ll blow your brains out!” Yao Dashan snarled, his eyes burning with malice. This damned woman had nearly run him to death.  

Now, let’s see her try to escape!  

Xia Zhi tightened her grip on the basket strapped to her back. Her other hand clenched around the anesthetic. In one swift motion, she hurled the syringe at Liu Wen and flung the basket at Yao Dashan with all her strength.  

Caught off guard, neither man expected her to fight back.  

Yao Dashan roared in fury, swatting the basket away from his face. “You bitch, I’ll kill you!”  

BANG!

The gunshot echoed through the forest, sending flocks of birds scattering into the sky, their startled cries filling the air.