The rescue efforts had entered the final stages, and Gu Jianing and the others no longer needed to stay in the disaster area.
Since the vehicles were being used to transport the injured, they had no choice but to walk back. Fortunately, the journey wasn’t too long—just over half an hour on foot.
Zhang Shuwan held onto Gu Jianing’s arm as the two walked back together.
At one point, Gu Jianing suddenly turned her head, scanning the surroundings as if searching for something.
“What’s wrong?” Zhang Shuwan asked.
“I feel like someone is watching me.” But when she looked back, she didn’t see anyone.
“Could you be mistaken?” Zhang Shuwan also glanced around but didn’t notice anything unusual.
“Maybe.” Gu Jianing continued walking with Zhang Shuwan, though she didn’t really believe her intuition was wrong. Just moments ago, she had genuinely felt someone’s gaze on her—a gaze that seemed to carry a hint of malice.
Ever since her rebirth, Gu Jianing had become particularly sensitive to these things.
However, the Malice Detector hadn’t gone off, so it was probably fine.
Back at the military base, Gu Jianing didn’t go to the hospital for her shift. Old Man Chen had declared that since they had been rescuing people nonstop for a full day and night, they deserved a day off to rest properly at home.
Gu Jianing was indeed exhausted. After eating at Zhang Shuwan’s place, she returned home, lit the kang (heated bed), and burrowed under the covers to sleep like the dead.
A full day and night of continuous rescue work had drained her, especially since she was pregnant and prone to drowsiness. She had pushed through purely on willpower.
Now, finally able to rest, her nerves completely relaxed, and she fell into a deep sleep.
She slept soundly but had a dream. In it, she saw Sheng Zexi and his comrades weaving through a hail of bullets. Many of his fellow soldiers were injured, and even though she knew it was just a dream, Gu Jianing couldn’t help but worry…
Meanwhile, at that very moment, Sheng Zexi was using bandages to staunch the bleeding of a comrade who had fallen unconscious. Around him, many other wounded soldiers lay injured.
They hadn’t expected the enemy to have intel on their planned route, setting up an ambush right where they’d pass. The ambush was heavily manned, leaving many of Sheng Zexi’s comrades injured—some even critically wounded, on the verge of death.
Sheng Zexi thought that perhaps this was what Ningning had foreseen.
Thankfully, he had brought bandages with him. Now, discreetly avoiding attention, he tended to the most severely wounded, stopping their bleeding. If possible, he wanted all his comrades to survive.
However many had set out on this mission, that was how many he wanted to return!
The less injured soldiers were also bandaging each other up while analyzing the operation.
“Someone must have leaked our plans.”
“Definitely. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have known our exact route.”
“The question is—who?”
Sheng Zexi agreed with their assessment. After finishing bandaging the last critically injured comrade and seeing his breathing stabilize slightly, he let out a relieved sigh. “The likelihood of a mole among us is low. The most plausible explanation is that someone accidentally leaked information.”
“Think carefully—did any of you mention our mission details to anyone?”
Sheng Zexi swept his gaze over the group but didn’t detect any unusual reactions from the conscious soldiers. His eyes then turned to those who had passed out from their injuries. Could one of them have unintentionally revealed something that was then exploited?
“What about the rest of the mission? With so many injured, it might be impossible to continue,” someone said, looking at the large number of wounded.
Sheng Zexi made a decision. “First, send them to the hospital. We’ll deal with the rest later.”
Soon, the critically injured were transported to the hospital, and the group found temporary lodging in a nearby county town.
That night, when everyone had fallen asleep, Sheng Zexi—who had appeared to be resting as well—opened his eyes.
Moving like a shadow in the darkness, he left a message behind, took his gear, and quietly slipped away, heading toward the original mission destination.
This mission was crucial. If possible, he had to do everything in his power to complete it.
His comrades were injured—some severely—and the enemy outnumbered them with superior firepower.
Sheng Zexi knew that the only one who stood a chance of succeeding now was him, wearing his invisible bulletproof vest. Even if the enemy showered him with bullets, he wouldn’t fear a thing.
He *would* accomplish this mission!
Ningning, it won’t be long. I’ll return to you soon!
With that thought, Sheng Zexi melted into the night, disappearing into the darkness…
…
Gu Jianing had no idea how long she had slept.
By the time she woke up, it was already dark outside, and her stomach was growling with hunger.
At the beginning of her sleep, she had dreamed of Sheng Zexi, but later, the dreams faded away.
Sitting on the heated bed, she couldn’t help but recall the earlier dream. She had seen Sheng Zexi charging alone into enemy territory under a hail of gunfire, countless bullets flying toward him…
What happened after that, she didn’t know.
The sight of so many bullets aimed at him had jolted her awake in fright, scattering the dream into nothingness.
After that, she had fallen into a deep, dreamless slumber.
Hugging the pillow that belonged to Sheng Zexi, Gu Jianing gave it a few light pats. “Why aren’t you back yet? It’s been over a month. My belly’s already showing. You’re not planning to wait until after I give birth, are you?”
“If you stay away too long, this pillow won’t even smell like you anymore.”
“Sheng Zexi, if you don’t come back soon, I might even forget what you look like…”
Had she really forgotten his face? Of course not. Gu Jianing was just worried—and missed him terribly.
No matter how much she muttered to herself, Sheng Zexi still hadn’t returned.
The next day, Gu Jianing went back to work at the hospital. Old Man Chen was there too. He, along with Dr. Zhou and Dr. Lu, had only learned the day before that Gu Jianing was pregnant.
When they found out she had still participated in the rescue efforts, tirelessly treating patients for a full day and night despite her condition, they were filled with admiration. If they had known earlier, they would have taken on more of the workload for her.
But then again, they doubted they could have made much of a difference. Dr. Gu’s medical skills far surpassed theirs. Countless critically injured patients they had been helpless to save had been pulled back from the brink by her hands.
With no patients to attend to at the moment, Old Man Chen sat down with Gu Jianing to discuss the treatments she had administered the previous day. Eager to learn, Dr. Zhou and Dr. Lu also joined in, occasionally offering their own insights.
The discussion lasted the entire morning. Gu Jianing lost count of how many cups of water she drank—otherwise, her throat would have gone dry.
And the more she spoke, the brighter Old Man Chen’s eyes gleamed as he listened.
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