Chapter Thirty-Nine: We Won!

The Deputy Team Leader has been shot!

Qi An checked her wristband. Zhao Bohan’s contamination level had hit 45% for the first time and was still climbing rapidly.

There was no room for hesitation. She spent one minute pushing Tang Long’s contamination level back down to 35%, left him with a curt "Take your meds and hold on!" and dropped the heavy equipment to grab her sniper rifle, sprinting toward the Deputy’s position.

She could not sense people; she had to rely on Yu Shuang to guide her position and lead the way remotely. This reduced the efficiency of Yu Shuang’s bug-killing, but human lives were paramount, and the Deputy was the most critical of all. Qi An put every ounce of her strength into the dash.

There were fewer Fallen Bugs now—visually, only about ten left—but one stood directly in her path. Its tentacle, wrapped around a piece of a broken blade, slashed across her neck!

A thin crimson line appeared on her snow-white skin, and Qi An stumbled back. It hadn't cut her throat or hit an artery—just a shallow graze—but the shock nearly sent her knees buckling.

Yet, the training under a master like Yu Shuang had not been in vain, and her battlefield experience kicked in. Amidst her terror, her muscles reacted instinctively, and she raised her rifle and fired! A string of bullets tore into the base of the tentacle, severing it entirely.

The tentacle was gone, but several others remained intact. Layers of dark red membrane, clusters of light red granulation, and circular patterns resembling eyes or suckers writhed at the base of the raised appendages—right before her eyes!

The remaining tentacles unfurled, closing in to wrap around and devour her. She pulled the trigger, and the last bullet in the chamber buried itself into the very center—the heart of the creature.

At that same moment, she was yanked backward. It was Yang Yuning. He hoisted her up with one hand, while his other hand pressed the muzzle of his sniper rifle against the creature’s cyst and blew it to pieces.

The creature was dead beyond a doubt, but Yang Yuning gripped Qi An’s shoulders, staring at her in sheer terror. He instinctively reached for the public channel to beg Liu Weiyun for help—Qi An had almost been swallowed!

But then he saw that Qi An’s pupils had not split excessively; they had only divided into two. She hadn't even reached the level of a Level 2 mutation!

Qi An hadn't been wearing a filtration mask! Yang Yuning was dazed for a moment, but it was Qi An who grabbed his hand, performing a rapid one-minute purification.

Yang Yuning’s chaotic thoughts immediately steadied, and amidst the roar of artillery on the battlefield, he felt that sense of peace once more. Then, Qi An left him to rush toward Zhao Bohan.

Zhao Bohan lay prone in the mud; he had been shot in the upper-left back, and blood was already soaking through the area around the wound. Su Qingran arrived at the same time; it was clear her own path had not been easy, as her exposed skin was covered in scratches.

Qi An cradled Zhao Bohan’s head. His face was pale, but his consciousness remained clear. "Go check on the Captain and Tang Long... My contamination level... I’m still fine..."

Always so stubborn—a Deputy who had never even stepped foot in the military hospital’s routine purification ward! Seeing that his contamination level had already exceeded 50%, Qi An didn't listen and began the purification immediately.

As their minds resonated, Zhao Bohan’s eyes widened slightly. Had it been too long since he’d been purified? It felt incredible! His mind, his entire being, felt as if it had been washed clean. The contamination-brain-worms that had gnawed at him for years were consumed by a different power; he felt lighter and clearer than ever before.

But this made the pain in his back feel even sharper. He gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out.

"It’s okay! It’s fine! It didn't hit his lungs, and it didn't pierce an artery! Not much blood loss!" Su Qingran’s voice was filled with relief, laced with a tremor of lingering fear. They really owed a debt of gratitude to that bulletproof vest!

Qi An brought Zhao Bohan’s contamination level down to 30% and, seeing he could hold steady on his own, marveled at how strong the Deputy truly was.

By now, there were few living Fallen Bugs left. In the distance, Qin Tianshuo muttered, "...What the hell... ten minutes, is it already over?"

"Impossible!" Liu Weiyun, usually gentle and quiet, spoke with a sharp edge. She immediately smoothed her tone, adding worriedly, "There must be heavy casualties on their side."

"Then go help them," Qin Tianshuo said, looking at her in confusion.

Liu Weiyun bit her lip, pulled out her radio, and asked, "Does Team 2 need assistance?"

There was no answer. Liu Weiyun silently cursed that stubborn team for acting tough until they died, but then a voice came over the radio: "Perhaps your own Captain needs help more."

It was a voice unfamiliar on the public channel. Liu Weiyun froze.

Qin Tianshuo froze too. He turned back and realized that, at some point, flames had erupted near the convoy!

"Damn it!" Qin Tianshuo scrambled up and ran back. Liu Weiyun, still stunned, was pulled up by her Deputy, Jia Wenxuan, and they ran back together.

The person speaking on the public channel for their team had been Su Qingran, who was in a foul mood while tending to the Deputy’s wounds. Qi An gave her a quick purification as well, then bolted toward the three "problem cases."

As she ran, Yang Yuning took out any Fallen Bugs trying to approach her, effectively clearing the battlefield. Qi An felt a genuine sense of safety and turned back to give him a grateful nod. Yang Yuning, covered in gore and blood, stood confidently with his rifle; as he lowered the muzzle to reveal his face, he wore a smile as bright as the sun.

Qi An couldn't help but smile back, accelerating toward Yu Shuang.

Yu Shuang’s contamination level had exceeded 60%, and she was barely conscious. When Qi An arrived, she was half-collapsed on the ground, her face buried in the mud.

Qi An hugged her tightly, initiating a deep mental resonance and purification. In the Captain’s memories, her cousin, who had raised her, had died on the battlefield. They had only given her a scrap of her cousin's uniform and a scorched dog tag. The grief and helplessness were profound, but the memories of her cousin bringing her buns from the military canteen or picking wild dates during patrols were tucked deep in the Captain’s mind, paving the way with light.

The Captain’s memories also held the faces of previous teammates who had died before her, and that dawn, when Qi An had followed the firelight to find them.

Qi An’s purification of Yu Shuang was meticulous and gentle. Somehow, she found herself thinking of her own past—lying in a desolate, broken cabin in the woods, wrapped in hay and moldy quilts, staring blankly at a troop of monkeys playing in the trees while she was out foraging...

Qi An’s emotions bled into Yu Shuang’s mental world. That mountain peak—filled with flowers, trees, houses, laughter, and the shadows of wolves and tigers—was suddenly washed by a gentle blue rain.

Yu Shuang’s contamination level dropped. As she regained consciousness, she sensed the shift and instinctively reached back to embrace the petite Qi An.

"We won, little Qi. Smile a little!"