Vol 2: Chapter 6-1.

The pain came and went quickly. It didn’t bring more injuries to Zheng aside from exhaustion. After the pain had passed away, Jie and Lan immediately laid him on the ground. They took out the bandage and spray and once again covered up the hole in his belly.

Zheng let them do the bandage without moving, while he tried to listen carefully. After they were done, he said to them, “I heard gunshots. Jie, did you hear it?”

Jie immediately listened carefully for a while, then nodded. “Yes, I heard some very faint gunshots... Does this mean they succeeded? They found guns at the arsenal?”

Zheng smiled bitterly. “They probably found the guns, but I think they’re fighting against those two Aliens. Otherwise the gunshots wouldn’t sound so intense. How many grenades do you still have? Give me all of them. Lan, give me the steel bars also.”

Jie put out his palms with a bitter smile. “None, I gave the grenades to them back then. These bastards...”

Though Lan took out two grenades from her pocket. She smiled. “Thankfully I kept an eye on this... What are you planning to do? These are the last two.”

Zheng also took out two grenades from his ring. He bit into the ring with his teeth then threw one of them far off with his left hand. The explosion sent Jie and Lan to the ground.

“I have the timer for the detonation delay now...”

Zheng kept staring at the site of explosion, then said to Jie without turning his head, “Hurry, tear some cloth off from your shirt and tie the grenades on the steel bars. Make sure they’re tight!”

Jie took off his shirt without a word. He tore it up and started tying the bombs. Lan sighed as she saw this. “You’re planning to risk your life again? Your injuries...”

Zheng turned around and smiled at her. “No problem. That explosion was loud. They probably all heard it. I don’t know about the other two but with Xuan’s wisdom, he will definitely keep the Aliens’ attention. I only have to sneak in from behind and attack them. And as long as I can pierce the steel bar into their body before the grenade detonates the explosion will deal major damage to them. So rest assured.”

Lan sighed and didn’t say anything more. As he was tying the grenades, Jie said, “I was mistaken about you. Zheng, you are talented in combat. Using the words of my instructor, you’re born to be a fighter. The more desperate the situation is, the more potential you unravel. Whether it’s the physical combat or planning.”

Zheng took the steel bars from Jie. He tried to aim it with his left hand, then smiled bitterly. “I’m no fighter. I just want to do everything to live. Anyone in my situation will probably come up with something. If even people like me are considered fighters then what are Xuan and them? Super fighters? Or super geniuses?”

“You can’t say that.” Jie laughed then handed him the last steel bar. “They were already doing these kinds of jobs in the real world. And they were also at the top of their field. What about you? You were only a normal white collar. Even though there’s luck in your enhancements, but you’ve kept putting your life on the line and stayed alive, while gradually adapting to these battles... This is your hidden talent. You’re a fighter that never gives up!”

“Fighter, huh?”

“I just want to stay alive...”

In order to recover as soon as possible, Jie continued carrying Zheng on his back while Lan carried the steel bars. As they were running, Lan muttered, “Why do we have to save them? Wouldn’t that put us in danger?”

Zheng was circulating his Qi. He exhaled and said, “We are actually in danger all along. If we can’t eliminate the Aliens, we will die sooner or later. So Xuan’s ability to analyze and plan, Zero and Kampa’s skills in using modernized weapons are important factors.”

Jie asked suddenly, “Then why did you split up with them? If we stayed together then we would have gotten weapons by now instead of having you do all the fighting. Also I don’t think Xuan would give us up.”

Zheng sighed. “Yes, if we stayed with them, we won’t be given up. And we will be safe before Zero and Kampa die... At least Jie and I will be safe. But! This is also one of the reasons.

“One reason is I can’t stand his methods. Using comrades like disposable pieces. The other reason is I won’t put my fate into the hands of another person. Perhaps we will be safe in the beginning, but what will happen after some time? I don’t want to think about how I will die, I will only think about how I can live! As comrades I will do my best to support and protect them. In return my comrades will not give me up when I need help. Xuan can’t accomplish this, so I chose to leave. This way I can stand on the same level as him.

“Yes, if he can discard his comrades, then we will be someone that can make use of his wisdom while not being his comrades... allies! We’re both independent, yet supporting each other. This is the only method to cooperate with him that I can think of.”

Lan thought for a moment and said, “Why can’t he give up on allies? What’s the difference?”

Zheng smiled. “The biggest difference is allies are independent. We will support each other but we can also fight independently. We won’t become a burden to the other party, and don’t have to be responsible for the other party’s mistakes. Comrades are formed by a group of people each with different talents. They have to protect each other. I can’t trust Xuan to protect his comrades. So in order to obtain their power, I can only choose to become their ally.”

“We can only get them to understand the importance of our group after leaving them. This way they will accept us as allies and not disposable pieces... That explosion before was to measure the detonation delay and also to let them know... their allies are here!”