The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

Lei Yue broke free from Zhou Jian's restraints.

He glared at Qin Feng on the ground.

Then, he turned around and walked step by step toward Chen Feng's headless corpse.

His steps were heavy, each one leaving a deep footprint in the scorched earth.

His tall and robust body appeared inexplicably desolate at this moment.

He walked over to Chen Feng and carefully squatted down.

His movements were so gentle, completely out of character for his massive size, as if he were touching a rare treasure.

He stretched out his large, calloused, and scarred hands, trying to gather up the scattered bone fragments and pieces of flesh.

But the fragments were too small; black blood stained his fingers, and bone fragments slipped through his trembling fingers.

He tried several times, but failed each time.

The man, who was always fearless, couldn't even piece together the remains of his captain.

Lei Yue's body began to tremble.

He looked at the mangled corpse before him and let out a suppressed whimper.

"team leader......"

He spoke softly, his voice thick with a nasal tone.

"I've come to take you home, please... just come with me."

Zhou Jian walked over, stood behind him, and gently patted his shoulder.

He knew that Chen Feng's death was a huge blow to Lei Yue.

"Don't be sad." Zhou Jian's voice was a little hoarse. "The dead are gone, and the living must look forward."

"Perhaps the captain wouldn't want to see you like this either."

The voice just fell.

Lei Yue suddenly shrugged his shoulders, and a tremendous force flung Zhou Jian's hand away.

"roll!"

He didn't turn around, but just let out a low growl.

Immediately afterwards, he slammed his fist heavily onto the ground beside him!

boom!

His punch created a shallow crater in the hard, scorched earth, sending dirt and gravel flying everywhere.

The collision of bones with the earth produced a dull, teeth-grinding thud.

"Go to hell and don't be sad!"

"Fuck you, look ahead!"

Lei Yue suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes staring intently at Zhou Jian, looking as if he were going mad.

His roar was heart-wrenching, making Zhou Jian's eardrums ring.

Zhou Jian stared at Lei Yue, whose eyes were bloodshot, and was speechless for a moment.

He knew that any words of comfort would seem pale and powerless at this moment.

But he still had to say it.

"Better to be a broken piece of jade than a whole piece of tile." Zhou Jian said, each word distinct and deliberate. He hadn't wanted to say these words, nor should he have.

"Even if there were a way to survive, in that situation, the captain himself would choose to die."

"He killed his teammate on the mission with his own hands; he can't get over that mental hurdle."

"For him, dying standing up at this moment is the best outcome!"

"Better to be a shattered jade than a whole tile?"

Lei Yue repeated the sentence as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

He slowly stood up, his tall figure exuding an unparalleled sense of oppression, and approached Zhou Jian step by step.

Why can't we remain unscathed even in disgrace?

"Why can't we survive even if we're just broken tiles!"

"Are we inherently inferior to others?!"

"I have absolutely no idea about this 'jade breaks but tile remains' philosophy!"

Lei Yue grabbed Zhou Jian by the collar. His facial features had long since lost control, displaying a mixture of a smile and a cry.

"I don't want to understand either!"

Why should I understand?!

"I strive to improve myself, and I dare not slack off even for a moment every day!"

"I train day and night, all to protect the people I want to protect, the people I care about!"

His voice grew louder and louder, eventually turning into a hysterical roar.

"The captain is, and so are you!"

"Why should I abandon the people I care about for the sake of someone else's life or death!"

"Why should those who are already dead become a burden?!"

"I'm not as smart as you guys, I don't understand these big principles, I just want him to live!"

"I just want him to live!!"

Lei Yue's fists were clenched so tightly they cracked, and the veins on his arms bulged, as if he was about to strike at any moment.

Zhou Jian did not answer, but simply looked at him calmly.

In the distance, Qin Feng had already gotten up from the ground.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, half of his face swelled up, and a gash appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Lei Yue used all his strength in every punch he threw; an ordinary person would have broken bones and tendons long ago.

Qin Feng simply wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth without expression and picked up the sniper rifle that had fallen to the side.

He checked the gun and, after confirming it was undamaged, slung it back over his shoulder.

Throughout the entire process, he didn't look at Lei Yue once, nor did he say a word, as if the person who had just been beaten half to death wasn't him.

It was as if nothing had happened.

However, Qin Feng's fingers gripping the gun strap were slightly white, and his Adam's apple was trembling slightly.

If he could, he would rather be the one who died...

Lei Yue's roar continued.

"I can protect more people, but only if the people I care about are safe and sound!"

"must!"

"Live!"

After saying that, this towering man could no longer hold on.

His body trembled violently, and the hand gripping Zhou Jian's collar loosened weakly.

The torrent of tears finally broke through the last barrier, streaming wildly down his rugged cheeks, mixed with mud and blood.

He slowly turned around and looked at Chen Feng's corpse again.

This time, his gaze held no anger, only endless sorrow and...contempt.

"Chen Feng!"

He suddenly shouted the captain's name, his voice hoarse.

"You're a coward!"

"A coward who doesn't even dare to live!"

Zhou Jian was shocked and stared at Lei Yue's back in disbelief.

Lei Yue ignored him, staring intently at the headless corpse, releasing the emotions that had been building up in his heart for more than ten years in the most cruel way.

"While I was alive, I chased after you for over ten years! I considered you my only goal!"

"But now..."

Lei Yue paused for a moment, then his voice became somewhat choked up.

"I look down on you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the world fell into a deathly silence.

All that remained was the mournful sound of the wind blowing across the scorched earth.

Qin Feng stopped wiping the gun and looked up, facing Lei Yue's back for the first time.

Zhou Jian's lips moved, but no sound came out.

All that remains is the mournful sound of the wind blowing across the scorched earth.

In the midst of this frozen, deathly silence, a sudden, acrid laugh rang out without warning.

"Oh."

The laughter was old and hoarse, carrying an undisguised mockery, which sounded particularly jarring on the empty, scorched earth.

Zhou Jian and Qin Feng tensed up at the same time, their muscles instantly entering a fighting state.

someone!

When?!

Zhou Jian's gaze swept across the surroundings like a sharp blade, but there was nothing but desolation and ruins.

A chill ran down my spine.

Despite his keen senses, he failed to detect anyone approaching.

In the darkness in the distance, a hunched figure slowly emerged.

It was an old man, with a skinny little child beside him.

The old man coughed violently again. He covered his mouth, and a smear of blood dripped down from between his withered fingers, spreading a small patch of dark red on the scorched earth.

He raised his head, his cloudy eyes fixed on Lei Yue's direction.

"So this is where my calamity lies..."

"My calamity has fallen into the hands of you little brats..."