From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

A moment later, she returned carrying the first-aid kit that Ah Qiu had left behind.

She opened the first-aid kit and methodically took out disinfectant, gauze, and liniment for sprains and bruises.

Without saying anything more, she went straight to Luo Peng, who was the most seriously injured.

I knelt down and patiently cleaned the wounds on his face, disinfected them, and applied medicine.

I sighed inwardly.

In the bustling city of Jiangzhou, she was the high-ranking eldest daughter of the Su family and a senior executive in charge of company affairs.

In this desolate, uninhabited area, without identities or backgrounds, we are simply teammates on the same rope, companions who can entrust our lives to each other.

After treating all of Luo Peng's wounds, she turned around and walked to me, ready to treat the abrasions on my face.

I quickly said, "I can do it myself. You're exhausted, so take a rest."

She said softly, "I'll help you with what you can't handle. What you can handle yourself, you can do yourself."

I stopped refusing and sat there letting her tend to my wound.

Her movements were very light, delicate and gentle, carefully avoiding the broken and bleeding areas to minimize my pain.

At that moment, my impression of her completely changed.

I always thought she was aloof, taciturn, distant, and difficult to approach.

But after these past few days of sharing life and death, I've finally seen her true colors.

Despite her seemingly aloof and indifferent appearance, she is incredibly meticulous and reliable.

After treating all my wounds, she didn't rest immediately. Instead, she picked up her binoculars and scanned the surroundings, alerting herself to potential dangers.

Luo Peng remained lying quietly on the snow, his eyes fixed on the clear blue sky above, motionless.

I also looked up.

The vast snow-covered plains were so clean and pure that it was almost unbelievable.

Having just experienced a hellish battle, looking at this desolate wasteland, I suddenly felt that the peaceful snowfield was so gentle.

Looking at the recovered supplies in Luo Peng's car, I felt a sense of peace for the first time.

Remembering how Luo Peng had fought like a madman at the abandoned research station, I was still worried and asked again:

"Are you really okay? Don't pretend you're okay. If you feel any pain or discomfort, please tell me."

Luo Peng slowly shook his head, remained silent for a few seconds, and then suddenly grinned, revealing the most relaxed smile he had shown in the past two days.

"I'm really fine, Brother Lin. I'm just too tired, completely exhausted, and want to rest for a while."

Seeing his weak and exhausted appearance, my heart ached.

These past two days, what's weighing on him isn't just the loss of supplies, but also a heavy psychological burden.

In that life-or-death battle just now, he relied on adrenaline to keep going and on his obsession with redemption to fight to the death.

Now that the crisis is over, my tense nerves have completely relaxed, and my body naturally can't take it anymore.

I nodded gently: "Then rest well, there's no rush, we have plenty of time."

Having just escaped death, the three of us were completely exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Moreover, having experienced this insidious plot and deadly ambush, we dare not relax our vigilance in the slightest.

After resting for a while, everyone regained some strength, and I got up to carefully check the supplies on the vehicle.

Fortunately, all our lost rations and equipment were recovered intact.

In addition, we also seized a batch of emergency supplies for the wilderness from the hijackers' vehicle, which was an unexpected replenishment in our desperate situation.

Su Wan squatted by the car with a small notebook in hand, meticulously calculating all the reserves.

A moment later, she looked up at Luo Peng and me and said, "The supplies have been checked, and the rations have been fully replenished, with a small surplus. At our normal pace and consumption, the supplies for the entire traverse of the no-man's-land should be enough to last until we reach our destination."

Hearing those words, the weight that had been hanging over me finally lifted.

Luo Peng leaned against the car door, gazing at the vast, boundless snowfield in the distance. He exhaled a long breath, and a genuine, relaxed smile finally appeared on his face.

If the supplies can't be found, if the research station is empty, if we lost the fight just now.

If we were to encounter any of these "ifs," our group would most likely be buried forever in this desolate wasteland.

I looked up and gazed at the boundless snow-covered wilderness in the distance, my heart filled with a mix of emotions.

The anxiety before departure, the loneliness of being cut off from contact, the despair of having supplies stolen, the madness of close combat...

Scenes flashed through my mind.

The more I review the events, the stronger my lingering fear becomes.

Even though the supplies have now been recovered, the dangers of this journey have far exceeded my expectations.

It had only been a few days when they were attacked by theft, assassination, and deadly robbery.

There were still twenty days of travel ahead, and no one knew how many unknown dangers lay hidden ahead.

What terrified me even more was the threat those two robbers made before they died—that they had accomplices!

Those lurking in the shadows of the wasteland may come after you at any time to seek revenge.

I dare not gamble, I dare not risk Luo Peng and Su Wan's lives to gamble with me.

After a long period of agonizing and weighing the options, I finally turned to look at the two of them and spoke solemnly:

"If I said I wanted to give up this trek through the no-man's-land, could you accept that?"

After I asked that question, they both fell silent and didn't say a word.

Neither of them spoke, and the vast snowfield was deathly silent.

I took a deep drag of my cigarette, my voice weary, and continued:

"At first, I thought that as long as you don't give up, there's no obstacle you can't overcome. Getting stuck in a blizzard, encountering a pack of wolves... no matter what difficulties I faced, I felt that I could grit my teeth and get through them."

"After that fierce battle, I'm really scared, I'm terrified from the bottom of my heart."

The two remained silent, not interrupting, but simply listening quietly to my innermost thoughts.

I looked up at the vast sky and continued in a low voice:

"I had only ever seen these life-or-death scenes on TV before, and I never imagined that I would experience them in person one day."

"You can think I'm cowardly or weak, and I'll accept that. But at this moment, I really have lost my confidence and I'm not sure if we can make it safely to the end."

"Perhaps from the very beginning, my stubborn insistence on crossing the no-man's-land was a mistake in itself."

"If we turn back now, we still have a way out, but once we continue to venture deeper into the heart of the territory, it will be too late to extricate ourselves."

After saying this, I shut my mouth and waited for their reply.

Silence fell again, with only the cold wind of the wasteland howling through the surroundings.

The wind and sand, carrying fine grains of sand, swept across the ground and passed through the empty canyon, making a howling sound, much like the wailing of ghosts and wolves.

There was a long silence, so long that I thought no one would respond.

Finally, Luo Peng, who had been lying on the snow, suddenly pushed himself up and sat up, saying:

"Brother Lin, I really understand you."

His voice was still hoarse, but exceptionally sincere: "When I was lying on the ground in a daze just now, I kept thinking about whether I should just quit..."

"But the more I think about it, the more resentful I feel. We've escaped death countless times, risking our lives several times. If we give up halfway, wouldn't all the suffering we've endured be for nothing?"