novelraw Chapter 211 : Dream
Chapter 211 : Dream
At the Yin Country action team's backup camp in the foreign jungle, Takeda Tatsuya had just ended his call when a soldier reported that the prisoner had killed two guards and disappeared.
His vision suddenly darkened, and he collapsed back into the chair he had just left.
The trump card he had worked so hard to obtain had slipped away right at their "doorstep"!
If he had known things would turn out this way, why had he bothered with all this trouble for the past few days?
If he had simply killed her when they first met, he might already be resting comfortably in his Yin Country estate by now.
A sense of helplessness, as if even heaven was working against him, swept over his entire body.
Takeda Tatsuya sat dejectedly in the chair, unable to issue orders for a long while.
...
Shen Han was buffeted by the roaring waterfall, nearly exhausting all her strength before grabbing some water plants at a bend and dragging herself to the shore.
She lay on the soft, wet mud, her feet still submerged in the water, swaying with the current.
At this moment, she didn't even have the energy to pull in her legs, only managing to keep her nose and mouth from being buried in the wet mud.
Just then, the sound of splashing water arose nearby.
The next instant, Shen Han felt her body lighten as someone pulled her from the water's edge and transferred her to a broad back.
The overwhelming fatigue prevented her from opening her eyes to see who had found her.
Only when she heard the somewhat familiar Ksenrode language buzzing in her ear did she relax slightly, sinking into a deep sleep.
The ones who had hurriedly come to retrieve her were the two blue-eyed foreigners Shen Han had noticed when she first arrived at the camp.
They had also jumped from the cliff, and now both were soaking wet.
The younger man pressed his palm against his ear, clearing out water from his ear canal.
He asked his companion in a low voice, "Uncle, don't you always tell me not to meddle in others' affairs? Why did we come to save her?"
The middle-aged man's voice was as steady as his footsteps: "This isn't meddling, this is righting a wrong."
"Don't you hate those Yin Country people? So do I, which is why we must save this person."
In truth, the middle-aged man had other plans in mind.
He simply hadn't told his nephew in detail.
He wanted to see if this mysterious Alpha had enough power to resolve the predicament he and his nephew were in.
Everyone has their own pressures and cages; in the adult world, there's rarely such a thing as selfless chivalry.
The uncle and nephew quietly carried Shen Han back to their settlement, hiding her in their dwelling.
The Yin Country soldiers were still searching along the riverbank. No matter how clever their Commander Takeda was, he could never have imagined that the person they were desperately seeking was right under their noses.
...
At the border hotel in the Jiying Empire, Gu Junwan set out with her team after ending the call.
Having received definite news of Shen Han, how could she remain in place waiting?
With the full support of the Jiying Empire's governor, she was able to take a military aircraft along the border and cut into the Tengyun Mountains.
If not for fear of alerting the enemy, the combat team led by the Lady could have reached their destination that very night.
But Gu Junwan knew well Takeda Tatsuya's caution and cunning, so she suppressed the urge to launch a night raid on the camp, silently waiting for the agreed "rendezvous" time the next day.
At this point, she was still unaware that Shen Han had escaped from enemy hands.
She sat upright in a simple wooden cabin, holding the pen her beloved had personally crafted, constantly rehearsing tomorrow's battle plan in her mind.
Xu Zhao entered with a food tray, stepping lightly to her lady's side.
"Your Majesty, you didn't eat anything in the evening. It's late now, please have some liquid food and then get some sleep."
Hearing her assistant's voice, Gu Junwan finally paused her ceaseless thoughts.
She turned to look at the light porridge and side dishes on the table, then said, "I can't eat."
Xu Zhao, observing her lady's golden eyes dimmed with fatigue, pondered briefly before playing her trump card.
"Your Majesty, we'll be able to bring Shen Han home early tomorrow morning. If you're too exhausted, what if you faint? How would that do?"
"Also, you've lost so much weight these past few days, your cheeks have even become slightly hollow. Imagine how heartbroken Shen Han will be when she sees you."
These two simple sentences struck right at Gu Junwan's concerns.
She raised her hand to touch her cheek, asking, "Really? Does my complexion look that bad?"
Xu Zhao nodded repeatedly: "That's why, Your Majesty, you need to eat well from now on."
Gu Junwan knew full well that her assistant was "manipulating" her.
But she was willing to go along with it, reaching out to take the porridge and beginning to eat in small spoonfuls.
There might still be a hard battle to fight tomorrow, and Gu Junwan couldn't allow herself to falter at this point.
She understood better than anyone the principle of "maintaining composure in the face of great events."
She planned to eat her meal and then sleep quickly, gathering her strength to better rescue her beloved.
'These past few days must have been very difficult for her.'
'I hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow.'
At the same moment, the person Gu Junwan was thinking of was trapped in a strange dream.
After nearly seven days of constant movement and mental battles, Shen Han was utterly exhausted in body and mind.
She had remained unconscious since being carried back to the camp by the Ksenrode uncle and nephew.
In her dream, Shen Han returned to the blue water planet before her transmigration.
She was no longer a warrior accompanied by danger, but an ordinary office worker.
She took the 6:30 PM rush hour subway, traversing half the city before returning to her residential complex.
Night market vendors were gradually setting up their stalls, and the residential area under the night sky exuded a completely different atmosphere of daily life than during the day.
Passing by a fruit vendor's stall, Shen Han bought a watermelon.
Oddly, when giving her change, the stall owner also handed her a small bottle of secret sauce, telling her to take it home for cooking wonton.
Upon entering the house, Gu Qianqiu came to greet her first.
This beautiful woman with golden eyes took the plastic bag from her hand, urging her to quickly wash up and prepare for dinner.
Shen Han searched her memory for a good while before remembering that this gentle woman was her mother-in-law.
She quickly straightened her back and said with spirit, "Mom, I'm not tired. Give me the watermelon, I'll put it in the fridge to chill for a bit. It'll be good to eat when we cool off later tonight."
At this moment, Tang Yucai, wearing an apron around her waist, came out of the kitchen.
She was carrying a steaming bowl of soup and smiled at Shen Han, saying, "Wait a little longer. Yuwei was kept after school today and hasn't come home yet, but she should be here soon."
She then sighed, "I don't know who that child learned from, actually getting into a fight with a group of older boys at school. It's infuriating."
"Little Shen, you need to have a good talk with her later. She doesn't listen to us anymore, but she might still listen to you."
Shen Han nodded in agreement, but for a moment couldn't recall who Yuwei was or what relationship she had with her.
She found her room and changed into a set of home clothes.
Half the wardrobe was noticeably empty, and a 40-inch picture frame hung on the white wall by the bed, its photo obscured by a piece of frosted paper, making the image unclear.
Standing by the bed, looking at the empty bedroom, Shen Han felt as if she had forgotten something very important.
After thinking for a long time without result, she kicked off her slippers, preparing to step onto the bed to look at the blurry photo.
"Little Shen, come out for dinner!"
Tang Yucai's voice came from outside the door, accompanied by the sound of a young girl talking back in a temper.
Shen Han withdrew her hand that had just touched the edge of the frosted paper, put on her shoes, and went to the dining room.
Five stools were arranged around the table, and after everyone was seated, one remained empty.
Tang Yucai ladled a bowl of pork rib soup for Shen Han: "Your work is so tiring, you need to eat more."
Across the table, Gu Qianqiu was quietly scolding a young girl beside her.
The girl's face still bore marks from fighting, and she didn't dare talk back, only lowering her head to shovel rice into her mouth.
Shen Han held the bowl of soup at just the right temperature, slowly raising her eyes to scan her surroundings.
She looked at the empty seat beside her, then at the family eating together at the table, and suddenly tears began to fall.
She didn't know what was wrong with herself, but her heart felt inexplicably sorrowful.
It was as if a piece of her heart had been carved out, leaving it hollow, and all the loneliness in the world seemed to pour down on her at this moment.
After a long while, she finally remembered that the empty seat beside her was for Gu Junwan!
Fragmented memories flowed back like a reversing river, countless pieces of information rushing in.
Shen Han finally understood where that sense of disconnection she had always felt came from.
Without Gu Junwan, even the liveliest place was an endless desolation.
Gu Qianqiu left her seat and walked to Shen Han's side.
She gently stroked the top of Shen Han's head, saying softly, "Are you too tired from work? Rest for a bit first."
Shen Han raised her face.
Looking at this face so familiar yet different from her memory, tears wouldn't stop flowing.
"Mom, I need to go back."
As the words fell, the dream world instantly collapsed.
Shen Han awoke from her sleep with a cold sweat, breathing rapidly.
After her consciousness returned to her body, she realized she was lying in a strange, dim room.
Her clothes were soaked with sweat, feeling as if she had just been pulled from the water.
In fact, more than ten hours had passed since she was carried away from the riverbank.
"Thank heavens, you're finally awake!"
"We don't have much medical equipment here. If you had remained unconscious any longer, even God couldn't have saved you."
The words she heard were in Ksenrode. Shen Han lay flat for a moment to recover before replying in the same language: "Thank you for saving me. Can you tell me about the current situation?"
Her voice was very hoarse from long dehydration, but her words made the man in the corner exclaim softly.
"Hm? Uncle told me you could understand our language, but I didn't quite believe it before."
"Aren't you curious about who we are?"
"And! You were almost dead just now, why are you so calm after waking up?"
Hearing the multiple questions thrown at her, Shen Han didn't know how to answer.
Fortunately, at this moment, another voice of a middle-aged man came from outside the door, interrupting his nephew's unnecessary inquiries.
"The Yin Country team searched for half a day without finding you, so they gave up."
"They counted their belongings at night and took down quite a few tents. If nothing unexpected happens, they should be preparing to leave this place."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man had already walked into the room.
He was carrying an oil lamp and asked calmly: "Is there anything you urgently need right now?"
Shen Han's answer came quickly: "Food, water, and an assault rifle."