novelraw Chapter 213 : Embracing Kiss
Chapter 213 : Embracing Kiss
The mountain settlement was incomparable to a city.
Here, there were no orderly streets, no neatly arranged houses.
The only law followed here was the jungle rule of survival of the fittest.
Shen Han followed the middle-aged man Dylan, winding through a crooked path to the rear of the Yin Country team's former camp.
She didn't join the other two battle zones where gunfire echoed.
Based on her understanding of Takeda Tatsuya, what that old fox excelled at in critical situations was using others to create conditions for his own escape.
She had Dylan lead her directly to assault the Yin Country team's territory.
She believed that if the old fox wanted to run, he would certainly choose the track he knew best.
Indeed, this proved to be the case.
By the time Shen Han and Dylan arrived at the Yin Country team's original camp area, Takeda Tatsuya was already being carried on his disciple's back, fleeing into the woods behind the camp.
"Stone Elephant, put me down. Leave on your own. Carrying me as dead weight, we'll be tracked down quickly."
Takeda Tatsuya's voice came from behind, the sorrow it contained instantly reddening Stone Elephant's eyes.
He exerted his full speed, like a maddened brown bear racing through the forest.
"Teacher, I won't abandon you!"
"Before meeting you, I was bullied everywhere for my stupidity. You gave me new life. Even if I die, I must die in front!"
Hearing his disciple's words, Takeda Tatsuya stopped trying to persuade him, only sighing softly.
Stone Elephant's breathing grew increasingly labored, his mouth filled with the taste of blood, his chest feeling as if it might burst.
His legs were covered in blood from thorns and weeds, but he hadn't paused for a single step.
"Teacher, I won't let you lose!"
After running for a while longer, gunshots suddenly came from behind.
Takeda Tatsuya's body jerked violently, letting out a painful groan.
Simultaneously, gunfire came from the side.
Due to the distance, the spraying bullets didn't hit Stone Elephant, merely kicking up dust and wind beside him.
With attacks from behind and the side, Stone Elephant had no choice but to change his route.
His original direction had been towards the depths of the forest, but now he was forced to curve, fleeing towards where the trees were thinning.
Those pursuing them like hunters were naturally Shen Han and Dylan.
The bullet that had hit Takeda Tatsuya earlier was fired by Shen Han.
She had adjusted the assault rifle to single-shot mode, aiming for the enemy's back, but due to her own poor condition, she had only struck Takeda Tatsuya's calf.
Dylan's physical condition was extremely strong, but his marksmanship was somewhat lacking.
He worked with Shen Han to drive their prey, herding the cornered beasts in the forest towards another inescapable cage.
When Stone Elephant, carrying Takeda Tatsuya, fled to a grassy plateau bordering a cliff,
He belatedly realized that due to his lack of quick wit, he had been outmaneuvered by the enemy.
This plateau was about the size of a football field.
Three sides were cliffs, with only one path in and out along the forest edge.
And at this moment, that sole passage was already occupied on both sides by Shen Han and Dylan.
"Bastards! You should all die!"
Stone Elephant's angry roar spread across the cliff area.
He drew a handgun from his belt, but just as he prepared to fight desperately, a bullet flew in, striking his hand bone.
Intense pain and recoil hit simultaneously, causing Stone Elephant to drop his gun and fly backwards.
Fearing he might crush his teacher, he released the person on his back midway through his fall.
After landing, his back left an exaggerated mark on the grass.
Ignoring his nearly broken hand, Stone Elephant tried to struggle towards his teacher before his body stabilized.
But before he could turn over, he was already restrained by the pursuing Dylan.
Shen Han walked up to Takeda Tatsuya with her gun, looking down at him, then sent a bullet into the enemy's shoulder blade.
"This bullet is what you owe Empress!"
Takeda Tatsuya had just realized his pursuer was Shen Han, and before he could be astonished, he cried out in agony from the pain in his shoulder.
He tried to use his mental control ability on her, but the pain from his shoulder and leg prevented him from concentrating.
Under the shadow of death, Takeda Tatsuya no longer cared about maintaining his calm and composed image.
He struggled not to faint, pleading, "Don't kill me, I... I can serve the Federation Empress, help her—"
Before he could finish, Shen Han had already sent another bullet into his abdomen.
The Alpha's voice was filled with coldness, but her eyes were completely red.
"This bullet is what you owe to the millions of Federation citizens harmed because of you!"
"It's what you owe to those soldiers who sacrificed themselves in action!"
The gunshots at the cliff edge attracted all the nearby Federation teams.
Dense and urgent rushing sounds came from the forest behind.
The sound of dry branches breaking underfoot was particularly clear in the long-uninhabited jungle.
In the sky above, squadrons of armed helicopters hovered.
The enormous roar was enough to make one's eardrums ache, but Shen Han felt only exhilaration.
Takeda Tatsuya, shot multiple times, lay motionless on the ground.
It was unclear whether he had fainted or died.
Dylan, who had just hog-tied Stone Elephant with rope, saw this grand scene and was somewhat dumbfounded.
He turned his gaze towards Shen Han nearby, both surprised and secretly delighted, unable to say a word for quite a while.
Shen Han looked up at the armed helicopter group hovering at low altitude overhead, her eyes shimmering with incomparably gentle moisture.
She saw the person she had been longing for day and night being slowly lowered to the ground by a cable.
Gu Junwan, dressed in a white military uniform, wore a safety harness around her waist and legs, and noise-canceling headphones on her head.
While still midair, her gaze had already fixed on Shen Han.
During those days of waiting at the hotel, Gu Junwan had truly experienced what it meant for each day to feel like a year.
When she heard the message "Captain Shen's traces found, she's pursuing the enemy leader" over the communication channel earlier, she felt as if she too had come back to life at that moment.
After Empress, Xu Zhao and Jiang Xinyue also slowly descended, tied to safety ropes.
Guards like Ning Xi and Ma Haoyu controlled their safety spring hooks, descending rapidly.
"Captain Shen! I'm so glad you're alright!"
"Boss! I brought the best medicines and nutrients, wait a moment, you can use them right away!"
The enthusiastic calls from her teammates were met only with a slight wave of their captain's hand.
Shen Han stepped forward to the spot where Gu Junwan was landing, extending her arms to catch her unsteady wife in her embrace.
The long-missed scent of cold plum entered her nostrils, making her heart race wildly.
All the fatigue of the past days seemed to vanish at this moment.
She unfastened the safety buckles on her wife's body, removed her headphones, intending to lean in and say some comforting words, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her throat choked up.
More and more Federation soldiers quickly gathered around, and Shen Han felt it inappropriate to continue holding the Empress in front of everyone.
Just as she was about to reluctantly create some distance between them, a pair of slender arms tightly embraced her waist.
Gu Junwan buried herself in her Alpha's embrace, feeling the most familiar temperature and heartbeat, tears falling ceaselessly.
The long-suppressed emotions were released at this moment, and those soft sobs nearly broke Shen Han's heart.
At this point, Shen Han no longer cared how those around them might feel.
She hugged Gu Junwan's slender back, gently stroking while speaking: "It's alright now, I promise I'll never worry you again."
Gu Junwan hadn't spoken a word, she just clung to her beloved's embrace, crying incessantly.
It felt as if she feared that if she relaxed even slightly, the other would disappear.
Sensing her wife's heartbreak and lingering fear, Shen Han gently cupped the back of her neck, tilted her head, and kissed her red lips.
The Omega's lips were extraordinarily soft, touching them felt like kissing two fragrant clouds.
The usually sweet lips now tasted salty - the flavor of tears.
Shen Han had originally intended only to comfort her with a light kiss.
But now, tasting her sorrow, she was even more reluctant to part.
Her kiss was extremely gentle, guiding Gu Junwan to unconsciously part her teeth.
The rich, fragrant scent of cold plum blossomed on her tongue, making Shen Han feel as if every drop of her hot blood was boiling for it.
She tightened her arms slightly to press the other closer against herself.
Her kisses became increasingly restrained, as she didn't want others to see too much of her wife's tender side.
Xu Zhao and Jiang Xinyue, who had just steadied themselves and removed their safety equipment, stood rooted to the spot.
Ning Xi, Ma Haoyu, and the other guard team members were likewise stunned.
These bodyguards who followed the Empress daily either knew or guessed at the relationship between the two. Now, hit by such concrete evidence, many nearly cried out on the spot.
At this critical moment, Xu Zhao reacted fastest.
She ran a few steps to Ning Xi and the others, urgently saying: "Why are you all standing there dazed? Quickly clear the area!"
Then she pressed the talk button on her intercom, issuing orders in fluent international common language: "Would the leaders of each assault team please direct that soldiers who haven't come down yet don't need to descend!"
"Helicopters, please land in the settlement area. We'll regroup there later."
As the Empress's Special Assistant, guiding public opinion was also one of her important responsibilities.
She wouldn't allow a large group of onlookers to crowd around her Empress and watch the show!
In an instant, the tense scene brought about by the battle suddenly changed its tone.
The guard team members drove away the ground troops.
While chasing people away, they didn't forget to call out: "Don't talk carelessly when you go back! Everything that happened here is a military secret!"
The soldiers descending along the cables, upon receiving their captains' temporary orders, immediately began to climb back up the ropes.
Their bodies zipped upwards, but the corners of their eyes couldn't help but frequently glance downward.
On the cliff-top plateau covered in green grass, two slender figures were tightly embracing.
Gentle sunlight poured down from the sky, as if casting a bright spotlight on the two, serene and beautiful.