Yama Reborn

Chapter 637 634: Chen Xiaoguo's Soft Heart

Just two hundred meters away, Chen Nuo endured the piercing pain, and tried his best to hop. When he finally reached the corpse, he fell to the ground and then grabbed the AK47 with both hands.

With the gun in hand, the cold touch immediately made Chen Nuo feel relieved!

He quickly checked the magazine, then sat on the ground and scooted back to lean against a rock, pointing the muzzle in the direction of the mountain gully.

By this time, Chen Nuo was silent.

He was calculating in his heart. Previously, his bluff scared the Mother Clone, but now, he should have come to his senses, right?

He must have seen through his strategy and figured out that he was injured.

So... would he chase down again to finish him off?

At this moment, Chen Nuo hoped this guy would really come down. After all, with the gun in his hand, the power dynamics between the two have reversed.

Chen Nuo leaned against the cold rock, staring intently in the direction of the mountain gully, while also listening carefully.

After waiting for about twenty minutes, Chen Nuo's hope slowly faded.

That guy was cautious. It seemed he was not planning to come down.

Indeed!

Suddenly, a loud shout came from the direction of the mountain pass.

"Chen Nuo!"

"It was a mistake not to kill you just now!"

"You should have found the gun by now, right?"

"Even though I didn't kill you, the next time we meet, it may be the end for you!"

After shouting, the voice disappeared.

Chen Nuo squinted, but did not relax his vigilance, maintaining his original posture, and continued to wait patiently.

Finally, after another half an hour of no movement, Chen Nuo confirmed that the Mother Clone would not come.

This guy must have run away when he failed to kill him.

Chen Nuo actually breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Although he didn't kill the Mother Clone, being tied to this guy without a moment of rest was indeed very tiring.

When he relaxed his mind, the exhaustion and pain throughout his body surged up.

The pain in his left foot and back was getting stronger and stronger.

The left foot was manageable, but the back pain was so severe that he had to be cautious every time he breathed, and even a slight deep breath would cause referred pain from the back to the chest.

Based on his own experience, Chen Nuo made a preliminary judgment: he might have injured his ribs.

Unfortunately, at this time he was all alone, and even the supplies, food, and medicines he had collected earlier were not around, all left in the backpack at the hiding place behind the hill.

Now... those things are most likely to be taken by the Mother Clone.

Chen Nuo knew he couldn't go on like this. The temperature at night was too low. If he sat next to the rock until dawn, he would either die from the pain or freeze stiff.

He gritted his teeth and looked around, finally, his eyes fell on the stranded pickup truck by the distant mountain wall.

Maybe, he could find some useful things on the pickup?

After taking a few breaths, Chen Nuo struggled to stand up, then moved his body step by step towards the pickup.

·

Chen Nuo couldn't remember how long it took him to finally move to the side of the pickup truck.

But he felt his undergarments were soaked with sweat, his forehead and face full of sweat beads, and with the cold night wind blowing, he was well aware that if he didn't do something, he would either freeze to death or fall ill.

The driver's seat of the pickup still had a corpse.

The corpse slumped over the steering wheel, its body torn apart—the bullets from the mounted machine gun had almost ripped half of the driver's body apart!

Blood and flesh were splattered all over most of the cabin, everywhere.

Chen Nuo forced back his nausea, pulled open the driver's door, then dragged out the already mutilated driver's corpse.

He climbed up and searched the cabin carefully, found a blanket and immediately wrapped it around himself.

A military water bottle with half of its water left. Chen Nuo shook it twice and then unscrewed it to take a small sip.

Finally, in the glove compartment, he found a pistol, which was a bit of a gain.

Besides, there were only two packs of unknown jerky for food.

It should be beef jerky, Chen Nuo judged after taking a bite.

Finally, Chen Nuo cheered as he found a medical kit behind the seat.

Tearing it open, there were bandages, cotton, and disinfectants.

However, unfortunately, no anti-inflammatory drugs were found.

Chen Nuo sat down, took off his boots, and wrapped a bandage around his injured left ankle a few times, tightening it.

Though it still hurt a lot, securing it this way could at least make him feel a bit better and increase his mobility a bit.

Afterward, Chen Nuo found some tools in the pickup truck's cargo bed.

Especially a shovel, which Chen Nuo took out, could serve as a crutch.

Looking at the supplies in hand, Chen Nuo pondered for a moment, put the pistol in his waist, and slung the AK47 across his chest.

He stuffed the jerky into his chest.

Wrapped the blanket over himself.

Using the shovel as a crutch.

This would have to suffice.

Actually, Chen Nuo was most hopeful to find painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, but he didn't, making him somewhat worried.

After thinking it over, Chen Nuo found two empty water bottles in the car.

He simply siphoned some gasoline from the car's tank and filled the water bottles, then hung them on himself.

Having done all this, Chen Nuo carefully thought for a bit more to ensure there was nothing else he had overlooked.

Just as he was about to leave, suddenly...

A "click" sound came from under the car's chassis, resembling the rolling of a stone.

Chen Nuo immediately widened his eyes, quickly stepped back, and pointed his gun at the underside of the car, shouting, "Come out!!"

After shouting, two seconds later, Chen Nuo deliberately pulled the gun's bolt with force and shouted, "If you don't come out, I'll shoot!"

This time, there was a response from under the car.

A sharp voice, filled with fear and trembling, quickly shouted something.

Unfortunately, it wasn't in English, and Chen Nuo couldn't understand it.

This region is a multi-ethnic and multi-tribal area, and in many places, even within the same race, different tribes have different languages.

It's a complete mess.

Slowly, a hand reached out from under the car.

Chen Nuo immediately took another step back, pointing his gun at the person.

The hand was very small, the wrist very thin, and the arm very frail...

Gradually, a small body crawled out from under the car.

The small body was clearly a child, and it seemed to be wrapped in a piece of oilcloth.

The hair was a messy tangle, like a bird's nest.

After crawling out from under the car, the child raised both hands high and continued to shout something at Chen Nuo in a high-pitched voice.

Under the starlight and moonlight, Chen Nuo took a careful look and confirmed that this was a child who looked no more than ten years old.

Judging by the hair length, it should be a girl.

Very thin.

Face dark, chin sharp.

Looks somewhat malnourished.

But the pair of eyes on the face was large and bright!

·

Chen Nuo frowned, feeling a slight relief, then immediately moved forward, pointing the gun at her while using a free hand to grab the back of the child's neck and pull her over.

Amid the girl's screams, Chen Nuo quickly checked to see if she had any weapons on her.

It's not that Chen Nuo was overly cautious...

But this is a war zone! A war zone known as the [Empire Graveyard]!

Children in such places can't be judged by the standards of children in peaceful countries.

If you gave a gun to a child domestically, he probably wouldn't even know where the safety is.

But in this war zone, many of the children grew up amidst flames and gun smoke.

Do you believe a child under ten could skillfully handle an AK47!

Sure enough, Chen Nuo quickly found a small screwdriver in the girl's sleeve, tossed it to the ground, and kicked it away.

The girl looked at Chen Nuo with some fear and disappointment but carefully did not resist.

Finally, with a skilled gesture, she slowly squatted on the ground, holding her head with both hands.

"Can you speak English?"

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Chen Nuo tentatively asked the girl.

The girl widened her eyes at Chen Nuo and slowly shook her head.

Chen Nuo suddenly smiled, looking at the girl: "You can understand English, can't you?"

The girl still shook her head.

Chen Nuo chuckled: "If you don't understand, why are you shaking your head?"

The girl immediately showed a hint of panic in her eyes.

Chen Nuo already put away his gun, then with an iron shovel in hand, took two steps aside, and after some thought, took out a few pieces of his jerky and stuffed them into the girl's hand.

"Listen, I'm not a soldier from M Country, nor am I from here; I'm just passing through. So I won't hurt you."

After speaking, Chen Nuo circled around the pickup to check it, then returned to see the girl squatting and vigorously biting the jerky in her hand.

Seeing the girl's thin clothes, Chen Nuo thought for a moment, then leaned on the shovel and walked a bit further, taking a coat off a corpse.

He threw the coat, stained with blood and bullet holes, in front of the girl.

"If you don't mind the dirt, put it on. Better than freezing to death."

The girl looked up at Chen Nuo and without hesitation, put on the jacket, continuing to gnaw the jerky.

Chen Nuo handed a water bottle to the girl, then slowly said: "Alright, now you have clothes, water, and food, so... goodbye!"

If it were an adult, Chen Nuo wouldn't have given them food or water.

But this was a girl under ten. A child.

Chen Nuo couldn't be so hard-hearted.

More importantly...

Chen Nuo was a father, with a daughter at home.

So, seeing a child, his heart was softer than before.

After saying these words, Chen Nuo leaned on his shovel and was ready to leave.

He didn't take the highway but left it, heading towards the mountains.

After a few steps, Chen Nuo heard a noise behind him. Turning back, he saw the little girl wrapped in the bloody coat, stumbling behind him with her short legs.

Seeing Chen Nuo turn around, the girl immediately stopped, looking at him with some fear.

Chen Nuo frowned, "I've given you food and water, you don't need to follow me."

The girl said nothing.

Chen Nuo continued to walk again, limping a few dozen meters, before stopping and turning around again.

Behind him, the little girl was still trailing about ten steps back.

Chen Nuo felt a bit irritable, "I said, don't follow me."

Pointing towards the highway, Chen Nuo said, "If you want to be saved, you should head for the highway! Even if you don't meet your people, even encountering the M Army, they shouldn't trouble a little kid like you."

The girl still said nothing.

Chen Nuo and the little girl stared at each other for a few seconds, and Chen Nuo deliberately said harshly, "Do you think I won't harm you?"

He drew out a handgun and aimed it at the little girl.

The girl stared at Chen Nuo with her big eyes, clearly filled with fear and dread, but she didn't move.

After a few seconds, Chen Nuo sighed, lowered the gun.

"Don't follow me, I'm going into the mountains."

Turning to continue, suddenly a sharp voice came from behind.

"Wolves."

Chen Nuo's heart skipped a beat, "Hmm?"

He stopped again, turning to look at the little girl.

The girl looked at Chen Nuo, speaking with a very clumsy pronunciation but a serious tone, "Wolves."

She spoke in English.

Chen Nuo smiled, "So you do speak English... But even if there are wolves, it's fine, I have a gun."

The girl shook her head, "In the mountains, there are people. People in the mountains kill outsiders."

She timidly pointed at Chen Nuo, "You are an outsider."

Chen Nuo understood this time.

People in the mountains kill outsiders?

Are those numerous anti-government forces in the mountains?

Killing outsiders is easy to understand.

This is a war-torn region, having been at conflict for decades, and is filled with religious elements.

Killing infidels here is nothing new.

As for infidels... looking at his own face, skin, does one need to ask who is the infidel?

Chen Nuo thought to himself, "Then why are you following me? Do you hope I can take you home?"

The girl shook her head, "No home anymore."

Chen Nuo frowned, recalling seeing the scene of a helicopter chasing a pickup truck at night.

"Tonight, that car chased by a helicopter, everyone in the car died... were those people your family?"

The girl's English wasn't actually very good, she thought hard for a moment, barely understanding Chen Nuo's question.

She shook her head, "They are bad people."

Oh?

That surprised Chen Nuo a bit.

"They killed my dad, killed my mom, and Aid..."

Tears quickly filled the girl's big eyes.

"Who is Aid?"

"My brother."

Chen Nuo fell silent.

She's... from a slaughtered family?

"Then you?" Chen Nuo pointed at the little girl, "Why did they take you when they were running away, being chased?"

The girl showed a trace of fear in her eyes, "I... I'm useful to them."

Chen Nuo started speculating in his heart,

Could it be... she's a kidnapped hostage? Could she be the daughter of some tribal chief? Or...

It doesn't seem right, she said her parents and brother were all killed.

Looking at the little girl in front of him, Chen Nuo suddenly felt a softness in his heart.

This experience...

He had one just like it beside him, wasn't Firefly the same back then?

This tragic, deranged child... he was all too familiar with.

Having become a father, not the hard-hearted Yama he once was, Chen Nuo had a special softness for kids now.

He thought about it, sighed, "Alright, just follow me, I can find a safe place to leave you."

The girl looked at Chen Nuo, nodded, "Where are you going?"

"Looking for a small town or village... as long as there's a phone, I can contact the outside world, phone, you understand phone, right?"

The girl listened and nodded vigorously.

Chen Nuo said, "When I find a small town, I'll leave you there. I'll leave you with food and water."

The girl said nothing.

Chen Nuo assumed she agreed, then turned to continue walking, but the girl called out again: "Don't go this way."

"Hmm?" Chen Nuo turned his head.

"There are bad people in the mountains there. They have guns, they kill people."

The girl pointed directly ahead of Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo felt a flicker in his heart—after all, this little girl was a local, she was surely more familiar with the terrain.

"Then do you know where there's a town? We just need to find a village, as long as there's a phone."

The girl thought for a moment and then pointed in another direction.

Chen Nuo looked in the direction the girl pointed, away from both ends of the road, and also towards the mountainous area...

He nodded; "Okay, you lead the way. But we'd better find a safe place to rest first, we need to regain our strength."

`

For the resting place, Chen Nuo made a special choice.

He took the little girl back to the leeward spot in the mountain gully where he and the Mother Clone had hidden earlier that night.

As Chen Nuo had guessed, when he returned with his gun, the Mother Clone was already gone.

Not only was it gone, but it had also taken all the supplies Chen Nuo had gathered, every backpack.

Even though he had expected this, Chen Nuo couldn't resist cursing a couple of times.

The resting place was chosen here... Chen Nuo was thinking of the "under the lamp, it's darkest" logic.

The Mother Clone had run away from here, so it probably wouldn't come back.

And the M military... even if they sent ground troops to search by day, they might not find this part of the mountain.

Chen Nuo and the girl walked to the deepest part of the mountain gully, Chen Nuo observing the traces on the ground, then wrapped himself in a blanket and sat down.

After a busy night, the sky was already starting to brighten.

Chen Nuo made a fire and roasted some meat jerky over the flames.

The jerky, originally frozen and hard, became somewhat softer after roasting. Chen Nuo tore into it with a couple of bites and handed the remaining piece to the girl.

The two of them sat across the fire, biting into their pieces of jerky, and Chen Nuo took a couple of sips of water.

Having reached the limit of exhaustion, after a night's busyness, and being injured...

Chen Nuo felt that his energy was squeezed to the limit.

Sitting by the fire with its warmth, Chen Nuo couldn't help but feel a sense of dizziness, as everything before him started to sway.

He knew he really couldn't hold on any longer.

The little girl saw Chen Nuo yawn twice.

She thought for a moment, set down the jerky, came and sat in front of Chen Nuo, then extended her hands—her wrists bound together in a gesture.

"Hmm? Is this...?" Chen Nuo looked at the girl.

"Rope, tie me," the little girl said softly. "They catch me, when resting, tie me with rope."

Chen Nuo frowned, looking at this little girl, staring into her big, dark eyes.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of practiced empathy.

Chen Xiaoguo suddenly made a decision that even he felt was somewhat risky!

·

He took a deep breath, his face breaking into a slight smile, "What's your name? Name?"

The girl was startled for a moment and pointed to herself, "Sally."

Chen Nuo smiled, pointing to his nose, "Chen Nuo."

The girl listened, and after a brief pause, softly repeated the name twice to remember it.

"Now that we know each other's names.

You are Sally, and I am Chen Nuo.

Since we know each other's names, we are friends now."

Chen Nuo smiled wearily, reached out and ruffled the girl's messy hair, gently saying:

"Friends don't tie each other up with ropes, understand?"

·

There was a peculiar light in Sally's eyes, but Chen Nuo had already slowly laid down beside the fire, turning over and pointing to the high ground in the distance in the gully.

"Sally, do me a favor, wake me up when the sun reaches that mountain top.

If there's danger, wake me too."

Sally's gaze was very complex, her eyes wide with thoughts full of the word "friend" Chen Nuo had mentioned.

The light in her eyes became more vivid and she nodded vigorously.

"If there's danger, I'll wake you! When the sun reaches that mountaintop, I'll wake you! I will do it right!"

Chen Nuo smiled, reaching out to pat the girl's hair, then closed his eyelids.

He really couldn't hold on any longer, he was at his limit.

As if his body had truly reached a critical point, as soon as Chen Nuo closed his eyes, he fell into a deep sleep!