The island wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. They could cross it in less than ten minutes. Not only was Zhang Xiaoqiang confused, but Lu Xiaobu was even more depressed. He had hope, but that hope had turned into despair. This extreme contrast made him feel terrible. If he had known, he would have brought three people to explore first to avoid making such a big mistake.
Lu Xiaobu wasn't Zhang Xiaoqiang. He didn't know that Zhang Xiaoqiang didn't blame him. It had been proven that someone had lived on the island before. The fact that they didn't find anything only meant that they hadn't found the entry point. Lu Xiaobu had already completed his search, so Zhang Xiaoqiang naturally had no reason to blame him.
Lu Xiaobu was greedy, stingy, heroic, and benevolent. These contradictory personalities strangely merged into one in him, forming the unique Lu Xiaobu. That was why he displayed a utilitarian heart that far exceeded others. He wanted to improve, but he was too impatient. Once things didn't go his way, he would walk into a dead end, just like now.
Huang Quan saw Lu Xiaobu's troubled look. Lu Xiaobu had protected him several times, and he was very grateful.
"Captain Lu … what are you thinking about?
Say it and let's think about it together? "
Lu Xiaobu looked up and saw Huang Quan standing beside him. He smiled bitterly and said, "Yesterday, I reported to Zhang Xiaoqiang that there were survivors, and now I can't find them no matter how hard I try. I've failed in my duty, and today, I've caused my brothers to be in danger. As a team leader, I don't have the face to continue."
Huang Quan didn't think much of it. What was this?
Even in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang failed to find anything. Lu Xiaobu's worries were purely self-inflicted.
"Captain Lu, not everyone has a smooth journey. Don't worry. If we can't find them now, it doesn't mean we won't be able to find them in the future. The rabbit hides in its hole. As long as we find the grass next to its nest, the rabbit naturally won't be able to escape."
Lu Xiaobu nodded his head gloomily. He did not take Huang Quan's words to heart. He was a headstrong and prideful person to begin with. The world was big, but pride was the most important. Without it, he would not have the face to show off in front of others. If he could not show off, then his life would be really gloomy.
Huang Quan saw that Lu Xiaobu was still in low spirits, so he could not be bothered to say anything. Chen Ye was still waiting for him to prove it. His own butt was not clean, so how could he help others?
Forget it.
A burly team member slowly walked to Huang Quan's side and stood still. This team member's legs weren't very good, and he always walked with a slight limp. His face was swollen with a large red patch that covered half of his face. He could only squint his eyes to see.
This team member was the one that Yomi had saved and knocked out with a kick. In other words, the two of them could be considered enemies.
The team member stood in front of Huang Quan and looked at him with a burning gaze. There was a trace of anger, a trace of confusion, and a hint of struggle in his eyes. The team member quickly took a few deep breaths, as though he was calming down and restraining something at the same time. He repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.
Huang Quan held his rifle and squinted at the team member, waiting for his reaction. Huang Quan was really not afraid of fighting. Although he was not the champion of mixed martial arts or anything like that, his years of mixed martial arts lessons were not for nothing. His unarmed combat skills were considered above average in class.
The absent-minded Lu Xiaobu looked up and saw the team member standing in front of Huang Quan with a complicated expression. It looked like he was about to make a move. Lu Xiaobu glared and opened his mouth to curse, but before he could say anything, he was stopped by Huang Quan. This was a grudge between Huang Quan and that person. Huang Quan wanted to settle it himself.
After some thought and struggle, the person made a decision. He threw the things in his hands to Huang Quan, said a few words, and turned to leave.
"I owe you once … and I will return it to you …"
The team member's words were still echoing in his mind. Huang Quan looked at the two emblems in his hands with mixed feelings. When he lost them, he was in pain, but when he regained them, he was not happy. The light emblems weighed heavily on his heart.
He remembered every single word that Chen Ye had said to him. Chen Ye wouldn't look at him twice just because he was a second lieutenant, nor would he look down on him just because he was a normal member. These two badges that represented status and benefits made him feel like he was being ridiculed. He felt that he hadn't done enough. He was far from being able to move Chen Ye's heart.
"Sigh!"
Huang Quan sighed and waved his right hand. The two light second lieutenant emblems flew into the reeds in the distance. Huang Quan looked at the two emblems being covered up, and his gaze became determined again. Second Lieutenant Huang Quan was dead, but Soldier Huang Quan was still alive. A soldier could not be a soldier forever.
Lu Xiaobu did not understand Huang Quan's true thoughts from the start. Seeing Huang Quan throw away his emblems, he felt it was a pity. He was still a second rank officer, and if he wanted to be promoted to second lieutenant, he still had to cross the threshold of a third rank officer. Zhang Xiaoqiang did not officially strip Huang Quan of his military rank. By doing this, Huang Quan had completely given up everything he had.
"Say, where do you think the survivors are hiding?"
The atmosphere was a little gloomy. Zhang Xiaoqiang was deep in thought by the lakeside, the team members were wandering around, and Lu Xiaobu was trying to find something to talk about with Huang Quan.
"I don't think they've gone far. Either they're hiding on a small island nearby, occasionally coming here to harvest food, or they're hiding on this island, just that we haven't found them yet. Those chopped shrubs are the evidence, and there's no debris around the vegetable fields. They've probably been burned for fuel."
Hearing this, Lu Xiaobu's eyes lit up. If they could find the survivors, it would be his merit, but if they couldn't, it would be his fault. Everyone knew how to choose between merit and fault.
"This place is only the size of a fart. Where do you think they're hiding?" Lu Xiaobu asked Huang Quan eagerly.
Huang Quan had no idea. He thought back to the topography of the island. This was an island in the middle of a lake, and the surface was very shallow. It was impossible for them to be underground. No one was willing to sleep in puddles, not even in summer. The other two ends of the island were not like that either. The island was very humid, and sleeping for a few nights was not a problem, but over time, it was easy to develop skin diseases, and men might even have their crotches rotting.
Then there was only one place, the small hill right under their noses …
"Found it …" Lu Xiaobu shouted excitedly. At the foot of the hill behind him, a bunch of thorny plants had been pushed aside, and a hole large enough for a person to walk in and out was exposed. The ground at the hole was very sturdy, not as soft as the other places. It was obvious that it had been stepped on by the people who came in and out frequently.
Zhang Xiaoqiang walked to the hole and shone his flashlight into it. He confirmed that this was the hiding place of the survivors. Under the flashlight, the rock walls of the hole were smooth from the friction of the people walking in and out. There were even some wild vegetables scattered on the ground.
To enter or not to enter, that was the question, and this question gave Zhang Xiaoqiang a headache. They knew nothing about the situation inside, and they had no idea what the people inside were thinking about them. From the fact that no one had interacted with them since they arrived on the island, it was clear that the people inside did not have a good impression of Zhang Xiaoqiang.
If they entered recklessly and the people inside turned into biting rabbits, then there might be casualties on Zhang Xiaoqiang's side. Meaningless casualties were stupid, and Zhang Xiaoqiang was not that stupid. But how were they going to get the people inside to come out?
That was also a headache.
"Zhang Xiaoqiang, we'll use smoke to smoke them out. It's like smoke a field mouse; it's very easy."
Lu Xiaobu thought back to the roasted field mouse that day, and he naturally knew how to catch field mice.