Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei's War Journey

"Today, dear Lu not only solved our water problem, but also attracted the pilot's attention with his aluminum plate! Let's toast to him!" Marcelo shouted, standing in the cabin and raising a small cap of wine in his hand.

"Lu! Lu! Lu!" People around him raised their glasses and shouted Lu Mingfei's name. Even the seriously injured people smiled.

Lu Mingfei blushed slightly, then he raised the cap of the deodorant bottle filled with alcohol in his hand, and like the people around him, tilted his head back and drank the whiskey inside in one gulp.

"Cough! Cough cough!"

Spicy! An extremely spicy sensation exploded in his mouth and throat instantly, a taste completely different from the slightly sweet and astringent wines he had drunk before.

A scorching flame traveled down his esophagus to his stomach, followed by a peculiar spice aroma that inexplicably reminded him of the cinnamon and star anise his aunt always threw in when making braised pork or other stews.

For Lu Mingfei, who had only tasted wines with an alcohol content of around 10-20%, 60-proof whiskey was like a game-changer. He immediately felt a surge of heat rush from his stomach to his limbs, and his icy body quickly warmed up.

But at the same time, his head began to feel dizzy, and the scenery in front of him seemed to be slightly blurred.

"Lu." Marcelo walked to Lu Mingfei's side, gently patted his shoulder, and said sincerely.

"We don't know exactly when the rescue will arrive, but at least today has given us hope. Once we get out of here and safely return to Montevideo, I'll definitely treat you to the best Uruguayan barbecue feast, so you can taste the most authentic South American flavors!"

"Yes! Me too!"

"Count me in! I'll take you all over Uruguay! Let's see our beautiful beaches!"

Several other young rugby players, such as Perez and Canessa, also gathered around, laughing and saying things.

They have the confidence to do so because, in this day and age, most of the young Uruguayans who can afford to travel abroad by chartered plane come from middle-class families. They are not extremely wealthy, but they are certainly not poor either.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that they can leave this place alive.

Listening to these enthusiastic words, Lu Mingfei felt a sense of being needed and welcomed by everyone, which he had never experienced before. He was so happy that he couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

This feeling of being recognized and praised was like the sweetest poison to him, a boy who was used to being ignored and called a loser. He was intoxicated by it.

He was dazed as he took the small piece of chocolate wrapped in tin foil that Marcelo had given him as an extra treat, along with a lid filled with peach jam. This was his special dinner for the evening, and the portion was noticeably larger than everyone else's.

He then returned to Nono's side with somewhat unsteady steps.

Since Nono had already woken up, she also received food: a piece of nougat and some applesauce. There was no alcohol, but she was given half a bottle of water.

"Nono, look! Marcelo gave me some extra jam, I'll share some with you." At this moment, Lu Mingfei's cheeks were flushed, and he was unusually excited, with a slightly dazed look in his eyes.

"You're drunk," Nuonuo said, frowning as she smelled the alcohol on Lu Mingfei.

"I'm not drunk... I'm perfectly sober..." Lu Mingfei retorted subconsciously, but his tongue was already somewhat out of control, and his pronunciation was obviously slurred.

"Sigh..." Nono sighed. Every drunkard would say he wasn't drunk after getting drunk.

"You should eat by yourself. You need food more than I do right now, and don't get too excited. Rescue might not come," Nono continued.

Seeing Lu Mingfei's happy expression, she felt a little reluctant to dampen his spirits, but they ultimately had to face reality; false fantasies would kill them in this godforsaken place.

"Oh..." Lu Mingfei's high spirits quickly and visibly dropped. He knew very well that rescue might not come, but the feeling of hope was just too good, and he couldn't help but succumb to it.

He looked at the small piece of chocolate and the sweet jam in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally carefully wrapped the chocolate back in foil and put it in his pants pocket.

This is a valuable energy reserve; it should be saved for more critical times.

He then began to lick the jam from the lid in small sips. He could only eat this much food all day, and he couldn't bear to finish it all at once.

As Nono watched him lick the jam with such focused yet pitiful expression, she inexplicably thought of a stray cat cautiously drinking water by the roadside, and found it rather... cute?

But the smile that quickly faded from his face and his dejected mood made him look like a wounded young animal licking its wounds alone, which made people feel sorry for him.

Night fell again, and the cold enveloped the cabin once more. Although Lu Mingfei was somewhat drunk, he had not lost his senses.

Now that Nuonuo is awake, he can no longer take it for granted that he can hold her tightly in his arms to keep her warm, just like he did when she was unconscious.

He even subconsciously increased the distance between himself and Nuonuo.

However, with both seat covers covering Nono, and now that he had lost Nono's body heat, he felt extremely cold. Unconsciously, his buttocks began to move closer to Nono's position.

Although Nono was covered by two chair covers, she was still seriously injured and her body could not generate enough heat. She was also shivering from the cold, and her lips were even turning purple.

"Want to keep warm together...?" Looking at Nuonuo's expression, Lu Mingfei said hesitantly.

"Hmm..." After hesitating for a moment, Nono nodded gently. At the critical moment of life and death, it was not a good time to force herself to stay strong.

Lu Mingfei held Nuonuo in his arms as usual, but this time it was a little different from usual. Nuonuo, who had been in a coma, was like a giant pillow to him.

Now, the girl in his arms is awake. He can clearly feel the soft curves of her body, and even through the moonlight outside, he can see her slightly flushed cheeks and gently trembling eyelashes so close to his face.

He could feel his heart pounding wildly.

"Hey, if you're going to warm up, fine, but I'm warning you, don't touch me like that!" Nuonuo said, blushing. She could clearly feel Lu Mingfei's heart pounding as she leaned against his chest.

"I...I didn't!" Lu Mingfei stammered, his body stiff and unable to move.

Perhaps it was the full effect of the alcohol, because before long, Nono felt the wildly beating heart next to her ear begin to calm down.

He... fell asleep.

Hearing the steady breathing beside her and feeling the warmth of another person through her clothes, Nono was momentarily stunned.

This was the first time in her memory that she had been so intimately connected with a man, sharing each other's body temperature and the breath of life at such close range.

But soon, she noticed that Lu Mingfei's body began to tremble slightly again. After the illusory warmth brought by the alcohol completely dissipated, the coldness of the high-altitude night invaded his thin body even more recklessly.

"Mom...I'm so scared...I want to go home...It's so cold here..." Lu Mingfei murmured unconsciously in his sleep, his voice filled with deep fear.

At the same time, his arms tightened around Nuonuo unconsciously, as if he had grabbed the only piece of driftwood in the cold ocean. Nuonuo even felt two warm drops of liquid fall onto her neck and cheek.

They are tears.

He cried.

Nono felt as if something had gently pierced her heart. She was stunned for a moment, and then did something that even she herself found somewhat unexpected.

She endured the sharp pain from the wounds in her back and abdomen, and with great slowness and effort, adjusted the position of their embrace.

She broke free from Lu Mingfei's embrace and, in turn, gently pulled the boy who was crying and trembling in his sleep into her own arms. She let Lu Mingfei's head rest on her chest and then put her arms around his slightly thin shoulders.

"Hiss~" After completing this action, she gasped in pain, her forehead instantly covered with fine cold sweat. She felt as if warm liquid was seeping out of her wound again, but she gritted her teeth and did not let go of Lu Mingfei.

She dampened the cloth with the water she had just drunk and then gently wiped the dust off Lu Mingfei's face.

After the dust was wiped off Lu Mingfei's face, a delicate face with a childlike innocence was revealed. However, the face looked somewhat haggard, and his brows were furrowed even in his sleep.

"He's still just a kid..." This was the first time Nono had looked closely at Lu Mingfei's face, and she couldn't help but sigh.

"Thank you for your hard work these past few days," Nono said softly. It was this boy who had snatched her back from the clutches of death.

She gently patted Lu Mingfei's shoulder and hummed a lullaby. Soon, Lu Mingfei's body stopped trembling, and he fell into a deep sleep in Nuonuo's arms.

Many people around them were not sleeping as usual. They were discussing the rescue efforts and were so excited that they couldn't sleep, thinking that helicopters would come to pick them up the next morning.

Nono didn't say anything; she knew it would be difficult for her to persuade those who were already immersed in their own fantasies.

She simply hugged the boy in her arms even tighter, who was finally able to sleep peacefully, using her own body to shield him from some of the cold of the long, cold night.