The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

At this moment, Gao Yanzhou and Yan Shijun had already gotten out of the car. Yan Shijun was the first to walk to the saxaul tree and carefully examined it.

Half of the branches and leaves of this saxaul tree had been cut off with a sharp tool, clearly a mark they had made beforehand.

"It's right down here; we need to dig through the sand."

Gao Yanzhou responded, picked up the entrenching tool from the vehicle, and prepared to start.

"Wait!" Yan Shijun grabbed his hand reluctantly. "Old Gao, the helicopter will be here to pick us up in two minutes. You...you won't you reconsider?"

"Deputy station chief, look at this situation," Gao Yanzhou sneered, pointing behind him, "Do you think a single helicopter can rescue us?"

Yan Shijun felt a pang of heartache. "Is there really no chance left?"

"The organization will record your merits," Gao Yanzhou said calmly. "Although the helicopter can't save us, at least it will record how you sacrificed yourself."

"Your wife and children will receive excellent compensation from the organization."

These words have completely blocked any room for maneuver.

Yan Shijun sighed and slowly released Gao Yanzhou's wrist.

He waved his hand, his tone mournful, "Go ahead and do it."

Gao Yanzhou suddenly laughed.

This was the first time he had smiled since he appeared. There was no malice, no mockery; in this final moment between life and death, he had found liberation.

Sister, brother-in-law...

I've finally finished what I could do, and I'm coming to find you all.

He wielded his entrenching tool, aimed at the base of the saxaul tree, and dug down forcefully.

"Liang Tuan, Tian Tian, ​​shouldn't we stop them?!"

Song Dazhuang could already see their movements clearly. As a veteran, he could guess that what they were doing was likely to put the landmines on the fuse and detonate the entire minefield!

"We can't let them do this! Commander Liang, fire!"

Liang Zhe stared intently at the expression on Tian Tian's face, his finger still resting on the trigger, but he didn't pull it.

He knew that he was taking a huge gamble—gambling on his own life, on the lives of all his comrades, and even more so on the fact that what Tian Tian said was true.

In the past, he would rather die in the line of duty than risk the lives of his comrades. But this time, he saw a burning rage of revenge on Tian Tian's small face.

She clenched her small fists tightly, staring at Gao Yanzhou with hatred in her eyes, as if quietly waiting for them to reap what they sowed.

"I believe in Tian Tian," Liang Zhe said softly, his tone firm. "Tian Tian has never made a mistake."

This statement was both a way of comforting Song Dazhuang and a way of encouraging himself.

Gao Yanzhou had already dug down two shovelfuls of sand, and after the third shovelful, a wooden box buried underneath was revealed.

The box had a hole, from which a bundle of intersecting red and blue wires extended into the ground. This was the main fuse for the entire minefield.

Open the wooden box lid, and inside is a black iron pin. Simply pry open the iron pin and connect it to the connector next to it, and you've completed the stringing process.

At that time, detonating any one of the landmines would trigger a chain reaction.

Let this desert be engulfed by a sea of ​​lightning.

Imagining the impending explosion of flames, imagining dozens of people being blown to pieces by the landmine, Gao Yanzhou's face revealed a cruel smile.

"You guys are researching missiles, huh? I'll use these landmines to blow you all to smithereens!"

He crouched down and tried to turn the black iron pin.

Yan Shijun looked up at the sky and sighed, knowing that his life had come to an end, and closed his eyes in despair.

Just as Gao Yanzhou's fingertips were about to touch the iron pin, a faint but sharp pain suddenly came from his fingertips, as if he had been pricked hard by a tiny needle.

"hiss……"

He subconsciously shook his hand.

"What's wrong?" Yan Shijun asked sharply.

"It's nothing." Gao Yanzhou didn't care at all. Anyway, everyone was going to die soon, so this little bit of pain was nothing.

He reached out his hand a second time.

This time, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my fingertips, the back of my hand, and between my fingers, as if I had been bitten by something.

Gao Yanzhou had no choice but to pull his hand away and examine it carefully by the moonlight. He saw several beads of blood on the back of his hand, and three or five ants were crawling on his hand, biting his flesh hard.

"What the hell is that?!"

Gao Yanzhou tried to shake them off twice, but failed. In desperation, he had to use his left hand to swat them, and after a few swipes, he crushed all the ants to death.

He cursed under his breath, thinking how lucky these people were to be able to stall for time even when they were about to die.

Suppressing his anger and the pain in his hand, Gao Yanzhou reached out for the third time. This time, he was fully prepared.

Quickly pry open the iron pin, detonate the landmine, and let everyone die with him.

But something strange happened again at a time he didn't expect.

It was no longer a brief stinging pain, but a more intense and burning pain that instantly engulfed his entire right hand.

The speed is unbelievable!

"what!"

Gao Yanzhou could no longer bear it and let out a piercing scream.

Yan Shijun, who had been watching him intently, didn't dare to step forward and took several steps back.

"Old Gao, you..."

Before he could finish speaking, his pupils constricted sharply, and his expression changed drastically—

On Gao Yanzhou's withdrawn hand, a dense layer of black had somehow crept up, wriggling and spreading along his wrist toward his arm.

Gao Yanzhou was no longer as calm as before; instead, he was filled with deep-seated fear and pain. He shook his hands repeatedly and let out screams that were not human. To the quiet night, it was absolutely terrifying.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

This horrifying scene startled Yan Shijun, who retreated repeatedly, crying out, "What...what's wrong with you?!"

"Help me! Help me!"

Gao Yanzhou screamed incoherently, then suddenly pulled a dagger from his boot with his left hand and slashed at his own right arm with gritted teeth!

"puff……"

The knife cut precisely into his flesh, but the blade was too narrow to sever his arm and save his life. At the same time, the black tide had already leaped over his elbow and climbed up his shoulder.

In a flash, Yan Shijun realized, "Army ants! They're army ants!"

What the hell? The army ant nests are clearly on the other side of the minefield, so how come there are some here too?

If Gao Yanzhou hadn't insisted on attaching the fuse to the landmines, how would we have stumbled upon the army ant's nest!

Wherever army ants have swum, even steel can be corroded, let alone their flesh and blood!

A blinding beam of light came from behind. Yan Shijun looked back in a panic and saw military vehicles parked neatly not far away, their headlights illuminating the area as if it were daytime.

The entire column was silent. The soldiers sat quietly in the vehicles like a group of onlookers, coldly watching their miserable state, watching themselves bury themselves into hell.

Yan Shijun suddenly realized that death might not be so terrible; being blown to pieces by a landmine would only be a momentary pain.

Being bitten and devoured by these tiny army ants, little by little, is a pain a thousand times, ten thousand times more terrifying than falling into the deepest hell!

"Ahhh, kill me... kill me now..."

Gao Yanzhou's screams still echoed behind him. At this moment, he was no longer the same as before, and he lay prostrate on the sand.

Countless black ants crawled all over his lower body, frantically devouring his flesh and sucking his marrow.

But they deliberately didn't let him die immediately, as if they wanted him to suffer this excruciating pain alive.

Yan Shijun was so terrified by this scene that he turned pale and kept backing away. His legs gave way and he fell heavily to the ground.

"ah--!"

The thought that army ants might appear on the ground at any moment made him jump up reflexively.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

Unable to withstand the cruel psychological and physical blows any longer, Yan Shijun broke down, screaming as he stumbled and ran toward Liang Zhe's jeep.

"Spare me...I surrender! Government...comrades...I'll confess everything!"

"Yan... Yan Shijun..."

Gao Yanzhou's desperate voice was filled with hatred. He lay on the ground, his remaining left hand digging deep into the sand from the pain, but he could only watch helplessly as the only person who could save him fled to the enemy camp.

Suddenly, a familiar figure flashed through his mind—Du Feng.

When he was bitten by the venomous snake, I, too, remained indifferent, retreating as if avoiding a venomous creature, letting him die in agony. If only I had reached out and saved Du Feng's life then…

"Cough... Ugh..." A large amount of blood gushed from his mouth and nose, splashing onto the sand and staining the sand beneath him red.

Army ants have burrowed into his body and are gnawing at his internal organs.

He was unwilling to accept it! He was filled with hatred!

Even if I die, I shouldn't die alone!

With the last shred of ruthlessness remaining, he trembled as he raised his only remaining left hand and pulled a pistol from his pocket.

His fingers trembled uncontrollably from the extreme pain and weakness, and his vision was already blurred. He only aimed at Yan Shijun's back on instinct.

Go... to die...