Starting from the deputy company commander of the Soldier Assault Team

"Let's go," the second-term sergeant of B Regiment gave the order, and the two first-term sergeants of B Regiment followed closely behind. Cheng Cai looked at Wu Liuyi and Xu Sanduo, nodded, and followed them as well.

In the blink of an eye, the temporary team that had been working together for almost an afternoon was now down to just Wu Liuyi and Xu Sanduo.

"Let's go," Wu Liuyi said without hesitation. Just as he said, when you're lost, you should have your own opinion.

He believed in Xu Sanduo, and he believed in him from beginning to end.

The two ignored what was behind them and instead focused on their respective 120-degree directions to the left and right, carefully searching as they advanced.

They had only gone about a mile when the sound of a car engine could be clearly heard in the quiet night. "Quick, hide!" Wu Liu shouted in a low voice, and rolled away to hide in the dry ditch by the roadside.

Xu Sanduo followed closely behind. As the sound of the car engine faded into the distance, the two of them quietly peeked out and watched the car disappear into the distance.

Just as the two were about to continue their journey, they suddenly sensed a figure behind them. They quickly turned around and pointed their guns directly at the figure.

From the darkness, a familiar voice rang out, "It's me."

Recognizing that the person was Cheng Cai, the two were relieved. Wu Liuyi squatted down and lowered his voice, saying, "We can't go any further on this road. It looks like they're going to stay here forever."

Xu Sanduo whispered, "Does that mean this direction is correct?"

Wu Liu nodded. Even in the dim moonlight, he could still see clearly. Then he looked at Cheng Cai and asked, "Why are you back?"

Cheng Cai smiled and said, "I'm worried about the two of you. Besides, I've thought about it, and I know you two can't complete the mission without me."

Cheng Cai spoke with a smile, a little embarrassed, a far cry from his previous aloof and taciturn demeanor.

Xu Sanduo remained silent. In his memory, Cheng Cai had always been incredibly confident. Perhaps it was because he trusted them that he had returned this time, or perhaps for some other reason. He was a little unsure of what to say.

Seeing that the two of them didn't speak, Cheng Cai smiled and said, "Hey, to tell you the truth, I was following that stupid soldier from B Regiment, and the further we went, the more something felt off. The seven o'clock direction is definitely wrong."

As he spoke, he fixed his gaze on Xu Sanduo, "Xu Sanduo, I'm betting everything on you this time. The four o'clock position is definitely the right one."

In the dim moonlight, Cheng Cai saw a white glint. He knew Xu Sanduo was smiling; it was the reflection of his signature big front teeth in the moonlight.

His voice became even more excited, "Then we'll be three fellow villagers, three old A's, and eventually three best buddies, a golden team, and we'll definitely give those old A's a real shock."

Wu Liuyi looked at Cheng Cai, who was talking nonstop. He had said almost as much as he had in the previous day. "You talk too much," he said.

Cheng Cai grinned and agreed, "Okay, okay, I won't say anything more. Hey, why don't you two rest for a bit? I'll keep watch for you or something. Want to rest for a while?"

Wu Liuyi didn't answer, but said directly, "Let's go."

After saying that, he turned around and disappeared into the woods by the roadside.

An hour later, they stopped again in a forest.

Cheng Cai looked at the scene before him and felt a sense of familiarity. He called out, "Xu Sanduo, come here. Look at this place. Why does this place look so familiar?"

Did we go the wrong way and end up going back in circles?

Xu Sanduo looked at his surroundings and observed them quietly without saying a word.

Wu Liuyi looked at the surroundings and said, "Look closely, there are many places that look exactly the same on the grassland."

Xu Sanduo carefully examined the surroundings. "There's a road after you turn this mountain. Let's go."

After saying that, he walked to the front and began to lead the way.

Another hour passed, and Xu Sanduo, who was leading the way, saw a familiar building. He smiled and then looked at Cheng Cai.

Unlike Xu Sanduo's cheerful expression, Cheng Cai's eyes held a complex look.

Seeing the two stop, Wu Liuyi, who was following behind, spoke up, "What's wrong?"

Xu Sanduo remained silent, but Cheng Cai spoke up, his tone a mixture of disdain and relief, "This godforsaken place, we just escaped from here, and after going around in circles, we've ended up here."

Xu Sanduo ignored Cheng Cai's words, still smiling and showing his big white teeth as he looked at Cheng Cai, then turned to Wu Liuyi and said, "Look, this is the garrison of the Fifth Platoon of the Third Company."

As he spoke, he stomped his foot on the ground, "Right under our feet is a dedicated oil pipeline."

He looked at the familiar watchtower and fell into memories. Li Meng called it a stray bullet grasshopper, and Lao Wei compared it to Xu Sanduo's big-cheeked gerbil.

Just as Gao Cheng said, youthful arrogance and happy times—for Xu Sanduo, this was a period of happy times after he joined the army.

Soon, the three set off again. With the lights shining, the area was much brighter. They carefully made their way towards the fifth squad's barracks, stepping on the path paved with gravel.

Cheng Cai smiled and glanced at Xu Sanduo, saying, "Xu Sanduo, your path..."

Xu Sanduo grinned at Cheng Cai, his eyes sweeping over the stone paths in the Fifth Squad's camp. These were the stones he had collected from the grasslands, basket by basket, and laid out bit by bit.

In the beginning, Li Meng, Lao Wei, and the others caused trouble, and Lao Ma even scolded them.

But in the end, they all came to help. He was no longer the dog running backwards. With Lao Ma's lead, Lao Wei and the others ran forwards with him.

It was a rough, stone-paved road that paved his way to the Steel Seventh Company. Sometimes Xu Sanduo wondered if things would be different now if he hadn't paved that road back then.

He won't go to the Steel Seventh Company, he won't become a sergeant. He'll stay in this remote place for two years, then retire and go home, just like Bai Tiejun and the others.

But these were just his imagination. Squad Leader Shi Jin once told him not to think about meaningless things, and that doing his best in the present and being himself was the most important thing.

The three of them moved forward quickly, and just as they reached the steps at the main entrance of the barracks, they heard a commotion.

The three quickly hid in the shadows where the steps met the platform. Just as they were hiding, they heard footsteps and the sound of brushing teeth.

Someone came to the door to brush their teeth; it was Xue Lin from Class 5.

Immediately afterwards, a voice came, "Squad leader, squad leader, which channel is that Iron-Toothed Ji Xiaolan on?"

Xue Lin, who was rinsing his mouth, didn't reply. He gargled and spat out the water, saying, "I'll do it, I'll do it."

As he spoke, he turned and walked away. Only when he reached the door did he realize that the toothbrush was not clean. As he walked in, he stuck the toothbrush into the cup and stirred it haphazardly a few times.

As he casually lifted the curtain, the water in the toothbrush cup was splashed out.

Whoosh!

The three people hiding in the corner were drenched in water mixed with toothpaste foam.

The three of them took off their helmets and shook off the water. Cheng Cai said, even more annoyed, "When you're down on your luck, even your farts hit your heels."