It was supposed to be a casual game, but the Long March dungeon brought tears to everyone's eye

The soft voice was indistinct, carrying a strange sense of satisfaction.

Immediately afterwards, she began to tear at her thin, tattered cotton coat.

"It's hot...so hot..."

An unnatural flush appeared on that little face, which was bruised and blue from the cold, clearly indicating the late stage of hypothermia.

"Oh shit!"

Kuang Ge rushed over and firmly held down Ruan Ruan's wildly tearing hands.

"Are you fucking crazy! Put it on! Put it on now!"

Ruan Ruan, who can fall into a state of delirious hallucination, possesses astonishing strength.

She was like a fish out of water, struggling frantically in the snow, muttering that it was hot.

Hawkeye rushed over to help, his voice trembling as he looked at Hawkeye's soft, unfocused pupils and flushed face, having completely forgotten that this was a game.

"It's an abnormal high fever... the brain's central nervous system is completely out of control."

"She felt like she was in a furnace."

The viewers in the live stream watched helplessly as the soft health bar plummeted like a waterfall.

[50%]

[40%]

[30%]

"Damn it! You old bastard Luo! You're inhuman!"

"Please don't let her die! Please!"

Crazy Brother's eyes turned red, and he roared at Ruan Ruan's ears.

"Ruan Ruan! Wake up! You fucking wake up!"

Useless.

Ruan Ruan's struggles grew weaker and weaker, and her health bar dropped to the red line of [10%].

Just when everyone thought she was doomed, the old squad leader rushed over.

He didn't yell or press down.

He simply crouched down and carefully pulled out a small package wrapped in oil paper from the pocket closest to his heart, which was his clothing.

The paper package was slightly damp from body heat, and the edges were worn and frayed.

The old squad leader carefully peeled off the oil paper layer by layer with his one arm.

Inside, there were only a few grayish-white crystals, not much larger than a grain of rice.

It turned out to be coarse salt.

On this snow-capped mountain, there is coarse salt that is more precious than gold.

It was their last hope of replenishing their strength.

Without the slightest hesitation, the old squad leader picked up a grain with his fingernail, brought it to the soft lips, and spoke in a hoarse yet gentle voice.

"Ruan Ruan, stop fooling around."

"Open your mouth, and the class monitor will give you candy."

"Is it...candy?"

Ruan Ruan stopped moving and, like a child, turned to the old squad leader in confusion.

The old squad leader nodded and gently put the grain of salt into her soft mouth.

"Mmm, the sweetest candy."

The bitter, salty, and fishy taste explodes on the tender taste buds.

But in her hallucination, it was an indescribable sweetness, a warm current that dispelled the burning heat.

She quieted down.

They stopped struggling and tearing at their clothes.

He just lay in the snow, like a child who had just received candy, smacking his lips.

"So sweet..."

The soft health bar stopped dropping to the critical point of 1%.

Then he began to climb back, one square at a time, at an extremely slow pace.

The old squad leader looked at Ruan Ruan, a hint of pity flashing in his cloudy eyes.

He poured the last few grains of salt from the oil paper packet into his soft mouth.

"Eat slowly, there's more."

After doing all this, he carefully folded the empty sheet of oil paper again and stuffed it back into his pocket.

It was as if there was some treasure inside.

Kuang Ge knelt in the snow, watching this scene, feeling as if a piece of burning coal was stuck in his throat.

Hawkeye turned his head away, his shoulders twitching slightly.

In the live stream, the chat window remained closed.

After a long while, comments slowly began to appear on the screen.

"I take back what I just said about that old scoundrel Luo... I'm sorry."

"At this moment, I'd rather believe it's candy."

"Waaah... This well-intentioned lie is more compassionate than any truth."

……

The snowstorm seemed to have lessened somewhat.

The team resumed their journey.

Ruan Ruan's eyes were still covered with a strip of cloth, and she was being led by the old squad leader with that straw rope.

She was very quiet, only occasionally licking her lips to savor the "sweetness".

Whether it was Kuang Ge, Ying Yan, or the chat in Ruan Ruan's live stream, they all tacitly concealed the truth.

Ruan Ruan survived, but they were completely cut off from salt supplies.

Then, not far along, Hawkeye, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.

He raised his hand and pointed to a "snowdrift" not far ahead, sculpted into strange shapes by the wind and snow, his voice hoarse.

"Class monitor, what's that?"

Everyone looked in the direction he pointed.

Beneath the curtain of wind and snow, dozens of dark figures stood motionless in the snow.

It's like a row of eerie roadblocks.

The line stopped.

Everyone watched warily as the dark figures stood silently in the wind and snow ahead.

"Are they enemies?"

Xiao Hu instinctively gripped the gun in his hand tighter.

The old squad leader squinted, looked for a long time, and then shook his head.

"no."

His voice was very deep.

"They're one of our own."

The old squad leader strode forward, the first to walk towards the dark figure.

Madman, Hawkeye, and the others followed behind, getting closer step by step.

The closer you are, the clearer you can see.

Those were not "snow piles" or "roadblocks" at all.

Those were people maintaining a marching posture.

Some of them were leaning on their guns, their bodies leaning forward, as if they were about to take a step at any moment.

Some were hunched over, as if struggling against the wind.

Some people huddled together, supporting each other, looking in the direction the group was moving forward.

They were covered in snow, blending into the snowfield like silent ice sculptures.

Crazy Brother's legs went weak.

He carried the heavy iron pot on his back, and at that moment it seemed as if he had lost all weight.

He looked at one of the ice sculptures.

He was a very young soldier, with a youthful face.

His mouth was slightly open, as if he were shouting silently.

His eyes were fixed straight ahead, without the slightest fear, only a resolute determination that pierced through the wind and snow.

Hawkeye stepped forward and reached out to touch the shoulder of one of the "ice sculptures".

The moment his fingertips touched the thin layer of ice, the entire "ice sculpture" shattered with a crash.

They turned into dust and mingled with the wind and snow, becoming indistinguishable from one another.

"Don't touch it!"

The old sergeant let out a low growl and stopped in front of the row of ice sculptures.

The wind here is strong, making my face uncomfortable and my mood even worse.

But these people just stood there, turning themselves into a wall that protected them from the wind.

"They are our vanguard."

The old squad leader's voice betrayed neither joy nor sorrow.

"I was exhausted, and my clothes were too thin, so I... fell asleep."

"She fell asleep, but didn't collapse."

Ruan Ruan couldn't see, but she could hear the deathly silence around her.

She gripped the straw rope around her waist and asked softly.

"Class monitor... what's wrong?"

The old squad leader did not answer her.

He simply straightened his tattered military uniform, pulled his collar straight, and buttoned it up.

Then, he took a step back.

At the summit of this snow-capped mountain, more than 4,000 meters above sea level, in this forbidden zone of life that even birds are unwilling to pass through.

With his only remaining arm, he gave a perfectly standard military salute to the row of silent ice sculptures.

The wind and snow howled, but the old squad leader's voice could be heard clearly.

"Brothers, time for the shift change."

"We'll walk the rest of the way for you."

After saying that, he lowered his arm, turned around, and addressed the stunned crowd behind him.

"Let's go."

No one speaks.

Kuang Ge silently bent down, readjusted the straps of the iron pot on his back, gritted his teeth, and followed.

The pressure of that pot made his spine creak.

He had already reached his limit; every step felt like walking on a knife's edge.

But now, he doesn't feel tired anymore.

Hawkeye looked down at the worn-out Hanyang rifle in his hand.

It's still hard to understand what these people are after.

This selfless sacrifice, this will that transcends life and death, completely exceeded his understanding of the world.

The Dragon Kingdom in the parallel world seems to be completely different from theirs.

It even made Hawkeye think once again that the parallel world Dragon Kingdom designed by that old scoundrel Luo was too stupid.

But looking at the old squad leader's hunched yet upright back, and at those figures that stood eternally in the wind and snow...

Why would Hawkeye feel like he was about to cry?

In the live stream room.

This scene, captured by the three livestreamers, spread across the entire internet.

There was no narration, and no music.

There was only the howling wind and the hoarse voice of the one-armed veteran.

"Brothers, time for the shift change."

Countless people from the Blue Star Dragon Kingdom are watching the live stream, whether they are in luxurious apartments or cramped rental rooms.

Whether they're eating snacks or drinking soda.

At that moment, everyone unconsciously put down what they were holding.

Many people, even subconsciously, stood up from the sofa or the gaming chair.

They imitated the one-armed veteran on the screen, offering a salute that might not have been perfect, but was heartfelt.

"Damn it... I'm just a lousy gamer, why the hell should I salute...?"

One viewer posted a comment on the screen, their voice trembling with tears.

"I don't know, I did it manually."

"Me too."

+1.

+10086.

"Old bastard Luo, I was wrong. I give this game a score of 10,000. I'm not afraid you'll get arrogant."

On this day, a screenshot went viral across all social networks on Earth.

The screenshot shows a one-armed warrior saluting a row of ice sculptures.

The caption was just five words: "Brother, I've changed shifts."