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

It was already very tiring for Kuang Ge to carry that burden.

But looking at the figure in front of him who was still struggling to hold on with only one arm, Crazy Brother felt that this pot was as light as cotton.

We walked for another half hour.

When the sun became scorching, the moisture in the grass evaporated, making it feel like a steamer.

"Take a break!"

The old squad leader finally stopped.

He found a slightly raised, hard mound of earth, poked it repeatedly with a stick four or five times to make sure it was solid, and then called everyone to gather around.

The soldiers collapsed onto the wet grass as if they had been drained of their strength.

The old squad leader didn't sit down.

He stood there leaning on his cane, his chest heaving violently, making a loud "whoosh whoosh" sound in his throat.

Sweat streamed down his disheveled hair and into his empty right sleeve.

He wanted to sit down, but Ruanruan could tell that he probably couldn't bend down.

Or rather, once he sits down, his breath dissipates, and he can never stand up again.

"Crazy Bro, Hawkeye, block it!"

Ruan Ruan quietly nudged Kuang Ge and Ying Yan.

They exchanged a glance and immediately understood what Ruan Ruan meant.

Crazy Brother unloaded the large pot and slammed it on the ground, then leaned to one side.

Hawkeye, on behalf of the old squad leader, stood to the side holding the probing stick.

The two of them stood like two walls, completely blocking the view of the young soldiers, including Xiaohu and Xiaodouzi, behind them.

In the hearts of these young soldiers, their squad leader is like the sky, the unbreakable backbone.

This backbone must not be bent.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ruan Ruan crouched down and crawled to the side of the old squad leader.

"Girl, you..." The old squad leader was startled and tried to dodge.

"Don't move! I have something to tell you!" Ruan Ruan said loudly on purpose, pretending to report the situation, but her hands didn't stop.

She reached out and gently pinched the muscle of the old squad leader's one-armed arm.

hard.

It was as hard as stone, like dried-up tree roots.

That's a spasm caused by prolonged excessive muscle tension.

Ruan Ruan almost shed tears, but she bit her lip tightly, not daring to let the old squad leader see.

Using techniques she had learned in the game over the past few days, she avoided the wound and vigorously massaged the stiff muscle group.

"hiss--"

The old squad leader gasped, and cold sweat instantly rolled down his forehead.

But he didn't dodge.

He looked at the little girl in front of him, her face covered in mud but her eyes stubbornly defiant, and the hand that wanted to push her away ultimately couldn't bring itself to do it.

After Ruan Ruan finished massaging his arms, she squatted down and massaged the old squad leader's legs.

His leg bindings had come loose, and his calves were swollen and shiny; pressing on them left a dent that took a long time to heal.

This is the result of severe malnutrition-induced edema, combined with prolonged immersion in muddy water.

"Class monitor..." The soft voice trembled with tears.

"Don't be reckless, let Hawkeye scout ahead..."

"Nonsense."

The old squad leader's voice was soft, but he didn't have the strength to yell.

He looked down at the soft woman massaging his legs, his eyes filled with tenderness.

"This road...isn't far anymore," the old squad leader said stubbornly. "My old bones are still sturdy."

With his back to them, Kuang Ge trembled as he listened to the noise behind him.

But instead of trying to dissuade him, he silently stepped back half a step, blocking the sudden gust of cold wind from his side.

Until the team restarts.

……

As the sun set, the old squad leader stopped walking.

Ahead was a slightly dry high ground, with several lifeless ponds next to it.

The water was dark and still.

Only occasionally do the swamp bubbles burst, making a muffled "glug" sound.

"Take a break," the old squad leader ordered.

Everyone collapsed to the ground as if their bones had been removed.

No one spoke, only the sounds of panting and rumbling from their stomachs.

Hunger was the daily rhythm of the Red Army's march across the grasslands.

Especially for the older sergeants and their men in the rear, even if they wanted to dig up some wild vegetable roots, they had to see if the main force at the front had left any for them.

The belt was boiled down to just the last two pieces.

The little bean curled up into a ball, unconsciously chewing on a piece of dry grass—a primal survival instinct.

On the player panel, everyone's [satiety] had fallen below the red alert line of 20%, but Kuang Ge and the others remained silent.

Because I'm hungry, I've gotten used to being hungry.

They also got used to eating foods they never dared to imagine before, such as leather belts and wild vegetable roots.

The old squad leader didn't sit down.

He first gathered up several clumps of semi-dry cow dung from the surrounding area and lit them with the dry tinder he had carefully protected in his arms.

The faint flames licked the air, dispelling a bit of the damp chill.

"Hawkeye, go and establish surveillance in the surrounding area."

"Crazy Kid, you and everyone else set up the tarpaulin."

As the old sergeant gave instructions, he reached into his tattered military cap and rummaged around for something.

"Class monitor, where are you going?" Ruan Ruan asked sharply.

"I need to relieve myself." The old squad leader didn't even turn his head. "Don't worry about me."

He crouched low and quietly moved behind a large blue stone a dozen meters away from the camp.

Crazy frowned and gave Hawkeye a wink.

The three of them understood each other without saying a word, but secretly glanced at the commotion over there while tidying up the cooking pot.

Twilight Quadruple.

In the dim light of day, they saw the old squad leader take out an embroidery needle he usually used to mend clothes from inside his hat lining.

That was the only needle in the class, and the old class monitor usually treated it like a treasure. He was afraid to even look at it for fear of losing it, let alone use it.

The old squad leader squatted beside the large blue stone, laboriously pinching the tiny needle with his left hand and grinding it against the stone with a "sizzling" sound.

The sound was very soft, yet very jarring.

After grinding for a while, he brought the needle to the fire and heated it until it was red-hot. Then he bit one end of the needle with his teeth and pulled it hard with his left hand.

The needle bent.

It became a simple hook, gleaming with a cold light.

The chat in the live stream instantly fell silent.

"That's... a fishhook?"

"What's the old squad leader going to do? Are there fish in this puddle?"

"Don't be ridiculous, this is just a stagnant pool, and it's over 3,000 meters above sea level..."

Even Kuang Ge didn't understand it.

In games like Winter, fishing requires purchasing a "carbon rod" and "advanced bait".

Fishing with a needle? That's something out of a myth!

But the old squad leader didn't care about any of that.

He pulled a few wriggling water insects from the mud and hung them on the hook, tied a thin hemp rope he usually used for leg bindings to the end of the needle, and found a dead tree branch to use as a pole.

Then, the hunched figure sat down by the pond.

The wind was strong, making his empty sleeve flutter loudly.

He stood motionless, like a stone sculpture weathered for a thousand years, staring at the dark water.

ten minutes.

twenty minutes.

Ruan Ruan couldn't help but want to go over and try to persuade them, saying, "How could there possibly be fish in a place like this? Isn't this just a waste of effort?"

"Don't go." Hawkeye reached out and stopped her, his voice low.

"This is the only thing the squad leader feels he can do for us right now."

Ruan Ruan felt a pang of sadness and withdrew her nose.

Just then, the old squad leader's wrist suddenly jerked violently.

Splash! The calm water surface broke.

A tiny, silvery-white shadow, no bigger than a palm, was flung onto the grassy bank.

"fish!!"

Little Bean's eyes, which had been half-asleep, widened instantly, and he scrambled over.

"There really are fish! They're whitebait! Alive!"