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

"Fried chicken?" Everyone looked at Kuang Ge.

"Yes! The kind that's coated in flour and fried until golden brown and crispy!"

"The outer skin makes a satisfying crunch when you bite into it, and the juices inside sizzle out!"

When Crazy Bro saw that the old squad leader and the others could "understand" him, he became more and more excited, gesturing wildly.

"It absolutely must be paired with iced cola, the kind topped with ice!"

"A bite of fried chicken followed by a bite of cola—it's so refreshing and invigorating!"

The old squad leader was stunned, his brows furrowing into a knot.

"Huh? Lots of cash?"

"What kind of chicken is that? It's even fresher than the wild chickens from the mountains!"

"And what about... adding ice?" The old squad leader looked at Crazy Brother with concern. "Drinking ice water in this weather?"

"You little brat...aren't you afraid of freezing your intestines and getting diarrhea?"

The live stream chat exploded with comments, and the viewers were laughing hysterically.

"Damn, it froze my intestines! Hahaha! The old squad leader doesn't understand the true value of soda!"

"I was laughing and then I started crying, sob sob sob. In the old squad leader's eyes, being able to drink a sip of hot water was happiness. How could he understand that we drank ice water just to feel refreshed?"

"This generation gap is separated by a hundred years of prosperity."

Ruan Ruan couldn't help herself either. She hugged her knees, smiled gently, and her eyes curved into crescent moons.

"Class monitor, I want spicy crayfish! I want the thirteen-spice flavor and the garlic flavor, I want both!"

"I want bubble tea again! Less ice, 70% sweetness, with extra boba and coconut jelly!"

The old squad leader was even more bewildered, his eyes widening like those of the Black Cat Sheriff.

"Lobster? Those only live in the sea, right?"

"That's under the Dragon King's jurisdiction, can we eat it too?"

The old squad leader looked shocked, then pointed at Ruan Ruan with a disappointed expression.

"And that... pearl?"

"Pearls are for wearing around the neck as jewelry! How can you drink from those stone pebbles?"

"You little girl, you seem pretty smart, why do you want to eat stones? Be careful you don't break all your teeth!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

A burst of laughter erupted from the camp.

Even Hawkeye, who was becoming increasingly serious, had a slight smile on his lips.

This misunderstanding that transcends time and space feels especially heartwarming at this moment.

That was the warmth of fireworks from the future, comforting these ancestors who were about to freeze to death.

After making a ruckus for a while, everyone was tired.

Although my stomach was still empty, I felt like I had eaten a feast, and I even had material for my dreams.

At this moment, the old squad leader mysteriously got up, took a torch, and sneaked towards the camp of the troops ahead.

He didn't return until quite some time later.

He wasn't holding any food, but he was clutching a thin object and muttering to himself.

"These stingy folks, they act like borrowing a needle is a death sentence, as if they're afraid I'll lose it..."

The old squad leader sat back down by the fire and beckoned Kuang Ge over.

"Come here, you brat, stick your butt out."

Kuang Ge was taken aback, and his expression tightened. "Huh?"

"Bullshit!" The old squad leader pointed at the back of Crazy Bro's pants, "What kind of talk is it for a grown man to show half his buttocks?"

"You don't mind looking shabby, but I'm worried you'll freeze your intestines from the drafts!"

Crazy Brother subconsciously touched his butt.

The trousers there had long been worn through with a large hole, ripped apart by the edge of the cooking pot.

The cold wind has been blowing in all day; it's really freezing.

Kuang Ge blushed and obediently lay down on the old squad leader's lap.

The old squad leader carefully pulled out a few strands of cotton thread from the lining of his already thin and tattered cotton-padded jacket.

He put the thread in his mouth and licked it, trying to thread it through the needle hole on Kuang Ge's body.

but……

In the firelight, the old squad leader's hands trembled slightly.

He squinted, leaned very close, and struggled to thread the needle.

I tried it once, but I couldn't wear it.

I tried twice, and the thread ended up crooked.

"This damn weather, even the fire isn't bright enough..." the old squad leader muttered, still trying to put on a brave face.

Ruan Ruan, who was standing nearby, immediately realized that the fire wasn't bright enough.

It was the old squad leader's blindfold that made threading the needle even more difficult for him, who already had only one arm.

Ruan Ruan quickly went over, not minding the mud on the old squad leader's hands.

"Squad leader, let me do it! I have sharp eyes!"

Ruan Ruan took the needle and thread, only to find that her hands were trembling.

As a modern person, she actually has absolutely no needlework skills.

But at that moment, she held her breath and, by the light of the fire, pierced the eye of the needle in one go.

"Give."

The old squad leader took the threaded needle, bit the end of the thread with his teeth, and tied a knot.

Because he only has one hand, he has to coordinate his teeth and knees.

He held down Crazy Brother's pants; his rough, large hand, though only having five fingers, was incredibly nimble.

Stitch by stitch, thread by thread, they meticulously mended the hole.

The firelight illuminated his wrinkled and weathered face, where his expression was one of utmost focus.

Crazy Brother lay on the old sergeant's lap, feeling the subtle pull of the needle and thread through the fabric, and the bone structure and body temperature emanating from the old sergeant's knee.

In that instant, Kuang Ge's nose suddenly stung with tears.

He recalled his childhood, a memory from a very long time ago, of his grandmother wearing reading glasses and sewing buttons for him.

Unexpectedly, in this virtual game, on this grassy field filled with death, he experienced this feeling again.

Ruan Ruan watched quietly from the side and whispered,

"Class monitor, your cooking is really good...just like my mom's."

"Hmph." The old sergeant didn't even look up, his needle and thread continuing. "Screw you, I'm the boss!"

"Soldiers have to be able to do everything."

"If your pants are torn and no one mends them for you, you'll freeze to death."

"If you learn it, you can live a few more days."

Though the words were rough, they were so heartwarming.

……

It was late at night, and the clothes were finished being sewn.

Crazy Brother touched the crooked patch that looked like a centipede crawling on his butt, but was unusually sturdy and thick, and chuckled foolishly.

The soldiers huddled together like a group of penguins seeking warmth, and fell into a deep sleep.

The old squad leader gently patted Xiaodouzi, who was sleeping on the far side and easily exposed to the wind, and carefully covered Xiaodouzi with the corner of his own clothes.

Hawkeye is responsible for keeping watch during the first half of the night.

He held his gun, looking at the old sergeant's thin, bony back, the veteran who maintained a vigilant posture even during his rest.

As if by some strange twist of fate, Hawkeye asked in a low voice.

"Squad leader...can we really get out of here?"

This meadow is so vast, it's despairing.

It's so big that even Hawkeye doesn't know how many more days it will take to complete the journey.

The old squad leader looked into the dark, deep grassland in the distance, which seemed like it could devour people, and his voice came softly.

"As long as you don't think about dying, you can get out of there."

"Go to sleep, tomorrow will be another tough battle."

After saying that, the old squad leader finally relaxed and seemed to fall asleep.

Hawkeye looked up at the vast starry sky.

They were like a tiny flame in this boundless, dark meadow, small and precarious.

But it continued to burn, never going out.

Hawkeye lowered his head, looked at the old squad leader who was fast asleep, and then at Crazy Brother and Soft Soft who had finally relaxed and fallen asleep. The two words drifted away in the night wind.

"Good night."

【

I kept writing until late at night, and I really couldn't write any more chapters o(╥﹏╥)o

I'll write more tomorrow morning, and there should be an extra chapter as a gift at noon, hmm!

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