vstars Chapter 378 Returning Home!
Chapter 378 Returning Home!
When Zhong Yuemin opened his eyes again, his vision was a little blurry. After a moment of adjustment, he could see that the ceiling above him was slightly yellowed but smooth.
The stench of blood and gunpowder from the makeshift field hospital tent was no longer there, but rather a relatively mild smell of disinfectant.
A nurse in a clean white coat was bending down to adjust the IV tube on the back of his hand.
"you're awake!"
The nurse noticed the commotion, looked up, and a surprised smile appeared on her face.
Zhong Yuemin's lips were terribly chapped; he moved them slightly, emitting a hoarse and weak sound.
"I...where is this?"
"This is Honghe Hospital. Don't worry, you've already returned to China and you're all safe."
The nurse reassured him gently.
"Just focus on recovering..."
Back in China? Safe now?
Zhong Yuemin's thoughts paused for a moment as he absorbed this overly "ordinary" information.
But the next second, painful memories struck again; the horrific scenes on the old street flashed wildly through his mind like out-of-control film reels.
The explosion's flames, the splattering blood and flesh, the piles of severed bodies, the vanished figures of Lao Qin and Wang Tiezhu, the face of the old woman with the eerie smile, and his own hysterical roar as he pulled the trigger...
"Where is my comrade?!"
He struggled violently to sit up, his voice suddenly rising in pitch, filled with urgency and fear.
"How are Haiyang and Ningwei?! And Mantun! Old Qin and the others...they..."
Then it suddenly stopped again; Mantun, Lao Qin, and the others were already...
The violent movement instantly aggravated the wound in his lower back and abdomen, sending a tearing pain through him. His face contorted instantly, and cold sweat poured down his back.
"Hey, don't move! Please don't move!"
The nurse was startled by his movement and quickly stepped forward to press down on his shoulder, her tone both reproachful and concerned.
"You've been unconscious for three days and three nights, and you're still injured. I'm not entirely sure about the comrades you mentioned, but there were definitely two other people who were brought in for emergency treatment with you that day."
They're fine, they're being treated in the next room. You lie down first, I'll go get the doctor."
The nurse quickly offered a few words of comfort, then turned and hurriedly left the ward.
Zhong Yuemin lay back down helplessly, his chest heaving violently. The nurse's words were like a lifeline, stabilizing his near-collapse state of mind slightly.
Haiyang and Ningwei are still alive... They are still alive...
A moment later, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps came from the corridor outside the ward, approaching quickly and sounding very rushed.
Immediately afterwards, the ward door was pushed open with a "bang," and seven or eight people rushed in, making the already not-so-spacious single ward feel even more crowded.
Leading the charge were Zhang Haiyang and Ning Wei!
Zhang Haiyang had one leg in a cast, a crutch under his arm, and several bruises and abrasions on his face, but he didn't care about any of that. He practically dragged his injured leg to the bedside, his voice choked with sobs and lingering fear.
"Yuemin, Yuemin, you're finally awake! Damn, you scared me to death!"
My son is lying. I haven't slept well for the past two days, I was just afraid of you..."
She couldn't say anything more, she just gripped the edge of the bed tightly with her uninjured hand, her eyes red-rimmed.
Ning Wei stood beside Zhang Haiyang, his left arm in a sling across his chest, a bandage on his forehead, and his face still somewhat pale, but he stood ramrod straight.
Looking at Zhong Yuemin, his lips moved, but he only managed to utter three words, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
"Brother Yuemin!"
The excitement and relief contained in those three words carry more weight than a thousand words.
Behind them, Liu Yonghua, the reconnaissance regiment commander, Dong Ming, the political instructor, the attending physician, and the nurse from before also entered.
Looking at Zhong Yuemin, who had woken up on the hospital bed, Liu Yonghua visibly breathed a sigh of relief, but a trace of seriousness still lingered between his brows.
The doctor carefully examined Zhong Yuemin and found that, apart from weakness due to excessive blood loss and wounds that needed time to heal, his life was no longer in danger.
As the doctor was leaving, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Your physical condition is truly one of the best I've ever seen. A normal person would probably have lost a lot of blood by now... You should get some rest."
After the doctors and nurses left, leaving only their own people in the ward, Regiment Commander Liu Yonghua stepped forward, looked at Zhong Yuemin whose face was pale but whose eyes had regained their clarity, gently patted his uninjured shoulder, and spoke with a tone of relief at surviving the ordeal and his usual ruggedness.
"I knew you were lucky, you're fearless and reckless. Even the King of Hell thinks you're too troublesome and won't take you!"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Yuemin forced a bitter smile, a smile more painful than a grimace.
He shook his head, his gaze lowered, his voice hoarse and heavy, struggling to suppress the grief churning in his chest.
"Commander... please don't try to comfort me. I haven't done a good job as the leader of this reconnaissance squad."
How many people were there when we set off? Now… I couldn’t bring all my team members back safely… We were so close… We had already evacuated to the old town, and we were almost across the river to go home, but…”
The words caught in his throat, and the images of Mantun's broken body, Wang Tiezhu, and Lao Qin's mangled remains flashed through his mind...
Liu Yonghua's smile faded. He took a deep breath and looked at Zhong Yuemin with a serious and sincere gaze.
"Yuemin, please don't say that, and please don't think that way!"
The voice was resolute, carrying an undeniable certainty.
"Your 'Mountain Eagle' reconnaissance squad's performance in this self-defense counterattack operation is outstanding throughout the entire western front!"
Thumbs up.
"From the earliest infiltration behind enemy lines to gather intelligence, to the defense of the nameless hill,
How many enemy counterattacks did you withstand? You held firm like a nail, creating an opening and laying the foundation for the main force's full-scale assault on Lao Cai. This is truly a monumental achievement!
Liu Yonghua became more and more excited as he spoke, his fingers unconsciously tapping along the edge of the bed.
"And speaking of Gantang, what did the General Headquarters rely on for its overall offensive plan against Gantang? It relied on the first-hand intelligence that your small team risked their lives to bring back."
Without your intelligence—the deployment and firepower of the enemy's 316A Division, even the approximate location of their command post—what a heavy price we would have to pay! Huh?
"And that goes without saying!"
Liu Yonghua's voice was filled with pride.
"The artillery bombardment of the enemy's 345th Division command post left them disoriented and paralyzed in command, causing heavy casualties. And most exhilaratingly, the enemy division commander, Mei Ronglan, was captured alive."
My God, in all my years in the army, I've never seen anything this awesome! This is all thanks to your 'Mountain Eagle' squad. Nobody can take it away; it's there for all to see, and nobody can discredit it!"