Distant Mountain Battle Song

Chapter 5 Dragon Says Ao Bing
Baiyin City is a Gobi Desert city located outside the 400 mm rainfall belt, where it receives very little rain throughout the year. Such places are generally semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral, and are synonymous with poverty.

The Yellow River flows through this area, with 258 kilometers of it within Baiyin County. However, most of the Yellow River flows through deep mountain valleys in this region, making it very difficult to use its water to irrigate the land.

With the advancement of science, extracting water from deep mountain valleys became much easier. As a result, when the Yellow River began to flow through the arid Gobi Desert, the area quickly became a land of plenty.

It's amazing to think about. Under the blazing sun, with endless cornfields, sunflower fields, and sesame trees swaying with purple flowers, it's impossible not to feel a lot of emotions.

These things are good, but they lack the sound of insects chirping.

Even in the dark of night, you can't hear a single frog croaking.

When Yun Ce woke up, he found that he had drooled a lot, which soaked the bamboo mat. At the same time, the bamboo mat also left a mark on his face that would not be removed for a while.

The sky outside the window was so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. This was Yun Ce's own feeling, after all, there were still bright streetlights in the village.

Even with streetlights, Yun Ce still felt that everything was pitch black.

"Rumble"

A thunderclap boomed by the window, rattling the small panes of glass in the window frame and causing several radial cracks to appear on a large pane of glass embedded above the door.

Yun Ce felt as if he could understand the sound of thunder.

He got up from the kang (a heated brick bed), didn't wash his face, picked up his packed backpack and slung it over his shoulder, glanced back at the memorial tablet on the altar, then opened the door and went out.

A man dressed in a black Zhongshan suit stood outside the door. The old-fashioned Zhongshan suit fit him perfectly. He blended into the darkness easily, and Yun Ce would hardly have noticed him if he hadn't taken a step forward.

"Don't worry, I won't run away."

You can't escape.

"You'll kill me when I run away, won't you?"

"I have no right to kill you for running away, but you will certainly die."

"I just don't understand. If we're judging by knowledge, loyalty, and skill, you are clearly the best candidates to carry out this mission. Why choose us, who are inferior to you in every way?"

A slight smile suddenly appeared on the man in black's previously stiff face. He said gently, "Only by having you join the ranks of those who can be sacrificed will our sacrifice have meaning."

Besides, dragons are creatures that arose because of class distinctions. They thought you people were more valuable than us, so they specifically chose you.

I used to think that only dogs and horses were valued for their pedigree. After all, purebred dogs and thoroughbred horses have their merits, but purebred humans are useless. Your reproductive ability is not as good as ours, and your knowledge, loyalty, skills, and hard work are not as good as ours. Tell me, what use are you?"

Yun Ce glanced at the man in black and said disdainfully, "Even so, you still have to obey the orders of Yun Linchuan, this purebred?"

The man in black shook his head and said, "Yun Linchuan is different from you."

"What's the difference?"

"He was a revolutionary who redeemed countless people from suffering and secured a relatively better path for everyone. The spiritual pain he felt for the masses, the physical pain he once felt for the masses, his fearless spirit, and his compassion for the world are all reasons why we must obey him."

"You are different. You are just the best of the best among hundreds of millions of sperm, no different from us. If you want us to respect you the same way we respect him, then complete this mission well. I guarantee that when you come back, you will have the respect you desire."

After the man in black finished speaking, he opened his palm, revealing a bottle that emitted a silvery-white light, the light coming from the silvery-white liquid inside the bottle.

"mercury?"

"These are very precious nanorobots, the culmination of eleven years of hard work by the National Defense Science Center. Their functions are not yet complete, so we have specially enhanced the recording and signal transmission capabilities of the ones you have. Now, you need to drink them."

Yun Ce took the bottle and looked at the silvery-white liquid inside, saying, "So, even if I die, the nanobots can still transmit my exact coordinates back?"

The man in black pondered for a moment and said, "It can continuously transmit signals for two hundred years."

"You think too highly of me. I only hope my body can be preserved for two hundred years."

"It's still possible in space."

Yun Ce opened the lid, closed his eyes, and drank the silvery-white liquid in the bottle in one gulp.

My stomach feels warm and cozy, and I feel very full...

"There's also a knife and a cell phone!"

As he spoke, the man in black magically produced a long box from behind his back and handed it to Yun Ce.

The box contained a saber and a plain black cell phone, both with a distinct military style—not good-looking, but functional.

The phone is clearly a solar-powered phone, with a strong military-grade style; nothing more to say.

Yun Ce was very familiar with the style of the saber. The old man had an identical one hanging in his study. It was made of steel from Japanese artillery shells, and it was said to be incredibly sharp and even able to drink blood. To this day, there is still a layer of red light on the blade.

The absence of a red glow on the blade of this saber proves it's a fake. And rightly so, the old man cherished that saber like his own life; naturally, he wouldn't easily give it away, even to a descendant he favored.

"This knife is finely crafted..."

Yun Ce raised his hand to rub his arm, which was covered in goosebumps, threw away the box, tossed his saber and backpack onto his Wrangler, climbed into the vehicle, and said to the man in black, "I'm not going to see the old man."

The man in black tossed in a military backpack and said, "Change into the gear inside." Yun Ce opened the backpack, took out the clothes inside, and changed from the inside out.

The man in black leaned against the car window and said in a low voice to Yun Ce, who had changed into his gear, "Take one last look, don't leave any regrets."

Yun Ce laughed and said, "The characteristic of the Yun family is ruthlessness. He made the old patriarch unable to close his eyes in the past, and now, I have no intention of making him close his eyes."

After saying that, he stepped on the gas and left the yard.

Outside Langpaoshui Village is a two-way four-lane provincial highway. On weekdays, there are few vehicles. But once you get on the road, apart from the fleeting reflective warning signs, it is pitch black.

The darkest place, the place with the loudest thunder, and the place with the most concentrated lightning should be Yun Ce's destination.

The Wrangler sped along, and Yun Ce watched as the speed increased from 120 to 150 without slowing down. These past few days, he had had enough of that nameless oppression. At this moment, he just wanted to let loose completely this morning, even if it meant mutual destruction.

The thunder finally reached overhead, and lightning began to flash continuously. Under the illumination of the lightning, the distant mountains sometimes looked like a crouching tiger, and sometimes like a winding dragon.

Yun Ce's heart was pounding so hard it seemed to be in sync with the thunder outside the car window. Fear washed over him again like a tidal wave, and the strength in his limbs was rapidly fading. Yun Ce put all his weight on his right leg and pressed the accelerator hard, refusing to let go.

As the car's speed quickly soared to 180 km/h, Yun Ce, feeling lightheaded, glared at the dark red clouds ahead, caused by the thunderstorm, and roared, "Come on, I'm not afraid of you!"

Just as the car crossed a high slope and landed in a leaping motion, Yun Ce suddenly saw a chubby and adorable baby, resembling a tire-shaped man, standing in the middle of the road, waving at him as if asking him to stop the car immediately.

A palpable chill seeped through the car window, chilling Yun Ce to the bone. As he watched his hands gripping the steering wheel rapidly stiffen, the Wrangler ran over the infant without hesitation.

The car jolted twice before crashing into the road railing, then bounced back and hit the left railing with a sharp scraping sound.

Yun Ce's numb hands were still gripping the steering wheel tightly, and he didn't step on the brakes. After the swaying car gradually stabilized on its own, Yun Ce saw a chubby baby with two tire tracks on his face and belly suddenly appear from directly in front of him. This time, he seemed extremely angry, and he stretched out his chubby and cute hands toward the speeding Wrangler.

At the same time, a clear child's voice entered his mind.

"I need you to stop the car!"

Yun Ce's eyes were icy cold, and he let out a hoarse sound that was not human. The herdsman rammed into the strange infant again.

This time, the Wrangler gained no advantage. The 1.5-ton vehicle dented and disintegrated rapidly in front of the baby's small hand, as if made of paper, while the rear of the Wrangler was also collapsing inwards at a rapid pace. At the same time, all the airbags inside the Wrangler deployed, instantly enveloping Yun Ce.

After the power was gone, the chubby boy jumped out from the engine area and looked at Yun Ce, who was bleeding from his mouth and nose, through the car window, and asked in confusion, "Why did you hit me?"

Yun Ce, whose body was stuck in car parts, coughed up blood and said, "You treat me like a toy, and you won't even let me fight back?"

The chubby baby jumped up, clapped his hands, and said with a smile, "Fun, fun! Much more fun than those who were scared to death!"

A large blood blister appeared on Yun Ce's nose, and then he asked with difficulty, "What exactly are you?"

Even with a black tire track on his face, the adorable baby couldn't hide his cuteness. He tugged at his only decoration, his bib, and said, "I am Ao Bing, the Dragon Prince!"

Yun Ce coughed up another mouthful of blood and said, "You're the belt around Li Jing's waist?"

Ao Bing shook his head and said, "That's a rumor."

Yun Ce said, "If you don't get me out of the car now, you won't need to save me anymore."

Ao Bing asked in confusion, "Can't you get down by yourself?"

"Gasoline is spilled all over the ground. If it accidentally comes into contact with the electrical circuits, it will explode."

Ao Bing scratched his head, jumped out of the car, and casually tore open the car door. He then began to roughly pull at Yun Ce. For a moment, Yun Ce thought he was about to be torn apart by Ao Bing and the seatbelt. Just then, Ao Bing finally noticed the seatbelt as a hindrance, casually ripped it off, and freed him from a piece of scrap metal.

Lying face up on the road, Yun Ce was spitting blood from his mouth and nose, while Ao Bing kept poking at his head with great interest, seemingly very curious as to why so much blood would spurt from such a small lump of flesh.

Yun Ce knew that his internal organs were bleeding. Not only was his stomach bleeding, but his lungs were also seriously injured. As for the fractures, they were minor injuries that were not worth mentioning. This state of being on the verge of death was exactly what he wanted.

When Ao Bing finally realized that this big toy was about to break, Yun Ce only had a few breaths left. He struggled to say to Ao Bing, "Use your dragon powers to save me."

Ao Bing thought for a moment, then reached into his bellyband and scratched around for a long time before pulling out something that looked like an eggshell. After hesitating for a long time, he finally put it into Yun Ce's mouth.

The eggshell was a good thing; it looked hard, but it melted in your mouth. To be precise, the eggshell turned into a warm current that instantly reached Yun Ce's limbs and bones, and the intense pain disappeared in an instant.

Looking at the rapidly healing wounds, feeling the bones quickly returning to their original position and the internal organs recovering, Yun Ce sat up on the road and said to Ao Bing, "Don't be so stingy. Good things should be shared."

Ao Bing looked into Yun Ce's eyes and said with a grin, "You're quite something, at least you know to create an accident right from the start to get benefits from me and find a way to save your life during your space trip."

Yun Ce looked at the lightning falling like a meteor and sighed, "I need to know at least whether you really have abilities beyond human capabilities. If not, my death would be too cheap."

You must be the dragon who stayed on Earth as a hostage, right? Since we're in the same boat, tell me something I don't know.

For example, why don't you leave?

Ao Bing laughed and said, "Space travel is too life-consuming. I'm only three hundred years old this year, so it's not time for me to travel to space yet."

Yun Ce stared at Ao Bing's red undergarment and sighed, "I'm twenty-eight years old this year..."

(End of this chapter)