Years turn into wind

The cold stream reached their knees as Cheng Yuwei led Zhang Qiang and Li Chao along the creek. The sound of the rushing water masked their footsteps, but it also presented a new challenge. The rocks at the bottom of the stream were slippery, and a single mistake could easily lead to a fall. With their strength nearly exhausted, each step seemed particularly difficult.

"Sister-in-law, I can't hold on any longer..." Zhang Qiang clutched his abdomen, his voice filled with obvious pain. He had suffered a non-fatal abdominal scrape during the previous exchange of fire. The bleeding had clearly affected his mobility.

Cheng Yuwei glanced back, her expression complicated. At this moment, she could only harden her heart: "Qiangzi, hold on a little longer. There's a rendezvous point not far ahead. You'll be safe there."

Zhang Qiang gritted his teeth and nodded, without saying anything more, he struggled to keep up with the pace.

nowhere to escape

As the night deepened, the dense forest foliage obscured the moonlight, forcing the men to grope forward with the dim light of their flashlights. However, the pursuers behind them clearly hadn't given up, and the faint barking of dogs in the distance made their hearts tighten.

"They've sent out sniffer dogs." Li Chao's face showed panic, and his pace slowed down. "Sister-in-law, if this continues, we'll be caught up sooner or later."

Cheng Yuwei's face darkened. She looked up and around, then whispered, "Stop, clean up the bloodstains and don't let the dog smell it."

Zhang Qiang nodded, and despite the pain, he took out the gauze he had with him and bandaged it briefly. Cheng Yuwei took out a bottle of chemical reagent from her backpack and quickly sprinkled it into the stream and on the ground along the way.

"Sister-in-law, what is this?" Li Chao asked puzzledly.

"It's a chemical agent that masks smells and can confuse hunting dogs." Cheng Yuwei explained simply, with a hint of confidence in her eyes.

After hearing this, the two of them felt a little relieved and regained their spirits to follow her.

Crisis in the Forest

At the end of the stream was a dense forest with tall, dense trees, which seemed to provide more cover for the group. However, this also meant more uncertainty.

"Sister-in-law, is it really safe here?" There was a hint of doubt in Zhang Qiang's voice.

"It's not safety, but it's the only option." Cheng Yuwei answered firmly, "As long as we can hold on until dawn, the support team will definitely arrive."

Several people stepped into the forest, one step deep and one step shallow, branches scratched their skin, and the cold wind penetrated their bones through their wet clothes. Just when they thought they had temporarily shaken off the pursuers, a gunshot suddenly sounded behind them.

"Get down quickly!" Cheng Yuwei shouted in a low voice, and the three of them quickly hid in the bushes.

In an open field not far away, several enemy soldiers, armed with torches, and accompanied by sniffer dogs, were slowly approaching. The hounds sniffed the air a few times and barked softly, as if they had already picked up the scent of several people.

Zhang Qiang's face was pale, his finger on the trigger, but Cheng Yuwei held it down. She used her eyes to signal him not to act rashly, and quietly took out the small smoke bomb she carried with her.

"A little closer..." She muttered to herself, holding her breath and waiting for the best moment.

Jedi strikes back

The light of the torches drew closer, and the barking of the hounds grew clearer. However, just when the enemy was less than five meters away, Cheng Yuwei decisively pulled the fuse of the smoke bomb, and thick white smoke instantly filled the entire open space.

"Let's go!" she whispered, pulling up Zhang Qiang and Li Chao and evacuating quickly.

The enemy's vision was obviously disturbed by the sudden smoke, and they began to shoot blindly in the chaos, but Cheng Yuwei and others had already disappeared into the depths of the jungle under the cover of the smoke.

After running all the way, the three finally stopped under a huge old tree and leaned against the trunk to rest, panting.

"Sister-in-law, this is not a solution. They will catch up with us sooner or later." Li Chao frowned, with a hint of despair in his eyes.

"No." Cheng Yuwei shook her head, her tone firm, "I have flares. As long as we can hold on until dawn, the team will definitely arrive."

Zhang Qiang raised his head, his face pale but his eyes still firm: "Sister-in-law, no matter what, we will listen to you."

A ray of hope

As the night faded, a hint of paleness appeared in the eastern sky. Cheng Yuwei looked up at the sky and pulled out a flare.

"Wait a little longer, until the light gets brighter." She whispered, looking around vigilantly.

Just as she was about to fire the flare, a slight noise suddenly came from the dense forest in the distance.

"Someone is coming!" Zhang Qiang nervously whispered a reminder, and several people immediately raised their guns and prepared for battle.

A few seconds later, a familiar figure appeared in the field of vision.

"Sister-in-law, he's ours!" Li Chao shouted in surprise, his voice full of excitement at surviving a disaster.

With the arrival of the support team, Cheng Yuwei finally breathed a sigh of relief. She put away the flare, turned to look at Zhang Qiang and Li Chao, and a faint smile appeared on her lips: "We survived."

Zhang Qiang and Li Chao smiled at each other, their eyes filled with gratitude and admiration. They knew that it was because of Cheng Yuwei's calmness and wisdom that they were able to break through this desperate situation.