Luo Chuan sighed, pulling out gauze and alcohol from his emergency kit. He opened the bottle of alcohol and poured it directly onto his wound. The intense pain caused him to involuntarily groan, feeling as if his strength was draining away. He looked up to find the Elf girl staring fixedly at him. He pulled out a military knife from his body and tossed it to her, using his eyes and gestures to instruct her to watch out for Beastman search parties.
It appeared that the Elf girl understood. She picked up the knife, glanced at him, then emerged from the trench, taking up her duty to watch the Beastmen in the vicinity.
Once the Elf girl was on guard duty, Luo Chuan shoved a wooden stick into his mouth and clamped down on it. He grasped the broken arrow lodged within his body, took a deep breath, and pulled it out with a swift jerk. Blood immediately poured out from the wound like a spring. Luo Chuan pressed the gauze against it tightly, wincing from the pain.
He leaned against the trench wall, covering his wound, studying the broken arrow. Luckily, the arrow wasn’t barbed but was a slender armor-piercing needle which easily penetrated his bulletproof vest.
After tending to his wound, Luo Chuan drank some water and felt somewhat refreshed. He saw a casualty not far away - a combat medic, his medical bag still slung over his dead body. Luo Chuan recalled that they were nearly 50 to 60 kilometers away from the Otherworld Gate and were most likely already surrounded by the Otherworld Army. Considering his injury, he crawled over to the dead medic, took the medical bag, and searched the body for spare ammunition.
With his gear ready, Luo Chuan returned to his previous position and began to eat the compressed dry food he found. Noticing that there was no movement in the area, the Elf girl sat down, her eyes filled with hunger at the sight of his meal.
Luo Chuan noticed her longing gaze. Although they had once been enemies, right now they were simply survivors on a battlefield, without any real grievances against each other. With this thought, Luo Chuan hesitated for a moment, then handed her a piece of the dry food.
The Elf girl paused, her wide eyes studying him, trying to discern his intentions. However, her hunger triumphed, and she accepted the food, devouring it vigorously. It was probably her first encounter with such dry food, so after gulping it down, she couldn’t help but erupt into a fit of coughing. Seeing her discomfort, Luo Chuan couldn’t suppress a smile and handed her his water bottle.
After finishing the food, they sat silently against the trench walls, lost in their thoughts. Luo Chuan tilted his head and studied the Elf girl, a former enemy. The girl was an Elf from the Otherworld, appearing to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. Her delicate features and slender, well-proportioned body were accentuated by golden hair and her white skin, suggesting she belonged to the Caucasian race.
What struck Luo Chuan the most were her deep and captivating dark green eyes, as well as the pointy, slightly drooping elflike ears, constant reminders that the girl before him did not belong to Earth.
"Hey, what...what’s your name?" Luo Chuan attempted to communicate with her using sign language and Mandarin Chinese, only to be met with a bewildered expression on her face.
"I...I... Luo Chuan." Luo Chuan pointed to himself and emphasized his own name, but she still seemed confused.
"Luo Chuan, Luo Chuan..." Luo Chuan pointed to himself, repeating his name over and over.
"Luo... Luo Chuan..." After Luo Chuan’s tireless efforts, the Elf girl seemed to finally understand his intention, clumsily and carefully pronouncing his name.
Luo Chuan nodded in satisfaction, affirming her pronunciation. He then pointed to the Elf girl and asked, "What’s your name?"
Upon seeing Luo Chuan’s gesture aimed towards her, although she did not understand his words, she seemed to grasp his intent. She spoke a single word, "NINE..."
Luo Chuan attempted to pronounce the word she had just spoken and pointed at her again. Upon receiving her affirmation, he repeated it a few times.
"Nina, that’s a lovely name."
After resting awhile, Luo Chuan found his strength returning somewhat. He managed to struggle to his feet, pointing first at himself and then at the direction of the Otherworld Gate, signaling Nina, "I’m leaving. You should go back as well!"
Nina looked at him, her large green eyes puzzled. She did not seem to understand his gesture. However, the weapon in Luo Chuan’s hand made her uneasy.
Observing her reaction, Luo Chuan set down his gun and waved her off, gesturing, "I’m leaving. You should go too. Don’t run in to any Beastmen..."
Without lingering, he turned and started walking towards the Otherworld Gate. Regardless, he was determined to find a way back to the Otherworld Gate, then back to Earth.
After walking a certain distance away, Luo Chuan couldn’t help but look back. Nina was still standing there, watching him with a calm and quiet gaze, as if saying a silent farewell.
They had fought intensely minutes ago, yet there was no actual animosity between them, just differences in their standpoints that forced them into conflict. It was indeed a pitiful reality. Watching Nina, barely standing and then turning to leave, Luo Chuan let out a long sigh of relief. Even if he had lost contact with the main force, he still intended to attempt to find them. According to the situation before he blacked out, multi-national troops were probably retreating towards the Otherworld Gate. It was a gathering point with a vast arsenal that the Otherworld Allied Army couldn’t overtake all at once. All he needed was to reach that destination and find a way to sneak in, then he could rejoin the main force.