098 Upgraded (Second Update!)

(Second update delivered, requesting monthly tickets, monthly tickets!)

When that face leaned in close, Li Changjiang instinctively swung his palm out.

*Smack!*

Wan Peng inwardly breathed a sigh of relief—that had been close. So close!

Damn it!

He let go of Li Changjiang's arm, and both of them found themselves in an awkward spot. After all, one grown man giving another grown man mouth-to-mouth resuscitation—what kind of messed-up situation was that?

"He's awake! He's awake!"

"How are you feeling? Is anything wrong?"

Li Changjiang shook his head, still trying to piece together what had just happened, when he felt waves of heat rising up beneath him, like he was sitting on a stove. He tried to struggle to his feet, but another soldier was pressing down hard on his shoulders, holding him in place. Damn, that guy was strong.

"What about here?"

He shook his head again.

"And here?"

Someone pressed down on his back, and a hand was placed against his forehead. Li Changjiang wanted nothing more than to curse up a storm, but this wasn't the time or place. Besides, his whole body felt weak and limp. That one slap had drained him of all his strength; he could barely muster the energy to speak.

It took him a full two minutes just to draw a proper breath.

"Could you help me up?"

The overly tense soldier finally caught on and helped him to his feet. But before he could even stand steady, Li Changjiang was hit by another wave of dizziness. His legs gave out and he nearly collapsed straight to the ground.

"Quick! Pengzi, come give him a hand!"

"He's not going to be in trouble, is he? Get him in the car right now—it's too hot out here!"

Anyone who's ever carried a drunk person knows that a limp body feels twice as heavy, because a limp sack of flesh gives you nothing to grip onto. And with Li Changjiang's height, the two of them had to strain hard just to get him into the car and lay him across the back seat.

The car's AC had already been cranked to its lowest setting, but the heat outside was so brutal that the temperature just wouldn't drop. Li Changjiang seemed to have slipped back into unconsciousness. With no other options, the two men started the engine and began racing back to base.

"Base! Calling base!"

"Copy! Wan Peng, you're supposed to be out on a mission—what's got you calling me out of the blue?"

A gruff voice crackled through the vehicle's radio. On any normal day, Wan Peng would've been happy to trade insults with the bastard on the other end, but today he wasn't in the mood.

"I don't have time for your nonsense. Get the medical team on standby—we've got an unconscious man in the vehicle. We'll be back at base in about an hour. Have them ready to treat him."

Wan Peng's tone was urgent.

The man on the other end seemed to realize the severity of the situation and quickly acknowledged before cutting the connection.

Less than an hour later.

The off-road vehicle passed a sign reading "RESTRICTED AREA—NO ENTRY," drove straight over the concrete barrier ahead, and plunged into the Gobi Desert. After less than ten minutes of driving, a lush valley appeared ahead—clearly a well-hidden military stronghold.

The vehicle drove directly into a courtyard with no fencing around it. A crowd was already gathered in front, including three or four soldiers in white lab coats.

"Quick! Get him out!"

"Where's the stretcher!"

"One—two—three—"

Four or five people worked together to move Li Changjiang onto the stretcher and rushed him straight into the base hospital. If you hadn't seen the drills rehearsed hundreds of times, you'd never believe the running nurse beside them could find the vein on Li Changjiang's arm so accurately amidst all the jostling, then plunge the needle in and start the IV.

"Tell us what happened to him?"

Wan Peng and Hu Biao exchanged a glance.

"He passed out with no obvious warning signs. But before that, he was sweating profusely, breathing rapidly, and he screamed once."

"Screamed?"

"Did he sustain any impact or other sudden incidents?"

"No!"

"The road was smooth while we were driving—we were going about 110 kilometers per hour with minimal bumps. But the temperature was high, and the AC couldn't bring it down."

Wan Peng spoke rapidly. No sooner had he finished than he shoved open a metal door with a bang and charged into the emergency room.

"Everyone out!"

*Bang!*

The door slammed shut.

Emergency treatment began immediately. Wan Peng and Hu Biao had barely stopped to catch their breath when a commotion and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. They turned to see a group approaching—at the head of them were none other than the base's highest-ranking commanders.

"Report!"

"Report!"

"How is he? How could something like this happen suddenly? Did you encounter any other unexpected situations on the road?"

Xiang Guofang and Hu Dayou wore grim expressions. Ever since they'd learned that Li Changjiang had fought his way out of Libya alone and made it to the Chinese mission in Tunisia, the two had breathed a long sigh of relief—that kid was something else, always stirring up trouble.

Recently, the US State Department had been growing increasingly impatient. Even some sensitive departments had started pressuring them frequently to figure out just what secrets Li Changjiang was hiding.

And now, at this critical moment, this had to happen.

"Report, sirs—we encountered no unexpected situations on the way back."

"Hmm."

Xiang Guofang nodded without speaking. He walked up to the glass door of the emergency center and peered through. Inside, Li Changjiang's upper body had been stripped bare, revealing firm, well-developed muscles. The two attending doctors couldn't help but feel a quiet surprise.

One could say they'd seen more than their fair share of burly men, but this young man's physique was something special. Li Changjiang wasn't bulky, but his proportions were excellent, with not an ounce of excess fat on him. It was the same reason Nicholas had recognized him at a glance as a natural-born hunter.

Over an hour later!

The emergency room door suddenly swung open.

The two attending doctors emerged, looking fatigued. Upon seeing the commanders waiting at the door, they immediately straightened up and reported.

"How is he?"

"Report, sirs—the patient's condition is somewhat unusual. His vital signs show no abnormalities, but he remains unconscious. We can't determine when he'll wake up. However, we can conclude that there's nothing seriously wrong—it appears to be a temporary state of shock."

Li Changjiang was indeed fine.

Or rather, the problem wasn't with him—it was that strange sniper system in his right eye acting up.

Just before he'd fallen into his second bout of unconsciousness.

A flood of images had suddenly appeared in his mind—multiple angles of himself pulling the trigger, even full visual recordings. At first, Li Changjiang had no idea what the hell they were, but in less than even a minute, those images seemed to be forcibly implanted into his brain, becoming crystal clear.

And then, without anything else happening, he'd simply blacked out.

It wasn't until he opened his eyes again that...

Li Changjiang's consciousness still seemed stuck on those earlier images. The moment he woke up, he tried to communicate with that strange system, but to his utter astonishment, the interface that should have appeared in his eye didn't show up at all this time.

Nothing. Not a single response.

It had vanished into thin air! (To be continued.)