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"Ugh—why do my wounds feel so cool all of a sudden?!" Victor Wei gradually regained consciousness. He felt a soothing, invigorating coolness at the two spots on his body that had previously been burning with pain. The sensation not only relieved the pain but also seemed to refresh his mind, helping him snap out of his semi-unconscious state.
"Oh! I put some herbs I found on your wounds—how are you feeling now?!" Shawn Young asked with concern, eager to see how effective the Dragonsoul Herb really was.
"Wow! Shawn, what kind of herb is this? It's amazing—I can actually feel my wounds healing! This stuff is incredible!" Victor Wei exclaimed, pressing against the rock behind him and slowly standing up. He was astonished to find that the severe gunshot wound on his left leg was healing rapidly, and even the shattered bone seemed to be mending itself!
Victor Wei tried walking a few steps. Although he still limped, it was unbelievable considering that ten minutes ago he was on the brink of death from his injuries! Now he could walk again! Victor couldn't help but shout in surprise, "Oh my god! What kind of herb is this?! I've seen plenty of rare medicinal plants in the mountains of Guizhou, but nothing this powerful! Are Afghan herbs really this magical?! Shawn, how do you explain this?"
Suppressing his excitement, Shawn Young replied vaguely, "Oh! I infused a little bit of my supernatural energy into the herb. Looks like it's working pretty well!"
"Oh, so it's supernatural powers! No wonder—your country's paranormal squad really is something else!" Victor Wei accepted Shawn's "reasonable explanation," convinced that anyone with supernatural abilities was no ordinary human.
Seeing that he'd gotten away with it, Shawn Young said, "We need to hurry back and check things out. Now that we've caught Black Eye, the Americans have probably flattened the village! But there's still no word from Colonel Hank Han and Team Leader Fiona Tang!"
"Yeah, when I was half-unconscious, I heard that explosion—it was earth-shattering! The Americans' weapons are insane! I'm really worried about Colonel Han and the guys. We need to find them ASAP." Victor Wei said, limping over to his backpack.
Shawn Young quickly hoisted Black Eye onto his shoulder and helped Victor Wei. The two of them started heading back along the same path toward the still-blazing village.
With Black Eye in tow, the two of them used metal D-rings to slide down the climbing rope off the cliff. Suddenly, they heard hurried footsteps approaching. Alarmed, unsure if the newcomers were friend or foe, they exchanged a glance, drew their tactical knives, and Shawn Young quickly stashed Black Eye in a corner. He and Mountain Ghost melted into the darkness under the cliff, silently waiting for the group to arrive.
"Hmm—this terrain is tricky. Everyone stay alert! Advance slowly and follow my orders!" came the voice of Colonel Hank Han from outside.
Shawn Young and Mountain Ghost were overjoyed. Unable to contain his excitement, Mountain Ghost rushed out from the shadows, but his wound hadn't fully healed and he stumbled. In the darkness, the others immediately raised their weapons at him. Colonel Hank Han reacted fastest, leaping forward and pressing his gun to Mountain Ghost's head. But Mountain Ghost quickly shouted in delight, "Don't shoot, Captain! It's me—I'm Mountain Ghost!"
"Whoa, it's Mountain Ghost! Don't shoot! Mountain Ghost, how'd you end up like this, limping around? Where's Shawn Young?!" Colonel Hank Han quickly lowered his gun, helped Mountain Ghost up, and fired off questions.
Shawn Young dragged Black Eye out of the corner and stepped into the open. "Colonel Han, I'm here! Mission accomplished!" he said with a grin.
Colonel Hank Han stared for a moment, then hurried over to inspect Black Eye, who was wrapped up like a dumpling in white webbing. Excited, he patted Shawn Young on the shoulder and gave a thumbs up. "Shawn, you did great! That old bastard gave us hell, but you caught him! You’re a hero! But how’d you tie up Black Eye so tight? He can’t even fart!"
"Oh, this guy’s been knocked silly! Let’s take him back to China and interrogate him later! I’ve already recovered what he stole." Shawn Young said, pulling a black metal flask from his pocket and handing it to Colonel Han.
Colonel Hank Han took it, unscrewed the cap, and carefully examined the blueprints inside. After a thorough check, he nodded. "That’s it! These are the stealth jet blueprints! We’ve finally saved our country from a huge loss!"
Shawn Young sighed, "It wasn’t easy, but we finally finished our mission!"
But Colonel Hank Han replied, "We’ve only finished half our mission!"
"Uh—half? Why do you say that? Didn't we catch Black Eye and recover the blueprints?" Shawn Young asked quickly.
Colonel Hank Han shook his head and explained, "Catching Black Eye and recovering the blueprints was the original mission, but things have changed. Now, the other half of our mission is figuring out how to get out of Afghanistan and back home. And honestly, the situation doesn't look good."
Shawn Young frowned, "Huh? What do you mean? Can't we just contact headquarters and have them arrange an extraction? Shouldn't we be able to leave Afghanistan that way?"
Colonel Hank Han's expression grew grim. "That was the original plan, but things have changed. After the fierce fighting, our area has become a hotspot. The Americans have jammed all satellite signals and instant communications with powerful magnetic interference, so we can't contact headquarters. The Bagram Air Base has locked down the skies, and our extraction plane can't get through. Delta Force has been wiped out, and Black Eye is missing—America won't let this go. They'll launch a full search soon, maybe even a major military operation. We need to activate our backup plan and get out of here immediately."
Shawn Young asked, "So what's the backup plan?"
Colonel Hank Han said, "Team Leader Fiona Tang is still unconscious, and several of our people are injured. So we need Dudarev's help to retreat by land to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Then we'll try to get into Peshawar in Pakistan, where our people will meet us."
Shawn Young didn't know all the complicated details—he just thought getting out and bringing Black Eye home would finish the job. Now, he finally understood how unpredictable and complicated overseas operations could be.
"By the way, how's Fiona doing?" Shawn Young suddenly realized he hadn't seen Fiona Tang and was worried about her.
Colonel Hank Han waved to the back, and two Dragonforce Battalion soldiers carried out a military stretcher. Fiona Tang, pale and unconscious from overusing her energy, lay quietly on the stretcher, looking so frail that Shawn Young's heart ached.
Shawn Young knelt beside her, gently stroked Fiona's hair, and touched her forehead—it was cold. He checked her pulse, finding it weak. Worried, he began thinking about how to get a Dragonsoul Herb from the Codex of Ascension to help her recover, when suddenly the sound of a car engine came from the hillside below.