Mission: Protect Xiao Zhan (Completed)

ARC 3: At War 1

"AK, I have questions!"

Yibo thought for a while. "What am I likely to encounter next?"

"I don't know. You won't know until you get there", Ak answered honestly

'All Knower indeed', Yibo mumbled under his breath but his voice echoed out loud. If he could see AK's face right now, he would realize how incredibly alike he and Xiao Zhan are.

"But before you proceed to the next world, I just want to inform you, the time you spend here can actually be used to learn something new. I've been through many lifetimes and I can impart some of the things I know to you".

After considering his words, Yibo asked. "What exactly can you teach me?"

"I can teach you a lot".

Yibo was eager to move to the next world, he didn't bother to think about it. Left for him, he would directly jump into the next world. "So...do you have any recommendations?"

"Good thing you asked. You should to concoct herbal medicine. If you ever find yourself in a place where there is no medical help, it might be of use".

Yibo felt his words were indeed meaningful so he agreed and the teaching process commenced.

Yibo had no idea how extensive this skill was and by the time he perfected the beginner level, almost 4 years had passed. He was mad at AK for not warning him ahead of time and once he started, he found out he couldn't just back out. He could only continue till the end. Although, time stood still in all the universes, the empty feeling of time passing by and the feeling of missing Xiao Zhan was real. He hadn't seen him in 4 whole years.

Before AK could suggest advancing to the intermediate level, he had run off into the next world.

......

When Yibo came to, he was drenched from head to toe. He was lying in the grass, his hands tightly clenching a sniper rifle, looking through the peep hole. He immediately sensed he was in the middle of a very important event.

Without wasting time, he looked into the memories of the present world. This world was set in the not-so-distant past and the country was in the middle of a war. They were on the winning side, the opponents having nothing else to lose have decided to take as many people as they could down with them. They had been totally surrounded and their numbers were less than 100 but these 100 people possessed an indomitable fighting spirit.

Wang Yibo searched through his memory. Xiao Zhan was never too far from him. he suspected Zhan was in the army but he couldn't tell if they were on the same side or on opposite sides. What if he came face to face with Xiao Zhan in battle? He was definitely not going to kill him but that didn't guarantee that no one else would. He could only wish Zhan was on his side. Better yet, he wished Zhan was not on the battle field as that would be a very difficult situation.

Yibo could not recall meeting Xiao Zhan in this world. From the look of things, they had been in battle for more than 10 months. He recalled the date and if he wasn't mistaken, Xiao Zhan would turn 30 in just three days.

3days! If he was stuck here for 3 more days, how was he going to find the man? How was he going to prevent him from dying? He didn't want to experience Xiao Zhan die in any world even if he knew he could continue to protect him in another world? He was engrossed in his thoughts and didn't realize a grenade landed on their side.

The sniper lying next to him was quick to notice. By instinct, he shuffled to escape the explosion radius. Unfortunately, it exploded, affecting everyone within a 15m radius. One person was reduced to a pile of flesh, others had body parts splattered on them. Yibo felt a bit of flesh slap his face, while blood dripped down his cheeks. The person next to him managed to escape with minor injuries, Yibo himself was untouched.

If Xiao Zhan was in such a vicinity, what were his chances of survival? Wasn't this a death trap? He couldn't lie still but he had no choice. Without clear orders, if he made a move, he would be executed on the spot.

The soldier in command gave an order and a group of men advanced towards the enemies. Yibo and his group were to stay behind and cover for the advancing group. Even though they had the upper hand, the prolonged war had taken a toll on them. They had just 4 armored tanks left. One remained behind and three advanced with the soldiers, launching a direct attack on the enemies.

Soon the sound of gunshots flooded the air. Yibo, watching from afar noticed the enemies directed their attacks at the soldiers operating the machine guns mounted on the tanks. When they shot at one, another took over. The soldiers on foot also fought but the tanks were their main source of power.

They had truly underestimated the opponents. They were few in number but they had weapons in large supply. Soon, the soldiers on foot were reduced by half. The tanks had stopped advancing as there were no people left to operate the machines.

Yibo's side had the advantage of numbers. Those who stayed behind as backup had to come out as reinforcement. After more than 2 hours of intense battling, the other side was subdued. The people left were less than a dozen and they were badly injured. As for their fate, it was not up to Yibo.

The soldiers went around, picking bodies of their fallen comrades. The ones who survived were sent to an infirmary. Wang Yibo looked everywhere and there was no trace of Xiao Zhan.