Qing Luo and Bian Yiyi exchanged a look of tacit understanding, and after Qing Luo gave Bian Yiyi a sign with her eyes, Bian Yiyi opened her mouth to speak,
"If we don’t cooperate—"
Yet before he could finish his sentence, Song Lili spoke up,
"Xinglan is injured, which indeed could become a weakness for us, but... Commander Lu selected us as officers, and the most basic quality of an officer is the ability to lead troops to victory in the harshest and most dangerous conditions and bring home the soldiers who stake their lives on the battlefield."
Bian Yiyi’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Just now, Sir Liu shared information that is common knowledge; I’ve also shown you this map before, so I won’t show it to you again. You...shouldn’t have any objections, right?"
Qing Luo stretched out her tiny fist toward Song Lili. The fist was small and given Qing Luo’s youthful appearance and slim figure, she hardly looked nineteen.
However, this young foreign exchange student brother, when making decisions, was nothing like his usual hesitant self.
Song Lili reached out and gently tapped her fist against Qing Luo’s, and she smiled.
Bian Yiyi took a deep breath, "I don’t fully trust you all. We may cooperate, but if you try any tricks, I—"
"Same goes for both sides."
Song Lili had already packed her luggage, and she glanced at Bian Yiyi and Qing Luo, who were also ready to set out.
Bian Yiyi truly disliked how Song Lili never let anyone finish their sentences.
Yet his inherent aloofness made it awkward for him to squabble with Song Lili over such a matter.
Lin Xinglan’s foot was injured, but he still insisted on carrying his own luggage. Song Lili didn’t stop him, only reminding him, "Don’t push too hard."
Liu Fan and Camel were tied up tightly. Each of them was stripped clean of their possessions, and their mouths were gagged so firmly that even if they woke up, they wouldn’t be able to make a sound anytime soon.
The group of four made their way out of the ravine. Listening to the soldiers in Liu Fan’s team communicate over the radio through Liu Fan’s communication device she had on her ear, Song Lili silently gathered more information.
The nearest ambush to them had already disbanded. According to the positions they reported, Song Lili and her team could effectively avoid direct conflict.
Lin Xinglan limped alongside Song Lili, becoming more convinced that Song Lili was truly exceptional!
Qing Luo and Bian Yiyi might not have been as inexperienced as Lin Xinglan, but they now looked at Song Lili with new respect.
Luoheng Mountain was not particularly large, but it was certainly not small either. After studying a more detailed map, the four learned that there was a shortcut from Luoheng Mountain to Luqing Mountain – a cable car bridge at the mountain’s peak, spanning 1200 meters, which led directly to Luqing Mountain.
If they didn’t take the shortcut, they’d have to climb over Luoheng Mountain, wade across a river mid-mountain from the west, and then pass through two patches of forest to reach the foot of Luqing Mountain.
But the endpoint required them to cross Luqing Mountain near its tallest peak.
"There’s an ambush point by that river, two ambush points in those patches of forest, and an ambush point not far from the cable car bridge. It’s really all the same whichever way you go, so we might as well take the one that saves us the most time."
That was Song Lili’s suggestion, and it coincided with the intentions of both Bian Yiyi and Qing Luo.
"Xinglan, what do you