Wang Dadong stood solemnly before the fallen border guards, raising his right hand in tribute.

He felt a twinge of guilt in his heart, thinking that if he had intervened earlier, these border guards might not have been sacrificed.

It all happened too quickly, by the time he realized, the guards had already pursued ahead.

He hoped he could still save the remaining three.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots echoed in the woods, and Wang Dadong’s expression changed as he quickened his pace.

But he soon stopped upon seeing the female border guard.

At the moment, the female border guard was leaning against a large tree, her face deathly pale. Her bandaged right leg was completely soaked in blood.

Wang Dadong’s expression shifted as he estimated that the bullet had hit the major artery in her thigh, causing extensive blood loss. He hurried over to her.

However, as soon as he approached the female border guard, the barrel of a gun was pointed at his forehead.

"Don’t shoot, I’m here to help!" Wang Dadong frowned and said.

Although an automatic rifle might not kill him, getting shot in the forehead would definitely not be pleasant.

"Who exactly are you?" The female border guard, weak but with resolute eyes, asked.

"Huaxia People," Wang Dadong quickly responded.

The female border guard stared into Wang Dadong’s eyes, as if trying to discern something.

After a tense exchange lasting over ten seconds, she finally lowered her gun.

"Your gunshot wound has struck the major artery in your leg, it needs to be treated immediately, or you’ll bleed out and die soon," Wang Dadong said in a serious tone.

The female border guard naturally understood her predicament and said to Wang Dadong, "Give me a cigarette."

Wang Dadong quickly pulled out a cigarette, placed it in her mouth, and lit it.

The female border guard took a hard drag, her contorted face relaxing slightly, the nicotine easing her pain significantly.

Then she swiftly ejected the magazine from her rifle, took out a bullet, and poured the gunpowder onto her wound.

Woosh!

A plume of fire sprang up from the female border guard’s leg.

Ah!

The scream caused the leaves to rustle and fall.

Strangely, the scream was not from the female border guard, but from Wang Dadong.

Because just now, the female border guard bit him.

It’s possible the female border guard was doing this for the first time, underestimating the pain caused by gunpowder burning flesh.

The intense pain made her instinctively turn her head and bite Wang Dadong’s arm.

Wang Dadong was immediately speechless, for crying out loud, you could bite your clothes, your gun, even a tree, why bite me?

However, he had used that method to stop bleeding before, so he knew just how painful it was.

After biting Wang Dadong for more than a minute, the female border guard finally let go, leaving Wang Dadong grimacing in pain.

Luckily, he had shut down his Sacred Body in time, otherwise her teeth might have been crushed.

After closing her eyes and resting for a few minutes, the female border guard opened them, staring fiercely at Wang Dadong.

"Even though you’re not a soldier, your country needs you now. Are you willing to sacrifice your life to defend your country?" the female border guard asked coldly.

"Of course I am! Always ready!" Wang Dadong replied loudly.

Upon hearing Wang Dadong’s response, the female border guard relaxed a little and said, "Good."

Wang Dadong’s face twitched, well hell, why don’t you try not pointing the gun at me?

"Help me up," the female border guard commanded Wang Dadong as if issuing an order.

Despite being somewhat annoyed by her attitude, Wang Dadong complied.

Supporting the female border guard, Wang Dadong continued to pursue the trail.

"What do you need me to do?" After a few minutes of silence, Wang Dadong finally asked.

He felt there was something strange about this situation.

Logically, the female border guard should be calling for reinforcements by now, but she insisted on pursuing.

Avenging her comrades was one reason, but Wang Dadong felt there must be another.

"Do whatever I tell you to do, don’t ask questions you shouldn’t," the female border guard said coldly.

Wang Dadong was immediately displeased, furrowing his brows, "Even if you want me to die, let me understand why!"

The female border guard hesitated for a moment before deciding to divulge some information to Wang Dadong.

"According to reliable sources, these individuals are in possession of a valuable Huaxia artifact, which must not be allowed to leave Huaxia."

"It’s just an artifact, is it worth risking life over?" Wang Dadong smirked.

"Worth it!" The female border guard’s response was simple yet firm.

"You’re not a border guard, are you?" Wang Dadong squinted and asked.

From the female border guard’s skills, it was clear that a regular border guard couldn’t reach such standards.

Moreover, her presence here was clearly due to prior knowledge about the artifact’s potential smuggler.

If Wang Dadong guessed correctly, the female border guard must be a special forces member.

"Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t!" the female border guard answered coldly.

"Well, at least tell me your name, alright?" Wang Dadong said, feeling a bit helpless.

The female border guard replied indifferently, "You can call me Thorn."

"No wonder you’re so prickly..."

"What did you say?"

"I said let’s hurry and give chase."

...

Time would prove Wang Dadong’s assumption was correct. Thorn’s demonstrated military prowess affirmed she was undeniably a special forces soldier.

Following the trail, they found the suspects attempting to cross the border.

Unfortunately, the two border guards who had entered the woods were already dead.

Thorn’s expression was chillingly cold, making Wang Dadong shiver.

"Can you shoot?" Thorn picked up an automatic rifle from the ground, checked the magazine, found it still had bullets, and turned to ask Wang Dadong.

"I suppose I can..." Wang Dadong scratched his head and replied.

Thorn tossed the rifle to Wang Dadong, calmly stating, "If I die, protecting the artifact will be your responsibility."

With that, she hobbled forward.

Wang Dadong was speechless, damn it, you didn’t even ask whether I agreed!

Grumbling internally, Wang Dadong followed her.

Setting aside the fact that the suspects had killed five border guards, they couldn’t be allowed to escape.

Thorn was extremely proficient in jungle warfare, as if the jungle were her home turf. She handled the suspects swiftly, needing no assistance from Wang Dadong.

The last suspect, after a day of running, finally found himself with Thorn’s gun aimed at his head.

"Run, keep running!" Thorn holstered her pistol and began pummeling Big Gold Chain with her fists.

Big Gold Chain, bloodied and cursing fiercely, found that the more he cursed, the worse he was beaten.

Suddenly, Wang Dadong noticed a tattoo on Big Gold Chain’s torn sleeve on his left wrist, and his expression subtly shifted.