Chapter 108 – “Cheers!”
Novel Title: 龙血 (Dragon Blood)
Author：水千丞 (Shui Qian Cheng)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 单鸣 (Shan Ming -MC), 沈长泽 (Shen Changze -ML)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
֍֍֍
After the two were buried under the ruins for forty-three hours, they finally heard the movement of drilling from above their heads. The loud sound was exciting them at this moment.
They couldn’t be sure how many metres deep they were buried in the ground. They might not be able to hear what the people above said. But what Shan Ming wants to do most now is to tell them that he and Shen Changze are still alive and they must be dug out.
But after two or three days of starvation, Shan Ming really didn’t have the energy to shout.
Shen Changze’s injury was almost recovered. His physical strength was enough to maintain his movement so he raised his neck and yelled upwards. But there was no response.
Suddenly, Shan Ming’s watch beeped. He raised his hand to see that the danger signal indicator light was flashing. Their watches have multiple functions such as positioning and warning. If they can go back alive this time, he must ask Falcon to develop a function that can detect pulse and body temperature to send data back to the headquarters. Shan Ming also tried to send a signal to the headquarters, but his watch probably didn’t work well after being bumped into. The signal button didn’t light up even after he pressed it for a long time. Shen Changze’s watch was broken and had fallen somewhere unknown. ‘Peregrine Falcon’ can determine their location but they cannot determine whether they are alive or dead. So how to let them know that they are still alive?
Shan Ming had a flash of inspiration. They must move!
Shen Changze also thought about it almost at the same time. The two of them had stayed in the same place for almost two days. In order to preserve their strength and prevent another collapse caused by random crawling, they have been afraid to move. Now it seems that they have to find a way to move at least four or five metres away for satellites to show changes in their position.
The two packed all the usable things into their backpacks and then turned on the small flashlight. They slowly crawled into the darkness.
Shan Ming crawled in the front while Shen Changze followed behind him. They groped forward. Since the visibility was too low, they would try wherever they can to be able to pass. But they would be blocked by all kinds of things and some places were too low for them to squeeze through. It was only short enough for a person to crawl over with his belly close to the ground and some places were a little higher, so they can barely sit up.
Shan Ming crawled and felt the road ahead of him. Suddenly, he touched something cold and stiff. Judging from the tactile sensation, it was a human hand.
Shan Ming was startled. The skin without temperature indicated that the owner of this hand was dead. He touched the fingers of that hand. There were hard calluses on the thumb and forefinger and the palm was rough. This was a person who has used guns all year round. The hand must belong to one of the two special forces.
Shen Changze asked, “Is there… someone in front?” The desert environment was dry and the corpse did not decompose as much. Shan Ming couldn’t smell it even when it was so close to him. But unfortunately, Shen Changze could smell something dead.
“Yeah.” Shan Ming felt a little sympathetic in his heart. Although he was not a person who would sympathise with strangers, he couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable when he thought of their final fate, “I found the body of one of the special soldiers.”
Shen Changze was silent for a while and said in a deep voice: “If we can go out, we must bring their bodies back to the motherland.”
People on the ground couldn’t hear them yelling like just now. But if there were still people alive underground, they would definitely be able to hear them. No one responded so the result is obvious. Now they are glad that most of the people with them went to check the off-road vehicles that were blown up by anti-personnel mines. This is a death trap laid by Tang Jingzhi with his life. If there were more people with them back then, they would all die. It is a miracle that they both can survive.
Shan Ming traced that hand up and down his back, trying to pull his backpack out to find some food. But this man was crushed to death. He only touched his shoulder blades and the rest was blocked by a stone. His body was crushed to pieces.
Shan Ming sighed, “There is no path here.”
Suddenly, the watch beeped again. The headquarters was sending him a message in Morse code. Shan Ming tapped his finger on the ground to decipher the codes. Unexpectedly, the message was very short with only one word; ‘left’.
Are they telling them to move to the left?
The two tried to go back the same way. They then climbed a few metres to the left with difficulty. But they were blocked.
Ten minutes later, the watch beeped again. It was telling them to go ‘right’.
The two had no choice but to climb to the right again. This time, they climbed more than ten metres away. It took two hours but they still lost their way in the end.
At first, the two of them thought it would be easier to tell them where to crawl because the structure of the ground was seen through from above. After going back and forth for more than two hours, they finally decided that they must’ve only let them move around to make sure they were really alive if they could accept and respond to the code.
Shan Ming cursed: “You’re just playing with me. I’m so fucking exhausted.”
After climbing for a long time, they were far away from the starting point. They found a slightly open place. Although they still couldn’t stand up, they could at least sit upright, which was enough for them to be comfortable for half a day.
Shen Changze broke off a piece of compressed biscuit and stuffed it into Shan Ming’s mouth. Shan Ming chewed carefully. He was chewing it more carefully than taking poison. After eating, Shen Changze wanted to stuff the straw into his mouth but Shan Ming turned his head away, “I won’t drink it, I’ve already drank today.”
“When did you drink?”
“I drank just now.”
Shen Changze still stuffed the straw in his mouth, “Drink more. You don’t have to worry about me, I can live for a month without eating or drinking.”
“What?” Shan Ming glanced at him, “You’re talking nonsense.”
“It’s true. I have trained before.” Shen Changze said lightly.
Shan Ming frowned and said, “Who told you not to eat or drink for a month? What kind of bullshit training was that?”
“It’s no big deal. It was just to test the limits of my physical fitness. When I was injured, I needed food to supplement my physical strength in order to heal the wound. Now that my injury is almost healed, I can store my own physical strength. I have a different physique from you. I don’t need much food in the future. I still have water. But you have to replenish it on time.”
Shan Ming looked at him suspiciously.
Shen Changze wiped off the ashes on his face, “Baba, it’s true.”
Shan Ming looked at him. He was indeed much more energetic than himself. He lamented to himself that being a Dragon Blood Man really had too many benefits.
They rested for a few hours. Then, a Morse code was beeping from the watch again. It was one word; ‘excavation’. And the other was ‘two days’. Did they tell them that the excavation would take two days? It was much shorter than they thought.
Although the sound of the machine working overhead was not loud, it was humming non-stop, which made them feel a little irritated. Excavation work is accompanied by many dangers. The most common situation is that it might cause a second collapse. Even if they are crushed to death, the excavation is all for nothing. They hope that the people above have already figured out the structure underneath so that their excavation plan is feasible.
Every minute and every second of living underground for five days with no light and no hope were filled with endless darkness and silence. Shan Ming didn’t want to die like this. He wanted to die happily on the battlefield. Fuck it. He’d rather die at the enemy’s gunpoint instead of being buried alive. He is so aggrieved.
Moreover, he especially didn’t want Shen Changze to die with him.
The two of them sat close together. They didn’t speak for a long time. They just listened to the sound of the machine above them. The sound hit their hearts with reality. This feeling of handing over their fate to others was terrible.
Shen Changze asked, “How much food and water do we have left?”
Shan Ming wanted to continue to lie to him. But he suddenly felt that it was unnecessary. Whether he could survive or not, he would have an answer within the next two days. He was still thinking about what to do until then, “Food is enough for about three days. Water, just enough until tomorrow.”
Shen Changze laughed at himself: “At least we won’t starve to death.”
Shan Ming also laughed and said, “Yes. At least we didn’t starve to death.”
Shen Changze put his arms around Shan Ming’s shoulders. The two of them were very close. His eyes stared at the illusory darkness in front of him. In fact, there was nothing there but he felt that he saw the scene of Shen Changze hanging on Shan Ming’s body acting like a baby when he was a child.
He said softly, “Baba, if you hadn’t picked me up, I would have died.”
Shan Ming laughed and said: “No way. You could kill three wolves when you were only five years old. Not only would you not die, but you would live a good life. But you would definitely become a Tarzan.”
Shen Changze smiled, “Yeah. But then I won’t be able to get to know you.”
Shan Ming joked, “Was it a good thing to be picked up by me?”
Shen Changze chuckled a few times, “It was definitely not a good thing. But if I could make a choice again…I’d still want you to pick me up.”
The corner of Shan Ming’s mouth curled into a smile, “It’s your luck that I was the one who picked you up. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have become so strong.”
Shen Changze gave a soft “hmm” and murmured, “It’s my luck.”
Shan Ming felt a little sour in his heart. He exhaled sharply and slapped his thigh, “Take out all the food. Let’s eat and drink them all. There are still two bottles of medicinal alcohol in the bag. Let’s drink it like wine. Anyway, it may not be possible for us to get out alive. So let’s have a good time before we die.”
Shen Changze laughed, “Okay. Let’s eat and drink to our hearts’ content.”
The two stuffed the remaining compressed biscuits and chocolate energy bars into their stomachs. They also drank all the water. They didn’t dare to eat and drink like this for several days before. It felt too extravagant to be able to eat them all at once. The feeling of being full in the stomach is the happiest thing right now.
After disposing of the food and drink, the two of them dug out the two small bottles of medicinal alcohol spirits. The remaining alcohol spirits in them were enough for only one sip. The two of them sat cross-legged and turned on the small flashlight. They looked at each other’s familiar faces as they unscrewed the bottle cap and clinked the ‘cup’.
“Cheers!” The two said in unison. They then smiled at each other and poured the alcohol into their mouths.
The spicy liquid flowed into the throat all at once. The taste was as bad as they expected but it was enough to stimulate them. They instantly sobered up from their hunger, tiredness and sleepy heads.
Shan Ming stretched out his tongue and panted heavily. He couldn’t help but to take two more sips. It was really fucking enjoyable to have two sips of ‘wine’ at this time.
Shen Changze threw the bottle in his hand and threw himself on Shan Ming. He pinned him to the ground. He quietly looked into Shan Ming’s eyes. He then said simply and straightforwardly, “Baba, let’s have sex.”
֍֍֍
*Translator’s Note: I’m sure that the alcohol they’re drinking is not isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). I think what they’re drinking is the distilled spirits like whiskey or brandy. Umm…they don’t taste good. Don’t try this at home. -K
Next update: 2023.–.–(*TBA)
֍֍֍
