"You two old bastards, all you know how to do is stir up trouble for us. If the others at the base find out about that girl's bunch of belongings, they'll definitely complain," a gruff, wide-eyed old man said angrily.
Old Qiao stood up anxiously and said, "How they react is not just a matter of your command as the highest leader. Besides, tonight, the girl will have to spend the night alone in the wilderness. How many crises are there on the mountain? You know better than us! Didn't we all agree when this plan was devised? I haven't shown favoritism in training tasks. As for your opinions on her personal life, I strongly disagree! She's here to improve her physical fitness, not to be a soldier. She may not even want to keep wearing this military uniform in the end! It's best for you to put away your suspicions."
By nightfall, the things Hua Yan's father had prepared for her were already in her room, while she found a small hole three meters deep, one meter wide, and two meters high. There was no scent of wild beasts inside except for dry leaves. Hua Yan unloaded her belongings and, while it wasn't completely dark yet, searched the area around the cave for dry branches to start a fire. In the mountains at night, where the air was damp and cold, having a fire not only prevented illness but also deterred wild animals and insects. It was essential.
While gathering branches, Hua Yan occasionally encountered wild rabbits or pheasants. Hearing her stomach growl, she had an idea.
Without hesitation, Hua Yan returned to the cave, took a small iron shovel, and walked about ten meters away from the cave to a place with dense wild grass. Despite being bitten by mosquitoes, she dug a hole with all her might. With abundant rainwater on the mountain, the soil was soft, and in no time, two pits about three meters apart and half a person tall were dug. She inserted countless sharp branches, sharpened with a sharp military knife, into the pits, and then scattered crumbs from her beef biscuits into one of the pits. She covered it with branches and wild grass, leaving no trace of her actions. Despite her sore waist, she patted the dirt off her hands with excitement. With a reddened face, she carried the shovel back to the cave to start a fire.
Sitting on her sleeping bag, Hua Yan poured some water into a metal lunch box and threw a piece of beef biscuit inside, placing it on the makeshift fire. Eating just these two things was too little. Cold water wouldn't satisfy her and might even give her a chill. Instead, by boiling them together, she could fully absorb the nutrition and calories from the beef biscuit. After drinking the hot soup, every pore in Hua Yan's body opened up. Although she wasn't completely full, she had to endure it to ensure a smooth return to the base tomorrow.
With her body warm, Hua Yan threw some wormwood into the fire, filling the cave with its scent. With the mosquitoes taken care of, she wanted to sleep soundly, but there was one more thing she needed to do.
She spread a pile of dry branches around the cave entrance without leaving any gaps. This way, if anyone, wild animals, or anything else tried to enter the cave, Hua Yan would know immediately.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Not far from the cave, two camouflage-clad soldiers sat on a tall tree trunk, watching the cave without seeing any movement from Hua Yan, knowing she was asleep. They ate and chatted as they did.
"Didn't they say this female soldier had just joined and hadn't received any training? How come she seems more capable than us, who have been soldiers for several years? She's really something to think of putting dry branches around the cave."
"Didn't you see the trap she set? It's really clever. The dense wild grass is the safest place for prey and a frequent area of passage. By putting beef biscuit crumbs in the pit, it's easier to attract animals. This way, her chances of catching prey are increased by seventy percent. This woman is not simple." They also often camp in the mountains and dig pits to catch game, but they never thought of putting a few precious biscuits into the pit.
However, modern mountain animals are as clever as humans. They succeed four times out of ten when hunting, sometimes not catching anything at all. However, after a long time, as long as these two soldiers are in the wild, everyone can more or less eat wild game.
Old Qiao and Old Yang, wearing coats, sat in front of the monitor, watching Hua Yan just dig a pit and sprinkle biscuits, laughing and saying that this girl was smart and naturally suited for this job.
"Maybe this girl won't really get to eat wild game tomorrow!" Old Yang exclaimed, slapping his thigh happily.
"Yeah, didn't you hear those two boys already admiring our girl?" Old Qiao laughed heartily.
"Old Qiao, you go rest. I'll keep watch here tonight," several peers, including Old Yang, whose body was in tip-top shape, said. When it came to his robust health, Old Yang silently thanked his own abilities.
"Alright, you take a break tonight. I'll take over for you in the morning," Old Qiao, whose legs were rheumatic and couldn't bear the slightest chill at night, replied. Otherwise, he'd be confined to bed for a month or two, so he didn't argue with Old Yang about going back to the room to sleep.
In the late night when everyone felt like nothing would happen, there came a series of snapping sounds of dry branches breaking outside the cave where Hua Yan lay. The two soldiers on the tree immediately woke up upon hearing the noise. By the moonlight, they saw seven or eight emaciated, starving jackals approaching the cave entrance. As soon as they heard the noise from the tree, the footsteps approaching the cave stopped. Jackals are pack animals, smaller than wolves but more ferocious, and they enjoy hunting in groups.
"These are jackals! Aren't they supposed to hunt only in the morning or at dusk? How come they're out in the middle of the night?"
"Look how skinny they are, like dried twigs. They must be starving and smelled human scent, so they followed it here. Hua Yan stayed too shallow in the cave; if the jackals rush in, it'll be trouble. Let's hurry down..."
Just as they were about to climb down to help Hua Yan, they looked down and saw about a dozen jackals staring at them with their greenish eyes under the flashlight. The sudden sight made both soldiers shiver involuntarily, and cold sweat ran down their spines. After a half-second of stunned silence, one of the soldiers shouted urgently toward the cave entrance, "Hua Yan, wake up! There are wild animals outside. Don't come out, and don't scream... Hua Yan, wake up! There's danger outside. Don't come out, quickly get up and add dry wood to the fire, surround the cave entrance with fire... Don't be afraid, we'll come to rescue you..."
With too many jackals, even if they fired, they couldn't shoot them all in half a minute. If Hua Yan didn't hear them and ran out at the sound of gunfire, she would be the prime target for the enraged jackals.