Los Angeles defector

Crisis

After a day and a night, Jason woke up. He could remember most of what had happened on the playground two days ago, but it all felt unreal to him. It was only after Emily, who was sitting by his bedside, retold the story that he was convinced it wasn't fake.

Having taken down Slashmaster and injuring many soldiers from Second Platoon, it seemed like a feud had been established. However, Jason didn't care much about it. He wasn't close to the soldiers from Second Platoon anyway, so he didn't care about their opinions. What worried Jason more was his own issue—the headaches and occasional hallucinations that troubled him. He couldn't help but start to worry about what was happening to him. Was he sick? Was there something wrong with his head? Could it be that his mind had been shattered by the bombardment at the machine g*n position? Of course, he had no way of knowing that these were symptoms of "battlefield syndrome," filled with doubts and suspicions.

His whole body ached, especially his pounding headache. Jason sat up on the edge of the bed, attempting to stand and walk around, but he was stopped by Emily.

"Fox, are you in a lot of pain? I think you should just lie down."

"It's okay, just bruises. It's more uncomfortable lying down; I feel better moving around." Jason grimaced as he got off the bed, swaying a few steps slowly before adding, "I really messed up this time. Did the unit say how they're going to handle it?"

Emily chuckled, "The Chief of Staff left with the entire regiment the day before, they don't have time to deal with you. Right now, it's just the Second Company left here."

After moving around for a while and feeling much better, Jason finally decided to go outside for some fresh air.

The playground was still the same, the Second Company was still the same, and Jason and Emily appeared at the edge of the playground again. Slashmaster was still instructing the Second Company's training. Seeing a big and a small figure by the field, Jason couldn't help but get angry. "This darn guy, bouncing around again," he shouted, "Stop right there!"

Jason and Emily stopped at the words, and they both turned their heads to look as Slashmaster walked over.

Feeling frustrated, Slashmaster knew that Jason was definitely not his match in terms of skill. He had lost because he had used the g*n butt instead of the knife, catching himself off guard. Regardless, he felt he needed to settle the score with him. With a dark expression, he stood in front of Jason and said, "Let's have another match, this time with no rules!"

Feeling frustrated, Slashmaster knew that Jason was definitely not his match in terms of skill. He had lost because he had used the g*n butt instead of the knife, catching himself off guard. Regardless, he felt he needed to settle the score with him. With a dark expression, he stood in front of Jason and said, "Let's have another match, this time with no rules!"

"Another match?" Jason regretted the last match. Slashmaster's skills were indeed impressive. If he hadn't recklessly fought him last time, who knows how things would have turned out. Ending up in this situation, suffering such consequences, it's not worth it. So he calmly said, "No need for another match. You've won. I can't beat you."

Jason's statement served two purposes: on one hand, he wanted to settle the matter peacefully, and on the other hand, it was the truth - the other party was indeed skilled. There was nothing wrong with saying so.

However, when Slashmaster heard these words, it felt like a direct slap in the face. "I've won?" My head is wrapped up like an Indian turban, how can I be considered a winner! His face turned red with anger, breathing heavily, he gritted his teeth and said, "You think you're something, huh? Let me make it clear to you, in this match, whether you want to or not, you will compete. You have no say in this."

Emily, watching Slashmaster being aggressive, couldn't help but move closer, wanting to argue with him.

Watching Slashmaster with bandages all over his head, eyes glaring and breathing heavily, Jason almost burst out laughing. Seeing his aggressive stance, there was no escaping, so he decided to stall for time. He quickly grabbed Emily, who was about to speak, and said to Slashmaster, "Alright, alright, I'll compete. But not now, I have a headache and feel dizzy when walking. You have to allow me some time to recover, right?"

Without waiting for Slashmaster's response, Jason, holding Emily's hand, walked away and strolled up the eastern hill.

On one eastern hill and one western hill, the eastern hill steep and the western hill gentle, a small road runs through the unnamed village in the valley. Standing on the eastern hill provides a clear view overlooking the village. The unnamed village is hidden in the mountains, quite inconspicuous. It is over a hundred miles away from the nearest vampire-occupied area, Shadowvale County. Spies are placed in scattered villages along the way, ready to send messages upon detecting any anomalies. As a result, the village has remained peaceful, with only two outposts stationed at the north and south entrances of the village.

The vampires from Shadowvale County this time marched straight ahead, bypassing irrelevant villages along the way. They marched through the night, sweeping through Blackwind Mountain in the dead of night the day before. They initially thought it was a resistance army or a guerrilla group, but to their surprise, it was just a few dozen bandits. After a brief rest, they continued their journey, heading straight towards the direction of the unnamed village.

Overlooking the picturesque mountains, the higher one ascends, the colder it gets. Jason stood at the mountaintop, momentarily forgetting about the bothersome matters from earlier. His mind felt lighter. As the wind blew for a while, even with the sunlight, it started to feel cold. Getting ready to return to the village, he suddenly noticed something unusual at the southern end of the village.

From a distance, not very clear, but Jason could make out a dozen figures. They were hiding in the blind spot of the southern road outpost, slowly retreating. Jason quietly slipped away.

"Hey, Fox, why aren't you moving?" Emily noticed that Jason had stopped, squinting his eyes and staring motionless in a certain direction.

"The vampires are coming."

"What? Vampires?" Emily quickly ran over and stood beside Jason, also looking towards the south where Jason was observing. "Where are they? I don't see anything."

Jason knew that these were likely the advance vampire reconnaissance team. They had discovered the unnamed village and the outpost outside the village. Now they were probably heading back to report their findings to the main force. How many vampires made up the main force? How far away were they from here? Jason looked around, but the rolling mountain peaks obstructed his view, revealing nothing within his line of sight. Since they had come from afar, their numbers were likely significant. He pushed Emily gently and said, "Hurry, we can't delay any longer!"

"What? Vampires are coming?" Slashmaster stood on the playground, looking incredulously at the hurried arrival of Jason and Emily. This was a situation that couldn't be taken lightly. Slashmaster quickly ordered the soldiers around him to investigate the situation at the southern outpost of the village and asked others, "Is there anyone on duty at the headquarters?"

One soldier replied, "Yes, Martin is on duty."

"Bring him to me right now."

Martin, the young rookie, couldn't join the team and was ordered to stay at the headquarters to handle receiving letters and messages. Upon hearing the call from the soldier of the second platoon, he immediately hurried to the playground.

Before Martin could steady himself, Slashmaster blurted out, "Martin, have you received any intelligence reports from our informants these past few days? Or any messages from the guerrilla forces?"

"No," Martin replied immediately.

"Are you sure?"

"Sure."

The soldier responsible for patrolling outside also hurried back and reported, "Report, everything is normal at the outpost, no signs of any situation."

Slashmaster nodded, fell silent for a moment, and then ordered, "Send out a squad now. While heading south, scout the situation five miles ahead."

Seeing Slashmaster hesitating, Jason spoke up, "Time is of the essence now. We can't afford any more delays. Let's evacuate the villagers first and immediately retreat to the north. There might still be time."

Slashmaster looked up at Jason. If anyone else had said that, he would have believed it, but coming from Jason, along with Emily on the mountain not seeing anything, and adding the old grudges and personal animosities, Slashmaster's suspicions grew. "Could this kid be trying to deceive me? Is he afraid of making enemies with me and trying to escape again? His thick head was just hit by our Second Platoon two days ago. Maybe he's just confused and seeing things?"

Impatiently, Slashmaster said to Jason, "Alright, enough chatter. Let's wait until the reconnaissance confirms the situation before we discuss further." With that, he turned and walked away.

Although Emily didn't see the vampires, she absolutely believed Jason's words, but she didn't have Jason's high level of alertness. Watching Slashmaster walk away like that, she tugged at Jason's sleeve and said, "Fox, Slashmaster is a heartless bastard who won't shed a tear until he sees the coffin. Let's see what he has to say when the reconnaissance comes back!"

Jason sighed, shook his head with a bitter smile, and said, "By the time we really get the reconnaissance report, I'm afraid the vampires will have already surrounded the village."

Jason's words not only made Emily's heart tighten, but also caused Martin, who was standing beside them, to shudder. What, what should we do now?