Chapter 8 (2/2)

Giant pulled me up and shouted, “Old Hu! Motherf*cker, what are you doing at a f*cking time like this? Hurry the f*ck up!”

Luo Ning had already fainted. Giant picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Er Wa and I grabbed Liu Gong at the same time and ran away from the glacier, hoping that before the avalanche fell, we’d be able to climb over a slightly higher hill and grab that slim chance of survival.

Even at our most desperate moment, we hadn’t thrown away our guns. Guns were a part of an army man’s life. Throwing it away meant throwing away the honor of being a military man. You can throw away any other equipment, even your own bag, but never, no matter the situation, can you leave your gun behind.

The avalanche came down upon us too soon. It unfurled towards us like a tsunami. The ground shuddered and quaked under our feet.

I had once heard someone describing what happened during an avalanche, but never would I have imagined that there was a power as strong as the one I was witnessing between the heavens and the earth. Being here just crushed all hopes of surviving. Even if we had grown two more legs we wouldn’t have been able to escape the destruction that the avalanche laid.

However, the heavens never completely barred one’s road, and there was always a way out. The violent shaking from the avalanche had split open the glacier, creating a downward facing cave.

The growing blizzard was already upon us. Everyone didn’t waste another moment to think and charged straight for the cave. The slope within the cave was incredibly steep. Never would I have expected there to be such a long drop to the bottom. We all stumbled and rolled straight to the bottom of the pit.

Afterwards, a large pile of snow fell, completely plugging up the opening and burying us. The five of us all violently gasped for breath and coughed once we dug ourselves out. The rumbling finally calmed down after what felt like an eternity. Who knows how many tons of snow had toppled atop our cave.

I couldn’t see anything in the dark. Now that everyone had narrowly escaped death, it took a few moments before anyone broke the silence. The first voice to break the silence had a northeastern accent. I knew with one listen that it was Giant. Giant asked, “I’m hearing a lot of breaths. Old Hu, Ga Wa Zi, Liu Gong, Luo Gong, are you all there?”

I felt my entire body collapse. So much pain ran through me that I couldn’t even squeeze a sound out. All I could do was mumble in agreement, showing that I was alive.

Ga Wa also responded. He pulled out his flashlight and s.h.i.+ned it around the area. Luo Ning sat there, stupefied. He seemed to be unharmed. Liu Gong was semi-unconscious next to him. His left leg was bent out of shape, revealing the white bone underneath.

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