Faced with their silent Deputy Company Commander, the platoon members broke into shouts.

"Deputy Company Commander!"

"Deputy Company Commander, it's already past thirty seconds!"

"Give the order!"

Little Li stayed silent, head down, running on.

Right then, from the northwest, several more Mushroom Cannon rounds fired off, meant to draw the tiger away. It was Chen Xiuni — seeing that Little Li's side hadn't fired, she'd had her own platoon cover the volley.

Over on Little Li's side, the moment his men saw someone else firing the Mushroom Cannons in their place, they blew up: "Li Bo! I took you for somebody — turns out you're nothing! Screw you! You won't shoot, we'll shoot!"

And they hoisted their Mushroom Cannons, leveling them at the upward-glaring white-browed tiger.

Li Bo whipped his head around, glaring. "Pig-Head! You want to get yourself killed?"

"I'm scared of dying, sure — but I don't flinch!" the man called Pig-Head shot back, brows knit, and swung his Mushroom Cannon around. With a roar, the round blasted toward the upward-glaring white-browed tiger.

The rest of the platoon answered in kind.

"Screw you, Li Bo — don't drag us into living with no face!"

"I'm not even scared of the bugs — you think I'm scared of one dumb animal?"

"You've got no shame, but we do!"

As they spoke, they swung their Mushroom Cannons around and fired, round after round, until they'd well and truly enraged the tiger that had been running northwest — and it wheeled about and charged them.

And still the Mushroom Cannons in their hands didn't stop, plainly weren't going to stop, bent on drawing the tiger fully in and making that one-in-three sacrifice.

The sight left Li Bo drenched in cold sweat, and he moved at once to turn and run.

But before he could, the upward-glaring white-browed tiger had already closed the distance, its enormous pressure aura sweeping over them, a paw bigger than a house slamming down — and just like that, several men too slow to dodge were crushed dead.

Another fierce lunge, jaws gaping wide, and a…