Chapter 321
The members of the covert team reacted extremely quickly. One of them had just fallen, and the others instinctively crawled to the ground. Turning to look at their fallen comrade, they saw a two-finger-sized blood hole in his chest. He was dead, but his body was still convulsing. Jiang Sen immediately realized the severity of the situation. He pulled Xie Wendong beside him and quickly crouched down. In fact, Xie Wendong had already lain flat on the seat. With a crack, shards flew everywhere, and six thumb-sized holes appeared in the car window. “There’s a sniper nearby!” Jiang Sen looked up and changed expression before blurting out.
Gao Qiang, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, turned to Li Shuang next to him and said urgently, “It’s not safe inside the car. Get out quickly!” Despite Li Shuang’s chubby appearance, he was surprisingly agile in emergencies. As soon as Gao Qiang finished speaking, he opened the car door, and his round body rolled into the gutter by the road. Though it was a messy situation, it was a life-saving tactic. Jiang Sen glanced at Ren Changfeng, who was sitting next to him, and frowned, signaling him to follow Li Shuang’s example. Ren Changfeng frowned and stood up, saying, “What does it look like for a man to roll around on the ground…” Before he could finish, five or six bullets whizzed in from afar, shattering the already damaged car windows and silencing the proud Ren Changfeng. He lowered himself and sighed helplessly. With no choice, he opened the door and rolled into the gutter. Xie Wendong, Jiang Sen, and Gao Qiang weren’t in much better shape. Fortunately, the car provided cover, allowing them to reach the gutter safely. But the members who had gotten out first weren’t so lucky. At Jiang Sen’s shouts, they tried to enter the gutter to join Xie Wendong and the others. Yet one of them barely raised his head before his body trembled violently and he collapsed, with a dark red blood hole between his brows—a horrifying sight. Jiang Sen, lying in the grass, watched clearly and clenched his fists in pain. After all, the members who had come with him were carefully selected elites. They died without even knowing what their enemy looked like or where they were. How could he not be devastated? He shouted urgently at the others, “Use your dead brothers as cover! Hurry up and crawl over!”
Using their comrades’ bodies as cover was cruel, but it was better than dying uselessly. A few members of the covert team moved behind the corpses for cover and slowly retreated. The sniper seemed to have seen through their intentions and fired continuously at the corpses. Rifles were recognized as the most powerful firearms, with bullets as long as a finger. When they struck the corpses, red flames erupted, instantly piercing through them and hitting the people behind. Out of the ten elite members of the covert team, only five managed to escape unharmed.
“Damn, such vicious shooting skills. Who could that be? It can’t be Xiang Wentian…” Li Shuang said with wide eyes. Xie Wendong shook his head and said, “After all, Xiang Wentian is a prominent figure in Shanghai. Attacking in broad daylight and using a gun makes that unlikely.” “Then who are they?” Li Shuang asked urgently. Xie Wendong glanced at Gao Qiang and Jiang Sen and said firmly, “It’s the Soul Group!” “Ah!” Everyone gasped in shock. Although they had heard rumors of the Soul Group operating near the Flower Hotel, they never expected them to arrive so quickly and act so brutally. Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes and said slowly, “The only ones who would want to kill me like this are the Soul Group.”
“Damn it, it’s the Soul Group again! I’ll fight them to the death!” Li Shuang pulled out a knife, gritting his teeth. Gao Qiang snorted and said, “Do you think you’re invincible? Don’t forget they’re using guns while you only have a crappy knife. I really don’t get why you’re still acting so tough right now.” Li Shuang’s nose almost twisted from anger, but he was used to being bullied by Sanyan and Gao Qiang. He couldn’t argue with them or beat them, so he could only grumble, “If it weren’t for this situation, I really would beat you up badly.”
Gao Qiang sneered and left a clear shoe print on Li Shuang’s chubby butt. Ren Changfeng, holding his Tang sword, stared at the two in astonishment. He wondered if they were crazy—still arguing in such a critical situation. He could only feel inferior. Shaking his head, he turned to Xie Wendong and asked, “Brother Dong, what should we do?” Xie Wendong sat in the gutter, with two silver-black-painted pistols on the ground. He gently wiped the two-inch-wide blade of his Tang sword back and forth and said calmly, “We don’t need to do anything. Just wait here for the enemy to come to us.” “Will they come?” Ren Changfeng asked worriedly. “What if they decide to stall us?” Jiang Sen replied coldly, “The Soul Group won’t waste time stalling us. They can’t afford to. If nothing goes wrong, the police should arrive in half an hour.”
Jiang Sen was right—the other side really didn’t want to drag this out and took the initiative to attack. The grass half a meter tall by the roadside swayed, and fifteen or sixteen people emerged from it, all dressed in dark green uniforms with black paint on their faces. If they lay hidden in the grass, it would be nearly impossible to spot them even if someone approached, unless one looked closely. Each of them carried a small, simple submachine gun and moved slowly toward the ditch. They walked quietly and slowly, making almost no sound. Xie Wendong had sharp ears; he tilted his head to listen carefully, gave a signal to the others, then quietly raised himself to observe the number of enemies through the grass above the ditch. But the moment he poked his head out, at least five of them opened fire. Terrified, Xie Wendong stuck out his tongue and quickly crouched back down, with grass and mud flying around him. He whispered, “There are at least ten enemies, and they all have guns. Be careful!”
“Hehe, come on then!” Gao Qiang and Jiang Sen unlocked the safes on their guns, while Li Shuang and Ren Changfeng rubbed their hands together, eager to fight. The remaining five members of the covert team showed no sign of panic and calmly checked their weapons and ensured nothing was missing from their gear. Although Xie Wendong appeared calm on the surface, he was actually extremely nervous. It was reported that most of the people sent by the Soul Group this time were mercenaries who had received special training and had actual combat experience. Their only purpose in coming to China was to get Xie Wendong’s head.
The enemies were getting closer, and even the faint friction sound of their shoes on the ground could be heard clearly. Before Xie Wendong could say anything, the five members of the covert team already moved.
At Jiang Sen’s signal, one of them took a deep breath, jumped high with a sudden leap, and instantly rushed out from beneath the ditch. “Thump thump thump…” The submachine gun equipped with a silencer emitted muffled sounds. The member who jumped was still in the air when his body was riddled with bullets—there were no fewer than fifty wounds all over him. Hit by the bullets, his body flew back horizontally, and he was already dead before hitting the ground with a thud, like a broken package falling into the ditch.
There was no pain on his face, only a strange smile, for he had achieved his goal—drawing enough fire from the opponent. The moment he was shot, the other four members of the covert team along with Jiang Sen immediately rose and fired at the enemy. In just three seconds, nine of the enemy were hit and collapsed almost simultaneously, all struck in vital areas, none able to breathe. With a soft thud, another member of the covert team was hit in the forehead. Jiang Sen and the others were shocked, gritting their teeth as they had no choice but to crouch down again—the enemy sniper remained hidden. For every two lives lost by the covert team, nine lives were taken by the enemy, yet none of them could feel joy.
Li Shuang looked at the two still-warm corpses on the ground and murmured, “Well done. Using one’s own body as a bait—compared to this brother, I’m far behind.”
Jiang Sen wiped away a trace of sorrow and said firmly, “Most members of the covert team are orphans or desperate people with no other choice. Wen Dong has trained them from scratch. Everything they have comes from Brother Dong, and their lives belong to him as well. It’s nothing to regret to sacrifice themselves to protect him.” Ren Changfeng was moved by this and let out a long sigh. Xie Wen Dong was also deeply shaken, his emotions surging. He turned to look at the other three members of the covert team; their faces were expressionless, but their eyes shone with determination. The covert team was trained by Jiang Sen. Their exceptional skills were their pride, their iron discipline their hallmark, and their deep admiration for Xie Wen Dong their unwavering belief.
Xie Wen Dong picked up his Tang sword, swung it horizontally, and cut off a lock of hair from the bloody corpse. He wrapped it in a handkerchief, put it in his pocket, and said, “I’ve always believed that brothers’ blood will not be shed in vain. The elders say that when a person dies, their soul doesn’t vanish but stays attached to their hair. If that’s true, then good—brother, give me your soul, and let’s venture together through the world, shining brightly.” Li Shuang rubbed his eyes; his fingers were wet as he said with a bitter smile, “I don’t think I’ve cried in a long time, but for men like these, it’s worth it!” “Brother Dong! Let’s charge!” Ren Changfeng felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on his heart, almost making him explode. He wanted to vent his anger, he wanted to kill. Xie Wen Dong hadn’t lost his sanity. Though he felt more pain and distress than anyone else, he wouldn’t show it. Growing up early had taught him to endure. If he allowed himself to be overwhelmed by emotion, death would claim more than just his own life.
Sixteen members of the Soul Group, nine of them eliminated in an instant. The enemy’s reckless fighting style also filled the remaining members with fear. Though scared, none of the seven stopped or retreated. In the dictionary of mercenaries, there is no such word as “escape”—escape meant death. They all knew that if they stepped back now, the snipers behind them would undoubtedly target them. So, they had only one path: either kill their opponents or be killed by them.
At any time, battle is a double-edged sword. By the end, it is the enemy who gets hurt. Footsteps grew louder. One member of the Secret Group tried to use the same trick again, getting up to draw the enemy’s attention, but Xie Wendong pulled him back and shook his head silently. He didn’t want the men of the Secret Group to sacrifice themselves in vain. The enemy had learned from their previous mistake; it wouldn’t be easy to trick them now. Gao Qiang said to Li Shuang, “Fatso, don’t you always carry grenades? Do you still have any?”
Li Shuang shook his head innocently and said, “I thought this trip to the Loyalty Gang would be a close-quarters bloodbath. Who would carry something as dangerous as grenades?”
“What an idiot!” Gao Qiang snapped. “You don’t carry them when you should, but carry them when you shouldn’t.” “Huh? Qiangzi, when has it ever been that the grenades I carry were useless? What do you mean by carrying them when I shouldn’t? Explain yourself!” “Shut up!” Gao Qiang snapped irritably. Xie Wendong stabbed his knife into the ground, his eyes darting as he thought about how to lead everyone through this danger safely. Looking at the knife, his eyes suddenly lit up. He turned to Jiang Sen and asked, “Lao Sen, have you heard of Japanese ninjas?” “Huh?”
The seven mercenaries of the Soul Group moved forward carefully—more like shuffling forward. The distance of less than ten meters seemed like a dark path leading to hell. Only then did they realize this trip to China wouldn’t be easy at all. It was completely silent in the gutter, with not a sound. The silence made it even more mysterious. After what seemed like a long time, the seven finally stood above the gutter. They wondered how the enemy could remain calm when their side was already so close. One of them peeked in for a half-second before quickly pulling his head back. The others asked urgently, “What’s it like?” The man shook his head dumbly and after a while said, “I’m sorry, I was too nervous. I couldn’t see clearly!” “Bastards!” the six others almost shouted in unison.
Another person sensed something was wrong and mustered the courage to peek inside. It was completely empty—no people, not even an ant in sight. Just as he turned to call his companions, a gunshot rang out. The man shuddered, collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open. He struggled to get up, but in vain, as a bullet had pierced his temple from left to right. The gunshot came from the bend in the gutter on the left, clearly indicating that the enemy had moved there via the gutter passage. The six members of the Soul Group rushed into the gutter at the same time, staying close to the walls, firing back while dodging, engaging in a fierce exchange of fire.
The shot had been fired by Jiang Sen—precise and deadly, killing the man on the spot. He hid in the corner, holding back the enemy so they couldn’t advance, while at the same time preventing them from peeking out. Both sides were cautious, stuck in a stalemate. As the mercenaries of the Soul Group quietly discussed their next move, they suddenly felt the ground beneath them move. Before they could react, two figures rose up, each holding a knife—a long, sharp tang dao with deep blood grooves, seemingly designed for killing. Two flashes of light, bright and dazzling, appeared—not meteors, but the bright moonlight. As the knives flashed, blood sprayed forth; two huge heads flew into the air, scattering red droplets that fell on the knives without sticking, sliding to the ground. They also landed on everyone’s faces and hearts, cold and chilling.