Chapter 155
Xie Wendong said, “Use your crappy knife to cut off his head!” The old ghost asked, “W-why?”
Xie Wendong replied confidently, “If you want to save people, do it my way.” “Who would believe you? Cut off his head? Do you think this is like cutting a chicken’s head? I won’t do it.”
Cutting off a person’s head isn’t easy for anyone. Though called the old ghost, he was still human, not a ghost, with human emotions. He held the dagger and weighed it against the soldier’s neck several times before daring to strike, cursing Xie Wendong the whole time. Xie Wendong lay on his back, glanced over, and sighed, “Huh? It seems the soldier’s starting to strip the girls.” “Damn you!” the old ghost cursed, then without hesitation, gritted his teeth, and slashed at the soldier’s neck. Warm blood gushed out from the severed neck, making the old ghost feel nauseous, almost vomiting everything he’d eaten the day before.
The dozen or so Shan Dong Alliance soldiers left to guard could no longer suppress their desires. War had driven them mad, and women allowed them to vent their fear and tension from the war onto innocent women. The soldier laughed loudly, pulled out a beautiful girl, and seven or eight soldiers surrounded her as their hands moved over her body. Her pitiful cries sounded like heavenly music in their ears, incredibly beautiful. Perhaps having had their fill of teasing, the soldiers began to tear at her clothes. Her thin garments were torn to shreds under their strong hands. Seeing her young, elastic naked body exposed, the men rushed at her.
At that moment, an experienced Shan Dong Alliance soldier ran over, shouting, “I killed the enemy general! I killed the enemy general!”
“What?” The soldiers pressing the girl down stood up, surprised as they watched the running soldier, who also held a bloody severed head in his hands. They all stared at him in confusion, some questioning, “Is this really the enemy general’s head? Weren’t they supposed to go to Bangan?”
“Yes!” The others chimed in. The soldier’s expression changed, and he quickly added, “The higher-ups said the enemy general went to Bangan, but this man is right in their general’s room. If it’s not the general, then who could it be?”
“That doesn’t mean this man is definitely the enemy general! It could just be an ordinary Wa tribe soldier,” some soldiers complained with jealousy.
A man who looked like an officer walked over, glanced at the veteran from head to toe, and asked, “Which company are you from? I’ve never seen you before.” The veteran laughed heartily, then stuffed the head in the officer’s arms and ran wildly away, shouting from time to time, “The enemy general ordered me to kill him! I’m rich now! Haha!” The veteran was disguised as Lao Gui; he felt like an idiot now, but he was willing to play that fool. He looked down at the metal piece in his hand and smiled triumphantly.
The officer grinned as he handed the head to a soldier nearby. If this really was the head of a Golden Triangle general, his rank would likely rise by three levels. Thinking this, the officer laughed heartily. His laughter didn’t last long, as an explosion nearby drowned it out. The head, which the soldiers had been staring at, exploded like a persimmon thrown from a high building, with shattered bones shooting like bullets into the bodies of the surrounding soldiers. The officer, though farther away, was also blown away by the shockwave. Lying on the ground, he shook his head and shouted, “That man was a spy! That veteran was a spy!”
Xie Wendong walked over to the officer. He couldn’t understand what the officer was shouting, but he knew it was time to make him shut up. “Bang!” The officer’s screams stopped abruptly as a bloody hole appeared on his head. By now, the Golden Triangle was in chaos, filled with gunshots and grenade explosions. No one noticed a young man in a suit who had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Holding his gun, Xie Wendong walked around leisurely, shooting any soldiers who hadn’t died from the explosion. In his eyes, these soldiers were no longer human beings but mad beasts. People don’t show mercy to beasts, and Xie Wendong certainly wouldn’t. After finishing cleaning up, he smiled at the terrified women, waved his gun to signal them to hide. Then he went over to the beautiful girl lying on the ground, whose delicate skin was covered in bruises. Shaking his head in regret, he took off his coat and draped it over her. At that moment, Lao Gui ran back, seeing the corpses scattered everywhere, and grinned at Xie Wendong, saying, “Not bad! A hero saving a beauty!”
Xie Wendong replied helplessly, “It’s just fulfilling someone else’s wish.” “Good to know!” Lao Gui stepped forward, picked up the young girl, and declared, “She’s mine!”
A Shandong soldier suddenly ran out from the side. Seeing the bodies scattered on the ground and an old soldier who looked like one of their own holding a girl, he shouted loudly, “What’s going on?” Before the old man could speak, Xie Wendong raised his gun and fired. The bullet hit the soldier right between the eyebrows. Even the old man couldn’t help but praise, “Good marksmanship!” Xie Wendong sighed, “It was luck!” The old man snorted, “Who would believe that?!”
The old man quickly believed that Xie Wendong had indeed relied on luck. The two planned to take the girls to the woods to hide them, but then a large group of Shandong soldiers broke through their defenses and rushed in. They had no choice but to let the girls run first and stay behind to hold off the enemy. Seeing hundreds of soldiers charging at them, Xie Wendong also groaned inwardly. He and the old man fired their guns while retreating. The guns they used were AK47s they had picked up from the Shandong soldiers. Though old, they were extremely reliable and powerful—at close range, the AKs could easily penetrate bulletproof vests. At that moment, the old man wanted to smash his own head with the gun. Shouting at Xie Wendong while firing, he said, “Can’t you aim before shooting? The enemy isn’t in the sky!”
Xie Wendong became even more anxious. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to aim; it was just that the recoil of the AK was too strong. Even when aiming at a person, pulling the trigger sent the bullet flying into the air. Only now did he regret not practicing more with the AK. “Bang!” A stray bullet flew past Xie Wendong’s head, sending a few strands of hair onto his nose. He blew on them and thought, “What a close call!” He switched the gun to his left hand and pulled out his own Browning, running backward quickly. Seeing this, the old man exclaimed, “Why are you running?”
“If I don’t run, I’m crazy!” Xie Wendong muttered to himself. He wasn’t from the Golden Triangle, nor was he invincible. Why should he fight against hundreds of regular soldiers? There was no need to risk his life in a hopeless battle. Leaving behind a remark, “You’re good with a gun—take care of things first!” he quickened his pace. The old man cursed, glanced at Xie Wendong who was running away, then at the approaching troops. Letting out a strange cry, he chased after Xie Wendong, shouting, “You’re so unkind! How can you leave me alone?”
The forest was pitch black, with not a hint of moonlight, making it impossible to see anything. Xie Wendong and the old man hid in thick bushes, not daring to breathe. Xie Wendong whispered, “Where have all those girls gone?” The old man snapped, “What are you worried about at this moment? They know this place better than us. They must be hiding in a safer place than us. You’d better focus on how we can get out of here first.”
“Get out?” Xie Wendong asked. “There are two ways to get out. One is to charge straight out and join your remaining troops—then there’s still a chance of survival.” Lao Gui shook his head. “I’m afraid we’ll turn into a beehive before even breaking out of the forest! What’s the second option?” Xie Wendong replied, “Wait. Wait here for your reinforcements.”
“Wait for reinforcements?” Lao Gui snapped. “What a fucking good idea!”
Footsteps echoed in the forest, along with sporadic gunshots. Lao Gui sighed. “The enemy is searching. From the sound, there seems to be quite a few of them. It looks like we can’t hide here much longer.”
Xie Wendong said seriously, “In the forest, we’re at an advantage. In such darkness, no matter how many they are, they can’t do much. Their commander sending people into the forest proves he’s an idiot. By the way, is there any minefield here?”
“Oh, right!” Lao Gui slapped his forehead in excitement. “How could I forget the mines? Let’s lure them into the minefield. Damn it, let as many of them fly as possible! You’ve finally come up with a good idea!” Xie Wendong smiled. “It doesn’t matter how many of them die. The most important thing is that I don’t get blown up.”
The footsteps grew louder, so loud that the squeaking of their military boots on the grass and their heavy breathing could be heard clearly. Xie Wendong signaled Lao Gui to act. Lao Gui’s palms grew sweaty; he wiped them on his clothes and took out the jade Buddha around his neck, silently praying for the Buddha’s blessing. Xie Wendong shook his head with a bitter smile. He didn’t believe in any Buddha in the world. Otherwise, someone like Lao Gui would have been struck dead by the Buddha a hundred times already, let alone blessed. Seeing Lao Gui put away the jade Buddha, Xie Wendong picked up his gun and stood up, shouting, “It’s better to trust yourself than Buddha!” As he spoke, he pulled the trigger at the soldiers right in front of them. Lao Gui didn’t dare delay either. Shouting loudly, he fired wildly at the enemy.
The two appeared so suddenly, almost right beside the Shan Dong Allied Forces, that several soldiers in front hadn’t even had time to react before being riddled with bullets. Immediately, seven or eight people collapsed and lay motionless. The forest was dim and lit up poorly, making it impossible to see exactly how many attackers there were; only the sound of gunfire could be heard. The soldiers behind thought they were in an ambush and started shooting wildly in all directions. Leading the Shan Dong Allied Forces was a major, a burly man in his thirties with over a decade of combat experience. Realizing the enemy force was small, he shouted to calm his men and took the lead forward. Apart from the seven or eight corpses on the ground, there wasn’t a single other figure in sight. The major pulled a flashlight gun from one of his subordinates’ belts and fired it into the sky. A beam of white light slowly rose and exploded above the forest, like a dazzling white sun suddenly appearing in the sky. The dim forest was instantly illuminated. He looked down at the remaining bullet casings left by Xie Wendong and the others, grabbed a handful of them, and yelled at his soldiers, “There are only two enemies! Why are you panicking? Chase after them! I want my bullets to pierce through their skulls!”
The major seemed to have considerable authority among his soldiers, who didn’t doubt his words at all. They rallied their spirits, fired their guns while moving quickly in the direction he indicated.
Xie Wendong and Lao Gui were both drenched in sweat as they ran at full speed. The gunshots echoing behind them felt like whips slapping their backs, giving their exhausted bodies a sudden burst of energy. Still, they felt their strength was running low. As he ran, Xie Wendong panted, “Hey, Brother Gui, haven’t we reached that minefield you mentioned yet?”
Lao Gui gasped for breath, feeling like his lungs were about to explode. He stopped to take a deep breath, looked around, and said, “It’s too dark here. I think we’re almost there!”
“What do you mean ‘I think’?” Xie Wendong, who was running ahead, also stopped and turned around. “If your ‘feeling’ is wrong, won’t I be the first to get blown up?”
Lao Gui’s face flushed as he apologized, “I’m not familiar with the location of the minefield anyway, and it’s dark too. If I hadn’t gotten closer, I really wouldn’t have been able to tell.” Xie Wendong rolled his eyes, grabbed Lao Gui’s clothes, and pulled him forward. “Since that’s the case, you run ahead. Even if you get blown up, no one will pity you—because you died from being stupid.” Lao Gui led Xie Wendong around corners, east and west, until Xie Wendong could no longer tell east from west. Then, Lao Gui pointed excitedly ahead and shouted, “We’re here! It’s right here.”
Xie Wendong looked at him doubtfully and asked, “You’re not mistaken, are you?” The old man smiled and said, “I might make mistakes, but this one won’t.” He then pointed to a cross-shaped mark carved on a tree nearby. Xie Wendong stepped closer to take a closer look and indeed found a cross-shaped mark on the bark, with a dot the size of a fingernail below it. Xie Wendong asked, “What is this?”
The old man sneered and said, “A Level 1 minefield!”