Chapter 172: At the Edge of Life and Death
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A loud explosion was heard, mixed with countless screams of terror. There was an explosion somewhere ahead, where Shang Xin’s subordinates were covering. Ye Chong could feel the ground shake.
Shang Xin’s face ashened!
The men around Robert were all veterans, and did not express any fear. They knew that it was important to stay calm for the moment, as to not provide an opening for the enemy!
Robert only reacted minutely, his pupils contracting slightly!
The bodyguards reacted instantly. When the explosion happened, they immediately moved closer to Robert for additional protection. The two mechs in front of Robert stood shoulder-to-shoulder, blocking off the debris that flew away from the explosion.
Shang Xin and Duan deployed their mechs almost simultaneously.
Shang Xin’s was a Shadow Phoenix-III. Unlike the Shadow Phoenix-II, SP-III was a battle mech in the SP model series. This meant that its long range attacks were not particularly spectacular, but it excelled at close range combat. With a parrying spear made of a special alloy and two laser daggers, coupled with a higher speed compared to the SP-II, the SP-III had a unique battle strategy. It would retreat whenever an attack missed and wait for the next opportunity. It also inherited the unique exterior from the SP series. With a small and agile body, incredible speed, and close range battle specs, the SP-III was a mech assassin!
Duan’s mech was the complete opposite. His mech was in alternating shades of red and black. This classic color combination made it more like a display mech, and not a battle mech. However, Ye Chong could still identify the impressive aspects of this mech! It was definitely a modified mech. Its equipped weapons were strange - besides the abnormally large modified laser sniper rifle in its hands, there were no other guns or close range weapons! Ye Chong had never seen such an extreme way of equipping a mech. Even the MPA’s mechs would have weapons such as daggers in hand. Ye Chong could not make anything of the rifle, but the engine was at least recognizable. It was a Split Wave - a photon driven engine, one of the best engine models available in the market, though it came with a hefty price tag!
These two mechs immediately sheltered the rest of the people! They were now the perfect cover against the blast.
Duan and Shang Xin immediately gave the order to lower the rope ladder, but as the ladder slowly unfurled itself downwards, they grew anxious. They could not climb into the mech’s pilot cabin by hand like Ye Chong.
Mech pilots were strong, but before they entered the pilot’s cabin, even a ray gun of the smallest caliber could end their lives!
Just then, Mu suddenly spoke up, "Ye, be careful! Someone used an electro-interference grenade!"
An electro-interference grenade? Ye Chong was alarmed! He did not always know about weapons like these, but after having Yu Di with its assortment of weird but powerful ancillary weapons, the unexpected effects of using these weapons piqued Ye Chong’s interest in them.
Electro-interference grenades were used for magneto-interference within a small effective perimeter. It could render all electronic communications within the perimeter ineffective, but it had a few weaknesses, such as its discriminatory effect, short effective time and small range. These three weaknesses limited the weapon’s applications in the field.
Shang Xin and Duan noticed the weapon as well, and exchanged an uneasy look. However, the rope ladder was moving too slowly, and they could only wait anxiously.
The haze from the explosion engulfed the area. Dust and debris was everywhere, and no one could see anything!
Mu suddenly shouted, "Ye, careful, 20 high explosive grenades!"
The miniature mechs’ scanning systems also picked up the 20 high explosive grenades that came crashing down like rain! If any of the 20 grenades exploded, no one but the four bodyguards in miniature mechs could hope to survive!
In dire situation, the four bodyguards around Robert suddenly leaped up and out of the haze at incredible speed, like four launched cannonballs. They pushed downwards and jumped high up into the air.
Everyone was focused on the four of them! However, their confused expression showed that they did not understand what was happening!
Right then, as Ye Chong stared at the four figures above, Mu suddenly spoke urgently, "Ye, 72 degrees from the radius vector!"
Ye Chong reacted immediately, absolutely trusting Mu . Just as Mu finished, Ye Chong turned and suddenly found a bone-chilling light flashing into non-existence on the top of a tall building, some 60 meters away!
Ye Chong immediately felt goosebumps all over him, sensing something, but the intense feeling of danger did not make him lose his calm! Without identifying what it was, Ye Chong reached for the exterior of his thigh!
Swish! Ye Chong put all his strength into the throw of his dagger from his thigh!
At the same time, the four bodyguards in the air demonstrated their magnificent prowess, kicking or slamming away the grenades, and none of the 20 high explosive grenades met their intended target, all flung off into the distance!
Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions were heard. The shock waves from the 20 high explosive grenades pushed from all directions, and people stumbled in confusion and fear. If the explosion had happened where they were, all of them would have burned into dust!
Ye Chong’s expression was unaffected. The violent explosions did not perturb him. When the explosions went off, he could see clearly a flash on the building from something that was cracked!
"Threat neutralized!" Mu’s voice was heavenly, and Ye Chong relaxed!
Shang Xin’s face was pale!
The problem had arisen from her side. Three of her subordinates were replaced with enemy personnel! From when she first took up her current position, her perfect record of service was finally broken, and the enemy had nearly succeeded! What bothered her the most was that the ones who managed to diffuse the situation were all Robert’s own men! Now, whenever her eyes met Duan’s, she could almost feel some unvoiced repeating ridicule towards her!
The target of the attack, Robert himself, looked calm. He was speaking to Bai Linan casually, his composed demeanor bespoke his status as a person of power.
Robert studied Ye Chong for a moment and smiled. "I didn’t expect this young man to be so skilled. If not for your actions, this aging life of mine would have ended today!" These words brought a violent tic to Shang Xin’s face, but as she recalled her own failure this time that almost led to the loss of everyone’s lives, her expression darkened further!
For the moment, Ye Chong looked comedic. A large patch of cloth was missing from his suit pants on the outer part of his right thigh, and a dagger’s sheath was visible through the hole. His suit was ripped open on both sides beneath his armpits, exposing his white shirt underneath. If he were on the streets, his look would invite roaring laughter from spectators. Now, however, everyone was looking at Ye Chong with great respect!
Ye Chong’s calm, unperturbed expression combined with his damaged outfit made him distinctly stand out!
"You’re too kind, sir!" Ye Chong still remembered that he was supposed to be Bai Linan’s bodyguard, and did not break his cover. Seeing Ye Chong’s plain demeanor, devoid of any excitement due to his achievement made Robert even more impressed! Bai Linan, however, was writhing inside. He was always good in reading people, and knew exactly what that look in his employer’s eyes meant! It seemed that what he was trying his best to avoid what was happening!
"Brother Wang, your dagger!" A guard handed over Ye Chong’s dagger back to him reverently, his expression full of respect!
Strong people were always respected, no matter the place! In that moment, without time to deploy Guardian, Ye Chong had threw out his dagger with all his might! When the explosion stopped, Ye Chong called for one of the guards to search the enemy hiding on top of the building he aimed at. More accurately speaking, he was to search for the enemy’s body! The dagger was embedded deep into the enemy’s forehead, a high accuracy laser sniper rifle on the ground before him with its smart targeting device shattered into pieces!
An image came to everyone’s mind - a dagger swishing into the air, accurately finding the laser sniper rifle’s smart targeting device. In that instant, the smart targeting device scattered into pieces, its fragments falling to the ground like heavenly petals. Nonetheless, the device did nothing to reduce the dagger’s speed, as it struck mercilessly into the forehead of the enemy sniper, granting instant death!
Someone had secretly measured the distance between the enemy sniper and Ye Chong, and reported a whole 68 meters!
With a distance of 68 meters, how could one throw a weapon with just his right hand and hit a target dead-on, killing the enemy? The amount of strength and accuracy required was shocking! Physical training was essential for most mech pilots, but no one had imagined that someone could reach such a staggering level of ability!
As for Duan and Shang Xin, who were both present at the scene, they knew even more!
Only both of them knew how powerful Ye Chong’s attack actually was! The parietal bone at the forehead was very hard, penetrating this was itself an astonishing achievement! Moreover, they found another neglected detail, which was that the enemy sniper was actually found a whole meter away from his actual hiding spot, in the direction of the attack. There were obvious scuffing marks on the ground!
Duan and Shang Xin came to the same conclusion at almost the same time - the dagger had plunged into the enemy’s forehead and, with the excess momentum, pushed the enemy’s body backwards for a whole meter!
Duan and Shang Xin both noticed this detail at the same time, and arrived at the same conclusion almost simultaneously. They looked to each other, and found the same horrified look in the each other's eyes!
With that, both of them left the scene wisely!
The enemy’s plan was almost perfect. They already had the bombs in place before Shang Xin’s subordinates moved into position at the docking zone. The bombs were not meant to kill Robert, but only to create confusion! At the same time, the ambushers used their electro-interference grenades under the cover of the bombs, hence Shang Xin and Duan were plunged into confusion due to the communication block. One of the ambushers then threw out 20 high explosive grenades amidst the chaos. These grenades were also not their final attack, and were only used to move the four bodyguards in miniature mechs away from Robert. The real killing strike was supposed to come from the now lifeless sniper, lying on the ground!
They still could not figure out how Ye Chong found him out. Was it by chance? Or did he have some special methods? Everything happened in a very short time, and the act of discovering the enemy and retaliating was too unlikely to happen without earlier preparation! Could this be a trick by the enemy? Duan lifted his head abruptly at the thought, but found his eyes meeting Shang Xin’s!
However, Wang Xing was an old friend of the manager, and had saved their employer’s life this time. Whatever suspicions he had, Duan decided to keep it to himself.
In the end, the enemy’s assassination plot was perfect, but without a perfect ending! The timing and cooperation were well executed, and if not for the monster that was Wang Xing, the ending would have been very different!
What disturbed them both deeply was the enemy’s preparatory works. How did they find out Robert’s schedule? How did they infiltrate as Shang Xin’s subordinates? From the enemy’s movements, it seemed that they had strong control over the events, and seemed to understand who they were against. However, Shang Xin’s and Duan’s side knew nothing about the enemy. Their identity and the reason for the attacks were still unknown! None of the three ambushers in this attack survived!
Shang Xin’s dignity had received an unprecedented blow. Her subordinates were compromised, and she herself was not aware of it. As for the rest of her team, she could not guarantee their loyalties! It was terrifying!
There were heavy casualties from the encounter this time, mostly due to the 20 high explosive grenades! The scene before them was a hopeless mess!
Both of them kept their silence, deep in their own thoughts!
"Young man, since you’re an old friend of Nan, you’re one of our own. From now on, you’ll be the team leader for all the guards!" Robert announced suddenly with a warm smile. His gentle tone, however, did not allow for objections, and his eyes were looking straight at Ye Chong.
Shang Xin and Duan were both surprised. They did not expect Robert to make such a decision.
Bai Linan felt like fainting. Heavens, they’re all done for!