Chapter 249: The Cry for Help
It was late at night and the vault of the heaven was full of flickering stars. The intermittent breeze was blowing, delivering a bit of coolness to the scorching summertime. Due to the mountain nearby, the countryside of Qinghe County had a fresh air, the spiritual qi between heaven and earth richer than in the city.
Tang Xiu was sitting cross-legged on the roof of his ancestral home as he bathed in the starlight coming from everywhere, cultivating his Heavenly Art of Cosmic Genesis. At present, he already reached the pinnacle of the Skin Strengthening Stage and might break through to the Flesh Strengthening Stage at any time. Hence, he didn’t want to delay his cultivation even if he was busy every day.
“Ring, ring, ring…”
His mobile phone’s ringtone rang loudly, abruptly awakening him from his cultivation state.
Tang Xiu took out his mobile, turning slightly surprised as he saw the number. He suddenly recalled promising Yuan Zhengxuan a favor that he had yet to fulfill it until now.
“Uncle Yuan!” said Tang Xiu.
Yuan Zhengxuan’s urgent voice came out of the phone, “Tang Xiu, where are you? Can you rescue Little Ling?”
Tang Xiu’s expression changed and he hastily asked, “What happened to him? What has happened exactly?”
Yuan Zhengxuan’s voice was very low yet still clear, “An accident just happened in my business. I didn’t expect that those foreign forces eyeing our core scientific and technological data would be this crazy. They even went so far as to attack my other businesses. Apart from Little Ling, they even killed two other high-level executives. Those people are too powerful, I can’t withstand their attacks.”
Tang Xiu asked in a heavy tone, “Uncle Yuan, where are you now? I’ll look for you immediately.”
“Tang Xiu, don’t come here now, there are too many of them. You’ll only lose your life if you come,” said Yuan Zhengxuan urgently.
Tang Xiu jumped down from the roof and dashed toward the door while replying with a sinking tone, “Tell me the address, quickly!”
“I’m in Jinfeng District, in an abandoned used car dealer.”
Hesitating for a moment, Yuan Zhengxuan then replied with a heavy tone.
Tang Xiu hung up the phone. He immediately called Zhong Tiekui and commanded him to lead a few of his subordinates to rush for the rescue. He then started his Land Rover and drove fast toward Star City.
Even though he had no experience driving through the highway, he didn’t care. Rescuing someone was the same as fighting fire! Relying on his skillful driving, his car speed quickly exceeded the speed limit.
Star City, at the Jinfeng District’s used car dealer.
Yuan Zhengxuan was holding a pistol as he erased the bloodstain on the corner of his mouth. He was bleeding, a bullet having pierced his shoulder. There was also a knife cut on his left cheek. He looked particularly grim. Around him, more than ten big, strong-looking guys with numerous scars on their bodies, some of them holding guns and some others armed with knives. They hid in a dark corner whilst vigilantly observing the surroundings.
“Boss! Let’s rush out. We’ll cover you!”
A tough, big guy in his middle-aged years, holding a gun, spoke with murderous intent.
Yuan Zhengxuan shook his head bitterly. He lowered the pitch of his voice and said, “We have too few people. If we rush out recklessly, more than half of us will die. We’ll drag for more time. Those assholes want to catch me, but I won’t give them what they want. As long as we can drag this for a long time, the situation will be against them and they will back out.”
Another big man frowned and said, “Boss, why don’t we call the cops? If the cops come, we…”
"Shut up!" Yuan Zhengxuan shouted in a low voice, “Did you forget what we’ve been researching and developing? If the cops find out about this, the military will surely know too. If that happens, do you think we can live? Even if… we will sell the results of this experiment to the military, but now is not the time yet.”
"Understood!" That big man nodded and grit his teeth.
"Pats— "
At this very moment, a bullet pierced the glass and hit the big guy’s forehead, killing him instantly.
Yuan Zhengxuan’s complexion changed. He shouted in a heavy tone, “Be careful, the enemy snipers have a good marksmanship. Who dares to stick out their head will surely be killed. Remember to stay put in your position and your fixed shooting sight. Don’t move recklessly and stay on alert!”
Forty to fifty black-suited big guys surrounded the used car dealer, coordinating their advance to storm inside. Each one of them was armed with firearms. Shielded by the curtain of the night, they looked for available shooting targets.
Behind them, a Volkswagen pickup truck with two big foreigners was parked nearby. They were using binoculars to watch over the used car dealer building.
Finally, one of the foreigners put down his binocular and spoke in English, “The Chinese have the saying that a trapped beast’s struggle are futile. Yuan Zhengxuan is already trapped and he can’t escape. As long as we catch him, we can torture the core information about the biochemical weapon out of him. Jeff, be prepared to destroy the plan of these islander dwarfs and get out of this place ASAP after we got the core information.”
“The plan was to act in conjunction with those islander dwarves, but they didn’t show up tonight. I suspect they want us and Yuan Zhengxuan to kill each other while they pick up the spoils. The Chinese also have some sayings about this. Just as the mantis stalks the cicada, it might be unaware of the oriole behind. The Boss said that these islander dwarves are the most cunning and unreliable things in this world. I’m afraid the previous evacuation route we prepared is no longer safe. So, Tagore, I have drawn a new evacuation route. It will be absolutely safe.”
Tagore frowned and said coldly, “My responsibility is to get the core information for the biochemical weapon. As for how to transport it back, it’s yours. Once I hand the information to you, I no longer have any relation to this matter whatsoever.”
Jeff shrugged and picked up his binoculars again.
“Puff, puff—“
Muffled gunshot sounds could suddenly be heard.
The firearms used by both sides were all equipped with mufflers. So even in this intense gunfight, it didn’t attract the attention of outsiders. In addition, this used car dealer had been relocated around six months earlier and it had scrapped cars here.
On the pickup truck, Tagore sneered, “The experts I brought along come from the Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenaries. They’re seasoned veterans of numerous battles, whereas those chaps under Yuan Zhengxuan are just mantises trying to stop a chariot, wanting to bite off more than they can chew. I recall someone saying that the people of this country are a peaceful sleeping lion, but to me, they’re just well-behaved mommy kids. Look, Jeff, you must know that we’ve killed more than ten of Yuan Zhengxuan’s men, with only two of my men dying so far. Gimme ten minutes, we’ll be able to finish off all of Yuan Zhengxuan’s men and catch him for sure.”
Jeff shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently, “I’ve heard about the Death Scythe Mercenaries. Even though they’re not listed in the top ten mercenaries, their combat abilities are amazing. Well, I’m looking forward seeing you deal them within these ten minutes.”
Tagore revealed his white teeth and grinned fiendishly as he said, “Do you wanna bet with me? If my men can’t deal them within ten minutes, I’ll give you 100 thousand USD. But if I do, then you gotta give me that pretty Japanese chick of yours.”
Jeff rolled his eyes and said coldly, “Tagore, oftentimes conceited people die quickly. I’m telling you, be more cautious. Fine, don’t swallow your words. I’ll take that 100 thousand USD of yours.”
Tagore replied confidently, “I’m Blood Lion Tagore. I’ve never taken back my words. I’ll take that pretty Japanese chick of yours.”
Both of them had yet to realize that a ghostly figure a few hundred meters away from their place was silently advancing toward them. From time to time, the figure appeared and disappeared in the veil of the night. If one wasn’t cautiously paying attention, they wouldn’t be able to detect it.
Half a minute later, a flying knife pierced Jeff’s neck as a gold wire strangled Tagore. A powerful punch then heavily hit Jeff’s temple, whereas the one who was so full of himself was directly knocked out.
“Split into two-person teams and clean up these ants.”
Zhong Tiekui issued his order quickly through the wireless earphone. Along with his hand sign, eighteen of them quickly divided into nine teams and quietly slaughtered the members of Death Scythe Mercenary in a fan-shaped line.
They weren’t armed with firearms. Instead, they used cold daggers.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
The sounds of daggers cutting off and piercing throats had yet to disturb the others. Within just two minutes, dozens of the Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenary members became ghosts under the knives, while their firearms were also obtained by Zhong Tiekui and his men.
"ENEMIES!"
Suddenly, an angry roar came out from a Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenary member. But quickly after, his throat was cut off and the dagger pierced his heart. The machine gun in his hand also fell in his adversary’s hand.
“Captain, there are at least 30 people on the enemy’s side. We’ve been exposed, how should we carry out the next step of the operation?” The voice of a team member came from the earphone.
Zhong Tiekui thought for a moment and then replied with a deep tone, “Looking at the situation, they haven’t caught Yuan Zhengxuan yet. All teams, head to the eleven o’clock direction. We’ll blaze a trail of blood inside and gather up with Yuan Zhengxuan there. The Boss has commanded. We must guarantee his safety no matter the cost.”
“Understood!”
Several replies came out of the earphone.
Zhong Tiekui glared at the stunned Tagore. The dagger in his hand instantly cut off his hamstring, the moment of pain awaking Tagore as he stunned him again. He then put his body in a hidden corner and shielded it with the other member in turn as they dashed toward the eleven o’clock direction.
Tagore was perfectly aware of the Grim Reaper Scythe Mercenary members’ strength. But he never expected that twenty shadows would suddenly rush to the killing, their strength even more fearsome.
If he knew the nicknames of these twenty shadows, he would probably issue a retreat order and flee immediately!