Antonov got out of the car and stood shoulder to shoulder with Xiao Han, watching the explosion. He lit a cigar and laughed heartily. "I haven't seen such a beautiful sight in a long time. Sitting in the office for too long, I'd almost forgotten what an explosion looked like."
"Then enjoy the view."
Xiao Han twisted his neck to ease the fatigue from the chase.
The fire finally died down. He and Antonov approached the blast site. A thick, pungent stench hit them — a mixture of burnt flesh and toxic gas.
Oh right, the poison gas!
Xiao Han saw his health points ticking down on his interface. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He retreated to wait for the gas to dissipate before looting the battlefield.
"Urgh..." A faint moan. E3, not quite dead, crawled out slowly. His limbs were blown off, his body a mess of red and black. He lifted his head with difficulty and stared at Xiao Han.
"You... why..."
Xiao Han glanced at him. Before E3 could finish, he drew his Twin Eagles and shot him in the head.
The good guys never shut up, and the bad guys die because they talk too much. There are more cautionary tales than stars in the sky. To be honest, Bro Xiao Han was tempted for a moment to try his luck, but after a second thought, he didn't think he was the protagonist type. So he just pulled the trigger.
"This batch of experience is pretty fat... E3, E5, E9? What a rubbish name." Xiao Han glanced at his interface with distaste.
Wait. In the kill notifications, one enemy who had appeared in the damage log seemed to be missing.
Xiao Han's eyes flickered. He scanned his surroundings, then fired a shot at the ground twenty metres away.
"Bang——" A dark figure jumped out from under the sand at that spot. Ghost Fox, clutching a dagger, moved sideways like a phantom, stabbing at Antonov, who was closest to her.
The martial art she practised included a simple earth-diving technique. She had buried herself in the sand at the moment of the explosion, which had saved her life. She had intended to stay hidden, but when Xiao Han spotted her, she had no choice but to fight for her life.
The dagger reflected the sunlight, flashing a blinding cold gleam. Antonov narrowed his eyes. His thick arm shot out, his broad, bear-like paw grabbing.
Ghost Fox dodged aside. Her petite frame gave her an advantage. She circled behind Antonov and aimed her dagger at his back. Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed in front of her. The bear-like paw followed her relentlessly, closing around her head. It practically enveloped her skull.
Antonov hurled Ghost Fox like a shot put, sending her flying more than ten metres. The tremendous force made the sand explode in a rippling pattern. Ghost Fox landed, bleeding and battered. She gritted her teeth. Her small body lunged forward again. With Xiao Han nearby, running would only get her sniped. She had no choice.
"Bang-bang-bang——"
Just as Antonov was about to strike, Xiao Han fired both guns, riddling Ghost Fox with bullets.
[You have killed Ghost Fox (Lv29). You have earned 9,400 experience.]
"Hey, her level isn't low. Why is she so weak?" Xiao Han checked the combat log. Her main class was only level eight, the rest were from subclasses. And her subclasses were all low-tier. No wonder.
Antonov sighed. "Give me a chance to stretch my rusty limbs."
"The corpses are still warm. Go stretch them." Xiao Han picked his nose.
"...You have a filthy mind."
Once the toxic gas had dispersed, Xiao Han stepped into the blast zone and retrieved the buried EMP jammer.
Xiao Han had not known that E9 had been tracking his movements. But he was used to having multiple contingency plans. That night, he had not set just one trap. He had gone around and set four traps in different locations. Unless the enemy did not pursue him, they would fall into at least one of them.
If you dare to chase me, I'll get you.
Pocketing the jammer, Xiao Han searched the bodies. He found quite a few firearms and ammunition, which could be sold for money. The biggest prize was the modified combat vehicle, the Thorn. Once its internal electronic components were repaired, it would be usable.
"Now, I can use a helping hand."
"Ghost Fox has gone offline?!"
The three killers had set an ambush, and they even had the advantage of intelligence. Yet they still fell into the enemy's trap.
Luo Qing's mood was heavy. They had lost two squads in a row, and the modified Thorn was gone as well. Now the stronghold's defences were thin. The loss was huge.
She contacted their backer again and gave a detailed report.
The voice on the phone said slowly, "You need to pull out for now."
"...Understood."
Luo Qing hung up and immediately organised her people to load valuable supplies onto vehicles. They were going to abandon the stronghold and temporarily retreat. Rose Arms had faced danger before. They would just go into hiding for a few days. Their backer would send more people, and then they could re-establish themselves.
But they had only loaded half the supplies when a piercing alarm blared through the stronghold.
"Enemy attack!"
The lookout in the watchtower screamed. Luo Qing was startled. She took the stairs two at a time and reached the lookout. She peered into the distance and saw a rolling cloud of sand approaching fast. Dozens of Gordon mercenaries' combat vehicles were bearing down on them, looking fierce.
"Damn it. They're too fast!"
Rose Arms had taken heavy losses. They would inevitably draw the covetous eyes of other factions. Gordon was the most likely enemy to strike while they were weak. Leaving the stronghold was supposed to avoid hostility from other factions. But Gordon had arrived too quickly. Someone must have tipped them off.
Luo Qing was furious. Gordon's mercenaries were attacking the stronghold head-on. If they tried to drive away, it would become a chase, which was even more dangerous.
They were caught between a rock and a hard place.
"Leader, what do we do?"
Luo Qing steeled herself. "Fight back! Hit them hard!"
The Rose Arms mercenaries dropped the supplies they were carrying and rushed back to their defensive positions. They manned the machine guns and grenade launchers, opening fire on Gordon's convoy with a thunderous roar. Gordon's people fired back without flinching.
Bullets flew back and forth, forming a deadly curtain of fire.
Countless shell casings fell into the sand. Charred craters from grenade blasts dotted the ground like lunar craters. Rose Arms' stronghold had solid defences. Even with a shortage of manpower, they managed to withstand Gordon's assault.
Behind the stronghold wall, Luo Qing was directing the mercenaries continuously. Su Li walked over and whispered in her ear.
"We're short-handed. A quarter of our defensive positions are unmanned. We're trapped inside the stronghold. If another faction gets involved, we'll be in serious trouble."
The moment she finished speaking, a very distinct engine roar sounded in the distance. Luo Qing and Su Li's hearts sank. They recognised that engine note.
On the other side of the battlefield, Xiao Han drove the menacing Thorn, leaping down from behind a dune like a tiger pouncing across a stream. The vehicle arced through the air. The repaired outer armour reflected the glaring sunlight. The spinning tyres revved to an extremely high speed.
The Thorn slammed to the ground, kicking up a spray of sand. It accelerated towards the Rose Arms stronghold, charging forward with unstoppable momentum.
"Isn't that Rose Arms' Thorn?!"
Gordon's eyes widened. He quickly ordered his men to tighten their formation. He knew the Thorn's firepower well. Thinking the driver was an enemy, he braced for an attack, preparing to prevent the Thorn from flanking them and unleashing its bombardment.
Little did he know that Rose Arms was even more nervous. They knew the Thorn's firepower better than anyone. Su Li screamed, "Stop him! Don't let the Thorn get near the stronghold!"
Luo Qing felt a surge of frustration. The Thorn used to be their trump card. Now it had been seized by someone else and was being used against them. What kind of twisted situation was this? It was like someone stealing your girl and then showing off in front of you. How could anyone tolerate that?
Luo Qing certainly could not. She wished she could use her superpower to grind that killer into dust, to reduce him to an indescribable pile of carbon-based compounds.