Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred Ninety-Nine: The Great Escape 3
The entire Underground Structure currently presented an intriguing situation. Wang Zhongyu had blown up the safety exit on the bottom floor, which meant that the Elevator on Underground Level Two became their only escape route. The Security personnel in the Laboratory had been wiped out, and An Zheng's Research Team had turned against them, unhesitatingly siding with the Establishment. Wu Wentao, arriving late, collided with Wang Zhongyu's group as they were about to leave, having just emerged from the Elevator Passage. Surprisingly, both sides maintained restraint; a shattered laboratory wall separated them, and despite their disparate firepower, neither party acted rashly.
Wu Wentao's restraint stemmed from concern for An Zheng and her team of researchers. In contrast, Wang Zhongyu was merely waiting for the right moment. After his warriors had eliminated the Security personnel, they scattered to various corners to plant plastic explosives. At that moment, he had only half a squad with him—ten members in total. An Zheng displayed the cunning typical of a rebellious youth and subtly suggested that Wang Zhongyu use them as hostages to buy some time. Wang Zhongyu complied, and it proved effective; the opposing side was wary, fearing that any misfire could harm these valuable researchers. However, delaying tactics were not a long-term solution; if reinforcements continued to be sent down from above, Wang Zhongyu and his team would have no way out.
On the other side, behind Wang Zhongyu's group in the enclosed passageway, Luci and Jiang He were slowly approaching. The earlier gunfire had caused Luci some concern. Jiang He had just regained consciousness and could barely move but was completely devoid of combat capability. The two planned to observe from a distance for a while. Meanwhile, in the Elevator Passage behind Wu Wentao, two others were hurrying over. Summer Rain and Song Yao had initially intended to rescue An Zheng's child but arrived too late; the child had already been taken away. With no other option, they decided to regroup with An Zheng.
Thus, the current situation was as follows: Kenny was stationed on the first underground level with An Zheng's child; Wu Wentao and Wang Zhongyu faced off at the exit of Underground Level Two; Luci and Jiang He trailed behind Wang Zhongyu; Summer Rain and Song Yao followed closely behind Wu Wentao. Some aimed to ascend while others sought to block; some were observing while others were descending. How this standoff would resolve depended solely on which of these five factions would act first. Ultimately, it remained uncertain who would be able to take the Elevator back to the surface.
&&&&&&&&
The battlefield above ground could be divided into three factions based on combat strength. Ignoring the underground for now, let’s focus on the current situation above ground.
Shaoshan's faction and Field Personnel Mercenaries had temporarily ceased fire due to disturbances caused by armed helicopters. The Field Personnel were still leaderless; Chen Zhao Zhou, Caroline, and Wu Wentao—three leaders—were all absent. The Mercenaries' mission was to hold their position at Container Camp without risking further conflict in the wilderness; meanwhile, Shaoshan aimed to delay enemy firepower. Seeing that the helicopters showed no signs of taking off again, they regrouped their forces and launched another fierce attack with rifles and firearms. They disregarded ammunition consumption and tried to create an atmosphere of desperate assault in hopes of drawing out those hiding behind the Containers. Even if they didn’t come out, at least they needed to contain their strength and prevent them from retreating into the buildings.
After a series of skirmishes, more than ten minutes had passed since their scheduled time. At this moment, Wang Zhongyu should have coordinated with Shaoshan’s rhythm to attack Container Camp from behind, but this goal was clearly unattainable now. Shaoshan had confidence in Wang Zhongyu but couldn’t shake off a sliver of worry; according to their agreement, if he hadn’t broken through by dawn, Shaoshan would have no choice but to retreat immediately, marking their mission as a failure.
From a high vantage point overlooking the ground, the brown earth appeared even heavier under the night sky. Clusters of flames from previous explosions still burned brightly; those dried Camel Thorns and Red Willows served as excellent kindling—once ignited, they burned persistently and gradually consumed the sparse vegetation around them like an impending wildfire.
Gunfire was the main event of the night as flames erupted once more on the ground and bullets flew again in another round of exchanges between both sides. It resembled children repeating a tedious game—though monotonous, they found joy in it nonetheless. A widespread barrage effectively masked any movements near the Southwest Corner Red Willow thicket; amidst the cacophony of gunfire, those at the center of chaos fell silently.
In confrontations involving firearms, victory or defeat often hung by a thread; bullet trajectories were elusive to capture, but blood bore witness to their passage.
If time could be slowed down, and the moment when the three parties opened fire could be transformed into a series of still images, one would discover that many inconspicuous details had, in an invisible way, altered the outcome. For instance, Chen Zhao Zhou's second adjustment of his body angle, Bai Yudong's side movement after firing, Zeng Yadong's standing direction, and Ming Junwei's abrupt backward headbutt.
Although the three gunshots rang out almost simultaneously, the precise timing of each individual pulling the trigger varied. Bai Yudong undoubtedly fired first, followed resolutely by Chen Zhao Zhou in a mutual destruction attempt, while the opportunistic Xiao Wei shot last. The barely discernible time difference led to judgment errors from both Chen Zhao Zhou and Xiao Wei. Bai Yudong's bullet grazed Ming Junwei's face, which could have struck Chen Zhao Zhou's head; however, Ming Junwei's headbutt knocked Chen Zhao Zhou aside, causing Bai Yudong's bullet to tear through his face and shatter Chen Zhao Zhou's ear. Meanwhile, Chen Zhao Zhou's shot slightly missed Ming Junwei's temple; in that instant of gunfire, the bullet flew out with a fiery tail from in front of his right eye. The two individuals at the center were injured in succession, their stances shifting with their movements. Chen Zhao Zhou stood with his back exposed to Xiao Wei, who should have shot through Chen Zhao Zhou's shoulder but instead hit him at the back of the neck.
If Chen Zhao Zhou had turned just a bit more, Xiao Wei’s shot might have directly shattered Ming Junwei’s skull!
To Zeng Yadong and Caroline, everything unfolded in a flash; their naked eyes could not capture many details. They only saw Bai Yudong sidestep to shoot while hearing two more gunshots. Then both individuals on the field lunged forward together, unaware of their fate.
Caroline’s finger on the trigger felt somewhat stiff; she never imagined such an outcome. She watched as the girl who had challenged Kenny pushed Chen Zhao Zhou aside and helped the hostage up. The hostage’s face was smeared with blood on one side, but clearly, he was not dead.
Zeng Yadong broke out in a cold sweat, glancing nervously at Chen Zhao Zhou’s neck. The impact and rotational force of the bullet had nearly severed it, leaving only a layer of skin intact. She did not understand the mechanics of firearms and initially thought that at such close range, a bullet might penetrate Chen Zhao Zhou and then injure Ming Junwei. However, reality proved her worries unfounded. After hitting Chen Zhao Zhou, the spinning bullet lost its momentum, and Ming Junwei’s instinctive spasms from his eye injury created distance between him and Chen Zhao Zhou.
Comment 0 Comment Count