Chapter 54: Sweeping Fire?!

Xiezi was indeed waiting.

He was waiting for the Wolf Fang soldiers pursuing him to lose their target, waiting for them to withdraw helplessly.

If he weren't bringing Ahong, he certainly wouldn't do this.

Taking such a risk is not Xiezi's nature.

It shows that, regarding Ahong, Xiezi still values her greatly.

Of course, if it were a life-or-death situation, that would be another matter.

But, as far as Xiezi is concerned, the current situation is still far from a life-or-death crisis.

However, as time passed bit by bit, Xiezi began to feel a little impatient.

The surroundings remained completely still, indicating that the Wolf Fang people had not yet withdrawn.

Otherwise, according to the 'standard procedure' he knows, there would certainly be movement of soldiers who had received the withdrawal order, completely lowering their vigilance and gathering to return.

No withdrawal means they are still searching.

But more than half an hour has passed, and the surroundings still show no movement at all, which is somewhat suspicious.

If they were merely searching in a single direction based on his judgment, that would be utterly impossible……

'Ahong, if anything unexpected happens later, you go first!' Xiezi lowered his voice and said to Ahong, who stood beside him, her body slightly trembling and her face full of tension.

'A real man? A guy? Sacrificing himself for her? What a joke! How could Xiezi do such a 'stupid' thing?'

He said that only to get Ahong to draw attention for him.

He is Xiezi, not a lovesick fool.

To him, women are merely ornaments that add a touch of beauty, no matter how much he likes them.

As for Ahong, he certainly treats her much better than other women; otherwise he wouldn't have brought her along when they just escaped.

As for whether there are other reasons, probably only he himself knows.

Anyway, aside from his wife who died years ago, everything else can be regarded as mere 'objects'.

Ahong is also just one of those objects, slightly more important than the rest.

On the contrary, upon hearing Xiezi say that, Ahong was so moved she almost cried.

All that can be said is that once a woman falls in love, her intelligence… well, let's not go there.

Moreover, the more tumultuous a woman's fate, the more easily she falls for a man and even willing to give her life for him.

Among ordinary people, however, most put profit first.

Love, feelings—none of it matters as much as money.

Xiezi's judgment was correct; now, the soldiers who have been arriving at the designated positions are gradually tightening the encirclement.

The nearest group, namely Liu Xiaotian and his three companions, is now less than 150 meters from his hiding place.

According to Liu Xiaotian's plan, he intends to close the distance to within 100 meters, then throw a few smoke grenades and use them as cover to launch a swift assault.

However, the vigilance and judgment Xiezi forged on the battlefield still far exceed his expectations.

Just as they had just entered the 150‑meter range and were still slowly advancing, Xiezi already sensed danger.

He reached out and took the AK‑47 from Ahong's hands, then slung his own Dragunov semi‑automatic sniper rifle across his back, and looked at Ahong with a solemn gaze as he said:

'We can't wait any longer—run now! I'll stay behind to cover you! Don't worry, I'll definitely come back to find you!'

Besides, compared to men who never speak a word of truth, Xiezi's statement here is actually more than half true.

Except for the parts about 'covering' and 'finding you'.

He will indeed return, but not to look for Ahong. Even now, in his eyes, Ahong is essentially already a dead person.

Even if he doesn't die under the guns of the soldiers hunting them, he will still face the harshest punishment under the nation's laws.

In short, he simply won't survive.

But he firmly believes he can definitely escape.

Although Ahong was deeply moved, she did not, as in some film and TV works, launch into a tear‑jerking romance; instead, after giving Xiezi a deep look, she drew her pistol from her waist, sprang up from the ground, and ran toward the grove.

However, she is still at least seven kilometers away from that grove.

On such a long, open mountainside, to remain unseen would require the abilities of the six brothers from the Calabash Brothers.

'Spotted! May we open fire?!' a soldier's voice suddenly crackled over the communicator.

Before Chen Shanming opposite could speak, Liu Xiaotian cut in sharply:

'Nobody stand up!'

Too bad, he was still a step too late.

The soldier who had spoken, upon spotting a figure running off into the distance, immediately rose to his feet, aimed, and gave chase.

After hearing Liu Xiaotian's words, trying to go prone again was already too late.

'Pfft!' With a soft sound, the soldier collapsed onto the grass.

The gun was fired by Xiezi.

From Ahong's perspective, this certainly counts as covering fire.

But his true aim was to disrupt the current situation.

Ten years ago, he used this very method to successively kill several Wolf Fang Reconnaissance Battalion soldiers, including Weidong He.

This time was the same; upon spotting that soldier, he immediately aimed and pulled the trigger.

But he estimated that he had not aimed for a vital spot, but rather at the soldier's shoulder.

This way, hidden in the dark, he could not only shift his position at short range, but also take the opportunity to aim and kill other soldiers trying to come to the rescue.

The moment that soldier fell, Liu Xiaotian also saw it.

His heart stirred, and he immediately spoke again via the communicator in a low voice: 'Nobody move! Those with smoke grenades, throw them all straight ahead!'

As he spoke, he took out the two smoke grenades he carried, pulled the pins, and threw them.

After a few seconds, a somewhat meaningful smile appeared on Xiezi's face; he then crawled up from the ground, bent low significantly, and ran at top speed toward the nearest patch of smoke.

Indeed, the smoke bomb could block his line of sight, but at the same time it could also conceal his figure.

Thus, his plan to escape in the chaos became more likely to succeed.

As for whether he could kill a few more Wolf Fang warriors, that was actually not important to him.

Anyway, he didn't cross the border this time to kill people.

Xiezi is indeed ruthless and enjoys killing, but he only kills for pay.

Now, his goal is to escape from here, so he hopes for exactly the situation before him.

But he never imagined that the smoke could block his and all other soldiers' lines of sight, yet it could not block Liu Xiaotian's line of sight.

Or rather, it could not block the line of sight of "Stark"...

(End of chapter)