Chapter 503: He Yuzhu's Fatal Counterattack

The driver of the first Jeep, Xiao Ma, reacted half a beat too slow.

He had just pushed open the car door, and before his feet even touched the ground, his shoulder was hit by a bullet; he fell to the ground with the momentum, covered in blood, yet still desperately crawled toward the back of the vehicle.

"Bang..." The Sniper Rifle fired continuously at the two Jeeps, trying to hit the people hiding inside.

By this time, the people in the front and rear vehicles had long since found cover, some huddled behind the cars, others crawling in the ditch along the roadbed.

The two snipers did not stop firing, yet they had not caused any casualties among He Yuzhu's side.

Among this, He Yuzhu deserved the credit.

He was hiding behind a large tree, and the two Mauser C96s in his hands had not stopped.

"Pop! Pop! Pop!" The gunfire was rapid; although they were over three hundred meters apart and the bullets' accuracy was limited, the Mauser C96's range was theoretically over 500 meters, so the flying bullets provided at least some suppression, disrupting the rhythm of the snipers opposite.

The Sniper Rifle's bullets remained relentless, "Clang! Clang!" striking the steel plates of the Jeep.

He Yuzhu felt as if a cat were scratching at his heart; he was anxious but unable to exert any real force.

The assassination attempt on Secretary Liu was no small matter; afterward, Experts would certainly come to reconstruct the entire assassination process, and if he took a Sniper Rifle out of his space, the origin of the firearm would be impossible to explain.

The three security personnel from the lead car had already retreated and gathered around Secretary Liu.

He Yuzhu took a deep breath and said, "Bureau Chief Liu, I want to sneak over to the bridge. Once I get close, I can take them down with this Mauser C96."

Secretary Liu leaned against a wheel, his expression grave: "Zhuzi, these two are tough nuts to crack, their marksmanship is tricky; it's too risky."

"But we don't have any long guns in our hands, and just taking a beating like this isn't a solution." He Yuzhu was truly anxious, sweat seeping from his temples.

Secretary Liu pondered for a moment, then raised his eyes to stare at him: "How certain are you?"

"At least ninety percent!" He Yuzhu's tone was resolute, "You know about my time on the Korean War battlefield; I rarely got wounded even in a hail of bullets. These two can't do anything to me, I'm just... a bit worried about your safety here."

"Don't worry about me." Secretary Liu looked him straight in the eye, his gaze full of trust, "Go! Be very careful yourself!"

"Yes!"

He Yuzhu no longer hesitated in the slightest.

Like a civet cat, he lunged out from behind the car, using the trees, dirt slopes, and stone tablets along the way as cover, rapidly approaching the stone bridge.

The two snipers behind the dirt slope opposite, who had been irritable from not being able to hit anyone, suddenly became excited when they saw someone daring enough to charge over regardless of their life.

They immediately stopped firing at the Jeep and aimed their muzzles at He Yuzhu.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

The bullets chased He Yuzhu's footsteps, causing mud to splatter all around him and wood chips from tree trunks to fly.

Yet, to the shock of the two snipers, this person's movements were ridiculously fast, simply unlike an ordinary person, and his intuition for danger was extremely sharp.

The moment they pulled the triggers, the target could always strangely change direction or flash into cover ahead of time; even with the two of them coordinating to block his path, they were always half a beat slow.

Before the two snipers could figure out how to deal with He Yuzhu, he had already charged to the vicinity of the stone bridge.

From here, it was only about one hundred and eighty meters to the dirt slope where the snipers were lying in ambush.

Although the two snipers were alarmed, they didn't believe it—at this distance, wanting to hit them with a Mauser C96? It was simply a fantasy!

He Yuzhu hid behind a large stone lion five meters away from the bridgehead.

He then poked out his dual pistols and fired continuously toward the dirt slope.

The bullets struck the stones near the two snipers, constantly making "Clang" sounds.

Behind the dirt slope, Big Head pulled his head back and cursed: "Damn it, this kid's shooting is accurate enough; it's really wicked!"

The thin-faced man said: "I know who he is; there are at least fifty of our Secret Service Bureau men who have died at his hands."

Big Head said: "Since you know he's formidable, Sun Laoer, hurry up and blow up the bridge; maybe we can kill him in the collapse."

Sun Laoer shook his head: "He's hiding behind the stone, the amount of Explosive we planted isn't enough, it won't kill him!"

"Then do you want to keep this bridge for the New Year?" Big Head cursed, "Blow it up! Once it's blown, we run immediately."

"But, if Siqiang finds out we didn't complete the mission, will he spare us?" Sun Laoer worried.

"Siqiang is too timid now; if it were up to me, I would have ambushed two people on the other side of the bridge, and today's business would have been done, damn it! Like general, like soldiers; we've done enough today!" Big Head complained.

Sun Laoer gritted his teeth: "Fine! I'll blow it now!" He pressed the Remote Control Button hard.

Almost at the same moment, a system prompt sounded in He Yuzhu's mind: "Warning: The bridge ahead will explode in 0.5 seconds!"

In a flash, He Yuzhu flashed directly into his space.

"Boom!!!"

A deafening explosion erupted, and rubble and dust shot into the sky!

A gap over three meters wide was blown open in the middle section of the stone bridge.

Before the aftermath of the explosion had fully dissipated, He Yuzhu had already come out of the space.

At this moment, what he held in his hand was no longer an ordinary Mauser C96, but a German-made Mauser C96 Pistol fitted with a wooden stock, its stability and effective range greatly enhanced.

Behind the dirt slope, Big Head had just tentatively poked out half his head, wanting to see if the person on the other side of the bridge had been blown to death.

"Bang!"

An exceptionally crisp gunshot rang out.

A bloody hole appeared on Big Head's forehead, and he then fell backward, completely silent.

Seeing his companion killed, Sun Laoer was terrified; he scrambled up and turned to run behind the slope.

"Bang!"

Another shot! The bullet precisely drilled into his right shoulder blade.

Sun Laoer screamed and collapsed to the ground.

But he was extremely fierce; he actually endured the intense pain, grabbed the Sniper Rifle that had fallen to the side with his left hand, rested it on the dirt bank, and fired in He Yuzhu's direction, though his accuracy was completely gone.

He Yuzhu calmly observed the destroyed bridge deck.

Because it was a stone arch bridge, although the gap was large, there was still support on both sides. He took a deep breath, started his run-up, and leaped with all his might at the edge of the broken bridge—

His figure traced an arc in the air and landed steadily on the broken bridge deck on the other side, followed by a forward roll to dissipate the momentum, then he flashed and hid behind a stone tablet slanted at the bridgehead.

Sun Laoer was still firing wildly, the bullets striking the stone monument and sparking.

He Yuzhu quietly poked his gun barrel out from the side of the stone monument, held his breath, and aimed.

"Bang!"

"Argh!" Sun Laoer was hit in the left leg and fell again, his Sniper Rifle slipping from his hand and flying away.

He knew he would have no good end after being captured, so a flash of desperate ruthlessness crossed his eyes as he pointed his Pistol at his own temple...

"Click!"

The gunshot rang out, and Sun Laoer's body slumped down limply.

He Yuzhu rushed up the hillside and shook his head at the two corpses.

The living witness was gone, and the trail was broken.

He quickly confiscated the two Sniper Rifles and turned to head back.

After hearing He Yuzhu's report, Secretary Liu said, "Zhuzi, you have already done your best; don't blame yourself."

He Yuzhu smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Bureau Chief Liu, I don't think this matter is simple. I'm afraid our route for this operation was leaked long ago; there is likely a mole inside the City Government. We need to have Tian Dan come over."

Secretary Liu nodded with a serious expression.

In the mountain forest in the distance, a person holding a Telescope observed for a long time before slowly walking down the mountain; this person was none other than Duan Yunpeng.

Two trucks were parked by the road at the foot of the mountain.

Duan Yunpeng pulled open a door and jumped into one, shouting in a low voice to An Daiyuan in the driver's seat: "There's an expert on the other side; if we don't leave now, something bad will happen!"

An Daiyuan's heart sank, and he cursed inwardly: Damn it, they only believe my words after their own people are dead! His hands, however, were quick, and he immediately started the truck and drove away from this place of trouble.

As the truck bumped along, Duan Yunpeng leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes, as if calming his nerves.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and said to An Daiyuan: "Brother An, this time it's my fault for underestimating the enemy. The one who took out Big Head and Sun Laoer is ninety percent likely to be that He Yuzhu. To actually take down Big Head and Sun Laoer with a Pistol from about two hundred meters away—he truly lives up to his reputation. Next time we act, we must ensure a kill in one strike. Otherwise... it's better not to act at all."

An Daiyuan gripped the steering wheel, nodded, and consoled him: "Special Envoy, you don't need to blame yourself too much. You did the right thing today; if we had all been lying in ambush there, I'm afraid... we really would have been wiped out."

Duan Yunpeng twitched the corner of his mouth and said nothing more.

Five days later, Tian Dan arrived at the City Government, travel-worn and weary, leading twelve elite members of the First Division Second Team, including Captain Li Xiangxiu.

He Yuzhu told Tian Dan and Li Xiangxiu everything about the assassination, including his own judgments, the enemy's methods, and the details of the scene.

After listening, Tian Dan did not discuss the matter but instead scolded He Yuzhu: "Zhuzi, you really are a piece of work. I was doing just fine in Beijing, and you insisted on dragging me here to suffer!"

He Yuzhu laughed: "This time it was Secretary Liu who personally requested you; it has nothing to do with me!"

"Shameless! Secretary Liu even said you mentioned Bureau Chief Tian twice! And you're still lying! They don't even speak the same language here; how are we supposed to carry out our work?" Li Xiangxiu pouted.

He Yuzhu smiled: "Even Li Xiangxiu is scolding me directly; it seems this mission is indeed not easy to do!"

"Isn't that obvious?" Li Xiangxiu shook her head helplessly.

"I have an idea; do you want to hear it?" He Yuzhu asked.