Chapter 518: Darkness Before the Dawn

He Yuzhu held his breath, pressed against the cold bulkhead, and moved forward without a sound.

He leaned to the side to peek, only to see over a dozen M Country soldiers lounging outside a cabin, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, their expressions frivolous.

A short white soldier shouted at the top of his lungs, "Why haven't Walker and Bates come back yet? I'm going to go check!"

"Foster, they've only been gone five minutes! What the hell are you rushing for?" another soldier with a hoarse voice cursed.

Just then, the sound of He Yuzhu's footsteps rang out.

Like a cat that had smelled something fishy, Foster leaned his rifle against the wall and ran toward the corner without a moment's delay.

He rushed too fast; as soon as he rounded the corner, he collided right into He Yuzhu's arms.

With a shift of his intent, He Yuzhu tucked this lecherous fellow into his space.

He did not stop, his body suddenly darting out, his speed as swift as a ghost.

The footsteps startled the guards; they looked up and only saw a figure in a military uniform approaching rapidly, assuming it was their companion returning.

One soldier laughed and cursed, "Asshole, are you in such a hurry to reincarnate running that fast?"

Before the words had even faded, He Yuzhu had already struck!

At a distance where their faces were almost touching, the guards could even see the cold, icy glint in the other's eyes.

"Collect!" He Yuzhu shouted.

The six bewildered fellows at the door vanished into thin air.

He Yuzhu quickly pressed against the cabin door and peered inside through the gap.

The interior was filled with shadows; dozens of people were sitting or lying down, mostly young men, with almost no women to be seen. His heart sank—Zhao Ying was not there.

Just as he was about to push the door open, Zhao Ying's angry voice suddenly came from the other side: "I am an M Country citizen! If you dare touch me, I will kill your whole family!"

"Stinking bitch! Still daring to threaten me? I'll finish you off tonight!" a rough male voice followed immediately, accompanied by the sound of tearing clothes.

He Yuzhu's head buzzed, and blood rushed straight to his brain.

He sprinted toward the cabin where the sound originated!

"Bang——!!"

He Yuzhu kicked the cabin door open with one foot.

He looked up and saw Zhao Ying backed into a corner, her hands handcuffed, her clothes already torn into a mess.

She was using all her strength to kick at a white soldier who was tearing at her clothes.

He Yuzhu flicked his wrist, and a cold light shot out from his sleeve!

"Swish——Pfft!"

The Flying Knife was incredibly precise, stabbing deeply into the white soldier's back.

The soldier's body suddenly stiffened, the savage grin on his face instantly frozen; he looked down in disbelief at the tip of the blade protruding from his chest, and as he used his last bit of strength to try and grab Zhao Ying, she kicked him to the ground.

Zhao Ying looked at this "white soldier" who had saved her, still shaken.

She froze, staring blankly at the other person.

He Yuzhu had already rushed to her side.

Recognizing him by his running gait, Zhao Ying realized it was He Yuzhu, "Zhuzi... is that you?"

"I'm sorry, Sister Ying, I'm late." He Yuzhu pulled her into an embrace, feeling her body trembling violently.

He quickly fished the keys from the still-twitching soldier and unlocked Zhao Ying's handcuffs.

With her hands free, Zhao Ying said nothing; she leaned down, pulled a Dagger from the soldier, and with a swift motion, brought the blade down!

"Ssh——!"

A hand that had once attempted to violate her was severed at the wrist and rolled to the side.

Zhao Ying's face was livid, her eyes churning with a terrifying storm and hatred.

"I want everyone on this ship... to die," she said, word by word.

This was the first time He Yuzhu had seen such a ruthless Zhao Ying.

He Yuzhu nodded heavily: "The guards outside have been cleared."

"In the lower cargo hold, the people locked up are Bodyguards. They resisted, and after being captured, several have already been tortured to death... the guards are even tighter there." Zhao Ying spoke extremely fast, her killing intent no longer hidden.

He Yuzhu handed over a Mosin-Nagant Rifle equipped with a Silencer and stuffed a few magazines into her hands: "Take it, kill a few first to vent your anger."

Zhao Ying deftly checked the firearm, pushed a round into the chamber with a 'click', her movements showing no sign of rust. "Let's go!"

The two of them, one after the other, quickly snuck toward the lower level.

The spiral staircase was steep and dim, with only a few electric lamps emitting a faint light.

He Yuzhu turned on the Scanning, and his mind clearly displayed two soldiers lying in ambush at the corner below.

He Yuzhu made a stop gesture, and Zhao Ying immediately raised her muzzle.

He Yuzhu had already pounced down like an eagle.

His figure swept through the air, and the Dagger in his hand traced two cold arcs.

"Ssh! Ssh!"

Almost simultaneously, the two ambushing guards clutched their spurting throats, eyes wide as they collapsed to the ground.

He Yuzhu was beyond furious tonight, and he showed no mercy in his strikes.

Noisy music and laughter drifted vaguely from the lower cargo hold, masking the commotion outside.

Just as He Yuzhu put away his Dagger, two drunken soldiers came staggering from the opposite side.

"Hey! Are you the one guarding the door upstairs?" one white soldier shouted with a hiccup: "If there are broads... don't hog them all... send, send two down..."

"Yes, officer," He Yuzhu replied vaguely, his footsteps not stopping as he brushed past the two.

In an instant, his fists struck like lightning, smashing hard into the back of their heads.

The two drunks rolled their eyes and collapsed instantly.

He Yuzhu casually snapped one man's neck, while Zhao Ying had already lunged forward, her Dagger piercing another man's heart with precision, speed, and ruthlessness.

He Yuzhu took a deep look at Zhao Ying; in her eyes, there was only the flame of revenge.

This time, these soldiers had truly touched her reverse scale.

The two crept to the entrance of a cargo hold, the thick smell of smoke and alcohol drifting out from the door crack.

He Yuzhu peeked inside; it was a foul atmosphere, with seven or eight soldiers puffing away and drinking beer while making a racket.

He Yuzhu gave Zhao Ying a hand signal.

It meant he would go in for close-quarters combat, and she would guard the door to snipe any who tried to escape.

Zhao Ying nodded, flashed to the side of the door, and pointed her gun toward the entrance.

He Yuzhu swayed as he pushed the door open and entered, discovering that these men had all placed their guns by the door; with a thought, he collected all the guns into his space.

He walked forward slowly, as if he were one of them.

The people inside didn't pay much attention at first, continuing to talk loudly with lewd topics.

A cold light suddenly flashed!

He Yuzhu moved, the Dagger in his hand like a viper flicking its tongue.

In less than two seconds, three soldiers with their backs to him collapsed without a sound, clutching their spurting necks.

"Enemy attack!!" a startled cry exploded.

The remaining few scrambled to reach for their guns.

He Yuzhu flicked his wrists in succession, and two Flying Knives shot out, burying themselves deep into the backs of two soldiers who had just raised their guns.

"Ah—!" A miserable howl arose.

One white soldier with the fastest reaction time scrambled toward the door.

"Puff!"

A muffled gunshot rang out; outside the door, Zhao Ying calmly pulled the trigger.

Half of that soldier's head exploded, and he collapsed on the threshold.

The doorway was blocked by the corpse; the two remaining soldiers inside turned red-eyed, knowing that rushing out meant death, so they might as well fight to the death with the kid who had entered.

They roared and brandished the Daggers in their hands, lunging at He Yuzhu in an attempt to fight him at close range.

He Yuzhu's gaze was indifferent; he couldn't even be bothered to swing his blade.

With a thought, the two people who had lunged before his eyes vanished instantly, taken into his space.

The battle ended in less than ten seconds.

A heavy, bloody stench permeated the air, mixed with the smell of smoke and alcohol, making one feel nauseated.

"Sister, it's resolved."

Zhao Ying entered holding her gun, her gaze sweeping over the bodies still twitching slightly on the ground, and she raised her gun without hesitation.

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

The sound of finishing shots was crisp and decisive.

Only after finishing all this did she let out a long breath.

"Sister Ying, how many of you were captured in total?"

"Over a hundred. The fifty or so below are my Bodyguards; more than ten died during the resistance, and many more were tortured to death after being captured. The ones locked upstairs are company executives, and there were four female employees... they have already been killed by them. If I hadn't stubbornly insisted that I was from M Country, I would have also..." Zhao Ying did not continue.

After hearing this, the rage in He Yuzhu's chest almost burst through his ribs.

Yet his tone was abnormally calm, terrifyingly so: "Since they are demons wearing human skin, then let's send them to hell. I intend to... blow up all those larger Warships."

"This... is it possible?" Although Zhao Ying knew He Yuzhu was powerful, she still found it hard to believe he could sink these iron beasts.

"Just watch. Wait, what about those people under your command?"

Zhao Ying thought for a moment and said: "If you can really blow up the ships, I will lead these Bodyguards to clean up the scum that manage to escape."

"Good. Go gather them; I will prepare guns and ammunition for you all!"

Zhao Ying carried her gun and walked away quickly.

He Yuzhu then took fifty brand-new Submachine Guns and a large number of magazines out from his space.

Before long, Zhao Ying returned with over thirty people.

Most of them were in rags and wounded, but in their eyes burned the flames of hatred and the hope of being rescued.

Seeing the weapons piled on the ground, these well-trained Bodyguards' eyes lit up immediately; without needing a word, they quickly and quietly began to arm themselves.