Chapter 93: Running Wild All the Way

Inside Liugongguan, the fireplace was burning brightly, radiating warmth. She slapped the telephone receiver down with a "snap," her chest heaving slightly. "That He Yuzhu, how dare he openly agree but secretly oppose, running off to Shanghai to enjoy himself! When he returns, see if I don't skin him alive!"

Pingping stood behind her, her fingertips pressing on her shoulders and neck with moderate pressure. Upon hearing this, she said softly, "Miss, He Yuzhu is not one of our own after all. He is naturally attentive when he has something to ask for, but treats your words as wind past his ears when he does not."

Liu Rusi lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. Amidst the swirling smoke, she glanced at Pingping. "You are bad-mouthing him behind his back again, is it still because of what he said about you driving?"

The movement of Pingping's hands paused slightly, but her tone remained steady. "Of course not. Miss, you do not know the hardships of the world. Someone like He Yuzhu, a wretch from a poor family, though young, has a heart as full of holes as a sieve. If you truly want him to be obedient, you must get a hold of his leverage."

"No need for that." Liu Rusi exhaled a wisp of blue smoke and shook her head. "During this transport, he single-handedly took out six machine guns and saved the entire convoy; this merit cannot be erased."

Pingping pursed her lips and muttered in a low voice, "Even so, one must use both kindness and severity; you cannot just be good to him all the time. Look at him now, he has just achieved a little merit and already doesn't know who he is!"

Liu Rusi suddenly chuckled, her tone carrying a hint of playfulness. "You all, every one of you has a heart smaller than the tip of a needle, just unable to see the other person in a favorable light."

In the Po Miao, He Yuzhu suddenly opened his eyes.

The thick smell of blood was almost suffocating. He discovered he was lying among several wolf carcasses, the dark red blood already congealed into ice.

He struggled to stand up and saw Wang Jiazhi entering from outside the door, carrying a bundle of firewood.

"How did I faint?" he asked, rubbing his throbbing temples.

"You killed over forty wolves alone; you had reached your limit. When the wolf king lunged, you grabbed its neck tightly, and you rolled into a ball on the ground... In the end, you suddenly fainted, and I had no choice but to fire..."

"You fired? How long ago was that?" He Yuzhu asked urgently.

"About half an hour ago."

"We cannot stay in the temple tonight; we must leave immediately!" He Yuzhu's expression changed. "We are not far from Nanjing; the sound of gunfire has likely already drawn the enemy here."

"Surely not... it's very desolate here!" Wang Jiazhi said dismissively.

"Hurry and pack your things!" He Yuzhu had already shouldered his backpack and was walking outside.

Seeing this, Wang Jiazhi hurriedly picked up her small box and followed.

Just as they stepped out of the temple door, He Yuzhu suddenly stopped in his tracks and pulled Wang Jiazhi behind a withered tree.

Down the mountain, a troop of men was heading in this direction, their torches forming a winding dragon in the night.

Wang Jiazhi panted heavily and asked in a low voice, "What do we do?"

He Yuzhu squinted and counted, then said in a low voice, "These people are tracking us, over thirty of them. Footprints will be left on the snow; we cannot run. We must deal with them here."

"Are you crazy? There are over thirty of them!" Wang Jiazhi exclaimed.

"You wait here, I'm going to find heavy weapons," He Yuzhu said, preparing to move.

"No!" Wang Jiazhi grabbed his arm tightly.

He Yuzhu patted her hand to comfort her. "They haven't discovered us yet; you are safe for the moment. Hide behind the tree and wait for me to return."

Before the words had faded, He Yuzhu had already slipped into the darkness as silently as a civet cat.

Wang Jiazhi hid behind a large tree, watching the figures down the mountain draw closer, her heart beating like a drum.

Those people were less than two hundred meters away from her. She gripped her Box Cannon tightly, disengaged the safety, and her fingers trembled slightly from nervousness.

Just then, He Yuzhu flashed out from behind a tree, carrying a Type 11 Light Machine Gun.

Wang Jiazhi was so shocked her mouth fell open.

He Yuzhu pulled her behind a rock and whispered, "Just stay here. We will strike after they have all entered the temple."

He lay motionless behind the rock, watching as the people down the mountain discovered the firelight in the temple, pulled back their bolts, and cautiously approached the temple gate in a skirmish line.

He Yuzhu set up the machine gun and took several Hand Grenades from his Personal Space, silently pulling the pins.

The thirty-plus men slowly crept outside the temple and, seeing the wolf carcasses covering the ground, could not help but stop.

"Oh my mother!" one voice exclaimed. "What kind of person could kill so many wolves?"

Another voice scolded, "Shut up! Don't forget what we are here for!"

This group slowly crept into the temple and found it empty, save for the campfire.

"They ran!" someone shouted.

At this very moment, a hand grenade flew in from the collapsed roof of the Po Miao.

"Boom!" The explosion was deafening, and the temple windows were instantly shattered.

The inside of the temple fell into chaos, and the soldiers rushed out in a panic.

"Tat-tat-tat!" The machine gun spat fire, carving a lethal arc through the night. Wang Jiazhi also fired with her Box Cannon.

The soldiers standing at the temple gate fell like harvested wheat; those who were not hit scrambled away on their hands and knees.

Before they could even steady themselves, two more hand grenades flew in.

"Boom, boom, boom!" The successive explosions made the temple walls tremble, and roof tiles fell with a rustle.

The survivors were left dazed and confused by the blasts, lying on the ground and wailing incessantly.

He Yuzhu rushed to the temple gate and tossed in a few more hand grenades.

Only when there was no more movement inside did he cautiously enter with his gun, finishing off those who were still moving one by one.

Wang Jiazhi followed him in, and upon seeing the scene of severed limbs flying and mangled flesh inside the temple, she immediately bent over and began to retch violently.

The original site of the Military Statistics Bureau Beiping Station had been almost leveled, and they were forced to move to a quiet courtyard nearby.

The Action Team had suffered a heavy blow; of the original eighty-plus people across four groups, only fewer than twenty remained after two attacks.

Station Chief Feng had no choice but to consolidate the four groups into two.

With no great generals in Shu, Liao Hua serves as the vanguard. Ge Erdan, whose leg injury had not yet fully healed, was called from home to the station and appointed as the leader of Action Team Group 2.

His arch-rival Tie Lin was also assigned to his group, becoming his subordinate.

That night, the entire Military Statistics Bureau Beiping Station was busy moving and settling in.

When Tie Lin learned that the dim-witted Ge Erdan had actually become his superior, he felt a surge of wicked anger, his face full of defiance.

After setting up his own desk, he squinted at Ge Erdan. "Little Erdan, if I hadn't made a split-second decision that day and kicked your leg to break it, you would have met the King of Hell long ago. You got lucky this time and became a Group Leader; shouldn't you treat me to a meal at Donglaishun!"

When Ge Erdan heard Tie Lin showing him no respect, and knowing he was now his direct superior, he naturally would not take such a loss.

He slammed his crutch onto the ground with a "thud" and glared. "Tie Lin, I don't owe you anything! Even if I had gone at that time and died, I would still be a hero! Unlike you, the only one in the whole team to run back, and you think you're a mastermind, but you're actually just a coward!"

Tie Lin's face flushed red in an instant, and he argued, "I fucking warned Captain Ma, told him the courtyard wasn't right and not to go in, but that grandson wouldn't listen! He insisted on charging in! And the result! The lives of over twenty brothers! Just gone for nothing! If you hadn't had me, you would have been a corpse long ago, and you're not even grateful."

"Then you can be the Group Leader!" Ge Erdan roared, stiffening his neck.

"Just a lousy Group Leader, you think I care! You don't even know which day you'll..." Tie Lin curled his lip.

"Enough!" A cold shout came from outside the door.

Station Chief Feng, draped in a military overcoat, walked into the Second Group's room with a gloomy expression: "Ge Erdan, assemble the team immediately, we have an emergency operation!"

In the vast, desolate wilderness, He Yuzhu and Wang Jiazhi were running for their lives.

After they dealt with those thirty people, another wave of over 20 people followed them.

These people trailed them from a distance, sticking to them like shadows, leaving them in a dilemma where they could neither advance nor retreat.