Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
The dense gunfire in the jungle had gradually decreased. Qin Fen stood at a distance and pressed the detonator in his hand. A deafening explosion was heard, followed by pieces of bloody body parts flying everywhere.
Qin Fen went back to investigate the explosion point. The bodies of the people who were killed by the Barrett in this fierce battle had now vanished along with the explosion earlier.
“Phew…” Qin Fen let out a long sigh of relief, “This way, the enemies won’t be able to discover the strength of the sniper from the bodies.”
Qin Fen destroyed evidence of a sniper hurriedly and left the battlefield quickly toward the meeting point that had been set before the battle began.
Things on the battlefield were never certain. God knew if things such as someone randomly firing shots resulting in someone being killed by these bullets that came from nowhere would happen.
This kind of random shooting may hit even without having any locked target. Qin Fen also knew that he had no way of predicting shots like this before they happened.
One really would be unable to rest in peace if he were to die in this kind of random shooting. Qin Fen did not want to take risks. He carried the AK47 that he had picked up and exited the battlefield quickly. He hid in a tree and observed the surroundings of the battlefield quietly.
None of the members from Red Eyebrows’ team had died ever since the war began. Qin Fen raised his eyebrows in surprise, unsure if he should call them lucky, or if their abilities had increased beyond expectations.
“It seems that war will end soon…” Qin Fen’s hand that was holding binoculars froze suddenly. One thousand seven hundred meters away, there was a black shadow moving at an extremely high speed.
“How is it possible?” Qin Fen lost his voice. “Isn’t the Black Leopard dead?”
The microphone of the headset was on. His voice passed into the ear of Red Eyebrows who was on the battlefield.
“Major, what did you say?” Red Eyebrows patted the headset and repeated, “You saw someone who looked exactly like the Black Leopard Wu Henfeng?”
“Yes.” Qin Fen had switched from holding the binoculars to the large-caliber Barrett sniper. He moved the weapon in his hand slowly, following the movement of the one in the grass.
“Major, that is Wu Tianfeng!” Red Eyebrows exclaimed, “Wu Henfeng’s twin. Wu Henfeng was known as Wu Lianda’s left hand, but he was known as Wu Lianda’s right arm. Compared to Wu Henfeng, this guy is even more difficult to…”
Boom…
The roaring gunshot exploded in Red Eyebrows’ earpiece. He even experienced temporary tinnitus in his ear due to the loud noise. He raised his head slightly and looked at a distance while asking himself softly, “Major, don’t tell me you just shot Wu Tianfeng…he is even harder to tackle than Wu Henfeng…”
“The target was hit, go blow up his body later. It’s located at…”
Red Eyebrows listened as Qin Fen spoke calmly. It was as if he did not just kill an eight-star martial artist, but a helpless chicken instead.
At that time, Red Eyebrows’ team’s enemies had been completely assassinated by the others.
The war had ended. Everyone was also stunned after hearing Qin Fen’s words. They all looked at the doubt that appeared in each other’s eyes.
An eight-star martial artist died just like that? The agility of a Comet Level ace martial artist was definitely not something that could be hidden from a Meteor Level martial artist.
Indeed, the bullets of heavy sniper equipment could penetrate the body of an eight-star martial artist. However, it did not mean that eight-star martial artists were afraid of guns!
On the contrary, most eight-star martial artists looked down on gunmen. From their perspective, one must first aim precisely at their bodies before any bullet could hurt them.
It was difficult for even an ace sniper to aim precisely at an eight-star martial artist. Their intuition, speed, and movement had already exceeded the aiming range for an ace sniper.
Except for today.
Red Eyebrows and the others had to accept the fact that Qin Fen used only two bullets to kill two eight-star martial artists! Such a brilliant battle record had never happened in the battle history of the Golden Triangle.
“Why are you still dreaming?” Qin Fen grabbed the binoculars, “Red Eyebrows, bring two people to destroy the bodies there. Remember to press the C4 onto his body. The destruction of evidence can only be done neatly this way. As for the others, fall back.”
“C4?”
Red Eyebrows smirked again, and said in his head, This dude really has no mercy, using a C4 on dead bodies.
Along with a huge roar, a burst of flare soared to the sky. Wu Lianda’s right-hand men had surprisingly entered the death list in a battle that was not taken too seriously by both sides.
Red Eyebrows did not even have the time to report to Ming Kun secretly upon returning to the Emperor Army camp. Qin Fen had already brought them to the training ground and started pointing out each of their mistakes during the battle.
Following the explanation of each step, Red Eyebrows noticed suddenly that if his enemy today was Qin Fen, he would have been killed even if he had twenty lives.
The others also listened until they had cold sweat running at the back of their heads. In the blink of an eye, the excitement and pride they felt from winning not too long ago turned into fear. They all felt a sense of luck in their hearts for being able to survive.
“What? Both Wu Henfeng and Wu Tianfeng had died?”
Wang Hao could no longer remain his usual calm self after hearing Ming Kun’s report. He immediately leaped out from his seat and asked with a hurried expression, as if his buttocks had been stabbed with a knife.
“How many lives were used in exchange for their lives? Forget it! No matter how much! I have earned this time!” Wang Hao walked round and round the table excited, “Wu Henfeng, Wu Tianfeng! These two are eight-star martial artists. If they combined their forces of the Four Steps Panacea and the perfect Tiger Crane Combination, even I would be unable to withstand them. Worth it! No matter how many people died to get them killed, it was all worth it!”
Ming Kun quietly waited for Wang Hao to finish expressing his excitement. He then said slowly, “General, none of our men had died in killing Wu Henfeng and Wu Tianfeng. They were both killed by Qin Fen alone.”
“What?” Wang Hao stopped moving, his whole body stunned. His cold eagle eyes showed a shimmering cold light, “Him alone? How many men were used to hold down the Wu brothers? How many bullets were used?”
“No one held them down.” Ming Kun said quietly, “Two bullets were used to kill the Wu heroes.”
Wang Hao gently tapped his fingers on the tabletop. Each tap on the table gave a knocking sound.
The Wu heroes were probably infamous in the Federation, but their names would light up in Luang Namtha, perhaps even in the entire Golden Triangle.
Throughout the province of Luang Namtha, there were probably only one or two people who could firmly defeat them in a stand-alone battle.
There was only one way to have your name light up in the Golden Triangle. You had to be strong enough, merciless enough, with enough blood on your hands.
Such people would inevitably have many enemies. They would often encounter instances like ambushes and sneak attacks. One would have to have an incredibly sharp sense of danger to be able to survive such constant assassination.
Wang Hao even believed that the Wu heroes’ martial artist intuition was much higher than that of nine-star martial artists. They had to be on guard against others’ murderous attacks even in their sleep, living on the border of life and death daily.
There were a lot of people who wanted to kill them, but no one had ever succeeded.
Now, two of Luang Namtha’s fiercest martial artists were killed with just two bullets. Wang Hao admitted that even if he had picked four of his best snipers to fight against them at the same time, his chances of winning would only barely exceed 20%.
“Risky…” Wang Hao stopped tapping, and pressed his finger on the table, “The risk is too high, we better kill him as soon as possible. We shall use him one last time…”
“General…”
“Enough.” Wang Hao waved his hand, “What the Golden Triangle needs is unity, as well as to move toward becoming great. It is time the era of hegemony between the ancient Chinese states comes to an end. If the honorary commander were to recruit him, not only am I afraid that my dreams might not be able to come true in this life. There is even a risk of getting myself killed.”
Ming Kun sighed. Anyone in the Golden Triangle would have an eerie fear tremble down their spines if they heard about the murder of the Wu heroes. If this kind of horrifying killing technique was protected by an incredible force, everyone would constantly be at risk of being killed.
The sudden death of the Wu heroes had spread quickly into the ears of Wu Lianda. This cheerful old man was always smiling, yet for the first time, the smile on his face had completely stiffened.
Losing the Wu heroes was almost as if he had lost half of his nation. His future battles with the Emperor Army would also switch from being active to passive.
“How could this be? How could this be?” Wu Lianda repeatedly knocked the ground with his crutch, “Men! Inform the honorary commander that I would like him to come forward to discuss for a middle ground.”
Local battles in the province of Luang Namtha continued for the next three days. However, the Emperor Army did not launch a full-blown attack immediately.
Wang Hao was very clear of the meaning behind the proverb, “An extremely skinny camel is still bigger than a horse, there are still three pounds of nails on a broken ship”. The victory from a full-blown attack would only be a tragic one, and would only attract the greed of other surrounding forces.
He was waiting for an opportunity — more specifically, he was waiting for the response Wu Lianda was most likely to give.
In the following three days, Qin Fen did not lead any teams to war again, but the result of this battle had already been miraculously spread to the public just by the word of mouth.
There were countless rumors that had spread around, such as: Qin Fen attacked the enemy alone; took on two eight-star martial artists single-handedly; fought the Wu heroes to death and killed his way out calmly.
Within a short period of time, Qin Fen had risen even more in fame within the Emperor Army.
There were also some who said that Qin Fen could establish his own organization and build his own force. Its future development would not be smaller than the Emperor Army.
The spreading of these rumors also played a useful role. Those mad men who used to be daring enough to crave for Lin Ling’s beauty now had to keep their desires to themselves and step aside.
As the night of the third day arrived, Qin Fen was led by Ming Kun into Wang Hao’s office.
“General.”
Qin Fen gave a military salutation directly.
Wang Hao nodded slowly. He did not show too much hospitality and familiarity.
During his time at the Federation, Wang Hao had deeply understood the meaning of the proverb “One who is nice to you for no reason is either a snake or a thief.” If he were to be overly welcoming, it would lead to the other party becoming suspicious.
Wang Hao tapped his fingers on the virtual keyboard on the table. Projections of two people floated above the table.
There were two men, and Qin Fen did not know one at all but was familiar with the other. He was the true hegemon of the province of Luang Namtha, Wu Lianda.
“Remember their appearances.” Wang Hao swiped with his finger, “Kill them off tomorrow. Start with Wu Lianda, and then kill the other person. You need to be quick.”
“I need a topographic map.” There was no change in Qin Fen’s expression. He was secretly trying to guess the other person’s identity, as well as Wang Hao’s intention.
Ming Kun handed out a handheld projection notebook, “D disk has the stereoscopic protection map, as well as the location of these two people. If there is anything else you need…”
“Armor piercers.” Qin Fen replied immediately, “Two of them.”
“Major Qin, Wu Lianda is not Wu…”
“As a sniper, if you still consider missing the target before shooting, and there is still a second bullet available, you would definitely miss.” Qin Fen replied faintly, “In sniping, there is only one chance.”
“Alright.” Ming Kun nodded, “I will send the bullets to you later…”
“Let me pick it myself.” Qin Fen interrupted Ming Kun, “I’m not used to the bullets others pick out for me.”
“Alright then.” Wang Hao threw the warrant on the table, “Go pick them out.”
After Qin Fen left, Wang Hao sneered while shaking his head, “Just two bullets. Should I say that you’re wild enough? Or that you’re confident enough? No matter which it is, I can no longer spare your life after tonight. Tell Red Eyebrows and the others to stay as close as they can with him tomorrow. As soon as the two bullets have been fired, launch the attack immediately. You can equip them with bombs as well.”
Ming Kun nodded silently and retreated out the door.
On his way back to his room, Qin Fen recalled Wang Hao’s every move quietly. He finally stopped. A glimpse of shock flashed through his eyes, “Wang Hao wants to kill me!”
Qin Fen laughed bitterly. It is already too late for me to use a special method to inform the Federation’s coordinators to supply aid.
“If this is the case…” Qin Fen sighed and continued walking, “Then…”
The next day, before the sun had even risen, Qin Fen and Lin Ling had already disappeared from the Emperor Army. The Red Eyebrows Team had also disappeared along with Qin Fen.
However, no one bothered to guess where they went. Today, the honorary commander had once again sent special envoys to mediate the war between the Emperor Army and Wu Lianda.
Everyone knew that the arrival of the commander’s special envoys would mean that the war was about to end. Not giving the commander face would equal to declaring war on all forces in the entire Golden Triangle.
Due to the fiery war going on between the two sides, the chosen location for negotiation and mediation was neither of their power districts. Instead, it was to be held on a hill in the province of Luang Namtha where there was a pretty good view.
Qin Fen was laying at the pre-selected position quietly, and Red Eyebrows’ team hid in a place one kilometer away from him.
As soldiers who were trained by Qin Fen, Red Eyebrows and the others found it increasingly difficult to see through Qin Fen’s full strength. Hence making it harder for them to speculate the bottom line of his observation radius. Instead of stepping into his radius, it was better to observe from afar like this. Everything else could be discussed after avoiding being detected.
Wu Lianda had arrived at the venue early and was sitting in the gazebo on the hill. His men were not extremely alert in guarding the surroundings. The area here had already been sealed off since last night. Even if there was a sniper at a distance even farther away, he was confident that he could avoid it at once.
There was another man who was sitting with him. Qin Fen recognized that he was the other person Wang Hao wanted him to kill. Based on Wu Lianda’s attitude towards that guy, he could easily guess that the man was a special envoy or something of that sort.
Not long after, Wang Hao also arrived at the venue in a good mood. He occasionally ducked his head to the side, showing humility to the middle-aged men who arrived with him.
Two special envoys? Qin Fen frowned. At that moment, he had figured out everything. No wonder Wang Hao wants to kill a special envoy, there are two of them! If he killed one of the special envoys as well as Wu Lianda, there will still be one special envoy left. When the time comes, as long as Red Eyebrows and the others, who were hiding at a far distance, could contribute some effort, all the responsibilities would then naturally be pushed to…
Qin Fen sneered as he operated the Barrett and started searching for his first target using the sniper lens – Wu Lianda!
“General Wu, the weather is quite good today.” Wang Hao smiled brightly as he walked forward, and initiated a handshake by reaching out his arm, “When will you be giving me my ton of cocaine?”
Wu Lianda’s face was a bit gloomy. He reached out his arm without even smiling, “My reason for inviting Little General Wang here today is to discuss this matter.”
The moment their palms touched, everyone who was present there felt a sudden vibration from the ground. Their veins on their hands were popping and they were holding each other firmly. The true energy was colliding like the waves, making the crackling sound of burning wood.
The two special envoys smiled and watched with their arms crossed. They all knew that these two men had deep grievances. In fact, it would be weird if the handshake did not turn into a competition.
The moment the thought flashed by, Wu Lianda’s head suddenly burst open with a bang. Red and white blood plasma splashed in the air, as the body stood still.
The whistling sound of the bullet was only heard the moment it penetrated into the ground.
“This is…?”
The two special envoys were stunned. In the Golden Triangle, there had never been a person who dared to do such a crazy thing during mediation sessions held by the commander.
Having the instincts of a martial artist, both the special envoys hid behind the bunker quickly and looked around for the bullet’s source.
“Who did it?!” Wang Hao too pretended to hide behind a bunker and shouted loudly, “Who did it…”
He stuck half his head out to check if the special envoy had died. Before he finished his thought, half his brain was blasted, just like Wu Lianda’s. The arm that was supporting his weight went soft, and he fell to the ground with a bang.
The two special envoys looked at each other, stunned again. The moment Wu Lianda died, both of them thought that Wang Hao was the one who arranged the gunman. Wu Lianda’s death would bring him the greatest benefit.
But in the end… Wang Hao had died as well…
Ming Kun, who was squatting behind him, looked in shock at Wang Hao who had lost half his brain — he couldn’t even die in peace. The great lord who was so ambitious and wanted to rule the entire Golden Triangle had died…
The bullet marks on the ground told Ming Kun that this bullet was the armor piercer chosen by Qin Fen.
“Hehe…” Mingkun smiled sadly. Qin Fen actually managed to strike first. This ending was indeed unexpected. He looked at the two special envoys who were smiling faintly, and secretly praised Qin Fen’s brilliant tactic.
Who would benefit from the death of these generals during the mediation meeting held by the commander? Who would be able to do this? Anyone who had any rational would know that only the commander was capable of doing so.
As a result, there would be an immediate decrease in public support toward the commander. There was a possibility that the Golden Triangle will be in deep chaos soon.
“Qin Fen…” Ming Kun looked toward the direction where the bullet came from and said with a poker face, “If you’re able to survive, the Golden Triangle will definitely have a place for you.”
After firing the two shots, Qin Fen threw away the now-useless weapon and fled into the woods.
The Redbrow team rushed toward Qin Fen’s position with their weapons as soon as they heard the second gunshot.
The one-kilometer distance was neither too far nor too near for the Red Eyebrows Team. However, when they hurriedly arrived at the destination, they only managed to find a Barrett that was still warm.
“This is…”
“He fled?”
“He had guessed that we would come?”
“Don’t tell me he discovered us?”
Red Eyebrows made a gesture for silence, “The Major was in a hurry. He didn’t even manage to cover up his trail. He does not have a weapon in his hand right now, let’s chase!”
The other eight people followed Red Eyebrows silently in the chase and soon entered the jungle.
“Why is there only the trace of the Major?”
“Is it a trick?”
Red Eyebrows felt his heart tightened. He remembered the means of killing that was used by Lin Ling the other day, and it was not in any way inferior to Qin Fen.
“Are we still chasing?” Several soldiers were obviously worried.
Red Eyebrows looked at his surroundings awkwardly, sighed, and said, “Chase! If we don’t catch him, the punishment that awaits us at General Wang’s territory won’t be light.”
Everyone sighed and agreed unanimously. In the Golden Triangle, using one’s brain was the way to live, and pursuit was the only way.
“Stop!” Red Eyebrows raised his hand to stop the members behind him. He stared at a steel machine that was greeting him from not far away – the Jungle Ranger.
Thirty broken bodies surrounded the feet of the two-meter-high steel machine. The freshness and the richness of the bloody smell in the air alerted Red Eyebrows and to him that these people had just died.
Redbrow could barely recognize from the outfits of the bodies on the floor — they were General Wang Hao’s treasured Tiger Army. They were the main force that deterred Wu Lianda from attacking Emperor Army.
In order to get rid of the Emperor Army, one would first have to face a counterattack before the Tiger Army. It could bring the terrifying consequence of death.
Wang Hao’s thought process was extremely detailed. He had even calculated the route Qin Fen flee through upon killing off the two enemies.
He had sent out the Tiger Army to ambush and block the place in advance. However, they did not expect to be faced with a Jungle Ranger.
“How can it be?”
Red Eyebrows still could not believe the facts in front of him. Even if the Tiger Army had to face a Jungle Ranger, it should still end with the well-equipped Tiger Army beating the Jungle Ranger to scrap with their advantage in number.
How could this be? The paint on the Jungle Ranger was not scraped off at all, yet all the members of the Tiger Army were…
“Ah…”
A cry was heard from amongst the corpses. A Tiger member whose hip was broken said in a hoarse voice. He looked up at Red Eyebrows with extreme fear in his eyes and said in despair, “Run…he is not human…not human…”
Not human? Red Eyebrows nodded in agreement at the Tiger member who died right after he finished speaking, and walked with heavy steps toward the Jungle Ranger.
Red Eyebrows didn’t think that he and his few men could escape their fate of being killed by this Jungle Ranger that not only killed all of the Tiger Army within an extremely short period of time but was also called not human by one of the soldiers. It was only wise for him to go forward cautiously.
“It’s not bad that you guys were able to catch up so quickly.”
The inner conjecture of Red Eyebrows and his men was confirmed the moment the Jungle Ranger spoke. The operator inside it was actually their superior, Major Qin!