In the face of Xiao Luo’s accusations and taunts, Jiang Zhiming gritted his teeth and tightly clenched his fists. But in the next second, he just relaxed them and sighed deeply in resignation, like a deflated ball, because he knew Xiao Luo was right, which the same as his instructor had told him.
As a sniper, when the decision to shoot was made, the only thing in his mind would be to take the target’s life. But when Jiang Zhiming pulled the trigger, he hesitated, realizing that he was about to extinguish the life of a living being and showed mercy on him. Unlike his experience during training, the gun was loaded with blanks, so even though he knew the bullet had struck their critical areas of the target, it would never actually kill them.
“We are in the real battlefield now, and this is a matter of life and death! As the team leader, I hope you adapt yourself to the realities of war as soon as possible. It is a soldier’s duty to defend his country and comrades—and that makes you a war machine. I think your military instructor would have drilled that thought into your head. There’s no peace in the military world, and once you become a soldier, you have to always be ready to fight on the battlefield. Do you agree with that?”
Xiao Luo felt it was necessary to shake Jiang Zhiming up, for his attitude could cost lives. He needed to understand the difference between empathy in everyday life and the job he was entrusted to carry out in a war. If he still harbored thoughts of playing fair in battle, then his naivete could likely result in his entire team being annihilated because of it.
When rebuked, Jiang Zhiming felt an overwhelming shame with his lack of mental fortitude. Doubts were cast on his ability to perform like a professional soldier, and he didn’t even come close to matching an NSA soldier.
…
…
After the encounter, two more members of the Special Operations team were killed, and three more were seriously wounded.
One was wounded by shrapnel, which caused a gaping wound in his thigh, another had his right hand blown off with his whole palm almost severed from his wrist, and the third had his back seared the heat by an incendiary round and looked bloody and mangled.
Fortunately, combat medics were well equipped with first aid kits in the team and were on hand to provide emergency treatment. Meanwhile, Xiao Luo gave them acupuncture treatment with his silver needles to relieve pain immediately and stabilize their vitals, but this was merely temporary measures. They had to be evacuated to the hospital in Stantine City as soon as possible to receive proper treatment. Otherwise, the wounds could be fatal once they festered and became infected.
The night sky was overcast, and the moon obscured as if a storm was brewing. Anyone familiar with the conditions there knew that it wasn’t a storm, but the smoke from fires rising through the skies of Libya. It created a dense haze filled with soot, smothering the whole area.
All the members of the Special Operations team did not dare to underestimate Xiao Luo again, especially Kong Yunhong. He recalled how he had first doubted Xiao Luo’s strength and even deliberately used the achievements of Captain Jiang Zhiming to provoke him, only for it to backfire, and he nearly died of shame for that. They now realized that Xiao Luo was really a strong man who single-handedly wiped out a small group of armed Libyan rebels with his bare hands. Simply put, he was as powerful as a god, and in Jiang Zhiming’s mind, Xiao Luo was like a mountain and someone he could look up to.
As they progressed further, Jiang Zhiming provided Xiao Luo with an update of their whereabouts. “There’s a small town upfront. After the town, seven kilometers further north is the city of Stantine,” he said.
Xiao Luo nodded slightly, “I will stay on until you have located and secured our nationals. After that, I will go my own way.”
“Mr. Mie, if the reporter you seek is in Stantine City, we can return to base together,” Kong Yunhong said. The reality was that Xiao Luo’s presence gave him a great sense of security, and he felt that there would not be any unanticipated incidents during the journey.
“I hope she’s there, but I’ll still part with you,” Xiao Luo said.
“Why? Don’t we …”
“Shut up, Kong. Mr. Mie is doing this for our own good.”
Jiang Zhiming interrupted Kong Yunhong’s words, looked at Xiao Luo with a determined gaze, and said, “Compared to the rebels, the threat of the mercenaries is even greater, especially when we have to protect more than fifty of our compatriots. If Mr. Mie returns with us, those mercenaries will sink their teeth into us like a pack of hungry wolves.”
“But Mr. Mie is powerful, isn’t he? He can definitely handle those mercenaries,” Kong Yunhong replied, convinced of Xiao Luo’s strength.
Xiao Luo gave him a wry smile and said, “I’m more than 90% sure of dealing with those mercenaries, but there’s no guarantee that you won’t get hurt by them, do you understand?”
Chiang picked up the conversation and pitched in, “If Mr. Mie goes separately, we can avoid being attacked by mercenaries. Just dealing with the rebels we encounter will greatly reduce our risk.”
“Those mercenaries only need to pass on the information of the war correspondent to the Libyan rebels and me, and they will stop their fighting to hunt me. So, on your return, even if you encounter the rebels, it is possible that they would not attack you,” Xiao Luo opined.
As soon as Kong Yunhong heard that, he made up his mind and said, “Right, that makes sense! Mr. Mie, maybe it’s best to return via a different route.”
Xiao Luo cast a glance at Kong Yunhong.
“You have a lot of nerve,” Jiang Zhiming scowled.
“Er, well… Hehehe.”
Kong Yunhong rubbed the back of his head and laughed in embarrassment.
…
…
When they arrived at the location, they were met with a town in ruins. There were broken bricks, bullet holes, and garbage was strewn everywhere. Even the street lamps in the middle of the road were riddled with bullet holes and stained with smoke.
The town looked like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie, and the burnt-out cars the team occasionally came across lent to the dystopian atmosphere.
“Stop the vehicle!”
Xiao Luo suddenly raised his hand.
The authority of Xiao Luo was supreme in the Special Operations team, and the driver stopped immediately before even getting an order from Jiang Zhiming. They were in the lead vehicle, and as soon as they stopped, the whole convoy came to a standstill.
“Stand by!”
Jiang hailed his section commanders through his intercom. Although he did not find any hostile threats, Xiao Luo must have noticed something wrong for him to instruct them to stop.
Kong Yunhong looked around, then turned back and asked, “Mr. Mie, what’s the matter?”
“Shut up!”
Xiao Luo snarled at him, and then he closed his eyes as he tried to detect the sound he heard earlier. He heard a man’s sinister laughter as well as a woman’s cries for help, but it was so very faint. Xiao Luo could hardly pick it up even with his senses enhanced by King of Mercenaries and the Yi Jinjing. But he heard enough to tell him that the language the woman spoke was English.
Perhaps that was Sarah Michelle?
Xiao Luo wondered as his two ears wiggled like a radar dish searching for signals.
