Was this really the Xiao Luo she knew from university?
In the vehicle, Tang Wantian was lost in her thoughts as she sat silently next to Xiao Luo. She took a glance at him—he had sharp-looking eyes and a handsome but grim face that had the edge of a steel blade. He seemed so familiar but yet unfamiliar at the same time. She suddenly realized that this man was the hardest to read among her circle of university friends and the most enigmatic.
At around two in the afternoon, they finally arrived at their destination— Stantine City.
The city was already in ruins, torn apart by relentless artillery fire. Shops, buildings, roads… almost everything they saw had been destroyed. It was a disaster zone—bullet holes, bomb craters, bricks, and debris were strewn all over the place. It couldn’t be called a city anymore but was more like a wasteland. Desolation was the central theme when one walked here.
After the Special Operations team arrived, they met up with elements of the Government Army. Their troops were decked up in light-colored uniforms. They had already driven the rebel forces out and taken back this city, and the Hua Nation soldiers were rightly impressed by their splendid performance. On hearing that the Special Operations team was coming, the Government Army’s supreme commander ordered a non-commissioned officer, acting as a guide, to welcome them. They were then brought to the Xiahe Electronics Manufacturing Factory, where the fifty Hua Nation citizens were located.
“Have you seen this American woman?”
Xiao Luo asked the Libyan army guide in the local dialect and showed him a picture of Sarah Michelle.
This guide had earlier introduced himself to Xiao Luo and his group. He was a sergeant, and his name was Hamis. Unlike everyone else they had met on their way here, he was a Libyan who had very East Asian features.
Hamis took a close look at the picture in Xiao Luo’s hand and shook his head. “I’m very sorry, but I’ve never seen anyone that looks like her. In fact, we’ve never met anyone from America,” he said, “The American embassy shut down at the start of the war and they brought all their citizens with them and left our country.”
“Thank you.”
Xiao Luo slid the picture back in his vest pocket, and although the guide did not provide any sort of useful information or help, he thanked him anyway.
Hamis smiled and said, “You’re welcome, it is my honor.”
Xiao Luo could actually speak the Libyan language so fluently?!
Tang Wantian was shocked. The things that she had learned about Xiao Luo had far exceeded her expectations. But she snapped out of it when she saw the picture that Xiao Luo showed earlier and asked, “Xiao Luo, are you looking for Sarah Michelle?”
Xiao Luo turned his head around in surprise and asked, “Do you know her?”
He was startled that Tang Wantian recognized Sarah Michelle and hoped she knew her whereabouts.
Tang Wantian nodded her head and said, “She is a famous personality in journalism. Regardless of which part of the world it is, she’ll be there as long as there is war. Every reporter respects her, and although she is pretty young, she’s brave, fearless, and is a role model for reporters the world over. She will get in no matter what, to discover and report on the latest news. The reason why I decided to come to Libya, was partly because of her inspiration.”
Xiao Luo couldn’t help but reprimand her once again. “That’s why I said you’re so foolish. She has strong and powerful backing from the Michelle family. Going to warzones to take pictures for news… she most probably has a dozen well-trained and armed bodyguards right behind her. But you’re just here by yourself. It’s like walking on tightropes—she has a safety rope, but you don’t. If you fall, you’re going to be smashed to smithereens, do you even understand that?”
Tang Wantian’s face turned red after listening to this. What he had just said was right, and it just went to show how naive and foolish she was. If God had not protected her, she’d have been humiliated and perhaps even slowly tortured to death. Just the thought of it made her shiver.
“We’ve arrived!”
Hamis pointed straight ahead to let them know they had arrived.
When the vehicle stopped, Jiang Zhiming and his crew immediately disembarked. Their wounded had already been treated, so they planned to depart once they rounded up the fifty citizens in the factory. They were going to head directly back to the coastal base.
The factory had the same layout as those back home. The main door was equipped with an electric sliding door, but it had already been badly damaged. There was a large gap wide enough to allow a full-sized truck to pass through. The security booth by the side had also been obliterated by a shell, leaving a massive hole on its wall with web-like cracks extending around it. The floor was strewn with bricks.
Hamis was the first to enter, followed by Xiao Luo, Jiang Zhiming, and the rest of the troops.
Hamis had an awful look on his face. “My friends, your citizens are right inside the building over there. Err, I’m sorry, my stomach isn’t feeling too good, you have to excuse me. But you please do go ahead and reunite with your people,” he said.
Hamis suddenly grabbed his stomach and looked in great discomfort, and without waiting for Xiao Luo and Jiang Zhiming’s reply, he turned around and scuttled off through a small path at the side of the building.
Kong Yunhong had a disgusted look on his face. “What, are these Libyan soldiers that weak? Is he having diarrhea?” he said.
“Be careful, something does not seem right here!”
Jiang Zhiming warned them, “Stay alert, release your safety locks, and get ready to fight at any moment.”
“Leader, stop scaring yourself for no good reason. What danger is there when the government troops are in control of Constantine City? They’re friendly towards us—as you can see, they’ve even brought us all the way to Xiahe Manufacturing Factory,” Kong Yunhong commented. While he was trying to convince his commander, it appeared more like he was trying to calm himself.
“What if they are rebel soldiers disguised as government soldiers?” Xiao Luo said.
As soon as he said that, everyone broke into a cold sweat. If they were rebel soldiers, then they were heading into an ambush.
Kong Yunhong smiled awkwardly and said, “This… this is not possible, right?”
“Why is it not possible? The rebel army and government army are all from Libya. They can easily switch identities, and all they have to do is to change into the other uniform,” Xiao Luo said.
“Gulp!”
Kong Yuhong struggled to swallow his saliva, and sweat rolled down his head like a waterfall. He had not even considered the possibility of such a scenario, and if the situation was like Xiao Luo described, and everyone here was a rebel soldier, then they were in terrible danger.
Suddenly, Xiao Luo’s ears sharply caught the slight sound of firearms scraping against the floor. He scanned the surroundings, and on the second level of the building right in front of them, he saw a black muzzle sticking out of a darkened window. Just one look and he could tell that it is a Type 62 general machine gun.
“Spread out!”
Xiao Luo shouted out as he grabbed Tang Wantian, who was just standing there, staring blankly into space. Like a bolt of lightning, he quickly hid behind a wall with her.
Jiang Zhiming and the rest have become a lot more alert after listening to what Xiao Luo had said earlier. As soon as they see Xiao Luo taking cover, they reacted really quickly and stayed low, crawling toward cover.
RAT TAT TAT TAT!
The type 62 general machine gun began firing away from the second floor and pinning down the Special Operations team on the ground. Bullets hit the ground relentlessly, causing sand and gravels to splatter everywhere.
Two of the special operations team members got shot right away, and their bodies disintegrated like bursting bags of blood bags, and they collapsed into heaps of minced meat, with blood spurting out from their mouths and noses. Quickly, every one of those remaining managed to find cover and hunkered down in safe positions.
“Damn it, still not dead even after this? These Hua Nation soldiers are quite tricky!” Hamis exclaimed.
Hamis had already found himself a place to hide and was observing Xiao Luo and the Special Operations team through a pair of binoculars.
