Pressing his ears to the ground, Xiao Luo could make out two groups of rebels heading their way–a group coming in from the front of them and another from 3 o’clock.
“Wait here quietly and stay down. Do not leave this spot, and I’ll be back soon!”
Xiao Luo assured Tang Wantian and left the sniper rifle with her. Firstly, it was for her to take care of it, and secondly, it could provide her with a sense of security. After saying that, he pulled out his dagger, and like a hungry wolf seeking food, he headed right for the group in front of him.
Tang Wantian squatted down hidden from view and held tightly to the sniper rifle that Xiao Luo had handed to her. She was too anxious and was frequently checking her surroundings.
At that moment, she finally understood what the adage “treat everyone like an enemy” really meant. She wanted to shout for Xiao Luo to come back, but she knew that she had to remain silent, or else by doing so, she would be exposing her location and putting herself in danger.
A gust of wind blew, and she could feel a chill penetrating to her bones. Even the cawing of a passing crow was enough to cause her body to shiver.
She was becoming more anxious as time went by and was feeling unsafe and a little insecure. She had the constant fear that a terrifying group of Libyan rebels would discover her at any given moment and violently beat her to death.
Why was he not back yet? Just why had he not returned?
The waiting was testing her patience, and she kept repeating those words again and again in her mind. She kept looking towards the direction that Xiao Luo headed towards earlier on and was as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
A cold sweat broke out from every single pore in her body, and she regretted ever coming here. As she recalled her earlier decision to make the trip, she wondered if she had been possessed by a ghost then. To think that she was foolish enough to step into this warzone! She only wished that she could return to her peaceful home, the dull and boring Hua Nation, and complain about her uneventful life every day.
Although life was dull and boring back home, right now, she missed those days!
Seconds and minutes passed, but Xiao Luo was still not back yet.
Tang Wantian was becoming more and more anxious. She thought of several possibilities in her head, but all of them had tragic endings. If Xiao Luo were killed, she would be left all alone in this unfamiliar and dangerous warzone. She was feeling helpless and desperate.
“Xiao Luo…”
She softly whispered Xiao Luo’s name, stood up, and slowly walked towards the direction that Xiao Luo went.
Because of her fears, her arms and legs were trembling uncontrollably. She had undergone some military training in the past and was familiar with the use of a rifle. She kept her finger on the trigger at all times because she was so afraid that an enemy might appear all of a sudden.
To her, each step that she was taking was like walking on thin ice!
Tang Wantian could hear herself breathing heavily and felt her heart racing. She was practically on the verge of collapsing.
She was already sweating profusely after walking for about a hundred meters, and her clothes were soaked in sweat.
Suddenly, she could smell the strong scent of blood carried on a light breeze flowing from the alley. She tried her best to suppress her fears and calm herself down, treading carefully to avoid making any sound at all. She slowly walked toward the alley entrance, her sniper rifle at the ready and prepared to shoot as soon as she spotted an enemy.
She froze in shock when she reached the alley and looked in.
It was like a scene from a ghastly and gruesome painting. The alley, roughly five or six meters long, was filled with the bodies of a detachment of Libyan rebels. On each corpse, there was a fatal wound on their neck. It was as if some horrifying beast had bitten them with its fangs and ripped their necks apart. Fresh blood was still flowing from their neck wounds, indicating that they were just killed not too long ago.
Oh, God, this is…
It was as if an explosion just occurred in Tang Wantian’s head. All she could hear was a loud boom, her ears were humming, and she could feel chills shooting down from the top of her skull to the soles of her feet. Her entire body shook, and when she caught another waft of the pungent smell of blood again, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She held herself up against the wall, tilted her head down, and vomited.
At that moment, a hand from behind her touched her shoulder.
Tang Wantian, like a startled cat, reacted quickly and jumped in shock, turning around as if she had just been electrocuted. She tried to point the sniper rifle at this person behind her and shoot whoever it was.
“It’s me!”
When she heard the familiar voice, Tang Wantian calmed down instantly and steadied her nerves.
She took a second look to make sure that the person standing in front of her was not one of the rebels. She was relieved that it was Xiao Luo. His clothes were stained with blood traces, but he had that same impassive look on his face, with eyes as cold as ice.
Tang Wantian sat right back on the ground and started sobbing. “What took you so long to come back? I thought you were already…” she said.
Xiao Luo calmly looked at her, then bent down to pick up the sniper rifle on the ground. He shook his head and said, “The Tang Wantian who used to be such a strong woman, seems to have disappeared.”
“Hey, I’m already doing pretty well here, okay! If it was any other girl, I’m sure they would already have peed their pants by now,” Tang Wantian responded.
“Is that so? But I have to admit that you’re stronger than an average woman. At least screaming is not the only thing you can do in this kind of situation,” Xiao Luo nodded his head in agreement.
After hearing that, Tang Wantian realized that the Xiao Luo she used to know was back again. There was a sense of familiarity which prompted her to stand up and grumble, “Where did you go?”
“I got rid of this bunch of people.”
Xiao Luo said in an indifferent tone, using his eyes to indicate toward the bodies of the Libyan rebels in the alley.
“They… You mean they were all killed by you?”
All of a sudden, Tang Wantian realized that Xiao Luo felt unfamiliar once again. How was it possible that all of them died by Xiao Luo’s hands? It was just unbelievable and terrifying.
Xiao Luo nodded his head without any comment, feeling there was no need to beat around the bush. Besides, there was no way he could hide it.
Oh, my God, was this guy a demon?
Tang Wantian couldn’t believe that this was the Xiao Luo that she had known since her university days. Strong and powerful, killing without any hesitation, and remaining calm and collected despite having killed so many people. It was scary, and it made her a little bit afraid of Xiao Luo now.
Xiao Luo looked at Tang Wantian, knowing what was going through her mind. “This is a warzone, and the country has no more laws. If you want to live, then you’ll have to kill all your enemies before they killed you. It does not matter how you look at me, but I had to do what was necessary. Unless, of course, you want to stay here forever,” he said.
Although Tang Wantian understood his logic, she couldn’t accept this version of Xiao Luo in such a short time.
“Xiao Luo, will you protect me?” she asked.
“We were classmates, and you’ve helped me out a lot during our university days. Since we’ve managed to meet up here, then you can be assured that I’ll protect you,” Xiao Luo said.
Tang Wantian was reassured now and asked, “Do you think we’ll be able to go back to our country alive?”
Xiao Luo thought for a bit before giving a firm reply. “Yes!”
Tang Wantian forced a smile on her face and said, “Although I know you’re merely trying your best to comfort me, I’m still going to trust you.”
“Comfort?”
Xiao Luo furrowed his eyebrows and then laughed helplessly. He didn’t explain what it meant, either. He was confident that he would help this woman depart Libya in safety and added, “Remember, when you’re here, you will have to do what I say. Just like earlier on, I made you wait there, so no matter what happens, you have to stay there without moving, understand?”
“Mm-hmm, I understand,” Tang Wantian said, nodding her head.
