The gunmen were armed with AK12s and American M16s; overwhelming firepower. A team like this could even take on a police station, no problem!
Just looking at the number of gunmen and equipment told Xia Lei how much his enemy wanted him dead!
Outside the doorway, a gunman abruptly signalled another.
The gunman nodded, then took a step back and lay flat on the floor, his body sticking close to the floor as he crawled to the room. The gun in his hand moved to point at Xia Lei’s hiding position as he moved.
Before his upper body slid past the threshold of the doorway, bullets suddenly smashed into his skull, shattering it.
This tactic might work on others but they would have to gouge out Xia Lei’s left eye first for it to work on him.
A gunman pulled the body of his brain-splattered colleague back, then used the corpse as a shield as he approached the door. Eight other gunman were ready to rush into the room behind him.
It didn’t matter how skilled Xia Lei was in martial arts when faced with the firepower of AK12s and M16s – he was going to lose his fighting power once he got hit by a bullet!
It was a critical situation.
At that moment, a burst of gunfire came from the room opposite and a gunman who’d had his back to the door dropped to the floor.
At the same time, the door to the room next to Room 410 suddenly opened just a crack and a black muzzle of a gun poked out.
Pop! Pop! Two gunmen were shot in the back of their heads and they collapsed to the floor.
Tang Yuyan had joined the fray.
They had joined in later than Xia Lei had optimally hoped for but there was no helping it. Ling Han and Tang Yuyan did not have X-ray vision like he did, and they needed the technical support from Hu Hao which took time.
Ptu! Ptu! Ptu! Ptu! Ptu! Ptu!
The six remaining gunmen shot at Tang Yuyan and Ling Han’s rooms and bullets ricocheted everywhere in the corridor. The wooden door panels were shredded. Bullets ripped through the plaster of the walls and shattered glass in picture frames. The narrow battlefield was reduced to chaos in an instant.
The gunman using his colleague’s corpse as a shield braced himself, to charge into Xia Lei’s room. It wasn’t because he was not afraid of death, but because it was very dangerous with Tang Yuyan and Ling Han shooting in the corridor. This was a risk but they would be able to reverse their unfortunate situation if Xia Lei was killed.
Ptu! Ptu! Ptu!
A gunman fired into the room with suppressing fire, and bullets went everywhere. The crystal chandelier, the glassware, all their shards flying through the air.
The instant the magazine was empty and the gunfire stopped, the gunman holding his colleague’s corpse burst violently into Xia Lei’s room. He pointed the muzzle of his gun out from under the corpse’s armpit and shot in the direction of Xia Lei’s hiding place.
Ptu! Ptu! Ptu!
The glass door of the bathroom shattered with a loud crash. The sofa had been shot out of place too and its stuffing danced in the air. They had not managed to hit Xia Lei. He had been behind the door earlier but it now seemed like he had vanished.
The gunman threw aside the corpse and glanced subconsciously at the balcony. Two gunmen burst into the room behind him.
A breeze blew in from the balcony, making the curtains sway. The balcony was empty.
“Where’s he?” asked a gunman nervously.
Ptu! Ptu! Ptu!
A spray of bullets suddenly came from above, and the three gunmen fell in pools of blood without even seeing the shadow of the man who’d killed them. Headshots. Clean.
If this world had spirits then the spirits of these three gunmen would be able to see Xia Lei sticking to the wall in the corner like a house lizard. He was supporting his weight with both legs and one hand!
Xia Lei jumped down from his corner in the ceiling and rolled, picking up a M16 as he went, and hiding next to the wall again.
Scarcely two minutes had passed from the beginning of the gunfight till now but the enemy was down eight men. The battle was not over but the most dangerous window had passed.
The three remaining gunmen in the corridor had not expected that the man whom they had to kill was so powerful. There was no need to think – the three of them ran. They headed for the stairwell, shooting at Tang Yuyan and Ling Han’s doors as they fled to suppress them, not allowing them to come out for fear of being shot.
The strategy of the three gunmen was a smart one, and they did it. Tang Yuyan and Ling Han did not dare to rush out under a hail of bullets to stop them. However, they had forgotten about someone – Xia Lei. Xia Lei, who could look through walls and see what they were doing.
As they dashed past Tang Yuyan’s door and sped up their onward dash towards the stairs, Xia Lei suddenly rushed out of his room with an M16 in his hands. Bullets flew at the trio.
One was hit in the head, one in the back, and the last in the hip and thigh.
The gunmen hit in the head and back did not move but the last gunman turned over to return fire.
Swish! A throwing knife suddenly flashed in the air and stuck itself in the man’s wrist. The AK12 in his hands dropped to the floor.
Tang Yuyan had thrown the knife, and she had the same thought as Xia Lei had – leave one living to talk.
Xia Lei and Tang Yuyan walked towards the last live gunman in unspoken agreement. Ling Han emerged from his room too. He held a fully automatic handgun in his hand; he didn’t even wrinkle his brows at the sight of a floor full of corpses.
The last gunman crawled towards his gun. Xia Lei stepped on his injured leg.
“Argh!” The gunman screamed.
Tang Yuyan kicked the gun further away, then pointed her gun at the man’s head.
“You’re all dead!” The gunman spoke angrily in Russian, “My Bratva will avenge me!”
He didn’t seem like a professional killer, much less one of the CIA from his words; he seemed to be Russian mafia. The Russian mafia were notorious in Eastern Europe and Europe for their violence and lack of fear of death. The Russian mafia would do anything for money – they would even dare to sell raw material for nuclear weapons, much less be killers for hire.
Xia Lei’s heart thumped. “Tell me who sent you,” said Xia Lei in Russian.
“Pah!” The Russian gunman spat his blood at Xia Lei.
Tang Yuyan kicked the man’s head, then stepped on his face and said fiercely, “Talk! Who sent you?”
Too bad the Russian gunman didn’t understand Chinese. He glared hatefully at Tang Yuyan, his eyes fearless and full of a beast-like ferocity.
“Forget it.” Xia Lei pulled Tang Yuyan away. “Let him go.”
“No!” Tang Yuyan said determinedly, “The police should be coming soon. Our chance to question him is lost when they get here.”
Xia Lei let go of her arm and drew close to her ear to say softly, “He can see under your skirt with you stepping on him like that.”
“Huh?” Tang Yuyan suddenly realised that she was wearing a sleeping robe and her embarrassment turned to anger. She kicked the gunman in the head again and he lost consciousness from that kick.
Tang Yuyan rolled her eyes at Xia Lei. She didn’t say anything but she was grumbling to herself, ‘He’s worried about things under my skirt at a time like this?’
Ling Han walked over. “Are you two okay?”
“I’m okay,” said Xia Lei.
“I’m okay too,” said Tang Yuyan.
“Who are they?” asked Ling Han.
Tang Yuyan shook her head. “Don’t know. This guy has a tight lid and we didn’t get anything out of him.”
“He’s likely Russian mafia – got paid to kill me,” said Xia Lei. He paused, then said, “Maybe the guns in my room were their target too.”
Ling Han wrinkled his brows. A cold voice came from his mouth, “Outrageous!”
He seemed to have guessed who was involved with Xia Lei’s words.
More rooms doors opened, and Hu Hao, who was providing technical support for both Tang Yuyan and Ling Han, emerged from his room. Ye Kun and the people of Hanwu Weapons came out of their rooms soon after, looking over cautiously at them.
Ye Kun’s expression turned ugly when he saw the corpses strewn about the corridor, and the hale and hearty Xia Lei. His subordinates and bodyguard were stunned. They could not believe that Xia Lei had survived the murder attempt of so many killers!
Tang Yuyan immediately started walking towards Ye Kun, her eyes ablaze with a killing fury.
Ling Han held her back. “What are you doing?”
“He must be involved in this!” said Tang Yuyan angrily.
“Calm down!” Ling Han hissed, “This is an order!”
Tang Yuyan paused, but gave up in the end. Ling Han was the higher-ups’ designated supervisor and was in charge of all aspects of this mission. She had to follow his orders.
Ling Han’s chiding calmed Tang Yuyan. Going over angrily to make trouble with Ye Kun was useless, and would bring trouble upon herself instead. Ye Kun was not someone she could treat any way she liked because of his status.
Ye Kun hesitated on his end, but still walked over in the end. “What happened? Are you all okay? Russia sure is chaotic, isn’t it? This is almost like a scene in a movie,” he said in fake concern.
Ling Han and Tang Yuyan looked wordlessly at him.
Xia Lei raised the M16 in his hands and pointed the muzzle at Ye Kun.
“You…” Ye Kun grew nervous right away. “What are you doing?”
Xia Lei gave a laugh. “What do you think I’m doing, President Ye?”
“P, put the gun down!” Ye Kun’s voice trembled.
Xia Lei put the gun own and said with a smile, “Don’t mind me. I went pretty close to the gates of death today so I’m still a little edgy. Look around, President Ye. See any people you recognise?”
“What? People I recognise?” Ye Kun then realised what Xia Lei meant and he said angrily, “What nonsense are you spouting? How would I know any of these people? You must have done something to draw killers to yourself!”
“Maybe. I do have quite a few enemies. But I’m a person with principles. If I’m not killed, then I’ll do the killing. Look – aren’t these people dead by my hands?”
Ye Kun’s face was dark. He knew full well that Xia Lei had said that for his ears and he knew exactly what Xia Lei meant – If he didn’t finish Xia Lei off, then Xia Lei would finish him off!
A sneer appeared in the corners of Xia Lei’s lips. “President Ye, it wasn’t easy for you to climb up to your current position either. Take good care of yourself – don’t run into any accidents in Russia. It would be tragic to pass on without having spent all your money.”
“What are you trying to say? Is this a threat?” said Ye Kun angrily. He looked at Ling Han. “You see that, Mr Ling? He’s threatening me!”
Ling Han spoke disinterestedly, “It was just words. I don’t feel like it was a threat. What are you still doing here? Do you actually recognise someone here?”
“Humph!” Ye Kun left with a swing of his arms.
Police sirens came from outside the hotel. The police of Moscow were finally here.
