136 No Extortion, No Harm (Third Update!)

Finally, a chapter is out! Goodnight, brothers!

By the time Li Changjiang and his group broke out, the sky was already bright, but the sounds of artillery and gunfire in the distance were still clearly audible. The staccato rhythm of gunfire rose and fell. The entire city was shrouded in an eerie atmosphere. As Li Changjiang led his men across the street, he even saw someone sitting in a garage—half of which had been blown away by a rocket—wearing nothing but boxers, watching a football match. The cheers from the television set and the distant roars of war made the whole conflict feel surreal.

However, no one questioned the reality of it.

"Fuck!" The Russian spat toward the side of the road, a hint of struggle flashing in his eyes. "Damn Libyans! Don't they know there's a war going on? To hell with them!"

"Russian, you should know that this is Libya." Tim seemed to have moved past the emotional turmoil of his captivity, while the expression on Li Changjiang's face remained somber.

Once the group found a two-story building away from the streets to rest, he immediately fixed his gaze on Keyboard, the only intelligence expert in their squad.

"Boss?" Keyboard felt a chill under Li Changjiang's stare. He moved closer, acting tactfully. Ever since Li Changjiang had fired a burst at him, he had formed a new opinion of this seemingly green leader. On the battlefield, age is often deceptive, especially in Libya. One could see children everywhere holding AKs and robbing passersby, and Li Changjiang was clearly one of those experts whose strength was inversely proportional to his age.

"Have the British kept in touch with you?"

Keyboard nodded. He immediately pulled the satellite phone from his backpack and pressed a few buttons. There was only static.

"Boss, wait a second. I need some time." He seemed to notice the Russian’s menacing look—the Russian was the type who responded to strength, not kindness.

Suddenly, a sharp scream flashed through the receiver. "Fuck!"

"Quick, that's it!" After tuning the signal, the voice became clear. It was a British voice.

"Regardless of which mercenary group you are, we are British. Please respond immediately upon receiving this signal. Repeat, please respond immediately upon receiving this signal."

"This is Duke."

Inside the British command post, Mary called out tirelessly, but there was no response. Elsewhere, the HMS Dartmouth could not guarantee when a rescue could be mounted.

Those damn bastards. Although they had promised to help, they kept demanding proof of identity. The fact that MI6 had established an intelligence base in Misrata was top secret; even the British government would not admit they had ever done such a thing. Although Clark kept a clear head, his emotions were beginning to fray.

"Fuck!"

"We must break out of this hellhole! Quickly! Destroy all intelligence that can be destroyed. Everyone, find your weapons. We have to break out, or we’ll just die here." Will’s face was smeared with blood, his wounds making him look ferocious. As a veteran, he was likely the only one remaining calm.

"Asshole, we must wait for rescue here!"

"Wait to die?"

"To hell with it!"

"I am the commander here! Everyone must listen to me!" Clark was becoming frantic.

"Fuck, shut up! You have no command authority now! Everyone—anyone—listen to me. There is only one commander here, and it’s me!" After snapping that, Will left Clark standing there and roared, causing everyone to move at once.

"Move!"

"This is yours!"

"Bulletproof vest! I need a bulletproof vest, damn it!"

"Ron, give me a gun!"

"Damn it, I don't know how to use this!"

"Sean, you have no choice. There are no other weapons left." The agent handed the man a blood-stained AK rifle and immediately turned to find others.

Everyone moved rapidly. In the corner, the female intelligence officer named Susan gave up in despair on trying to argue with the others.

"We are all British! Remember, everyone—every single one of us—no one should be abandoned. We need support now, or we will die here. There are fifty British people here, and all you have to do is tell anyone who might save us! Soldiers, officers, Americans, the Chinese, anyone!"

*Click!*

She hung up the phone, grabbed a bulletproof vest and a pistol from a companion, her arms trembling slightly. This was a total catastrophe!

"Everyone pay attention, rally to me now!" Will's voice drowned out everything else, but the words "This is Duke" coming from the receiver suddenly caught Mary’s strained nerves, and she burst into joy.

"God! My God! Clark! Clark! Will! They answered! They answered!"

"Thank God! Mr. Duke, we need rescue!"

Damn it! Hearing Mary’s voice, Clark immediately wiped the rage from his face and ran over. "Give it to me!"

"This is Clark! British intelligence officer! We need support. No matter what your conditions are, we need support!"

The voice in the receiver was urgent and rapid. The situation must have been dire for the other side to be this desperate. Li Changjiang was a bit surprised, but he clearly didn’t want to get involved in this mess—unless the British had something he was curious about.

"I am Duke. I am the Chinese man you are looking for. Tell me, what reason do you have for me to save you?"

"Intelligence! I have the intelligence you need! Your surname is Li, right? I know the Americans and the Libyans are both looking for you, and I know you have something the Americans want. It's the entire accumulation of the Libyans, isn't it?"

"What?" Li Changjiang was stunned by Clark’s words. The accumulation of the Libyans? What the hell was that? Was that the intelligence they had on him?

"Anything else? I think the Americans know more about that stuff than you do."

"Greedy Chinese! Help us leave this damn place, and I can destroy all the intelligence on you, even pin this whole thing on the Americans. All you have to do is get us out of Libya, out of this hellhole, fuck!"

Clark held nothing back, but he didn't realize that by saying this, he had played all his cards; all that remained was extortion and blackmail.

"Wait there!"

Cutting the connection, Li Changjiang looked toward the Russian.

On the other side, Clark fell into a terrifying state, cursing the "damn Chinese" and the "damn mercenary" under his breath. But no one around him paid him any mind; Will was still gathering everyone and discussing the breakout with the other agents. Unlike Clark, he wouldn't pin his hopes on those damn mercenaries.

Soon, the communication was restored. But when Li Changjiang’s voice reached his ears, Clark was instantly enraged.

"I can agree to bring my men to rescue you, but we are mercenaries. The things you offered have no value! I want money! Fifty million pounds! Give me fifty million pounds, and I will take my men to rescue you immediately!"

"What?"

"How much? Fifty million pounds?"

"Fuck, you damn bastard!"

"This is robbery! This is extortion!"