140 The Stunned Russians

Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Watching in stunned silence, I saw the hulking man, nearly 1.9 meters tall, shoulder his PKM and open fire directly at the opposing militia. The line of fire he unleashed covered every blind spot in the blink of an eye.

*Thwip! Thwip!*

Two bullets flew past Tank’s head, snapping Will and the others out of their stupor.

"Fuck! Move, move!"

Over a dozen operatives scattered instantly, their M4A1s spitting fire as they poured lead into the wave of Libyans who had just popped their heads up. The gunfire was as dense as a woven curtain of rain.

However, the anti-aircraft machine gun hidden behind the convoy was still thundering away. Its terrifying firepower carved a diagonal line of death through the air, shattering the building's parapet into pieces.

It was horrifying!

The British below winced at the debris raining down from above; the chances of surviving such an onslaught were slim.

On the rooftop, Li Changjiang was pressed flat against the concrete floor, covered in pulverized stone and dust. He was in a sorry state, but fortunately, his position was a blind spot for the gunners, and the massive brick and steel structure shielded him from the heavy-caliber fire.

"Li, where are you!"

"Damn it!"

"Li!"

The thunderous roar of the guns had left Li Changjiang temporarily deaf, but suddenly, a faint sound reached his ears. He looked up and saw his headset lying less than two meters away—what the hell!

He started to crawl toward it, but before he could even poke his head out—*Boom, boom, boom!*

A violent vibration shuddered through the concrete slab he was lying on. Damn it! The slab had been punched through.

Suddenly, the gunfire ceased.

This was it.

Li Changjiang lunged from the ground, snatched the sniper rifle and the headset, and sprinted toward the far side of the roof.

Damn it, that was a close call!

"Old Maozi! Old Maozi!"

"Fuck! Boss, finally! Where are you?"

Hearing Li Changjiang’s voice, Nicholas finally let out a sigh of relief. Despite his reckless nature, the Russian knew that without Li Changjiang, no one could rally the others to fight their way out. The Eagle Lion Mercenary Group had been completely shattered, and Williams alone couldn't rebuild it under these circumstances. Regardless of the reason, the Russian was unlikely to rejoin them. If Li Changjiang died, things would go south fast.

"I’m pinned down on the roof of the third floor. Do you see that anti-aircraft gun the Libyans have? Take that gunner out!"

"Fuck! An anti-aircraft gun? How do they have something like that?"

Tank was stunned by Li’s words! An anti-aircraft gun! That thing was a weapon of mass destruction. Since when did a bunch of Libyan militiamen get their hands on such hardware?

What the hell!

"Tank!"

"Tank!"

He shouted into the comms, but there was no reply, even though the gunfire remained clear in his ear.

There was no time left.

The Russian didn't wait any longer and scrambled to the roof, but the moment he poked his head out, a hail of bullets greeted him.

"Fuck!"

He rolled onto the ground, looking disheveled and covered in grime. He ducked beneath the concrete parapet and peeked through a crack. What he saw left him dumbfounded.

Hell! It’s an RPG!

*BOOM!*

The rocket slammed into the parapet with a deafening blast. Li Changjiang looked back at the sudden plume of black smoke, his heart skipping a beat. He raised his rifle and squeezed the trigger, aiming at the Libyan militiaman on the opposite roof who was shouldering the launcher.

*Bang!*

*Bang, bang!*

He shot both gunners down, but there was no sound from the Russian.

"Old Maozi! Old Maozi! Damn it!"

Silence on the headset.

Just as Li Changjiang and the Russian were being suppressed by the Libyan firepower, Killer—who had broken out through the eastern suburbs and taken Tank’s place—led the British group all the way to the outskirts of the market in Misrata.

Eliza and Bob rushed out as soon as they saw figures approaching.

*Click-clack!*

"Fuck, hold your fire, they’re our own!"

"What the hell, damn Brits!"

The British men who had raised their pistols at the sight of Bob and Eliza looked at each other, embarrassed.

"Hey, Eliza!"

"Tim, where’s Li?"

"Li is in some trouble. Tank and the British have gone to support him. Hey, buddy, are you alright?"

"No problem!"

After hugging Bob, Tim walked over to Williams and Shi Junqiang. Both men looked pale, but their eyes still held a spark of life.

"Hey, Boss!"

"Thank you, Tim!"

"Boss, you should thank Li. He’s back. He’s the one who saved us."

Williams’ expression was desolate, but a glint flashed in his eyes at the mention of Li Changjiang’s name. His throat injury made it hard to speak, so he simply nodded.

"Mr. Clark, what do we do now?"

Elsewhere, after escaping the siege and pursuit, the intelligence officers looked visibly relieved, though their eyes still betrayed a lingering fear. The bloody horror of war had exceeded their imaginations; of the fifty or so people, three had died in the breakout. But for most, they were lucky to have left that hellish place.

"Mary!"

"Mary!"

Clark’s expression was cold. Most of his people had had their weapons confiscated by those damn mercenaries, leaving them defenseless should anything happen.

"Mr. Clark!"

"Keep in touch with the HMS Dartmouth and headquarters. Tell them we’ve made it out of Misrata, but we need them to dispatch helicopters to get us out of here."

"Mr. Clark, you’re their leader, right?"

Angel’s voice suddenly rang out from behind. Clark looked puzzled—what did these damn people want now?

"I am Clark!"

"Good. Per our agreement, we’ve brought your people out. According to the contract with our boss, we expect the remaining payment, and you need to hand over what you promised him."

Li Changjiang had indeed instructed Angel to handle this before he left. But Clark clearly had no intention of doing so.

"What? Hell! Don't you see that my men died?"

"Mr. Clark, your men died because you were slow with the money, which delayed our rescue. If you had acted like a man, perhaps they would still be alive."

"Fuck! Tell your boss to come find me! Otherwise, you won't get a penny or the intelligence."

Staring hard into Angel’s eyes, Clark didn't back down, but he had severely underestimated the situation.

The gunfire behind them remained intense.

*Bang!*

Taking out a rebel who tried to stop them, Tank and Will cut through the buildings on either side of the street at breakneck speed.

"Move, move!"

"Quick, take out that gunner!"

The fire from Tank’s PKM raked the truck opposite them like a plow, sending sparks flying. The anti-aircraft gun fell silent.

On the rooftop, Li Changjiang seized the gap in fire and lunged to the Russian’s side. The guy had been knocked unconscious by the RPG blast—what the hell.

"Nicholas!"

"Nicholas! Fuck!"

He slapped the Russian hard across the face, snapping him awake. It took a while for the Russian to regain his senses, but the first thing he said left Li Changjiang completely baffled.

"Hey! Buddy, are we on a plane?"