Chapter 54: The Ambush (Third Update!)
“Damn!”
“Get out! Get out now!”
A violent impact left Li Changjiang in a daze; there was no doubt they had been attacked.
The thunderous crash just now was obviously not the sound of an RPG or a grenade; neither of those could overturn a military truck with such force. That meant whoever planned this attack must have been lying in wait at this bend in the road.
“Elisa!”
“Elisa!”
“Damn!”
Li Changjiang roughly shoved aside the two Libyan soldiers who had fallen onto him, but when he stood up, gripping the side of the truck, Elisa was nowhere to be seen.
The truck’s interior was pitch-black.
Duang!
Duang!
Bang!
Finally, someone had the sense to kick open the rear door, which was clearly warped from the impact. Dim light filtered in, revealing that nearly half of the dozen people inside had been knocked unconscious by the violent shock, and the rest all bore some minor injuries. Li Changjiang even saw that one person’s arm was horribly disfigured.
Terrifying.
“Elisa!”
“Where are you, Elisa! Damn!”
“Li, I’m here!”
Hearing Elisa’s voice, Li Changjiang immediately pushed aside two more unconscious bodies and dragged her out of the pile.
Once they were out of the truck, Li Changjiang quickly scanned their surroundings. Thankfully, their vehicle hadn’t been destroyed, but what surprised him was that not only their truck, but several others ahead had simply rolled over.
The attackers were clearly deliberate.
They wanted captives.
Li Changjiang quickly deduced their intent—after nearly a month on the Libyan battlefield, even a rookie would have picked up a thing or two.
Rat-tat-tat!
Boom!
Bang!
Bang bang bang bang!
A sudden barrage of gunfire erupted, but oddly, it wasn’t continuous.
Li Changjiang raised his sniper rifle and scanned across the road, seeing no living targets, only some noticeably sloped sand dunes.
“Elisa, are you alright? Any injuries?”
Elisa seemed dazed, but her body showed no wounds; it must have been the collision that left her dizzy.
“Here, have some water.”
He unscrewed the cap and held the canteen to Elisa’s lips. After she drank a few sips, he splashed a little water onto her forehead and face.
“Thank you!”
“Are you alright?”
Seeing her shake her head and some clarity return to her expression, Li Changjiang resumed surveying the area.
By now, everyone from the vehicles had gotten out. Li Changjiang quickly spotted the off-road vehicle that hadn’t been part of their convoy at first.
Their truck was positioned right in the middle of the group: two off-road vehicles and a truck ahead, three off-road vehicles and two trucks behind. Only the front off-road vehicle and theirs had been blown aside; the others were blocked but not destroyed. Yet Li Changjiang couldn’t pinpoint the firefight’s location.
“Anyone injured?”
“Is anyone injured?”
Suddenly, someone shouted in English.
Li Changjiang looked forward—it was a Libyan government soldier, but the idiot had stood straight up.
Damn!
“Get down! Get down now!”
“Idiot!”
Whizz!
Thud!
Blood splattered.
A puddle of blood and some white matter smeared the truck’s side, sickening to behold.
Damn, that’s a large-caliber anti-materiel sniper rifle!
Li Changjiang instantly identified the weapon.
“Everyone, get down!”
These idiots!
Watching the Libyan soldier get his head blown off, Li Changjiang couldn’t help but curse. What a fool, practically begging to die!
“Elisa, tell them to gather toward the center, but keep dispersed.”
But Elisa made no move.
“Elisa!”
“Hey, Elisa!”
Damn!
Li Changjiang turned and found Elisa had collapsed at his feet, unconscious. With no other option, he picked her up and scanned for cover. On the right side of the highway he spotted piles of rubble, likely left over from its construction.
They couldn’t stay on the road; the enemy was surely hiding behind the sand dunes to the left, and staying exposed would make them easy targets.
He took a deep breath.
Li Changjiang held his breath, then dashed out.
Whizz!
Whizz!
Ping ping ping!
He sprinted to the rubble, feeling the air stirred by bullets whizzing past his face.
Incredibly close.
He laid Elisa down and immediately flattened himself, feeling a searing pain beneath his left ear. Wiping his cheek, he realized a bullet had grazed it, leaving a cut.
Bang bang!
Pop pop pop!
The rapid gunfire snapped Li Changjiang’s mind back to the present.
Not far away, members of the Caesar Mercenary Group had just arrived from behind and were instantly attacked. His assessment was correct—the enemy was hiding behind the sand dunes on the left.
They were professionals.
Watching Libyan government troops drop in waves, Li Changjiang knew exactly what kind of adversary they faced.
The Caesar mercenaries fared better, all hunkered behind the overturned troop carriers, though they couldn’t mount an effective counterattack. The enemy’s fire from the left wasn’t overwhelming, but it was precise and well-positioned.
“Damn! It’s snipers!”
The Caesar group, trained in military tactics, immediately realized more than one sniper was targeting them.
The Libyan government troops were now less than half their original number, but with the Caesar mercenaries, there were still nearly fifty men. Yet all fifty were pinned behind the overturned carriers and off-road vehicles, unable to move.
It was humiliating.
Some saw Li Changjiang dash for the rubble and tried to follow, but were shot down after just a few steps; no one dared try again.
“Eagle! Eagle!”
“This is Nightingale One! This is Nightingale One!”
“Copy!”
“We’ve spotted a suspicious target—Chinese!”
“What?”
In the U.S. military base's operations command center in North Africa, Sloan Allen’s composure faltered as he heard the transmission.
“Captain, are you sure about the target?”
“Confirmed! Target confirmed!”
Sloan Allen fell silent.
Damn! Why would a Chinese be with the Libyans?
“Captain, please confirm the identity again. If they’re armed, try to take them alive.”
“Understood! Nightingale copy!”
As the call ended, the channel erupted with gunfire.
Quickly leaving the command center, Sloan Allen returned to his office and dialed a satellite phone.
“Mr. Deal, I believe I’ve found the Chinese.”
“Excellent, Colonel. Make sure to bring him back—” The voice on the phone paused, then continued.
“If necessary, you are authorized to kill.”
“I understand.”
(My entire day has been off, I’m going to sleep instead of staying up tonight! If you have time, please vote for me, let’s make a push for the rankings on Monday! Thank you all!)