089 Ways to Die (Third Update)

The third update is out—please show your support! This afternoon the story was pushed hard, and it may be going on sale soon! It happened so suddenly, and I still haven’t had time to prepare enough, so please support me!

When the first light of dawn appeared again on the horizon, the stillness of Misurata was shattered once more. But this time it was not gunfire—it was the roar of engines overhead and the shrieking howl of wings cutting through the air.

Nearly a hundred men from an entire rapid-response unit had been trapped in Misurata for two days and two nights, and at last the Americans could no longer hold back!

It was easy to imagine how this would be written in the histories to come: at dawn on some day, some month, some year, the Americans launched a brazen airstrike on Misurata—

Above them.

Two fighter jets flashed past in an instant, and a moment later the ground beneath their feet trembled violently.

Boom!

Bang! Bang!! Bang!!!

The deafening blasts and the shockwaves from the exploding bombs could be felt clearly even from a great distance. Misurata was not a large city.

Seeing the flames bursting skyward not far away, and the gunfire rapidly spreading into a wide, chaotic roar, Li Changjiang and the Russian quickly snapped awake.

"Damn it! American planes! Move, now!"

"Hey! Wake up, wake up! Damn it, he passed out!"

Li Changjiang stared at Shi Junqiang slumped motionless against the wall and was instantly at a loss.

With no other choice, he gritted his teeth and hoisted the man onto his shoulder.

"Damn it! This one’s another pig!"

Shi Junqiang was not very tall, about five foot nine, but he was sturdy, weighing at least one hundred and sixty pounds. Li Changjiang struggled to carry him, but the Russian had been wounded too, and Eliza was only a woman. He had no choice but to clamp down and carry the man.

The group quickly made their way through the street turned to ruins.

Bang!

"Enemy contact! Damn it! Ten o’clock, front left!"

Bang! Bang!

The obstacle was cleared quickly, but Li Changjiang did not dare linger. He could only keep running after the Russian. Shi Junqiang on his shoulders felt like a stone pillar, weighing him down and leaving him breathless.

Eliza stayed behind to cover their retreat and keep watch.

Their greatest enemy now was neither the rebels nor the government troops, but those damned militias.

In order to let the trapped American soldiers in the city escape, the Americans had blown apart all the barricades at several entrances and exits. But that also meant the militias outside could pour straight in, and for Li Changjiang and the others, that was nothing short of a nightmare.

Bang!

Gunfire flared again.

This was already the unknown number of waves they had repelled, and the militias were appearing more and more often.

"Hurry up! We’re out of time. Those damned Libyans will find us soon. Fuck! Damn Americans!"

The Russian could not help cursing furiously, and Li Changjiang’s steps also began to turn ragged.

"To hell with it, I’m done running!"

He lunged into a building ahead at the intersection, used the momentum to drop Shi Junqiang beside the wall, and with a sharp click chambered a round, racked the bolt, and threw himself prone into position.

Behind them.

A small squad of Libyans really did appear at the corner of the crossroads.

Whoosh!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Three dull cracks in succession—each shot true.

At a distance of less than fifty meters, Li Changjiang’s marksmanship had grown more and more refined. Those militia bastards could not even break through, but the problem was that the enemy could pin them here tightly. That was more effective than any assault; without even attacking, simply surrounding them was enough to bleed them dry.

"Li, take her and break out!"

"And you?"

Li Changjiang glanced at the Russian, and the refusal in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Bastard!"

After cursing, Nicholas did not press the matter any further. He used his assault rifle like a sniper weapon, firing two quick shots. His accuracy was no worse than Li Changjiang’s shots delivered through the aiming system.

On that point alone, the Russian was unquestionably a master, and that said nothing of his terrifying personal ability. At the very least, Li Changjiang could never have climbed a wall into a prison the way he once had.

"Damn it, where are we?"

Shi Junqiang’s voice suddenly came from beside him.

Li Changjiang turned to look. The bastard had actually woken up—thank heavens! If he had not been carrying Shi Junqiang just now, he might have broken through with little trouble on his own. But with a living man of a hundred and sixty pounds on his shoulders, Li Changjiang truly had no strength left to struggle.

"Brother Qiang, we’ve been pinned down. Can you still hold on?"

Shi Junqiang’s face was somewhat pale, clearly a lingering effect of too much blood loss, but his spirit seemed fine. That violent jolting had apparently gotten the stagnant blood in his body moving again.

"I’m okay!"

The Russian kicked the AK beside him over, then immediately grabbed the sniper rifle that had been in Shi Junqiang’s hands and fired a rapid burst.

Pop! Pop!

Two militia men who had just shown their heads were instantly blown apart.

Seeing such terrifying marksmanship, Shi Junqiang could not help feeling impressed. These two were both monsters. He had always thought his own shooting was good, but compared with Li Changjiang and this Russian, it was garbage.

"Nicholas! Get ready to break out!"

After the gunfire from Shi Junqiang’s side suddenly erupted, a string of bullets roared forward and suppressed the enemy. Seeing that the militias behind them seemed to be temporarily checked, Li Changjiang immediately shouted to the Russian not far away.

"Go!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Nicholas slung his weapon and led Eliza toward another street in the direction of the north side of the city.

"Brother Qiang, go now!"

"And you?"

Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!

His answer was Li Changjiang’s triple shot, accompanied by three lives.

If killing meant he had to be executed, then Li Changjiang would have died hundreds of times over.

Shi Junqiang was momentarily speechless, then immediately understood his meaning. He got to his feet and charged toward the direction of the Russian and Eliza. The gunshot wound still affected his speed to a degree, so Li Changjiang had no choice but to keep firing.

"Bastard!"

Suddenly, after hurling out the curse, Li Changjiang threw himself sideways toward a side door.

Boom!

Broken stone flew everywhere.

Damn Libyans—they had RPGs. If weapons were ranked by how much one despised them, the RPG would surely be number one.

"Pah!"

Spitting out the grit in his mouth, Li Changjiang looked dusty and grimy. He raised his gun and shot dead the gunner hiding in the corner, then turned and ran. Time was running out. The fire behind them was growing fiercer, and the militias would surely rush this direction once they heard the shooting.

"Damn Americans, making me clean up their mess!"

The four of them nearly burst in one breath to the mouth of a river channel reeking horribly of filth.

"Damn it! Are we really supposed to get out through here?"

Looking at the blocked path ahead and the nearly black, stinking water inside the channel, Li Changjiang nearly gagged. He could even see sanitary pads floating on the surface. It was disgusting beyond belief.

"Either die here or stink to death in the river. Choose for yourself!"

With a splash, that bastard Russian really did jump in, carrying a waterproof bag.