Chapter 90: Live and Die Together, Share Life and Death

Peng Sha, the name that haunted Zhao Qiang's dreams, every night Zhao Qiang would dream of that beloved girl he yearned for day and night. Thus, it appeared by Zhao Qiang's ear, like a thunderclap, pinning his footsteps in place.

“Peng Sha? You mean that girl is called Peng Sha?” Listening to Zhao Qiang's anxious voice, Peng Sha was almost forgetting his own arm was firmly gripped by Zhao Qiang's iron-like hands. He had no idea why Zhao Qiang was reacting so strongly to such an ordinary name.

“Yes, is there any problem with that?” Peng Sha's voice trembled slightly. The pain radiating from his arm made speaking difficult.

“Tell me, what does she look like? How old is she? Is she from Unicom?”

A barrage of questions left Peng Sha bewildered. Rubbing his throbbing arm, he replied, “What does she look like? That's hard to say right now. She's not very tall, her hair isn't long, she wears glasses, and she looks quite adorable. As for her age, I'm not sure, maybe around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. As for whether she came from Unicom, I don't know. Anyway, the little girl's voice sounds very pleasant…”

It was her, it must be her! After Peng Sha said something, Zhao Qiang heard nothing of it. His entire mind was filled with his wife's silhouette. The events of the previous night's dream played out before him like a movie. Where was she? Was she safe?

One question after another swirled in Zhao Qiang's mind. The miserable appearances of those dazed, disheveled women scattered around him struck deep pain into his heart.

Soon, the small teams that had been scattered searching for survivors throughout the terminal corners had been alerted and converged around Zhao Qiang. They offered advice with overlapping voices. Zhao Qiang knew that at this moment, he must not let anger blind his eyes. As long as the opponent was still inside the airport, there was still hope.

The entire airport had fallen completely under the control of the detachment. From the moment the battle began until now, apart from the fire door forcibly blasted open by the detachment, all other exits remained completely silent. Even the large door standing wide open was under the firm grip of Group B, offering no possibility of entry or exit.

After discussing at length, no workable plan emerged. Whether it was Cai Jiashu or Chen Er Gou, no one in the detachment had genuine experience in hostage rescue. The strategies taught by Wei Tao were all to storm in, eliminate the enemies, and save the hostages. But with the hostage's identity being special, everyone was momentarily at a loss.

Inside the ground control tower, a “Black Knight” clad in a strikingly flamboyant black cloak paced back and forth. After several fierce explosions sounded from within the terminal, there was no further movement. The personnel sent to assess the situation had not returned, leaving Li Zixin in profound agitation.

Li Zixin knew nothing of his opponent's identity. He only knew that the dozens of subordinates left inside the terminal were utterly silent, like a mud cow sinking into the sea with no news. From the feedback received earlier, the opponent numbered only four or five. Yet even after deploying the formidable weapon “Forty Fire,” his side had failed to gain the upper hand. Such formidable combat capability made Li Zixin think of one person.

Changsha, a place both large and small, always hosted the same few individuals moving in and out. Now that a crisis had erupted, the only one Li Zixin knew possessed such powerful combat ability was Wei Tao. Having trained Zhao Qiang into such a master and seeing how much time had passed, it was no difficult matter for him to forge an elite detachment once more.

It had to be him! Li Zixin cursed viciously through gritted teeth. It had to be that damned ghost who could never be shaken off! Li Zixin felt a trace of relief. Although he had lost the formidable “Forty Fire” detachment, he still held the ultimate trump card. As long as he possessed that trump card, he had nothing to fear from the opponent submitting.

Hehe, since they were old friends, he should properly entertain them. Inside the control tower, Peng Sha had been left behind in the control room. After all, such a woman powerless to tie a chicken could cause no trouble. The other few less important hostages had been arranged at the entrance and formed a human shield.

After waiting for a long time without seeing that small detachment approach the control tower, Li Zixin grew increasingly anxious. He could no longer wait to confront that powerful combat detachment and more desperately wished to personally tear it into pieces.

“Old Li, what do you think of this plan?” Wu Hai, Li Zixin’s left arm and right-hand strategist, understood exactly what Li Zixin was contemplating at this moment. His beady eyes flashed, and a vicious scheme surfaced. “Please come in!” This was Wu Hai’s definition of his own strategy. Leaning close to Li Zixin’s ear, he whispered the words. Li Zixin’s tightly furrowed brows instantly smoothed out. “Good! Good! Good!” In high spirits, Li Zixin repeated the word three times.

Soon, a sheet of paper scrawled with words was tossed before Peng Sha. Wu Hai coldly dropped the words “Read it aloud,” then turned and opened the broadcast system himself.

……

“Provocation! This is Peng Sha’s naked provocation!” After hearing the broadcast, Zhao Qiang had already confirmed that the voice belonged to his yearning wife. The fact that his wife was in the opponent’s hands was an undeniable reality. From the voice slightly trembling and filled with fear, one could hear that behind his wife, a cold gun was pressed to her head.

The opponent was inside the control tower, claiming to welcome the detachment to visit and declaring that if the detachment failed to appear within five minutes, the detachment would be responsible for the hostages’ lives and deaths inside the control tower.

“What should we do?” Cai Jiashu was already seething with rage. The opponent was so arrogant, even threatening the hostages’ lives. The fingers gripping the gun had turned white.

“Kill!” Zhao Qiang suppressed the fury in his heart, biting out the word through gritted teeth. After fighting for so long, the warrior’s hot blood burning inside Zhao Qiang had already ignited. He feared no battle. Anyone who dared to challenge the limits of Zhao Qiang’s endurance would receive no mercy.

“What about the sister-in-law?” Cai Jiashu still hesitated. Although he had undergone countless training sessions for hostage rescue, the detachment could clear enemies from a room in three seconds without harming the hostages. Yet training and combat were entirely different. Too many unknowns made the mission unbearably complex.

“I trust you!” Zhao Qiang said, gazing at the group of warriors before him with resolute faces. After prolonged shared meals, rest, and battles, Zhao Qiang had forged an extraordinarily deep bond of trust with his teammates. He could hand over his back without reservation to them. This time, Zhao Qiang still chose unconditional trust.

“Are you afraid of death?” Zhao Qiang continued, “This operation carries risks unlike any before. Life-threatening danger could arise at any moment. I do not wish these brothers who share life and death to lose their young lives because of me.”

“Live and die together, share life and death!” the detachment answered in unison.

Live and die together, share life and death! This was the oath sworn at the founding of the detachment. This oath had long been deeply etched into every member’s heart. By today, it had long become the conditioned reflex of the detachment.