The sound of gunfire—bang, bang, bang—paused for a few seconds, then rang out once more. Nearly a thousand meters away, wood chips flew from the trunk of a large tree as bullets tore straight through it, striking the pale red figures behind and shattering the heads and chests of one or two of them…
From time to time, splashes of pale red liquid burst into the air, but Xu Ze’s expression stayed calm as he kept pulling the trigger, until the rifle let out a hollow click—the magazine was empty.
Xu Ze shook his right hand, which had gone a little numb from the recoil, then removed the spent magazine and swapped in a fresh one loaded with armor-piercing rounds. He hung the Barrett over a small branch beside him and glanced ahead at the dozens of pale red figures now less than three hundred meters away. Speaking quietly into his earpiece, he said, “The enemy is closing in. They’re about two hundred meters from you—get ready for direct contact.”
With that, he slid gently down the trunk, looked up at the backpack and rifle now completely hidden by the leaves, and then moved forward with a clean, silent stride.
The Wolf Fang soldiers were certainly skilled, but even they couldn’t take on that many people with just three of them. There were at least thirty or forty Dragon Lion troops closing in, so Xu Ze had to help thin them out from the front as much as possible, to ease the pressure on his team.
Taking out a few enemies in close-quarters ambushes was child’s play for Xu Ze now. After all that training with Bond, he’d gotten more than comfortable with this kind of work. But with so many enemies, sneaky little tricks weren’t really necessary—and they’d just waste time.
So Xu Ze reached back, pulled the Type 99 assault rifle hanging from his left shoulder, clicked off the safety, and charged forward at full speed.
The black soldiers of the Dragon Lion Army, hearing that the sniper fire had stopped, perked up with renewed energy. Without the constant threat of a deadly bullet coming from nowhere, their steps grew lighter. Using the trees and foliage for cover, they pressed onward.
Within ten or so seconds, Xu Ze had silently overtaken Bai Qi and the other two, closing in fast on the Dragon Lion positions. Through his visor display, he could see the figures growing nearer—about a hundred meters out. Calmly, he raised his assault rifle, aimed at the shapes barely hidden behind leaves and tall grass, and gently squeezed the trigger.
With the crack of Xu Ze’s rifle, six or seven of the Dragon Lion soldiers who hadn’t even spotted him yet dropped to the ground.
The ones further back heard the gunfire and saw their comrades fall. One by one, they raised their weapons and sprayed blindly into the foliage ahead.
Xu Ze pressed his body flat against a tree about half a foot thick, listening to the bullets whistle past him without moving a muscle. Even though he now had A-rank shielding to protect him and didn’t need to fear light weapons fire, the habitually thrifty Xu Ze didn’t want to waste energy—better to save what he could.
Once the storm of bullets died down, he cautiously poked his head out. Now he could see the leaves and grass swaying not far away—at least a dozen enemies heading his direction.
A grin spread across his face. He stepped out lightly, raised the assault rifle, held down the trigger, and blasted two long bursts forward. Then he rolled cleanly on the ground, dodging a couple of incoming rounds, fired off another burst, and ducked behind another tree.
Xu Ze sucked in a couple of deep breaths to calm his slightly racing heart. He was actually pretty pleased with himself—this was his first time doing something like this in the real world. Both evasive maneuvers had been sharp and decisive, and his aim was on point. Those three bursts had taken down at least seven or eight enemies.
He paused, listening to the other side. Everything seemed eerily quiet. That struck him as odd—could he have taken out everyone nearby in one go?
Just as he was about to peek around again, he heard a faint clink-clink-clink rolling toward his feet. He looked down—a grenade.
“Damn… sneaky bastards…” Xu Ze’s expression shifted. He stamped his left foot hard against the ground, launched himself up, and used his right foot to push off the tree behind him, hurling his body forward.
He’d only made it a few meters before he heard a loud BOOM behind him. A shockwave slammed into him, tossing him four or five meters through the air…
At the same time, a faint, barely visible golden shimmer flickered across his body and vanished, deflecting a small piece of shrapnel that would have hit him.
Not far behind, Bai Qi had heard the intense firefight and was rushing over. When he saw Xu Ze get blown into the air, his eyes went red. He charged forward with his rifle, letting off two bursts that dropped a few black-clad enemies charging in from the opposite side.
“Major… Major, are you okay?!” Bai Qi shouted in alarm as Xu Ze rolled on the ground. He was about to run over when he saw Xu Ze, still lying prone, suddenly raise his rifle and fire another burst behind him.
“Argh!” A black-clad soldier who’d just emerged, ready to shoot Bai Qi in the back, was hit square in the chest by Xu Ze’s rounds and crumpled to the ground.
Xu Ze rubbed the spot on his back where the shrapnel had struck, then struggled to his feet with a wince. He cursed inwardly: Xiao Dao, you could’ve put a little more effort into blocking that shrapnel for me. Did you really have to let it sting that much?
Bai Qi flinched at the sight of the enemy soldier behind him, but when he saw Xu Ze was fine, relief and surprise washed over him.
“Let’s move, let’s move! More Dragon Lion troops are coming up behind us!” Xu Ze waved at Bai Qi and hurried back the way they’d come. Taking down dozens of enemies in one go was a solid result.
Bai Qi glanced at the bodies littering the ground and couldn’t help but marvel at Xu Ze’s combat prowess. Still, he turned and ran too—there were too many enemies to fight head-on.
Xu Ze made it back to the tree where he’d stashed his gear, climbed up smoothly, swapped in a fresh magazine from his backpack, slung the pack back on, secured the Barrett, and jumped down. Then he quietly made his way back along the same route.
After retreating cautiously for over two hundred meters, he found another large tree, climbed up, and prepared for a second round of sniping.
But this time, the Dragon Lion squad leaders had all been taken out, and he’d already killed a good number of those at the front. The pursuit probably wouldn’t be as intense as before.
Xu Ze scanned ahead. Sure enough—through his visor display, the number of Dragon Lion troops still chasing them had dropped significantly. And even those who were coming moved in groups of four or five, advancing cautiously rather than charging recklessly like before.
Meanwhile, two loud explosions up ahead sent plumes of smoke billowing into the air. Xu Ze smiled faintly—that must’ve been another trap set by Bai Qi and his team.
With those blasts and no commanders left to push them forward, the remaining Dragon Lion troops slowed down even more. Watching their hesitant movements, Xu Ze grinned in satisfaction and spoke into his earpiece: “Alright… they shouldn’t be able to catch up anytime soon. Set a few traps where you are, then pull back immediately.”
“Copy that!” Bai Qi and the other two couldn’t see the situation clearly from their position, but they’d come to trust Xu Ze completely. Following his orders, they stopped advancing toward the enemy, retreated a short distance, set down a few traps, and then followed Xu Ze’s trail back.
Xu Ze waited by the roadside until the three of them caught up. Seeing they were all unharmed, he nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile, “Good. Let’s go—we need to catch up with General Zuma and the others.”
He took the lead, following the signs left by General Zuma’s group at a brisk run. But every so often, the four of them stopped to set one or two traps, just in case the Dragon Lion troops managed to follow.
Half an hour later, Xu Ze’s bio-detection system picked up the trail of the group ahead. He notified Hu Qiang through the earpiece, and the four of them finally reunited with General Zuma and his people, who welcomed them with delighted surprise.
When they learned that Xu Ze and his team had successfully held back the Dragon Lion forces and that pursuit was now unlikely, the tense look on General Zuma’s face gradually faded. He let out a long sigh of relief, then laughed heartily and said a few words in his native tongue, gesturing warmly at Xu Ze.
Jida quickly translated: “The General says… Xu… you will forever be the most welcome and respected guest of the General’s residence.”
Xu Ze smiled and nodded. Everyone else might be relaxing, but he wasn’t letting his guard down yet. True, the Dragon Lion troops probably wouldn’t catch up now, but there might still be a traitor among them—and that was something he absolutely couldn’t afford to overlook.
“Xiao Dao—monitor the heart rate, breathing, and metabolic activity of General Zuma’s four guards and his wife. If anything seems off, alert me immediately,” Xu Ze instructed carefully.
Since he couldn’t confirm who the mole was—or even if there was one—this was the best monitoring method available. If a traitor did exist, once they realized the Dragon Lion troops wouldn’t make it, they’d have to act—either to kill General Zuma or carry out some other plan.
And before making such a move, they’d inevitably show signs of tension. But with Xiao Dao keeping watch, if any of those people showed an increased heart rate, faster breathing, or abnormal metabolic changes, Xu Ze would get an early warning—giving him the chance to stay one step ahead.
