The gruesome sight of their commander being pulverized right before their very eyes had a terrifying effect on the Libyan rebels. It was a complete shock to them, and they wavered in their lines.
In that split second of confusion, Xiao Luo punched and kicked two Libyan rebels in their chests and sent them flying off as if they were hit by a train. After landing hard on the ground a few meters away, they vomited quantities of blood and struggled for a brief moment before they dropped dead.
Xiao Luo's strikes had crushed their sternums and smashed their hearts to a pulp, killing them instantly. There was no doubt about their cause of death, as blood streamed copiously from the cavities in their chests, much more than oozing out from their mouths.
The Libyan rebels were stupefied, and in a panic, they suddenly reacted.
BANG! BANG! PLINK!
Bullets flew in all directions as the rebels fired indiscriminately, striking the armored plates of the vehicles around them and ricocheting off, sending sparks flying everywhere. Not a single shot hit Xiao Luo, but instead, killed several of the Libyan rebels in the close-quarter fight.
Xiao Luo had redeemed an agility-based kungfu skill from the system–Lingbo Weibu. Fast as the bullets were, Xiao Luo easily evaded them with his newly acquired speed and anticipation. He was unstoppable, dashing through the mass of rebel before he locked his eyes on a nearby gunman.
The rebel gunman had his aim sights aimed at Xiao Luo and was about to shoot, but Xiao Luo had miraculously closed the gap between them in the next instant. Xiao Luo pounced on him like a fierce tiger and delivered a deadly kick to his chin.
"Urrgh!"
The rebel gunman hardly had the chance to scream when his jaw was torn apart, and a stream of blood sprayed in the air. Xiao Luo grabbed his chin with his hand and squash his jaw to pieces before thrusting him away with his open palm. The rebel flew back a distance and was already dead before he hit the ground.
The other rebels were demoralized and terrified by the prowess and cruel nature of this unknown man. Most of them dropped their weapons and ran for their lives, but a few remaining ones continued to shoot at Xiao Luo hysterically.
But, no matter where they shot, the bullets were always missing Xiao Luo as if by some strange design, for it seemed like Xiao Luo could predict every bullet's trajectory. He looked like a nimble dancer waltzing through a wall of lead, impervious to the dangers he faced. As he continued dodging, he was gradually closing the gap with his enemies, and once within killing range, he took them out without breaking his stride. This was repeated time and again, thinning out the rebel lines.
Xiao Luo was transformed into a cold and inhumane killing machine whose sole purpose was to reap the lives of all these Libyan rebel fighters!
Jiang Zhiming and the Special Operations team watched from afar, shocked, and unable to process what they had seen. Their wide-opened eyes were the only signs of expression as they froze in a silent stupor.
"This guy...is he a monster?"
Kong Hongyun's voice trembled as not only had Xiao Luo's strength and cruelty terrified the Libyan rebels, but even the Special Operations team felt a chill run down their spines.
"The people from the NSA are absolute monsters!"
"He is non-human."
"He could annihilate an entire platoon just by himself!"
The other members of the Special Operations team trembled, and their faces were painted with indescribable fear and confusion.
Even Jiang Zhiming, who was usually calm and composed, began to wonder if he was dreaming. Regardless of how powerful a man was, he could not possibly be that powerful to disregard bullets and bomb fragments. Even well-armed soldiers were defenseless, seeming to him like civilians whose lives he could extinguish as he wished–this was just ridiculous and unbelievable!
******
******
Next, Xiao Luo punched a Libyan rebel's head, and his eyeball popped out, dragging blood vessels along before it fell to the ground. It rolled a short distance away and was soon covered in dust as the owner suffered an inglorious end to the battle.
In all, nearly thirty Libyan rebel troops were killed. Everyone stared at Xiao Luo–he was soaked in his enemy's blood with the same old calm face and breathed heavily. No one could keep their cool, for this man had just turned this skirmish into a carnage of unimaginable proportions, something that only existed in stories.
Jiang Zhiming ran up to Xiao Luo with concern written all over his face. "Mr. Mie, are you... okay?" he asked.
Xiao Luo raised his brows and glanced at him as he quelled his killing intent. He laughed and said, "Do I look like I am not okay?"
"That's great... look out! Be careful!"
Jiang Zhiming nodded in relief when he suddenly noticed a Libyan rebel who had pretended to be dead getting up and taking aim at Xiao Luo's back with a gun. Jiang Zhiming quickly reacted and raised his sniper rifle immediately to shoot at the rebel's right shoulder.
The power behind a high-velocity sniper round was lethal and many times more potent than ordinary rifles. The shot ripped off the rebel's entire right arm, and as blood spurted out from the wound, an anguished scream pierced the air.
Xiao Luo turned around and looked at the rebel soldier, then turned back to thank Jiang Zhiming. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, Mr. Mie." Jiang Zhiming replied.
Kong Hongyun and a few men headed over and secured the soldier before bringing him back.
Most of the rebels were tanned from spending long periods in the scorching sun, and this man was no different. He had deep-set eyes, sported a crew cut and a tattoo on his chest.
As he was being carried over, he looked at Xiao Luo with deep fear and continued to mumble, "إبليس."
Both Jiang Zhiming and Kong Hongyun did not understand what he meant, but that word in English meant "demon." The man was correct about Xiao Luo–this Mr. Mie was indeed a demon who came out of hell searching for human lives.
Xiao Luo looked down at the surviving Libyan rebel soldier and asked, "لماذاتهاجمنا?"
"أنتصيني،الصينيونيأتونلإنقاذالصحفيين," the Libyan rebel soldier responded, looking a little hesitant.
Xiao Luo turned to Jiang Zhiming and said, "It seems like we are in trouble. The Libyan rebels had obtained the information about the mission to rescue that war correspondent from an unknown source, so they plan to kill any Hua nation personnel they come across at all costs. The orders are from their high command, and they are to let no one through–they've been instructed to kill everyone and are taking no chances."
"Damn it, aren't they afraid that our navy and army will intervene in their war and wipe them out?" Kong Hongyun said, clenching his teeth.
"If our navy and army set foot on Libyan soil, this would be the equivalent of interfering in the internal affairs of other states, which might serve as a catalyst for a greater international conflict." Jiang Zhiming answered.
Xiao Luo did not comment on this. He glanced at that rebel soldier and said, "يجبأنتكونعلىالطريق (It's your time to go)!"
After he spoke, he kicked his chest.
The Libyan rebel flew back like a broken kite with blood all over his face. He died immediately from the kick.
"Mr. Mie, what are you doing?"
Jiang Zhiming could not understand the motive of that kick, and he questioned Xiao Luo.
"To be kind to your enemy is to be cruel to yourself. Do you actually think that I was unaware of this man earlier on? I wanted to let him go, but he chose to waste this chance and even wanted to shoot me, so there's no reason for me to show mercy," Xiao Luo replied.
"Your bullet should not have landed on his shoulder," Xiao Luo said, then pointed at his head, "It should land here. The sole objective of a sniper is to achieve one shot, one kill. You do not give the enemy the chance to recover, and in this aspect, you are still too naive."
*****
In the face of Xiao Luo's accusations and taunts, Jiang Zhiming gritted his teeth and tightly clenched his fists. But in the next second, he just relaxed them and sighed deeply in resignation, like a deflated ball, because he knew Xiao Luo was right, which the same as his instructor had told him.
As a sniper, when the decision to shoot was made, the only thing in his mind would be to take the target's life. But when Jiang Zhiming pulled the trigger, he hesitated, realizing that he was about to extinguish the life of a living being and showed mercy on him. Unlike his experience during training, the gun was loaded with blanks, so even though he knew the bullet had struck their critical areas of the target, it would never actually kill them.
"We are in the real battlefield now, and this is a matter of life and death! As the team leader, I hope you adapt yourself to the realities of war as soon as possible. It is a soldier's duty to defend his country and comrades—and that makes you a war machine. I think your military instructor would have drilled that thought into your head. There's no peace in the military world, and once you become a soldier, you have to always be ready to fight on the battlefield. Do you agree with that?"
Xiao Luo felt it was necessary to shake Jiang Zhiming up, for his attitude could cost lives. He needed to understand the difference between empathy in everyday life and the job he was entrusted to carry out in a war. If he still harbored thoughts of playing fair in battle, then his naivete could likely result in his entire team being annihilated because of it.
When rebuked, Jiang Zhiming felt an overwhelming shame with his lack of mental fortitude. Doubts were cast on his ability to perform like a professional soldier, and he didn't even come close to matching an NSA soldier.
...
...
After the encounter, two more members of the Special Operations team were killed, and three more were seriously wounded.
One was wounded by shrapnel, which caused a gaping wound in his thigh, another had his right hand blown off with his whole palm almost severed from his wrist, and the third had his back seared the heat by an incendiary round and looked bloody and mangled.
Fortunately, combat medics were well equipped with first aid kits in the team and were on hand to provide emergency treatment. Meanwhile, Xiao Luo gave them acupuncture treatment with his silver needles to relieve pain immediately and stabilize their vitals, but this was merely temporary measures. They had to be evacuated to the hospital in Stantine City as soon as possible to receive proper treatment. Otherwise, the wounds could be fatal once they festered and became infected.
The night sky was overcast, and the moon obscured as if a storm was brewing. Anyone familiar with the conditions there knew that it wasn't a storm, but the smoke from fires rising through the skies of Libya. It created a dense haze filled with soot, smothering the whole area.
All the members of the Special Operations team did not dare to underestimate Xiao Luo again, especially Kong Yunhong. He recalled how he had first doubted Xiao Luo's strength and even deliberately used the achievements of Captain Jiang Zhiming to provoke him, only for it to backfire, and he nearly died of shame for that. They now realized that Xiao Luo was really a strong man who single-handedly wiped out a small group of armed Libyan rebels with his bare hands. Simply put, he was as powerful as a god, and in Jiang Zhiming's mind, Xiao Luo was like a mountain and someone he could look up to.
As they progressed further, Jiang Zhiming provided Xiao Luo with an update of their whereabouts. "There's a small town upfront. After the town, seven kilometers further north is the city of Stantine," he said.
Xiao Luo nodded slightly, "I will stay on until you have located and secured our nationals. After that, I will go my own way."
"Mr. Mie, if the reporter you seek is in Stantine City, we can return to base together," Kong Yunhong said. The reality was that Xiao Luo's presence gave him a great sense of security, and he felt that there would not be any unanticipated incidents during the journey.
"I hope she's there, but I'll still part with you," Xiao Luo said.
"Why? Don't we ..."
"Shut up, Kong. Mr. Mie is doing this for our own good."
Jiang Zhiming interrupted Kong Yunhong's words, looked at Xiao Luo with a determined gaze, and said, "Compared to the rebels, the threat of the mercenaries is even greater, especially when we have to protect more than fifty of our compatriots. If Mr. Mie returns with us, those mercenaries will sink their teeth into us like a pack of hungry wolves."
"But Mr. Mie is powerful, isn't he? He can definitely handle those mercenaries," Kong Yunhong replied, convinced of Xiao Luo's strength.
Xiao Luo gave him a wry smile and said, "I'm more than 90% sure of dealing with those mercenaries, but there's no guarantee that you won't get hurt by them, do you understand?"
Chiang picked up the conversation and pitched in, "If Mr. Mie goes separately, we can avoid being attacked by mercenaries. Just dealing with the rebels we encounter will greatly reduce our risk."
"Those mercenaries only need to pass on the information of the war correspondent to the Libyan rebels and me, and they will stop their fighting to hunt me. So, on your return, even if you encounter the rebels, it is possible that they would not attack you," Xiao Luo opined.
As soon as Kong Yunhong heard that, he made up his mind and said, "Right, that makes sense! Mr. Mie, maybe it's best to return via a different route."
Xiao Luo cast a glance at Kong Yunhong.
"You have a lot of nerve," Jiang Zhiming scowled.
"Er, well... Hehehe."
Kong Yunhong rubbed the back of his head and laughed in embarrassment.
...
...
When they arrived at the location, they were met with a town in ruins. There were broken bricks, bullet holes, and garbage was strewn everywhere. Even the street lamps in the middle of the road were riddled with bullet holes and stained with smoke.
The town looked like a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie, and the burnt-out cars the team occasionally came across lent to the dystopian atmosphere.
"Stop the vehicle!"
Xiao Luo suddenly raised his hand.
The authority of Xiao Luo was supreme in the Special Operations team, and the driver stopped immediately before even getting an order from Jiang Zhiming. They were in the lead vehicle, and as soon as they stopped, the whole convoy came to a standstill.
"Stand by!"
Jiang hailed his section commanders through his intercom. Although he did not find any hostile threats, Xiao Luo must have noticed something wrong for him to instruct them to stop.
Kong Yunhong looked around, then turned back and asked, "Mr. Mie, what's the matter?"
"Shut up!"
Xiao Luo snarled at him, and then he closed his eyes as he tried to detect the sound he heard earlier. He heard a man's sinister laughter as well as a woman's cries for help, but it was so very faint. Xiao Luo could hardly pick it up even with his senses enhanced by King of Mercenaries and the Yi Jinjing. But he heard enough to tell him that the language the woman spoke was English.
Perhaps that was Sarah Michelle?
Xiao Luo wondered as his two ears wiggled like a radar dish searching for signals.