The sound of the electromagnetic gun bullets cutting through the air was extremely clear. The opponent analyzed the power of the attack from the sound, so he did not hesitate and his first reaction was to dodge. However, Zhao Qiang fired several bullets in one shot, which almost blocked the opponent's escape route. Moreover, he did not have enough time. He could only protect his vital parts from damage and could not care about anything else.
After Zhao Qiang's attack, the opponent immediately hid behind a large rock on the hillside, using the rock as cover to catch his breath and find an opportunity for another attack. After dodging Zhao Qiang's electromagnetic gun, the opponent also concealed his whereabouts, and Zhao Qiang scanned several times but could not find him again.
Zhao Qiang touched his abdomen; he didn't have much energy left. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in such a passive position. He hadn't even seen the enemy yet. His opponent was no simple opponent. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he had seized a good opportunity. Zhao Qiang's energy was running low.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Zhao Qiang's feet shook. The large boulder blocking his path loosened and began to roll down the hillside towards his head. This was completely unexpected. Zhao Qiang immediately activated his anti-gravity device and propulsion system, but it seemed there wasn't enough time. The boulder crushed half of Zhao Qiang's body. Fortunately, the ground beneath his feet was solid, and Zhao Qiang was protected by his armor and energy. However, the weight of the boulder pressed him into the soil, leaving him covered in dust. The boulder rumbled down the hillside and finally crashed into the floodwaters of the valley.
As the stones rolled down, a figure emerged from the bushes. Before Zhao Qiang could even get out of the mud, the other party had already seized the initiative. So Zhao Qiang could only hold his strength and wait. He didn't dare to move rashly anymore, but his gun was already pointed at the other party.
The other party must have seen the dark muzzle of the gun as well. He stood still, not daring to move, because the next move would inevitably be a close-quarters fight with Zhao Qiang, and the outcome might be decided in a single move. Therefore, this was no child's play, and any useless move could cause him to lose the initiative.
Zhao Qiang slowly opened his mouth, "Are you Xiao Baihe?" Actually, this person's body scan was different from Xiao Baihe's, but Zhao Qiang needed a chance to counterattack, and speaking was the easiest way to distract the other party.
"Why all this nonsense when you're about to die?" the other person said slowly, their voice sounding strange, not like someone who spoke standard Mandarin.
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "You killed so many people just for me?"
The other party did not answer, but seeing Zhao Qiang make a move to get up, he immediately pressed the gun down: "Don't move, or I'll shoot."
Zhao Qiang said, "I also have a gun." Zhao Qiang raised the muzzle of the electromagnetic gun and aimed it at the other person's chest.
"Then let's see whose gun is more powerful?" The opponent, Fang Feng, was not afraid of Zhao Qiang at all.
"Okay," Zhao Qiang pulled the trigger. If the stalemate continued, Zhao Qiang would be the first to give up because his energy was limited. So he took the initiative and fired first. The other party's reaction was not slow either. Zhao Qiang fired his gun immediately afterward. The two bullets met in the air and sparked in the rain of fire. That was the result of the metal bullets hitting each other.
Taking advantage of the instant they fired at each other, Zhao Qiang leaped up from the ground and kicked his opponent. He even used energy to assist in the force of the kick; if it hit a rock, he believed it would shatter it.
Bang! The opponent ignored Zhao Qiang's kick and continued firing. The bullets pierced Zhao Qiang's armor and were blocked by the energy shield. However, this attack also caused Zhao Qiang to lose some energy. His kick to the opponent's chest was weaker. With a thud, the opponent's chest bones could not withstand the force of Zhao Qiang's kick and collapsed, and the whole person fell backward.
Zhao Qiang was delighted. His opponent's strength was nothing special. How dare he try to take advantage of him? He was overestimating himself.
As the enemy's ribcage shattered, he flew backward, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Zhao Qiang thought the battle was over, but unexpectedly, two identical people appeared behind the fleeing enemy, one on the left and one on the right, like a clone technique, and attacked Zhao Qiang without stopping.
Caught off guard, Zhao Qiang was shot once by each of the two men, and several holes appeared in his armor. In order to protect his body from injury, his energy was running out. While the opponents were shooting, they also quickly closed in on Zhao Qiang. When they were less than two meters away from Zhao Qiang, they threw away their pistols and their hands flashed with cold light. They were holding two long swords with narrow blades, which they chopped down at Zhao Qiang's head.
Zhao Qiang was furious. He didn't know how his opponents knew he was low on energy. Otherwise, if they had attacked him now, they would have been courting death. However, Zhao Qiang didn't dare to be too aggressive. Without sufficient energy to protect him, it wouldn't be safe to deal with these experts with only top-tier equipment. Of course, escaping would be easy. None of these people could fly up and catch him. But what about Yang Shiyun and the tourists?
Zhao Qiang pushed forward with both palms, and a large shield immediately appeared in front of him. Two long swords slashed at it. Although the opponent's killing power was strong, the shield made of 'g' matter was not something they could break with their strength. Even their weapons, which they regarded as treasures, were smashed.
Zhao Qiang successfully blocked the attack and immediately launched a counterattack. With a loud bang, his compressed gun struck the man on the left. Under the intense pressure, the man's body immediately exploded. However, what Zhao Qiang didn't expect was that after the body exploded, two more figures appeared in a flash. Now there were three opponents on the field. If he killed one more, who knew if there would be four?
The three men formed a triangular attack formation. Since it was now close combat, they could no longer use their guns, so they slashed at Zhao Qiang with three long swords. Even if Zhao Qiang could block the front, how could he block the back? So he could only leap upwards to temporarily avoid the attack.
However, Zhao Qiang did not expect that his opponent's agility would exceed his expectations. They actually followed Zhao Qiang closely and chased him into the sky. Zhao Qiang increased the energy of the propulsion system, and his body shot out with a whoosh. The three pursuers were then left behind. Zhao Qiang made a sharp turn in the air and then plummeted down. At this moment, the force of the three opponents' leap had not yet dissipated, and their bodies were still rising. Zhao Qiang grabbed one of them by the ankle and pulled him down forcefully.
In a panic, the man kicked Zhao Qiang in the head. Zhao Qiang seized the opportunity to grab the man's other leg and pulled hard with both hands. With a thud, he tore the man's two thighs apart in mid-air and threw them to the left and right.
Zhao Qiang landed quickly, drew his gun, and fired into the sky. Two opponents were just beginning to descend. Although they could catch up with Zhao Qiang with a leap, they didn't have the ability to change direction in the air, let alone fly. Zhao Qiang landed first, catching them off guard. Bullets whistled towards them, and they could only take them head-on because the bullets were too fast for them to react.
Two sharp clangs rang out, followed by a flash of red in the sky, and then two bodies crashed to the ground. Zhao Qiang's shot had killed the two men in mid-air instantly. Although they had used their long knives to block the bullets, the bullets from the electromagnetic gun were far beyond what the knives could withstand. The bullets pierced the blades and struck their vital organs, causing their immediate deaths.
Zhao Qiang put away his gun. At this moment, a scene that gave him a headache and made him not want to see happened. The person who was torn in half came back to life as two people standing in front of him. The two corpses that were clearly dead on the ground were each overturned, and two people emerged from behind the corpses. He killed three, but six came out. Obviously, if he killed these six, then there would be twelve.
Volume 2 [646] Almost Died
[646] I almost died
How can they be killed without being killed? Zhao Qiang didn't believe in ghosts and gods. If the other party really had the ability to create clones, how could they be cloned after the real body died? Even if they were cloned, where would their energy come from? This doesn't conform to the law of conservation of energy.
Zhao Qiang estimated his strength based on the strength of one enemy. He realized he didn't have enough energy to eliminate these six people, which gave him a major headache. Should he really run away? Yang Shiyun was relatively easy to deal with; she could become invisible, making it difficult for these people to catch her. But Li Hua and the others were in much greater danger. These people wouldn't value their lives, and Li Hua and the others would surely die. Of course, Zhao Qiang wasn't so noble as to sacrifice himself to save the tourists, but he was unwilling to be defeated so easily.
Bang, bang, bang! The six men appeared and simultaneously pulled out their guns and fired at Zhao Qiang. Whether it was because their guns were special or because they had been modified by their special abilities, Zhao Qiang's current armor was not strong enough to stop them. Fortunately, he had an energy shield, otherwise he would have been killed in the first wave of fire.
The enemy fired at Zhao Qiang, who dodged while retaliating with his electromagnetic gun. The electromagnetic gun was not something that an ordinary expert could withstand, so Zhao Qiang took more than a dozen shots, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. Three of his six opponents died as a result. However, Zhao Qiang was fortunate this time because the three who died after being pierced by the electromagnetic gun did not split into multiple bodies. Otherwise, Zhao Qiang would have been devastated and had to flee in panic.
Zhao Qiang was overjoyed that the enemy had no clones, initially thinking defeat was inevitable. However, the enemy had reached its limit in terms of clones, and these last six were their trump cards. Although Zhao Qiang's energy was severely depleted, he was confident he could kill them all with his equipment.
The four men were already entangled, so guns were no longer usable. Not only would they be difficult to hit the target, but they would also delay their attack. They all threw their guns aside. The three enemies were still using long swords, which looked exactly like Japanese swords to Zhao Qiang.
With a whoosh, a man slashed directly at Zhao Qiang. The sharp wind from the blade forced the raindrops away. Even before the blade touched Zhao Qiang, a tremendous force pressed down on him. Zhao Qiang dodged to the side. He couldn't take the blow head-on. None of these people were weak. His armor couldn't stop bullets, and he estimated that even his armor would have a hard time defending against the force of this blade.
With a sharp metallic clang, Zhao Qiang felt a sharp pain in his waist. Although he dodged the oncoming blade by leaping to the side, another opponent's attack struck his waist, slicing a large gap in Zhao Qiang's armor. Finally, the blade was blocked by an energy shield, but because he blocked the attack, Zhao Qiang's energy was less than five percent.
With a whoosh, a blade struck his back. Zhao Qiang knew that the third person's attack had arrived. Besieged on both sides and stabbed, Zhao Qiang was fighting hard. It seemed that killing them would not be easy. He should think of a way to escape first.
Zhao Qiang turned his running shoes to maximum power, pushed off the ground, and shot forward. Coincidentally, the guy who had been about to deliver the first blow missed and attacked again, blocking Zhao Qiang's path. Zhao Qiang crashed headfirst into his chest, and both flew through the air. The guy, still holding his knife, swung it down at Zhao Qiang's back. Zhao Qiang gritted his teeth, and the ring on his finger instantly transformed into a sharp blade, punching the guy in the stomach.
A sharp pain shot through Zhao Qiang's back. His armor had blocked 60% of the enemy's attack, and another 30% was blocked by his energy shield, but some damage still took effect on Zhao Qiang's body. A huge wound appeared on his back, and blood gushed out. Zhao Qiang felt dizzy; he knew his energy was severely depleted.
With a thud, the man who had slashed Zhao Qiang fell dead to the ground. He had been punched through the abdomen by Zhao Qiang. Now, there were still two opponents. Zhao Qiang leaped into the air, a blade flashing beneath his feet. One enemy's attack had missed. However, the other saw Zhao Qiang jump into the air and swung his knife. A whooshing sound followed closely behind Zhao Qiang. Fortunately, Zhao Qiang's equipment still had plenty of energy. He increased the power of his propulsion device, his body accelerating rapidly, leaving the pursuing knife behind. Then, he turned around and rushed down the mountain peak, leaping into the cave.
Although the gunshots outside were somewhat muffled in the wind and rain, Li Hua and the others still heard them. They were so frightened that they wished they could hide deeper into the cave, but they were also afraid that another earthquake would bury them all. So they could only huddle in the corner of the cave, chanting the names of various gods and praying for protection.
Yang Shiyun stood at the cave entrance, her face anxious. When she saw a dark figure dart in, she naturally prepared to fight back. Zhao Qiang shouted urgently, "It's me!"
Yang Shiyun immediately stopped what she was doing: "What happened?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Hide in the cave." After saying that, he kicked out the fire in the cave and squatted at the entrance, nervously staring outside. Yang Shiyun knew that she had encountered a powerful enemy. She didn't say anything more and took advantage of the darkness to quickly disappear into the air.
Zhao Qiang doesn't actually possess much offensive power; he mainly relies on his equipment and energy. Now, his energy is almost depleted from escaping underground, and the enemy is seizing this opportunity to attack. Zhao Qiang has no chance of winning with just his equipment, because the opponent's strength is so great that even armor can't protect him. This shocked Zhao Qiang. Even his last trump card for survival, energy, is less than two percent. How could Zhao Qiang not be nervous? At this moment, people who know him well would not recognize him; he can be described as skin and bones.
Two dark figures crept up to the cave entrance one after the other. Instead of rushing in rashly, they exchanged a few hand gestures. One of them slowly crept forward while the other lay in ambush behind. If Zhao Qiang attacked the one in front, the one behind could take the opportunity to kill him. With Zhao Qiang's remaining energy and the fact that his armor wouldn't offer much protection, if he attacked the first enemy, he would definitely be injured by the second.
Zhao Qiang could see through the illusion to the outside, so he wouldn't be foolish enough to attack the person leading the group. However, the person was getting closer, and letting him enter the cave would pose a threat to Li Hua and the others. Zhao Qiang glanced behind him but couldn't find Yang Shiyun. He realized she had become invisible. So, Zhao Qiang carefully observed the water ripples outside. Besides the ripples caused by raindrops on the ground, there was a faint ripple spreading forward—that must be Yang Shiyun's footsteps.
The night vision and scanning capabilities of the X-ray glasses gave Zhao Qiang a significant advantage. He immediately processed the surrounding situation in his brain and made his decision to attack. Just then, the first enemy peeked into the cave. Using the momentum from his running shoes, Zhao Qiang pounced on him like a tiger descending a mountain. Although the man was prepared, Zhao Qiang's pounce was incredibly fast, and his dodge was ineffective. Zhao Qiang gave him a bear hug. Although the man tried to block the knife with a thrust to his chest, Zhao Qiang stubbornly ignored it, letting the blade pierce through his armor, tear open the energy shield, and then plunge into his body with a "plop."
No one would expect to die like this, so the enemy was stunned. Zhao Qiang forcefully plunged the knife in his hand into the man's temple. The man's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground. At the same time, Zhao Qiang also collapsed, having been stabbed in the chest. The tip of the knife had pierced through his body, and this stab was to a vital part of his body. An ordinary person would probably die on the spot.
The enemy following closely behind the first person made their move. At this moment, Zhao Qiang was like a dead man. If he had just added one more blow, Zhao Qiang's head would have been severed. Since gaining his energy, Zhao Qiang hadn't been in such a dangerous and helpless situation many times. Last time he lost his energy, he could still use his ordinary physical abilities, but now he was seriously injured, and even his most powerful ordinary physical abilities were useless.
"Die!" The other party slashed down with a sense of satisfaction. So many of his companions had died, and now he was the only one left. It would be a lie to say he wasn't furious.
The enemy swung his blade, but before it even struck, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back. He turned around in surprise to find his back empty, but a dagger was clearly embedded in his heart. A surge of blood rushed to his throat. "Cough, cough..." The enemy coughed twice, his hand went limp, and the dagger could no longer be used to strike. It fell to the ground with a clatter.
Zhao Qiang smiled and relaxed. Yang Shiyun had made her move. He hoped this was the last enemy. If they were separated again, they would be doomed. Yang Shiyun was more than capable of dealing with ordinary people and had enough self-defense ability, but she was still far from being able to deal with such an expert. The sneak attack was effective, but it could only be used once.
However, Zhao Qiang's worries did not come true. The endless clones created by scattering beans do not exist, and there is no such thing as a clone technique. These people are just good at disguising and hiding. They make the appearance of clones only to undermine the opponent's confidence. They thought the plan was flawless and that Zhao Qiang was doomed, but they did not expect that they would all die.
Yang Shiyun appeared and picked up Zhao Qiang, asking, "How are you?"
Zhao Qiang's face was dry and shriveled, with almost no flesh visible; it was just a skin covering bones. His abdomen was sunken, making him look extremely frightening. If Yang Shiyun hadn't known beforehand that he was lacking energy, she probably would have just thrown him away and run away.
Zhao Qiang said weakly, "I'm dying, please get me some food and water."
Yang Shiyun immediately put him down: "You wait." There were still many backpacks in the cave. There wasn't enough food to go around before because there were too many people. Now that half of the tourists have died, there is actually more food left.
Although Li Hua and the others heard the sounds, they couldn't see what was happening outside. In addition, the smell of blood carried by the rainwater into the cave made them even more frightened, and they didn't even dare to look up.
Zhao Qiang leaned against the cave entrance, half of his body still getting wet in the rain. Yang Shiyun handed him two pieces of chocolate, but Zhao Qiang had no strength to hold them. Helpless, Yang Shiyun could only peel off the wrappers and feed them to Zhao Qiang. Zhao Qiang found it difficult to chew. The attack just now had really exhausted all his strength. That wasn't all; the wound on his chest was the most fatal because without energy, the wound could not heal itself.
"Have some water." Yang Shiyun handed over the bottle.
Zhao Qiang swallowed a mouthful of bitter chocolate and said, "Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would be finished tonight."
Yang Shiyun said, "I know you came back to save me, otherwise you could have left this place on your own."
Zhao Qiang said, "Am I meddling in other people's business? With your strength, escaping should be a piece of cake."
Yang Shiyun said, "No, you're meddling in other people's business. I can't just watch the people inside get hurt by them, so I definitely have to stay."
Zhao Qiang handed the compression gun to Yang Shiyun: "Go and keep watch around. I need time to eat. If another expert comes out now, I think we're really doomed."
(Thanks to 5857433 for the monthly pass support)
Volume 2 [647] Leaving the Mountain
Leaving the Mountain
Zhao Qiang was pale. He had lost so much blood, and the wound in his chest, which had almost pierced his heart, would have been fatal even for Hua Tuo. He barely managed to cover the wound with one hand; there was hardly any blood left. Zhao Qiang was now struggling for his life, but a strong person like him wouldn't die easily. His advanced biochip was actively repairing itself, but due to insufficient energy, the repair process was extremely slow.
Slowly melting the chocolate, Zhao Qiang swallowed it forcefully. A comfortable feeling spread throughout his body, and even the pain in his chest lessened. He continued eating slowly, and soon the chocolate was gone. With more strength, he quickly devoured the remaining piece of chocolate. His wound began to show signs of healing. Zhao Qiang reached for the bread on the ground, took a sip of water, and slowly melted the bread before swallowing it with the water.
After finishing a piece of bread, Zhao Qiang felt stronger. His wound had begun to heal on its own. Fortunately, the stab hadn't hit vital organs like his heart or lungs; otherwise, he would have been coughing up blood. There was a bag of sausages on the ground. Zhao Qiang picked it up, tore it open with his teeth, ate a bite of bread, a bite of sausage, and then drank some water. In this way, Zhao Qiang finished all the food Yang Shiyun had found for him, taking a full two hours, by which time the sky outside was beginning to lighten.
Yang Shiyun returned and was delighted to see that Zhao Qiang's skin had regained its luster and was no longer as wrinkled as before: "How's your energy replenishment going? Is your wound healing?"
Zhao Qiang tore open his shirt at the chest and looked inside. There was still a noticeable wound. Although it wasn't bleeding, the muscle was turned outwards, and it was far from fully healed. Zhao Qiang didn't dare to invest too much energy in self-healing now. His body was so weak that he couldn't even beat an eight-year-old child. Even if the wound healed completely, it wouldn't matter. He just needed to save his life.
"Fortunately, he is out of danger, but he needs more energy and time to recover."
Yang Shiyun said, "There is no signal here, so the enemy must not have sent any message, otherwise they would have arrived earlier. You should rest, and I will find you some other food."
By this time, Li Hua and the others had adapted to their surroundings. Although they didn't know what had happened in the darkness of the previous night, they could guess about 70-80% of it. They knew that Zhao Qiang had been seriously injured while protecting them. However, Li Hua was puzzled when he came closer. Zhao Qiang used to be so fat, but now he looked like a skinny old man. What happened?
Yang Shiyun warned Li Hua: "Don't bother Zhao Qiang, let him eat something and rest."
Li Hua and the others became like frightened birds. The corpses in the rain outside were real. They hurriedly nodded and shrank back into the cave, deciding to protect themselves and not ask or say anything, and wait until dawn to seek help from other sources.
Zhao Qiang cut open a mineral water bottle and used the bottom of the bottle as a bowl to soak a compressed biscuit. Drinking it with water and biscuit was much more convenient than chewing. Yang Shiyun was still patrolling outside. Zhao Qiang cut open another bottle and soaked another compressed biscuit in it. There were many compressed biscuits in one person's backpack. I don't know what he was thinking. He carried so many biscuits and wasn't afraid of getting tired of them?
Gradually, Zhao Qiang's body became plump. Although his energy had recovered to less than two percent, he no longer looked so terrifying, and his body was out of danger. By 6:30 in the morning, the rain had stopped. After raining for so long, the sound of the mountain torrents could be heard from a great distance, so it seemed that he still couldn't leave the mountain for a while.
"Who's stopping?" Yang Shiyun shouted. After daybreak, she stopped hiding. Just as she was looking around boredly, someone appeared. This person climbed up from the bottom of the hillside, so dirty that he was unrecognizable.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" The other person saw the gun in Yang Shiyun's hand and hurriedly reminded her, "I am Xiao Baihe."
Yang Shiyun was taken aback: "Xiao Baihe? How did you climb up from below?" The identity of the murderer was still undetermined, so Yang Shiyun couldn't just fire her gun.
Xiao Baihe wiped the mud off her face. "I was swept down the hillside in the chaos last night. Luckily, a tree stopped me. But it was raining so hard and I couldn't see the road, so I didn't dare to move. I held on until dawn before slowly climbing back up."
Yang Shiyun remained noncommittal about Xiao Baihe's words. Xiao Baihe pointed into the cave: "Is Zhao Qiang inside?"
Yang Shiyun said, "What do you want with him? Stay outside and talk to me for a while." Yang Shiyun was worried that Xiao Baihe might do something after seeing that Zhao Qiang had lost his fighting ability. Of course, this might be her overthinking. The murderer might not be Xiao Baihe at all. But if Xiao Baihe was the one who killed Section Chief Wang and Manager Hu, and that the group of assassins were also under her orders, then her entering the cave would definitely be a threat to Zhao Qiang.
Xiao Baihe sat in the mud, covered in mud and water, looking rather disheveled. She said to Yang Shiyun, "I threw my bag into the cave when the earthquake happened. There might still be food in it. I'm completely exhausted. Could you go in and get some food for me so we can eat something, rest, and find a way down the mountain?"
Yang Shiyun said, "Okay, you wait." Yang Shiyun entered the cave, and Zhao Qiang had already heard the voices outside. Yang Shiyun looked at Zhao Qiang, and Zhao Qiang said, "She's really lucky." His tone was skeptical. So many people rolled down the slope and didn't survive, only Xiao Baihe was so lucky? Besides, she's acting too calmly right now, which is definitely not the behavior of an ordinary woman.
Li Hua then stepped out of the cave, trembling with fear. "Don't believe her. She must have killed someone and is now pretending to be a good person. Tell her to get lost and stay far away from us."
Zhao Qiang asked Li Hua, "Do you have evidence to prove that she killed someone?" The person who attacked Zhao Qiang last night is dead. Without a witness, there is no way to verify the facts. It is impossible for Zhao Qiang to kill Xiao Baihe indiscriminately. Besides, it is uncertain whether he can kill her with his current strength.
Li Hua shook his head: "Among these people, only she has a grudge against Section Chief Wang. Who else could it be but her?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Can this reason be used as evidence of murder?"
Li Hua fell silent. They had already seen the corpses on the ground outside. As for killing, Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun had also killed before. Now, in other people's eyes, they were nothing more than weak scholars who couldn't even kill a chicken. If the person who killed Section Chief Wang was really Xiao Baihe, then she could take their lives with the flick of her finger. It was wiser to keep quiet and save their lives.
Li Hua ran back into the depths of the cave with his head down, not daring to say another word, for fear of attracting Xiao Baihe's attention and being killed as well. This was not a movie shoot, but a real person dying, which was an extremely terrifying thing for ordinary people.