Zhao Qiang said, "He deserves to be killed. You can make your move once we reach our destination."
Yang Shiqi quietly handed the compression gun hidden in her bosom to Zhao Qiang, saying, "It's more useful for you to have it than for me to have it."
The group kept moving without stopping. Although they were exhausted, they kept moving in one direction and finally emerged from the dense forest that afternoon. Before them lay a vast river valley, crisscrossed by rivers and covered with aquatic plants. Occasionally, they could see schools of fish swimming in the clear water.
The bearded man pulled out a waterproof map from his pocket, examined it against the surrounding terrain for a long time, and then analyzed, "We should be in a valley about ten kilometers away from Mengta Valley. Crossing this valley will take us to Mengta Valley. Because we took a shortcut by accident, we were able to arrive on time. It was an unexpected stroke of luck."
Hongtashan frowned and said, "Boss, this valley already has a complicated water system. It just rained, and the water level has risen a lot. It's not easy to walk. It would be best to have a boat. It's very dangerous to cross on foot. There are crocodiles here. Those things eat people without spitting out the bones." Actually, Hongtashan didn't know whether they would spit out the bones or not, but his words were enough to prove that this valley was unsafe.
The bearded man said, "We'll start building the boat right away, set off tomorrow morning, and arrive at Muntadhar Valley by evening."
Yang Shiqi's foot was still swollen, and Zhao Qiang was extremely anxious. However, he was not a doctor, had no anti-inflammatory medicine on hand, and knew nothing about traditional Chinese medicine. Now, he could only hope to reach Mengta Valley as soon as possible and seek treatment there. So, Zhao Qiang became even more enthusiastic about building the boat, swinging the machete more and more fiercely. Although Yang Shiqi's foot hurt, seeing how worried Zhao Qiang was for her made her feel it was all worth it. She didn't even want this period to end too soon, because then the two of them would be separated.
Evening passed quickly, and night fell again. The sky remained overcast, without a trace of moonlight, which made the surrounding environment even more complicated. Considering the ambush last night, the bearded man sent four team members to patrol in each direction. However, Zhao Qiang still felt unsafe. Staying with them might mean being taken care of by foreign mercenaries tonight. Those people would definitely not give up so easily.
Zhao Qiang, carrying Yang Shiqi on his back, decided to find another place to rest, but Changmao stopped him, asking, "Where are we going?"
Zhao Qiang said, "It's too wet here, I'll carry her up to a tree to sleep."
Longhair said, "No, you'd better stay put or I'll shoot you dead! Stop playing games with me."
Zhao Qiang ignored him and continued carrying Yang Shiqi. Changmao's dignity was being disrespected, so he kicked Zhao Qiang's leg from behind, intending to knock him to the ground and let him taste the bitterness of disobeying orders.
Zhao Qiang was in a bad mood. He felt that his selfishness had caused Yang Shiqi to suffer. If he hadn't wanted to get revenge on the person who paid for his technology, Yang Shiqi wouldn't have been hurt. He should have taken her away after finding her. Now, Changmao dared to prevent him from taking his men to a clean place to rest. He was courting death! Anyway, they had already led the team out of the dense forest, and they didn't need them for the rest of the journey.
Zhao Qiang didn't make any move, he just opened the armor on his leg. The long-haired man kicked it as if he had kicked a metal plate. He jumped up with a yelp in pain and immediately opened fire with his gun on Zhao Qiang! Zhao Qiang's resistance was an excuse to kill him.
The bearded captain tried to stop him, but it was too late. How could Zhao Qiang be hit by an ordinary person? He had somehow acquired a shiny shield. The shield was long and narrow, perfectly positioned behind him. Bullets that hit it bounced off with a clang. Even after the bearded captain emptied his entire magazine, Zhao Qiang was unharmed.
Longhair cursed as he changed magazines: "Damn, there's even a shield to stop bullets? I'll keep firing!" In his anger, he didn't even consider how such a shield came about, when Zhao Qiang clearly had nothing in his hand just now.
The shield in Zhao Qiang's hand suddenly disappeared, turning into a longsword. The sword flashed and rushed towards Changmao. Changmao was inserting a magazine when his hand suddenly felt light, and blood spurted out. Half of his rifle and a hand fell to the ground, the broken pieces perfectly smooth. Changmao stared in astonishment at all this happening to him, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Unable to save him in time, the bearded man could only shoot Zhao Qiang, yelling, "You're asking for death!"
Zhao Qiang pulled out a compression gun and fired at the bearded man. The powerful compressed air deflected the bullet, and then the compressed air mass formed a huge compression wave in front of the bearded man's chest, which blasted the bearded man's body to pieces with a bang!
Hongtashan was dumbfounded. Things had changed too quickly. The eldest brother had disappeared from the world in the blink of an eye, and the second brother, Changmao, had also lost an arm. He was still staring blankly at his severed hand.
Hongtashan didn't know what to do. Should he attack the porter? But what was he holding? One moment it was a shield to block bullets, the next it was a sharp sword for attack. Who was he?
Longhair finally roared, "Ah!" It was a scream of agony, the piercing pain of his severed wrist! Zhao Qiang handed the compression gun to Yang Shiqi: "I didn't expect it to happen so early. It's your turn. Blast him to smithereens, preferably aim for his groin."
Yang Shiqi said, "You help me, I'm afraid my body can't handle the recoil from the gun right now."
Without hesitation, Zhao Qiang fired a shot at Changmao. Boom! Changmao, with his wrist severed, only let out a roar before exploding and disappearing. A cloud of blood splattered in the sky, stunning the team members who were staggering and preparing to rest. The incident happened so suddenly that they were completely unprepared. The pair of 'male dogs' who had just been trampled underfoot had suddenly turned the tables and become the masters, and quite the powerful ones at that. Had he taken some kind of magic pill?
Hongtashan knelt down in front of Zhao Qiang with a thud: "Brother, spare my life!" This man was always quite clever, and he surrendered immediately when he saw that things were not going well. Otherwise, he would probably have been beheaded by that suddenly appearing sword or blown to smithereens by that incredibly powerful gun.
Zhao Qiang smiled at Hongtashan: "You're quite smart. Have your men continue building the rafts. They must be finished by dawn tomorrow, or don't blame me for being ruthless!" The logging team had just stopped because everyone was too tired and needed to rest.
Hongtashan asked in bewilderment, "Continue building rafts? Boss, didn't you say you were going to take him far away? Are you going to cross the river valley to build rafts? It will be dangerous for you if you get to Mengta Valley!"
This man even knew to consider Zhao Qiang's feelings. Zhao Qiang said with a hint of approval, "As long as you follow my orders, your life can be saved. I went to the place you mentioned to find medicine for my friend; her foot needs treatment."
Hongtashan said nothing and immediately got up to direct the seven team members to cut down trees and continue binding the logs. However, in order to conserve their strength, he had to assign one team member to cook. Zhao Qiang had brought the rice and pot from the tree hole, otherwise they would go hungry.
Zhao Qiang found a tall tree nearby and helped Yang Shiqi up there. The tree had three large branches that formed a bird's nest-like gap, which was just right for Yang Shiqi to lie in. Even if there were snipers in the distance, they wouldn't be able to hit her in the nest.
The rice was cooked, and Hongtashan nervously brought over two bowls of rice, saying, "Boss, please, please eat."
Who wouldn't want to live? Zhao Qiang's ability to cut a rifle in half with a single stroke made him terrified! This wasn't just a porter, this was a death sentence. Hongtashan had considered escaping, but he recalled the ambush last night when the enemy suddenly retreated. He had picked up several corpses with bullet holes from long-range sniper shots, and he suspected that Zhao Qiang was the one who had attacked them. If he tried to escape, he might only get a few steps before he was dead.
With a bowl of rice in one hand, Zhao Qiang lightly jumped up a tree more than seven meters high, startling the Hongtashan cigarettes below so much that they didn't even notice. Now they were even more glad that they hadn't run away. They hadn't seen Zhao Qiang climb the tree before, but now they realized that the porter's strength was greater than they had imagined!
Zhao Qiang handed the rice to Yang Shiqi. He had monitored the entire process of making the rice, so it was impossible for it to be poisoned. Besides, the other team members were already eating. After Yang Shiqi took the rice, Zhao Qiang climbed down the tree again. He had some questions to ask Hongtashan.
Hongtashan was still obediently waiting for instructions under the tree when Zhao Qiang beckoned to him. Hongtashan immediately bowed and ran over, "Boss, what are your orders?" He had never been this respectful when Hu Zi was the boss. There was no way around it; Zhao Qiang was more than ten times more powerful than Hu Zi.
Zhao Qiang asked, "Who are you people?"
Hongtashan dared not refuse to answer: "Boss, we are the largest smuggling group in the entire border region of Y Province. Sometimes we also help traffickers with drugs. In order to avoid the border police, we opened up such a dangerous primeval forest road."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Why did the smuggling ring arrest Yang Shiqi?"
Hongtashan said, "The reason we targeted our boss's friend this time was because someone in Mengta Valley offered a high price—one billion US dollars—to exchange for your friend alive. Our boss was tempted, so he didn't hesitate to sacrifice our smugglers in several nearby provinces and used all the weapons hidden in the mainland. We were lying in wait near Factory 168 for nearly two months, and finally received news from our insider that the target would appear in Hedian District. So we mobilized our forces and rushed there, and only after paying a heavy price were we able to capture your friend."
Zhao Qiang said, "Inside man? What inside man? Someone leaked the information!"
Hongtashan said, "It's a one-way contact from Big Beard, but he won't tell us who it is."
Zhao Qiang felt that Hongtashan had no reason to lie to him. After all, Big Beard was dead, so he didn't need to be afraid of Big Beard's revenge. This insider was the one who betrayed Yang Shiqi's whereabouts, but who was it? And how did it know that Yang Shiqi was going to Hedian District? It seemed that Yang Shiqi would have to investigate herself after she returned. She should know who she had revealed her whereabouts to.
Zhao Qiang then asked Hongtashan, "What's the situation with Mengtagu? Tell us, especially about this big spender who offered 1 billion to exchange for Yang Shiqi."
Hongtashan respectfully replied, "Yes, boss. Poppies are grown in Mengta Valley, but its biggest role for us is not as a source of drugs. As you know, the mainland is now very strict about drugs. Although we also traffic, the quantity has never been large because the risk is too high. Moreover, the ex-factory price of Mengta Valley has been high in recent years, and the profit is not so abundant. So for a long time, Mengta Valley has been a transit point for us. Some smuggled goods are transported here by plane, and then we take them to the mainland and make a profit from the price difference. Some of these items are animals, some are cultural relics, and of course, sometimes they are transported from the mainland to other places. In short, we traffic whatever makes money."
Smuggling is something that can never be stopped, and Zhao Qiang had no interest in dealing with it. He just wanted to know the situation in Mengta Valley, so he urged Hongtashan, "Get to the point, I want to know who paid for it!"
Hongtashan quickly changed the subject, "Yes, boss, the person who paid to buy your friend, we all call him General Li. Actually, he's a foreigner, the ruler of Mengta Valley. He's not even fifty years old this year, and he has over five hundred soldiers under his command, fully equipped with light and heavy weapons. He's someone no one in the area dares to mess with. Even the local government's troops sent to encircle and suppress him were repelled by him. It's too dangerous for you to go looking for the medicine..."
Volume 2 [323] Fever
Zhao Qiang said, "This is none of your business, but it would be even better if you could draw me a floor plan and explain the firepower distribution and troop deployment."
Hongtashan said more respectfully, "I am willing to serve. I will continue to explain General Li to the boss and then draw up the map. We have always had a close cooperative relationship and I know him quite well. Although he is extremely cunning and scheming, he would never do scientific research on his own. Moreover, he could not come up with a billion US dollars on his own. In recent years, the money he has earned from us has been used to buy weapons and hire soldiers. Therefore, our boss guesses that he is doing this business for someone else. Because we understand the situation in China and have domestic informants and weapons, he came to our boss."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Then do you know who the buyer behind General Li is?"
Hongtashan said, "I have no evidence for this, so it can only be a guess."
Zhao Qiang said, "Speak."
Hongtashan said, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be a major country on the southwestern peninsula. I know that General Li has close ties with this country. Our boss also analyzed this point before daring to take on this job. Otherwise, if we exhaust all our personnel, informants, and weapons in the mainland, we would end up with nothing after all. After all, one billion US dollars is not something that one person or one group can easily come up with. Only one country can easily afford it."
Zhao Qiang said, "Why don't you say it's the United States? Does General Li have no dealings with the Americans?"
Hongtashan said, "Our buyer is definitely not an American. Boss, you're right. General Li hates Americans to the bone because he was once swindled out of a large sum of money by them."
Zhao Qiang asked, "Who were the people who ambushed your team? You should be able to guess, right?"
Hongtashan said, "I think they are American mercenaries. I think their goal is to prevent us from handing the person over to General Li. They want to snatch your friend from us. Someone must have paid them a high price."
Zhao Qiang waved his hand, "Go down. Be careful tonight. I think those Americans will definitely come again. When that happens, swords and guns have no eyes. Don't regret it if you die."
Hongtashan said, "Thank you for your concern, Boss. I'll go down and draw up a map of Mengta Valley and the configuration of the firing points for you. The timber rafts are almost finished, and they'll definitely be able to go into the water first thing tomorrow morning."
Zhao Qiang carried the sleeping bag back up the tree, worried that Yang Shiqi would be cold while sleeping at night.
Yang Shiqi only ate half a bowl of rice because her foot hurt so much that she couldn't eat. Zhao Qiang wanted to go to Mengta Valley early that night, but he couldn't move around with Yang Shiqi with him. If he left her alone, he was afraid that she would be captured by the American mercenaries.
Zhao Qiang silently finished his bowl and a half of rice. Yang Shiqi hugged his waist and said, "What's wrong? You're not happy at all. Now that you've taken control of the team's fate, why are you still worried?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Your injury can't be delayed any longer, otherwise I'm afraid you'll get a fever tonight due to infection."
Yang Shiqi touched her face and said, "Now that you mention it, I do feel my face is a little hot. It's probably because I got caught in the rain. It's just a minor cold, nothing to worry about. Don't treat me like a woman; I'm perfectly healthy."
Zhao Qiang smiled and said, "Stop bragging. You should get some rest. There might be a big battle tonight. Just stay here and don't move. I'll deal with the invading enemy and if there's enough time, I'll go to Mengta Valley to find medicine for you."
Yang Shiqi said, "I'm going to sleep first. Call me when it's time to sleep. Don't just leave quietly, or I'll be scared."
Zhao Qiang wasn't exaggerating. The American mercenaries were relentless in achieving their goal. Even if a few soldiers were secretly sniped, they wouldn't stop, they would just be more cautious. Following the trail left by the bearded man's team, they tracked them out of the dense forest. They still had nearly fifty men left, which they believed was more than enough to deal with that small team of only ten or so people. However, they didn't launch an attack rashly because they were wary of the hidden experts.
The team leader pulled out a high-precision satellite map and studied it carefully. Further ahead was the river valley. According to the scouts who had gone ahead, the bearded man's team was setting up logs on the riverbank and wouldn't be taking any action tonight.
The team leader said to the squad leaders around him, "Do you guys think we have a chance to snatch the person away from that sniper expert?"
One of the squad leaders said, "The key issue now is that we don't know who the real expert is. Otherwise, we can concentrate our firepower to eliminate him first, and then things will be much easier."
One of the squad leaders said, "I suspect that this expert is the bodyguard protecting that Chinese scientist. But I don't understand why, since he has already found his target, he doesn't rescue him but lets that team lead him towards the Monta Valley."
Another squad leader said, "Isn't that easy to explain? Maybe that team has already been taken into custody. He just wanted to go into Mengta Valley to find tools to leave this vast primeval forest area. If he were to walk back, the price he would have to pay would be very high. The information we received indicated that the Chinese scientist was a frail woman!" With the investigation of those who were interested, Yang Shiqi's identity was naturally no secret. Fortunately, Zhao Qiang had always kept a low profile, otherwise his identity would have been exposed long ago.
The team leader nodded and concluded: "Everyone's analysis makes sense. So let's talk about your tactics. We must succeed tonight, otherwise we will be powerless to help them cross the valley on rafts tomorrow. General Li does not welcome us, and his soldiers are not to be trifled with."
Several squad leaders offered their opinions, after all, they were all in this line of work, and they wouldn't have survived this long without certain skills. Half an hour later, they came up with a battle plan. The team leader said to the first squad leader, "Your task is the heaviest, but also the lightest. Just keep an eye on that sniper expert. I'm entrusting you with the ten best snipers in the team. You must ensure the mission is completed!"
The squad leader solemnly said, "Please rest assured, Captain. If all eleven of us can't suppress him, then there's no point in continuing this mission." This man was telling the truth. Analyzing the last battle and the number of people in the opposing team, there could only be one expert sniper among their team members. If eleven team members who were extremely skilled at sniping couldn't keep an eye on him, then this person's strength was beyond estimation. This mission would truly be a one-way trip.
Although the team leader was reluctant to hear this, he had no choice. He assigned a squad leader: "Your mission is to lead ten men to seize the opportunity and kidnap the female scientist for me. You must ensure her safety, otherwise our mission will still be considered a failure. Several brothers have already died. If we fail, we will not receive a single penny of compensation. Do you understand?"
The squad leader saluted: "Understood!"
The team leader said to the rest of the group, "We are responsible for flanking this team from three sides, and at the same time, we are also responsible for luring out that expert. Don't let me down, everyone. Give it your all, otherwise the gun in my hand won't just be used to kill the enemy!"
Hongtashan has now become the master of this small team, but he is not happy at all, because the real master said that the American mercenaries will definitely launch a sneak attack tonight. If they can't avoid it, they are doomed. Now it is like a do-or-die battle. After dinner, Hongtashan gave a pep talk to the remaining team members.
One of the team members quietly approached Hongtashan and said, "Boss, why don't we take a raft and escape first? Although it's dangerous in the dark, it's better than waiting here to die."
Hongtashan pointed to the big tree in the distance and said, "Why don't you go and discuss it?"
The team member said, "What are we discussing? Let's run away secretly."
Hongtashan said, "Alright, this glorious mission is entrusted to you. Try to escape tonight. If you can escape, we'll follow. Do you remember the battle before this kid pretended to be crazy and let us catch him? That group of American mercenaries suddenly retreated despite having the advantage. Later, we found traces of heavy sniper kills on the enemy's corpses. I suspect it was that guy who did it. If you suspect it, you can test the waters for everyone. Thank you."
Hongtashan's words frightened the team members, and no one dared to make any more suggestions. If they escaped as he said, it would mean death. Staying and with that man's help, they might still have a chance to defeat the American mercenaries.
Zhao Qiang lay prone beside the tree hollow, vigilantly observing the movements directly in front of him. The tree was in a pretty good position; if the enemy wanted to launch a sneak attack, they would have to pass in front of it. Otherwise, Zhao Qiang would have to keep turning his neck to look around, and if the enemy didn't know when they would arrive, he would probably break his neck.
Zhao Qiang touched the anti-gravity buckle on his belt. He had just repaired it, but he didn't know how long it would last. Although the humidity had dropped significantly outside the dense forest, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't malfunction again. He could only pray that it would help him. With it, Zhao Qiang's movement speed would increase, giving him a better chance of winning the battle.
Yang Shiqi had already fallen asleep. Zhao Qiang reached back and touched her forehead. Sure enough, it was starting to get hot. She had a fever, which was the last thing Zhao Qiang wanted to see. Recalling how well-equipped the American mercenaries were, Zhao Qiang actually hoped they would appear soon, because then he might be able to find antipyretics and anti-inflammatory drugs without having to go all the way to Mengta Valley.
The time on the digital watch was ticking away. During this time, Zhao Qiang kept talking with Xiao Wei, discussing improvements to the waterproof and moisture-proof design of the equipment, as well as future weapon improvements. This helped him stay more alert. Meanwhile, on the riverbank in the distance, Hongtashan had assigned three shifts of men to keep watch. Those who weren't on duty knew there would be danger at night, but after walking all night and a whole day, and then cutting down trees to make rafts in the evening, they were exhausted and fell asleep as soon as they lay down.
Around midnight, Yang Shiqi talked in her sleep for a long time, probably because her fever made her head a little fuzzy. Zhao Qiang gave her some water and then continued to wait patiently. The closer it got to this moment, the more he reminded himself not to be impatient. This was the benefit of the super biochip. If it were an ordinary person, their brain would naturally become flustered and lose its composure.
The X-ray glasses scanned the area every half minute, analyzed the data, and presented it to Zhao Qiang's brain. Finally, movement appeared in his field of vision! Judging from the scanned images, there were about twenty people slowly approaching. However, the X-ray glasses could not scan at greater distances using night vision mode. It was not omnipotent; its function had limitations.
Zhao Qiang raised the electromagnetic gun with its extended barrel. In reality, it was a heavy sniper rifle. The accelerated bullets had a penetrating power exceeding that of any sniper rifle in the world. Few people could escape at that speed.
Zhao Qiang couldn't identify which mercenary captain was leading the group. His gun could only sustain five shots in the first volley, and he estimated that it would be difficult to kill anyone else with it after that, because the enemy would definitely lock onto his position within those five shots. This wasn't the battle from last night, when the American mercenaries were fighting against the bearded man, so they weren't very vigilant about what was behind them. But now they had already suffered a loss and were launching another sneak attack. Zhao Qiang's idea of eliminating them one by one with his electromagnetic gun without them noticing was just wishful thinking.
Volume 2 [324] Battle
Zhao Qiang secretly slipped down from the tree. He couldn't snipe the American mercenaries from the tree, because the enemy snipers would find the tree based on the direction the bullets came from, and Yang Shiqi would be in danger if she stayed up there.
He gently nudged Hongtashan, who was still dazed. Because of his low-lying position on the riverbank, the attackers couldn't see him yet. Zhao Qiang lowered his voice and said, "Don't make a sound. The American mercenaries are here. Tell your men to prepare for battle. Don't fire randomly before you hear any gunfire. You have limited bullets, so fire with a target. Do you understand?"
Hongtashan rubbed his eyes and nodded: "I understand, so where are you going?"