At this moment, Li Zhongyuan's radio signal came again, and Zhao Qiang asked, "What's the situation? Have all the hostages boarded the vehicle? We should retreat, otherwise we'll be in danger of being trapped if those stragglers counterattack."
Li Zhongyuan's voice was somewhat urgent: "The hostages have rioted, and I can't suppress them here. Come and help quickly!"
"Damn it!" Zhao Qiang slammed the radio down in his hand, opened the tank hatch, and said to Yang Shiqi, "You lead the troops to continue the assault on the main buildings in the city. I'm going to check on Li Zhongyuan's situation!"
Yang Shiqi also cursed: "Li Zhongyuan is a bastard who is good for nothing and good for nothing. He refused to let them choose to attract the enemy's attention, and now he can't even handle the hostages. He's a pig. What can he do?"
Zhao Qiang leaped out of the tank. In the darkness, no one saw him soar into the sky like a large bird. He walked straight to the oil refinery and landed just outside the compound wall. Inside, gunfire and cries filled the air. There wasn't even a sentry post at the gate. If the enemy soldiers returned at this moment, Li Zhongyuan and the others would be trapped inside.
It wasn't that Li Zhongyuan didn't understand tactics and strategy; the key issue was that the situation inside was too dire. He couldn't spare any manpower to guard the entrance. A large number of hostages were climbing onto the vehicles against orders, with some Australians mixed in. Special forces members were trying to drive them off the vehicles, but the Australians, driven mad by their desire to escape, fought back desperately. The Japanese and Chinese, fearing they wouldn't be able to get on the vehicles, also joined the commotion. A total of eight trucks and armored personnel carriers had arrived, and half of them had their windows smashed. However, they couldn't fire on them because there were too many Chinese in the crowd; at most, they could only fire warning shots.
When Li Zhongyuan saw Zhao Qiang arrive, he said fiercely, "Zhao Qiang, we can't save them. Since they're so uncooperative, let's just leave them be and retreat. I can't let my team perish here because of them."
Zhao Qiang said, "Battalion Commander Li, we're in a bind. If we leave them in U City, the enraged Bazafi will definitely kill them all first. Can you take responsibility for that?"
Li Zhongyuan pointed to the chaotic scene inside the oil refinery and said, "Then what do you suggest we do?"
Zhao Qiang said without blinking, "Kill!"
Li Zhongyuan didn't understand: "Kill what? The garrison has already been wiped out by us, and the reinforcements that left won't be back for a while."
Zhao Qiang took a few steps forward. A lewd man in front of him broke off the truck's rearview mirror and used it to smash the car window. Just by looking at his face, you could tell he was Japanese. Suddenly, a machete appeared in Zhao Qiang's hand. He grabbed the man's head and swung the machete across his neck. Splattered blood, and a headless corpse lay on the ground.
Zhao Qiang, carrying the man's head, leaped onto the roof of the car and roared, "Kill all those who disobey orders and cause trouble!"
A Chinese man, holding a rock, swung it at Zhao Qiang on the roof of the car, yelling, "Kill this son of a bitch!" Zhao Qiang pulled out an electromagnetic gun from his waist and fired a bullet with a soft bang. The man who threw the rock was shot in the head, his brains splattering all over his companions.
Li Zhongyuan shouted from outside the car, "He's Chinese! You're crazy!"
Zhao Qiang jumped off the roof of the car. Two Australians next to him tried to grab the gun from his hand. Zhao Qiang stabbed and slashed with the machete in his left hand, and the two men fell into a pool of blood. He grabbed the rifle from Li Zhongyuan's hand and began to fire at the crowd, killing anyone who moved!
The frenzied crowd surged towards Zhao Qiang, wanting to eliminate this madman first. Zhao Qiang put the electromagnetic gun back on his waist, casually drew his compression gun, and fired a shot at the densest part of the crowd. The immense pressure created a gap of over fifty meters in the crowd, killing at least fifty people with that single shot! Blood splattered everywhere.
The noisy scene immediately calmed down. Zhao Qiang's frenzied killing shocked everyone, including Li Zhongyuan. He could kill enemies without blinking, but he found it difficult to do so when facing civilians. However, Zhao Qiang's cold-bloodedness was chilling. He could kill whoever he wanted, and he would never distinguish which country you were from if you did not comply with his wishes.
A small group of people were still inciting the crowd to continue stealing cars and fleeing for their lives. At this moment, Zhao Qiang's compressed gun finished its air intake, and with a bang, Zhao Qiang fired again. A wave of carnage rained down on the crowd in that direction, and the oil refinery fell completely silent. Only the sounds of fighting in the city continued. In order to tie down the enemy's forces, Yang Shiqi had to lead her team to hold on.
Zhao Qiang climbed back onto the roof of the vehicle. He glanced at the chaotic crowd below. The brave ones immediately crouched down. They had developed a conditioned reflex during this time, and would crouch down and surrender whenever they felt danger. However, there were still those who were not convinced. They quietly picked up the weapons of the dead guards on the ground and aimed at Zhao Qiang on the roof of the vehicle, firing.
Rat-a-tat-tat! The American weapons were quite powerful, and the bullets were aimed at Zhao Qiang, who was standing out. However, instead of Zhao Qiang falling into a pool of blood, the bullets froze in mid-air just before hitting his body! This bizarre scene terrified the shooter, who dropped his weapon. The bullets that had frozen in mid-air suddenly changed direction and whizzed back towards the shooter.
Ah! The man who fired the shot shouted loudly with his hands outstretched, his body shaking from side to side as he fell backward, blood gushing from bullet holes in his chest. He had actually shot himself to death—a truly bizarre event.
Zhao Qiang roared in English, "Anyone who still disagrees, keep killing!"
Everyone squatted down on the ground, heads in their hands. They were convinced; otherwise, they would be the next to die. This man would have no scruples. Even if he came to rescue a Japanese person, the person who had just been shot was Japanese, and he was a leader with little fame in Japan.
Seeing the opportunity, Li Zhongyuan gave an order: "Japanese and Chinese, step forward and get on the bus. The rest of you, stay squatting. No one is allowed to grab anything, or we'll kill them all!" Li Zhongyuan was desperate. Even if Zhao Qiang was the one who carried out the massacre, he was the commander and couldn't escape responsibility. So let them kill him. He couldn't let them cost him and his teammates their lives.
Under effective order, the boarding process was completed in no time. Although it was a bit crowded, all the Asian-looking people were managed to get on board. The eight vehicles, escorted by Zhao Qiang, drove out of the city. Along the way, they encountered some stragglers, but a few shots were fired and they were scared away. The entire management of U City was almost completely destroyed, and now no one was restraining these soldiers.
Zhao Qiang signaled to Yang Shiqi that the tanks would turn their backs to the retreating convoy and rush out of the city. Afterwards, Yang Shiqi would lead her men to abandon the tanks and chase after the retreating convoy on foot, using the tanks to confuse the pursuers and buy them as many minutes as possible.
As dawn broke, Bazafi emerged from the underground river where he had been hiding. The exit of the secret chamber had long since collapsed, so he took another underground river entrance. He was now outside the city, and looking at the city of U, ablaze with fire under the dim starlight, Bazafi was filled with unbearable anguish.
All the familiar officers around him were nowhere to be seen. He tried contacting everyone using communication tools, but there was no response. Finally, the soldiers who went to the city to check the situation returned fifty minutes later.
Bazafi asked anxiously, "How is it? What's going on?"
The soldier reported, "General, all the troops have been disbanded. I can't find a single organized unit or an officer. The city center has been completely destroyed. There isn't a single standing building left. All the hostages have scattered. Not a single one has been left."
Bazafi collapsed to the ground, dejected. He had painstakingly planned for over a month, mobilizing all the heavy weapons he had borrowed, only to find that they had not helped him but had instead brought him harm. The massacre of hostages? This time, it was he who was massacred. The message left on the anti-government armed website was not a threat; they had killed his high-ranking commander. If he hadn't hidden in the complex underground river, he probably wouldn't have escaped the massacre either.
An aide cautiously asked Bazafi, "General, what do we do? Should we go back to U City?"
Bazafi gritted his teeth and said, "No, U City is no longer of any value. The plan to attack K City must be abandoned. We need a force capable of dealing with that hermit. We cannot have peace until we eliminate him." In fact, Bazafi was not sure if the person who had turned U City into a mess was the Japanese hermit. He was just going along with what was said at the meeting that night, but his hatred for the Japanese had unconsciously increased.
Volume 2 [372] The Return Journey
"They are an international mercenary group, and their combat power is so strong that I can't believe it. We have rescued the hostages and are advancing along the road to the capital. We still occasionally encounter scattered anti-government forces, but they can no longer pose a threat to our team. They usually flee in disarray after only two or three minutes of fighting..."
After finishing her blog, Chen Xinyu sent back a video of the hostage rescue and a later interview with the hostage to the station. She estimated that this news would be enough to cause a sensation around the world. Thinking of this, Chen Xinyu showed a smug and proud expression, which made Yang Shiqi very uncomfortable. Women are all prone to jealousy.
Yang Shiqi said sourly to Zhao Qiang, "No wonder you worked so hard when rescuing the hostages. It turns out you were creating material for the beautiful reporter. You're motivated. Sigh, your family is going to be heartbroken. You big radish, you can't even stay still abroad."
Chen Xinyu defended Zhao Qiang, saying, "You're talking nonsense! Zhao Qiang really did it to save people; he wasn't just putting on a show."
Yang Shiqi already had a problem with Chen Xinyu, and seeing her so assertive, she naturally wouldn't back down: "Whether it's just a show or not, I know in my heart!"
Chen Xinyu said, "I know it even better, because Zhao Qiang is the most upright, selfless, and selfless person!"
Yang Shiqi said loudly, "It's none of your business who he is! You have no right to speak here."
Chen Xinyu said, "Whether I have the right to speak or not is not up to you to decide!"
Zhao Qiang suddenly turned around and yelled at Chen Xinyu, "Shut up! If you bother me again, I'll throw you down!"
Chen Xinyu immediately shut up and lowered her head, looking pitiful. Yang Shiqi was angry again, but this time not at Chen Xinyu, but at Zhao Qiang's attitude! You see, Zhao Qiang had always been kind and gentle to them, and would never let them suffer even if they had a huge grievance. If this trip to Africa ruined Zhao Qiang's temper, it would be a loss.
Yang Shiqi said to Zhao Qiang, "How can you treat a girl like this? What kind of attitude is this? Reporter Chen, how can you be so honest? You don't have any problem with his attitude towards you?"
Chen Xinyu said softly, "I have no objection. Zhao Qiang is doing this for my own good. I shouldn't have argued with you just now. I'm sorry."
Yang Shiqi said, "You can't be serious, he's scolding you for your own good?"
Chen Xinyu said, "Yes, he wouldn't have scolded me if I hadn't done anything wrong, so I must have done something wrong. I won't do it again in the future."
Zhao Qiang glanced at Yang Shiqi with a smug look, a hint of smugness in his eyes. So what if she's a reporter? She's still completely submissive to him.
Yang Shiqi rolled her eyes at Zhao Qiang: "I really meant well but ended up ungrateful, gaining nothing from either side."
Li Zhongyuan ran over and knocked on the car window. The car was moving very slowly because it was heavily loaded, and he was afraid that the tires would burst if it went too fast on the sandy road.
"Instructor Zhao, stop the car, I have something to tell you."
Driver Wang Jin braked the car, Zhao Qiang jumped out, and Li Zhongyuan asked, "Are you planning to take these Japanese with you to K City?"
Zhao Qiang remained noncommittal, instead asking, "What's your opinion?"
Li Zhongyuan said, "If we leave them behind and let them into K City, who knows what trouble they'll cause."
Yang Shiqi also got out of the car. She said, "If we only bring Chinese people back to K City, won't that arouse Bazafi's suspicion?"
Chen Xinyu followed and said, "Yes, that's not a good idea. Bazafi is extremely ruthless. Once he decides that the hostages were rescued by Chinese people, he will massacre the hostages in other cities under his control."
Li Zhongyuan said, "But if we bring these hostages back, then I can tell you that Japan will take this opportunity to establish a relationship with the president, which is something the country does not want to see! We must consider the big picture when we do things, and we must never only look at immediate gains and losses."
Zhao Qiang was somewhat troubled. He opened the map and looked at it, saying, "We won't go to K City. We'll turn right and go to the edge of H City. We'll release all these hostages and let them escape on their own. That way, nothing bad should happen."
Li Zhongyuan checked the information in the palm and said, "Okay, H City is not currently under Bazafi's control, and the government forces are also quite strong. As long as we give the country a message, the country will send personnel to H City to evacuate the Chinese, and then we will be able to sever our ties with the chaos in U City."
H City wasn't exactly close to our current location, but with a vehicle, we arrived at the outskirts of the city after 10 p.m. At Zhao Qiang's command, the hostages obediently got out of the car. Even if they were unwilling, they dared not disobey Zhao Qiang's orders. This man was ruthless and would kill anyone, so it was best to avoid provoking him.
Eight trucks sped away, and the hundreds of hostages looked at each other, before finally walking in twos and threes toward H city.
At dawn, the truck drove into K City. Li Zhongyuan got out of the truck and was invited into the presidential palace. He still held the title of commander, so he had to be responsible for communication with the high-ranking officials of S Country. News of the situation in U City had been received. The president was both happy and afraid. He was happy that Bazafi's attack on K City was hopeless, and his heavy weapons, which he relied on, had been destroyed. His newly formed cannon fodder troops had also been scattered. But he was afraid that Bazafi would not give up. Who knew what crazy things he might do next? He might send dozens of suicide bombers to storm the presidential palace. That would be bad.
In the private presidential residence in K City, Zhao Qiang took a refreshing shower. The room was already filled with food, which was breakfast prepared by the president for everyone. However, Zhao Qiang asked for dozens more servings, deciding to eat first and then go to sleep.
With a creak, Zhao Qiang had only taken a few bites when someone pushed open the door and entered. Yang Shiqi, wrapped in a bathrobe, tiptoed in. "Hehe, my bed is too hard, so I'll borrow yours for a nap. I'm exhausted from running around all night. You can eat yours."
Zhao Qiang ignored him. He needed to replenish his energy quickly. Although K City was relatively safe, he still felt unsafe without strong energy. Last night's battle had almost exhausted his energy. If it weren't for the darkness that made Li Zhongyuan and the others overlook the changes in his physique, it would have aroused a lot of speculation in that person. Zhao Qiang didn't want to let him know all his secrets.
As Zhao Qiang continued to eat, his stomach began to fill up again. He patted his belly contentedly and continued eating. Suddenly, the door creaked open again, and Chen Xinyu peeked in. Seeing Zhao Qiang surrounded by food, she chuckled, "You have quite the appetite." She then came over and sat down beside Zhao Qiang, handing him food. By this time, Chen Xinyu had showered and changed clothes; she was no longer the smelly beggar from U City, but a beautiful woman.
Zhao Qiang asked, "What's the reaction from the outside world?"
While tidying her still-wet hair, Chen Xinyu said, "Of course, it's a strong condemnation of Bazafi. The country even hired several foreign writers to write articles, subtly pointing out the mastermind behind Bazafi. Now, public opinion is pointing the finger at the Americans. This is the general trend. As for the specific trend, my blog and program ratings have reached new highs, and the station attaches great importance to my work. The audience is very curious about the mercenary team I'm in and hopes that I can reveal the secrets of this mercenary team, but of course, I won't do that."
Zhao Qiang praised, "Well done."
Chen Xinyu hugged Zhao Qiang's waist: "I do everything you say. I'll do whatever you tell me to do."
"What a loving couple!" Yang Shiqi came out of the bedroom; she couldn't possibly sleep after hearing the voices outside.
Chen Xinyu was startled: "You, what are you doing in Zhao Qiang's bedroom?"
Yang Shiqi said, "Why can't I? On the contrary, what are you doing in Zhao Qiang's room?"
Chen Xinyu said, "I'll accompany Zhao Qiang and report to him on my work while I'm at it."
Yang Shiqi said, "Me too." As she spoke, she sat on the other side of Zhao Qiang and put her arm around his waist. She could accept the relationship between Zhao Qiang and Xu Xiaoya and Hu Qian, but she was disgusted by the sudden appearance of this reporter.
Zhao Qiang did not show any embarrassment about his situation. He kept eating and talking, saying, "I estimate that Li Zhongyuan will receive instructions from above that the country will not stop supporting the government forces, but the long-term civil war has affected S country's oil output. It seems that the domestic oil price has increased for the second time. So the order we received should be to continue to assassinate Bazafi and end this war as soon as possible."
Yang Shiqi said, "This is not a good matter. Bazafi is too vigilant, especially after this incident, his whereabouts will be even more difficult to track. If he uses the other hostages he holds, we will be in a very passive position."
Zhao Qiang sighed; this was indeed a perplexing matter. Yang Shiqi asked him, "Don't you have any other ideas?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Yes, but it's too risky, and it could easily arouse the suspicion of your grandfather and others. I might be imprisoned by them as soon as I return to China."
Yang Shiqi said to Chen Xinyu, "Please step outside for a moment. What we are about to discuss is not suitable for you to hear."
Chen Xinyu looked at Zhao Qiang pitifully. If Zhao Qiang asked her to leave, she would never dare to resist. However, Zhao Qiang said, "Let her stay. She will be our partner in the future."
Yang Shiqi said unhappily, "Are you planning to push her out to control the media?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Why not? The war in Africa has given Chen Xinyu an opportunity, and we can't miss it. Although outsiders may not understand her reports, the country knows everything we've done here, which will greatly help your company's prestige. I think after a few more battles, the entire military leadership will know that our country has an all-powerful special forces unit. In addition, the higher-ups are intentionally trying to reduce the focus of Li Zhongyuan's unit, so they will definitely give you strong support!"
Zhao Qiang's analysis was spot on, and Yang Shiqi agreed. However, she still pointed at Chen Xinyu with concern and said, "But do you know her? Do you know if she can be trusted? Is it appropriate to let her know these important things?"
Zhao Qiang was somewhat embarrassed. He asked Chen Xinyu, "Can I trust you?"
Chen Xinyu nodded heavily: "Yes, I know that killing is a big deal to you. If I disobey, you can kill me at any time. Don't you understand how obedient I am to you? I am willing to obey any order you give me, even if you want me to die."
Yang Shiqi made a vomiting gesture as a reaction to Chen Xinyu's mushy words.
Zhao Qiang said, "Let's take a gamble. I trust you, but you must remember that nothing between us can be known to anyone else!"
Volume 2 [373] The Next Stage of the Mission
Chen Xinyu was so eager to know Zhao Qiang's secret that she made a solemn vow, which stopped Yang Shiqi from pursuing the matter further.
Zhao Qiang then continued the previous topic, saying, "Actually, their internal turmoil has nothing to do with us."
Yang Shiqi frowned: "I don't understand what you mean. With the chaos in S country, our country's crude oil imports are severely restricted, which is now causing domestic refined oil prices to rise. Isn't this none of our business?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Since it's the imported crude oil that's affected, then just resume crude oil imports. Why do we have to meddle in other people's internal affairs? Didn't we say that we will never interfere in other people's internal affairs? We mean what we say."
Yang Shiqi was even more puzzled, "How can crude oil production and imports be restored without interfering in S's internal affairs? You understand the current situation, so who can concentrate on production? And how will the produced crude oil be transported to the port?"