Zhao Qiang blocked the armed men who wanted to cross the sand dune to catch up with Yang Shiqi and the others, but he was powerless against the pursuers who came out of the valley. The enemy's formation was scattered, which was not Zhao Qiang's forte. Even if he could easily snipe the enemy from the shadows, how long would it take to kill hundreds of people!
After a brief period of chaos, Shagu dispatched a pursuit force of over 500 men. They advanced along the only road in several groups of vehicles. The first group had already been eliminated by Yang Shiqi and her team, but the subsequent groups were of even higher combat strength. A large number of infantrymen advanced while hiding behind the vehicles. Because their formation was scattered, Zhao Qiang couldn't afford to provoke them, so he put away his weapon and ran behind Yang Shiqi and her group.
When Zhao Qiang arrived at the sandpit, he saw Li Zhongyuan directing his team to set up defenses, presumably waiting for a pickup vehicle. To be honest, running on the sand was no easy feat. Even though he was wearing military boots, sand still managed to get into his shoes, making his feet ache.
Li Zhongyuan saw Zhao Qiang, and at that moment he didn't know what to say, so he simply remained silent.
Out of good intentions, Zhao Qiang still reminded Li Zhongyuan, "Battalion Commander Li, let's go, run as far as you can."
Li Zhongyuan said, "Forget it, that would exhaust my team. I'll wait for the car here; it'll be here soon."
Zhao Qiang said, "Alright then, we'll go our own way. You'd better watch yourself."
Li Zhongyuan waved his hand politely. He dared not underestimate Zhao Qiang at this moment. Just the fact that these people could move so swiftly on the sand was enough to make him take them seriously. Moreover, Zhao Qiang also had a gun with a retractable barrel hanging on his waist, as well as an egg-shaped pistol. Li Zhongyuan was very curious about its purpose.
It didn't take Zhao Qiang long to catch up with Yang Shiqi's car. He leaped and grabbed the SUV's rearview mirror, then stood on the side of the SUV, still on the running board. Yang Shiqi didn't slow down; the car continued to speed forward. Judging from the enemy's distribution on the way there, there shouldn't be much resistance along the way. It seemed like K City was just ahead.
However, Zhao Qiang quickly dismissed this thought of underestimating the enemy, because they saw a group of nearly fifty people ahead. This group had parked two vehicles across a narrow road, completely blocking the way, and had machine guns mounted on the vehicles, aiming directly at the two SUVs.
With a screech, Yang Shiqi slammed on the brakes, and the car behind her naturally stopped as well. Zhao Qiang jumped out and shouted, "I'll go take care of them!"
Yang Shiqi wanted to follow, but knowing her combat skills weren't very high, she chose to stay in the car. She was currently out of range of the enemy machine guns; otherwise, she would have been riddled with bullets.
Zhao Qiang leaped several meters into the air, a height of over ten meters. The armed men couldn't actually see him very clearly, especially since it was nighttime and they didn't have night vision goggles. It wasn't until Zhao Qiang was close that they realized something was wrong and began firing their flashlights at him indiscriminately.
Zhao Qiang dodged most of the attacks with several aerial maneuvers, and by this time he was within the range of the compression guns. Zhao Qiang smiled coldly and pulled the trigger. Boom! The two machine guns mounted side-by-side on the roof of the vehicle fell silent. Even the two vehicles were crushed into a clump less than a meter thick by the downward pressure. The gunners on top were instantly killed, their chests completely collapsed! Their heads had created a dent of more than twenty centimeters in the roof.
This shot terrified the militants. They couldn't understand what kind of individual weapon could crush a vehicle, and the gruesome deaths of the two machine gunners were chilling to behold. While they were still stunned, Zhao Qiang had already reloaded his compressed rifle, and using the momentum of his fall, he fired another shot.
The immense pressure forced several people violently into the sand! Their necks snapped into their chests, their thigh bones pierced their abdomens, their internal organs spilling out, and their feet sank more than a meter into the sand! Though they were already dead, their bodies hadn't yet collapsed; they lay there in the sand, eyes wide open.
Zhao Qiang landed. Guns weren't very effective at close range, so he brandished his longsword. Although Zhao Qiang wasn't particularly strong, the sword's sharpness was undeniable; he severed three heads in quick succession! The gushing blood turned the dark desert red, and the remaining militants, forgetting to fire, scattered in all directions.
Zhao Qiang used an electromagnetic gun to chase and kill several people, scaring the armed group away. Then, Zhao Qiang used a compression gun to overturn the car blocking the road into a ditch. Yang Shiqi drove up in an SUV, and the two vehicles continued on their way.
About three kilometers later, Zhao Qiang found himself blocked again. This time, there were no vehicles, but stones that had appeared out of nowhere and were piled up all over the road. These people thought that a few vehicles would be easy to clear, but stones one by one would be much more difficult. To clear a road, they would have to get out of their vehicles and move the stones, which would allow them to hide and shoot at him.
Zhao Qiang said to Liu Jia in the car, "Get the compression guns ready! Fire one shot after another, we'll force our way through!"
Volume 2 [354] Encirclement
Yang Shiqi's expression was somewhat solemn. She was thinking that there weren't many anti-government armed groups on the road when she came, but now two groups had suddenly appeared, which was very strange. Could it be that they were on their way to Shagu for pilgrimage?
There were about a dozen people next to the rock. They all used American weapons, but their clothes varied. Some of them were thin and weak, which showed that their living standards were extremely low. Zhao Qiang originally did not intend to harm them, but now was not the time for pity or sympathy. Since they had come to stop him and had become accomplices in the massacre of Chinese people, they were now on the opposite side and his enemies!
As the off-road vehicle drew closer to the rocks, the militants shouted loudly. They didn't have machine guns, but the combined firepower of a dozen or so rifles was considerable, though their firing range was limited. So, the leader didn't order the crowd to fire indiscriminately. They were waiting for the off-road vehicle to get closer, at which point they would unleash a barrage of fire to teach the enemy a lesson.
Zhao Qiang couldn't wait any longer, because if the other side fired first, the off-road vehicle would be in danger. If the vehicle was in danger, it would be difficult to walk out of the desert. Running shoes also have energy limits; you can't go as far as you want.
Zhao Qiang fired the first shot, a burst of compressed air shot out of the off-road vehicle, sweeping forward and kicking up a cloud of yellow dust. The militants were so frightened that they thought the other side had fired a strange weapon and immediately began to retaliate.
After Zhao Qiang fired the first shot, there was a gap of one and a half to two seconds. By this time, the compressed air mass had exhausted its forward momentum. He ordered Liu Jia to fire the second shot. Once again, a cloud of yellow sand followed the compressed air mass. The bullets that were fired at the front were immediately swept away along with the sand grains, as if a protective barrier had been added in front of the off-road vehicle.
After Liu Jia finished shooting, it was Xu Qing's turn, followed by the others. Even Yang Shiqi's compressed air gun was handed over to Zhao Qiang. With continuous, alternating use, the off-road vehicle was not hit by a single bullet. Although the speed was not very fast due to visibility issues, it quickly approached the rocks in the middle of the road. At this point, the shooting distance had reached the rocks, and the compressed air mass violently blasted the rocks in front of them. Some rocks hit the militants, while many more militants had already been blinded by the swirling yellow sand. They abandoned their weapons and fled in panic, while those who were a few steps behind were crushed by the compressed air and could no longer leave the place.
Zhao Qiang fired two shots simultaneously, and with a roar, the rocks were pushed off the road. The off-road vehicle sped past, and the armed men who had crawled out of the roadside ditch were in a sorry state. At this point, they couldn't even find their rifles, let alone pursue them. They could only stomp their feet and point in the direction the off-road vehicle had left, cursing loudly. The fact that their fallen comrades hadn't even left behind their bodies made them even angrier.
Liu Jia stroked the compression gun and praised it repeatedly: "It's really a good thing. Using it to clear the way is almost invincible."
Zhao Qiang reminded Liu Jia, "No weapon in this world is omnipotent, so don't rely on it too much."
Yang Shiqi said, "I wonder if there are still armed men blocking our way ahead. Why are there so many people suddenly appearing? There was no movement on both sides of the road when we came. Could we have been ambushed?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "Who knows? I always feel that Bazafi was killed too easily. The whole plan seems to have gone too smoothly, and the expected counterattack forces did not appear."
Xu Qing said, "No way, I think the success of the assassination of Bazafi is thanks to Instructor Zhao. If we hadn't planted the bomb, there would have been countless pursuers. If we hadn't had running shoes, we would probably still be with Li Zhongyuan right now. I wonder how they are doing. We cleared the way for them, which made things much easier for them."
With a screech, Yang Shiqi slammed on the brakes. As the driver, she was more attentive to the situation ahead than the others. Zhao Qiang got out of the car and jumped three meters into the air, eliminating the impact of the undulating terrain on his vision. Although the night vision range of the X-ray glasses was limited, there were situations where the night vision function was not needed, such as firelight.
With a jump from their running shoes, Liu Jia and others could reach Zhao Qiang's height. Four kilometers ahead, the torches, twinkling like stars, were awe-inspiring. From afar, the torches stretched out to cover the sky, seemingly spreading endlessly in all directions.
Yang Shiqi was somewhat terrified: "How many people are there? There must be at least one or two thousand. We're surrounded."
Zhao Qiang slammed his fist on the hood of the SUV: "That Bazafi must be a stand-in too!"
Liu Jia said, "Did he deliberately leak information about the meeting to lure us into a trap?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Pretty much. Someone as shrewd as him wouldn't be unaware that the government forces would send agents to assassinate him after receiving intelligence. If we could capture the government agents who assassinated him, it would be a huge blow to the government forces and a great morale boost to the anti-government forces. So we fell into their trap."
Yang Shiqi quickly regained her composure. After all, Zhao Qiang was by her side, and as the leader of the special forces, she couldn't afford to lose her composure. This was something she had to learn. "What should we do? Should we keep charging?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Of course we can't charge any further. The compression gun can't be fired indefinitely. It will reach the end of its service life before we can get out of there. Let's abandon the car and head to the left to see if we can get around it. Let's try to contact Li Zhongyuan and tell him about the situation ahead. They don't have running shoes. Once they're surrounded, it will be very dangerous. These militants have gone mad. They won't stop until they achieve their goal."
Yang Shiqi said, "If we didn't pity Li Zhongyuan, we would have let him charge into the encirclement and let him taste what arrogance tastes like."
However, their good intentions were thwarted, as the signal to contact Li Zhongyuan remained unreachable. It was unclear whether his equipment was faulty or the signal was being blocked by the anti-government forces. With no other option, Zhao Qiang had to give up. The ten men abandoned their vehicle and left the highway, beginning to walk on the sand. At this point, they were still quite a distance from the crowds who were conducting a thorough search along the way, so it was impossible for them to surround Zhao Qiang and his companions.
As dawn broke, Zhao Qiang and his group of ten were already standing in an unknown desert. Looking around, all they could see was a vast expanse of yellow sand that seemed to stretch endlessly. If they hadn't had a compass, they would have surely lost their way. Yang Shiqi tried to find fixed coordinates around her to determine their location, but she was disappointed because there was nothing but sand.
Zhao Qiang took out his notebook, and Xiao Wei had already shown him a detailed satellite map. There was no cell phone signal here, but there was still a satellite signal. Xiao Wei had integrated a satellite signal receiver into the notebook. It would be difficult to hack into other countries' military satellites, but it would be no problem to use civilian-grade satellite navigation.
Zhao Qiang zoomed in on the nearby satellite images and said, "Judging from the satellite scan five minutes ago, the area around Shagu is completely controlled by militants, and we are on the edge, where we could be discovered by them at any time."
Yang Shiqi said, "There's no one here except for sand."
Zhao Qiang said, "The militants control the roads, oases, and water sources. This is our Achilles' heel. To get back to K City, we have to pass through their controlled area, unless we continue to wander around in the desert. But we simply don't have any more water left in the desert."
Yang Shiqi pointed overhead: "Go around through the sky?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'm worried that the energy won't be enough to transport everyone back one by one. Let's plan a route and see."
Yang Shiqi sidled up to Zhao Qiang, and the two quickly discussed the plan. The closest city to their current location was U City. If they could take U City and find a vehicle, it would only take three hours to get back to K City. This plan was the most efficient.
Yang Shiqi said, "But the intelligence indicates that U City seems to have been under the control of anti-government armed forces for several days."
Zhao Qiang said, "We'll change into ordinary clothes, sneak into the city, find a vehicle, and then leave."
Yang Shiqi said, "Okay, Wang Jin, you take Zhang Junpeng ahead to scout the way, and report to us immediately if there is any situation."
Zhao Qiang took off his digital watch and handed it to Wang Jin, saying, "Follow the route marked on this watch. If you deviate from the direction, the watch will alert you. If there is enemy activity, do not alert them. Although our weapons are advanced and lethal, you must know that this is the enemy's lair. Their numbers are too great for us to kill."
Wang Jin took the digital watch, saluted, and said, "Yes, sir!" Then he and Zhang Junpeng set off ahead of time.
The scorching sun baked the earth, making the sand feel even hotter. Running shoes were sending out temperature warnings, highlighting the need for improvement in the equipment due to the harsh external environment. Ahead lay what used to be a gas station, now abandoned and used as a base by an armed group. Several dilapidated pickup trucks were parked in the gas station yard, and men with guns patrolled the area outside. They had received orders to search for fleeing enemy forces, and this gas station was a key point on the road to U City.
Having received advance intelligence, Zhao Qiang and his team crept closer to the gas station, finally stopping at a sand pile 200 meters away. Wang Jin and Zhang Junpeng had been lying in ambush there for more than half an hour. The scorching sand had turned their faces red and their lips were cracked from lack of water, but the two lay motionless on the ground, which was a basic quality that a sniper should possess.
"There are four vehicles and seventeen people on the other side. There should be communication equipment inside the gas station. They are carrying American rifles, as well as two rocket launchers. One of the vehicles has a machine gun," Wang Jin reported to Yang Shiqi, sharing the information he had gathered in advance.
Yang Shiqi said, "It's perfect that we can steal their car, then we won't have to go to U City."
Zhao Qiang drew a simple diagram on the sand, then pointed to the left side of the diagram to Liu Jia, the right side to Ma Dahong, and the back of the diagram to Yang Shiqi. The three of them took their orders and led two people around the sand dune towards the gas station in three different directions. Zhao Qiang stayed behind at the main entrance of the gas station. He was going to take the initiative to attack and attract the enemy's attention, while the other three would take the opportunity to storm into the gas station and wipe them out.
There were four people patrolling the gate, two on each side. The sun was so scorching that even a strong black man couldn't stand it. The guns were hanging down, and two of them were talking in their native language. They looked exhausted.
Zhao Qiang was too far away to use his compression gun, and he had to destroy the gas station's communication device with his first shot. Otherwise, if the signal was transmitted back to the anti-government headquarters, those crazed armed civilians would swarm in. Zhao Qiang decided to force his way into the gas station and use his compression gun to flatten it!
Volume 2 [Chapter 355] The Pursuit Continues
One of the black militants wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to another, "Hey, give me a cigarette. This damn weather is getting hotter and hotter, and we have to patrol under the scorching sun again. What bad luck."
Another Black man took out a cigarette, and the two of them lit one each. After taking a puff, the Black man advised his teammate, "Come on, we're lucky we didn't go to the Sand Valley. I heard that at least a hundred people died in last night's explosion. I don't know how those agents planted the bomb. It's unbelievable. Do they know how to become invisible?"
The black man asking for a cigarette said, "If only we could go back to U City, it would be our paradise now. General Bazafi has arrived, and it is said that he is building a new armed force in U City to attack the capital. As long as we take K City, we will be founding heroes and won't have to suffer like this anymore."
Before the other Black man, who was smoking, could react, a figure suddenly flashed past them from behind the sand dune, moving as fast as the wind. They were caught off guard and their eyes followed the figure to the gas station building. Then, with a deafening roar, a large hole was blasted into the two-story building. The remaining second floor collapsed under the force of gravity, crushing all the armed men who were resting in the sun inside! These two Black men should be thankful they weren't inside now.
Several armed men patrolling the gas station heard the noise and immediately ran towards it. But after only two steps, *thud*, *thud*, bullets struck their heads, scattering their brains and skulls. The four men guarding the entrance threw away their cigarettes, grabbed their rifles, and fired at Zhao Qiang!
Zhao Qiang used the recoil from the compression gun to propel himself backward again in mid-air. As he passed the black man by the door, he swung his longsword. With a thud, one black man's head was severed, while another was slashed by the sword and dropped his rifle.
Rat-a-tat! The other two black men finally spotted Zhao Qiang and fired at him. Zhao Qiang raised his arm to cover his eyes, and at the same time, his armor activated instantly. The bullets could only make a crisp sound when they hit him. He raised his electromagnetic gun and shot one of the black men in the head. He rushed up and stabbed the last one to death with his longsword.
Yang Shiqi and her group finished their battle much faster. Originally, there were only a dozen or so enemies, and several others were killed when they stayed inside the gas station to avoid the sun. Soon, Yang Shiqi and her group cleared the remaining buildings that might pose a danger and met up with Zhao Qiang. Liu Jia went forward to check the performance of the vehicles in the yard. Two vehicles were out of gas, one had almost no gas, and only one vehicle had half a tank left.
Zhao Qiang scanned the surrounding buildings again to confirm that there were no living armed men. He put away his gun and said to Yang Shiqi, "I overheard their conversation just now. It should be confirmed that the Bazafi we assassinated last night was a double."
Although Yang Shiqi had already guessed this outcome, she was still somewhat annoyed to hear it confirmed from the enemy. "Damn it! I wonder what the president will think when he finds out. My grandfather certainly doesn't want to see this result."
Zhao Qiang did not respond to Yang Shiqi's question, but said instead, "Bazafi should be in U City."
Yang Shiqi gritted her teeth and said, "Let's go to U City! We won't rest until we take him down."
Zhao Qiang said, "U City is an important springboard for Bazafi's attack on the capital, so it must be heavily guarded. According to the conversation between the two black men just now, Bazafi may have established another army in U City, and the weapons and equipment may already be in place. Therefore, U City is extremely dangerous, and you cannot go there."
Yang Shiqi said, "If we're not allowed to go, then what's the point of our trip to Africa? Isn't it to hone everyone's combat skills?"
Zhao Qiang said, "These are two different things. Training combat capabilities should not come at the cost of everyone's lives. We've been running for so long, and everyone's weapons are running low on energy. If you go, you'll only add to my burden."
Zhao Qiang can recharge his own weapons and equipment at any time, but he can't take care of others. So, it would be more harmful than beneficial for these people to follow him to U City. After all, U City is so big that they have no idea of Bazafi's exact location. And since everyone has Asian faces, they would arouse suspicion before they even get close to Bazafi. If they were surrounded by a crazy crowd, even if they had extraordinary abilities, they would have a hard time escaping.
Yang Shiqi patted the roof of the car: "Okay, Liu Jia, you take everyone back to K City. Be careful on the way. If you encounter armed men blocking your way, try to go around them and avoid conflict to prevent getting entangled. If you really can't go around them, find a place to hide first and wait until things calm down before returning to K City."
Liu Jia accepted the order and said, "Yes, Company Commander."
Zhao Qiang waved to Yang Shiqi and said, "You lead the team back to K City, and I will go to U City to continue the assassination of Bazafi."
Yang Shiqi looked reluctant. Zhao Qiang said, "Your combat strength is not as good as Liu Jia's and the others. I will still have to take care of you. Assassination and escaping are different, so I can't take you with me."
Yang Shiqi understood Zhao Qiang's meaning. When escaping, one can disregard direction and method, but assassination is different. Her combat ability was average, far inferior to Zhao Qiang's, and going with him might not be of any help. So Yang Shiqi quickly compromised: "Okay, be careful. It's inconvenient for us to contact each other, so let's agree on a two-day timeframe. You can meet us in K City then."
Zhao Qiang said, "Two days may be too short or too long for an assassination mission. Let's extend it by three or five days. It would be better if I could return earlier, so that we can have some buffer time in case of any unexpected events, and you won't have to wait anxiously."
Yang Shiqi didn't shy away from kissing Zhao Qiang on the cheek in front of Liu Jia and the others. Her lips were also chapped from dehydration, which made it even less likely for Zhao Qiang to take Yang Shiqi on a risk. Who knew if they could find food and water in U City? Wouldn't she just suffer if she came along?
Yang Shiqi said, "Come back safely. I'll be waiting for you. See you there."
The car drove out of the gas station, sped onto the highway, and headed towards K City along the route that bypassed U City. Even if they encountered dangers along the way, it shouldn't endanger Yang Shiqi and the others' lives. The protective suits that Zhao Qiang had put so much effort into creating couldn't be useless; bullets couldn't easily penetrate them.
In fact, these special forces soldiers only have a chance to show their abilities when Zhao Qiang is around. They are always overshadowed by Zhao Qiang's aura, which makes it difficult for them to demonstrate their strength and is not conducive to their growth. Even if Zhao Qiang did not assassinate Bazafi, he would have preferred to let them operate alone. If possible, he would secretly follow and protect them. But now, Yang Shiqi and the others can only rely on their own efforts because there are more important things waiting for Zhao Qiang to do.
Assassinating Bazafi is not only something the president of S country wants to do. After the video of the torture and murder of Chinese people was released online, it is probably something that Chinese people all over the world want to do. Zhao Qiang has no reason to let him get away with it! Moreover, the failure of the first mission after arriving in S country will have a negative impact on China's relations with the small African countries, failing to demonstrate the power of a major power and inevitably having a counterproductive effect on future cooperation. Once this counterproductive force manifests in the Chinese leadership, the responsibility will not only fall on Li Zhongyuan, but Yang Shiqi will also be implicated. They can be said to be inextricably linked now.
Zhao Qiang put the two guns back into their holsters, prepared dozens of solid bullets for the electromagnetic gun, stripped a set of common local clothing from the dead black man and covered his head, then adjusted the navigation direction and headed towards U City.
U City is an oasis city typical of Africa. Its outer edge is dotted with numerous oil wells, but less than a third are still producing oil. Even the oil produced cannot be transported to the port for loading. Internal strife has overburdened the country, leaving many citizens emaciated and unable to buy food, even if they have the money. Because there is little agriculture in the area, almost 90% of food is imported, and now, which businessman would dare to do business?
U City has a total population of about 150,000 to 160,000, which is not small. Otherwise, Bazafi would not have paid so much attention to it. However, the city's construction is extremely backward. High-rise buildings are almost nowhere to be seen. There are only low two- or three-story buildings, and they are dilapidated. There are only two crisscrossing asphalt roads in the entire city. The other roads are full of potholes. Fortunately, there are hardly any cars in the city. It is not that the citizens cannot afford cars, but that they are living next to an oil field but do not have refined oil to supply vehicles. This is a great tragedy. They export crude oil and buy back refined oil at high prices.
Zhao Qiang removed the clothes covering his head. He had already entered the city. Unlike Shagu, there were no checkpoints set up around the outskirts of U City. Zhao Qiang easily walked in step by step from the main road. Although some people were watching him along the way, he managed to fool most of them with the clothes covering his head. Even if some people lifted the clothes to check his appearance, Zhao Qiang, who was prepared, had painted his face black. Although this black was definitely not the skin color of an African, it was still unrecognizable as Chinese. Coupled with his fluent English, he really left the black people puzzled.