Chapter 138 Massacre
To Ling Yun's astonishment, the general and the captain behind him were all wearing standard uniforms with numbers on them. Although he didn't know which squad's code name it was, Ling Yun knew that this army was not a fake, but a genuine army. And the middle-aged man with a gold star on his shoulder was a genuine general.
A general, leading an army, engaging in shady deals with a group of foreigners of unknown origin—just thinking about it, let alone seeing it, filled Ling Yun with utter shock. What kind of general and army would dare to take such a perilous risk and conduct such underground transactions? No wonder they were so secretive, choosing to conduct the transactions in the deepest underground locations, completely hidden from the light of day, so that even other forces in the underworld were completely unaware.
What kind of transactions do armies need? Arms, of course. This illegal trade, no less lucrative than drugs, provides private armed groups and terrorist organizations worldwide with deadly weapons. Every year, as many as half a million people die from attacks involving trafficked weapons.
The panoramic view quickly revealed the weapons in the wooden crate. In addition to guns and ammunition, Ling Yun also saw many new types of weapons that he had never seen before and could not name. Like the hidden cameras, such weapons could only be bought on the black market and were not available on the market. Ordinary people would have no way of knowing about such things.
Ling Yun inwardly groaned. Even if ten or a hundred times more people witnessed the military's underground transaction, they'd likely be silenced no matter where they went. Meanwhile, the general had already sensed something when Lao Liao and his group approached the main entrance of the underground cavern. He exchanged a few words in English with the foreign leader, then turned and spoke to several captains behind him. The captains immediately turned to their respective squads, gesturing rapidly and skillfully.
In less than a minute, all the soldiers in the panoramic view had stopped carrying ammunition. Each soldier silently rushed to the upper-level turntable, then uniformly took their weapons, lay in ambush, and turned off the lights. They waited quietly in the darkness for the intruders to enter.
The entire process was carried out neatly and efficiently, and remarkably, it was completely orderly and silent. Even the sound of footsteps was masked by the gunshots and screams of the thugs outside the main gate. Apart from Ling Yun, even the alertness of the young girl and Lao Liao did not detect the abnormality inside the cave, nor did they notice that the searchlights in the underground cave had all been turned off without their knowledge.
The crisp clicking sound that Lao Liao heard after shooting the last thug was the sound of soldiers who had been lying in ambush on the turntable pulling back the bolts of their rifles.
What a terrifying force! Ling Yun sighed deeply. With his keen eye, he could easily see that every soldier behind the general was no ordinary individual. While they might not be on par with special forces, they were likely elite reconnaissance squads. Moreover, the most terrifying aspect of an army wasn't individual combat prowess, but rather the seamless coordination developed through countless hours of training and disciplined marching. This tacit teamwork allowed a well-trained army to unleash terrifying power; no one could survive an ambush by such an army.
Besides, his side was just a mob.
Now is the time to leave! Is it really necessary to publicly demonstrate the ability to freeze bullets with a mental force field? Ling Yun wouldn't be foolish enough to expose his identity, especially when he's inexplicably caught up in a double-cross. Even if he had the time, he probably wouldn't.
He knew that things were unlikely to end well today. It seemed that every time he went out, he would encounter trouble, and each time the trouble would be bigger than the last. He didn't know whether he was lucky or unlucky.
The general's appearance clearly indicated that he was a powerful figure in the military of a certain region. Knowing the most private secrets of such a person would likely mean a life of constant turmoil. Fortunately, in the chaos, Ling Yun was confident that he had not been seen by the other party. As long as he escaped from this place, it would be fine. No matter how powerful his army was, they wouldn't conduct a full-scale search and arrest in the capital.
Before Lao Liao could react, his left hand suddenly felt lighter. Ling Yun had already snatched a Glock 18C from his left hand and also pulled two magazines full of bullets from his waist. The speed was so fast that this skilled veteran of the battlefield didn't even have time to react.
The next second, deafening gunfire resounded throughout the underground cavern. The fire from nearly a hundred AK47s was so intense that even a 1,000-watt searchlight could not drown it out, and the mixed echoes from the countless and continuous gunshots drowned out all other sounds.
The area where the lights converged was also the brightest. One could clearly see the crowd surging in, their faces contorted in agony, mouths agape amidst the hail of bullets, seemingly screaming something with all their might, but the deafening gunfire drowned out everything. It was as if they were merely staging a pantomime of desperate shouting. Each person's body trembled and danced strangely under the spotlight, shaking wildly as if in a frenzy, welcoming the impending apocalypse.
Every second, several, even dozens, of blood blossoms bloom on everyone's face, shoulders, body, arms, and thighs. If you slow down the camera, you'll see the bright red blood refracting in straight lines as it passes through the crowd. Bullets rain down like locusts, piercing through soft flesh, either remaining inside or emerging from another angle to pounce on another person.
The frenzied and brutal massacre, like a final judgment before the apocalypse, forced those on the verge of death to bleed to their last drop before finally succumbing. Some were already thoroughly dead, but bullets from all directions kept their bodies spinning on the ground, preventing them from falling. Others, however, had their chests and backs riddled with holes.
The young woman and Lao Liao were the first to react after Ling Yun. They had no time to be shocked or to express regret for their reckless behavior. Every second they wasted was a disrespect to their own lives.
Almost without thinking, the two ran in the direction Ling Yun had gone. Even in this highly tense and desperate moment, they were still extremely surprised by the ordinary boy's reaction and speed. From the surface to underground, this boy seemed to have been forgotten, hidden in the crowd. Only at this moment did he become alert like a leopard. The young girl and Lao Liao were not ordinary people, but just as the two reacted, Ling Yun was less than twenty meters away from the iron gate.
"Such speed!" That was the first thought on both men's minds after seeing Ling Yun's back. Even a 100-meter champion would be far behind in terms of speed. Old Liao was especially shocked; the other man had snatched his gun while fleeing, and he hadn't offered any resistance, not even a moment's reaction. Didn't this mean that killing him was as easy as eating and drinking for this young man?
Countless soldiers spotted Ling Yun and the fleeing Lao Liao and Xiao Taimei. More guns opened fire on the three. Xiao Taimei and Lao Liao quickly executed practiced evasive maneuvers, rolling, crouching, or advancing in a zigzag pattern. They had practiced these maneuvers countless times, honed through numerous life-or-death experiences that had saved their lives many times before.
But amidst the hail of bullets, all evasive maneuvers were essentially the same. No matter how fast you were, could you outrun a barrage of indiscriminate bullets? The two could only dodge while secretly praying that Lady Luck would work a miracle tonight and that they would be lucky enough to escape this ordeal through the gaps in the bullets.
A miracle did occur, but it was clearly not a gift from Lady Luck; it was entirely due to chance. Because Ling Yun hadn't made any evasive maneuvers like the young woman and Lao Liao, most of the gun barrels were pointed at this quick-reacting but completely clueless teenager. Countless fire snakes spewed out, all aiming at Ling Yun's back, leaving the young woman and Lao Liao with only less than a fifth of the scattered bullets. This is how Lao Liao and the young woman, who had tried their best to evade, managed to escape with their lives.
The people behind him had fallen silent, clearly killed in the hail of bullets. Some of them were indeed innocent, but under the army's guns, everything became insignificant; encountering them meant certain death.
Soon, the expressions on the faces of every soldier firing at Ling Yun turned strange. Some exchanged bewildered glances, shrugging their shoulders and spreading their hands in confusion. Others stopped firing altogether, instead carefully examining their rifles to see if the firing pins had deformed from the heat of the guns due to excessive firing, thus affecting the bullet trajectory. Otherwise, why couldn't the bullets hit Ling Yun no matter how many shots they fired, even though that foolish guy didn't seem to know how to dodge and just kept running forward blindly?
It was truly a bizarre and unbelievable event; it seemed impossible, yet it had indeed happened right before their eyes. Even the middle-aged general and several blond-haired, blue-eyed Europeans noticed the strange occurrence. The general's face showed a hint of anxiety as he leaned close to the ear of the European leader and whispered a few words. The European leader nodded, then turned and spoke to another foreigner, almost entirely concealed in a black trench coat. That man simply nodded and turned away.
Ling Yun dared not display his special abilities too much. He simply used his mental force field to deflect all the bullets that came from behind. In the panoramic view, all the bullets were like peanuts solidified in butter. Countless invisible silver threads of mental force field only touched the bullets lightly above or to the side, causing the bullets to lose their force and direction.
Chapter 139 Sniper Showdown
In the blink of an eye, Ling Yun was already in front of the iron gate. This iron gate was nearly twenty centimeters thick and heavy. There was no padlock on it, but the entire gate was completely welded to a stainless steel frame deeply embedded in the concrete wall, making it impossible to move. Ling Yun was puzzled, not understanding why there was a dead end here. If it was useless, they could simply block it with cement; why go through all this trouble? However, even though the wall was entirely made of concrete, Ling Yun smashed into it without hesitation, and it was definitely the concrete wall that broke, not his body.
Behind the iron gate was just an ordinary pipe. The panoramic view stretched to its end, and the pipe still didn't seem to end, which only surprised Ling Yun more. He wondered where this enormous underground world led. From the surface, the bar street where the Never-Sleeping City bar was located was in a bustling area of western Beijing. If this pipe was long enough, it might extend out of the city. Even underground, Ling Yun had a clear sense of direction, and it seemed that the pipe was still extending westward.
Behind them came a series of loud commotion and heavy breathing. A woman's anxious voice cried out, "Quick, young man, save us! If you can get us out of here, I will definitely reward you handsomely."
Ling Yun looked back and saw Lao Liao and the young punk girl practically tumbling and crawling to his side. Even though most of the gunfire was drawn to Ling Yun and the two of them kept dodging the bullets, they still couldn't avoid being hit by stray bullets. Fortunately, most of their injuries were just abrasions or bullets that pierced the skin without damaging their internal organs or bones. With their strong skills, they could endure it.
Ling Yun frowned. He hadn't expected that these two jinxes had also escaped. If it weren't for these two guys tonight, he probably wouldn't be in such a sorry state. What's even more hateful is that Old Demon was also shot dead by this little punk girl, making Ling Yun's intention to investigate completely futile. It's true that good people don't live long, while bad people live for a thousand years, Ling Yun thought dejectedly.
Suddenly, Ling Yun's expression changed, and he pushed the shoulders of the young girl and Lao Liao with both hands: "Get out of the way." As he spoke, he also quickly moved to the side.
A sharp sound suddenly pierced the air, followed by a loud bang. A large crater, about the size of a washbasin and a meter deep, appeared where Ling Yun had just stood. Flying cement fragments and pebbles struck the unsuspecting Lao Liao and the young woman like a dust storm, instantly causing them to feel a burning pain all over their bodies. They were covered in dust and dirt and were unrecognizable.
"Pfft!" Old Liao spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, which was full of dust and half a broken tooth, and said with a wry smile, "We actually have Barrett upgraded explosive sniper bullets. We're so lucky, we've hit the jackpot."
The young woman, bent over and panting, said, "I'm sorry, Lao Liao, it's all my fault for being too greedy and dragging you into this. It doesn't matter if I die, but it would be a real shame if you did. You still have a wife and children at home who need your care."
"Sigh!" Old Liao grabbed her arm and hid behind a protruding rock on the side of the door. "I'm so old, I might as well die. You're still young. As long as you follow that young man, you might be able to escape Shengtian. After you get out, bring some money to my wife and children so they can live a peaceful and prosperous life. Then I can die in peace."
The young woman chuckled, deliberately leaning into Lao Liao's arms, her still-bloodied hand gently stroking his chin: "Still thinking about your haggard wife? Aren't I younger and prettier than your wife? Don't you ever think about me?"
Old Liao stamped his foot: "What kind of time is this to be joking around?"
Ling Yun had just used his mental force field to deflect the flying pebbles and debris, and was about to slip away when his expression suddenly changed again. In the panoramic view, a silver bullet, clearly several times larger than the others, was hurtling towards him with pinpoint accuracy. It was so conspicuous under the searchlight; even as a single bullet, it was almost as powerful as a cannonball. It seemed that this was the very thing that had blasted a large crater into the hard, steel-like ground. Its power was indeed extraordinary.
However, even the Barrett-enhanced version that Lao Liao mentioned could not pose any threat to him. It's just that Ling Yun has no interest in testing the strength of a bullet with his body. The sudden appearance of a superman would cause a social upheaval, and the subsequent troubles could be far greater than his current prestige.
The enemy had a master sniper. The iron gate was over two hundred meters from their position, and the direct distance to the turntable was over five hundred meters. The sniper was able to launch a point-to-point attack on Ling Yun with pinpoint accuracy; his marksmanship was indeed excellent. Ling Yun suddenly thought of Su Bingyan, that cold and powerful girl. He wondered who was more skilled, this mysterious gunman or Su Bingyan.
A sudden glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he raised his pistol and fired a shot into the air.
With a deafening boom, a huge burst of sparks suddenly erupted in the air under the bright searchlight, as if something had collided and exploded mid-air. The sniper on the turntable suddenly felt a chill; wearing special effects goggles, he could clearly see that the direction the boy had fired was exactly the same as the direction he had fired—the angles were remarkably identical.
His eye suddenly twitched slightly. Could it be that the boy had seen the trajectory of the Barrett upgraded bullet he fired, and then used a regular pistol bullet to destroy the upgraded bullet? This idea was incredible. To be able to destroy a special bullet with a single shot amidst a hail of bullets—what kind of eyesight and marksmanship was that? It was absolutely beyond the reach of humans.
This seems impossible. But if it's not explained this way, then why did his second bullet go completely silent after being fired, and why did the boy remain quietly hidden behind another protruding rock, without any sign of an explosion?
The sniper shook his head, trying to forcefully banish the near-fantasy from his mind. As a sniper, his mind must be stable and rational at all times; to have a fantasy while on a mission was rather unusual. The sniper had never experienced anything like this before, and he didn't know what was wrong with him today.