Free Web NovelChapter 187: Chapter 126: Wipeout, Killing the Enemy
The entire street fell into a brief, dead silence.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, his gaze hardened. Lu Chao sensed something was off.
A light breeze blew from the end of the street, sending a tattered newspaper skittering across the ground and into a trash can.
He looked up to see two blinding searchlights suddenly sweep toward him from the end of the street, a spot he had thought was empty.
He narrowed his eyes. Then, the roar of an engine erupted—like a beast roaring—as it rapidly approached.
In an instant, Lu Chao’s heart tightened. The mental enhancement from his Observation Method had sharpened his five senses, and his intuition screamed of danger.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he twisted his body and vaulted over to the right side of the black car, near the alley entrance.
The next instant.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!
The dense, continuous report of submachine guns rang out. Bullets hammered against the black car, making it clang and shudder violently.
Lu Chao dropped into a crouch, pressing himself tightly against the car.
His almost precognitive reflexes allowed him to evade the bullets, using the metal chassis of the black Sai Wei sedan to escape a fatal blow.
VROOOM!!
But the engine’s roar grew deafening as it drew near.
The black sedan, its high beams cutting through the dark, had driven all the way up and screeched to a halt by the roadside.
The windows of the front passenger seat and the back seat were already rolled down. Two men in black clothes and black masks were holding submachine guns, continuously pulling the triggers.
RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!
Muzzles flashed and guns roared. Dozens, hundreds of bullets poured out in a mad fusillade, nearly punching straight through the black Sai Wei sedan at the alley’s entrance.
The entire street echoed with the piercing sound of gunfire. Residents in the nearby buildings were scared out of their wits, hiding inside and not daring to peek out.
The commotion lasted for over ten seconds.
The street corner fell silent only when the two well-trained gunmen in the newly arrived car had emptied their magazines.
Grayish-white smoke drifted from the car, which was now riddled with bullet holes like a sieve. Lu Chao, hiding behind it, seemed to have been hit. He wasn’t breathing; there was no movement at all.
The two gunmen in the front passenger and back seats swapped in fresh magazines in unison, their eyes fixed on the Sai Wei sedan blocking their view.
With a silent understanding, a professional-level fighter in a suit stepped out from the other side of the back seat.
He wore a black mask, his eyes wary as he moved with light steps.
He held a silver, blade-like Fighting Weapon in his hand, intending to circle around the back of the car to reach Lu Chao’s position.
The man was clearly powerful, his black clothes stretched taut over his bulging muscles.
His lightened footsteps were almost inaudible as he inched closer and closer to the vehicle.
In a flash, Lu Chao was caught in a pincer, facing a crisis from both sides.
If he showed his head, the two submachine guns could shred him into a sieve at any moment. Meanwhile, the expert fighter flanking him was circulating his energy, looking as if he could cleave through anything.
And yet, in this seemingly inescapable situation...
BANG!!
The smoking Sai Wei sedan exploded with a muffled bang, as if struck by a ferocious beast.
The one-and-a-half-ton car body plowed forward, sliding across the ground as it shot towards them.
This scene was beyond anyone’s expectations. The professional blade-wielding assassin and the two gunmen in the car all stared, wide-eyed.
"Get out of the way!"
In that brief moment, the black-clad blademaster made his decision and dodged aside. The other two hastily ordered their driver to slam the accelerator and pull away.
And in that very instant.
WHOOSH!!
An afterimage flashed past, and the blademaster froze in place.
The long blade fell from his grasp, hitting the ground with a metallic CLANG CLANG CLANG.
"Ghh... ghh..."
He raised a hand, trying to clutch his neck, as garbled sounds escaped his lips.
The two gunmen looked back in horror. A set of marks, like those from a steel claw, appeared on the blademaster’s neck. His knees gave out, and he knelt on the ground, head hung in death.
"What the..."
The gunmen were stunned, unable to believe their eyes.
An invisible fear seemed to grip their hearts, making it hard to breathe.
The next instant, their vision went dark. A burly figure in a gray hoodie was standing by the open car window, blocking their entire view.
His calm, indifferent eyes looked down on them. He was staring right down their barrels without the slightest intention of dodging.
The two men’s faces stiffened, and they instinctively tried to pull their triggers.
THUD!!
Blood splattered, spraying the inside of the car.
Both men’s eyes bulged. They had each been struck in the temple by a single punch, their skulls cracking and caving inward.
THUMP!
Their lifeless bodies slumped sideways, one against the front seat, the other against the back.
"Th-this..."
The remaining driver, also dressed in black, turned pale and began to tremble.
He hastily raised the black pistol clutched in his left hand, trying to aim at Lu Chao and fire from his position.
BANG! BANG! BANG!!
The sound of gunshots brought a flash of joy to his heart.
But in the next instant.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
A metallic ringing echoed as several sparks flared up in front of Lu Chao.
A closer look revealed that his black python-skin gloves were unnaturally tough—they had blocked every single bullet.
Gleaming yellow slugs dropped to the ground one by one, making soft tapping sounds.
"M-monster..."
His pupils contracted. The driver in black completely lost the will to fight.
In his panicked terror, he tried to stomp on the gas pedal and escape.
But darkness fell before his eyes.
THUD!
The car body sank, as if pinned down by a humanoid beast, and the hood visibly buckled downward.
His opponent had leaped up and was now standing on the other side of the windshield.
The driver trembled, frantic and flustered, and he slammed his foot down on the accelerator.
But in that exact instant.
CRASH!!
The windshield suddenly shattered, sending shards of glass flying everywhere.
A right arm, clad in a python-skin glove, punched through everything and smashed into his forehead.
CRACK!
With the sound of splintering bone, the driver’s eyes flew wide open as he fell back in his seat.
The four well-trained fighters—gunmen and a blademaster—had all met their end.
The street returned to silence, with no other sound to be heard.
Inside the three black cars, over a dozen bodies lay slumped or sprawled.
Now and then, blood would trickle down a car door and form a pool on the ground.
For a moment, the night wind gusted, once again blowing the tattered newspaper from the street so that it slapped against a car window.
Lu Chao scanned the area, confirming there were no survivors.
THUD!
He leaped down from the hood of the car and sprinted into the alley.
In the gloom, the alley walls, stretching for dozens of meters, flew past him.
The killing intent in his eyes grew thicker. He ran at full speed, quickly bursting out of the alley to see the five-word sign for the "Ah Yue Chess and Cards Room."
Its neon lights flickered, incredibly bright, as if piercing all the surrounding darkness.
However, Lu Chao’s footsteps faltered, and he stopped in his tracks.
His gaze grew heavy as he looked around.
Bodies were strewn about the entrance and hallway of the card room, lying in disarray, one after another.
Some had caved-in chests, as if their hearts had been exploded by a punch, and were completely dead. Others lay face-up, blood continuously pouring from their mouths.
Lu Chao subconsciously lightened his steps as a suspicion began to form.
Wary and alert, he slowly entered the card room, carefully stepping over body after body.
The number of corpses on the floor grew. Shattered cybernetic implants were everywhere, their components scattered across the room.
A few people were even still howling in the corners, their legs broken, their arms missing.
Lu Chao finally looked up to see a figure sent flying toward him.
BAM!!
The man slammed into the wall by the main entrance, splayed out like a starfish.
Blood seeped from his eyes, nose, and mouth. With nearly every bone in his body broken, he slowly slid down the wall to the floor.
His once-fierce face was now a mask of terror. His wide eyes, unseeing in death, stared blankly. He had already stopped breathing.
"Liu Hong?"
Lu Chao recognized the Hall Master of the Iron Blood Gang.
His heart steadying, he looked up again, toward the main hall of the card room.
Under the glare of the incandescent lights, a dozen or so mahjong tables lay overturned on the floor. Not a single one was intact.
Blue and green mahjong tiles were scattered everywhere. The floor tiles and ceiling were covered in the scorched black marks of bullet trails.
Pool after pool of blood flowed across the floor. Dozens of bodies lay throughout the hall.
And in the center of it all...
Zhou Qiang was clutching a broken arm, sitting on the floor with his back against a wall. He was covered in splattered blood, his face a mess of gore.
As if sensing Lu Chao’s arrival, he looked over with a hint of vigilance, struggling to his feet.
At the same time, directly under the central lightbulb...
Chen Junhao, dressed in a black suit, stood perfectly still, his right foot resting on a corpse’s head.
CLICK!
A metal lighter flipped open, producing a spark.
He casually lit a cigarette and raised his eyes to look at him.
For a few brief seconds, their eyes met.
Finally.
"You kid... what are you doing here?"
