Chapter 3429: Combustion (18)

“Yeah, once the mission’s over, we’ll go find Miss Wu,” someone else chimed in.

The atmosphere had been tense all along anyway.

Ning Shu apologized. “It was wrong of me to say that. I’m sorry.”

She felt a burning sensation on her back. Zhu Yi had once shoved her forward. He had pushed her out just as the explosion went off.

Song Yi wiped his face. “I know what’s important. Let’s finish the mission first.”

He could hardly imagine a woman showing up in a place this dangerous.

This was a place crawling with terrorists, rife with conflict and constant criminal activity.

Wu Xianrou had no means of protecting herself, her combat ability practically nonexistent. In a place like this, where even women stepping outside had to wear black veils—

If she got caught, or worse, if she were raped or otherwise assaulted…

Song Yi quickly cut off his own imagination. The more he pictured it, the more horrifying it became.

Ning Shu sat cross-legged on the ground, silently reciting a Daoist scripture for the dead. In her mind, she said to 2333, “I want to give some merit to Zhu Yi. If he has merit attached to him, maybe he’ll reincarnate into a better family.

“Is that possible?” she asked 2333.

There was a moment of silence before 2333 replied, “I’ll give it a try. A world like this sees so many deaths each day. It’s not easy to pick out one soul from so many.

“How much merit do you want to give him? I’d advise you not to give too much. If it’s too obvious, it might attract something dangerous. Merit is valuable stuff, after all.”

Ning Shu wasn’t sure how much would be appropriate, so she asked, “What do you think is a reasonable amount?”

“Five points. Just enough to not draw attention. Besides, you all have blood on your hands—having some merit helps cancel out some of that karma,” 2333 suggested.

“Alright then, five it is.” Ning Shu opened her eyes and looked down at her hands. Her knuckles were covered in calluses. Every so often, she had to trim them off with nail clippers.

These hands were stained with blood.

But so what?

After a while, she asked 2333, “Did you find him?”

“Hold your horses. You try finding a needle in a haystack like this. It’s not easy for me to lock onto him,” 2333 replied impatiently.

The helicopter began descending. Old Two turned to Song Yi and said, “We’re here. First, we’ll meet up with the other squads.”

Song Yi took a deep breath and nodded, though his body was tense and trembling.

Ning Shu carried a child off the helicopter, and members from another squad came over to take the children into their care.

Song Yi reported everything to the commander, including the fact that the children had small bombs hidden inside their bodies.

“Now we wait to hear how the other squads’ rescue mission goes. If it’s successful, we won’t need to do a hostage exchange. If it fails, then we’ll have to propose one. Get some rest while you can,” Song Yi told the squad once he returned.

Everyone responded in agreement. Song Yi went to rest in one tent, while Ning Shu entered another and lay down on the bed to rest with her eyes closed.

She hoped the rescue would be successful. If not, they’d be forced into another bloody fight.

Ning Shu asked 2333, “Is it done?”

“It’s done.”

“Okay,” she murmured. The tent wasn’t very comfortable, and she drifted into a light, uneasy sleep. At some point, she felt someone outside the tent and immediately snapped awake.

She unzipped the flap and saw Old Two. “Are we heading out for the mission?”

“The atmosphere’s off. Looks like the rescue didn’t go too well. A hostage exchange is needed. Our squad’s being deployed.”

Old Two looked at Ning Shu with a heavy expression and said, “The squad commander’s emotions are unstable right now. We’ve got to stay sharp. Old Four is already gone. I don’t want to see any more losses on this squad.”

Ning Shu nodded. “I understand. I’ll be careful. How’s the squad commander doing now?”

“Not great,” Old Two replied while rubbing his eyebrows wearily. “He’s really worried about Miss Wu. How could she just barge in here so carelessly?”

Ning Shu said calmly, “I’d guess it’s a case of ignorance is bliss.”

The way a newborn calf wouldn’t fear the tiger, she was capable of even charging into such a dangerous place just to find someone.

After a while, Song Yi came over to notify them to assemble.

They were heading to a designated location to lie in ambush.

They needed to ensure the safety of the oil company employees during the hostage exchange.

All equipment had to be carried on their bodies as they lay in wait, drenched in sweat under the sweltering heat.

Sweat poured down in streams as both sides began the hostage exchange.

At a glance, there were tanks and aircraft in position. Beyond the soldiers in plain sight, there were also hidden snipers and special ops squads lying in wait.

The other side had the oil company employees restrained. On their side, they brought out a few children as bargaining chips.

One group of employees after another slowly made their way over, escorted by security personnel onto the aircraft.

They handed over the children, but with a nasty twist. As soon as the handoff was done, they hit the button. Boom, boom, boom—a series of explosions rocked the terrorists’ side.

That was the signal.

Ning Shu narrowed her eyes, locked onto her target, and fired. She got a clean headshot.

It wasn’t just about rescuing the hostages. They had to strike fear into the terrorists as well.

To provoke chaos and unrest, these terrorists, with their minds perpetually in a state of fanaticism, were capable of anything.

For a moment, gunfire rained down in every direction. Bullets tore through flesh with sickening wet thuds, erupting into bursts of blood.

Ning Shu could feel bullets whistling past her.

Song Yi led a squad in pursuit, issuing commands as they moved.

But Ning Shu could tell something was off about him. He nearly got shot several times.

He bit down hard, face tight with what looked like deep hatred, as he fired on the enemy.

He was fighting recklessly, charging ahead like a hot-headed fool, completely disregarding his own safety. It made everyone watching break out in a cold sweat.

The squad understood what was going on. He was worried sick about Wu Xianrou, who had come to this war zone on her own. He was desperate to find her.

Old Two grabbed Song Yi by the arm. “Sir, don’t chase too hard. That’s enough. If you push any further, they’ll concentrate their fire on you.”

Song Yi clenched his jaw and forced himself to calm down.

Ning Shu raised her rifle and shot a terrorist who had been aiming at them—another clean headshot.

“Sir, we’re on a battlefield. You’ve got to clear your head and lead us properly!” she shouted while racking the bolt and firing again.

In the midst of this battlefield, Ning Shu felt her body go into automatic mode. She shot, dodged, and shot again.

Every hair on her body stood on end. She couldn’t tell if it was from fear or adrenaline. The intensity made her body tremble uncontrollably.

She forced herself to stay grounded, following Song Yi’s lead, rifle in hand, pushing forward into the desert heat.

She had no idea how many people she’d killed. Her entire mind was focused on one thing: staying alive—and taking down the enemy.

“Fall back.” The order came through Song Yi’s earpiece. He relayed the command to the rest of the squad.

Someone in the unit had been injured and was being helped out, with an arm slung over a fellow squad member’s shoulder as they retreated.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.