The yellow-haired youth whipped out his handphone and started to call a few numbers to confirm. One of the men who received the call was standing just right in front of the ferns where we lay ambush. He had jeans on and was currently by the river relieving himself. As soon as the call came, he hurriedly took his handphone out and chuckled, “Brother Sen, there is no movement here. Relax, I’ve been standing here for the whole afternoon and I have not even seen as much as a shadow.”
I took in a deep breath as I lowered my voice to speak into the walkie-talkie. “See that? Little Lie, I want you to equip your silencer onto your gun and take this guy out when Qian Ling’s team starts intercepting.”
Xing Lie nodded his head as he replied, “Understood! But Boss, this brat is only just a lackey on sentry duty. Is there really a need to take him out?”
I clenched my teeth as I said, “ Don’t harbor any feelings of pity for the members in Blood Scythe. In Blood Scythe, there is no one we should spare. I don’t want you guys to meet any accidents as we have lost far too many men already.”
“En, I understand!”
……
Captain Wang’s voice sounded over the walkie talkie, “Squad Leader Qian of Squad 1, prepare to move out! Squad Leader Li of Squad 2, stay in cover as you wait for an opportunity to strike. Squad 3, prepare Armor-Piercing Shells and aim them at the engine of the yacht. Wait for my orders before striking. I want this to succeed in one try and not give them any time or strength to retreat. The moment our operation starts, three Changehe Z-18 helicopters will reach our position in 5 minutes to provide lighting as well as reinforcements.”
As Xing Lie heard this, his face turned blank. “We are even using military helicopters for this? Aren’t we overestimating the strength of the scum from Blood Scythe?”3
I explained, “Blood Scythe has already caused so much disruption and trouble in Hangzhou and her surroundings. We should have made a move much earlier. All of you better be fully alert, we are not fighting against humans.”
Behind me, a few members who had just joined the squad looked at each other in dismay, as they seemed to have issues trying to digest what I had just said. However, they should have known about the existence of Artificials before they entered our squad. It was just simply that they had not witnessed the capabilities of the Artificials.
……
As I saw You Yi board the boat with roughly 20 men, I retrieved a MP5 submachine gun from behind my back. I held my breath as I looked at the commotion that happened in the distance. Winter was coming and with it came strong and extremely cold winds.
“They’ve moved…….” Xing Lie said through his teeth as he gazed into the distance.
True enough, a group of men geared in black could be seen following the reeds by the river as they charged towards the cargo ship. Amongst the group, Qian Ling could be seen leading the team in the front with a submachine gun raised in his hands. With this, I ordered, “ Little Lie, attack!”
Xing Lie immediately pulled the trigger. With a soft “pu” sound, the youth on sentry duty in front of us slowly collapsed onto the floor with a gunshot through his heart. Blood poured slowly out of the hole.
Xing Lie chuckled softly, seemingly satisfied with his own performance. “Boss, in 200 metres, my one shot penetrated his heart. This kid ain’t too bad eh?”
I did not respond to his comment, and still focussed my attention on that youth.
“Sha sha…….”
He squirmed a bit on the floor before he suddenly got onto his feet. His chest was covered with fish scales while his face turned sinister. It was as though he was possessed by a savage and wild animal, and continuously let loose deep howls with both hands on the floor. The injury on his chest did not seem to bother him as his eyes glimmered with the look of savage fury. He then let out a low growl before he charged towards me with his legs and hands propelling him forward.
“WHAT?!” Xing Lie shouted aloud, obviously stunned.
I extended my hand to cover the muzzle of his gun as I shouted, “Let me settle this!”
Equipping a silencer on my M9 handgun, I lifted my hand and fired a shot.
“Pu!”
After a soft gunshot, that youth’s head was penetrated by the bullet, and created a clean hole at the back of the brain with nothing but fresh blood pouring out. To be honest, I’m not very fond of all this blood-filled violence and killing but I really hate it when innocent people get hurt by these Artificials.
……
Upon observing this scene, Xing Lie could only stare on in shock. “Wh...Why? I clearly fired a shot through his heart, yet I still can’t kill him?”
“Aim at the head to destroy his brain!” I instructed heavily.
“Understood!”
……
In the distance, a sudden roar could be heard with the wind.