Bullets slammed into the cabin, sparking a chain of flashes. The man in camouflage peeked inside and quickly ducked back. A bullet grazed his scalp, leaving a fresh scar on his cap.
Bang, bang, bang...
The camouflaged man rolled across the ground in a flash of lightning speed. Six bullets chased after him, all missing by a hair's breadth. But that hair's breadth was enough—he successfully took cover on the other side of the vehicle. Reaching down, he produced a grenade.
He tossed the grenade into the cabin but hadn't even begun to flee when it was batted back out. The reaction inside was astonishingly fast.
Boom—
The grenade exploded mid-air. The camouflaged man, who had just managed to dive under the vehicle, nearly had the wind knocked out of him. The blast wave hit like a collapsing mountain. He slithered out from the other side like a gecko, now gripping a machine gun in each hand, spraying the vehicle indiscriminately. Bullets ricocheted wildly inside the cabin. With such密集 fire, even a rat should have been hit. But the camouflaged man wasn't taking chances. The instant his magazines ran dry, he holstered his pistol and produced two more grenades. With practiced ease, he pulled the pins with one hand. Just as he was about to throw, a deafening gunshot erupted from inside the vehicle.
The camouflaged man's combat experience was immense. Seeing the muzzle flash inside, he knew he was in trouble. He didn't even have time to drop the grenades; he hurled himself sideways with all his might.
Bang—A bullet hole appeared in the vehicle's armor, which could normally withstand普通 machine gun fire. The camouflaged man was flung over ten meters, crashing heavily to the ground. Li Juxu, covered in blood, scrambled out of the vehicle, pistol raised. He barely aimed when the camouflaged man rolled and vanished behind a low embankment in a flash.
"Damn it!" Li Juxu cursed angrily. He knew the vehicle's armor had absorbed half the sniper round's power, and he'd seen the thick body armor. Still, the remaining force hitting a person should feel like a car crash. An ordinary man would have died from internal hemorrhaging. This guy caught his breath in one second—inhuman.
This man's sheer toughness made Li Juxu realize his mistake. He should have grabbed the sniper rifle, not this little pistol. The rifle was too heavy; for speed, the pistol was handier. Thoughts raced through his mind, but his speed only increased. Regret solved nothing. Going back for the rifle was impossible. He charged up the embankment, firing two shots.
Two bullet holes appeared in the dirt. The camouflaged man was gone. An immense sense of dread enveloped Li Juxu. He didn't even have time to think; he hurled himself sideways.
Boom, boom!
Grenades exploded exactly where he'd been standing. If the camouflaged man had predicted his direction, he'd have been finished. The grenades blasted the embankment. Li Juxu lay prone in the lower ground, just outside the kill zone. His ears still ringing, his hairs stood on end. He rolled desperately.
Bang, bang, bang!
Bullets chased him. The first three missed. The fourth grazed his arm, tearing off a chunk of flesh. Li Juxu's body involuntarily stiffened—not from the wound, but because his thigh slammed into a protruding rock. The searing pain nearly made him black out. His speed slowed. Sensing disaster, he endured the agony and, relying on instinct, fired several shots behind him.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
He knew he hadn't hit, but it disrupted the camouflaged man's rhythm. The firing stopped; the man had taken cover again. Using the moment, Li Juxu repositioned, watching the other side of the embankment. He couldn't see the man, but he knew he was there, prone. If he showed himself, he'd be shot in an instant. The man's aim was terrifyingly precise.
Slowly crawling across the gravel, Li Juxu again regretted not taking the sniper rifle. Then an idea struck. He glanced at the vehicle, made a decision, took a deep breath, picked up a dark-colored rock, and hurled it with all his strength.
"Shit!"
He'd raised his gun, ready to aim, but as he threw the rock, the camouflaged man threw something too—a grenade. Li Juxu used a trick; the enemy used the real deal.
Facing death, a surge of power welled up inside him. He sprinted with everything he had out of the depression, launching himself into a leap. Before he landed, the explosion roared. The shockwave slammed into his back. Even through the body armor, his back went numb instantly. Fighting through dizziness, he raised his pistol and saw the camouflaged man's right hand—just as he was aiming—explode.
The mangled pistol, flesh, bone, and blood sprayed everywhere. It was the woman. His effort hadn't been wasted; she'd seized the opportunity. But her aim was off. A headshot would have ended it.
For an ordinary person, a blown-off hand would mean instant incapacitation from pain. But this man was professionally trained. He dodged the woman's second shot with cheetah-like speed, weaving in an S-pattern to evade Li Juxu's连续 fire. His own shots, though, all missed Li Juxu. Their magazines emptied almost simultaneously.
The camouflaged man had one useless hand. Logically, Li Juxu should close in for hand-to-hand combat. But comparing their physiques, Li Juxu wisely kept his distance. The man, however, suddenly accelerated, closing the gap in an instant. Li Juxu threw a lightning punch. The man blocked. Li Juxu's fist met not an arm, but a steel pipe—a solid one.
His numbed arm was deflected. The next second, a vise-like grip closed around his throat. The man's arm was like an Amazonian anaconda; Li Juxu suspected it could crush a tree in seconds. He clawed desperately at the arm with both hands, but it was like pushing against a car floored on the accelerator—no match. His throat tightened. Fighting the suffocation, he twisted his legs around the man's, trying to throw him off balance. Agonizing pain shot through him. The man didn't budge. Li Juxu's own legs felt nearly broken.
This wasn't a man; this was steel reinforced with钢筋.
His vision blurred from lack of oxygen. By instinct, Li Juxu grabbed the man's other arm—the one missing a hand. He squeezed hard. The man's entire body stiffened for an instant. The pain triggered a surge of strength; the arm around Li Juxu's neck tightened violently, almost snapping it. At the critical moment, a gunshot rang out. The camouflaged man collapsed heavily. The woman had arrived.
Li Juxu couldn't see clearly, but judging by the sound, the bullet hit the man's leg—which one, he didn't know. He only felt the man's body still wrapped around him as they rolled rapidly across the ground. The man's combat experience was immense; the rolling prevented the woman from firing again, unless she didn't care if Li Juxu lived or died. Considering their unstable relationship, his heart leaped into his throat. From her perspective, firing now was the optimal choice.