She scrambled over the sea of corpses, crawling until she reached the other side of the pond and a waiting armored vehicle.
This vehicle had been parked by the pond all along, and she had retrieved the keys from a guard earlier. She climbed into the driver's seat, started the engine, and rounded the pond. Before she even had to call out, Nie Han had already hauled the blood-drenched Nie Zhao to his feet.
A person can summon incredible energy in a crisis.
Nie Han was only eighteen, a pampered young socialite. Nie Zhao weighed at least seventy kilograms. He was unconscious, and as any dead weight does, he had become impossibly heavy. Yet, Nie Han braced her back and somehow managed to hoist his entire frame up and drag him to the vehicle.
With that, things became much easier for Chen Rou. She pulled while Nie Han pushed, and though both were soon covered in gore, they managed to haul the equally blood-soaked Nie Zhao into the vehicle before Nie Han scrambled in after him.
Chen Rou shouted, "Comrade Song Yuanchao, your mission is complete! I’m going to provide covering fire—get in the car!"
Song Yuanchao had just seized two weapons—an AK and an assault rifle—but his ammunition was nearly depleted. He roared back, "Don't worry about me, girl! I’ll buy you some time—just go!"
With him laying down cover, the armored vehicles couldn't close in, but the reinforcements had arrived in a tank and were already loading shells.
If Chen Rou drove away now, she would be sacrificing Song Yuanchao, but it was otherwise a sound plan. To Song Yuanchao, it seemed like the only way.
However, since Chen Rou had dared to come alone to rescue the hostages, she naturally had a more perfect escape route in mind. She didn't know why Song Yuanchao was so incredibly loyal, even willing to sacrifice his life for a stranger, but this was no time for idle talk. She yanked the steering wheel hard and switched to her sidearm, firing at the oil drums.
As the bullets struck, a drum erupted into the air.
With another boom, it crashed onto an armored vehicle and exploded, instantly silencing the guns mounted atop it.
Song Yuanchao yelled in shock, "Holy shit, this girl is fucking incredible!"
Chen Rou fired again. A flying drum slammed into the signal tower. The tower shuddered, the massive rotating searchlight died, and the scene plunged into darkness as the structure tilted precariously to the side.
Inside the car, Nie Han had forgotten that her uncle was an unconscious casualty. Watching Chen Rou nail an oil drum with every shot, she clapped wildly. "Sister A-Rou, you’re amazing!"
On the rooftop, Song Yuanchao, still clutching his rifle, finally understood Chen Rou’s strategy and silently gave her a thumbs-up.
Chen Rou caught her breath and fired again. Another drum flew off its mark and smashed into the tank’s barrel. The tank, in the middle of firing, was jarred by the impact; the shell veered off course and detonated in the pond, sending blood-red water spraying in all directions. A human hand, mangled by crocodiles, landed on the car window, causing Nie Han to shriek.
The situation remained dire, as the tank was quickly realigning its turret to fire again.
Chen Rou slammed on the gas, crushing bodies beneath the wheels as she swerved to avoid fire and continued to shoot. There were three drums left. She took them out one by one. As they exploded, the listing signal tower groaned and finally collapsed with a thunderous crash right into the middle of the road, sending flames leaping into the air.
Every mercenary in the complex, including Ghost-head Chang, had reached the scene. But for a moment, everyone stopped firing, and all vehicles began to retreat. The three exploding drums had turned the area into a sea of fire, and the fallen signal tower blocked the path. They had no choice but to fall back.
Taking advantage of the opening, Chen Rou swung the car onto the main road, setting them up for a clean getaway.
A loud thud hit the roof of the car. She raised her gun, but a voice shouted from outside, "Girl, it's me!"
It was Song Yuanchao. He had leaped from the roof onto the vehicle and scrambled in through the window. Glancing at the raging inferno behind them, he remarked with awe, "Girl, you set those fires under the drums yourself, didn't you? Where did you learn a trick like that? That’s badass!"
One had to understand that shooting a gasoline drum alone wouldn't normally make it explode. But when there was an external fire source nearby, the chance of an explosion increased, and the larger the fire, the greater the likelihood. The flames would heat the gasoline, causing it to expand within the drum, while the bullet holes would allow the fire to ignite the vapor, triggering the blast.
But that alone wasn't enough, because the direction of the explosion would be uncontrollable—they would just fly everywhere. To make them go exactly where she wanted, like guided bombs—Song Yuanchao had never seen such a skill in his life. The technical mastery involved defied description, and he kept repeating, "Badass, absolutely fucking badass!"
The crisis, however, was far from over. Roads always have intersections, and if the enemy couldn't catch them, they would intercept them. Vehicles from the complex were already turning around, heading for other routes to cut them off.
Chen Rou asked Song Yuanchao, "There's a tunnel at the end of this road, right? What’s on the other side?"
Song Yuanchao replied, "The tunnel is three kilometers ahead. Ghost-head Chang has definitely sent reinforcements, but if we can break through, we can head to Pinili. It’s a small coastal town and not under Ghost-head Chang's control." He raised his gun and added, "The problem is, I’m out of ammo, and Ghost-head Chang has certainly already..."
Nie Han asked tentatively, "Sister A-Rou, are we going to be riddled with bullets?"
Without answering, Chen Rou slammed on the brakes and leveled her gun. A scrawny man stood in the middle of the road, holding an AK crosswise. "Song Yuanchao, please! Take me with you!"
Song Yuanchao opened the door and explained, "His name is Wandaozai. He was a laborer kidnapped just like us."
Wandaozai—so he was from Wandao. He was clever enough to swipe a gun and run early. He tried to get into the car, and Chen Rou allowed it, but immediately said, "Comrade Song, we can't pick up anyone else. We’re on a straight path; we’ll definitely arrive before Ghost-head Chang. Also, I destroyed the signal tower, so the guards ahead haven't been notified yet. We can catch them off guard, then..."
She had another 'then' to add, but before she could finish, Song Yuanchao interrupted, "We have ammo clips! Three of them!"
On the floorboard of the passenger seat were three AK magazines—the extended forty-five-round versions. Song Yuanchao had been most worried about running out of bullets at the tunnel checkpoint. Yet here they were, and judging by the straps, they had been in Chen Rou’s possession all along; she had prepared them in advance.
He grabbed a magazine and snapped it into his rifle. "Girl," he asked, "who the hell are you?"
This was a battle royale, a fight for survival. Song Yuanchao didn't know where Chen Rou came from or what she used to do. She looked tall, slim, and delicate, as quiet as a college student, but her every move—professional, formidable—left him bewildered.
Regardless, they reached the tunnel entrance in a flash.
There was a guard post at the mouth of the tunnel with lights on and two armed guards outside. Because the radio was down, no one had notified them that the hostages were escaping. They assumed the approaching vehicle belonged to their own side, standing there lazily with their guns hanging low. One was even waving a small flag, signaling for the car to pull over for inspection.
Song Yuanchao aimed from the side and took them out one by one. Chen Rou floored the gas, and the armored vehicle thundered over them, crushing the guards flat.
Entering the tunnel meant they were finally out of the kill zone—temporarily safe.
Nie Han was surprisingly composed. She hadn't wanted to distract Chen Rou earlier, but now she spoke up: "Sister A-Rou, my uncle, he seems... he seems..."