Chapter Ninety-Two: A Calm Escape

The four remaining agents quickly found cover nearby, and in an instant the standoff settled between Ning Zhiheng and them.

Meanwhile, Wu Quanjiang and the others had already run to the place where Ning Zhiheng had ambushed Zheng Mingshan’s men. What they saw was a field of bodies, every one of them shot through the head, blood and flesh a ghastly ruin, a scene too horrible to behold. They did not have time to look closely; instead, they hurried on, and soon vanished around the corner.

After holding the four men at bay for a while, Ning Zhiheng looked back and saw that Wu Quanjiang and the others had disappeared without a trace, and only then did he finally relax.

At that moment, he hesitated. Should he withdraw now, or hold out a little longer to buy Wu Quanjiang’s group enough time to escape?

After some thought, he decided to hold on a bit longer. To be frank, he did not place much importance on the four agents of the Party Affairs Investigation Office hiding behind the cover below.

Since early that morning, he had first gone to the Party Affairs Investigation Office safehouse and killed three of their operatives, including Zhang Pei. Then just now he had shot nine more Party Affairs Investigation Office agents dead in the street. From this, he had gained the impression that these operatives were far below his expectations in combat ability.

Bluntly put, their combat training was a good deal inferior to that of the men under his command.

They lacked vigilance while carrying out missions, their marksmanship in street gunfights was weaker than it should have been, and their ability to respond on the fly was even worse.

When exchanging fire with an opponent, their firing positions were poorly chosen, and their coordination was chaotic.

Up to now, the most serious threat he had faced had been that single shot from the agent just now.

By this point, Ning Zhiheng had formed a general judgment of the field operatives of the Party Affairs Investigation Office: they were considerably weaker than the action team of the Military Intelligence Bureau.

It made sense, really. The Party Affairs Investigation Office trained its field operatives itself, on its own training grounds.

By contrast, the Military Intelligence Bureau’s operatives were selected from among elite men in the army, tempered in the life-and-death struggles of the battlefield.

Even if Ning Zhiheng judged by the combat skills he had learned during his two years at the Army Officers School, those skills would not be enough to stand up to the men of his own action team.

What Ning Zhiheng relied on was the miraculous enhancement granted by the Bodhi Tree, which had improved his physique in a near-cheating manner.

Add to that his unusual premonitory sense of danger, and in battle it was like having a forbidden aid, greatly reducing the chance of injury.

So he did not feel that the Party Affairs Investigation Office’s field agents posed much of a threat.

Thus he decided to hold out a little longer and buy Wu Quanjiang and the others enough time.

The four agents hiding nearby were also terribly anxious. Wu Quanjiang and the other three had been blocked on this avenue, yet no gunfire had been heard until now; the street remained eerily silent.

By now, Wu Quanjiang and the others should have run into Zheng Mingshan’s group, and yet there was not the slightest sign of movement.

They already had a bad feeling in their hearts; Zheng, the deputy team leader, and the others were probably already dead.

The enemy in this attack was so formidable that even with so many men around Team Leader Zheng, their fate remained unknown.

And then there were the two comrades’ bodies beside them. With only four of them left, their strength was meager indeed, and today’s prospects were bleak.

Their hearts were uneasy, and their nerves taut to the breaking point. Fortunately, only one gunman had shown himself so far. Horrifyingly fierce though he was, at least they could still keep their footing. If more enemies appeared, then today they would truly have to die in loyal service to the party and nation.

For a time, the battle scene was strangely quiet. Ning Zhiheng was buying time, trying to give Wu Quanjiang and the others a chance to withdraw.

The four agents were buying time as well, hoping to hold out until reinforcements arrived. After all, this was Nanjing. In their eyes, they were the police, while the underground party were thieves. Once gunfire broke out, no matter which side’s reinforcements arrived, it would benefit them and do them no harm.

By then, they could no longer spare a thought for capturing Wu Quanjiang. What they needed to consider first was whether they themselves could survive.

Both sides wanted to stretch the time out, and minute by minute the silence dragged on. After about ten minutes, Ning Zhiheng, with his keen hearing, caught the sound of vehicle engines in the distance.

Bad. Enemy reinforcements had arrived.

There was no more time to waste. Compared with pinning down the enemy, his own safety came first. Besides, he now believed Wu Quanjiang and the others had already withdrawn safely.

He no longer hesitated. With a backward step, he vanished swiftly, his movements as light as a wildcat’s.

Only when they heard the sound of tiles scraping overhead did the four agents realize that the fierce, demon-like gunman across from them had gone. All at once, they felt an immense relief, as though they had made a round trip to the gates of hell and come back alive.

One of them let out a long breath. “Thank heavens, that monster’s gone. We’ve picked up a life today.”

Another agent hesitated for a long while before asking uncertainly, “Then do we still pursue them?”

The other three shot him a look, and he promptly shut his mouth.

Soon after, they too heard the engine noise of vehicles, and their spirits lifted at once. Reinforcements had finally arrived.

Very soon, several military trucks came speeding in and stopped at the intersection. Duan Xingzhou arrived with a large contingent of action personnel.

The moment he got out of the vehicle, he saw the four agents blocked at the street entrance and the two bodies on the ground. His heart tightened immediately. Something had gone wrong. If the arrest of Wu Quanjiang had gone smoothly, it would never have ended up like this.

His expression darkened. He strode forward and barked, “What happened? What’s the situation? Was Wu Quanjiang captured?”

The lead agent wore an embarrassed look. “Reporting to the team leader, Wu Quanjiang and the others were four in all. They tried to escape just now, but we forced them back. However, there seems to have been no movement from that side of the street. I’m afraid... I’m afraid Deputy Team Leader Zheng and the others may already be dead.”

“What did you say?” Duan Xingzhou was stunned. He no longer paid any attention to the half-broken remnant before him.

With a wave of his hand, the action men behind him quickly spread out and moved along the street to encircle the area.

Very soon, Duan Xingzhou was standing beside Zheng Mingshan’s body, his face livid. Seven men lay scattered on the ground in disarray, each with a bullet wound in the head, their faces covered in blood.

The horrific sight made some of the nearby action men go pale.

“Team leader, over here, Guo Ming is still alive!” a man behind him shouted.

At the cry, Duan Xingzhou hurried over. In the corner by the street, he found two action men lying there. One was already dead, while the other had been shot in the abdomen. Though his breath was faint, he was clearly still alive. This was the agent nicknamed Pot Head.

“Guo Ming, what exactly happened? Didn’t I tell you to arrest Wu Quanjiang at once? Where is Wu Quanjiang?” Duan Xingzhou asked urgently.

He had to learn Wu Quanjiang’s whereabouts as quickly as possible. Yet the Zheng Mingshan team that had been assigned to make the arrest had been wiped out; now all hope rested on the only survivor, Guo Ming.

Guo Ming, breathless and near death, said, “Wu Quanjiang tried to run. We chased after them. I was wounded in the exchange of fire. We were almost about to catch them when suddenly a gunman attacked Team Leader Zheng and the others from behind. So fast... so fast... Team Leader Zheng and the others were all shot dead at once! Wu Quanjiang got away too!”

Of course, Guo Ming would never say that he had been so frightened he hid in the corner and played dead, watching helplessly as the masked killer cut everyone down like chopping vegetables.

The scene remained vivid before his eyes, and he had been so terrified that he had collapsed in the corner, trembling. Fortunately, the gunman had been too busy to check. Otherwise, if he had casually put another bullet into him, this life of his would have ended right there.

“What? One gunman? Just one? Are you sure?” Duan Xingzhou could hardly believe his ears. That heap of corpses had been caused by a single shooter. These were no ordinary people; they were trained agents armed with weapons.

Absolute tactical specialists.

“Did you see his face?” Duan Xingzhou asked.

“No. I was hurt and a little dazed, but I seemed to see that the gunman had his face covered. By the way, Team leader, one of Wu Quanjiang’s men was injured and was carried away.”

Guo Ming suddenly remembered something and hurried to report it.

“Useless fool!” Duan Xingzhou cursed under his breath, then heard the latter half of Guo Ming’s words and felt hope rise again. “Someone was injured?”

He turned back into the street and issued a loud order. “Everyone spread out. Search for blood. Question everyone you can. If anyone has a clue, dig three feet into the ground if you must, but find Wu Quanjiang!”

An action man carefully lifted Guo Ming onto a stretcher, preparing to take him to the hospital for treatment. As he passed the seven bodies, Guo Ming said in a hoarse voice, “Put me down for a moment!”

The stretcher was lowered. Struggling, Guo Ming shifted his body and leaned himself against one of the corpses. Then he could no longer hold back the tears, which fell one after another. He clutched the dead man’s blood-soaked head tightly and sobbed uncontrollably, murmuring over and over, “I’m sorry... I’m sorry... Er Yong! Don’t blame me. I’m not human. I was afraid to die! I watched you go like this with my own eyes! Don’t blame me! But rest assured, as long as I’m still alive, I will find that bastard and avenge you. I swear it! I swear to heaven!”