Chapter 76
Chapter 76
The three of them dashed into the construction site. Lin Hao quickly got his bearings and said in a low voice, “Yuhui said there are two airdrop points. One is near the tower crane, and the other is behind the temporary buildings.”
“We’ll take the closer one first,” Qingshui said.
Keeping to the shadows, they moved quickly, following the drone’s silent guidance until they reached the base of the tower crane.
A conspicuous red parachute hung snagged on the framework, fluttering gently in the night breeze.
But the red supply crate that should have been beneath it was nowhere to be seen.
At the sight, the drone hovering overhead seemed to pause as well, as though its operator on the other end was equally stunned.
Qingshui frowned.
Had the Madmen dragged it away? Or… had other survivors beaten them to it?
“Next location.” Without the slightest hesitation, she turned around.
An Xiaolin and Lin Hao followed close behind.
The white parachute stood out starkly in the moonlight. It had landed in a narrow gap between two rows of tall prefabricated panels behind the temporary buildings.
An intact white medical case lay there in silence, the red cross on its lid clearly visible even in the dim light.
Qingshui signaled for An Xiaolin and Lin Hao to keep watch. Then she took a deep breath, softened her footsteps, and approached the case as silently as a cat.
Just as her fingers were about to touch it–
Something went wrong!
A cold metal cylinder suddenly pressed against the top of her head.
A gun barrel!
In that same instant, Qingshui’s instincts took over before she could even think.
Her left hand shot upward like lightning and clamped around the attacker’s wrist. At the same time, she drove power through her waist and right leg, twisting sharply to the right as she slammed her right elbow backward like a sledgehammer, aiming for her attacker’s solar plexus!
The entire sequence was fast, precise, and ruthless!
But her attacker reacted with astonishing speed.
The attacker seemed to have anticipated her counterattack. The trapped wrist jerked violently as a force far greater than Qingshui’s erupted. Not only did the attacker keep control of the gun, but they also twisted inward with the motion, turning the joint lock back on her!
At the same time, the attacker tensed their abdominal muscles and took Qingshui’s elbow strike head-on. They merely grunted, their stance remaining as solid as a rock.
The instant Qingshui’s movements faltered, An Xiaolin and Lin Hao realized something was wrong.
They raised their weapons at once, only to discover in horror that two shadowy figures had emerged like ghosts from the darkness behind and to either side of them.
“Don’t move.”
Two icy voices spoke in unison as equally cold gun barrels pressed against their vital points from either side.
The two holding them at gunpoint were a man and a woman, both seemingly around their age, their faces devoid of expression.
Meanwhile, Qingshui and her attacker had already exchanged two moves.
Qingshui’s heart sank. The attacker’s strength was far beyond that of an ordinary person, perhaps even greater than her own!
She immediately changed tactics. Using the force of the wrist lock, she slipped free like a fish and kicked hard at the attacker’s gun hand!
The attacker’s wrist went numb, and the handgun flew free.
But the attacker adapted with incredible speed. Their free hand shot out, not to strike Qingshui, but to seize the sling of the rifle hanging across her chest. With a powerful yank–
Snap!
The sling buckle broke.
The rifle went flying and landed among a pile of rubble several meters away with a metallic clatter.
By then, both of Qingshui’s wrists were still firmly trapped in one large hand, locking the two of them in a contest of strength.
Qingshui had now confirmed that her attacker was a tall, powerfully built man, and he was trying to overwhelm her with brute force.
A cold glint flashed through her eyes. There wasn’t a trace of panic in them.
She sucked in a sharp breath and forcibly dislocated her own wrists. The pain was excruciating, but it instantly narrowed the space his grip could control.
Slippery as an eel, she wrenched herself free from his grasp!
The instant she escaped, she ignored the agony in her wrists and lunged forward with the momentum. Her legs coiled around the man’s neck like a python, her calf muscles tightening as she applied force.
The man clearly hadn’t expected her to escape and counterattack in such a ruthless manner. His balance gave way, and they crashed heavily to the ground together, sending dust billowing into the air.
The moment they hit the ground, Qingshui used the fingers she could still move to draw the handgun from the holster at her waist. Without a moment’s hesitation, she pressed the barrel against the man’s temple as they rolled!
The man was about to struggle, but the cold muzzle stopped him short.
Qingshui’s gaze was icy, her finger resting on the trigger. All it would take was the slightest movement–
“Stop!”
A low, stern shout rang out.
A grim-faced short-haired woman in her thirties stepped out from behind a stack of cement bags. She held a handgun, its dark muzzle aimed directly at Qingshui’s head.
Qingshui didn’t even bat an eyelid. Her legs tightened further around the man’s neck, and his face began to redden under the mounting pressure. The gun pressed to his temple never wavered.
“Shoot.”
Qingshui’s voice was terrifyingly calm, carrying clearly across the silent construction site. “Let’s see which is faster, your bullet or my finger.”
The woman’s gaze instantly turned cold.
“Drop the gun, or I’ll kill your companions!” she barked again, shifting her aim toward An Xiaolin and Lin Hao, who were being held hostage nearby.
As if to prove she meant it, the young man and woman holding them at gunpoint shoved An Xiaolin and Lin Hao forward.
The two hostages were pale, but they clenched their jaws and struggled to remain calm.
The two younger captors bore a certain resemblance to the stern woman and the man pinned beneath Qingshui. They looked like a family.
Qingshui narrowed her eyes, her gaze darting between the woman, the two younger people, and the man beneath her.
She keenly caught the tension and concern they couldn’t quite conceal.
Concern for the man she had pinned down.
“Kill them.”
Qingshui spat out the icy command and pressed the muzzle harder against the man’s temple. She was betting on that concern.
“Enough!”
The man beneath her finally spoke, his hoarse voice strained. “Let’s make a deal. One piece of information in exchange for all our lives.”
Qingshui kept her finger on the trigger. “What information?”
“Exclusive intel. A matter of life and death.” The man struggled to draw a breath. “I’m a soldier. My ID is in the inside left pocket of my jacket. You can check it.”
A soldier?
Qingshui’s eyes flickered. “An Xiaolin.”
Understanding immediately, An Xiaolin ignored the gun pressed to her waist and hurried forward. She searched the pocket he had indicated and pulled out an ID.
She opened it, quickly scanned it by moonlight, then turned to Qingshui and said quietly, “Song Yunting. Major, Special Operations Brigade, 71st Group Army.”
Qingshui compared the photo on the ID with the dust-covered yet resolute face beneath her. “Talk.”
Song Yunting stared at her and enunciated every word. “Leave Xiangjiang Province immediately. Go as far as you can, as fast as you can. Otherwise, you’ll die.”
Qingshui’s pupils contracted slightly. “Is this about the earthquake?”
Clear surprise flashed through Song Yunting’s eyes. “You know?”
“Be more specific,” Qingshui pressed, though her heart inexplicably tightened.
A bitter gravity settled over Song Yunting’s face. “All I received was this warning. It was highly classified, and I can’t reveal the source. But believe me, this isn’t an ordinary natural disaster alert. Xiangjiang may be on the verge of becoming a living hell. Get to a safe zone as soon as possible.”
Qingshui’s mind raced.
After several seconds of silence, she slowly eased the chokehold. She also moved the muzzle away from Song Yunting’s temple, though she kept it trained on him. “Release my people.”
Seeing this, the stern woman slowly lowered her gun as well. The young man and woman holding An Xiaolin and Lin Hao released them, but remained watchfully nearby.
Qingshui rose from Song Yunting. As she did, she discreetly braced her dislocated wrist and twisted. It slid back into place with a soft click, not the slightest ripple crossing her face. An Xiaolin and Lin Hao immediately retreated to her side.
Song Yunting climbed to his feet and rubbed his neck, studying Qingshui. “You’re highly skilled, and your reflexes are even more impressive. You don’t seem like… an ordinary person.”
Qingshui ignored the remark and said coldly, “You took the red case.”
“We found it first,” the young man beside him interjected stubbornly.
Song Yunting raised a hand to stop him, then turned back to Qingshui. “Let’s make another deal. We still need medicine, especially acetaminophen, amoxicillin, loratadine, and rubbing alcohol. We’ll trade you a working handgun and two spare magazines.”
Qingshui’s sharp gaze settled on the stern woman’s abdomen instead.
When they realized where she was looking, Song Yunting’s expression shifted, and the woman pressed her lips into a thin line.
“A rifle,” Qingshui said. “Plus a hundred rounds of rifle ammunition.”
Song Yunting furrowed his brow, clearly weighing the offer.
In an apocalypse, a rifle and ammunition were undoubtedly far more valuable commodities. But… He glanced at the woman beside him and gritted his teeth. “Deal!”
The exchange proceeded in tense silence, with both sides remaining on high alert.
Qingshui had An Xiaolin open the case and remove the antibiotics and painkillers they wanted. Song Yunting motioned for the young woman to hand over her rifle, while the young man reluctantly passed them several boxes of ammunition.
Just as Qingshui’s fingertips were about to touch the rifle, and Song Yunting’s attention shifted for the briefest instant toward the medicine he was receiving–
Bang!
A gunshot erupted without warning! It hadn’t come from the rifle being exchanged, but from the handgun Qingshui had been holding all along!