EM 58. Deadlock

Song Feng narrowed his eyes. The convoy was moving fast and would be within range soon. Everyone stood up at once, grabbed their weapons, and took defensive positions. Xiao Mingxuan climbed into the truck bed, raised his sniper rifle, and peered through the scope.

“Four vehicles. No heavy machine guns.”

There were no mounted guns, which meant they probably weren’t from the base. Those men would still be regrouping and deciding whether or not to pursue. If they did give chase, they would likely be misled by the decoy jeep and head in the wrong direction. Even if they turned back halfway, it would take them much longer to catch up, especially since they didn’t know the route Song Feng’s group had taken.

Everyone let out a breath of relief, but before they could fully relax, Xiao Mingxuan added, “One of the jeeps is open-topped. There’s someone on it we know.”

While he continued to observe, Duan Qing stepped up beside him, raised his gun, and confirmed. “Yeah. That’s the guy whose motorcycle we just stole the gas from.”

All eyes turned to Boss Kang. He adjusted his glasses. “What goes around comes around. Should’ve seen it coming.”

“…”

Boss Kang gave a small sigh. “I should have known. That road cuts through Golden Crescent territory. If he was coming from that direction, his background was probably questionable. Should’ve just killed him. But if I’d told you to shoot him based on a hunch, you probably wouldn’t have gone through with it.”

No one answered. Bai Xuyao looked completely innocent as he spoke. “Boss, you could’ve just killed him yourself.”

“And what would you all think of me afterward?” Boss Kang replied seriously. “Image matters. I’m still your boss.”

Bai Xuyao reminded him kindly, “You already don’t have an image. Thanks.”

“That still beats randomly murdering civilians,” Boss Kang said. “I underestimated him. I had a feeling he wasn’t clean, but I didn’t think he’d be able to call in help this quickly. Still, it’s just as well. Rob them too. A small-time punk like that won’t have any real backup. None of them look like decent people anyway. Wipe them out now so we don’t have to deal with trouble later.”

Xiao Mingxuan and Duan Qing raised their rifles. They had already locked in their aim, and the ground here was stable, nothing like the previous bumpy road. From this distance, taking a shot was no problem. Both snipers pulled the trigger. Two drivers’ heads exploded on the spot. Their vehicles, still moving at full speed, swerved erratically until the men in the passenger seats reached over to grab the wheel.

Xiao Mingxuan and Duan Qing kept firing. Two more heads burst apart. The jeeps lost control completely. One slammed into the other. The force sent one vehicle flipping off the road. It rolled twice before coming to a stop.

The two remaining jeeps skidded to a halt. Instead of retreating, the passengers jumped out and took cover behind the vehicles. Xiao Mingxuan and Duan Qing watched closely for a while.

“No good,” Xiao Mingxuan said. “Can’t see a thing.”

Boss Kang stared off into the distance. They were roughly eight hundred meters away. The area around them was wide open. Charging forward would be suicide. The enemy had cover. If they advanced, they’d be shot before they got close.

This was going to be a problem. Were they going to end up stuck here?

Bai Xuyao asked cautiously, “Are they waiting for reinforcements?”

Song Feng had already climbed down from the truck when Duan Qing got in. Standing on the ground, he narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. A bad feeling crept over him. “That’s not likely. I think it’s more like—” Before he could finish, a thunderous blast erupted nearby. Dust and sand exploded three meters into the air, and the ground shook violently.

The sudden blast changed everyone’s expression. Another shell followed immediately. They scrambled for cover and hit the ground. The explosion landed close, and dirt sprayed over them in a heavy wave. Song Feng shook his head, spat out the grit, and muttered, “Shit. I was right. Mortars.”

The others understood at once. Mortars were essentially tubes with a baseplate and a sight, small enough to carry by hand and simple to operate. Boss Kang pushed up his glasses and spoke in a low voice from where he lay flat. “These things are easy to produce in large numbers. They’re cheap, too. The base had ordered ten from me. I worried they might use them on us, so I told them we were out of stock and didn’t let my men bring them over.”

Everyone shouted in unison. “If we don’t have them in the truck, then shut up already!”

They barely finished the sentence before another shell came flying in. This one landed right next to the right side of the truck. The impact flipped the entire vehicle with a crash.

Song Feng’s heart dropped. The truck was full of heavy weapon crates. If any of that landed on someone, it would crush them. He immediately sprinted back. “Xiao Mingxuan!”

The air was thick with dust, visibility reduced to nothing. After just a few steps, Wei Xiaoyan caught up behind him and shoved him flat. Another blast detonated nearby. Dirt rained down again.

Song Feng lifted his head and shouted, “Xiao Mingxuan, if you’re alive, you better fucking answer me!”

“I’m fine.” The voice came from ahead.

Relief hit Song Feng all at once. He turned to Wei Xiaoyan and asked, “What about Duan Qing?”

“He’s alright too.”

The sand and grit in the air soon settled, and their line of sight began to clear. They saw both men lying on the ground. They had clearly jumped clear at the last second when the truck flipped. Duan Qing’s gaze met Wei Xiaoyan’s across the smoke. Wei Xiaoyan pressed his lips together but said nothing.

Song Feng glanced at Xiao Mingxuan and, seeing he was unhurt, turned back to guard the boss. Bai Xuyao was already there, shaking Boss Kang furiously and shouting, “Didn’t you say that punk wouldn’t have any real backup? Then what the hell is this? Huh? What is this?! I almost got blasted into fucking meat paste!”

“In theory, that should’ve been true. How could this have happened?” Boss Kang slapped his hand away and stayed low to the ground. He paused and listened. “They’ve stopped shooting?”

Xiao Mingxuan looked up. A few figures were visible behind the vehicles, clearly watching them. He ducked down again. “Report casualties.”

“Three. Minor injuries.”

Xiao Mingxuan nodded. “Everyone stay down for now. Don’t move. They might be coming in. Get ready for combat.”

Song Feng picked up the submachine gun beside him and asked in a low voice, “I’d bet they’ve got someone posted in the rear. If anything shifts, they’ll keep firing. Boss, how many shells do you think they have left?”

Boss Kang did the math. “They’ve already fired four. I doubt they have more than ten. Five would be the most likely. We only took some gas. They shouldn’t have gone this far over that—” He suddenly froze, then cursed. “Fuck. I get it now. They’re here for the weapons. I was wondering how some nobody managed to call in so many people, and now they’re even wasting mortar rounds, which cost more than fuel, just to hit us. He must’ve seen the cargo in the truck and told them everything.”

Everyone turned to stare at him in disbelief. Bai Xuyao’s eyes widened. “You swore! You actually swore!”

Boss Kang remained unfazed. “Who says a civilized man can’t use foul language? Huh? Who made that rule?”

“Enough. Quiet. They’re coming,” Song Feng cut in, eyes narrowing as he watched the two jeeps heading toward them.

Boss Kang’s tone turned cold. “When the shooting starts, don’t hold back. Kill them all. Leave no survivors.”

No one bothered responding. They stayed focused on the approaching vehicles. As soon as Xiao Mingxuan saw the men inside begin to stand and raise their weapons, he gave the order.

“Fire.”

The Xingtian team moved as one, rising and opening fire. At this distance, their submachine guns could be used to full effect. Song Feng and Wei Xiaoyan surged forward with their weapons raised, pressing down hard on the triggers as they ran. The weapons roared in their hands. The recoil numbed their arms slightly, but it felt exhilarating.

They had faced scenes like this far too many times to count. Standing side by side, the two of them seemed unstoppable. No matter what came at them, they would cut it down. A shell screamed past from the front and exploded behind them, but neither of them even blinked. They kept moving forward and finished off the enemies in both vehicles with clean, efficient shots.

Bai Xuyao came rushing up behind them, gun slung across his shoulder and eyes gleaming. “Damn, you two are insane. I’m sticking with you from now on.”

Boss Kang waited for a moment. When no more mortars flew from the other side, he called out, “Don’t let any of them get away. We can’t afford future problems.”

Xiao Mingxuan and Duan Qing had already switched to their sniper rifles. As soon as Boss Kang spoke, they leapt onto the overturned truck, set up their scopes, and aimed. Only two enemies remained. Realizing their side had lost, the two tried to retreat in panic. They didn’t make it far. Two shots. Two kills.

Once the gunfire stopped, everyone finally relaxed. They checked on the wounded, and when it turned out the injuries were all minor, they handled the treatment quickly. After that, they looked over at the overturned truck, then turned to Boss Kang.

“Boss, there’s no way we’re getting that thing upright by hand. You might as well give it up.”

Boss Kang glanced at the time. “We can leave it here. My people should be arriving soon. They can take care of it. You guys move the bodies out of those two jeeps and check if either of them still runs. If one does, we take that.”

The group nodded and got to work. One of the jeeps had a shredded tire. It could still move, but not fast. Bai Xuyao climbed up, found the tool kit, and slung it over his shoulder. He pointed to the two wrecked jeeps about eight hundred meters away.

“I’ll go check those. If either one still runs, I’ll drive it back. If not, I’ll take a wheel and fix this one.”

Song Feng slung his submachine gun and walked with him. He draped an arm across Bai Xuyao’s shoulders and strolled casually in that direction. After five or six steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

“Boss, how did your people know we were here?”

“Oh, the road from that direction to Golden Crescent passes right through here…” Boss Kang began. Midway through the sentence, he suddenly fell silent and looked straight at Song Feng.

Song Feng stared back. “Does the base know about this?”

“There are a few people who know. Not many.”

“But they know. Which means even if they don’t have our exact route, they’ll end up following this road eventually, won’t they?”

Boss Kang gave a resigned nod.

Bai Xuyao, still unconvinced, asked, “Bro, doesn’t that mean your whole plan didn’t work?”

“It’ll serve some purpose,” Song Feng said. “If I were them, I’d split up, send one group after the jeep, and the other straight down this road.”

Bai Xuyao immediately turned and shouted at Boss Kang. “You useless boss. You couldn’t even pick a better road to run for your life!”

“Hey, little merc, let me tell you something—” Boss Kang didn’t finish the sentence. Xiao Mingxuan’s low voice cut through the air.

“Song Feng.”

Song Feng looked up. Xiao Mingxuan was holding the sniper rifle. He leapt onto the jeep and followed his line of sight. In the distance, several black dots were steadily approaching. He called out right away.

“They’re coming. Get in the car. We’re moving now!”

Everyone rushed to drag the bodies out of the way. There was no time to check if the tires had been hit. They started the engines and prepared to drive, but one of the vehicles refused to move. The earlier gunfire had pierced the body, and something inside had been damaged. The other convoy was closing in fast. Song Feng made a split-second decision.

“Take the other vehicle. Get the boss out first!”

“Yes!”

Boss Kang froze, then immediately objected. “I’m not leaving you behind.”

“Our job is to protect you,” Song Feng said flatly. He looked toward the others and tipped his chin. “Get him out of here.”

The group stepped forward and pinned Boss Kang down against the jeep. No matter how much he struggled, it was useless. One of them turned to Song Fei and said, “You take him. We’ll stay.”

Song Feng glanced over. “You think you’re better than me?”

“That’s exactly why you should go with him.”

“No more arguing,” Xiao Mingxuan said firmly. “You move now. That’s an order. Song Feng, you—”

“I’ll stay,” Song Feng cut in. He met his gaze directly, as if he already knew what he was going to say. “I’ll stay.”

Xiao Mingxuan looked at him for a long moment. He wanted to say something, but time was slipping away fast. After two seconds of silence, he gave a nod.

“Alright.”

The others froze, clearly unwilling, but still climbed into the jeep. Bai Xuyao waved from the door. “Take care out here—ah! Bro, what the hell?”

Song Feng kicked open the door and shoved him inside. “Who told you to get out? Stay in the damn car.”

Bai Xuyao stared at him, eyes full of grievance. “You’re the one who said I should follow you. You and senior are both staying behind. I can’t just leave on my own.”

Song Feng slammed the door shut. “You’re not following anyone now. Get lost.”

“You heartless bastards. I’m the boss. The boss!” Boss Kang was still trying to shake them off, but his strength was nothing compared to theirs. “Let go of me!”

“Boss, just sit tight and enjoy the ride,” Song Feng said without looking back. “Go!”

The driver exhaled, shut his eyes for a second, then slammed the accelerator. The jeep sped past the overturned truck and vanished down the road.

Xiao Mingxuan and Duan Qing had not moved. They were waiting for a chance to snipe the enemy gunners, but before they could fire, the machine guns on the other side suddenly opened up. The two jeeps stationed eight hundred meters away were hit first. They exploded on impact, fire filling the entire view. Xiao Mingxuan and Duan Qing held their rifles steady, watching through the flames. Moments later, the enemy convoy arrived.

They acted at once, each taking out a gunner. But this time, the enemy had brought three machine guns. The third gunner immediately returned fire. The snipers’ positions were too exposed, and the bullets came fast. They were forced to leap down and fall back.

The remaining jeeps split off, sending two men forward. In the chaos, they scrambled onto the overturned truck and took position behind the mounted gun, unleashing a new wave of fire.

The area was wide open. Once the machine guns started sweeping the field, there was nowhere to hide. Song Feng could hear every round tearing through the air by his ear. They were about to be pinned down. The situation was turning bleak.

Another sudden roar of engines tore through the battlefield. Song Feng spun around and saw several Humvees charging toward them. Heavy machine guns were mounted on the vehicles, ready to fire. Among the approaching vehicles was a familiar jeep, its body riddled with bullet holes and scorched along one side.

Sitting proudly atop it was a man they all recognized. He raised his voice and shouted.

“See that? My people finally made it.”