Chapter 80: Cunning
Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Cunning
Qian Luobing dodged with fluid grace, like a fish in water, then lunged forward. Her left hand, shaped like a knife, jabbed straight toward Long Ming’s armpit.
Startled, Long Ming slapped her hand away with his left palm and countered with a high, whipping kick.
Qian Luobing swiftly retreated to dodge the attack and said in a cold voice,
"Those are military combat techniques from Mountain City Mountain. Who are you?"
But Long Ming didn’t answer.
"Not talking? Then I’ll beat it out of you."
A red light flashed in Qian Luobing’s eyes. She erupted forward, moving so fast she was a blur, and landed a heavy, powerful uppercut square in Long Ming’s stomach.
Long Ming let out a muffled groan, his face twisting in pain as he stumbled backward. He immediately reached for the Viper at his side.
But in the next instant, a long, slender hand clamped down on his, stopping him from drawing his weapon.
Greatly alarmed, Long Ming swung his left fist in a vicious blow.
Qian Luobing immediately raised her other hand, catching his fist.
Long Ming lunged, leaning forward and driving his right elbow in a sharp strike.
Qian Luobing dodged nimbly, using the momentum to spin and kick Long Ming in the back.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, Long Ming used the force of the kick to roll away and create distance. He then pulled a smoke grenade from his tactical belt, pulled the pin, and threw it on the ground.
TSSSSS~
In an instant, thick smoke filled the area.
’Trying to run?’
Qian Luobing’s eyes narrowed, and she charged into the smoke at incredible speed.
CLICK~
Just then, Qian Luobing heard the faint click of a ring-pull. Danger flared in her senses, and she immediately leaped backward, exiting the smoke.
BOOM~
A massive explosion ripped through the area.
When the smoke cleared, Long Ming was gone.
Qian Luobing immediately gave chase.
A short while later, a nearby manhole cover was pushed aside. Long Ming poked his head out and scanned the area. Seeing no one, he breathed a sigh of relief.
’I finally tricked her. It’s a good thing this manhole cover opened. Otherwise, I really would have died here today.’
Long Ming quickly climbed out, grabbed the Carbine, and took off running.
A little later, Qian Luobing returned to the spot.
Just then, Adika and the others arrived and asked respectfully,
"Commander, did you get him?"
Qian Luobing didn’t answer them. Instead, her eyes swept the ground, and she noticed the dropped Carbine was gone.
’Such a cunning rat.’
Beneath her mask, an expression of interest crossed Qian Luobing’s face.
’It’s been a long time since I’ve met a decent opponent.’
...
「Meanwhile.」
In an alley, a disheveled Qin Ye and Qin Ying were fleeing toward the city center.
"Brother, what do we do now?"
"We’ll run toward the city center first, find a place to hide nearby, and wait for Red Ghost to find us."
"Will Red Ghost make it out alive?"
"He should be fine... I think."
Qin Ye trailed off, his words lacking any real conviction.
After all, Red Ghost was holding off the All Stars Guild.
He knew full well how strong players from the three major guilds were. Even their weakest members were on par with the elite mercenaries he’d hired at great expense.
Just as the two of them ran out of the alley,
they ran headfirst into a dozen players wearing armbands with an iron shield insignia.
They all turned to look at the pair.
Qin Ye and Qin Ying stopped in their tracks, raising their weapons at the other players.
"Brother, there are so many of them," Qin Ying said, her voice filled with fear.
"Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you," Qin Ye said defiantly, pulling Qin Ying behind him.
Just then, a shifty-looking man spoke to a burly, middle-aged man in heavy body armor.
"Brother Hao, looks like we’ve found a couple of fat sheep."
"Heh heh!"
Hearing Ma Rui’s words, Zhou Hao’s expression grew excited, and he prepared to take the two of them out.
Seeing that a fight was about to break out, Qin Ye quickly shouted,
"Don’t shoot! I’m Young Master Qin of the Jiaye Group! I’m willing to pay a hefty sum to hire you!"
"Young Master Qin? How much?"
When Zhou Hao heard the guy was a young master and willing to pay, he immediately asked.
After all, Qin Ye was somewhat famous, so Zhou Hao had heard of him.
"20 million uni-coins!"
Qin Ye quickly stated his offer.
Zhou Hao was very tempted by Qin Ye’s offer.
But just then, Ma Rui lowered his voice and said to Brother Hao,
"Brother Hao, that guy’s from Sinful City. We might not even get that money. But look at his gear and that golden gun in his hand! That stuff is worth a fortune! Plus, he’s their moneybag; he’s got to have other good stuff on him."
Zhou Hao nodded. He raised a hand, signaling his men to lower their weapons, and replied with a smile,
"Alright, we accept your offer."
"That’s great!"
Qin Ye breathed a sigh of relief and started walking toward Zhou Hao.
Zhou Hao and Ma Rui went to meet him.
As they met, Brother Hao suddenly reached out and grabbed the automatic rifle in Qin Ye’s hands.
"What are you doing?!"
Qin Ye cried out in alarm.
"Killing you!"
Ma Rui whipped out a tactical knife and slit Qin Ye’s throat. Blood spurted everywhere.
"Brother!"
Seeing her brother betrayed, Qin Ying roared in anger, raising her multiple grenade launcher and firing a round.
Startled, Ma Rui immediately threw himself into a clumsy roll to dodge.
Before Zhou Hao could react, the grenade hit him dead-on!
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
Zhou Hao was blown away, his body instantly turned into a charred corpse.
"Shit! Get her!"
Ma Rui scrambled to his feet and yelled.
The other players immediately raised their guns and opened fire on Qin Ying.
BANG! BANG!
Qin Ying immediately retreated back into the alley, wildly firing grenade after grenade.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Ma Rui and his men were sent flying, but because they were spread out, Qin Ying only managed to kill a few of them.
Seeing she was about to run out of ammo,
Qin Ying immediately turned and fled.
"After her!"
Ma Rui waved his subordinates forward to give chase while he stayed behind to loot the bag Qin Ye had dropped.
...
Meanwhile, Long Ming was dashing through a series of residential buildings. He had been delayed for too long and had to rendezvous with Qin Ye and Qin Ying as soon as possible.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the sound of a powerful explosion echoed from the distance.
Long Ming turned his head toward the sound, then raised his wristband to check his map.
The explosion seemed to have come from the route Bai Xiu had shared with him.
He changed direction and ran toward it.
As Long Ming rounded a corner in an alley, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps.
Gripping his Carbine, he rushed around the bend.
"Ah!"
Qin Ying cried out, startled.
"It’s you!"
Long Ming was just as surprised to see Qin Ying and immediately lowered his weapon.
Recognizing the person she’d nearly run into, Qin Ying clutched her chest, gasping for breath.
"You scared me to death."
"Where’s Qin Ye?"
Long Ming asked, glancing behind her with a growing sense of dread.
"We ran into a group of players. They... they ambushed and killed my brother," Qin Ying explained sorrowfully.
Long Ming’s heart sank. But at least one of his clients was still alive. He said to Qin Ying,
"I see. Come with me!"
"Okay."
Qin Ying obediently followed Long Ming.