Chapter 1857 - 1856: Old Grandpa

My name is Anke, just passing by.

I was originally just planning to come and see if I could hitch a ride.

A skinny youth stood in a pool of blood, looking at the open car door and the driver hanging by the seatbelt, his body covered in blood, eyes wide open, frozen in place.

It seemed like a ’robbery’ had just happened here.

Bang, bang, bang—

From the back of the convoy, small bursts of gunfire vaguely echoed, several fully armed figures with masks and bulletproof helmets were weaving through the convoy behind.

The youth stared blankly at this scene, took a step back.

Bang—

His step made a crisp sound as it hit the ground.

The figures moving within the convoy stopped in their tracks.

A figure in front of him saw him, and without hesitation, pulled the bolt and raised the gun.

He looked at that dark muzzle, his body instantly tense.

At this moment, behind him was an open road; if he retreated, he would have no cover at all. If the opponent had a sniper or someone good at shooting, he would be dead for sure.

The fear of death weighed on his body, forcing him to make a choice in a very short time.

He lunged forward with his entire body, hiding behind the truck’s head.

Bang, bang, bang—

The sharp sounds quickly rang out above the truck’s head.

The youth directly covered his head, rolled forward again, and along with the rolling dirt dust, flipped to the other side of the truck.

He just let out a sigh of relief and lifted his head, only to see a figure not far away pointing the gun muzzle at him.

In that moment, he only felt his adrenaline surging intensely, and without hesitation, he turned around and dove into the vehicle’s undercarriage.

Bang, bang, bang—

Sharp gunfire with flying bullets landed in the spot he had just stood.

At the same time, he rolled towards the back under the truck without hesitation.

Accompanied by the ping-ping sounds, a dark gun muzzle shot under the truck, sweeping through.

However, by now, he had rolled through the undercarriage of three or four trucks and lay in a pool of blood.

"Ha—huh—"

He panted heavily.

The gunfire subsided, seemingly the outside bandits had given up on chasing him down.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his rapid breathing to avoid making any sound.

Just then, a light sound came from beside him.

He turned around, only to see a scarred face pressed against the ground; as he turned his head, that face turned towards him as well, the scar running through the lips splitting to reveal iron teeth.

Then the face lifted, seemingly as the owner of the face straightened his body, disappearing into the gap under the truck.

Thunk—thunk—thunk—

At the same time, a few crisp sounds echoed under the truck.

It was a spherical metal object.

The youth immediately realized what it was, and without hesitation, flipped himself out, rolling out from under the truck.

But after rolling out, the youth’s body did not pause at all, rolling and crawling to hide behind another truck.

Boom—

Accompanied by a booming sound, intense flames erupted behind him, tearing the entire truck apart.

Violent flames burst across the side of the truck, bringing scorching heat waves.

Yet another high-explosive bomb, these maniacs!

The youth took a deep breath, but before he could fully recover, slow footsteps sounded on his left side.

He immediately looked to the right.

Similar footsteps sounded on the right as well.

Finished, I’m dead.

He took a deep breath, his palm pressed tightly against the cargo compartment.

On the battlefield, he had never felt so hopeless.

This was worse than being in a POW camp.

"Kid, want to live?" An old voice whispered in his ear.

At the moment he heard the voice, he turned around immediately, looking behind him.

Behind him was empty, there was nothing.

He quickly checked above and around him, and they were empty too, only the gradually approaching, increasingly loud footsteps.

Those bandits seemed to intentionally toy with him, deliberately slowing down as if mocking a kitten hiding in a corner.

Instinctively, he tightened his body.

His mind kept echoing the words just heard.

Was it a hallucination?

At that moment, a tall bandit in a combat suit appeared before him, watching him, raising the firearm in his hand, "Haha, got you!"

"Sidestep left, jump!" That old voice instantly echoed in the youth’s ear.

The youth’s body paused slightly, then instinctively obeyed, jumping fiercely to the left side.

Bang—

As crisp gunshots rang out in the quiet sky, scorching bullets flew through where the youth had just stood, hitting the ground and kicking up flying dust.

I dodged a bullet?

But before the youth could react, that old voice echoed again, "Go forward, grab the gun muzzle, kick below the belt."

Even before his conscious mind registered, the youth’s body followed the command.

He reached out and grabbed the bewildered bandit’s gun, pushing the muzzle upward.

Then he instantly lifted his knee, striking the bandit below the belt.

Bang—

Accompanied by a muffled sound.

"Ah!!!"

The bandit let out a howl, his body buckling forward, losing all strength.

"Seize the gun, kick the person away!" The old voice rang out again.

Without hesitation, the youth grabbed the bandit’s gun, pulled it back, then kicked the bandit down.

Holding the gun, before he could react, he saw the bandit on the ground clenching his teeth, reaching into his pocket to pull out a handgun, glaring furiously, "Die!"

The youth instinctively gripped the rifle in his hand, pointing the muzzle downward.

Bang—

The bandit’s body stiffened on the ground, his head blasted open.

Staring at the bright red scene, the youth was somewhat dazed, his body frozen in place.

"Turn right, fire at two o’clock." The old voice echoed again in his ear.

The youth instinctively raised the gun muzzle, turned his body, aimed at two o’clock, and pulled the trigger.

Bang—

Accompanied by a crisp sound, a figure fell backward.

The youth stared momentarily at the rifle in his hand, as if dreaming.

He never imagined his shooting could be this accurate.

But before his thoughts could fully unfold, the old voice rang again in his ear, "Turn left, fire at eleven o’clock."

Bang—

The youth immediately turned around and pulled the trigger.

"Retreat, lean against the back of the cargo." The old voice followed.

The youth quickly moved back, leaning against the back of the cargo. In that flash of lightning, he realized that his bullet just now had not hit the enemy.

Bang bang bang—

As he leaned back, intense gunfire erupted beside him, hitting the spot where he had been standing.

It was purely luck.

He held the rifle in his hands nervously.

"To the right, shoot." The old voice quickly sounded in his ear.

Without hesitation, he turned right and pulled the trigger.

A tall man appeared on his right side.

Bang—

The bullet hit the man’s bulletproof vest, causing him to lean back slightly.

"Fire again." The old voice sounded again.

The youth pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The slightly raised muzzle caused the bullet to rise a bit.

This time, the bullet pierced through the attacker’s head, taking his body backward.

Looking at the corpse lying on the ground, the youth was silent for a moment, feeling a bit lost.

"Climb up, get onto the cargo." At the same time, the old voice sounded once more in his ear.

The youth now didn’t have time to think; he turned around, reaching out to grab the cargo door behind him.

"Not that one, the one in front of you." The calm, old voice carried a hint of helplessness.

The youth turned around and looked forward.

The trucks were parked end to end, with the front of the truck facing him.

The body of the driver, who was killed, slumped forward on the steering wheel, wide-eyed, staring at him.

Seeing this, the youth took a gulp, stepped forward, sprinted, and slapped his hand onto the windshield.

His body, without support, naturally slid down, and he quickly grabbed onto the wipers, while stepping on the bumper.

With the creaking sound of the bumper, his body climbed further up, over the front, across the windshield, and onto the front of the truck.

The cargo of the truck was even higher than the front.

Now standing on the front, he could vaguely see the surrounding bandits quickly approaching, and the noise of him attracted their attention, as they picked up their guns, aiming at him.

"Jump." The old voice sounded in the youth’s ear.

Without hesitation, the youth leaped, jumping onto the rear cargo, holding onto the edge, and rolled up with difficulty.

Bang bang bang—

Crisp gunfire sounded behind him, bullets striking the iron shell of the roof, making a clanking sound.

Having climbed so high, he was completely exposed to the view of those bandits, making him a direct target to be shot at.

His thoughts wandered, then his body climbed onto the cargo where he saw the things on top of it.

A beautiful machine gun surrounded by a bulletproof glass barrier, with the barrier open at the moment.

"Wow, this is amazing!"

Amidst the fierce gunfire, he rushed into the barrier without hesitation, closed the bulletproof glass door, grabbed the machine gun handle, and turned it on.

No verification was needed.

He grabbed the machine gun, rotating the base to aim at the bandits below.

After a brief pause, he took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

Bang bang bang—

With gunfire roaring like a torrential storm, the figures below hadn’t reacted yet but were hit by the machine gun, their entire bodies exploding.

The youth had no time to think, immediately rotating the machine gun base to aim to the right.

The bandits on the right had already taken cover behind the side truck and rocks.

Yet their movements were not as fast as the machine gun bullets, and with fierce gunfire, the thin iron sheet at the corners of the cargo was torn apart, and those fleeing figures fell into dust and blood.

"Jump out, run!" At that instant, the old voice again sounded in his ear.

The youth was a bit bewildered, glanced at the surrounding bulletproof glass and the machine gun in front, unsure why the voice would say that.

But he still obeyed the voice’s command, put down the machine gun, pushed the barrier door open, and jumped out.

Just as he jumped out, the iron sheet under the machine gun was instantly torn open, creating a big hole, and a grenade was thrown into the barrier.

Boom—

A violent explosion rose with surging firelight, collapsing the machine gun-mounted cargo.

The youth, lying on the ground, looked at the surging flames, feeling utterly bewildered.

"How do you know this? Are you a Divine Being?"

However, he didn’t get a response from the old voice.

Amidst heavy footsteps, a scarred figure walked through the flames, approaching him.

This was the person who had just thrown a grenade under the truck.

The scarred figure lowered his head, looking at the youth, with muddled eyes carrying a hint of disbelief, "You kid, actually have some skills."

"Hey, hehe," the youth awkwardly chuckled at the scarred figure, "Bro, how about this, I apologize, can you let me go?"

The scarred figure merely glanced at his bloodstained face and the simple long-sleeved and long pants he was wearing, "Standard-issue uniform, are you from the Mercenary Corps?"

His gaze lifted slightly, "Why are you not on the battlefield, what are you doing here?"

"Actually, I’m just passing by." The youth awkwardly looked at the scarred figure before him, feeling the powerful oppressive force the scarred figure emitted, an oppression he had only felt from captains in the Mercenary Corps.

And those captains, without exception, were beings beyond mere mortals.

Dealing with those ordinary bandits earlier, he could rely on luck, but for this, luck wasn’t going to help at all.

"Passing by?" The scarred figure raised an eyebrow, looking at the youth before him, grinning, "You’re a deserter, aren’t you?"

"Elder brother, you look like you’re from the Mercenary Corps too," the youth awkwardly smiled, "Actually, I’m on a mission, I need to deliver a message to Vissen, could you just consider me a fart and let me go?"

"Of course I can." The scarred figure smiled slightly.

The youth pressed his hand on the ground, slightly lifting his gaze.

"If you bite on this, I’ll let you go." The scarred figure reached into his pocket, pulling out something to hand to the youth.

The youth looked down at the item being handed over by the scarred figure.

It was a hand grenade.

"Brother!" The youth was momentarily stunned, "You can’t be serious."

As his words fell, his hand rose, grabbing a handful of dust and threw it at the scarred figure.

"Petty tricks!" The scarred figure grinned, "What I love most in this life is torturing deserters."

As he spoke, his body stepped forward, moving through the dust, grabbing for the youth.

Seeing his hand about to land on the youth’s shoulder, his entire palm caught nothing.

His body paused slightly, seemingly unable to understand what had happened.

Meanwhile, the youth looked up at the scarred figure, the calm, old voice sounding in his ear, "Step left, close in."

The youth’s body stepped left, pressing close to the scarred figure’s body.

And the scarred figure’s hand just brushed past the youth’s cheek, missing its mark.

"Grab what’s in his pocket."

Following the old voice’s instructions, the youth grabbed onto the scarred figure’s pocket and pulled out,

a hand grenade.