Chapter 39
Han Xiaomei's eyes widened and her mind went blank, but unsurprisingly, death did not come.
Click, click, click, click.
Ajie pulled the trigger like a joke, then casually threw the empty gun away: "Yellow-haired girl, next time you sing The Empty City Stratagem, at least act a little more believable. If you had bullets, why would you need to break the window and climb out with your bare hands?"
"-Don't move!" He raised his voice sharply when Jiang Ting was trying to pick up the dagger.
"Do that and this girl may not be able to move anymore." Ajie didn't look back and added, "although it wasn't planned, it's not a big deal if I were to kill one more cop."
The abandoned highway stretched across the night, leading to the endless wilderness, and the inky emptiness and darkness farther on.
Jiang Ting finally slowly stood upright.
Every bone in his body, every inch of his internal organs was screaming out in severe pain, and even a slightest movement made him feel immense discomfort as if his joints were filled with cold, acidic water. Yet his posture was still very neat, from the back of the neck to the shoulders, from the butterfly bones to the lower back, and even the slender legs to the feet.
"What the hell do you want?" He asked.
Ajie kneed Han Xiaomei's in the stomach, forcing her to fall to the ground on her elbows in an unnaturally twisted position, then after looking up and estimating time in his mind, said: "It's almost time for the person who’s supposed to pick me up to come."
Han Xiaomei forced back her tears, but still couldn't restrain painful spasms.
"Hu Weisheng is dead, and the bag of “blue gold” that went missing has been destroyed. Your police have done us a huge favor by solving the case so neatly this time. I guess the boss will be happy when he gets back, but I can make him even happier." Ajie paused, turned back to Jiang Ting and smiled maliciously: "if I can bring him something he wants more."
Behind him, at the far end of the highway, there was a faint flash of car lights that resembled a star.
Jiang Ting said, "Fine."
He agreed easily to the surprise of Ajie.
"But let her go first." Jiang Ting continued, "If this policewoman dies, I’ll make sure that you won't have a good life for the next few years. Or simply you won't have the next few years to live."
Judging from Ajie's reaction, he probably didn't take his threat seriously. Han Xiaomei already felt half dead from the moment he had put a gun to her forehead: "I advise you to start now."
Jiang Ting said, "I don't think it's easy to live but it’s not difficult to drag someone to hell with you. How about I try?"
Ajie's demeanor finally changed, as if he was weighing how serious he was being. After some thought he shrugged his shoulders and got up to release Han Xiaomei.
"Are you okay?" Jiang Ting half-kneeled at Han Xiaomei's side and asked her in a low voice
"Consultant Lu. "
While holding his cell phone and typing out a message to someone, Ajie walked up to the Land Rover, the door of which had been dented by a hit, rummaged through the metal briefcase on the front passenger seat, pulled out a black pistol-shaped object from the glove compartment under the dashboard and stuck it in his back pocket.
"He..he has a gun." Trembling Han Xiaomei was about to get up, but she was stopped by Jiang Ting.
"You should lie down."
"No, you--"
"You might have gotten a concussion from that fall. Don't move."
"But!" Han Xiaomei was anxious to open her mouth and was about to say something when she suddenly felt that something was moving in her pocket.
Handcuffs!
At that moment she suddenly looked up at Jiang Ting only to see that he was acting normally. Everything starting from his demeanor to his tone was not a slightest bit unusual. "Lie here and wait for help, it won't take those city bureau guys too long. Just hang on for a little longer, I'll be right back."
"Come on, what have you two been discussing for so long? At this rate you should talk about going to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a marriage license hand in hand in the morning." After sending a message, Ajie lazily walked forward: "Stop your endless chatter."
Han Xiaomei could clearly feel every movement of the handcuff belt buckle in her pocket as she stared at the killer who was getting closer and closer to Jiang Ting. Her heart was wildly pounding in her chest, as if it would burst through her throat in the next second but then she heard Jiang Ting say, "Good."
Ajie got down to the ground and reached out to grab Jiang Ting’s arm.
Leaving an arc of light close to Han Xiaomei’s nose, Jiang Ting rose like lightning and smashed the metal handcuff ring on Ajie's temple!
"Run!"
Han Xiaomei didn't even dare to blink, she gritted her teeth, stood up and ran wildly with all her strength.
"Fuck!" This time Ajie was really a bit angry, he shook his head to get rid of vertigo, grabbed the handcuffs with an iron grip and threw them far away, and immediately raised his hand to draw the gun. He wanted to unlock the safety bolt, but just raised his thumb and restrained it, and hit Jiang Ting’s head with the back of his gun instead. Bang!
"I should have known you'd be a trouble-", Ajie slowly said one word at a time as he jammed his elbow into Jiang Ting's throat. He was still trying to figure out how to knock him out without killing him, when suddenly the bright light behind him and the roar of the engine approached rapidly.
A Cherokee sped up on the highway and rushed behind him in the blink of an eye. Ajie pushed Jiang Ting heavily, while rolling on the ground several meters out of the way, and the bullets burst out with a cloud of dust against his heel!
Jiang Ting shouted, "Be careful he has a gun!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ajie raised his hand and pulled the trigger. The Cherokee's shining headlights made the best target in the night, so there was no need to even aim, the entire front window shattered!
The tires made a screeching sound upon scraping the ground, and Cherokee drifted to a halt, steadily blocking Jiang Ting from Ajie, "Come up!"
Ajie raised his eyebrows as he saw a sturdy figure get off with a gun. It was Yan Xie.
"Fuck, my life is so tough." Ajie murmured, rolled on the spot again, dodged the passing bullet, squatted beside the Land Rover and opened the door to block the bullets. There was a loud noise, and the chasing bullet hit the door which shook the front part of the car!
"Are you all right, Captain Jiang?" Yan Xie roared as he pushed forward towards Land Rover.
Behind the Grand Cherokee, the blood from Jiang's forehead ran down the temples, but his answer sounded extremely calm: "Don't mind me, pay attention to the bullets!" His gun is Beretta M92!"
Yan Xie: "Ah, Dang!"
The Beretta M92, with a double-row magazine, a maximum capacity of fifteen rounds, and an effective range of fifty meters; its enlarged trigger guard was designed for shooting with gloves, and it was the favorite of the US military, terrorists, and professional killers.
Compared to the pistol issued by the city, that was simply bullying.
Yan Xie, with both hands on his gun, marched forward, shooting every time Ajie emerged from behind the car door. The bullets hit the metal doors with sparks. In a flash Yan Xie ran out of bullets, he advanced behind the Land Rover, threw away the empty gun, got onto the car top, and cleanly rolled over.
Without saying a word, Ajie raised his gun and fired a round of bullets at the top of the car!
Bang Bang Bang--.
The M92's 9mm bullet almost grazed his body, leaving an arc of bullet marks on the roof. Amids the smoke of gunpowder Yan Xie landed on his back, grabbed Ajie's hand which was holding the gun, and when the two wrestled with each other M92 suddenly went off!
Jiang Ting’s pupils dilated.
In the distance, Han Xiaomei nearly lost her voice shouting: "Deputy Chief Yan--"
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Yan Xie threw the M92 hard and the military gun spun and fell to the ground!
"Isn't that right, buddy." Yan Xie twisted Ajie's arm and said, "A fight is a fight, but why are you shooting? Doesn't it hurt your feelings?"
Ajie finally struck him hard with his body, and the two withdrew several steps at the same time, staring at each other closely.
"Since it's you, there's no need for me to hold back." Turning his neck, Aijie said, "Prepare to die."
Yan Xie smirked, "Since it's me, it's still unclear who's going to die."
Hardly he finished talking, Ajie's fist almost reached his eyes but was blocked with Yan Xie’s hand, followed by a leg kick at his cheek, and the two instantly started fighting!
In fact, if you strictly compared their abilities, Ajie was the one who had received professional training, but Yan Xie was the one who had grown up in the boxing gym and "gang", fought against others with knives, and been escorted to the police station twice a day, until he turned eighteen years old and went to the police academy to learn the fighting and combat systematically.
But unorthodox methods sometimes could give an unusual advantage. The fight was more brutal, more ruthless, and more bandit-like. Ajie grabbed Yan Xie’s arm and was about to give him a shoulder drop, but the moment he was in the air, Yan Xie hooked the back of Ajie's neck with his knee, and boom! Both sides fell to the ground at the same time, smashing the window of the Land Rover to pieces!
The glass shards flew in the air, landing all over their faces. Ajie spit out a mouthful of glass and was about to get up when suddenly his eyes went dark and he felt a huge force on his neck - Yan Xie who was behind him pressed him hard back to the ground with a knee-on-neck choke!
"Shit." cursed Ajie, who was unable to move his upper body, but still tried his best to reach and hook M92 from the ground.
Seeing that his fingers were close to the handle of the gun, Yan Xie could not let him reach it. He immediately got up and rushed to M92, trying to get to the gun first.
At that point Ajie was pushed flat to the bottom of the Land Rover. But he was tough, in a split second he grabbed the car door riddled with holes, got up, leaped, and caught him the moment before Yan Xie could grab the gun. Without saying a word, he kicked M92 out!
"Didn't you say that shooting in a fight hurt feelings?" sneered Ajie, grabbing Yan Xie, lifting him fiercely and smashing him on the hood of the car!
The remaining windows, which were already in jeopardy, could not hold up any longer and burst into glass in all directions.
Han Xiaomei's sharply cried out: "--Deputy Chief Yan!"
Ajie’s mouth was full of bloody cuts from the glass, he carelessly wiped it away. He looked up and saw Jiang Ting standing in front of Cherokee not far away.
They looked each other for a moment, and a smile full of mockery and pure masculine bravado appeared in Ajie's eyes, as he slowly mouthed: "Watch."
Spinning his wrist casually, he was just about to turn around and give a fatal blow when all of the sudden he was smashed into the car window by a deadly scissor kick!
"What feelings would I want to discuss with a future death row prisoner," Yan Xie stood up on the roof of the car: "Don’t you see that you deserve it?"
Yan Xie jumped from the car, grabbed the back of Ajie’s collar with hostility, lifted his head out of the window amids the clatter of numerous broken glass pieces, and finally slammed him into it again!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Ajie’s head was covered in blood. Without a sound he grabbed Yan Xie and pushed him back, for seven or eight steps in a row, and crashed hard into the highway guardrail!
Both of them combined weighed more than three hundred jin, and the terrible impact caused by the inertial acceleration caused the metal guardrail to have a visible dent. In a split second Yan Xie's back was in severe pain, as if even the back of his ribs was broken. Then he barely dodged Ajie’s kick which landed in his original position, a few hundred jin of leg force left a hole in the metal guardrail!
Yan Xie clenched his teeth, grabbed Ajie with a fierce expression elbowing him at the back of the neck in succession with such ferocity that it was possible to hear a horrible cracking sound coming from his bones.
When two men with an average height of nearly 1.9 meters, strong and evenly matched, fought to death, they were like two fierce tigers that could never give up. The soil was punched out of the ground with their fists, the Land Rover lights were kicked to smithereens, and the broken glass and stones were pouring down. Ajie fiercely bent over to avoid Yan Xie’s heavy spinning kick, rose up to grab the Land Rover's already ruined roof, propped himself up with one hand, and fell to the side of the front passenger seat, grabbed the black sniper rifle case from the window and punched Yan Xie’s face!
"Bah!" Yan Xie spat out blood with tooth fragments on the spot, then caught the metal gun case, threw it away and kicked Ajie in the chest. Ajie spit out blood and flew several meters away!
Clang!
Ajie crashed into the guardrail scattering dust and bricks everywhere.
"..." Ajie propped himself up from the ground with his hands and slowly stood up, coughing and staring straight at Yan Xie.
His eyebrow bones and nose were long and high, and because the corners of his forehead and his eyes were full of blood, his eyes seemed particularly cold when he slowly said : "It does seem like I should kill you."
Yan Xie was just as breathless, his nose full of rusty scorching air, but those words made the corners of his mouth rise.
The smile was cruel and iron-blooded, and with this expression on his face, he raised his index finger and beckoned Ajie.
"Courting death," Ajie cursed, but when he only lifted his foot, suddenly--
Bang!
The loud noise shook the night, and everyone looked at the source of the sound at the same time.
"Stop." The gun which Jiang Ting had been pointing to the sky, turned towards Ajie, the M92 was still emitting a curl of smoke, "One more step and I'll shoot."
No one in the darkness noticed when Jiang Ting picked up the gun that had been kicked away by Yan Xie into the wilderness behind the guardrail, nor did they notice that his grip on the gun was unsteady.
No one except for Ajie.
The situation was at the standstill. Ajie narrowed his eyes, staring at Jiang Ting's cold, hard, bloodless face, as if he had pierced through the frozen, handsome facade and seen something deeper, hidden, painful and unknown.
"Shoot," Ajie blinked and laughed, "Aren't you a good shot? Here, shoot me, just like you killed 'Rivet'."
--Rivet.
Yan Xie's eyes went round as he glanced in Jiang Ting’s direction.
Like some forbidden spell broke through the ice, Jiang Ting stood straight there but it was as if his soul had plunged into the cold, piercing water.
The undercurrent of malicious memories came rushing in, wrapping around his body, then circling behind him, the devilish murmur sounded in his ear: "You want to go out!?"
A dark, sunless cell.
"Do you want to regain your freedom?"
The ray of light from the window crack shone on the shadow of a man in the corner.
"That man is the undercover police officer codenamed Rivet..."
He struggled to get back as hard as he could, but someone clamped down on him from behind and forced the gun into his hands.
"There's only one bullet in the chamber, it’s either the undercover officer or yourself." The owner of the voice in the nightmare smiled and said, "You have to make the right choice."
Jiang Ting was breathing heavily, but he couldn't tell if his hoarse gasp came from a dream or reality.
---I must live, he thought in a trance.
My brothers are dead, and I have to live to avenge them; everyone thinks I'm a traitor, and I have to live to clear my name...I can't die.
But
But-.
Jiang Ting was standing upright, beads of cold sweat were rolling from his temples to cheeks and slowly gathering on the tip of his jaw. He saw himself raise his hand with the gun, but with all his strength he could not avoid the fact that the nightmare had already happened, and could only shake. In the next moment he closed his eyes, and his index finger pressed the trigger--
Bang!
Chapter 39
Han Xiaomei's eyes widened and her mind went blank, but unsurprisingly, death did not come.
Click, click, click, click.
Ajie pulled the trigger like a joke, then casually threw the empty gun away: "Yellow-haired girl, next time you sing The Empty City Stratagem, at least act a little more believable. If you had bullets, why would you need to break the window and climb out with your bare hands?"
"-Don't move!" He raised his voice sharply when Jiang Ting was trying to pick up the dagger.
"Do that and this girl may not be able to move anymore." Ajie didn't look back and added, "although it wasn't planned, it's not a big deal if I were to kill one more cop."
The abandoned highway stretched across the night, leading to the endless wilderness, and the inky emptiness and darkness farther on.
Jiang Ting finally slowly stood upright.
Every bone in his body, every inch of his internal organs was screaming out in severe pain, and even a slightest movement made him feel immense discomfort as if his joints were filled with cold, acidic water. Yet his posture was still very neat, from the back of the neck to the shoulders, from the butterfly bones to the lower back, and even the slender legs to the feet.
"What the hell do you want?" He asked.
Ajie kneed Han Xiaomei's in the stomach, forcing her to fall to the ground on her elbows in an unnaturally twisted position, then after looking up and estimating time in his mind, said: "It's almost time for the person who’s supposed to pick me up to come."
Han Xiaomei forced back her tears, but still couldn't restrain painful spasms.
"Hu Weisheng is dead, and the bag of “blue gold” that went missing has been destroyed. Your police have done us a huge favor by solving the case so neatly this time. I guess the boss will be happy when he gets back, but I can make him even happier." Ajie paused, turned back to Jiang Ting and smiled maliciously: "if I can bring him something he wants more."
Behind him, at the far end of the highway, there was a faint flash of car lights that resembled a star.
Jiang Ting said, "Fine."
He agreed easily to the surprise of Ajie.
"But let her go first." Jiang Ting continued, "If this policewoman dies, I’ll make sure that you won't have a good life for the next few years. Or simply you won't have the next few years to live."
Judging from Ajie's reaction, he probably didn't take his threat seriously. Han Xiaomei already felt half dead from the moment he had put a gun to her forehead: "I advise you to start now."
Jiang Ting said, "I don't think it's easy to live but it’s not difficult to drag someone to hell with you. How about I try?"
Ajie's demeanor finally changed, as if he was weighing how serious he was being. After some thought he shrugged his shoulders and got up to release Han Xiaomei.
"Are you okay?" Jiang Ting half-kneeled at Han Xiaomei's side and asked her in a low voice
"Consultant Lu. "
While holding his cell phone and typing out a message to someone, Ajie walked up to the Land Rover, the door of which had been dented by a hit, rummaged through the metal briefcase on the front passenger seat, pulled out a black pistol-shaped object from the glove compartment under the dashboard and stuck it in his back pocket.
"He..he has a gun." Trembling Han Xiaomei was about to get up, but she was stopped by Jiang Ting.
"You should lie down."
"No, you--"
"You might have gotten a concussion from that fall. Don't move."
"But!" Han Xiaomei was anxious to open her mouth and was about to say something when she suddenly felt that something was moving in her pocket.
Handcuffs!
At that moment she suddenly looked up at Jiang Ting only to see that he was acting normally. Everything starting from his demeanor to his tone was not a slightest bit unusual. "Lie here and wait for help, it won't take those city bureau guys too long. Just hang on for a little longer, I'll be right back."
"Come on, what have you two been discussing for so long? At this rate you should talk about going to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a marriage license hand in hand in the morning." After sending a message, Ajie lazily walked forward: "Stop your endless chatter."
Han Xiaomei could clearly feel every movement of the handcuff belt buckle in her pocket as she stared at the killer who was getting closer and closer to Jiang Ting. Her heart was wildly pounding in her chest, as if it would burst through her throat in the next second but then she heard Jiang Ting say, "Good."
Ajie got down to the ground and reached out to grab Jiang Ting’s arm.
Leaving an arc of light close to Han Xiaomei’s nose, Jiang Ting rose like lightning and smashed the metal handcuff ring on Ajie's temple!
"Run!"
Han Xiaomei didn't even dare to blink, she gritted her teeth, stood up and ran wildly with all her strength.
"Fuck!" This time Ajie was really a bit angry, he shook his head to get rid of vertigo, grabbed the handcuffs with an iron grip and threw them far away, and immediately raised his hand to draw the gun. He wanted to unlock the safety bolt, but just raised his thumb and restrained it, and hit Jiang Ting’s head with the back of his gun instead. Bang!
"I should have known you'd be a trouble-", Ajie slowly said one word at a time as he jammed his elbow into Jiang Ting's throat. He was still trying to figure out how to knock him out without killing him, when suddenly the bright light behind him and the roar of the engine approached rapidly.
A Cherokee sped up on the highway and rushed behind him in the blink of an eye. Ajie pushed Jiang Ting heavily, while rolling on the ground several meters out of the way, and the bullets burst out with a cloud of dust against his heel!
Jiang Ting shouted, "Be careful he has a gun!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ajie raised his hand and pulled the trigger. The Cherokee's shining headlights made the best target in the night, so there was no need to even aim, the entire front window shattered!
The tires made a screeching sound upon scraping the ground, and Cherokee drifted to a halt, steadily blocking Jiang Ting from Ajie, "Come up!"
Ajie raised his eyebrows as he saw a sturdy figure get off with a gun. It was Yan Xie.
"Fuck, my life is so tough." Ajie murmured, rolled on the spot again, dodged the passing bullet, squatted beside the Land Rover and opened the door to block the bullets. There was a loud noise, and the chasing bullet hit the door which shook the front part of the car!
"Are you all right, Captain Jiang?" Yan Xie roared as he pushed forward towards Land Rover.
Behind the Grand Cherokee, the blood from Jiang's forehead ran down the temples, but his answer sounded extremely calm: "Don't mind me, pay attention to the bullets!" His gun is Beretta M92!"
Yan Xie: "Ah, Dang!"
The Beretta M92, with a double-row magazine, a maximum capacity of fifteen rounds, and an effective range of fifty meters; its enlarged trigger guard was designed for shooting with gloves, and it was the favorite of the US military, terrorists, and professional killers.
Compared to the pistol issued by the city, that was simply bullying.
Yan Xie, with both hands on his gun, marched forward, shooting every time Ajie emerged from behind the car door. The bullets hit the metal doors with sparks. In a flash Yan Xie ran out of bullets, he advanced behind the Land Rover, threw away the empty gun, got onto the car top, and cleanly rolled over.
Without saying a word, Ajie raised his gun and fired a round of bullets at the top of the car!
Bang Bang Bang--.
The M92's 9mm bullet almost grazed his body, leaving an arc of bullet marks on the roof. Amids the smoke of gunpowder Yan Xie landed on his back, grabbed Ajie's hand which was holding the gun, and when the two wrestled with each other M92 suddenly went off!
Jiang Ting’s pupils dilated.
In the distance, Han Xiaomei nearly lost her voice shouting: "Deputy Chief Yan--"
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Yan Xie threw the M92 hard and the military gun spun and fell to the ground!
"Isn't that right, buddy." Yan Xie twisted Ajie's arm and said, "A fight is a fight, but why are you shooting? Doesn't it hurt your feelings?"
Ajie finally struck him hard with his body, and the two withdrew several steps at the same time, staring at each other closely.
"Since it's you, there's no need for me to hold back." Turning his neck, Aijie said, "Prepare to die."
Yan Xie smirked, "Since it's me, it's still unclear who's going to die."
Hardly he finished talking, Ajie's fist almost reached his eyes but was blocked with Yan Xie’s hand, followed by a leg kick at his cheek, and the two instantly started fighting!
In fact, if you strictly compared their abilities, Ajie was the one who had received professional training, but Yan Xie was the one who had grown up in the boxing gym and "gang", fought against others with knives, and been escorted to the police station twice a day, until he turned eighteen years old and went to the police academy to learn the fighting and combat systematically.
But unorthodox methods sometimes could give an unusual advantage. The fight was more brutal, more ruthless, and more bandit-like. Ajie grabbed Yan Xie’s arm and was about to give him a shoulder drop, but the moment he was in the air, Yan Xie hooked the back of Ajie's neck with his knee, and boom! Both sides fell to the ground at the same time, smashing the window of the Land Rover to pieces!
The glass shards flew in the air, landing all over their faces. Ajie spit out a mouthful of glass and was about to get up when suddenly his eyes went dark and he felt a huge force on his neck - Yan Xie who was behind him pressed him hard back to the ground with a knee-on-neck choke!
"Shit." cursed Ajie, who was unable to move his upper body, but still tried his best to reach and hook M92 from the ground.
Seeing that his fingers were close to the handle of the gun, Yan Xie could not let him reach it. He immediately got up and rushed to M92, trying to get to the gun first.
At that point Ajie was pushed flat to the bottom of the Land Rover. But he was tough, in a split second he grabbed the car door riddled with holes, got up, leaped, and caught him the moment before Yan Xie could grab the gun. Without saying a word, he kicked M92 out!
"Didn't you say that shooting in a fight hurt feelings?" sneered Ajie, grabbing Yan Xie, lifting him fiercely and smashing him on the hood of the car!
The remaining windows, which were already in jeopardy, could not hold up any longer and burst into glass in all directions.
Han Xiaomei's sharply cried out: "--Deputy Chief Yan!"
Ajie’s mouth was full of bloody cuts from the glass, he carelessly wiped it away. He looked up and saw Jiang Ting standing in front of Cherokee not far away.
They looked each other for a moment, and a smile full of mockery and pure masculine bravado appeared in Ajie's eyes, as he slowly mouthed: "Watch."
Spinning his wrist casually, he was just about to turn around and give a fatal blow when all of the sudden he was smashed into the car window by a deadly scissor kick!
"What feelings would I want to discuss with a future death row prisoner," Yan Xie stood up on the roof of the car: "Don’t you see that you deserve it?"
Yan Xie jumped from the car, grabbed the back of Ajie’s collar with hostility, lifted his head out of the window amids the clatter of numerous broken glass pieces, and finally slammed him into it again!
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Ajie’s head was covered in blood. Without a sound he grabbed Yan Xie and pushed him back, for seven or eight steps in a row, and crashed hard into the highway guardrail!
Both of them combined weighed more than three hundred jin, and the terrible impact caused by the inertial acceleration caused the metal guardrail to have a visible dent. In a split second Yan Xie's back was in severe pain, as if even the back of his ribs was broken. Then he barely dodged Ajie’s kick which landed in his original position, a few hundred jin of leg force left a hole in the metal guardrail!
Yan Xie clenched his teeth, grabbed Ajie with a fierce expression elbowing him at the back of the neck in succession with such ferocity that it was possible to hear a horrible cracking sound coming from his bones.
When two men with an average height of nearly 1.9 meters, strong and evenly matched, fought to death, they were like two fierce tigers that could never give up. The soil was punched out of the ground with their fists, the Land Rover lights were kicked to smithereens, and the broken glass and stones were pouring down. Ajie fiercely bent over to avoid Yan Xie’s heavy spinning kick, rose up to grab the Land Rover's already ruined roof, propped himself up with one hand, and fell to the side of the front passenger seat, grabbed the black sniper rifle case from the window and punched Yan Xie’s face!
"Bah!" Yan Xie spat out blood with tooth fragments on the spot, then caught the metal gun case, threw it away and kicked Ajie in the chest. Ajie spit out blood and flew several meters away!
Clang!
Ajie crashed into the guardrail scattering dust and bricks everywhere.
"..." Ajie propped himself up from the ground with his hands and slowly stood up, coughing and staring straight at Yan Xie.
His eyebrow bones and nose were long and high, and because the corners of his forehead and his eyes were full of blood, his eyes seemed particularly cold when he slowly said : "It does seem like I should kill you."
Yan Xie was just as breathless, his nose full of rusty scorching air, but those words made the corners of his mouth rise.
The smile was cruel and iron-blooded, and with this expression on his face, he raised his index finger and beckoned Ajie.
"Courting death," Ajie cursed, but when he only lifted his foot, suddenly--
Bang!
The loud noise shook the night, and everyone looked at the source of the sound at the same time.
"Stop." The gun which Jiang Ting had been pointing to the sky, turned towards Ajie, the M92 was still emitting a curl of smoke, "One more step and I'll shoot."
No one in the darkness noticed when Jiang Ting picked up the gun that had been kicked away by Yan Xie into the wilderness behind the guardrail, nor did they notice that his grip on the gun was unsteady.
No one except for Ajie.
The situation was at the standstill. Ajie narrowed his eyes, staring at Jiang Ting's cold, hard, bloodless face, as if he had pierced through the frozen, handsome facade and seen something deeper, hidden, painful and unknown.
"Shoot," Ajie blinked and laughed, "Aren't you a good shot? Here, shoot me, just like you killed 'Rivet'."
--Rivet.
Yan Xie's eyes went round as he glanced in Jiang Ting’s direction.
Like some forbidden spell broke through the ice, Jiang Ting stood straight there but it was as if his soul had plunged into the cold, piercing water.
The undercurrent of malicious memories came rushing in, wrapping around his body, then circling behind him, the devilish murmur sounded in his ear: "You want to go out!?"
A dark, sunless cell.
"Do you want to regain your freedom?"
The ray of light from the window crack shone on the shadow of a man in the corner.
"That man is the undercover police officer codenamed Rivet..."
He struggled to get back as hard as he could, but someone clamped down on him from behind and forced the gun into his hands.
"There's only one bullet in the chamber, it’s either the undercover officer or yourself." The owner of the voice in the nightmare smiled and said, "You have to make the right choice."
Jiang Ting was breathing heavily, but he couldn't tell if his hoarse gasp came from a dream or reality.
---I must live, he thought in a trance.
My brothers are dead, and I have to live to avenge them; everyone thinks I'm a traitor, and I have to live to clear my name...I can't die.
But
But-.
Jiang Ting was standing upright, beads of cold sweat were rolling from his temples to cheeks and slowly gathering on the tip of his jaw. He saw himself raise his hand with the gun, but with all his strength he could not avoid the fact that the nightmare had already happened, and could only shake. In the next moment he closed his eyes, and his index finger pressed the trigger--
Bang!
