"Captain, this can't go on! There are more and more monsters!"
Among the sprinting squad, a burly man nearly two meters tall held a massive machine gun. He periodically turned and fired to slow the monsters, shouting loudly.
"Meng Xiu! Hold on! No matter what, we must ensure Elder Zhou's safety!"
At the front of the team, a cold-faced, lean man wielding a War Blade cleaved apart a monster blocking the way. He glanced at the white-haired elder being carried by a teammate and spoke gravely.
The elder being carried by a martial artist holding a long blade remained silent. As an old researcher, he knew very well that there was nothing he needed to do right now. All he had to do was follow their arrangements and avoid becoming a burden.
"I've already sent out a distress signal. Reinforcements will arrive soon."
"Captain, I know, but I'm running low on ammunition!"
The burly man called Meng Xiu roared as he ran, firing behind him.
Under such intense fire, the heavy machine gun's ammunition was being depleted far too quickly.
"Captain, I'm running low on ammunition too!"
Another team member holding a heavy machine gun shouted helplessly.
"Get into the building! Use its complicated layout to shake them off. There's an alley behind that building. We'll have a chance there!"
"Yes!"
The surrounding soldiers answered solemnly.
As the military's most elite martial artist unit, they had experienced situations like this many times. If it had only been themselves, they would have had nothing to fear.
But this time was different. They needed to protect an important researcher. There absolutely could not be any accidents!
They could die, but Professor Zhou could not!
Because they knew that if Professor Zhou's research succeeded, countless brothers in the military would be able to stand again!
However, when they were only a little over a hundred meters from the building, atop another building several hundred meters away...
A team had already set its sights on them.
Two white men holding sniper rifles wore bloodthirsty smiles as they aimed at the fleeing team.
"That old man surnamed Zhou is really impossible to persuade. We were willing to pay ten billion to buy the technology in his hands, but he still refused!"
A bald white man stared at the old man being carried on the back of a military martial artist, displeasure in his eyes.
"If there were any other way, I truly wouldn't want to kill him!
As long as he was willing to work for our HR Alliance, we could accept any price he named!
Unfortunately, he simply doesn't know what's good for him!
Internal reports say their research has made a major breakthrough. If they truly succeed, our losses will be enormous!
So he must die!"
Hearing the bald white man's words, an Asian man beside him spoke quietly.
"Mr. Davis, will there really be no problem if we kill him here?"
Davis shot him a dissatisfied look and said in a deep voice.
"Furuta Koji! As long as we keep our hands clean, who will know it was us? Without direct evidence, what can anyone do to us? The Polenus Family is not to be trifled with!"
"Yes!"
"Do you think there are only a few of us involved in this operation? We're merely the ones acting directly. Who knows how many important figures are watching from behind us!"
"It would have been fine if that old man had stayed cooped up in his laboratory, but he actually came out into the wilderness!"
"This time, none of the military's War God-level experts are nearby. As long as we move quickly, succeed, and leave, someone will naturally handle everything afterward."
Davis sneered.
"If you want to blame someone, blame Zhou Zhengming for extracting a special Self-healing Factor from monsters. Its effects nearly rival the Water of Life, yet its price is frighteningly low!
If he really succeeds in researching it, it will be a devastating blow to our HR Alliance pharmaceutical companies!"
"That would mean at least trillions in economic losses!"
"It's not just our HR Alliance. Even those people in North America, heh heh."
Davis suddenly stopped and said no more.
"Find an opportunity. Prioritize killing Zhou Zhengming!"
"Understood!"
The moment the words fell, the two white men with sniper rifles pulled their triggers almost simultaneously!
Bang!
Bang!
Two deep, muffled reports rang out as two bullets tore through the air toward the fleeing group in the distance.
He Jing Tian, the captain clearing the way at the front, felt his scalp tingle. His Advanced General-level neural reaction speed allowed him to detect the disturbance in the distant air!
"Large-caliber sniper rifles!"
He Jing Tian's eyes turned bloodshot. The long blade in his hand flashed up and struck one of the incoming sniper rounds with precision.
But on the other side, the military martial artist carrying Professor Zhou had no time to react.
Normally, as an Intermediate Warlord-level martial artist, he could react to a sniper attack if he was prepared.
But he was carrying someone, someone who had to be protected.
He also spotted the incoming bullet, and its target was Professor Zhou on his back.
In that emergency, he only had time to shift his body slightly and barely shield Professor Zhou. Yet the sniper round instantly tore through his right arm!
Under the power of the large-caliber sniper bullet, the right arm tightly gripping the long blade was blasted away in an instant, turning into a mist of blood!
"Enemy attack!"
"Sniper rifles!"
The belated warning had no effect at all.
Zhang Sheng's body crashed heavily to the ground, but even then, he instinctively shielded Professor Zhou behind him and did not let him suffer any harm!
"Zhang Sheng!"
"Protect Professor Zhou!"
The sudden attack threw the entire team into disarray!
Bang!
Bang!
Rat-a-tat-tat—
The snipers in the white men's assault team fired continuously, while Furuta Koji directly drew a gun and sprayed bullets wildly.
"Retreat! Get into the building!"
He Jing Tian's eyes were red as he stared fixedly at the muzzle flashes on the distant rooftop.
With his eyesight, he could even clearly see the savage smiles on the faces of the white men and Furuta Koji.
There was no time to grieve. The group swung their weapons repeatedly, blocking the incoming barrage as they barely retreated into the ruins of a building.
But that delay allowed the pursuing monster horde to catch up. The instant they hid inside the building, the monsters completely surrounded it.
"We can't get out! We're surrounded, Captain!"
Meng Xiu fired his heavy machine gun madly, its barrel glowing red-hot.
Inside the building, they fought as they retreated, using the terrain to evade again and again.
"Go upstairs and hold out for reinforcements!"
Although the situation was already critically dangerous, He Jing Tian remained calm as the captain.
"No! Going upstairs is a dead end! There's a High-level Beast General in the monster horde. The building won't last long before it collapses!"
A tall soldier holding a Battle Axe, who had been following behind He Jing Tian, wore an ugly expression.
"Meng Xiu, you and I will cover the rear. Captain, protect Elder Zhou and Zhang Sheng as you retreat from the back!"
"Alright!"
Hearing the order, Meng Xiu, who held the machine gun, grinned fiercely and activated a tremendously powerful bomb on his belt.
"Shao Yanwu, what are you trying to do?"
He Jing Tian roared.
"Captain, there's no time!"
Zhang Sheng, who had just given himself emergency treatment, his arm completely blasted into blood mist, hardened his expression as well.
"My arm is injured. I can't leave. I'll stay too. You go. Remember to avenge us."
"Captain, the mission is what matters! Protect Elder Zhou and avenge us!"
Just as they decided to hold the rear and create an opportunity for the others, a clear eagle cry came from the sky.
Screeeech—
The high-pitched, piercing cry shook the already ruined building, sending broken stones tumbling down.
The few people who had been discussing the rear guard arrangements fell into despair at once.
"It's over. It's a Lord-level Black Crown Golden Eagle!"