Although Zhong Lichun had become cold-blooded over the past six years or so, she had always retained a measure of kindness in her heart. She did not want anyone else to suffer what she had endured as a child, especially those children. Even now, she still remembered how helpless and desperate she had been back then. No matter what, she would never let these children repeat her fate.
Zhong Lichun did not dare openly defy Grede, but she had already made up her mind. This time, she would save these people no matter what. She would never let them be harmed again.
That night, Zhong Lichun did not sleep. Instead, she sat at the table and silently loaded bullets into the magazine. She knew exactly what she was going to do, and she also knew what the consequences would be, but she was determined to go through with it. When she was young, she had betrayed her own principles to survive and accepted her enemy as her father. Over the years, her hands had been stained with blood, yet she had still retained her humanity. The purpose of her survival had been to avenge her parents, and today was the time to act.
After the night had deepened, Zhong Lichun quietly left the room. However, she did not immediately go to rescue the hostages. Instead, she secretly placed several charges of TNT around the camp. She knew that the moment she started taking the hostages away, she would attract attention, and she would then come under fierce attack. So she had to create enough trouble in the camp after the rescue began to improve her chances of success.
After setting up the explosives, Zhong Lichun returned to her quarters. She then strapped her weapons and equipment onto herself. Once she had confirmed that everything was ready, she pushed open the door again and headed toward the building where the hostages were being held.
Because of the importance of this group of hostages, there were actually six guards assigned to watch them, positioned around the building.
Using the darkness of night, Zhong Lichun quietly began approaching the building. She soon spotted the two guards stationed on its right side.
The area around the building was wide open. There was no cover within at least fifteen meters of it. If Zhong Lichun rashly ventured out, she would certainly be spotted immediately.
So Zhong Lichun did not hurry out. Instead, she crouched in a corner of a nearby building and waited for an opportunity. Years of training had turned her into a true expert, and she was not lacking in patience. She knew very well that sometimes, a little more patience offered a much better chance of staying alive.
After waiting for roughly six or seven minutes, one of the two guards took out a cigarette, lit it, and inhaled. The other reached out to ask his companion for one. It was already the dead of night, and a normal person's biological clock would make him drowsy. A cigarette could help clear his mind and ward off sleep.
However, the other man helplessly crushed the empty cigarette pack in his hand, indicating that he had smoked his last one. The guard who had failed to get a cigarette curled his lips and muttered a few curses. Then he left his post, apparently intending to find some cigarettes elsewhere.
Seeing that one of them had finally acted alone, Zhong Lichun knew her opportunity had come. She hunched over and crept along the building wall toward the approaching guard. The instant he rounded the building and left the other guard's line of sight, Zhong Lichun lunged forward like a leopard. Catching him off guard, she wrapped one hand around his neck and covered his mouth with the other. Then she twisted hard with both hands. Amid a faint crack of breaking bone, the guard's neck was snapped.
After killing the guard, Zhong Lichun dragged his body into an abandoned, unoccupied room nearby. Then she crouched in the corner and waited again. This time, the wait was even shorter—only about two minutes. The remaining guard finally called out impatiently, asking why his companion had not returned, and walked over with his rifle.
His fate was naturally the same as his companion's. Caught off guard, he had his neck snapped by Zhong Lichun. He would never smoke another cigarette in this life.
After dealing with the two guards, Zhong Lichun circled around to the other side of the building and waited for a chance to eliminate the two there as well. Unfortunately, her luck was not as good this time. Neither guard showed any intention of leaving. One of them even leaned against the wall and began dozing off. If she continued waiting, the shift change would reveal that the two guards on the other side were dead, and the rescue plan would fail completely.
Left with no choice, Zhong Lichun had to lure the snake out of its hole. She picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the wall of a building not far away. The stone struck with a slap. Although the sound was not loud, it was quite noticeable in the silent night.
The guard dozing against the wall did not react much, but the other immediately became alert. After kicking his companion, the guard headed toward the spot where the sound had come from.
What awaited him was Zhong Lichun's merciless strangulation. The other guard, awakened by his companion's kick, also grew wary when his companion failed to return for a long time. He picked up his rifle and walked toward the place where his companion had disappeared.
This man was very cautious and did not walk quickly. He swept his gaze around as he went. Zhong Lichun had just hidden the other guard's body in a corner and returned, but she failed to notice that the barrel of the rifle on her back had poked out from behind the corner.
"What's there?" The approaching guard immediately grew alert when he saw the rifle barrel and shouted the question. It was the dead of night, and in the silent surroundings, his voice was loud enough to attract the attention of people nearby. Zhong Lichun felt her heart stop for a beat, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead. However, she reacted quickly. After a brief hesitation, she rose from the corner and walked out with a cold expression. She asked the guard, "Why are you alone? Where's the other one?"
Zhong Lichun held a fairly high position within the organization. Thus, when the guard saw her, he was startled at first, then hurriedly lowered his rifle and said respectfully, "Miss, that man went to investigate after hearing a noise. Didn't you see him?"
"Bastard! He must have gone off to slack off again. Go find him and bring him back. I'll make sure he gets punished properly!" Zhong Lichun pretended to be angry as she scolded him, then gave the order.
The guard did not think much of it. After hearing Zhong Lichun's command, he hurried toward the direction in which the other man had disappeared. Unfortunately, he failed to notice that by the time he passed Zhong Lichun, she already had a sharp Military knife in her hand.
After successfully dealing with the guard once again, Zhong Lichun dragged the body away as before, preparing to hide it. However, perhaps the guard's earlier shout had alerted the two men watching the other side. Just as Zhong Lichun was dragging the body, the two guards happened to approach and saw her dragging it.
"Miss, what are you doing? Did you kill him?" One guard was stunned at the sight. Then he instinctively raised his rifle and aimed it at Zhong Lichun. At that moment, she was still in the posture of dragging the corpse and had no time to react. With a gun trained on her, the instant she dared make any move, the bullet would likely strike her body.
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