As Zhong Lichun pressed the detonator, a deafening roar erupted, and the entire camp was instantly swallowed by a terrifying explosion. Zhong Lichun had placed the bombs in very strategic locations, mainly important areas such as the armory, the oil depot, and the parking lot. Of course, she had not forgotten to place one on the outer wall of Grede's house, either. If everything had gone according to plan, Zhong Lichun would have quietly taken all the hostages away before detonating the bombs, and Grede would certainly have been blown to pieces. Unfortunately, plans never kept up with changes. They had been discovered, causing chaos throughout the camp, and Grede had naturally rushed out of his room when he heard the commotion. As a result, he narrowly escaped death when the bombs exploded.
Grede stared furiously at the house behind him, which had been reduced to ruins, his eyes bloodshot. Then he turned to look at the car that was already driving away. He saw Zhong Lichun, and only then did he realize that all of this had actually been done by his own adopted daughter.
He could not understand why Zhong Lichun had betrayed him. If not for him, Zhong Lichun would have died long ago. He had been the one to save her life, and he had been the one to give the girl the kind of life others could only dream of. Yet the girl had actually betrayed him!
His overwhelming rage drove Grede to let out a hysterical roar. "Bring them back! Make sure you bring them back alive! I'll make that damn girl pay for what she's done!"
Although bombs had also been planted in the parking lot, they had not destroyed every vehicle. Hearing Grede's furious roar, his men hurried toward the cars that were still intact, started them up, and chased after the truck that had already driven away.
An intense chase began just like that. Although Kabu had been driving the truck for quite some time, the truck itself was not very fast. On top of that, it was carrying many people, whose combined weight was considerable, so the vehicle's speed remained low.
Most of the vehicles chasing them from behind were jeeps. Even the trucks were empty, making them much faster than the one Zhong Lichun and the others were riding in. Kabu watched the pursuers drawing closer in the rearview mirror, cold sweat covering his forehead. Even his hands gripping the steering wheel were slick with sweat. He knew exactly what would happen if they were caught and taken back after betraying Grede, so he had already made up his mind: even if he died, he would not let himself be captured.
Zhong Lichun stood at the back of the truck, coldly watching the pursuing jeeps. The nearest one was less than a hundred meters away. She knew they would certainly be caught if this continued, so she braced the Semi-automatic Rifle against her shoulder, ready to fight these pursuers to the death.
A few minutes later, the vehicles behind them had drawn even closer. Someone in the lead vehicle stood up and began aiming a gun at the truck ahead. Following the principle of striking first, Zhong Lichun immediately pulled the trigger. The rapidly spinning bullet tore through the air and struck the center of the standing man's forehead.
The man hit by the bullet died on the spot. His body tilted to one side and fell off the vehicle. The driver of the jeep was startled and hurriedly spun the steering wheel, sending the vehicle veering sideways and out of Zhong Lichun's firing angle.
Because Zhong Lichun had opened fire, the pursuers began attacking as well. Although Grede had ordered them to capture Zhong Lichun alive, who could still care about his orders at a time like this? A dense barrage of gunfire erupted, and countless bullets whistled toward the truck.
Zhong Lichun quickly crouched behind the truck's sideboard and shouted at the terrified hostages behind her, "Everyone, get down! Don't raise your heads! Hurry!"
At Zhong Lichun's shout, all the hostages immediately sprawled on the floor of the truck bed, clutching their heads with both hands. Several of the more timid ones began trembling.
After dodging the enemy's volley, Zhong Lichun stood up again to return fire. However, the other vehicles were swaying wildly from side to side, making it impossible to aim accurately. In the end, Zhong Lichun emptied an entire magazine without killing a single person.
She ducked back behind the truck's sideboard and replaced the magazine with extremely practiced movements. Just then, a deep rumble suddenly came from the truck's right side, followed by a violent shaking of the vehicle. Clearly, one of the cars had pulled alongside the truck and begun ramming it.
Given the truck's own weight and that of all the people aboard, an ordinary jeep could not possibly overturn it. However, the impacts made it impossible for the truck to drive normally. In the cab, Kabu gripped the steering wheel with all his might, hoping to keep the vehicle steady. Before it had fully regained its balance, however, the second impact came.
This time, the truck was knocked off course and headed straight toward a dead tree by the roadside. When Kabu saw they were about to hit it, he hurriedly turned the steering wheel in the opposite direction. Under his control, the truck narrowly scraped past the tree, but its branches caught on the canopy. The canvas roof was forcibly torn off, leaving the truck bed completely exposed.
Because of the violent shaking, Zhong Lichun could not stand at all. She could only cling to the sideboard and do her best to keep her balance. Just as the truck steadied slightly and she prepared to stand up and return fire, a terrified scream suddenly came from the truck bed. Zhong Lichun turned her head, and her expression instantly changed. She had actually seen a grenade with its safety pin removed rolling around inside the truck bed.
The truck bed was full of people, all lying on the floor. If the grenade exploded, no one inside would survive. There was no time for Zhong Lichun to think. She threw the Semi-automatic Rifle in her hand onto the floor and lunged straight for the grenade. However, the truck was shaking too violently, and the grenade kept rolling back and forth, making it extremely difficult to grab.
It took Zhong Lichun two or three attempts before she finally caught the grenade. Judging from her experience, it was about to explode!
Zhong Lichun had no time to stand up. She quickly rolled onto her back and threw the grenade away with all her strength. Just as it had left her hand and traveled four or five meters, it exploded in midair. The terrifying shockwave made the truck lurch violently once again, while shrapnel from the explosion shot into the truck bed. Several unlucky people were struck, and the unluckiest of them was hit in the head and killed instantly.
Zhong Lichun was unlucky too. A piece of shrapnel struck her left thigh, embedding itself deep in the flesh. Fortunately, there was plenty of flesh in that area, so it did not hit the bone and miraculously missed every blood vessel.
The excruciating pain of the shrapnel in her thigh made Zhong Lichun's body jerk violently, but she did not cry out. She merely clenched her teeth and endured in silence. By then, several jeeps had already caught up alongside the truck, and one of the men had even stood up and begun climbing onto its side.
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