Two dull thuds sounded, followed by a stream of fire bursting from the tank's cannon. Then came an explosion, and the entire turret was blown off. The tank's ammunition had detonated. Since Zhang Hao was behind the turret, he easily leaped out of the way and hurried back. In the distance, he saw five or six rebel soldiers trying to enter the small courtyard.
Looking to die!
Those rebels had completely lost their heads. The moment they saw the courtyard, they tried to hide inside. Zhang Hao rushed toward them like a gale. It was dark, and even with the flames, the entire camp was still dim.
The dagger in his hand flashed in the night, its blade reflecting streaks of red firelight. The rebels' bodies stiffened and froze. By the time Zhang Hao returned to the rooftop, they had slowly collapsed, dying without a sound.
The area around the courtyard had become a death zone. Any rebel soldier who came within three hundred meters was as good as dead.
A large number of rebels still managed to escape. After all, no matter how fast Mi Feng and the others were, there were too many soldiers in the camp. With more than three thousand soldiers fleeing in different directions, Mi Feng and the others couldn't kill them all in time. Even if three thousand pigs stood still and let you kill them, it would take half a day—let alone people.
So the soldiers who resisted were few. Most of them still got away.
Mi Feng commandeered a tank. With his excellent aim, he fired one shell after another, and every blast landed right in the middle of a crowd of soldiers.
He even drove the tank after them, mowing them down as he went.
As for Zhang Yihu, Zhang Erhu, and Zhang Sanhu, they kept circling the courtyard as they fought their way outward. Anyone who hid instead of running became a target for the three of them.
Looking at the map displayed in his mind, Zhang Hao saw that most of the rebel soldiers had escaped. Only a handful of red dots remained, and they were being quickly eliminated.
Using the robots' dedicated communications system, Zhang Hao said, "Come back once you're done. Keep an eye out for transport. We'd prefer large off-road trucks; if there aren't any, armored personnel carriers will do."
"Got it!"
The battle had lasted just over an hour since nightfall. Those who could escape had done so; those who couldn't, truly couldn't. Under the highly efficient killing of the five robots, not a single rebel was left alive.
Four armored personnel carriers drove over. As for the tank Mi Feng had driven, he had already blown it up.
By the time Mi Feng returned, the courtyard was packed with hostages. Zhang Hao went into the building and quickly found the door leading to the basement. He went downstairs with a dagger in hand.
The basement was very crude. An iron door stood at the bottom of the stairs, secured with a chain. Zhang Hao cut through the chain with his dagger. The clatter made the people in the basement panic.
When he opened the door, Zhang Hao was surprised to find Chinese people inside. "You're Chinese?"
A middle-aged man gripped Zhang Hao's hand tightly. "Good heavens! You... We're from Huajian General Company. These are all our workers. Are you... a soldier?"
Zhang Hao smiled slightly. "We were hired to rescue people. Come on, you're safe now. We need to get out of here quickly..."
The middle-aged man remained calm. "Let's go."
As soon as they stepped outside, they heard Zhang Yihu asking who knew how to drive.
Most of the people raised their hands. Zhang Hao chuckled. "Not ordinary cars. Armored personnel carriers. Who can drive one?"
When Wu Renbao saw Zhang Hao come out, he hurried over. He didn't recognize Zhang Hao, but he remembered his voice. Spotting the middle-aged man behind him, he exclaimed, "Mr. Chen, what are you doing here?"
Manager Wu!
Chen Ming was no ordinary man. He was the general manager of Huajian General Company. He had come to Labia to discuss a construction project and inspect the company's local worksite. On the way, rebels had kidnapped him. After just one day, they had demanded a ransom from Huajian General Company. Since their target was a state-owned enterprise, they hadn't dared mistreat the hostages too badly.
Wu Baoren reintroduced Chen Ming, then said, "Mr. Chen, this is the person our company hired. He came to rescue me..."
Chen Ming was startled. A private company from China actually had this kind of capability? They had hired mercenaries to rescue them—what a huge expenditure! And these people clearly looked Chinese, not like foreign mercenaries. But when had there been Chinese mercenaries like this in Africa?
Chen Ming said to Zhang Hao, "A few of our workers served in the military and know how to drive armored vehicles. Let them take the wheel. I can drive one too. How about I take command of the convoy?"
Wu Baoren said, "Mr. Chen served in the military before joining the company. I remember he retired as a senior colonel, right?"
Zhang Hao knew that a senior colonel would have been at least a regimental commander, if not a deputy division commander or division commander. He should have no trouble leading them. "All right. You're in charge."
He jumped onto an armored vehicle and shouted, "Chen Ming is taking command of the convoy!" He repeated it once in English and once in French.
Most of the kidnapped hostages were Caucasians or Asians. They didn't dare say or do anything out of line. These people had stormed the camp and rescued them; they were not to be messed with. Everyone behaved themselves.
Zhang Hao said, "We're heading to Enjaraba. We've cleared most of the road. You can pick up weapons, too. If we run into rebels, don't hold back—shoot them. They have no reason or sense; there's no talking to them. Just fight your way through."
Chen Ming was exceptionally capable. After leaving the military, he had joined Huajian General Company and become its general manager in less than five years. He couldn't have gotten there without real ability. He also had powerful connections. With both skill and backing, promotion came easily.
As Zhang Hao shook his hand, one of the Nano-machines on his wrist extended into Chen Ming's skin. It wasn't meant to control him, but to keep him from talking too much and leaking important information. This was a major incident. Defeating an army would draw the attention of many countries and certain powerful groups.
Through handshakes, pats on the shoulder, and other means, each hostage received a Nano-machine. As Mi Feng put it, every potential problem had to be nipped in the bud.
Most of the hostages couldn't drive armored vehicles, but they could drive pickup trucks. So armored vehicles went at the front and rear, with pickups in the middle. There were a hundred and forty hostages in all. Under Chen Ming's command, they quickly formed a convoy, with everyone assigned a place.
Mi Feng said quietly, "Chen Ming is a real talent! We should recruit him if we get the chance."
Zhang Hao nodded. "I've already given him a Nano-machine."
Mi Feng said, "Good. Just keep an eye on him. Let Old Wu build a rapport with him."
Sure enough, as soon as Mi Feng finished speaking, Wu Renbao had already moved over beside Chen Ming.
Zhang Hao said, "Have Zhang Erhu and Zhang Sanhu protect them. Zhang Yihu will come with us. We can't let the rebels off lightly."
Leaving Zhang Erhu and Zhang Sanhu behind, Mi Feng, Zhang Hao, and Zhang Yihu immediately set off.
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