Act.16 Pain in My Heart

Foreword:

Intense desires can lead to dangerous actions and absurd deeds.

[Part 1: Beyond Cognition]

Who is hitting us?

"Quan Kong, Baiyulou Industrial Park, and Nanhai Temple Scenic Area are all gone!"

"Bars, water bars, opium dens, amusement parks, dance halls, restaurants, delivery stations—the enemy is running and fighting everywhere!"

"Black Gloves! What's going on?!"

The various text messages and distress messages sent back by the city and surrounding satellite towns tell a terrifying story.

Within the more than 200 square kilometers of the main urban area of Clearwater Bay, there is a clandestine mobile force that is almost constantly carrying out sabotage, suppression, and attacks in the shadows.

Most of the fraternity leaders died in the first round of raids. The enemy was like the Little Brotherhood's close friends, relatives, and comrades-in-arms, and was very familiar with the opinion leaders of the Little Brotherhood's four main gangs: the Telephone Gang, the Mahjong Gang, the Mahjong Gang, and the Red Flower Gang.

The moment each city became a war zone, these people's heads were precisely and cruelly severed, used as tools to destroy the enemy's fighting spirit, and photographs were sent to newspapers.

At this very moment, Black Gloves is contacting the Feathered Serpent Bloodline Clan of the Religious order at the Heung Wan Ship Repair Depot, preparing for a counterattack.

But he didn't even know where the enemy was.

--Judging from the distress reports from various war zones, some said it was the First Transportation Department Executioner Battle Group, while others saw the insignia of the Bauhinia Battle Group. But without a doubt, these unit numbers all belonged to the rapid reaction force of Guangling Zhixi.

Six rapid reaction force regiments have arrived at Clearwater Bay, or seven if you include Hasben Madison's Rangers.

Although Lena Van Persie did not keep her promise to the Big Sister, the Canglang Group, which was supposed to have a thousand men, only had a little over a hundred actually arrive at the front lines. However, the regimental commander and staff officers who were in charge of the operations were all present, and the leaders of the six squads were all veterans with more than twenty battles under their command. Hasben experienced a hundred armed raids of varying sizes and was a true centurion.

If these legionary soldiers didn't intend to reveal their identities or their unit numbers, their exaggerated killing efficiency would make it impossible for any living person to recognize which unit they belonged to. It would be like a victim being passively attacked with a sack over their head, not even knowing who the enemy was.

These Ming De warriors were vicious and cunning, their fighting style completely different from historical records.

--After the Golden Eagle Logistics Point in the East Third District fell, informants immediately returned to report the situation. No shop in the area was spared, but the owner of the noodle shop downstairs seemed to have watched a thrilling movie.

The shop owner's store was sandwiched between a stolen gold shop and an opium den. The buildings on both sides had been doused with bullets, yet not even the glass of the noodle shop was broken. It was practically a paranormal event!

It was as if these monsters, like unseen demonic winds and will-o'-the-wisps, swept through the Little Brotherhood's stronghold, taking the lives of those involved, and then hurriedly left, leaving behind only bullet casings and bloodstains, without lingering for even a minute before disappearing.

When the remaining members of the Zipai Gang arrived to assess the losses at the treasury, they were immediately met with a fierce attack from another ambush force. The MG42 machine guns, originally intended as static defenses for the Golden Eagle Logistics point and painstakingly acquired by Black Gloves, were rendered useless when they fell into the hands of another group of enemies— Black Gloves nearly collapsed.

Black Gloves had already been to the "front lines" twice. To be specific, he didn't go voluntarily, but was forced to flee the war zone after being attacked. At the mobilization meeting, he was unwilling to speak up and boost the enemy's morale while diminishing his own—but the dozen or so blood relatives around him, laughing and joking, were completely unaware of the seriousness of the problem.

"There are traitors among us, absolutely traitors."

The young Bolivian man nervously lit a cigarette, his eyes bloodshot, his arms trembling as he drew the areas that had already fallen on the city map.

"Starting from the East Third District and extending to the Nanhua Road in the South City, Lewis Hotel, a 14-kilometer front was drawn, with simultaneous advances and multiple breakthroughs."

The Black Gloves was swearing and cursing.

"--This was a premeditated! Organized! A planned attack with a clear objective! Damn it."

The city map might not be enough to illustrate the severity of the problem, because Black Gloves doesn't know exactly which district the enemy has reached.

Xue Ming's operational plans were never about seizing land or occupying a region.

Forty-five million Hui Stone Currency, used as war funds for this localized armed conflict, have already been spent by more than half. They have been converted into over 1,200 firearms, countless bullets and explosives, armor, and equipment.

The first step was to establish logistics points along the central railway and freight train routes in the south and north of the city, including those for the Golden Eagle. This was precisely to deliver these supplies to the soldiers.

Subsequent deployment plans were definitely not centered around the theme of conquering cities and seizing territory.

The War King's orders to the six chapter leaders were solely for killing.

There were no prisoners, no conditions for surrender, no inspection of the feigning dead soldiers, and a withdrawal from the battlefield immediately after each battle, allowing the next perfectly functioning team to take stock of the spoils. Relying on the advantages of terrain and intelligence, they aimed to eliminate the enemy's manpower to the greatest extent possible.

The Black Gloves were so tense and powerless because the Little Brotherhood suffered too many battle losses.

From the first gunshot and the first cry for help until now, less than forty minutes have passed since he was holed up in the ship repair yard. He needs to organize the garrison to protect the safety of the Cult Leader while fighting the enemy as much as possible, boxing against these unseen and intangible ghost troops.

The entire Clearwater Bay spans only fourteen kilometers, yet over eight hundred of the more than fourteen hundred drug manufacturing workshops have gone missing. The remaining six hundred or so are still unaware of what has happened! This massive information delay has left the Little Brotherhood members like defenseless infants, completely oblivious to the deadly ferocity of the knives wielded by the perpetrators.

Black Gloves comes from the fighting gang under the Religious order, and the Little Brotherhood does indeed have a group of veterans who are capable of fighting tough battles, understand the laws of the battlefield, possess the will to fight, and have a very keen sense of modern warfare.

However, in the first two battles, these soldiers bearing the name of the Religious order were almost like fragile children, crushed by the Lion Group of Guangling Zhixi in the skirmish at Blood Sail Gas Station.

That was a tactic the Black Gloves couldn't comprehend.

--It was a monster several levels above his combat command abilities.

In that complex, dirty, and chaotic urban area with numerous alleyways, Black Gloves originally thought that his own soldiers, being on home ground, should have a much better understanding of the environment than the enemy, and could use the various passages in the doors, windows, and rooms to obtain favorable shooting positions, and greet the enemy's sides and rear ends in a friendly manner.

The result of a head-on confrontation was devastating; they were utterly overwhelmed and unable to retaliate.

The enemy seemed to be everywhere, not just in the ground-level buildings. When the troops moved through the long streets, the sudden coordinated fire from the balconies of houses and the gaps in the dirty sewer iron plates was like poisoned throwing knives, piercing their most vulnerable and fatal Gate of Death.

But these deadly attacks lasted only a brief moment before ceasing immediately, as if these ghostly commanders knew exactly how many bullets to use and how effective they would be, and then immediately ordered the spearheads of the coordinated attack to handle the offensive missions on other routes.

A strange feeling even stirred within the Black Gloves's heart—

Faced with the familiar streets and alleys, he even felt like an outsider. He didn't understand this city at all, nor did he understand the old street that had raised him.

Intense desires can lead to dangerous actions and absurd deeds. After losing the Star Realm Gang as a rival, the elite soldiers of the Little Brotherhood have been resting for more than half a month, and their remaining sense of crisis has dissipated in their life of pleasure and debauchery.

"Don't be so nervous, boss," someone offering blood donations comforted the leader at the large round table. "You're the Cult Leader's godson; the Cult Leader is all-powerful and certainly won't abandon you. Let's find a place to make a comeback—I've already sampled too many girls in Clearwater Bay; wouldn't a change of pace be wonderful? Hehehehe."

[Part ②: Beware of people with umbrellas on <Sunny Day>]

Before this outstanding warrior of the Religious order could finish speaking, the smile remained forever on his face.

The seagull's sharp cry tore open the soft flesh of the neck, and the scalding bullet brought forth equally scalding blood.

The man in the Black Gloves felt a chill run down his spine as he watched his subordinate's head loll to one side, with only skin and flesh hanging from his neck.

He immediately called upon his spirit to protect his head, only to feel a sweet, metallic taste in his throat. His bulletproof armor clanged and clattered from the bullets. He scrambled through the shipyard workshop to find cover.

The seventeen elite soldiers of the Little Brotherhood.

These Black Gloves were used to protect the Cult Leader, serving as the last line of defense outside Zero Platform.

This is also why the Big Sister has to take action personally to minimize losses to the rapid reaction force; it's a high-value target that must be assassinated discreetly by Galaxy.

The Black Gloves pulled out a radio and reported the enemy situation to the defense personnel at the Heung Wan outpost.

"Enemies! Enemies!"

A loud interference sound came from the radio.

--A familiar and gentle voice reached the Black Gloves's ears.

"Where?"

Black Gloves: "Glory!? Are you at the communications outpost? Transfer me to the Cult Leader! The enemy has already reached the shipyard!"

Glory: "Where are you? I'm coming to your aid."

Bullets pounded the casting table in the workshop, narrowly missing the helmet of the Black Gloves.

Black Gloves: "I'm afraid I won't survive!"

All around were wails and screams, but only the cries of seagulls could be heard.

Glory: "Are you giving up? I can't hear you clearly, speak louder."

Black Gloves: "I said! I'm afraid I won't survive."

Right now, at this very moment--

Xue Ming clearly heard the exact location of the Black Gloves inside the room, and the twelve bullets locked onto the target, almost forming a straight line.

They shattered the casting platform, cracked the iron blocks, and beat the Black Gloves's armored body until he writhed and trembled, coughing up blood, his bones cracked, and he became dizzy.

He crawled out from beside the platform, his consciousness hazy and unreal, and glimpsed a corpse beside the round table whose head had been blown off by a bullet.

His elite soldiers died in front of the table.

One of them died in a rather artistic way: his upper body remained on the wooden plank road of the dock, while his lower body fell into the cooling well of the foundry.

Two people were lying paralyzed in the corridor in front of the second-floor electrical room, their heads smashed by a single shot that killed them both.

The remaining dozen or so, lined up neatly as if they were being executed, collapsed and died the instant they rushed out of the dock.

He followed the sound of footsteps and looked over—

--Glory held an umbrella in one hand and a gun in the other, while the heavily armored elite soldier clinging to her leg struggled in his death throes.

The umbrella handle gently lifted the helmet's visor, the gun muzzle probed inside, and with a bang, the soldier's head split in two.

"You son of a bitch!" Black Gloves roared, his eyes blazing with fury. "You filthy bitch! How dare you betray the Cult Leader!"

Glory did not answer, but simply raised her gun and fired a burst.

The bullet was aimed at the Black Gloves's head, but the young and strong psionicist blocked it with his gauntlet and powerful body. He didn't dare utter another arrogant word or utter any nonsense, fearing that his heart and lungs would be affected by his words and he would no longer be able to control his core power to maintain a defensive posture.

His sideways stance was very professional, minimizing the area hit by heavy armor so he could lower his right arm to search for a weapon and return fire.

The little courage that had just been mustered by anger was only enough for Black Gloves to peek out through the helmet's observation window under his armpit. The endurance plate had been cracked by bullets—but the scene that resembled hell terrified Black Gloves, leaving him pale with fright.

The roads surrounding the shipyard were so blood-soaked that it was no exaggeration to say they were lined with rivers of blood. The bodies of the defense personnel stationed there were left on both sides of the roadway's irrigation ditch; they were slaughtered almost without any time to react!

Jingguang finished firing all twenty-one bullets, and Xue Ming was reloading when...

Black Gloves finally took a few steps forward to close the distance and retaliate with his secondary weapon at his side!

The M92 ammunition fired, but it felt like nothing when it hit Glory. A phantom, ethereal deity emerged from her body, Fragrant Dream floating before Xue Ming, an impenetrable steel cat that even bullets couldn't shatter.

Black Gloves tossed aside his weapon and charged forward, heavily armored. The moment he learned that the enemy possessed the Soul Might of the Flash Butterfly, he no longer intended to end the battle with conventional firepower!

He had only taken a few steps when a tremendous force, like a flying hammer, struck him, locking him firmly in place.

The repeated 9x39mm bullets nearly bleed his internal organs. He felt as if he were living in an iron coffin, suffering endless torment before slowly dying.

After another twenty-one bullets were fired, the young and strong soldier was no longer young, and had no strength left.

His left knee was bent to the side by a bullet, and dragging his heavy body, he slowly walked towards Glory, limping towards the enemy, seemingly still wanting to fight to the death.

He drew his combat dagger from his waist; the teardrop-shaped blade was perfect for stabbing and cutting. He had barely extended it when the terrifying woman snatched it away.

The excruciating pain emanating from his abdominal and skirt armor indicated that his intestines and genitals were likely leaking more filth. In the moment of weakness and pain, his helmet strap came undone, allowing him to breathe in the pungent, sweet air and regain his vision.

Glory: "That's something. You wasted a lot of my bullets."

The high boots lightly pushed off the chest of the Black Gloves.

She immediately kicked the vicious thug several steps away, threw off her helmet, put away her gun, and prepared to conserve ammunition for the final battle.

Glory: "But there's not much."

Black Gloves' legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, now a lamb to the slaughter.

Immediately following, a flying knife struck him between the eyebrows. In his final moments, this Little Brotherhood officer still tried to put up a last stand and continue fighting.

Xue Ming kept throwing knives at the head until all twelve daggers he had taken from the elite soldier were used up.

The blade struck the broad forehead of the man in the Black Gloves, like flowers arranged in a row.

Ultimately, still feeling it wasn't safe, the Black Immaculate man slammed his boot sole down on the Black Gloves man's head!

With a burst of gunfire, the Big Sister grabbed her umbrella and ran upstairs, intending to climb the railway tracks on the top wall to Zero Platform and snipe Lawrence Madison.

The shipyard was silent, and a bright red rose bloomed on the head of the drug dealer's bodyguard.

He's dead!