Boom!   

A violent explosion boomed next to Xia Lei. Deafening echoes and the shock wave from the blast whooshed towards Xia Lei in a flood. 

A bomb had gone off. 

But it wasn’t just the explosion which could be seen. Four gunmen in white camouflage were visible too. He had timed it very accurately, and there was no mistake in his movements either, only those Indian troops had been too useless. He had already stopped shooting at those Indian soldiers but there was still a lot of dilly-dallying and fear of the slightest thing, and a lot of time had been wasted before the charge. It was also at that time that the gunmen behind the hill increased their pace, and took the opportunity to close in when he was exchanging fire with the Indian soldiers. 

Bang! 

A net flew at Xia Lei. 

The net unfurled in the air, and stretched out to Xia Lei. 

Xia Lei rolled to avoid it, then stayed close to the ground as he rolled back under the cliff. 

Pew pew pew! A line of bullets hit the snow where he’d rolled. If he had been just a little slower, his lower limbs would have been hit.

The gunmen who had climbed to the peak continued their assault. They were not shooting blindly, but firing quite rhythmically, pressuring Xia Lei and not giving him the chance to fire back. 

These gunmen were obviously much better trained than the Indian troops. 

Xia Lei hid anxiously under the cliff. Just a few seconds prior, he had had some hope that he could be able to make use of the terrain advantage to keep the Americans downhill. He had enough ammunition to do it, and if he managed to hold on till the day broke, he and Tang Yuyan would be able to get out of danger. However, hope was just a beautiful thing that reality could not support. He only needed one or two minutes to arm himself, but the enemy was not even giving him this time to do so. 

Bullet after bullet hit the rock and the ground, sending up sparks and snow. 

Four gunmen drew close. 

It was a desperate situation, but he still had to fight! 

Xia Lei went close to the edge of the cliff, and his left eye saw through the corner of the rock. He saw those four gunmen in snow camouflage gear — three white men and one black man. They were all wearing night vision equipment. Xia Lei pushed one of the Indian troops’ low quality rifles out from the edge of the rock in front of him. 

Ptink! 

A bullet hit the muzzle of the gun, and it was bent out of shape. Xia Lei hurriedly pulled it back. 

The enemy was keeping up the suppressing fire. There was no chance to fight back, even though he had such godly gun skills! 

And during that time, even more American gunmen climbed to the peak. 

Xia Lei lost all hope. He looked at the recess in the rock behind him. He had hidden Tang Yuyan in there but that was not going to escape the Americans’ notice and they would discover her easily. The Americans’ aim was to capture him live, but how would they treat Tang Yuyan? There was no need to ponder the question to know the answer — they would kill her. The Americans wouldn’t let Tang Yuyan have the opportunity to speak of this incident. Dead people spoke no secrets. 

‘I promised you that you would leave this place alive, but…’ Xia Lei was filled with sadness. 

He could still stay alive, and being alive meant that there was hope. To Tang Yuyan, however, the time she had on this Earth was decreasing, and she had no hope. 

He looked despairingly up at the sky. He was an atheist but at this moment, he started to call for a god to come save him and Tang Yuyan. 

And when he looked up, his eyes widened; he did not blink. 

A parachute had appeared in the darkness of the sky. 

“That’s…” Xia Lei used his left eye, and soon saw the face of the parachuter. 

It was a female face. Golden-haired, blue-eyed, and with a face as delicate as fine china. It looked like she was just 16 or 17, or even younger. A minor. 

Snow covered the ground and it was the middle of the night, so what was a blonde parachuter doing here? It was strange no matter how you looked at it. But what stunned Xia Lei was that this girl was holding a wooden staff in her hand, wearing a witch hat on her head, and a witchy-style black robe on her body. 

The spring breeze ruffled her hair. Her long, waist-length golden hair danced in the wind under her hat, like a golden wave. She was expressionless, cold and solemn. Her eyes were cold, sharp, and without emotion. This expression was a complete mismatch with her age. If the parachute on her body was swapped out for a broom, she would give one the illusion of having entered a fairy tale world. 

Xia Lei had been praying for a god to save him and Tang Yuyan, and a witch had appeared in the blink of an eye. It was a young witch too. Was this some sort of joke?

The parachute brought the blonde girl to the peak. Xia Lei looked at her height and the speed of her descent, and quickly calculated the time she would land on the peak. She was going to land in two minutes. 

A big question mark appeared in Xia Lei’s head. ‘Who is she?’  

The parachuting blonde girl was obviously not a passing extreme sports enthusiast. There was no extreme sports enthusiast who’d dress up as a witch in this world. But why was she landing on this hill of all hills? 

This extreme sports enthusiast, dressed in this matter, had come to this location for the matter that was unfolding right now. 

Xia Lei suddenly thought of a person, but he was not sure. 

A woman’s voice suddenly came from somewhere. “Xia Lei!” 

This was Gu Kewen’s voice. 

This voice was just too familiar, and he would recognise it even if he turned to ash. He was not surprised at all at Gu Kewen turning up. 

Gu Kewen’s voice was full of ridicule. “Well, aren’t you very powerful, Xia Lei? What’s this state that you’re in now, huh? Let me see how you’ll run from this. Go on, run. Run! Hahaha…” 

“Okay, you got me. I’ll go with you guys, but I have one condition. I’ll go with you guys if you let Tang Yuyan go.” Xia Lei looked up at the sky. His heart thumped. The parachuting blonde girl was gone. 

Was what he’d seen all just a hallucination? 

“You’re negotiating with me?” said Gu Kewen. “You think you still have the right to negotiate with me now?” 

This was not a question, but mockery. 

Xia Lei threw the gun with the ruined muzzle out, then said, “I have just this one condition. Take my corpse back if you don’t want to agree to it.” 

“Xia Lei, do you think, after how things had come to this point, that the CIA would still value your life? You’ve threatened their interests, and their national interests too. The weapons you’ve developed, and your Thunder Horse Military Factory are targets for elimination. They gave me two choices. One, you keep your life. Two, you die. Seeing as we are old friends, I’ll give you a chance to let you choose for yourself. Get out here right now if you want to surrender! And if you choose to die, then hurry up and die!” 

As soon as she was done speaking, dozens of CIA agents and elite Special Forces soldiers surrounded the cliff. They pointed their guns at every possible inch where Xia Lei’s body could appear from his hiding place. No matter how quick Xia Lei was, they were going to take him down as soon as he showed himself.  

Xia Lei had not much time left. 

Would the CIA or the American authorities have really given her these two choices? There was no way for Xia Lei to tell, and he did not want to take a gamble either, because what he had on the line was his life. 

Loneliness, desperation and anger overcame him, and Xia Lei looked despairingly up at the sky. He longed to see that blonde girl, because she at least brought him some hope. However, the sky was empty and dark, and he did not see the girl. He then doubted if what he had seen earlier was real, and if it was just a hallucination. 

But how could a hallucination be so real?  

“You have nowhere to run, Xia Lei. Face reality. I’ll let it be quick for Tang Yuyan if you cooperate. If you resist, I have a big group of guys here who are starving. I think you know what I mean,” said Gu Kewen. 

His thoughts were interrupted, and Gu Kewen’s words lit the flames of anger in his heart. That sort of thing was disgusting just thinking about it. He was not going to let Tang Yuyan suffer that humiliation. 

“Gu Kewen, your grudge is with me. So come at me, I don’t blame you, I  admit. But if you dare to do such a thing to Tang Yuyan, the Tang family will not let you off even if I don’t kill you!” 

“Hahaha…” Gu Kewen laughed, and quite merrily too. “I’m so scared. Please don’t threaten me, okay? Xia Lei, do you like her? Too bad. I want to destroy the things you like. I’m giving you three seconds to get out here. Every second of delay would mean one more person added to the roster to violate Tang Yuyan. I want you to be right next to her to watch too. I’ll make you watch as my men play with the woman you love!” 

Xia Lei’s eyes were terrifyingly cold. He had never had such desire to kill a person before. The hate he had for Gu Kewen was at maximum. If someone were to give him an opportunity to kill Gu Kewen with his own hands right now, he was willing to exchange all of his assets for that opportunity! 

“One!” Gu Kewen started counting. 

At that moment, the alloy necklace around Xia Lei’s neck was suddenly suspended in the air. It trembled in the air. 

Xia Lei was stunned. 

This had happened to his alloy necklace in the labyrinth in Italy too, and it had happened when he was looking at that painting. After that, Princess Yongmei had appeared and the painting had disappeared. 

This same thing was happening now. Could it be… 

Xia Lei abruptly recalled the woman who had called him, and he looked up at the sky in reaction. 

“Two!” 

She was in no hurry. She seemed to want to savour this process of torturing Xia Lei. 

The alloy necklace dropped. 

Through its process of suspension and dropping, Xia Lei thought he sensed a sort of resonance. A very mysterious resonance. It was like the first time he had felt a resonance with himself and the alloy. He held the necklace in his hand, looking like he had confirmed something. 

“Three!” said Gu Kewen. “Looks like you’ve made your choice. Tang Yuyan will enjoy it. Hahaha!” 

Xia Lei walked out of his hiding place. There was no fear on his face, only calm. 

Over thirty guns were pointed at Xia Lei as soon as he showed himself. 

Gu Kewen revealed herself in the group of people, but she did not dare to get close to Xia Lei. She stopped in her tracks a safe distance away, and looked at Xia Lei challengingly. “Xia Lei. I’ve waited for this day for a long time.” 

“You won. Let Tang Yuyan go. I’ll go with you,” said Xia Lei. As he spoke, he swiftly searched the area out of the corner of his eyes. He did not see anything of note. 

“You were late by one second. You’ll have to pay the price.” Gu Kewen waved her hand and said in English, “Two of you, go drag that bitch out here. You can do whatever you like to her.” 

“How dare you!” Xia Lei charged at Gu Kewen. 

Bam! Bam! 

A CIA agent fired at the ground in front of Xia Lei. 

An agent next to him swung the butt of his gun, and smashed it into the bend of his knee. Xia Lei’s leg bent, but he did not kneel. 

“Spunky.” Gu Kewen laughed. “I’ve always appreciated your spunk. But will you still have such spunk when you see a group of men playing with your dear woman later?” 

Two CIA agents walked around Xia Lei and to the cliff. One of them was wearing a thermal imaging device, and he scanned the cliff for just a short while before he walked towards the place where Tang Yuyan was hidden. 

The alloy necklace around Xia Lei’s neck suddenly vibrated, but it did not suspend itself this time. However, that feeling of resonance was stronger than it had been earlier. 

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