Gunfire erupted across the chaotic street.
Catching sight of the military police rushing in from all directions, the pedestrians scrambled into hiding in panic.
Looking up toward a restaurant not far away, Liu Ren could see several people leaping recklessly from the upper floors.
Just then, a furious roar rang out: "Quick, stop them!"
Amidst the hurried rush of footsteps, Liu Ren spotted the very Japanese soldier who had beaten his predecessor to death!
Their eyes locked for a brief instant. The Japanese soldier glared at Liu Ren with slight confusion, unable to recall where he had seen this boy before.
Under normal circumstances, he definitely would have stopped, cracked Liu Ren's skull open with his rifle butt, and demanded to know how the brat dared look him in the eye.
Right now, however, duty called, and he had no choice but to keep moving with his squad.
"Found you!"
Liu Ren's golden pupils gleamed in the sunlight as a smile crept onto his lips.
He had searched tirelessly for this man over the past few days without finding a single trace, yet here they were, bumping into each other right around the corner!
Spinning the bayonet in his palm, he made it vanish in an instant. Watching the direction the military police squad was headed, Liu Ren immediately stalked after them.
Shots thundered continuously through the narrow alleys of Sijiucheng.
Bellowing loudly, a man brandishing a broomhandle Mauser fought desperately to hold off the advancing military police, his face grim. "Xiao Li, take the intelligence and get out of here! I'll cover the rear!"
"No, Captain! If we leave, we leave together! I can't abandon you!" Xiao Li protested solemnly.
"Get lost! We've already lost so many comrades for this intel—we can't afford to lose it now!"
Shoving Xiao Li away in fury, the captain declared resolutely, "Go! I'll hold them off!"
Hearing the captain's unyielding tone, Xiao Li's eyes reddened. "Captain... take care!"
Watching Xiao Li turn and sprint away, the captain broke into a savage grin. "Come on, then! Killing one of you bastards breaks even; killing two is a profit!"
"Push forward! Take him alive! Alive!" a harsh voice barked outside the alley as the gendarme squad leader roared his orders.
As the Japanese soldiers pressed in from all sides, exploiting their superior numbers, the man prepared himself for death.
He knew full well that staying behind meant there was zero chance of survival.
Yet he felt no fear. Compared to young Xiao Li, he had already lived long enough...
*Bang!*
A gunshot cracked, and a bullet ripped through the man's chest. He staggered backward, slamming heavily against the wall.
Struggling to steady himself, the man raised his broomhandle Mauser to return fire.
In the very next second, however, a shrieking bullet tore through the air.
Just as a charging gendarme bore a ferocious sneer, his head burst apart like a crushed watermelon.
The captain stared in utter disbelief. Could Xiao Li have disobeyed his orders and failed to deliver the intel?
Before he could wrap his head around it, a succession of gunshots rang out, turning the entire alley into a slaughterhouse...
Watching the distant barrage of bullets pierce through one military policeman after another, the man was completely stunned.
Could someone else really be helping him?
"Baka! Stop, stop! There's a sniper!"
"Take cover! Take cover!"
Frantic shouts echoed through the alley. Sensing danger, the gendarme squad leader frantically scanned the surroundings.
Yet before he could spot the sniper in the distance, the space between his eyebrows exploded in red.
"Squad Leader!"
Seeing their leader collapse, cold sweat drenched the Japanese soldiers nearby.
Where on earth had this sniper come from? How could anyone's marksmanship be so terrifyingly precise?
*Clack!*
Working the bolt with his left hand, Liu Ren finished reloading. Perched atop a nearby rooftop, gripping his recomposed Garand, a cruel grin stretched across his face.
Ever since his time in World War II, he had mastered the art of precision hunting!
*Exhale!*
Blowing out a breath of stale air, Liu Ren squeezed the trigger repeatedly.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The rifle roared. Like a reaper's scythe, the bullets instantly punched through the chests of several Japanese soldiers.
Pinpointing Liu Ren's position at last, the troops screamed, "The enemy is up there! Kill him!"
Seeing the gendarmes swing their muzzles toward him, Liu Ren ducked his head down and cursed, "Damn it! Wouldn't it be easier if you just stood still and let me butcher you? Now you're making me excited!"
Sliding rapidly down the neighboring eaves with the Garand slung over one shoulder, Liu Ren leaped across the gap and landed onto an adjacent roof ridge.
Watching Liu Ren dart across the rooftops like an agile ape, the gendarmes were dumbfounded.
Why did these bizarre enemies keep popping out of nowhere these days?
Regardless of their private complaints, they had no choice but to pursue. Their squad leader was already dead; if they let the culprit slip away, they would be branded utterly worthless!
Vaulting across the roofs, Liu Ren watched the pursuing gendarmes below. He produced a melon grenade, yanked the pin, struck the cap against the splint on his left arm, and hurled it down into the street.
"What's that?"
The gendarmes looked up and froze in shock as an object plummeted from above.
When the melon grenade clattered onto the cobblestones, they gaped in horror. Wasn't that their own familiar ordnance?
Though its blast radius was smaller than an American standard grenade, it was still lethal within five to seven meters!
*Boom!*
A tremendous explosion tore through the street, mowing down a cluster of pursuers in an instant.
Watching the carnage, Liu Ren sneered, raised his rifle, and rested it against his left forearm.
*Bang!*
A bullet tore through a Japanese soldier's thigh, eliciting a bloodcurdling shriek.
Seeing their wounded comrade writhe on the ground, another soldier shouted in fury and prepared to charge out of cover to drag him back.
Yet the moment he dashed into the open, Liu Ren shattered his skull with a single shot, spraying blood across the face of the gendarme beside him.
Terrified, the remaining soldiers froze. Was this sniper deliberately baiting them to mount a rescue?
"Save me! Help me...!"
Lying on the ground, the young soldier screamed in agony, tears streaming down his face. He didn't want to die.
As the other gendarmes hesitated, Liu Ren fired another round straight through the man's groin.
"Aaargh!"
A shrill, agonizing shriek shattered the air. Every Japanese soldier sucked in a cold breath of horror. For any man, such a strike was devastating to both body and soul.
"Come on, save him! Hahaha!"
Licking his lips with a playful sneer, Liu Ren narrowed his eyes.
Looking down at the squirming, screaming soldier, Liu Ren wore a savage grin.
Generally speaking, baiting rescuers by wounding a target was an utterly despicable tactic.
Unfortunately for them, his name was Liu Ren, not Liu Virtue, so he possessed no morals whatsoever!
"Wait, what's going on? Are the Japanese really that shameless? They won't even save their own comrade?"
Listening to the man's gut-wrenching shrieks while not a single soldier stepped up to help, Liu Ren stared in bewilderment.
He had overestimated his tactic and sorely underestimated just how wretched these Japanese were.
Twitching his mouth as he watched the gendarmes scurry through the alleyways toward him, Liu Ren cursed under his breath, "True bastards, abandoning their own teammate! They've got less loyalty than I do!"
Irritated and impatient, Liu Ren glared down at the screaming soldier and pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
With the shrieking soldier silenced for good, Liu Ren slung his Garand over his shoulder and turned on his heel to sprint away.
If he didn't pull back right now, they would have him completely surrounded.
Chapter 86