Chapter 26 What's Going On

Gao Yi glanced out the window and was shocked to discover a truck parked outside, surrounded by over a dozen soldiers.

Looking in a different direction, he spotted another truck.

Gray Horace hadn't brought hundreds to dine, but the waiting crowd outside still numbered at least thirty.

With thirty people, Gao Yi knew he stood no chance of escaping.

Fortunately, Gao Yi never planned to make a run for it straight out the restaurant's front door.

Regarding the escape, Gao Yi didn't have a clear plan. Seizing opportunities as they came was his motto, improvising on the fly was his attitude towards life.

Back in the courtyard, he grabbed his backpack from the door of his sleeping quarters and made a beeline for the wall. Just as he leaped and was about to grab the top of the wall, he heard someone behind him bellow with all their might.

"The General is dead..."

Who knew how they'd found out, but Gao Yi managed to act without detection, and even after eliminating his target, nobody noticed until he was climbing over the wall. Considering the circumstances, this was a fairly good outcome.

With hefty strength from his arms and a boost from his right leg against the wall, Gao Yi scaled the two-meter-high barrier.

Though not professional, Gao Yi always did his homework on the lay of the land.

Suakoko was indeed a city, but it was built with little planning. Storefronts facing the street were somewhat orderly, but the buildings towards the back were haphazardly constructed.

Side streets ran in every direction, all higgledy-piggledy. If he could just make it quickly through, he should be able to get away.

That "should" was the entirety of Gao Yi's plan.

However, not long after Gao Yi vaulted the wall and started to run, his ears caught the sound of frantic footsteps.

Slowing his pace, he peeked around the corner and saw four soldiers with guns rushing into the alley next to the restaurant.

Gao Yi took off in the opposite direction.

Running east from behind the restaurant, he didn't know where he was headed, but it was away from the direction of the hotel with the high concentration of Chinese people. He didn't want his actions to endanger others.

But now that wasn't an option. Running east meant catching bullets, so he had no choice but to go west.

In fact, west was the better choice; the buildings were connected for at least a few dozen meters with no alleyways, making it harder for Horace's guards to corner him.

No time to think of anything else. Just run.

Gao Yi rushed forward, head down, and spun to look back. Indeed, two pursuers were on his tail, and then gunshots rang out.

Gao Yi dove towards a wall on the left.

The wall wasn't high, and Gao Yi clambered over it with an awkward scramble, landing in a chaos-strewn yard. Without hesitation, he sprinted towards an open gate.

Passing through the gate, he found himself on a trash-littered path. Right now, any path or alleyway will do for escape.

There was a light at the end of the tunnel, as Gao Yi burst out of the twisting alley onto a relatively wide street. But then, he involuntarily came to a stop.

To the right was the hotel. The gun-toting security guard at the hotel entrance was, with a bewildered face, gripping his weapon.

Looking left, the restaurant entrance was a mess. Soldiers stormed inside, and some were running down the street in his direction.

The hotel and the restaurant were just over a hundred meters apart. He had just run the distance nonstop, arriving at the hotel entrance.

Another presence caught his eye; it was Little Hei. Upon realizing that the situation had turned chaotic and hearing gunshots, Little Hei was frantically making his way towards his car parked in front of the hotel.

His station was at the hotel entrance because people might need the car, and he wasn't inside it because nobody would willing sit in a parked car.

In an instant, Gao Yi made his decision.

"There's an assassin!" he shouted toward the hotel security guard before rushing straight for the hotel.

The security guard at the hotel entrance watched Gao Yi rush in but, out of habit, struggled to see Gao Yi as the target he should take down. On the contrary, after Gao Yi shouted, the guard inevitably turned his gaze towards the soldiers.

Gao Yi burst through, sprinting into the hotel.

As he ran, Gao Yi pulled out his phone. Entering the lobby, he saw that the Wi-Fi had connected; reluctantly but without hesitation, he chose to upload the video evidence.

Inside the lobby, Lin Xianghua stood agape and despairing.

Gao Yi hit upload, then he sent a voice message to Luca.

"The evidence is up, collect the money! Consider it my way of repaying you for saving my life!"

Though he was loath to let Luca benefit, Gao Yi wasn't about to let others take advantage.

If by chance he had not been able to upload the evidence, and Lin Xianghua took photos of Gray's dead body to post on the Dark Web without competition, that would have meant a big win for him.

Luca had at least saved Gao Yi's life. Despite mutual distrust and precautionary measures between them, in his hopeless situation, Gao Yi chose to let Luca reap the benefits.

It was Luca's account that uploaded the damning evidence. Firm evidence that would ensure Luca nothing to do but, as long as he kept living, collect the one million dollars from the Dark Web.

In an exceedingly brief moment, Gao Yi completed all this. Then, after shooting Lin Xianghua a glance, he turned to run again when Lin shouted in despair, "I'm sorry, run!"

Lin Xianghua bolted from the hotel, charging toward the hotel security guard, who was still focused outside, wholly unprepared for Lin's assault.

Lin Xianghua landed a punch, knocking the guard out, then grabbed the guard's rifle, pulled the bolt, and the AKM in his hands began to roar.

Little Hei was nearing his car, utterly startled by the commotion. Forsaking the car door, he barked in panic and darted aside but, after a few steps, despairingly screamed as he dashed toward his vehicle.

Bullets began to whirl around the automobile, striking the ground and whistling, but Little Hei couldn't care less. In a life-or-death moment, he chose to save his car.

Lin Xianghua knelt on one knee, only shooting in short bursts. With each shot, a soldier fell, while those running couldn't hit him accurately.

"What the hell?"

What was this situation?

Gao Yi was dumbfounded, planning to escape out the hotel's back door, but now seeing the current scene, he suddenly sensed an opportunity.

Little Hei scrambled into the vehicle, started the engine while a bullet came through the A-pillar, veered and struck the windshield, causing a loud crack and a bullet hole.

"Ahh, ahhhh!"

Little Hei shuddered in fear, yet his hands were quick; he slammed the car into reverse, and the pickup started to back up.

"Drive, drive!"

In moments of urgency, one resorts to their mother tongue. Despite the language being incomprehensible, Gao Yi understood by Little Hei's expression that he was swearing.

Gao Yi hopped into the back seat. As Lin Xianghua kneeled beside the security booth shooting, he suddenly stood up, rifle in one hand, he clutched the back of the rapidly reversing pickup and effortlessly leaped in.

Tumbling in the truck bed, hitting the sides, Lin Xianghua steadied himself, rose to his knees, and nestled on the roof, firing two shots amid the violent shaking.

Finally, Little Hei wailed, "Are you insane? For crying out loud, what's all this!"

"I... don't know..."

Gao Yi was at a loss but after a brief pause, he harshly demanded, "Take me to the airport! Now! Or I'll kill you!"

Gao Yi's sudden fierce demeanor scared Little Hei so much that he was speechless for a moment before bursting into tears, "It's over... I'm doomed..."

With an anguished face, Little Hei's cry was utterly irksome, but the way he quickly spun the steering wheel was impressively cool.

Gao Yi felt terrible inside, his only thought was an apology.

Suddenly, Little Hei turned to Gao Yi, pleading through tears, "Take me with you, or I'm dead..."

"Fine! I'll take you! No problem!"

Gao Yi glanced back to see only two legs, and couldn't help but ask, "What's the situation with the person in the back?"

"What?"

It was a needless question. In utter bewilderment, of course, one would turn to those nearby for answers.

"We're going to the airport. I'll take you along; I'll get you a new car!"

Gao Yi could only promise grand rewards, not knowing what else to say.

The distance from Suakoko's city center to the airport was short. Within minutes, they saw the familiar runway, but at the control tower at the end of it were soldiers rushing out.

There were no soldiers guarding the place last time, but this time, why were four soldiers emerging from the cabin, guns aimed directly at Gao Yi and his companions?

"It's over..."

Gao Yi felt a deep sense of despair. There was no way he could make it past the bullets to the four soldiers ahead, incapacitate them, and then have Luca's plane land and take off.

Gunshots pounded on the roof; Little Hei instinctively slammed on the brakes. Once the car stopped, Lin Xiangnan, from the back, roared, "Get out of the car!"

What was happening?

Even with a mind sharp as a tack, Gao Yi couldn't fathom what was actually going on.

Lin Xiangnan leaped from the truck bed, walked up to the front, rifle aimed at the soldiers at least three hundred meters away, frantically said, "Get out, I'm out of bullets! But I can distract and scare them. You two head for the woods. Staying here means death!"

Gao Yi reflexively asked, "Why are you saving... you're out of bullets?"

Irritated by the abruptness, Lin Xiangnan snapped, "I counted for thirty shots, but there were only twenty in the gun! Go now!"

Gao Yi jumped out of the car, giving Lin Xianghua a look. After a moment's hesitation, he conceded, "Or maybe, let's just run together."

With a look of despair, Lin Xianghua replied, "It's no use; I'm exposed. They're here for me, not you. Stick with me, and you're as good as dead. Run!"

Little Hei was already sprinting. Seeing Gao Yi and Lin Xianghua not moving, he stopped and anxiously called from the grass verge, "What are you waiting for? Run!"

Gao Yi didn't bolt. Instead, he stepped aside, briefly considering before saying, "Could it be a misunderstanding? How about you run first, and we'll talk while we escape?"