Chapter 197 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Yellow Oriole Waits

As soon as Yao Liang shouted the first word, a gunshot rang out from outside the courtyard, and a bullet struck Liu Min squarely in the forehead!

Then came another gunshot!

There was almost no gap between the two shots. Chu Yuxuan barely had time to react, instinctively dodging to the side while turning to look outside the courtyard. Yao Liang, who was dealing with a corpse outside the door, had spread his arms wide, firmly blocking Chu Yuxuan!

The brothers were momentarily stunned but quickly responded, finding cover and drawing their guns to return fire.

The gunmen hiding in the shadows seemed unwilling to linger. They fired two more shots in Chu Yuxuan's direction before turning and fleeing.

Seeing that Chu Yuxuan was unharmed, the brothers quickly chased after the fleeing attackers. Lao San, filled with worry, realized that Xiao Qing, who had been in a position farther from the small courtyard, had not yet joined them. They didn't know how many more unknown gunmen there were. Xiao Qing could not be allowed to come to harm!

Lao San grew increasingly anxious, shouting into his earpiece, "Xiao Qing! Xiao Qing!"

No response.

Chu Yuxuan dodged to the side of the door and quickly untied Chu Muhan.

"Yuxuan, what happened?" Chu Muhan asked anxiously.

Chu Yuxuan glanced at Liu Min, who was dead, his mind momentarily blank. His breathing grew heavy as he gritted his teeth and said, "Be careful. There are assassins!" With that, he took two steps toward Yao Liang, who was lying outside the door. Yao Long, kneeling beside his brother, was crying out, "Brother! Brother! We need to go back to Malaysia! You said you would take me back to Malaysia! Brother!"

Chu Yuxuan looked down at Yao Liang's left cheek and chest, both of which had bullet holes. His expression was extremely complicated.

Yao Liang's eyes rolled back, blood pouring from his mouth. Weakly, he raised a hand and pointed to Yao Long, using his last ounce of strength to say to Chu Yuxuan, "He...he doesn't know anything... let... let him go. My life... for his... sorry, big... big..."

Yao Liang could say no more and closed his eyes forever.

Chu Yuxuan's heart was a tumult of emotions as he stared at Yao Liang, who had died for him, and then turned his gaze back to Liu Min. The clues he had been about to grasp were abruptly cut off!

Yao Long glared at him with resentment, saying, "In the eyes of people like you, are our lives worth nothing? Do you know what my brother just told me? He said he would contact the Black Ship to send me back to Malaysia and that he would stay here with you!"

Chu Yuxuan understood Yao Liang's intentions. After spending a few days together, it was clear that while he admired their brotherly bond, it did not extend to the point of shielding him from gunfire.

Yao Liang probably knew that in this line of work, once you are betrayed, trust is hard to come by again. His claim to stay behind with Chu Yuxuan was actually a resignation to being executed by him, using his life to exchange for Yao Long's, and securing his parents' safety.

For Chu Yuxuan, Yao Liang's skills were somewhat to his liking, and being a mercenary fit his needs well.

If not for the unexpected complications... he might not have known whether to keep Yao Liang by his side. But he certainly would not have killed him, given that Yao Liang had shown reluctance to shoot him in the GTR, which did not warrant a death sentence.

Chu Yuxuan took a deep breath. There was no time for him to dwell on this now. He turned to his sister and said, "Stay here and don't move," then grabbed his gun and rushed out of the courtyard.

Chu Muhan, stunned by the scene of dead bodies in the courtyard, found her phone on Liu Min and called for backup. She then picked up a gun and ran out after Chu Yuxuan.

The dilapidated slum area, long abandoned, was a maze of dark, winding alleys. The brothers, wearing night vision goggles, expertly headed towards Xiao Qing's location.

Soon, they saw Xiao Qing engaged in a fierce struggle with two assassins. Her sniper rifle was thrown aside, and her earpiece was missing. The two assassins' guns had been disassembled by Xiao Qing, and they were fighting hand-to-hand. Xiao Qing was clearly at a disadvantage.

Lao San, slightly relieved, charged in like a wild bull, while Lao Si, with his expert marksmanship, took aim. However, the assassin was wearing a bulletproof vest.

The assassin staggered but quickly raised a knife to stab Xiao Qing. In a moment of urgency, Lao Si shot through the assassin's neck.

After taking down one assassin, the remaining one, sensing danger, darted into a corner and fled.

"Xiao Qing, are you okay?" Lao San asked anxiously. Before Xiao Qing could reply, he grabbed the injured assassin's body and, seeing that the man was already dead, angrily threw it against the wall and kicked it repeatedly.

"How dare you bully Xiao Qing! D*mn it! How dare you!" Lao San cursed as he vented his anger.

Xiao Qing felt a warmth in her heart as she watched the two brothers, then glanced at Lao Wu. For some reason, Lao Wu seemed unusually unsettled tonight. Lao Si turned to the foreign hacker with a cold tone, "You were supposed to be monitoring the situation with the drone from the car. How did people get so close? If it weren't for Yao Liang, our big brother would have been in danger!"

Lao Wu's face turned awkward, and he said nothing.

At that moment, Chu Yuxuan arrived, glanced at Lao Wu, and asked, "What's wrong? I felt something was off with you last night."

Lao Wu shook his head, "N-nothing... Sorry, big brother. I... I wasn't paying attention..."