You Mingxu's eyes were red. Without another word, she shielded Jing Ping and Xu Mengshan behind her, returning fire with her gun. But the forest was vast, and the enemy had set a trap—how could they fight back effectively?
With a "bang," a bullet grazed her calf, nearly piercing her knee. A searing pain shot through her, and You Mingxu, both startled and fearful, ducked down to avoid the onslaught.
Behind her, Jing Ping was panting heavily. You Mingxu glanced at him—blood was gushing from his chest. Despite being such a tough man, clenching his teeth and sweating from the pain, he didn't make a sound. He pulled out the satellite phone from his chest and dialed again, reporting the emergency. But as he had said earlier, the mountainous area was vast, and reinforcements were unlikely to arrive quickly.
You Mingxu's heart sank. She then looked at Xu Mengshan; though he had been shot in the leg and was leaning against the ground, the muscles on his face were taut as he continued to fight back stubbornly.
You Mingxu fired a few more shots, but she was almost out of ammunition. The other standing officers were likely facing the same dire situation. She turned her gaze to Luo Yu and saw that the officer beside him had been shot and fallen. Despite having his hands cuffed behind his back, Luo Yu stood straight, seemingly unafraid of the situation, even smiling at the corner of his mouth.
You Mingxu felt a sudden clarity—these suddenly emerging bandits were connected to Luo Yu. What was he really after?
There were only a few officers left standing.
Dozens of bandits charged out of the forest. Just as the police had surrounded Luo Yu and the Yunnan drug dealers ten minutes ago, these people now surrounded the police.
You Mingxu and the others had run out of bullets when she heard Jing Ping say, "You Mingxu, help me up."
She didn't understand his intention but still helped him to his feet. Xu Mengshan also stood up. In the center of the vast clearing, only the three of them remained standing among the police. You Mingxu scanned the area—about five or six officers had sacrificed their lives, and the rest were injured. The bandits were closing in one by one, seizing the weapons around them.
There were two leaders among the bandits, both cold-faced middle-aged men. By now, someone had unlocked Luo Yu's handcuffs. He flexed his wrists, smiled, and walked up to the two men. The three of them looked at each other and burst into laughter simultaneously.
Huang Long and Guo Feirong, still handcuffed and lying on the ground, were shocked by the scene. Huang Long shouted, "Luo Yu, what's going on?"
Luo Yu glanced back at him and nodded to the two middle-aged men. The slightly thinner, darker man raised his hand, and someone forced Huang and Guo into a vehicle. Huang Long suddenly realized what was happening and cursed, "Luo Yu, you bastard, you betrayed the boss!" Immediately, someone punched him hard, and he fell silent in pain. The two were thrown into a vehicle.
Jing Ping and the other two remained standing without moving.
The slightly thinner, darker leader looked at the three officers, his gaze finally settling on Jing Ping. He suddenly laughed and said, "So it's Comrade Jing. I wondered why I hadn't seen you in Yunnan lately—turns out you ran off to Hunan."
Jing Ping said, "Lei Yu, you're something else. Coming to Hunan to cause trouble, teaming up with Xiangtan Lao, and screwing over Xing Jifu. Your guts have only gotten bigger."
At this, You Mingxu and Xu Mengshan understood—this Lei Yu was from Yunnan. The other man was the Xiangtan native who had been pursuing them all along. From the looks of it, Luo Yu had colluded with them from the inside, and now the money and goods were all in their hands?You Mingxu's heart suddenly jolted. Previously, the police had believed Luo Yu was creating a diversion, so they had followed along, waiting to arrest both parties during the transaction. But this third group had arrived at such a precise moment—just when the police had resolved the conflict, let their guard down, and had no reinforcements—before suddenly launching a successful counterattack.
Could it be that the police's actions, the loss of tracking signals, the vast mountainous terrain, and the dispersal of police forces were all part of Luo Yu's calculations? Had he planned all along for the police and the first group to exhaust each other, only for him and his accomplices to make a grand entrance?
A chill ran down You Mingxu's spine.
The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. That was why Luo Yu had pretended to want to live with her, arousing her suspicions, step by step luring her in, blurring the lines between truth and deception. That was why Xiangtan Lao had been able to attack them twice, weakening their strength, and even delivering Xing Yanjun into his hands as a hostage. His ambitions were far greater than she had imagined!
You Mingxu stared at him.
Just then, he happened to glance back at her, a trace of arrogant amusement flashing in his narrow eyes.
But!
At that moment, the Yunnan drug dealer named Lei Yu suddenly drew his gun and aimed it at Jing Ping, his face twisted with rage and hatred. "Jing Ping, so you've finally come to this."
You Mingxu moved instantly, positioning herself in front of Jing Ping, while Xu Mengshan stepped forward as well.
Jing Ping's icy voice cut through the tension: "Both of you, step aside."
Neither You Mingxu nor Xu Mengshan moved. You Mingxu's entire body felt rigid, her gaze fixed unwaveringly on Lei Yu and the dark, still-smoking barrel of his gun.
Lei Yu let out a mocking laugh. "Well, well, in Hunan, you've actually got a beauty willing to take a bullet for you. Perfect. Jing Ping, I'll kill you first, then have some fun with your woman. No—I'll play with her right in front of you before I finish you off."
Before he could finish speaking, a hand gripped his gun and pushed it aside.
Lei Yu glared discontentedly at Luo Yu, whose smile was even more sinister than his own. "Brother Lei, since this cop has offended you, why kill him so simply? Police reinforcements will be here soon. Let's take him away and torture him slowly. As for this woman—sorry, she's not Jing Ping's. She's mine. Besides, her identity is special. She has other uses."
His words were laden with implication. Lei Yu swept a glance over the three police officers, then lowered his gun and said, "Fine. I won't touch her. But Jing Ping—hand him over to me first. I'll take my time finishing him off."
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