Chapter Sixty: The True Mercenary

Late autumn’s chill lingered even in the southeastern city of Huanghai, making the midnight air damp and cold. When Xiao Cheng spoke with such brazen arrogance, Captain Wang felt a sudden chill in his heart—an inexplicable sensation for a man who had crawled through heaps of corpses and witnessed untold bloodshed. It struck him as odd.

Yet he paid it little mind, dismissing it as a joke. The rumor was that their opponent was a master, but Captain Wang had seen plenty of masters in his time. Against such overwhelming firepower, even the greatest would perish with regret.

To Yan Hongde and Long Snake, however, Xiao Cheng’s words sounded like desperate bluster—a threat made from the brink of ruin, with nowhere left to turn.

“I refuse to believe you can take us all on alone!” one laughed. “You’re finished! Unless you grow wings right now, you’re dead for sure!”

“Twenty seconds left. Everyone, prepare!” Captain Wang signaled, and the mercenaries behind him responded with the crisp, unified sound of rifles being loaded, ready to fire.

“Thank you for reminding me ten seconds have passed. Now,” Xiao Cheng’s voice from inside the car was cold and sharp, biting down hard on the last two words, “begin.”

He had been puzzled—his spiritual awareness had detected no trace of the Blood Mercenaries. Only just now did he realize they had arrived, but not on the ground; they were in the sky. Xiao Cheng’s acute hearing picked up the wind overhead.

Yan Hongde and Long Snake roared with laughter at his words. Begin? Did he think they were the ones surrounded?

Captain Wang allowed himself a mocking smile. Surrounded and still spouting nonsense—how absurd. But in the next instant, his smile froze. He heard a sharp sound slicing through the air, coming from above.

It was unmistakably the roar of helicopters—he could not be wrong. The realization struck him hard. Who had come? How could they possibly be here? His plan should have been airtight.

With Xiao Cheng’s command, five helicopters hidden at two thousand meters suddenly dove from the sky, dropping like stones and cutting through the night with piercing shrieks. Had it been daylight, everyone would have seen five black dots falling, growing larger as they descended.

Captain Wang’s face turned ashen. Whoever was arriving, they were clearly targeting his team. Looking up, he saw five brilliant lights rapidly approaching.

Yan Hongde and Long Snake, less alert than Captain Wang, failed to notice, still busy mocking Xiao Cheng’s supposed ignorance.

“I’ve seen arrogance, but never such reckless bravado! Ha!”

“Is numbers all that matters?” Xiao Cheng replied with a smile.

Yan Hongde and Long Snake sneered at his words. Of course numbers mattered.

“Captain Wang, let’s act!” Yan Hongde urged.

“Act? Hmph! There’s no chance to act anymore!” Captain Wang’s answer was grim and dark.

“Why?” Yan Hongde was dumbfounded—why hesitate when all was ready?

He knew he and Guanyu Security weren’t on the same level. He’d spent a fortune to hire Guanyu Security, but now Captain Wang was saying there was no chance. Was it all for nothing?

Captain Wang didn’t answer. The reply came in the form of blazing beams of light.

Suddenly, five powerful searchlights pierced the night, illuminating the scene as if it were daylight. The elevated road was clearly visible. The five helicopters stopped only three hundred meters above the ground. These were armed helicopters, each outfitted with dual machine guns and even missiles suspended on their sides.

Yan Hongde and Long Snake were stunned. Guns and armored vehicles were familiar sights, but never had they seen armed helicopters so close—let alone five at once.

Such hardware was strictly forbidden domestically, seen only in films. Their minds went blank as they turned to Captain Wang, trembling. “Is this your arrangement, Captain Wang?”

“No. Guanyu Security has nothing like this!” Captain Wang knew then that the force arriving vastly surpassed his own. To mobilize such advanced equipment was no ordinary feat.

But who possessed such power? Both targets’ backgrounds were clear: Zhu Qinglian, the queenpin of the underworld, and Xiao Cheng, heir of Hu Xiao Pharmaceuticals. Suddenly, Captain Wang recalled Xiao Cheng’s earlier words—“Is numbers all that matters?” Could it be Xiao Cheng?

But even if it was, how had he uncovered their plan? These helicopters had clearly been prepared long in advance, and only distance had masked the sound.

In Huanghai, only three entities could deploy armed helicopters: the Armament Bureau, the Military District, and Blood Security. He dismissed the first two outright; neither would mobilize for a mere assassination. That left Blood Security.

Blood Security was leagues above Guanyu Security. And Xiao Cheng could move such power? Who was he, truly?

Meanwhile, Yan Hongde and Long Snake realized—the five helicopters had come to rescue Xiao Cheng. The thought sent waves crashing through their hearts. Xiao Cheng had summoned such a force? Who was he, really?

From Captain Wang’s words, Yan Hongde deduced the arriving force was a tier above Guanyu Security. Hiring Guanyu had been a Herculean effort, costing not only money but connections.

Now, a force even greater appeared. How had Xiao Cheng summoned them? How had he learned of their plan?

Both men swallowed hard, finally understanding Xiao Cheng’s earlier words—they were not empty threats, but the confidence of someone who truly had nothing to fear.

The five helicopters thundered overhead, their rotor wash sending sand and debris flying below. One helicopter’s side door was open. Inside, a coldly beautiful woman sat at an angle, her face shielded by pale yellow goggles. Clad in a black, skin-tight leather suit that perfectly accentuated her figure, her imposing presence was undeniable.

She hefted a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, aiming it at the vehicles below.

Captain Wang, staring at the circling helicopters, felt his heart sink. The plan was finished—he doubted he would even leave alive.

“We are Guanyu Security, on assignment. May we ask your purpose?” Captain Wang shouted into the sky through a loudspeaker.

His answer was a rocket.

A flash of red erupted from one helicopter, and a rocket sped forth, its fiery exhaust tracing a beautiful arc across the night.

Boom! The Land Rover military vehicle blocking the road exploded, fragments spraying, flames surging.

The proud woman in the helicopter glanced indifferently at the burning wreckage, calmly blew away the smoke from her launcher, her face devoid of emotion—as if this was simply how things ought to be.

If someone dared to murder the heir of the Xiao family, what reason was left to speak? Guanyu Security? What was that to her?

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