Chapter Twenty-Six: Armed and Awaiting Rescue

Bang! Bang! Two shots rang out, then silence fell once more.

Zhu Lan’s face had turned pale, his hand pressed tightly against his chest. Across from him, the other man slowly collapsed, his eyes wide with disbelief.

It happened in a flash—Zhu Lan moved with extraordinary speed, raising his gun and firing without even aiming. The distance between them was short, less than twenty meters, which explained how the man had heard the sound from the box. The bullet pierced straight through the man's chest, shattering his heart—a death from which there was no return.

But he too managed to squeeze off a shot, striking Zhu Lan’s upper left chest. Fortunately, Zhu Lan wore an American military uniform, and the bulletproof vest saved his life. Still, at such close range, the force of the bullet left his chest bloody.

“It hurts!” Zhu Lan gripped his chest as if to lessen the pain from the impact. He stared at the fallen man, enduring the pain as he approached with his rifle. With difficulty, he turned the body over and gently reached out to check for signs of life. Confirming the man was dead, Zhu Lan released a breath.

He gagged suddenly and spun around, vomiting violently. The stench of blood overwhelmed him, and he retched even harder. Zhu Lan knew he couldn’t afford to waste any more time—someone might already be on their way. He had to leave immediately.

With that, he picked up the dead man's weapon and went to the box. One hand gripped the rifle, another picked up the box, a second gun slung over his shoulder. He quickly departed.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s me!” After circling several times, Zhu Lan approached from another direction, arriving at the rendezvous point agreed upon with Qin Shi and the others. When they chose this mountain, they didn’t have a map, but from a distance it seemed to have a platform, so Qin Shi and Zhu Lan agreed to meet there.

Their pursuers had noticed the four splitting up and were forced to divide their forces—Zhu Lan and his companions had no weapons, so splitting up lowered their chances of being killed, and the enemy had to spread out to chase them.

“Boss?”

“It’s me. Help me out!” Zhu Lan’s speech was a little broken.

Qin Shi stepped out from behind a rock and hurried to Zhu Lan, shocked by his appearance. “Boss, what happened to you?”

“Don’t ask, just help me get this up!” Zhu Lan was at a steep slope and couldn’t climb it alone, so he called Qin Shi to help.

Qin Shi nodded, jumped down, took the box from Zhu Lan, and with a running start, rushed up the steep slope. He seemed to ignore the weight of the box entirely.

“What’s that?” Zhai Bang looked curiously as Qin Shi returned with the box. When he saw Zhu Lan behind him, his mouth dropped open.

“Boss, what happened? And all this gear?” Qin Shi pointed at the weapons on Zhu Lan.

“As I was running, I passed a cave and found two full sets of American military uniforms and weapons. Just as I left the cave, I ran into one of our pursuers—I killed him. This AK-47 is theirs. I took a bullet, but luckily I was already wearing a bulletproof vest,” Zhu Lan explained simply, showing the wound on his chest. He didn’t care whether they believed him or not; he said nothing else, knowing they couldn’t argue.

Zhai Bang and Qin Shi were stunned—two full sets of American gear in a mountain cave, found by Zhu Lan, who then killed a man. It sounded like a dream, but the facts before them proved it was real.

“This... this... this...” Zhai Bang was at a loss for words; it was all too bizarre.

“Here, give this to Wang Sheng!” Zhu Lan glanced at Wang Sheng, whose face was deathly pale. Zhu Lan took a vial from his uniform pocket and handed it to Qin Shi.

Qin Shi took it, nodded, and turned to grab Wang Sheng’s hand, pushing up his shirt and injecting the medicine directly. After the shot, Wang Sheng was a little better, but both bullets needed to be removed and the wounds disinfected, or infection would soon become a problem.

“Qin Shi, put on this gear. Zhai Bang, you know how to use this, right?” Zhu Lan pointed to the box on the ground and handed the AK-47 to Zhai Bang.

Zhai Bang took the gun, nodding, but noticed the rifle in his hands with a confused expression.

Qin Shi said nothing, opened the box, and took out the uniform, quickly putting it on. He grabbed the M4A1, loaded it, and chambered a round. He understood that now was not the time to question the origin of this gear—the issue at hand was survival.

“All right, we have weapons. Qin Shi, are you ready?”

Qin Shi practiced with the M4A1, nodding, “I may be a bit rusty, but they’re no match for me. Let the boss see the strength of China’s special forces.”

Zhu Lan nodded, “Good. I’ll take Zhai Bang and Wang Sheng to draw their fire—you move around the perimeter!”

Qin Shi frowned.

“This is our best option. If they focus on us, they’ll gather together. You can attack from behind, and if their formation breaks, we might not wipe them out, but we can force them to retreat and buy enough time for rescue.”

“Can’t we fight and retreat?” Zhai Bang asked, puzzled. The summit was still far off, plenty of room for guerrilla tactics.

Zhu Lan shook his head, looking at Qin Shi.

“I understand. Boss, take care of Wang Sheng!”

Zhu Lan nodded, “Don’t worry!”

Qin Shi said nothing further, grabbing his rifle and ammunition and slipping away to the side.

“What’s going on...” Zhai Bang was still confused, looking at Zhu Lan for answers.

Zhu Lan didn’t respond. He took a pistol and a magazine from his waist, walked to Wang Sheng’s side, and said, “I’m counting on you to watch our backs!”

Wang Sheng’s pale face looked at Zhu Lan. He took the pistol and magazine and nodded, “Boss, I’m sorry for holding you back.”

Zhu Lan shook his head, “Be careful!”

Wang Sheng nodded resolutely.

“Zhai Bang, now we have to repel their attack.”

“How? Just the two of us?” Zhai Bang’s voice was anxious; he was no professional soldier and barely knew how to shoot. Zhu Lan was just an ordinary man. Facing perhaps twenty trained men—how could they fight?

“We have to, or we die. We must create an opening for Qin Shi.”

Zhai Bang nodded helplessly, “I understand.”

Zhu Lan knew full well this was like forcing ducks onto the rack, but there was no other choice. The further they went, the harder the road would become. If everyone was unscathed, there’d be no problem, but with Wang Sheng wounded, their speed would slow, increasing the risk of being caught and killed.

So Zhu Lan brought out the weapons, deciding they had no choice but to fight. Only by driving the enemy back could they buy enough time for the navy’s support.

Counting from when Zhai Bang made the call, not even two hours had passed. Even if the Persian Gulf navy moved at full speed, they would only just be entering Iranian territory—not less than seven or eight hundred kilometers away. Helicopters were fast, but they still needed time.

They had to buy at least five hours. Easier said than done—the only way was to fight, to fight until the enemy feared them, and thus gain enough time.

“You watch the right, I’ll cover the left. Wang Sheng will keep an eye on the gap. Stay safe!” Zhu Lan placed several magazines on the ground and spoke quietly to Zhai Bang.

Zhai Bang nodded silently, gathering up the magazines.

Zhu Lan patted his shoulder and took his rifle to the other side.

Their position was a protruding platform with many paths leading up—almost anywhere could be climbed. Fortunately, the mountain had plenty of rocks scattered on the platform, making it a rudimentary defensive position.

Crouching, Zhu Lan moved to the far side, hid behind a rock, and took a deep breath, peering out.

“No one?” He scanned the area but saw no enemy. He spoke in confusion.

Suddenly, bullets struck the rock less than half a meter from Zhu Lan’s head. He was startled and quickly pulled back.

“Over there!” came a distant shout in English.

Zhu Lan realized he’d been spotted.

He didn’t panic; the earlier fear was gone. Zhu Lan took a deep breath and peeked out from another angle.

He saw two men advancing toward him, moving quickly and using the mountain’s terrain for cover.

Zhu Lan extended his rifle, mimicking the shooting stance he’d seen on TV.

Rat-tat-tat-tat—

Bullets poured from the gun.

The two men, surprised, ducked for cover.

Bullets flew everywhere but hit no one.

Zhu Lan finished the magazine and quickly ducked back behind cover.

“As expected, it’s not enough!” An entire magazine and not a single hit—Zhu Lan had prepared for this, but was still disappointed.

Bang bang bang bang bang—

Intense gunfire erupted from the right; Zhu Lan knew Zhai Bang was engaged as well.

Clumsily, he replaced his magazine and peeked out.

As soon as he did, he spotted a man aiming at him. Zhu Lan was terrified and quickly ducked back.

Bullets whizzed past the spot where he’d just been, striking the rock behind him with sharp cracks.

“Damn, is this the difference?” Zhu Lan muttered in frustration, recognizing the gap between ordinary people and soldiers.

“But so what if you’re a soldier?” Zhu Lan reached out from the other side, didn’t bother aiming, and fired a burst toward the spot the man had been. He quickly ducked back, took out a tablet, powered it on, then pulled out a grenade from his gear. He checked the pin, pulled it free, and, seeing the enemy’s location, hurled it with all his strength.

Boom—

A few seconds later, an explosion echoed, followed by faint cries.

Zhu Lan peeked out, spotting a man running frantically toward the blast site, forgetting all caution. Zhu Lan seized the opportunity, raised his rifle, and unleashed a hail of bullets until the magazine ran dry. Only then did he realize the man was dead, lying motionless on the open ground, surrounded by bullet holes.