Chapter 022: Breaking Through the Encirclement

The man cried out in pain, his footing faltering, and he collapsed to the ground instantly. Another gunshot rang out. As blood sprayed into the air, Zhong Da rolled across the ground, pushed off the car body with both feet, and slid backward. He raised his weapon, aiming directly at the man circling around from the front of the vehicle.

Bang! Bang!

The two gunshots sounded almost as one. When Zhong Da fired his first shot, Zhong Yuan had already quietly circled around from behind another vehicle, preparing to engage Ma Ge, who was standing on the other side.

Ma Ge was sharp, and his combat skills were equally impressive. Almost the instant Zhong Yuan fired, he pulled the rear passenger door open, using it as a shield to poke his head out and return fire.

Zhong Yuan dodged behind a car.

At this moment, the man previously sent by Ma Ge to scout the corrugated iron shed returned. Using the surrounding debris as cover, he unleashed a barrage of shots at the car where Zhong Da was positioned.

Unexpectedly—whether due to the man's marksmanship or sheer dumb luck—one of the bullets struck the fuel tank. A dull, muffled explosion echoed, and flames erupted instantly, followed by a massive blast. The entire vehicle seemed to lift off the ground as the fire swept outward, threatening to ignite the two nearby cars.

This sudden turn of events stunned not only Zhong Yuan and his group but Ma Ge as well. However, Ma Ge reacted immediately, bolting toward the pile of debris where his only remaining subordinate was hiding.

Seeing this, Zhong Yuan did not pursue. Instead, he circled to the driver’s side of the off-road vehicle and ducked inside. Just as he climbed in, bullets chased him, one smashing into the windshield. The glass shattered instantly. Zhong Yuan kept his head low, shifted into gear, and slammed on the gas. The vehicle surged forward, then suddenly swerved hard to the right; the tail swung out, and the car slid sideways to a halt.

Xiao Hua, carrying Dong Cuo on his back, rushed out from behind the burning car and dashed straight for the SUV. Zhong Da followed closely behind but did not board immediately; he ran to the front of the vehicle and fired several shots toward the pile of debris, forcing Ma Ge and his man to keep their heads down.

Seizing this gap, Xiao Hua quickly bundled Dong Cuo into the car and scrambled in after him.

"Brother Da, get in!"

Hearing this, Zhong Da quickly retracted his weapon and pulled open the driver's side door. Inside, Zhong Yuan had already slid into the passenger seat, his muzzle flashing repeatedly as he fired bullet after bullet into the debris pile.

With a roar of the engine, the vehicle spun around, charged out of the courtyard gate, and vanished into the distance.

***

Behind the pile of debris, Ma Ge sat on the ground, touching his left upper arm. Seeing his hand covered in blood, his eyes burned with malice and murderous intent. In all his years with the Buddha Hand Gang, this was the first time he had suffered such a heavy loss. His subordinate glanced at his expression and quietly shut his mouth.

Just then, a head cautiously peeked out from the doorway of the iron shed, glanced over, and immediately ducked back. After a few seconds, it emerged again, looking around carefully. Seeing that the coast seemed clear, the person stepped out, cowering.

As he stepped out, the subordinate crouching next to Ma Ge spotted him. His eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Timmy, here!"

Ma Ge looked over, his eyes narrowing as he saw Timmy.

Timmy jogged over, cast a nervous glance at Ma Ge, and stammered with a sob, "Brother... they... Deem and the others are all dead!"

Ma Ge looked up at him once, then withdrew his gaze. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it, took a drag, and turned to the subordinate beside him. "Call Pa Dong. Tell him to get back here immediately!"

The subordinate immediately pulled out his phone to contact Pa Dong.

At that moment, Ma Ge suddenly raised his hand, his black muzzle pointed directly at Timmy. As shock washed over Timmy’s face, a burst of flame erupted from the barrel. A bullet tore through the charred air and buried itself into Timmy’s forehead with a wet thud.

Timmy’s eyes went wide, filled with disbelief. A second later, the light faded from his gaze, his body stiffened, and he fell backward, hitting the ground with a thud before going still.

The subordinate standing nearby, phone in hand, was frozen in terror.

Ma Ge holstered his pistol, took another drag of his cigarette, and asked coldly, "Still haven't gotten through?"

The subordinate snapped out of it, his eyes darting around in panic. "Almost! Almost!"

Fortunately, just as he spoke, the call connected.

He held the phone to his ear, his voice trembling: "Brother Pa Dong, something happened here! You need to come back now!" Not daring to explain further, he hung up in a rush. He then saw Ma Ge climb to his feet, tower over him, and say, "Go count how many guns we lost." With that, he walked toward the iron shed.

The subordinate stood frozen for a long while before finally letting out a breath, feeling a slight sense of relief. He glanced at Timmy’s body, hesitated, then walked over, turned his head away, and reached out to close the dead man's eyes.

Then, he fled as if escaping. After a thorough search, he confirmed that a total of six pistols had been lost.

Just as he was reporting this number to Ma Ge, the black SUV was speeding down the dilapidated highway. Xiao Hua, sitting in the back, suddenly pulled three pistols from his waistband and placed them on the center console.

***

Zhong Yuan looked back and glanced at Xiao Hua, somewhat surprised.

Xiao Hua scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. "I figured we might need them later, so I grabbed a few extra!"

Zhong Yuan nodded. "Well done." He reached out, took all three guns, and checked the magazines one by one. One magazine was full, while the other two were each missing two rounds.

Zhong Yuan also took the two pistols from Zhong Da, then drew his own. After topping off all the magazines, he distributed the remaining bullets into two of the pistols and handed them to Xiao Hua.

"You and Dong Cuo take one each, just in case."

Xiao Hua took them and handed one to Dong Cuo. Dong Cuo glanced at it and silently accepted it.

Xiao Hua vaguely felt that Dong Cuo’s mood was off. He turned to look at him and saw that his face was pale. After taking the gun, Dong Cuo didn't even look at it, just set it aside. He seemed completely oblivious to Xiao Hua’s gaze, turning his head to look out the other window.

Xiao Hua’s heart sank. He hesitated, wanting to say something, but ultimately kept his silence.

At this moment, Zhong Yuan, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look at Dong Cuo and asked, "Dong Cuo, which city in the central region does your relative live in?"

Dong Cuo, who had been leaning against the window with his eyes closed, felt his eyelids flutter. He opened his eyes but didn't look at Zhong Yuan, instead staring at his own hand gripping the door handle. He answered flatly, "Wuni City."

After hearing this, Zhong Yuan said nothing more. He simply took out his phone, opened a map, and began searching for Wuni City.

The car was very quiet.

Xiao Hua looked at Dong Cuo, then at Zhong Yuan, and finally caught a glimpse of Zhong Da in the rearview mirror. He was a man who usually didn't overthink things, but even he could sense that something had changed.