Chapter 58: Luck

Lin Zhonghai suddenly pulling his men back certainly did not stem from a sudden surge of benevolence to let them go.

In this basement, the only exit they could currently find was the stairway. Of course, there might be other exits, but regardless of how many exits there were, as long as Lin Zhonghai's men guarded them and then set a fire down here, the three of them would either be suffocated to death down below or forced to make a desperate charge upward.

This man Lin Zhonghai was far more cunning than they had previously understood.

In the darkness, Zhong Yuan listened to the retreating footsteps, his gaze growing increasingly steady and calm.

He whistled softly toward the opposite room.

Soon, Zhong Da exposed a small portion of his body from the half-open door.

"Take Xiao Hua and stay close to me." He did not say much more. There were some things that required no instructions; Zhong Da would naturally handle them. Furthermore, Xiao Hua was his friend, and Zhong Da would only care more about Xiao Hua's safety than he did.

Zhong Da quickly emerged from the room with Xiao Hua.

Zhong Yuan glanced at him and then turned first to walk toward the stairway. Seeing this, Zhong Da brought Xiao Hua along and followed closely behind.

At this moment, the footsteps above sounded intermittently, now hurried, now slow.

Suddenly, a beam of light shone down abruptly from the top of the stairs, illuminating almost the entire stairwell.

This meant that the moment Zhong Yuan and the others stepped onto the stairs, they would be completely exposed to the enemy's field of vision.

The foot Zhong Yuan had already extended pulled back, hiding him once more in the darkness.

At that instant, a ball of fire came flying down from above, shattering with a crisp pop on the floor at the foot of the stairs. The pungent smell of gasoline flooded the air immediately, and spreading along with it were licking tongues of flame!

The enemy really intended to set a fire!

Just as Zhong Yuan frowned, six or seven more gasoline bottles flew down almost simultaneously, shattering everywhere with a rapid succession of crashes. The flames flared up instantly, immediately igniting the wall fabric along the adjacent wall!

Thick black smoke billowed upward aggressively as the fire spread.

Seeing this scene, Zhong Yuan turned and walked back.

"Brother?" Zhong Da was stunned to see him turning back.

"Wait for me a moment," Zhong Yuan said, and quickly ran into the room with the darkroom. A moment later, he carried a wooden board out from inside. This was the very piece of plywood he had previously kicked off the wall.

Right now, the ground at the bottom of the stairs was covered in gasoline and roaring fire.

Gritting his teeth and dashing across wasn't entirely impossible, but should he slip and fall, it would be all over.

However, with this wooden board, that hidden hazard could be bypassed.

Carrying the wooden board on his shoulder, Zhong Yuan walked straight to the edge of the stairs, hurled the board right onto the patch of fire, and then lunged forward in a single bound onto the stairs.

Almost the exact moment his foot touched the stairs, gunfire erupted from above.

Bullets poured down from overhead with a rapid clatter that did not sound like ordinary pistols.

At the same time, gunfire rang out from behind him.

Zhong Da fired two pistols simultaneously, the bullets whistling past Zhong Yuan's side and heading straight for the upper level of the stairs.

The gunfire from above faltered involuntarily.

For Zhong Yuan, as long as there was an opening, even if it lasted only a fraction of a second, that was more than enough.

With two or three large strides, he reached the landing in the middle of the stairs. Without continuing upward, he crouched down low, and the muzzle of his gun flashed with fire.

Zhong Da's gunfire ceased accordingly, and two figures stepped in succession over the wooden board, charging onto the stairs.

In the blink of an eye, the two reached Zhong Yuan's rear. Zhong Yuan stood up immediately and continued upward, while Zhong Da resumed firing.

Just then, a massive volume of liquid suddenly splashed out from behind the wall on the left side of the stairway, landing heavily on the ground and streaming down the steps!

Following closely, flames surged upward with a whoosh.

Zhong Yuan was already right there; to dodge would inevitably mean retreating. Yet the fire in the basement was growing fiercer by the second, and thick smoke was already billowing upward. If they retreated, they would either be suffocated by smoke or consumed by the raging inferno. Thus, they had no choice but to push forward!

The stairs were made of marble steps; although the enemies had splashed oil and ignited them, the fire wouldn't be overwhelmingly massive. As long as their movements were swift, breaking through wasn't entirely out of the question.

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhong Yuan took two consecutive leaps across the flickering blue flames, dashed up the stairs, and before his footing was even secure, lunged forward momentum-driven.

As long as he cleared the illuminated zone and plunged into the darkness, Zhong Yuan would be safe. Once he was safe, Zhong Da and Xiao Hua would naturally be able to break free and escape as well.

Bullets chased after them from behind. At this very moment, Zhong Yuan was wagering his life on speed and luck.

Fortunately, his luck recently had actually been quite decent.

Although limited information often made taking risks unavoidable, as long as the ultimate outcome fell within expectations, it could be counted as a success!

The cold marble floor was slick beyond compare.

The moment Zhong Yuan hit the ground, a figure suddenly materialized in front of him. With a sharp twist of his body and a powerful kick off the floor, Zhong Yuan surged forward another stretch, crashing directly in front of the man.

He raised his hand and fired a shot.

As the gunshot rang out, without even bothering to check where the bullet had struck, he lowered the muzzle of his gun and fired at several figures hiding on both sides of the stairs.

Bang, bang—he fired several shots in rapid succession until the man in front of him collapsed. With a swift roll, he grabbed the fallen man's body to use as a human shield, then executed another roll into the darkness ahead, successfully concealing himself behind a cabinet.

Scarcely had he taken cover when Zhong Da and Xiao Hua began charging upward as well.

Zhong Yuan leaned out and fired a few more rounds, pinning the enemies down so they couldn't return fire, then raised his weapon to target the emergency flashlight resting in the corner of the wall.

With a single gunshot, the surroundings were plunged back into absolute darkness.

Because Lin Zhonghai's men had grown accustomed to the light, the sudden disappearance of the illumination left them completely blinded in a pitch-black void, unable to see a thing.

Sudden darkness invariably induces a momentary instinct of panic.

By the time they reacted and their eyes adjusted slightly to the gloom, Zhong Da and Xiao Hua had already charged up.

All three of them had reached the first floor. Free from the constraints of the raging fire and thick smoke, in this darkness providing countless hiding spots, Lin Zhonghai's men lost any chance of turning the tables to become the hunters.

However, Zhong Yuan's target was not these men.

Since Lin Zhonghai had ordered these subordinates to set the fire, he himself was unlikely to remain inside this building.

Even so, he probably wouldn't leave the premises immediately; perverts always preferred witnessing the death of their enemies with their own eyes.

In other words, if his guess was correct, Lin Zhonghai should currently be out in the courtyard, waiting for news of the three men's demise.

And Zhong Yuan's conjecture was indeed correct.

Lin Zhonghai was indeed outside right now.

However, not on the south side, but on the north.

The garden on the north side was quite expansive, with a pavilion situated right in the center.

Lin Zhonghai was sitting inside this pavilion, with two men standing behind him whose posture and demeanor clearly marked them as bodyguards.

Four more men kept watch outside the pavilion.

The gunfire inside the house, sounding intermittently, could be heard clearly.

His slightly aged face was currently cloaked in utter gloom.

Suddenly, a figure rounded the east side of the house and came sprinting frantically toward them.

The men stationed outside the pavilion immediately raised their weapons. It wasn't until the runner drew closer and someone recognized him that a hand was raised to signal the others: "It's Xiao De!"