Hidden Assassin 98

Even many years later when she looked back, Dongfang Wan could clearly remember the feeling she had at that moment.

The dark, gloomy forest, the sounds of gunfire and commotion, near and far. She was covered in blood, so she took off her clothes, wiped off the blood, and threw them away. Ye Ling Jing, who was in front of her, took off an outer garment and gave it to her to wear. The night wind blew, and it was still a little cold, though the coldness wasn’t the main concern.

They crawled forward through the bushes and trees, diving to the ground to avoid searches, sometimes hiding behind trees, sometimes behind rocks. Flashlights and flames occasionally appeared in their field of vision. The forest was teeming with people, their movements occasionally triggering the nerves of everyone. Between two rocks, Ye Ling Jing took out a roll of bandage from her pocket and wrapped it around Dongfang Lu’s bullet wound. The tall figure in the black cloak moved like a ghost through the forest. It would often appear for a moment within everyone’s line of sight, then disappear again.

Years later, the truth came to light. Dongfang Wan naturally understood that the “tallness” was just her illusion. Perhaps it was because she was always looking up at that figure from a low position, or perhaps it was because the figure’s skills were too astonishing.

Nearly a hundred mercenaries were searching far and wide, and he was just one person. Yet, as they dodged and weaved, they couldn’t help but see dead bodies everywhere, each with a different cause of death: some were shot, some had their throats cut, some were blown up by bombs, and others had been pierced by wood or other objects in traps. Sometimes, they could hear screams coming from the dead men’s walkie-talkies. It was hard to believe that all this was the work of just one person. The feeling of chaos, the feeling of a tiger entering a herd of sheep, was overwhelming. Although comparing these mercenaries to sheep was too much of an understatement, it was fitting in this situation.

The chaos was widespread, and the gunfire was eerie. Even after the mercenary group realized that the number of their opponents was small, they tried to surround them strategically. However, in the two hours between nightfall and the start of the attack, Jia Ming had set up countless small traps. Even as they escaped, he could use the grenades he took from the dead to create small minefields, continuously giving people “surprises.”

As the four of them slowly escaped, they were naturally spotted by the mercenaries. One was shot by Dongfang Lu’s gun. Two others were shot dead by bullets from an unknown source the moment they appeared. Another man, who was approaching the four of them, was also approached by the man in black. Dongfang Wan remembered this man, a giant like an iron tower, towering over two meters tall. He was one of the best fighters in the mercenary group. She remembered a time on the ship when he had jokingly tossed a wild bull aside.

But this man, before he even raised his gun, was met with a fierce knee strike to the temple by the figure that suddenly emerged from the darkness. Then came a furious storm of attacks, leaving the man with no chance to retaliate. The man probably thought he was strong and could take a beating. He unleashed a powerful punch, breaking a tree trunk as thick as a bowl, but at the same time, his throat was slashed. Blood spurted out as the ghost-like figure vanished once again into the darkness.

The battle in the forest lasted for about two hours. The mercenaries didn’t know how many of them died. The gunfire in the forest gradually weakened, and after a long time, it seemed to be coming only from afar. As they passed, they often saw corpses here and there. Perhaps it was because he had given her a piece of clothing, but the girl in front, Ye Ling Jing, kept holding herself and shivering whenever they hid. Even after the gunfire stopped for a long time, they continued walking and stopping along a fixed route. It took another half hour before they reached a place at the foot of the mountain.

According to Ye Ling Jing, there seemed to be many traps set up in the area. Turning on their flashlights, they saw that the mountain slope began to rise significantly at this point. There was a small depression in the mountain, about four meters long and two meters deep. It wasn’t a cave, more like a small overhang. A dead tree, unknown how long it had been dead, stood over this “overhang,” making it a makeshift shelter.

As the light shone in, a figure emerged, giggling and calling out, “Ling Jing, are you okay?” He came forward, and Dongfang Wan was slightly taken aback when she saw him. It was that somewhat sleazy classmate of hers, Gu Jia Ming.

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Next, there was some small talk, like introductions. Dongfang Lu was the chairman of the student council at Sacred Heart Academy, and Ling Jing and Jia Ming both knew him. In the previous martial arts event, Ling Jing had naturally also learned Dongfang Wan’s identity. The only person they didn’t know well was the fat man who had been following them. The three hostages hadn’t had the chance to introduce themselves on the ship, so the Dongfang siblings only knew that the fat man’s surname was Fu. Now, feeling finally safe, the fat man was very excited, his cheeks flushed with excitement:

“H-hello everyone, my name is Fu, Fu Yanjie, haha, my dad has high hopes for me…”

The others didn’t think much of the name, but Jia Ming was slightly stunned, his cheeks twitching: “Uh, Fu Yanjie… I’ve heard of you, I’ve heard of you, my name is Gu Jia Ming, nice to meet you, hehe…”

At this point, the battle had paused. The Dongfang siblings and Fu Yanjie all looked at Jia Ming with a strange mixture of awe and doubt. Jia Ming naturally knew what they were suspicious of. He and Ling Jing made up a story, saying that they had also been captured by these guys, but a mysterious figure with the nickname “Tulip” had saved them. This Tulip, they said, always wore a black cloak, and they didn’t know his identity or appearance. As for how their ship was destroyed and how they arrived on this island, they didn’t need to change too much of the story.

The only flaw in this lie was probably that Jia Ming was hiding here while the mercenaries searched, but why he wasn’t found. But everyone was too preoccupied at the moment to delve into this. After all, if Jia Ming claimed he was the man in black, people might think he was really joking. Dongfang Wan looked at Jia Ming with a hint of disdain and contempt, wondering why he had stayed here while Ling Jing had gone out to save people.

In the previous battle, Ruan Zonggan’s side had suffered heavy casualties. After more than half of his men were killed, Jia Ming contacted him, asking each to occupy one side of the island and not attack each other. Although Ruan Zonggan was furious at this point, the current situation was unclear. His side was heavily injured, and he had no idea what their firepower was – although some of his men said it seemed like there was only one person, but this kind of talk was not only absurd to the listeners, but the speakers themselves probably thought they were being ridiculous.

The situation was stronger than people. For the time being, they could only gather their strength and retreat. After all, this was a world where strength was the deciding factor. They had lost their ship, and everyone wanted to fight for their lives, but if they fought and died in vain, it would be foolish. From the other side’s words, Jia Ming could tell that they thought he was a member of the Fire Eye mercenary group. This was the most ideal situation, as it meant they wouldn’t think he could send a signal for help. By his calculations, they would have at least two days of breathing room.

Jia Ming had also learned from the boat’s computer records that a storm was coming the next day. He naturally mentioned this, claiming it was from Tulip, and then Ling Jing, Dongfang Wan, and Fu Yanjie got busy. They took tents from their large backpacks, cut them with knives, and covered this small overhang with the canvas. Then they sewed the edges with mud and used shrubs to camouflage it, creating a small cave where they could temporarily shelter from the storm.

Meanwhile, Jia Ming took out medicine and bandages to treat Dongfang Lu’s wounds. His palm had been shot through, his arm dislocated and broken in one place, and his entire body was covered in wounds. He had still managed to endure the two-hour journey through the forest. Jia Ming had to give him respect for that. He could understand why he was the chairman of the student council at Sacred Heart Academy. However, hearing his brother’s muffled groans as his arm was set, Dongfang Wan furrowed her brow: “Be careful, do you even know how to do this?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” Jia Ming smiled. “My dream is to be a doctor.”

Ling Jing was very happy with his dream and laughed, “No wonder you’re always sucking up to my mom, Jia Ming. You want her to take you as a student, don’t you?” Before Jia Ming could say “It’s not just about sucking up to Ye Mama,” Dongfang Wan sarcastically said, “You wouldn’t be a dentist, would you?”

Jia Ming shrugged. “If I can’t get into a good medical program, I’ll just be a dentist.” Ling Jing’s face immediately turned cold. “My mom’s not a dentist… but even if you’re a dentist, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Not expecting the sudden coldness in the girl’s tone, Dongfang Wan was slightly embarrassed. “Uh, sorry…” In fact, Ling Jing wasn’t a petty girl, but she hated it when Dongfang Wan spoke to Jia Ming in such a mocking tone.

They finished setting up the small cave and built a small dam to divert the water. It was already late at night. They took out some compressed biscuits from their backpacks and ate, agreed to take turns watching, and went to sleep in the small cave.

Dongfang Wan woke up groggily, not sure when. It was still dark, but it was already raining outside. There was still a smell of gunpowder in the air. At the entrance of the small cave, a flashlight taken off a gun was shining. Jia Ming was sitting there, his upper body shirtless. Ling Jing was sitting next to him, tears streaming down her face as she used bandages to wrap a wound on his shoulder. It was a gunshot wound, and Ling Jing had just found out that he had been enduring it for most of the night.

Almost the moment Dongfang Wan saw the scene, Jia Ming’s gaze suddenly turned to her. He then gave a slightly helpless smile. Dongfang Wan moved slightly and whispered, “Wh-what’s wrong?”

Hearing her voice, Ling Jing wiped her tears with her sleeve and turned back with a gentle smile. “Nothing, Jia Ming got hurt a few days ago, and it’s still not healed.” Her hand trembled slightly as she hid the bloody dagger on the side that Dongfang Wan couldn’t see. There were no painkillers, no other things, so she had to follow Jia Ming’s instructions to use gunpowder to sterilize it and use the dagger to dig out the bullet that was embedded in his flesh. Ling Jing felt chills just thinking about it. She had been clumsy with the knife, and Jia Ming had gritted his teeth to endure the incredible pain.

“Oh…” Dongfang Wan nodded. “Right, where’s Tulip? Doesn’t he need to come inside and get out of the rain? The storm’s coming, what about him?”

“I don’t know. He doesn’t like to be with us, but he’ll find a way, don’t worry.”

“Oh.” Dongfang Wan nodded and looked at the bandage on Jia Ming’s shoulder. She then closed her eyes and went back to sleep. In the darkness, the ghost-like figure seemed to flash again, appearing like a god to save her, to save everyone, and then, like a god, he killed all his enemies. Tulip… what kind of person was he? With this thought, she pulled the blanket around her. There was no warm bed, no luxurious room, and she hadn’t even showered in days. But for the past few days, this was the best sleep she had gotten.

The next day, the clouds began to thicken in the sky. It was only a light drizzle in the morning, but around noon, the rain began to fall harder. The wind also began to pick up.

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