112 He has returned! (Second update!)

Boom!
Rat-tat-tat-tat!

The moment Li Changjiang looked up, a burst of intense gunfire erupted. Almost immediately, a massive fireball soared into the sky from a border market less than two kilometers away, visible even from a great distance.

With the thunderous blast of an RPG, the tranquility of the border was shattered instantly.

Large numbers of refugees, who had been resting, scrambled to their feet and surged frantically toward the Tunisia border, their voices rising in a chaotic, deafening roar.

At the border, the Tunisian border guards on duty had rushed toward the line the moment they heard the gunfire, but there was too little time; the refugees gave them no room to react.

"Quick! A massive refugee breach at border line 189! Requesting support! Requesting support!"

"Damn Libyans! Hold the line immediately! Shoot anyone who tries to cross!"

"But they're refugees!"

"Damn it! They aren't refugees, they're just a mob!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!
Thwip! Thwip!

Blood instantly stained the sandy border ground red.

The continuous gunfire and the sight of blood drove the refugees into a frenzy. Thousands of people surged forward at once, quickly tearing a gap in the line between Libya and Tunisia. Countless refugees were knocked down, only to be trampled by those behind them; the sounds of gunfire mixed with agonized screams were truly chilling.

This was war.

Aside from survival, death and separation were the only melodies that played.

Not far away, Li Changjiang had no time to ponder peace or humanitarian aid. He was just an ordinary man; he couldn't save the world.

So, the moment the flare dimmed, he broke into a sprint toward the source of the gunfire. Libya was a powder keg, but wherever there was war, there were mercenaries. If he wanted to find the whereabouts of the rest of the Eagle-Lion Mercenary Group, this was the only way—dangerous, but direct.

Just as the chaos broke out at the border, aboard the *Jiangzhou* warship, Lu Qian’s brow furrowed.

"What's the situation?"
"Report, the other side has terminated the signal!"
"Report! We've detected large-scale skirmishes in the mountains on the northwest border of Libya."

Lu Qian immediately located the skirmish site on the map, pressing his finger firmly against the spot, his brows knitted tight. In the *Jiangzhou* command center, Luo Yaocheng looked at the location, seemingly lost in thought.

"Old Lu, it seems that kid Li Changjiang is in a delicate situation. Look, the skirmish is here, and he entered the border here. The two points are less than ten kilometers apart. If he was heading toward Tripoli along the coastline, there's a high probability he ran into this fight."

"Find out the location of Li Changjiang's signal source immediately."
"Yes, sir!"

Before long, the transmission point of the signal was identified and projected onto the screen; it overlapped perfectly with the location of the firefight.

"It really is the same place. What do we do now? We certainly can't send the equipment over, and we have no way of knowing his current status."

Luo Yaocheng’s assessment was spot on.

"Can we transmit a signal to Li Changjiang?"
"Report, no. His satellite phone is a one-way device; it cannot actively receive incoming signals."

Lu Qian’s expression shifted slightly.
"Damn it, how can this be!"

"Old Lu, let's wait patiently. If there's no movement after two hours, we'll think of another way." Luo Yaocheng tried to soften the mood.

Bang!
"Two hours! The situation will be long gone in two hours!"

With a slam, Lu Qian’s face darkened. They had already made one mistake on this matter; if something went wrong again, he would have no excuse, nor could he justify it. But other than being furious, there was nothing he could do. Libyan airspace was closed; let alone them, even the Americans would have to take a roundabout route to enter Libya secretly. Otherwise, once shot down, there would be nowhere even to cry.

Two hours! He couldn't predict if Li Changjiang would even be alive by then.

"Tell headquarters immediately that we've lost contact with Li Changjiang and ask them to open up the satellite signal access permissions."
"Report! According to regulations, we cannot obtain that level of access!"

"To hell with that! Rules are rigid, but people are living! Contact them now! If anything goes wrong, I'll take the blame!"

The communications officer quickly contacted the Special Operations Command and relayed the request immediately. The reply, as expected, was a denial of authorization.

Snatching the microphone from the officer, Lu Qian grew angry.
"Hello! Headquarters? This is Lu Qian! I am requesting immediate signal tracking access for Li Changjiang. If something goes wrong, you will be held fully responsible!"

"Asshole! Lu Qian, are you threatening me? Are you still a soldier? Follow orders!"

Stunned!
The booming voice from the microphone brought Lu Qian back to his senses.
"Captain, I—"

"I what? Handle Li Changjiang's situation as instructed. You are not allowed to initiate contact. That is a direct order."

Click!
The line went dead. Lu Qian stood there, dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, inside Tripoli, Libya.

Li Changjiang moved with immense speed, not pausing for a second as he sprinted toward his next target. Covering the distance of two kilometers, the sound of gunfire became deafening as he approached the perimeter of the skirmish.

A sharp, piercing sound echoed from ahead as another flare rose, its intense light leaving no target within a thousand meters hidden.

Li Changjiang looked toward the firefight and was stunned.
"Damn! Is that the Russian?"

At this moment, Li Changjiang was extremely close to the skirmish, less than a hundred meters away.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!
"Damn it, Jin, run!"
"Dammit, I'm hit! Nicholas, I'm hit!"

Bang!
Bang, bang, bang!

"What do we do?"
On the outskirts of the market, the Russian, Nicholas, and the Korean-American, Jin, were surrounded by enemy mercenaries and Libyan militia. Jin appeared to be wounded and was in a desperate state.

"Nicholas, go! I'll hold them off!"

Jin’s expression flickered, but Nicholas said nothing. He popped his head out and pulled the trigger repeatedly, temporarily suppressing the enemy’s fire. But a burst of bullets soon forced them back into the corner, making it impossible to even lift their heads.

"It's no use, their firepower is too strong!"
"Damn Libyans! Nicholas, you have to go!"
"F*ck!"

The Russian still didn't nod. He knew exactly what would happen if he stayed.

Bang!
Taking down a Libyan soldier who rushed forward, Nicholas kicked open a door behind him and helped Jin inside. Enemies swarmed behind them; beyond the door lay only open desert, with nowhere to hide.

Li Changjiang moved fast, but he had no weapon.
"Damn it!"

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an AK-47 on a rebel corpse Nicholas had just downed.

"One... two... three..."
He bolted.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
A string of bullets skimmed his scalp, hitting the ground. Using the momentum of his sprint, Li Changjiang rolled, grabbed the rifle with lightning speed, and ducked behind a wall.

Raise.
Aim.
Pull the trigger. All in one fluid motion!

Bang!
Bang, bang!

A spray of blood flashed, and the two Libyans who had been firing at him collapsed, lifeless.

On the other side, hearing the sudden gunfire, Nicholas and Jin froze. They looked out from the side door and saw a figure crouching at the corner of a wall, squeezing the trigger again and again. The figure was hauntingly familiar.

"F*ck! It’s Li!"
"My god, it’s really Li! Li is back!"
"Hey, Li! Come here!"
"God, he’s back!"

Hearing the shouts behind him, Li Changjiang turned around and was overcome with joy.

Damn it! It really was the Russian!