142 Call of Duty (Third Update!)

Fire!

Fire!

As Li Changjiang's voice suddenly exploded in their ears, the men aggressively swung their arms and hurled the grenades with their pins already pulled.

Boom, boom, boom!

The successive explosions soon made the closing Libyans pay a heavy price. People fell in rows, but the assault operation planned by Li Changjiang was far from over. Before the sound of the explosions had even faded, a dozen tongues of fire erupted from the buildings, weaving an impenetrable net of firepower.

The intersecting lines of death instantly surged toward the opposing rebels. Aside from a few who managed to dive to the ground in time, very few remained standing after a few moments. Li Changjiang did not dare to linger; he knew that if they didn't retreat now, it would truly be too late.

"Fall back!"

"Tank, stick with me. We'll cover the rear!"

Tank was the only one among them lugging a PKM general-purpose machine gun, making him undoubtedly the best choice for rear-guard duty. As the squad leader, Li Changjiang had the responsibility and obligation to ensure every member survived, even the Englishman.

"Fuck!"

The Old Russian cursed without a moment's hesitation and bolted toward the street on the other side. The group set off in a desperate, all-out sprint.

Li Changjiang lay prone on the ground, sweat pouring from his brow, streaming down his eyelashes like rain. The salty taste in his mouth heightened his awareness, making his blood feel as though it were boiling.

Just as the Old Russian and the Englishman's team reached the corner and immediately dropped into position to exchange fire, Li Changjiang shouted out to the seemingly crazed German:

"Fall back!"

Rat-tat-tat!

Russian-made gear was always durable.

The caliber of the PKM wasn't large, but the terrifying firepower generated by the continuous firing of 7.62mm rounds forced those Libyans to keep their heads down entirely. With Li Changjiang providing suppressing fire from the side, aside from the turtle-like tank barreling toward the two of them at full throttle, there was no threat at all.

Screech!

Yet, in Libya, anything was possible. Even Li Changjiang couldn't predict whether a bullet or a rocket-propelled grenade would fly their way next. Just as Tank put away his machine gun and broke into a run behind the others, and right as Li Changjiang was about to stand up, an RPG rocket came streaking directly from behind the tank.

"Fuck, it's an RPG!"

"Boss, get down!"

Instead of dropping to the ground where he was, Li Changjiang mustered all his strength and charged toward the street corner. The concrete road, blasted open by tank artillery, had a slab roughly the size of a round table tilted and jutting upward. Li Changjiang planted his foot squarely on the concrete slab and launched himself high into the air.

Boom!

If a high-speed camera had been present, it very well might have captured a scene that would shock the photography world.

The rocket fired from behind grazed the soles of Li Changjiang's boots and slammed into the inner side of the concrete slab, while Li Changjiang's body vaulted outward through the air.

A thunderous explosion rang out.

If playing back the action in slow motion, while still airborne, Li Changjiang was suddenly blown away by the shockwave sweeping outward from beneath him.

He crashed heavily onto the ground several meters away, feeling entirely dizzy and disoriented.

"Boss! My God! You're not dead!"

"Boss, you're incredible!"

"God! You are God!"

Everyone was stunned by the scene before them, including Will.

Good grief!

This was simply unbelievable. No one had ever been this lucky. If that rocket had flown higher by even the thickness of a few palms, Li Changjiang would have been blasted into mincemeat.

My god!

Terrifying!

This was no longer luck comprehensible to human logic!

Dizzy and lightheaded, Li Changjiang was hauled up from the ground by the Old Russian. Feeling a violent churning in his abdomen, the moment the bastard yanked him up, he retched and vomited everything out in one go.

"Damn it!"

Getting covered in Li Changjiang's vomit, the Old Russian was left with a rueful expression, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Spitting out the remaining vomit in his mouth, Li Changjiang cleared his head significantly. Only then did he process what he had just done—it had been so damn thrilling, so damn exhilarating! Thinking back to that hair-raising moment, even he couldn't help feeling a lingering wave of fear.

Yet Li Changjiang also knew very well that had he not done so, they would have faced an even more perilous situation; the Libyans wouldn't have given him ample time to escape.

"Move! Libyan reinforcements are coming!"

An British operative dashed out from the street corner. Hearing this, the group immediately resumed their frantic sprint toward the east. Sandwiched between the Old Russian and Tank, Li Changjiang felt as though he were walking on clouds, yet he still gritted his teeth against the relentless churning in his stomach.

After running nearly two blocks, the group was once again dumbfounded.

They were lost!

"Damn it, where is this?!"

"Fuck!"

"This way!"

Struggling free from the arms of Tank and the Old Russian, Li Changjiang glanced at the three intersecting paths ahead and chose the one directly in front. Truth be told, he had no idea either, but moving in a straight line was better than detouring. No matter where this path led, it beat being caught by the pursuers behind them.

Nodding in agreement, no one disputed Li Changjiang's decision at that moment, and the group immediately resumed their sprint. However, the shadows of the Libyans quickly reappeared behind them; pickup trucks were driving at breakneck speed, followed by swarms of militia surging forward like a hive of bees.

"Fuck, they're catching up!"

"Quick, to the left!"

This street ahead was far too long. Li Changjiang glanced forward and couldn't see the end of it at all. If they kept running down this road, the pickup trucks behind would catch up to them in no time.

Yet, after making successive turns and arriving once again at an unfamiliar intersection, everyone—including Li Changjiang—was utterly baffled.

"Fuck!"

"Damn it, how did we end up back here?!"

Looking at the littered corpses of Libyans strewn across the street before them, Li Changjiang felt as disgusted as if he had bitten into a piece of shit. Dammit, in their panicked flight, they had actually circled right back to where they started.

What the hell!

"Boss, what do we do?"

"Hey, Will, do you know the way?"

Hiding at the base of a wall, they huddled together to confer for a moment, but none of them could recognize which path led out. Li Changjiang surveyed the routes in both directions. Rebels and militia were everywhere now; they didn't have many choices—to be precise, only one.

If they chose the wrong path again, they truly wouldn't make it out alive.

"I need someone to get to that place!"

Li Changjiang suddenly pointed toward a high tower near the large building ahead, and the others quickly understood his meaning.

Right now, the entirety of Misrata was hostile. They couldn't rely on simple cardinal directions to get their bearings, and many routes had already been blocked off. Someone had to get up there to scout for them.

Yet everyone understood that whoever went up would have zero chance of survival, and the atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

In the face of death, everyone was equal, but in the face of the hope for survival, someone had to make the sacrifice.

It was unfair, but it was fraught with the radiance of human nature.

"I'll go!"

Raising his head, Li Changjiang looked at Will.

He fell into a silent pause.

"This is my mission! Duke, you have to get my men out, get them out of Misrata!"