Chapter 158 - Winter Solstice, Summer's End (Part Seven)

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My Rebirth Legend

De Guangqing stared in disbelief at the bodies sprawled on the ground before him. In a mere instant, five of his men had been pierced through by that strange red light and were dead. Almost simultaneously, his men retreated in fear. His eyes grew red with murderous intent as he shouted inside, "Xiao Qiang, I know you're in there! I will kill you! I will definitely kill you!" He raised his pistol and fired directly toward the source of the red light.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” Bullets whistled out from the barrel of his dark gun, shooting forward at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow. Soon, the sound of metal striking metal rang out from the abandoned machinery ahead, sparks flying.

I was quite satisfied with the performance of my laser pistol; its penetrating power was no joke—a single beam had pierced through two men. But at this moment, I dared not act rashly. Earlier, the thugs hadn’t known I was armed, so I caught them off guard. If I moved now, De Guangqing would retaliate immediately. Imagine several gun barrels aimed at you—sure, the machines ahead might block some bullets, but if one hit your head, it wouldn’t be worth it.

So, I stayed put. De Guangqing and his men fired desperately, moving quickly toward me. They wanted to suppress me completely, to keep me from attacking. As the frequency of bullet impacts grew nearer, I knew De Guangqing was closing in. I glanced at Chu Qitong beside me, her face pale with fright, and smiled gently.

“Don’t be afraid. Li Dabiao is coming soon. I’ll rush out first to draw their fire. You stay here quietly and don’t move.”

“No, Xiao Qiang, don’t go out. Let’s wait for Li Dabiao... I’m scared...” Chu Qitong clung to me tightly, knowing how dangerous it was for me to charge out recklessly.

“Be good, I know how to protect myself. If I don’t go out now, they’ll be on us soon, and no matter how many lives I have, I can’t protect you then.” I gently pried her delicate hand away and offered a comforting smile. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“Xiao Qiang… sob…” Chu Qitong cried again, but I paid no mind. I could already sense gunfire just a dozen meters away. Taking a deep breath, I focused my inner energy, the Purple Yang Qi, and prepared myself.

With the whistling wind in my ears, I dashed forward with lightning speed, charging toward the machines just meters ahead.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” De Guangqing fired repeatedly at the blur of my rushing figure. Bullets zipped past behind me. Nervously gripping my laser pistol, I fired blindly toward the crowd accompanying De Guangqing.

Two red laser beams suddenly appeared in their line of sight. They were clearly terrified of the lasers. With the grim example of their fallen comrades fresh in mind, some thugs collapsed in fear while others scrambled to dodge. Chaos erupted among De Guangqing’s men, and the gunfire dwindled considerably.

Seeing the laser pistol’s psychological effect, I changed tactics—rolling on the ground and firing wildly toward De Guangqing’s direction.

“Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt!” Several red laser beams shot out. Earlier, I fired haphazardly and missed, but now I aimed quickly and accurately. In moments, nearly ten thugs fell into the abyss.

“Ah!” De Guangqing was about to lose his mind, firing frantically. Though I was moving, there was no cover. Suddenly, a bullet struck my chest, producing a sharp sound. I immediately tensed, shielding my head with my arms and diving behind another piece of discarded machinery.

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“Boss, we’re here!” Just as I struggled to hold on, Li Dabiao’s voice came through my earpiece. Then, gunfire erupted at the warehouse entrance, accompanied by screams and chaos that reverberated throughout the long-abandoned building. I finally relaxed—once Li Dabiao arrived, Chu Qitong and I were no longer in mortal danger.

De Guangqing panicked, shouting as he retreated with his men toward the warehouse gate. I turned cautiously to look at the entrance, where several bodies lay scattered. The guards, armed with machetes, stood no chance against Li Dabiao’s gunfire.

“Brothers, rescue the boss and charge!” A familiar voice rang out from the gate, and I saw a large group of burly men clad in black tight suits, each armed with firearms, storming in. De Guangqing and his men hid among the machines, too afraid to show themselves.

I was genuinely shocked when I took a closer look. Now I understood why De Guangqing hadn’t confronted Li Dabiao directly. Li Dabiao was incredible—those who knew him thought he was coming to save me; those who didn’t might think a special forces team had arrived. Look at their weapons: American M4 carbines, German K263 light machine guns, and one man even hoisted a small rocket launcher on his shoulder. Were these the security guards from Tianying Company? I felt like mercenaries had arrived.

“De Guangqing, if you want to die quickly, surrender now. Don’t test my patience, or I’ll blow this warehouse to smithereens and roast you like pork,” Li Dabiao warned, holding four round grenades that looked ready to be tossed among the rusted, abandoned machinery.

“Li Dabiao, don’t get arrogant! Your boss Xiao Qiang is right here in the machine stack! If you throw those grenades, we all die together!” De Guangqing knew he was doomed. Surrounded by Li Dabiao’s men, stepping out meant certain death. Standing between me and Li Dabiao was his only hope.

Li Dabiao frowned at the pile of machinery and gestured to his men. A few nodded in understanding and began flanking the machine stacks. Two snipers climbed the iron stairs to the second floor, setting up their rifles and aiming at De Guangqing’s hiding spot. Anyone stepping out would be riddled with bullets instantly.

I steadied myself, knowing victory was near, so there was no need for worry. Clutching the laser pistol, I dashed back to where Chu Qitong was hiding beneath a broken machine. Seeing me return, she eagerly threw herself into my arms, trembling and tearful.

“It’s okay now, Qitong. Li Dabiao has the situation under control. Once De Guangqing is taken out, we’ll be able to leave,” I soothed, stroking her hair to calm her frightened heart. “I’ll never let something like this happen again. I’ll protect you forever.”

“Xiao Qiang… mm, with you here, I’m not afraid of anything,” she said, cheeks flushed, tears streaking down her beautiful face. I smiled, gently wiping her tears. “Look at you, you’ve turned into a little tearful kitten.”

“Who’s a kitten? Stop teasing me,” she playfully scolded, then quietly began tidying her disheveled hair and clothes. Earlier, the situation had been too urgent to care, and now she noticed her white jacket was off, revealing a slightly loosened pink camisole beneath. Her face reddened again.

I stopped watching her and began pondering how to force De Guangqing out. This drawn-out standoff was no solution. Suddenly, I remembered something and glanced around. Sure enough, I spotted a massive hook suspended in midair nearby.

Quickly, I spoke into the comm, “Dabiao, do you see that huge iron hook hanging in the air?”

“Yes, boss, I see it,” came the immediate reply. “What’s the plan?”

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“Look at these huge, cumbersome machines. There’s no way they were all moved here by hand. That hook must have been used by the chemical plant to hoist these machines. Have your men find the switch to operate it. When the hook moves past me, I’ll grab it with Chu Qitong and jump onto the second-floor iron platform. That way, we’ll be safe. Tell the snipers to stay alert—De Guangqing might try to shoot us once we’re on the hook.”

“Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that? Boss, you’re so smart! I’ll have my men get ready right away!” Li Dabiao’s voice was full of excitement. I knew once I grabbed the hook and tried to escape the machine pile, De Guangqing would definitely shoot at me. But I wasn’t afraid anymore—besides Li Dabiao’s snipers covering me, my focused armor could withstand three bullet hits.

“Vrrr... Click, click, click.” Just minutes later, Li Dabiao’s men found the control switch and activated the long-unused hook. Watching it slowly glide toward me, I pulled Chu Qitong into my arms and reminded her, “Hold on tight!”

“Mm,” she bit her lip and nodded, clutching my waist tightly. Taking a deep breath, I felt a surge of power in my legs. My whole body shot up like a cannonball, my right hand gripping the hook firmly.

“Boss, that guy’s trying to escape!” As I swung through the air, clutching Chu Qitong and moving toward the second-floor platform, some thugs hidden among the machines shouted to De Guangqing in panic. He gritted his teeth, “Shoot him down! Hurry!”

Several gunmen tried to peek out and fire, but just as they aimed, gunfire erupted from all directions. Bullets traced beautiful arcs through the air before burying themselves in the heads of those foolish enough to expose themselves.

“Pfft… pfft… pfft…” One by one, the thugs’ heads exploded, their brains splattering on the nearby abandoned machinery. Poor De Guangqing’s men never fired a shot—they were wiped out clean by the snipers.

When Chu Qitong and I finally stepped heavily onto the iron platform of the second floor, De Guangqing’s heart sank to the depths. Amid Li Dabiao’s triumphant laughter, De Guangqing pulled the pins on four grenades and hurled them into the abandoned machine pile below.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!” As I collapsed onto the iron platform with Chu Qitong in my arms, violent tremors shook the ground. The deafening explosions filled the warehouse with smoke and fury, leaving behind countless severed limbs, shattered beyond repair...