Chapter 356: Don't Be Afraid, I Am Here

When Chen Xiaolian reached the hotel, the nearby street had turned into a sea of fire.

The rebel army had yet to fight their way here, but the sounds of gunfire were getting closer. Some people in the east side of the city were using this opportunity to stir up trouble. Whenever there was war, someone would surely use the opportunity provided by the resulting chaos to create trouble. Chen Xiaolian watched as several African men with masked faces broke down the door of a building beside a street and broke their way in.

Some others used this opportunity to start looting. Chen Xiaolian saw that the door of a shop in the east side had been smashed open and various people were frantically taking away the items inside.

The road was in disorder. Some Africans were wielding guns and pointing around with it. Some of them even tried to rob Chen Xiaolian’s truck. They attempted to get him to stop the truck but he ignored them. He simply stepped on the throttle, pushing it to its limit and charging his way through. Some of them were unable to back away in time and were knocked onto the street. When they got up, they started cursing. Some even opened fire at the truck.

The face of the African minister who was seated in the front passenger seat had turned pale from fright – well, he was an African. No matter how terrified he maybe, there was no way his face could turn white. However, seeing how his body was trembling and how his mouth would mutter unintelligible words, Chen Xiaolian knew that the African minister was only one step away from breaking down.

Several buildings located near the hotel were already on fire.

Several heavily armed guards could be seen at the gates of the hotel – a couple of suspicious looking men with guns were looking at them… if not for fear of the armed guards in the hotel, these thugs would probably have rushed in long ago.

However, the situation was not too optimistic. The number of thugs was increasing…

This hotel was famed for being the gathering spot of the rich. Once there was war, this place would transform into a big piece of juicy meat for them.

Chen Xiaolian was nearly unable to pass through when he arrived at the gates. Thankfully, the African minister’s face worked as a pass. It was after only seeing him did the guard soldiers opened up the gates – it was clear that these fellows were feeling anxious as well.

Chen Xiaolian stopped the truck in the courtyard. The moment he jumped down, he saw the German, Hans and the others moving their items in the courtyard.

Chen Xiaolian ran over and saw several familiar faces. Hans was busy discussing something with Winston when Chen Xiaolian walked over to pat him on his shoulder. Turning his head, Hans’ face relaxed a little when he saw Chen Xiaolian. “It’s you?”

“Are you planning to leave?”

“Yes. Kabuka City has fallen,” said Hans quickly. “The rebel army circled around to the east side to launch their attack. The President, Zayad had escaped with his men. We need to leave this place as soon as possible. In Africa, the slaughter of an entire city is very much a possibility!”

Chen Xiaolian nodded his head and asked, “Do you have a plan for your escape?”

Hans’ face was solemn and he took a deep breath. “That’s hard for me to say…”

Hans regarded Chen Xiaolian for a bit, then he pulled Chen Xiaolian aside. Frowning, he said, “Why are you with him?”

Naturally, the ‘him’ referred to the African minister who had been standing there silently.

Chen Xiaolian shook his head and said, “I encountered him on my way here.”

Han nodded his head. Then, hesitating for a moment, he lowered his voice and said, “Chen… if you don’t have a plan on how to evacuate, then follow us. There are quite a number of us and we have a mercenary team for protection. We also have guns. We will be able to protect ourselves if we encounter a small number of the rebel soldiers. Additionally… we are planning to head to the east. It will take us at most three days to reach the border. After crossing the border, we will reach Cameroon. We have already reported our present situation to the headquarters. Our people will be there to receive us.”

Chen Xiaolian glanced at Hans and asked, “UN Peacekeeping Forces?”

Hans whispered, “Special actions squad, it’s affiliated with… mm, let’s not go into the details now. No matter what, we cannot die here. The impact of such a scenario would be too big. If the people affiliated to the African UN Peacekeeping were killed, the UN might very well choose to pull back all their people from this place. If that were to happen, the ones to suffer would be this continent of Africa.”

Chen Xiaolian looked at Hans. The words he spoke were uttered out of sincerity – Chen Xiaolian believed that what he said was true was well. At the same time, Chen Xiaolian sensed that, for Hans to be offering him this chance to escape with them, he was an upright and just person.

Chen Xiaolian swiftly nodded his head and said, “I’ll go with your group… do you have enough vehicles?”

“Not quite.” Hans shook his head. “Too many people. It’s not only the people from our organization, other people will be coming along with us in our evacuation. We need to take them with us… we can discard some of the equipment.”

Chen Xiaolian pointed into the distance and said, “That is my truck, you can use it.”

Hans looked at it and exclaimed, “That’s great!”

He turned around and shouted, “Winston! Winston!”

The Australian youngster quickly moved over, his hands holding onto a large paper box.

“There’s a truck there! You take care of the details! The other people and items can use the truck! Also, you need to distribute the gasoline!” Hans urgently told him.

Winston glanced at Chen Xiaolian and gave him a nod. Chen Xiaolian then tossed him the keys.

“Where’s Lin Leyan?”

“Lin?” Hans shook his head. “I don’t know. She went out at night. I have already sent someone to go look for her, but there is still no information as of now.”

Chen Xiaolian’s face contorted and he shouted loudly, “Went out?!”

“She did bring a gun with her and she also had a mercenary accompany her. There shouldn’t be any issue. She went out at night to a shop somewhere south of here to purchase our daily necessities. I have already sent some men to retrieve her. Hopefully, nothing did happen.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” Chen Xiaolian was furious. “Hope nothing happens? Do you know what is happening in the streets outside?”

After saying that, he turned around and ran out.

“Chen!” Hans shouted from behind. “15 minutes! We can only wait for 15 more minutes before leaving! We can’t wait any longer!”

“I understand!” replied Chen Xiaolian without turning his head.

…

Chen Xiaolian rushed out of the street and ran south.

A shop in the south?

Chen Xiaolian recalled the intersection that he had passed by earlier. Several places there had already been set ablaze.

The economy of Kabuka was very backward and its buildings were mostly made of bricks and wood. Once a fire took hold, it would spread ferociously.

Chen Xiaolian ran out of a street and was immediately targeted by two African men. Chen Xiaolian was still wearing the suit he wore to attend the banquet. Although it was already torn in places, it was still evident to them that he was someone rich.

The two African men quickly placed themselves before him. One of them held a gun – these two fellows must be new to this. Even though they were the ones committing the robbery, they revealed anxiousness, especially the one who was holding the gun. One glance was all Chen Xiaolian needed to know that the safety catch was still on.

Chen Xiaolian did not bother waiting for them to speak. He charged forward! He pounced forward with all his might and was before them in but a blink of an eye. In the next instant, a fist appeared…

Bang!

One of the African men was struck by Chen Xiaolian and was sent flying. His body slammed through the building beside like a cannonball.

The other African was so terrified that he was barely able to hold on to the gun. Chen Xiaolian reached out with a backhand move to grip his wrist. Then, he pulled the African fellow closer and reached out his other hand to grip his neck.

“Where is the nearest shop?”

“… … …” The African who was being strangled was unable to utter a single word out. However, he was smart enough to point out with his hand.

Chen Xiaolian harrumphed. Seizing the African man’s gun, he then tossed the fellow to the side. Before he could even stand properly, the African fellow had stumbled forward as he attempted to run far away.

As Chen Xiaolian trotted onward, he inspected the gun he seized. He was rather satisfied to find that it was fully loaded.

After making a turn in an intersection, he was able to see a group of people who were running to surround a certain location not far away. Some wore collared formal shirts while others wore t-shirts. A few more even sported cloaks.

Chen Xiaolian noticed that the leader of the group had tens of necklaces on his neck.

Clearly, these fellows must have just robbed a jewellery store or the house of some rich fellow.

The place that they were surrounding had a large neon signboard. As expected, it was a shop.

Chen Xiaolian had only taken a few steps forward before hearing gunfire sounds coming from that place.

The sporadic sound of gunfire could be heard coming from the shop and the African bandits outside screamed out in a frenzy. Next, they charged into the shop like a swarm of bees.

Chen Xiaolian quickened his pace!

…

Lin Leyan felt herself falling into absolute despair.

Although the door of the shop had been blocked off, that amount of blockage will not hold for long.

When she chose to come at night to purchase the necessities, how could she had guessed that something like this would happen? The state of law and order in the east side had always been good. Additionally, she had also brought along a mercenary to protect her.

Unexpectedly, the rebel army had attacked the city at night!

Back then, Lin Leyan and the mercenary who was accompanying her decided that they should head back immediately. Unexpectedly, the moment they stepped out of the shop, they had encountered four fellows who attempted to rob them.

The mercenary did not hesitate to open fire at them. What ensued was a gunfight where three from the other side died. Unfortunately, one of them got away.

The mercenary who had accompanied her was shot in the leg during the fight and was having a hard time moving. To Lin Leyan’s frustration, those bandits were deviously cunning. Before moving in on them, the robbers had dealt with their car that was parked outside.

These fellows methods were crude but effective. They had utilized a thick chain to tie up the car’s wheel tires and tied it together with the car that was beside it.

Lin Leyan was left with no way out.

She could not leave the injured mercenary and escape on her own. She supported him and they retreated back into the shop… it did not take long for more of those bandits to arrive.

The one leading them was the one who ran away and every one of them had a gun with them.

When they first arrived, they killed off the shop owner who had gone out and tried to reason with them.

Seeing how the situation was deteriorating, Lin Leyan’s first move was to close the shop’s door. Next, she picked up her gun and attempted to fight back.

With a gun in hand, she fired out a few shots through the door and the bandits were temporarily unable to charge in.

Soon though, the windows were broken and several flaming bottles were thrown inside. Although those bottle failed to burn anything, the resulting smoke had filled the shop.

Lin Leyan did not know how long she could hold out for. She also did not know what would happen to her if she were to fall into their hands.

The injured mercenary had even worse luck. Both he and Lin Leyan had hidden behind the window and opened fire at the bandits. However, the group of bandits had more firepower on their side and their random shots succeeded in hitting the mercenary’s shoulder.

The highly experienced fellow told Lin Leyan, “Leave a bullet for yourself!”

In this uncivilized time, the eyes of those bandits outside had already turned red and there were no humanity left in them. If she were to fall into their hands, only God knows what kind of torture she would have to endure. Not to mention, in this place, Lin Leyan was quite the exotic type of woman.

She had almost run out of bullets when the door was broken through. Lin Leyan dragged the mercenary to the back of the shop in retreat. However, how far could they run? They could only watch as a bunch of bandits swarmed in through the broken door…

Lin Leyan fell into absolute despair. She turned to face the mercenary beside her and the two of them exchanged glances. The mercenary turned his own gun and pointed its muzzle at his own forehead.

Lin Leyan’s hand trembled!

At that moment, she suddenly recalled a scene… just two nights ago in that remote chapel, she had also faced this type of despair. Yet, a figure had appeared to reignite the spark of hope…

…

Chen Xiaolian did not stop to shoot at them from afar, even though they were grouped up tightly and would have been easy targets for him.

He simply summoned out the Sword in the Stone, which he gripped tightly in his right hand while his left held onto a gun. He ran forward quickly under the cover of the night and approached those people.

Those people were so focused on swarming their way into the shop that the ones behind had not noticed an unfamiliar Oriental descending upon their rear.

Chen Xiaolian did not hesitate. His one hand shot out to strangle the rear most bandit while the Sword in the Stone stabbed right through him.

There was no sound of gunfire from his actions and the bandits in front were all too focused on trying to squeeze their way inside to notice anything. Thus, in just a blink of an eye, Chen Xialian had killed off three to four bandits.

As he was about to continue – Chen Xiaolian suddenly heard a sharp scream coming from inside the shop.

That voice belonged to Lin Leyan!

Chen Xiaolian immediately gave up his plan to secretly kill them!

He immediately charged forward!

With his powerful strength, he was able to rapidly shove the others aside. Some of the bandits cursed out only to be shoved away by Chen Xiaolian.

After taking only a few steps, he had made his way past the crowd. Then, he rushed through the door of the shop.

After that, he did something.

With a backhand move, he shut the door of the shop!

In that one instant before the door was shut, Chen Xiaolian summoned out Garfield…

Outside.

Wretched cries burst out from the outside! Chen Xiaolian ignored them and ran into the shop.

There were seven to eight bandits inside the shop and they stood around the fellow with the many necklaces. Chen Xiaolian charged inside just in time to see the corpse of a mercenary in combat uniform fall to the side, his head stained with blood.

As for Lin Leyan, she was being pressed down on the counter. Two African bandits held her down from two sides.

The bandit with many necklaces was in the process of tearing the clothes off Lin Leyan.

Lin Leyan’s outer clothing had already been partially ripped apart. She kicked out desperately in a desperate attempt to stop the coming of a most tragic fate.

Chen Xiaolian’s eyes turned red!

…

The seven to eight bandits in the shop were all laughing and shouting among themselves. Thus, none of them noticed anything when Chen Xiaolian first arrived.

But when Chen Xiaolian charged forward, the two bandits standing beside the door exclaimed in shock.

Chen Xiaolian did not hesitate to open fire!

He shot out with the gun in his left hand. One shot, one kill!

He strode forward rapidly.

Those few bandits had just raised their guns only to find that Chen Xiaolian was already upon them! The Sword in the Stone lashed out in a horizontal slash, cutting two of the bandits in the waist!

They were utterly cleaved apart!

The third fellow had it worse. The blade of the sword only cut his shoulder and his arm went flying. He did not even have the time to scream out as Chen Xiaolian stepped forward and shoved a gun into his mouth…

Bang!

The back of his head suddenly burst open!

The two fellows holding Lin Leyan down had already released their grip on her. They howled furiously and ran forward. One of them raised a gun and fired at Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian bent his waist and dodged. At the same time, he threw the corpse of the bandit whose head was blown off toward them.

Seeing a corpse weighing over 100 jins descending on them, the two bandits subconsciously dodged (1 kg = 2 jins).

As they dodged, they forego shooting… thus losing what small chance they had.

Chen Xiaolian was before them!

He was already out of bullets. So, he tossed the gun away and reached out with his hand to grip the neck of one of them before tossing him away as one would a gunny sack!

The bandit’s fragile neck was immediately broken and his corpse fell onto his companion. Next, Chen Xiaolian moved forward to stab through both of them as how one would skewer barbeque meat.

Turning around, Chen Xiaolian saw that the bandit with the many necklaces had been terrified to the point of wetting his pants.

The fellow moved to grab Lin Leyan. He produced a dagger, placed it on Lin Leyan’s neck and shouted loudly.

Chen Xiaolian harrumphed.

He let go of the Sword in the Stone and allowed the sword to fall together with the two corpses. Then, he turned around and stepped toward them.

Chen Xiaolian’s hand reached out to the surface of the counter slowly and found something hard.

Mm, it was an ice pick.

The African bandit continued to position his dagger beside Lin Leyan’s neck and he shouted, ordering Chen Xiaolian to back off. It seemed he had mentally collapsed.

After entering through the door, Chen Xiaolian had killed off all of his subordinates in less than 10 seconds!

He had never seen anyone kill with such a speed!

Lin Leyan’s eyes were widened and there were tears on her cheeks. She stared intently at Chen Xiaolian. She herself had no idea what she was thinking of at that very moment. All she knew was that her heart was about to burst!

“Don’t be afraid, I am here,” said Chen Xiaolian in a rather hoarse voice.

“… … you are here, I am not afraid,” replied Lin Leyan in a shaky voice.

“Things will get a bit bloody, close your eyes.”

“I don’t care.” Lin Leyan took a deep breath and gazed intently at Chen Xiaolian.

The bandit panicked! Lin Leyan had talked to Chen Xiaolian using Chinese and he was completely unable to understand anything they said. His heart grew more terrified and he shouted loudly, hoping to get Chen Xiaolian to back away. At the same time, he also called for help, hoping that his people outside would rush in…

It was at that moment that Chen Xiaolian took action!

Raising his hand, he threw the ice pick forward!

The bandit had no time to even grunt as his body flinched!

The ice pick struck his right eye and went all the way in!

The powerful strength behind the throw made it so the ice pick did not only pierce the bandit’s eye, it also pierced through the skull and the bandit’s brain.

The bandit’s body quaked in absolute pain; the dagger in his hand was released and it dropped down to the floor. Then, the bandit fell into a kneeling position. Even after he fell, his body continued to twitch continuously.

Lin Leyan quickly stepped forward and she threw herself into Chen Xiaolian’s arms.

There was blood on her face. It had splattered on her face when the bandit’s eye was pierced through by the ice pick.

Lin Leyan clung tightly to Chen Xiaolian and both her hands embraced Chen Xiaolian’s waist with all her might. Then, she finally cried out loudly.

Chen Xiaolian lightly patted her back and said, “Don’t be afraid, I am here.”