Chapter 4

The sudden bright light pierced through, causing Yan Sui to instinctively close her eyes. Before her, a green light flickered repeatedly, igniting her anger. She tilted her head and raised her hand to shield her eyes as she looked towards the windshield.

Completed

The hand gripping the wooden stock tightened, Yan Sui bared his teeth, and did not hesitate for too long

Yan Sui could not help but close her eyes

She must make a decision as soon as possible

Xin Ya hid in the corner and only dared to ask softly at that moment: "Mr. Yan, have you practiced with a wooden gun?"

As expected, the driver began to resist violently, but as Yan Sui tightened his grip around the driver's neck, the more he struggled, the tighter the hold became. In the end, he exhausted his last breath, only able to tilt his head back and gasp for air against the car roof, with no strength left at all

She let out a hiss, her phone slipped from her grasp and fell to the back seat. Without bothering to pick up the phone, she pulled Xin Ya behind her before the rear window was completely shattered.

These individuals act recklessly on their own territory, and the conversations transmitted through the walkie-talkies sound to them like a very amusing joke; they pay no heed and do not believe that Yan Sui would actually open fire with a wooden gun

The person outside the car had clearly lost patience. After forcefully pulling on the door handle and discovering that the door was still locked, he raised the shotgun and fired another shot at the weak point of the rear window, which already had a slight gap.

The night was like an unliftable black veil; wherever she looked, even the desolate trees growing by the roadside exuded a sense of desolation

The Somali militants surrounding the vehicle simultaneously took a step back and looked towards their leader

Just when Yan Sui thought her threat had taken effect, unexpectedly, the people outside the car burst into laughter

Fu Zheng instinctively frowned, raised his hand to close the window of the jeep, blocking the sound of the wind outside

Hello? The voice was hoarse and utterly exhausted

A somewhat heavy breathing sound was clearly transmitted through the headset. After confirming the call was secure, he lowered his gaze and stated directly: "I am Fu Zheng, Captain of the Chinese Marine Corps"

The slender Somali man was protesting, leaning against the windshield while urinating.

However, it is evident that in a dangerous place like Somalia, human life is likely the least valuable thing.

As she fell silent, the car was filled with nothing but the heavy breathing of the driver

They did not care about his life or death. Lu Xiao did not translate those unbearable original words, which even contained some profanity, so obscure that he could only grasp the general meaning.

All the reactions she displayed from the very beginning have long exceeded her capacity to cope

With only two hours left until dawn, the night before me feels like a desperate situation deep in a valley, thick with inky darkness. What is even more terrifying than this boundless blackness is the sense of isolation and helplessness.

Lu Xiao restrained his uncontrollably trembling legs, his clenched fists pressed against the seams of his trousers at the knees, and he pressed the call button again

Yan Sui gestured with his chin, saying: "Bind his hands behind his back."

She held the wooden club with a slightly bent hand and swung it back to strike heavily at the forehead of the driver, who was bound to his seat by the seatbelt, eliciting a groan of pain from him. Yan Sui stood up, wrapping her hands around the driver's neck from behind and pulling tightly, forcing his head back and making his breathing heavy. She turned her head and said to Lu Xiao: "Take off the belt"

The fragmented cries that she had just been suppressing in her throat could no longer be contained, and in her utmost fear, even her cries broke into a discordant sound

Fu Zheng originally thought that after he spoke, he would first need to calm the frightened woman, and only after wasting a few minutes could he inquire about her surroundings

Yan Sui collided with the handrail on the roof of the violently shaking vehicle, causing a sharp pain in his forehead

The night suddenly fell silent

Lu Xiaoyu was speechless for a few seconds and obediently complied

She just cannot be certain that paying is the safest decision; what if, after getting out of the car, their greed extends beyond just wanting money

He could hear clearly the loud mockery and derisive comments from outside the car

Perhaps sensing the impending collapse of emotions within the vehicle, the laughter from outside grew even more boisterous, accompanied by the sound of gunfire from a wooden gun, as if to celebrate in advance

This posture is somewhat strenuous, Yan Sui took a breath and continued: "There is also a local driver in the car, I intended to use him as a hostage to buy some time, but the Somali thugs do not care about his life. Apart from a wooden gun in my hand, I have nothing for self-defense."

The shotgun in his hand was slung diagonally to his waist, and he unfastened his pants, reaching to pull out his genitals. As if coordinated, the spotlight's beam shifted from behind him into the car, the blinding white light shining directly on Yan Sui

At this moment, I was somewhat surprised to hear the other party clearly and systematically explain the situation

Lu Xiao let out a sound of "ah" because the anger on the face of the Somali man, who had just been humiliated, had not yet subsided. He instinctively touched the belt around his waist and looked at Yan Sui in confusion

The fingertips, damp with sweat, brushed over the bullets one by one, while Yan Sui lowered her gaze and thought quickly.

Yan Sui subconsciously pressed her head down and pulled her off the back seat: "Stay still."

He did not say approximately, he did not say perhaps, nor did he say possibly, but rather he assured her with certainty that he would need ten more minutes to reach the rescue.

The dark faces of the Somalis glistened under the spotlight, their eyes a haunting green, resembling hungry sand wolves in the desert

The recoil of the wooden gun caused her hands to tingle, and a buzzing sound filled her ears. Her entire arm felt as if it had been twisted around, leaving it instantly sore and weak

-

As soon as she finished speaking, a sudden sound of a wooden gunshot came from the other end of the headset

The dryness of the Somali desert seems to have only just been awakened at this moment

He anxiously rubbed the intercom tightly clenched in his palm with his fingertip, feeling lost: "President Yan... what should I do?"

-

-

This brief episode did not achieve the desired effect that Yan Sui had anticipated; instead, it became a catalyst. The Somalis, who had initially harbored some reservations outside the vehicle, seemed to be invigorated, with even a small and slender Somali climbing onto the hood of the engine, demonstrating in a manner that was both defiant and smiling broadly.

She does not know at which stage her judgment went wrong

Yan Sui was startled and stood up from the back seat, arms outstretched, aiming the wooden gun at the window

She gripped the wooden stock again, her freshly dried palms becoming damp with cold sweat once more due to nervousness

That thin crack enveloped the bullet, shattering it into a white spiderweb in an instant, as the entire piece of glass burst outward from the densely packed fissures, scattering in all directions

It was initially thought that mercenaries and armed militants were in cahoots; with hostages in her possession, even if she could not make demands, she could at least buy time and render them helpless in the short term

The ringtone of the satellite phone in the back seat almost coincided with the muffled sound of the second hammer striking the glass. The built-in ringtone was urgent, the melody of which I could not identify, its tone monotonous, yet imbued with a sense of nostalgia.

Fu Zheng's gaze sharpened, his hands swiftly turning the steering wheel, as he quickly maneuvered through the narrow alleys of Somalia and onto the highway

He raised his eyebrows, and after pondering for a few seconds, he replied: "I still need ten minutes"

Outside the vehicle, dozens of individuals, they had no possibility of resistance at all

This moment of silence lasted only a few seconds, yet for Yan Sui, who had been engulfed in intimidation and fear since just now, it felt as if she were sitting in a corner of a theater listening to an exceptionally long prologue.

She reloaded the magazine into the wooden chamber, her fingertips glistening with sweat mingled with the metallic scent of rust from the bullets. As she contemplated, the car door handle was pulled from the outside.

She bit her lip, beginning to contemplate whether to get out of the car and surrender now, obediently paying a sum as a "toll fee" to avert disaster.

With her, there are three people in the car. Not to mention any combat capability, even the ability to protect themselves might be in negative growth.

There is no law here, no justice, and certainly no one to draw their sword in aid of those who are wronged

Yan Sui held the wooden gun with both hands, her fingers trembling slightly due to the recoil, causing the muzzle of the gun to quiver as well. However, there was not a trace of fear in her expression; she slightly pursed her lips, and when she spoke again, her voice was hoarse: "It's over..."

Yan Sui did not respond

The sudden sound of the wooden gunshot and the driver's pained cry from being cut by the shattered dashboard brought everything to an abrupt halt

Accompanying the sound of the wooden gunshot is the crisp sound of shattering glass

Fu Zheng, who had been paying close attention to the movements on the other end, couldn't help but furrow his brow slightly. At a moment when he should have maintained a serious demeanor, he found himself unable to suppress a smile.

With a muffled bang, the wooden mallet struck the shattered glass, producing a dull sound

Having been accustomed to safe places, I have never encountered anything like being openly robbed in a car surrounded by an armed group, let alone having my wallet stolen in a shopping mall

China is a very safe country, where wooden clubs and weapons are strictly regulated. Even adult men who have not undergone training may not know how to disengage the safety. Moreover, the person in the car pointing a wooden club at the driver is a woman

Her information with the mercenaries is almost completely transparent, equivalent to the fact that this group of Somalis outside is also aware that she is an entrepreneur from China. In the dead of night, hurrying along the road, to anyone who sees her, she appears to be a plump, juicy sheep ready to be slaughtered.

She turned the muzzle of the wooden gun towards the dashboard, gritted her teeth, and with a bang, fired a shot from the wooden gun

Xin Ya was closest to the window, watching helplessly as the bullet shattered the glass, her emotions completely collapsing

In response to him, there was a brief silence followed by a light laugh, and Yan Sui turned her head to glance out the window

He knows that there is no better way to handle the situation at hand

He lowered his gaze to the approaching location and softly assured, "However you came, I will take you back the same way"

-

As she finished speaking, she added sarcastically, "Will it?"

It does not exist

Yan Sui cast a sidelong glance at her, curled his lips into a smile, and did not respond

Yan Sui lifted the corners of her lips, the sharpness at the corners of her eyes gleaming like a blade, and her entire face exuded a sense of coldness

Yan Sui could not understand their language, but merely by judging their expressions, she could guess what they were laughing about at that moment, whether it was mocking her overconfidence or ridiculing her bluster.

There was simply no time for Yan Sui to make a choice

Yan Sui suddenly let out a sigh of relief, her taut nerves easing somewhat. She reached for her phone, turned around to lean against the passenger seat's backrest, held the shotgun steady with one hand aimed at the car window, and placed one foot on the back seat cushion to provide support for her weakening legs

Unfortunately, some mistakes are fatal with just one occurrence

Yan Sui felt parched, with sweat trickling down her forehead and dripping along her eyelids, and she forgot to blink.

She stood on the cushion, arched her body, and looked around: "My security is colluding with the Somalis, and my assistant and I, along with the translator, are trapped inside the car; the rear window won't hold out for long."

They intended to breach through the most vulnerable rear window, the second wooden warehouse, where the already battered glass was dented inward by bullets, leaving no intact area; the entire pane of glass was on the verge of collapse

Once he had freed his hands, Yan Sui set down the wooden warehouse and first rubbed his wrists

Suddenly, a strange accent of Arabic was heard from the intercom, and the commotion outside came to a brief halt

-

The mocking and insults from outside the car never ceased, but Yan Sui did not mind as she could not understand them. She removed the magazine and carefully counted the number of bullets.

Lu Xiao anxiously glanced back at Yan Sui

This certain tone unexpectedly calmed Yan Sui's heart. She calculated the time and, rarely in the mood for joking, said: "Chief, in ten minutes you can only collect the bodies for me."

Casually, he slightly bent down and picked up the phone with his other hand