Chapter 201: The Lament of the Mythical Bird

Chapter 201: The Luan Bird's Lament

Sichuan Provincial Administration Office, Baoning Prefecture.

The outskirts were deserted, the moon dark and the wind high—prime time for killing.

A Luan bird with pitch-black wings tore through the cloud layer, diving down to circle soundlessly above an abandoned warehouse.

The thin iron sheets serving as walls around the warehouse could not hinder those scarlet eyes in the least; the personnel lurking within were scouted with absolute clarity.

Just then a wind blew past; the waist-deep wild grass on the warehouse periphery bared fangs and brandished claws, and as they swayed, floating 'red dots' were revealed one by one.

"All hands, link to Luan Bird vision, prepare for action!"

Wei Jue'an lowered the visor on his flying saucer helmet, concealing the crimson glow emitted by his mechanical eye's operation, fingers pressed together like a blade, chopping forward.

Over a dozen figures with slightly hunched backs shot past him without a sound, splitting into two squads to flank the warehouse perimeter left and right.

"Squad One has reached designated position."

"Squad Two has reached designated position."

Two cold, stern voices rang out in the cochlear implants.

Wei Jue'an's eyes locked tight on the warehouse main gate; his upright fingers slowly curled together, then slammed fiercely forward!

"Action!"

At his command, the Embroidered Uniform Guards already in position erupted into motion, vaulting over the walls into the compound.

The next moment, the silent night sky was instantly shredded by the savage gunfire of the Tiger-Leopard Cavalry Type-3 Submachine Guns.

From the perspective relayed by the Luan Bird overhead, one could clearly see the Honghu members guarding the warehouse entrance instantly reduced to mangled, incomplete corpses by the dense hail of bullets.

The hidden sentries disguised as grass, trees, and bricks via projection couldn't escape the bullet rain either, instantly riddled into sieves.

"Capture them, move fast!"

Wei Jue'an's roar echoed through the comms channel.

With a Commander personally supervising from the rear, the Embroidered Uniform Guards who had cleared the outer perimeter dared not pause for a moment.

In the wedge-shaped advancing formation, two burly figures clad in Mingguang Heavy Armor surged to the fore, their footfalls landing with dull thuds; bullets striking from the darkness rang crisply against their armor.

Bang!

The warehouse gate was two fingers thick, yet it couldn't withstand the impact of two Rank-Nine Embroidered Uniform Guards, crashing inward with a thunderous roar.

But the instant the gate collapsed and dust billowed, blinding firelight suddenly flared within the warehouse!

A hideous iron dragon lunged from darkness deep as an abyss, its savage momentum and the shrill shriek it carried sending chills down the spine.

"It's 'Fire Dragon Emerges from Water', get back!"

A warning roar rang out from a comrade behind.

But at such close range, the two guards breaching the door had no time to dodge whatsoever.

Boom!

The violent explosion blew a massive breach directly in the not-so-spacious warehouse gate.

The Honghu members' counterattack reduced the Embroidered Uniform Guards' breach attempt just moments ago to a farce.

An Embroidered Uniform Guard of the Nongjia Sequence lunged forward, dragging his charred comrade back for emergency treatment.

The remaining guards maintained a three-man combat formation, advancing rapidly along the breach; the scorching muzzles of their Tiger-Leopard Cavalry Type-3s glared into the darkness ahead, bullets pouring out dense as a violent storm.

After the vanguard squad exhausted their magazines, they immediately fanned out in a triangular formation, swiftly seeking cover to provide suppressing fire for the comrades pressing in behind.

The other squads followed suit, maintaining high-intensity fire suppression, advancing by alternating cover.

This series of tactical maneuvers was seamless; the Honghu members hiding deep in the warehouse, though holding the terrain advantage, could only watch helplessly as the maneuvering depth available to them was continuously compressed.

"Surrender and you won't be killed!"

"Surrender and you won't be killed!"

Amidst the deafening gunfire mingled the furious roars of the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Alas, the response was an even more fanatical shout.

"Are kings and generals born of a special breed?"

A Honghu member, a mechanical heart buzzing in his chest, burst from cover; he hadn't taken two steps before the surging bullet stream shattered his charge.

In a split second, the bionic skin and synthetic muscles on his body were flayed into shreds, his exposed mechanical frame pocked with dense, pitted dents from the bullets.

"Honghu's Will"

Like a flatboat about to capsize in the bullet stream, the Honghu member being blasted backward let out a shrill, desperate howl.

A mechanical face-mask stained with gore rose from behind the arm serving as a shield, facing the blinding muzzle flashes, roaring in rage.

"Fearless in the face of death!!"

Hum!

The shriek from the vibrating mechanical heart pierced to an ear-splitting pitch; a wave of terror abruptly permeated the hearts of all the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

"Fall back, he's gonna self-destruct!"

Crack!

A peal of thunder-like gunfire drowned out all the clamor on the field.

Countless pairs of eyes, stunned dumb by the massive report, looked toward the Honghu member intent on self-destruction, only to see half a mangled, incomplete mechanical body.

"Fearless in death, but you still gotta fucking die!"

The crowd looked back in shock, only to see Wei Jue'an standing there brazenly in the open, a massive firearm nearly as tall as a man propped on his shoulder, his expression contemptuous as he spat.

"Capture me some live prisoners!"

"Sir!"

This shot from Wei Jue'an didn't just kill the lead Soldier Path Sequence practitioner; it shattered the remaining Honghu members' will to resist.

The warehouse interior fell quiet soon after, leaving only the pungent gunpowder smoke and the smell of blood still lingering.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards moved in pairs, cautiously sweeping the entire warehouse, searching for Honghu members possibly hiding in nooks and crannies.

Leather black boots stepped into the pooled blood on the ground, letting out a sticky, wet squelch.

An Embroidered Uniform Guard with a minor command badge at his waist hurried over, cupping his fist and bowing to Wei Jue'an, who leaned against a crate with eyes closed resting.

"Sir."

Wei Jue'an's eyelids lifted slightly, his tone icy, "Speak."

"These Honghu people are all madmen; the brothers tried their best to hold back, but still failed to capture a single live one."

This Xiaoqi pressed his forehead to his hands, every tendon taut, bracing for his superior's furious reprimand.

But after waiting a moment, no voice came from the man before him.

Bewildered, he slowly raised his head, only to find his own Zongqi turning his gaze toward the outside of the warehouse, brows knitted tight, face grave.

Tap... tap... tap...

In the thick, ink-black night, a measured, unhurried tread rang out.

Strangely, this warehouse was surrounded by overgrown wasteland, grass stems woven tight as a natural carpet; ordinary folk treading upon it would scarcely make a sound.

Yet now, these footfalls struck as if upon the very mind, impossibly clear.

"Alert!"

Xiaoqi snapped back to himself, whirling to roar at his subordinates still frozen in a daze.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards rallied, hastily forming ranks, barrels still warm leveled in unison at the figure stepping from the darkness.

Wei Juan narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on this uninvited guest who made no effort to hide his identity.

"Buddhist sect?"

"Shaolin. Jiwu."

"Embroidered Uniform Guard business. What brings the Master here?"

A faint smile touched Jiwu's peerlessly handsome face. "This poor monk wishes to ask Commander Wei for a small favor."

"What favor?"

"Accompany this poor monk on a trip to Chongqing Prefecture."

A sudden chill rose in Wei Juan's heart; his left hand, clasped behind his back, clenched into a fist.

"And if I say... no?"

Jiwu raised a single palm before him. "Alive won't do. Dead works just as well."

Wei Juan laughed from the extremity of rage. Never one to waste words when killing was decided, he swung his left fist and spat coldly: "Kill!"

In an instant, gunfire rolled like thunder.

The luan birds roosting above the warehouse, startled, shrieked miserably, beating their wings into the overlapping black clouds overhead.