Chen Xiaolian had his eyes closed and was putting up a façade of sleeping when he suddenly jolted up to attention!
Everyone within their fleet of boats was working hard to paddle the boats forward. Still, their fleet was moving forward at a slow pace.
The majority of the boats had depleted their diesel. The number of boats that still had diesel were far and few and those were the only boats that could continue to use the engines to propel the boat forward. Chen Xiaolian observed his surroundings and saw that in addition to his boat, the only other boats that still had diesel was the one belonging to the African woman who had made the transaction with him earlier and… a mercenary boat. The engines on their boats continued to roar out.
Even on Hans’ boat, the volunteers were already working hard to paddle their boat forward.
Chen Xiaolian’s face immediately sank.
He quickly made his way to the stern, reaching the side of the African minister who was steering the boat. Without explaining anything, he turned off the engine.
The African minister was shocked. However, when he saw that sharp look on Chen Xiaolian’s face, he became terrified and he shrunk his neck back.
Chen Xiaolian made a silencing gesture before moving his head to listen to the sounds coming from the back.
“To the riverbank! Hurry!” Chen Xiaolian spoke out hastily.
“What?”
“I said get to the riverbank! If you don’t want to die, then hurry it up!”
Chen Xiaolian exhaled. Gripping the golden Desert Eagle in his hand, he quickly made his way to Lin Leyan’s side and whispered, “We’ve got a problem.”
Lin Leyan looked at Chen Xiaolian and a somewhat nervous expression appeared on her face. She looked at Chen Xiaolian and asked in a hushed tone, “Is it a very big problem?”
“… … …” Chen Xiaolian did not reply.
Lin Leyan exhaled and asked, “What do you think we should do?”
Chen Xiaolian turned his head back and looked at the back in a dazed manner.
Thanks to his senses that were far superior to the average person, Chen Xiaolian was able to faintly hear the rumbling sounds of motor engines coming from a distance behind them.
Judging from the sounds, there were more than one boat. Additionally… those boats were fast!
As Chen Xiaolian’s boat was in the middle of the fleet, his actions ended up blocking the path of the boats behind them. It wasn’t long before someone from back began cursing out.
Chen Xiaolian ignored them. He simply ordered the people on his boat to make best speed for the riverbank.
He knew full well that once chaos descended upon the fleet, the ability to safely make it to the riverbank would mean the difference between life and death!
The unusual movements of Chen Xiaolian’s boat caught Hans’ attention… truth was, the German fellow had been secretly keeping an eye on Chen Xiaolian’s boat. When he noticed that Chen Xiaolian had suddenly stopped his boat and moved it to the riverbank, he quickly jolted up.
Chaos began to erupt from the back of their fleet.
Chen Xiaolian’s boat was only slightly behind the middle position within the fleet. His sudden actions of veering his boat into a different direction caused chaos to erupt within the fleet.
When Chen Xiaolian’s boat reached the riverbank, he quickly jumped down. With both his legs within the river’s waters, he reached out his hand and dragged the boat toward the bank.
“Get down! Hurry up! Everyone get down!”
By then, Lin Leyan too, had jumped down the boat. She stood together with Chen Xiaolian with a walkie-talkie in her hand. It was configured for volunteers, something that Hans had handed to her early on.
Hans’s voice spoke out from the walkie-talkie. “What is going on?”
Chen Xiaolian was not an immoral person. Since his boat had made it to the riverbank, he simply told Hans everything. “I believe there are pursuers coming from behind. If you don’t want to die in the water, then get them to rush to the riverbank!”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian tossed the walkie-talkie down the ground.
Hans who was on the other side was stunned. He then hastily tossed the walkie-talkie to one of his men and said, “Contact the mercenaries! We’ve got a problem! It’s coming from the back! Also… get everyone to rush to the riverbank!”
Although Chen Xiaolian had not given him any evidence, Hans had instinctively chosen to trust Chen Xiaolian’s words.
However, after the boats in front received this sudden command from Hans, they too fell into disorder. Some even wasted time by trying to negotiate with Hans’ men and ask other questions…
As for the mercenary boat, they were in the front position. There was no way for them to turn back and make it to the back of the fleet.
It was at that moment that the rebel soldiers appeared from the river behind them!
Several motorboats sped forward at incredible speed! The sight of the rebel soldiers with guns in hand and the machine guns installed to the bow of the motorboat caused the refugee fleet to break down!
Some of the boats attempted to speed their way to the front while some chaotically fumbled to get to the riverbank. Some of the boats even slammed into one another, causing several of the refugees to fall into the water.
On the riverbank, Chen Xiaolian had led his team members to a big tree by the riverbank and hid there. He watched as the rebel soldiers made their appearance and saw how the people beside him were trembling from fright… that was especially so for the African minister. He was a ‘former government official’! If he were to fall into the hands of the rebel army, he would most certainly suffer a fate worse than death!
The other two women were also trembling from fear while the child within their embrace watched on with a lost look.
Chen Xiaolian looked at them. He knew that not all of them would be able to make it out alive. However, he chose not to utter these harsh words to them.
“Don’t panic. Later, just run together with me and don’t scatter,” Chen Xiaolian quickly said.
However, they did not hear what he said.
The African financial backer was the first to scream out loudly before dashing out toward an open area on the riverbank.
“Don- …” Chen Xiaolian roared out but it was too late.
Although that fellow was fat, his running speed was nothing to scoff at. Chen Xiaolian watched as he covered a distance of over 10 metres…
Then…
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A burst of gunfire rang out! The rebel soldiers that were pursuing the fleet on the motorboat had noticed the African financial backer who was running away – he was too noticeable of a target! At that moment, there was nothing there on the riverbank as the other refugees were all still in the water. The African financial backer’s actions of running by the riverbank was the equivalent of fireflies appearing in the middle of the night.
The rebel soldiers did not hesitate to open fire!
A hail of bullets was sent out and the African financial backer died miserably. He was struck with several bullets and he rolled down the floor, screaming out wretchedly a few times before finally taking his last breath.
“Don’t run now!” Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth.
He was still waiting!
Waiting for the chaos to increase!
When the rebel soldiers get closer, the refugees on the fleet became their primary target.
Soon, intense gunfire could be heard echoing through the river.
Muzzle flash sprayed out from the machine guns on the rebel’s motorboats as they attacked!
The boats that were crowded together in the river became a huge target for them.
A high number of bullets shot forward and miserable screams rang out without cease as the refugees were struck by the bullets before falling into the water.
The two boats at the back of the fleet were soon turned into Swiss cheese and a great portion of the river waters there were dyed with blood!
Finally, some of the refugees managed to make it to the riverbank. They rushed toward the riverbank without any semblance of order. Some were still struggling in the waters while some had begun running with all their might.
The rebel soldiers began firing. Using the machine guns, they shot out at the refugees that were still on the boats in the river. As for the rebel soldiers, they used their own guns to kill off the refugees who were running away on the riverbank.
The sounds of gunfire filled the air and more refugees were killed as a result.
Chen Xiaolian watched as two refugees made it to a spot in the river that was less than 10 metres away from him only to be killed by the bullets.
Chen Xiaolian carefully estimated the time.
When the rebel soldiers finally reached the rear part of the fleet of boats, they began to turn their attention toward the refugees that were still in the river…
It was at that moment that Chen Xiaolian shouted, “RUN!”
He was the first to leap out from the cover afforded by the big tree. He pulled Lin Leyan with him and the others followed.
Chen Xiaolian’s bet was the right one!
When the rebel soldiers were still far away, they were able to spare the effort to kill the refugees on the riverbank. But once they’ve met their target head-on, the rebel soldiers had to focus their attention on killing the refugees on the boats.
Chen Xiaolian led his team members away. While they could still hear the sounds of gunfire, those were all aimed at the river.
Blood from the refugees on the boats began staining the river waters. However, Chen Xiaolian and his team that were running away were not shot at.
In one breath, they covered a distance of roughly 50 metres. As he was about to rush into a stretch of forest, they suddenly heard a forlorn cry coming from the back of his team.
Chen Xiaolian turned around and saw the Caucasian woman falling wretchedly to the ground. She was barefooted and her feet were bloody.
The African minister who was beside her ignored her and he continued to run. The two African women also did not stop down. Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment before turning around to pull the Caucasian woman up.
A sharp stone had cut her left foot, leaving a long gash across it and blood flowed out. The woman was in so much pain that her lips had turned white. Her eyes were filled with tears as she shouted, “Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!”
Chen Xiaolian dragged her with him as he charged into the forest.
He then turned around to discover that Lin Leyan was the only one beside him. The African minister and the two African women were running tens of metres ahead of them!
Not a single one had chosen to help him or wait for him.
Chen Xiaolian harrumphed.
With one hand, he slung the Caucasian woman over his shoulder. Then he held onto Lin Leyan and ran.
It did not take long for Chen Xiaolian to catch up to the African minister in the forest. The minister watched as Chen Xiaolian overtook him. However, seeing that Chen Xiaolian was ignoring him, his heart sank.
He shouted out only to see Chen Xiaolian bolting even further away from him.
The African minister felt guilty. But, at a time like this, he was in no position to care about much else.
Getting away alive was more important. Who could spare the effort to care about others?
To the African minister’s surprise, Chen Xiaolian suddenly stopped and stood still. Then, with the Caucasian woman over his shoulder and Lin Leyan in his hand, he turned around and ran back.
The African minister was dumbfounded; he watched as Chen Xiaolian ran past him again and he subconsciously shouted, “What is it?”
Chen Xiaolian ignored him.
The African minister became confused but he did not stop running!
However, after running forward for another few minutes…
He saw the edge of the forest.
And also a scene that caused his soul to fall off his body!
Beyond the small stretch of forest was a narrow road. However, there were also two old trucks on the road!
Teams of rebel soldiers jumped down the trucks in succession. They held onto guns and headed into the forest!
The terror he felt caused the African minister’s leg to go limp and he fell to the ground miserably.
However, when he was in the middle of trying to roll up to run away, he suddenly felt something cold in his chest.
A bayonet pierced him in the centre from his back!
Blood gushed out of the African minister’s mouth. In the end, he could not even call out and his body fell limply onto the ground.
A young rebel soldier viciously slammed his feet down on the African minister’s head before pulling out the bayonet from the corpse. He then crouched down and quickly searched through the African minister’s body. When he found a gold chain on the corpse, he hooted out gleefully.
…
“Don’t run forward!”
On his way back, Chen Xiaolian saw the two African women with the child. Although he was still angry at them for their selfishness earlier, he opened up his mouth for the sake of the little child that was together with them.
Unfortunately, the two women seemed unable to hear him – or rather, they chose not to listen to him.
The two of them ran frantically. However, the direction they took was one that would lead them to the other end of the forest…
Chen Xiaolian silently cursed them for their idiocy and ran forward to catch one of them. He forced her down the ground and the other woman began to cry out loud.
Chen Xiaolian did not hesitate to slap her face. The slap caused the hysterical woman to calm down.
“I said run with me! If you want to continue running around in confusion, then you can go ahead and die! I won’t care about you anymore!” Chen Xiaolian shouted furiously.
The two women reacted in the same manner. They cried and said, “I don’t want to die! I don’t…”
The child who was with them also began crying loudly.
The sounds of gunfire from the river behind them grew more intense.
At the same time, the sound of heavy footsteps crashing through the forest could be heard. More and more rebel soldiers had entered the forest.
Chen Xiaolian was puzzled about one thing. Why would these rebel soldiers’ attacks be so coordinated?
This was clearly a coordinated pursuit through water and land!
There was a team of rebel soldiers on motorboats for the river pursuit and trucks carrying soldiers for the land pursuit. It seemed as though they wanted to catch them all up.
But there was something puzzling about this. Was there a need to go through so much trouble just for some refugees that were running away?
At that moment, a group of people suddenly rushed in to the forest from the direction of the river.
Chen Xiaolian raised his gun only to see a familiar figure.
“Hans!”
Lin Leyan exclaimed.
Hans appeared to be in quite a miserable state. He was soaked from head to toe. Clearly, he had crawled his way out from the river and mud stains could be seen on his body. Winston who was beside him did not look too good, his leg was bleeding profusely. Following them were another two volunteers and eight or so refugees. One of them was also someone familiar to Chen Xiaolian, it was the woman who had exchanged diesel with him.
“Chen! Lin!”
When Hans saw then, there was an obvious look of relief on his face.
“Where’re the others?” Lin Leyan asked.
Hans shook his head. It was Winston who answered in a hushed tone, “There was too much disorder! Everyone got scattered… many died in the boats and water.”
“Hurry up and run!” Hans then frowned. “Why did you stop here?”
Chen Xialian’s face contorted and he answered, “We’ve been surrounded. There are teams of soldiers from the rebel army outside the forest! They have already sent their soldiers in to search the forest!”
Hans face sank as well and he asked, “How is that possible?”
“How am I supposed to know?” Chen Xiaolian stared at Hans and asked, “Why would the rebel army spare so much effort on your group?”
There was a lost look on Hans’ face.
“We can’t hide here for too long.” Chen Xiaolian shook his head and said, “This forest is not big! After the rebel soldiers at the river are done killing off the refugees there, they will immediately make their way up here… there are also the rebel soldiers from the edge of the forest. They are quickly making their way here.”
“Do you have a plan?” asked Hans who stared at Chen Xiaolian.
Chen Xiaolian creased his eyebrows and turned to look at Hans. He said coldly, “I do have a plan, but are you willing to do it?”
“… tell us.”
Chen Xiaolian continued in the cold tone, “Run separately – run separately out of the forest.”
Hans face sank.
He immediately grasped Chen Xiaolian’s intention.
This plan was… very cruel!
They can no longer head back. What awaited them there was the river, a dead end.
They could only run out of the forest.
Although there was an encirclement of rebel soldiers outside the forest, a separate action when running away meant that one of the refugee teams that were running away would be discovered by the rebel soldiers. Once they were discovered, that refugee team would attract the attention of the other teams of rebel soldiers.
At that moment, the other refugee teams who were running away in separate directions would have the opportunity to run away!
This was a gamble on probabilities!
The one to be discovered would become cannon fodder to attract the attention of the rebel soldiers. As for who could use that opportunity to escape… that would all rest on the will of the Heavens!
However, one thing was certain! Someone was destined to become a sacrifice.