Huo Shaoheng looked at Zhao Liangze. He resumed a calm expression and his deep voice tinged with it raspy magnetism. “Who is directing this operation?”
Zhao Liangze pointed to the helicopter hovering in the night sky. “The city police’s Deputy Commissioner Liu is up there. He’s considered a young talent; he was promoted to Deputy Commissioner at just 40 years of age.”
Fan Jian snickered.”How is a 40-year old considered ‘young talent?'” Fan Jian stopped to think for a moment. Isn’t our Mr. Huo, who had been promoted to Major General at the age of 28, a ‘young hero’?!
He bit his tongue before he could voice his thoughts. He would never dare to say that to Huo Shaoheng’s face; however, Zhao Liangze knew exactly what he was implying without saying it aloud.
“His title was officially recognized; the Empire had selected the top ten distinguished youth in the military, and the oldest nominee was 55.” Zhao Liangze pulled up the news article from that year for Fan Jian. “See, how can you not say that the 40-year old Deputy Commissioner Liu is not a young talent?”
Fan Jian rubbed his nose sheepishly, then snuck a glance at Huo Shaoheng. Huo Shaoheng never gave gossip or petty remarks the honor of a response. He didn’t even look at Zhao Liangze as he tapped on the window twice with his fingers, then pointed up. “What I need is his complete CV.”
“Yes, Chief!” Zhao Liangze ceased his joking looked up Deputy Commissioner Liu’s work history and accomplishments. The Special Ops was even capable of tracing a person’s lineage back to at least eighteen generations, if the information was preserved. With one search, Deputy Commissioner Liu’s complete record spanning his entire 40 years—both public and confidential information—was laid out before Huo Shaoheng.
…
Unfortunately, Deputy Commissioner Liu’s ultimatum only startled his own people and had no effect whatsoever on the remaining thugs of the Big Circle Boys.
“Hah! Idiots, you think these lame threats will scare us?!” Warrior No. 2 clutched his assault rifle and shot a round of bullets into the sky.
Ratatatatat!
The pilot in the helicopter immediately yanked the throttle; the force of the sudden turn made the helicopter shake and groan dangerously. Deputy Commissioner Liu wasn’t prepared and lurched forward, almost tumbling off his seat.
“What was that?” His skull had slammed against the body of the helicopter and was swelling painfully.
“Deputy Commissioner Liu, the criminals fired at us.” The pilot was too terrified to go near Mingyue Court again. With one less helicopter circling the resort, the searchlight on Mingyue Court was also cut down by half.
Yang Dawei cackled inside Mingyue Court and complimented Warrior No. 2. “Way to show ’em!!”
He then switched on the microphone to the resorts PA system. “Listen up! Give us a plane, 20 million yuan in cash, and a legal guarantee to grant us safe passage out of the country. Only then will we free the hostages! If not, I’ll have them go down with me here.” Yang Dawei bellowed the last sentence. In the background, the soldiers heard shots as Yang Dawei fired his gun at the Managing Director, making him wail and shout in fear.
The policeman and soldiers were furious. If it not for disciplinary restrictions, they would have already stormed the place.
Deputy Commissioner Liu heard the criminal’s requests relayed by his men on the ground and punched the seat as he shouted, “How obnoxious! They dare make demands? Let me talk to the garrison troops, I’ll have them level the place! No matter the price, I have to ensure that the hostages are brought back to their families, alive!”
The garrison troops heard the criminals as well and were determined to teach them a lesson.
“Snipers! Take down the remaining thugs!”
The Special Taskforce had sniper teams comprised of two members, a sniper and a spotter that focused the scope lens and helped the sniper lock onto target. The garrison troops were pulling out all the stops to take down these violent criminals. They deployed seven sniper teams, a total of 14 soldiers. They would spread out from both sides of the courtyard and expose the location of the assault rifles.
The two criminals were crafty and seasoned fighters. They were taking cover in the shadows and underbrush while the military snipers were exposed in the light. No matter which direction the sniper teams closed in from, the two assault rifles rattled off an entire clip in return, assaulting the soldiers in a shower of bullets. The two criminals also continuously changed their positions in the bamboo forest and ran in a weaving motion and hid behind large boulders or trees, making it extremely tricky for the snipers to aim at their targets and shoot.
Deputy Commissioner Liu was growing more anxious as he watched the battle from the helicopter. He grabbed a headset and shouted at the commanding officer of the garrison troops. “Why aren’t you taking them out?! It’s only two criminals! What are your soldiers even good for?! They have hostages! These are all law students! Future elites! It is imperative that we save these children!”
The commanding officer’s face was red. He looked at the towering bamboo forest that grew on either side of the narrow, winding path before Mingyue Court. If it had not been for the heavy rain, they would have already burnt down the bamboo trees, leaving the two shooters with no place to hide. To save the humiliation of being outsmarted by a few lowly criminals, the commanding officer began to issue new orders.
“Unleash the flare! Rifles at the ready! I want you to raze the ground and trap these men in the bamboo forest!”
The snipers retreated and the soldiers came forward with rifles and began to shoot at the bamboo forest. The garrison troops had never imagined that the kidnappers would have an assault rifle, and so had only brought a few assault rifle themselves in case of moderate combat. The rest of the soldiers only had standard guns and rifles. It was too late to send back to the base and request heavy weaponry. Exasperated, the commanding officer flung his cap to the ground and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
…
Huo Shaoheng sat in the Humvee, his arms crossed as he quietly observed the actions of the garrison troops and police, concerned by the lack of progress. He reached forward to knock on the partition window and then said to Fan Jian, “Go find Yin Shixiong and have him bring the assault rifle. I want you to take out the criminals.”
“Roger!” Fan Jian was ecstatic. Finally, here’s my chance to fight in a real battle!
Fan Jian was not only a driver who ran errands for Huo Shaoheng; he was also seen as ‘Chief’ to regular soldiers below his rank. As Huo Shaoheng’s primary orderly, he also commanded Huo Shaoheng’s team of eight orderlies. Huo Shaoheng was a Major General and his orderlies also held regimental ranks. This allowed them to participate in combat and high-profile missions when it was required of them. For Fan Jian, it was a moment that he felt was long overdue.
Fan Jian wrenched the door open and rushed out, dashing to the resort as though he were running a 100-meter sprint, making his way to the opposite bank of Little Mirror Lake. He found Yin Shixiong and briefly explained Huo Shaoheng’s order.
Yin Shixiong placed the American M16A assault rifle into his hands without another word and strapped a full belt of ammunition to his waist.
“Make us proud! Let’s show the garrison troops and the police what the 6th Military Region is capable of!” Yin Shixiong smiled as he patted Fan Jian’s shoulder; he had full confidence in his junior’s abilities.
Fan Jian nodded and turned away. As he head back to the resort, he reminded himself: what is the duty of a Major General’s orderly?
The most essential duty was to be the Major General’s bodyguard. Thus, they had to be highly skilled themselves, since it wasn’t enough to be a human shield. Fan Jian carried the assault rifle and rushed to the the front of Mingyue Court and saw that the criminals had already injured many of the soldiers. He pulled down the hood of his sweatshirt to conceal his face and walked to the commanding officer leading the battle on ground. Fan Jian showed his identification and said in a low voice, “Please allow me to join the battle!”
The commanding officer immediately agreed. “We’re running out of time, so please, help us win. I’ll remember this favour from the 6th Military Region!” He looked at the assault rifle in Fan Jian’s hands and recognized it as the latest American model. It further proved that this person was indeed from the 6th Military Region, which had previously been the Special Operations Forces, a direct branch of the Imperial Army. The Special Operations Forces was unique in identity and nature; their areas of activity took place abroad usually, and they were rarely called in for national or local disputes. Thus, they did not deal in domestically manufactured weapons; instead, they exclusively used foreign weapons that were purchased or imported from abroad. If anything were to go wrong, they could easily shift the blame to the foreign weapon manufacturers.