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墨書 Inktalez
I didn't care about anything else. I suddenly turned my head, curled my legs, and kicked upward at an angle, sending the large dog flying. In that instant, I quickly got up and saw Li Ping being held down on the ground, tangled with someone—it was Tian!
I let out a sigh of relief and swung the Steel Rod at the large dog! This creature posed too great a threat; it had to be dealt with first! Without its owner's cooperation, Taotie was just a dog. With my relentless strikes, I hit its nose several times, causing it to whimper in pain. By the end, all I had to do was raise my stick, and Taotie would back off, no longer daring to attack.
After scaring off Taotie, I rushed over to Tian and Li Ping. I didn't know what kind of combat training Tian had received at the police academy, but when I got closer, I found that although he was pinned down with his neck trapped, at least Li Ping's dagger was missing from his hand. Island Daya Technique.
Without hesitation, I swung my rod down. Perhaps Li Ping sensed the danger; he turned his head just in time for the Steel Rod to strike his shoulder. He let out a muffled grunt and rolled aside, freeing Tian.
I stepped forward, holding both rods at the entrance. "Tian, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Tian replied through gritted teeth as he limped over to me. Looking closely, I gasped—Li Ping's dagger was embedded in Tian's thigh, but it didn't seem too deep. "Tian, don't pull it out!" I knew that these scout knives had serrated edges; pulling it out now would only worsen the injury and cause excessive bleeding.
"Hang in there!" I whispered.
Across from us, Li Ping leaned down to pat Taotie and whispered something to it before both man and dog advanced toward us again.
I handed one of the Refined Steel Rods to Tian while pressing a button on mine to transform it into Nunchaku. I twirled it in front of me, ready for whatever came next.
Just as I was about to speak, Taotie lunged silently at me. My right hand swung out with the Nunchaku aimed at Taotie's head. To my surprise, Taotie didn't dodge; it took the hit directly and let out a low grunt. But it didn't stop there; it crashed into me!
Another charge? Caught off guard by Taotie's sudden attack, I stumbled but quickly adjusted my balance and leaned sideways while remaining vigilant against Li Ping's approach.
Strangely enough, after crashing into me, Taotie bolted out the door without attacking or leaving; instead, it turned back and growled lowly at Li Ping as if calling for him.
Li Ping followed closely behind Taotie and charged at me. Without a weapon, he couldn't evade my attacks. In an instant, my Nunchaku struck him hard several times on his head and chest. Plus, with Tian joining in our assault, Li Ping was forced back into the courtyard.
I pulled Tian back behind me to face Taotie outside while I confronted Li Ping inside. The situation had shifted again.
Even though Taotie had dashed outside, we had managed to corner Li Ping. The ferocity of both him and Taotie had been suppressed; if things continued like this, holding them off for four or five rounds shouldn't be a problem. It wasn't that I was particularly brave; I could vaguely hear what sounded like police sirens approaching, which boosted my confidence immensely.
"What do those missing people have against you? Why do you have to kill them?" I couldn't help but ask.
"Hey hey," Li Ping said with a strange laugh. "Why don't you ask them what they've done? Buying drugs, hiding drugs, using drugs, committing crimes—does that count?"
I was momentarily at a loss for words. Was this really happening? After a while, I replied, "That doesn't warrant a death sentence. Besides, it's not for you to decide; it should be up to the police and the law."
"Police? Law?" Li Ping's tone suddenly shifted, filled with anger. "Don't talk to me about that! When I was on border defense fighting drug trafficking, you didn't even know where you were! Do you know why there are armed drug dealers? It's because so many people in the Mainland are buying drugs, creating this huge market that encourages them to take risks!"
Li Ping's expression grew more intense as he spoke faster. "My squad—I'm the last complete veteran alive. The others who survived are almost all disabled veterans! Why? Because of these parasites! They're ignorant and empty, doing everything they can to chase pleasure and buying up these drugs in droves."
"Only because there's evil is there justice, and that's why you are needed," I couldn't help but retort.
"Heh, justice?!" Li Ping laughed strangely again. "Do you see the scars on my face? They weren't made by drug dealers! It was your so-called justice that stabbed me in the back!" I didn't quite understand what he meant, and naturally couldn't continue the conversation. I had to force myself to say:
"I don't care about your reasons! What about your oath when you enlisted?! What happened to your original beliefs?!"
"Hahaha, don't talk to me about that nonsense!"
Just then, I noticed Li Ping fell silent for a moment, as if listening to something. I quickly realized it was the sound of police sirens—getting closer! Ah Huang and his team were almost here!
"You can't run anymore! Are you going to surrender or not?!" I shouted, not knowing why I used "you" instead of "your group."
"No need to run if we can't escape!" Li Ping said ominously. "Killing a few has already made it worth it."
At that moment, I heard intense fighting and barking from behind me; it sounded like Tian had engaged in combat with the big dog.
Suddenly, Li Ping stopped talking and lunged at me. After taking a heavy hit from my stick, he grimaced in pain but managed to grab hold of it. He raised his left knee sharply into my chest while his right hand clutched my throat.
I was forced to step back a few paces and suddenly felt something trip me up. With a thud, I fell to the ground. Although I had evaded Li Ping's grappling move, he quickly pounced on me, pinning me down and choking me.
In desperation, I curled my legs up to kick him away, but he was pressing down too hard for me to dislodge him. Just then, I heard a gasp from nearby followed by another gasp from Li Ping as he rolled off me unexpectedly.
I took a few deep breaths and quickly got up, stealing a glance back. It turned out that Tian had been knocked to the ground by the big dog, kicking it fiercely to keep it away. I had tripped right next to Tian, who surprisingly pulled out a dagger despite the pain and stabbed it into Li Ping's unguarded arm, causing Li Ping to retreat.
Just then, a voice came from outside, "Don't move! You are surrounded!" At the same time, several beams of car headlights illuminated the area near the entrance.
"Yellow Team, heart dog!" Tian shouted.
"Taotie! Come back!" Li Ping called from inside.
Hearing his master's call, Taotie roared and charged toward the door, but Tian was blocking the way. To get in, Taotie had to get past him. Taotie bared its sharp white fangs and lunged at Tian on the ground...
At that moment, there were several loud bangs, and the charging Taotie suddenly staggered and collapsed beside Tian.
"Taotie!" Li Ping called anxiously.
Tian was confused and scared, shifting aside to see that Taotie was bleeding from several wounds; Ah Huang must have ordered the shooting.
Taotie wasn't dead yet; it struggled to move toward Li Ping in the yard, slowly and painfully. As it passed by me, it didn't look at me but fixed its gaze on Li Ping in the yard.
I didn't know whether I should intervene or not; I couldn't bring myself to do it. So I stepped aside, watching as Taotie painfully made its way inside, leaving a trail of bright red blood behind. Just then, Li Ping suddenly lunged forward. I quickly blocked the entrance again, fearing he would take the chance to escape.
However, it seemed I was overthinking it. Li Ping fell onto Taotie's body on the ground, ignoring the dagger still stuck in his arm. He held Taotie tightly, crying out, "Big Black, Big Black, don't die!"
"Big Black, we've faced countless bullets together! Don't leave us this time!"
"Big Black! I won't call you Taotie anymore! I won't call you Foodie anymore! Big Black, get up! Let's fight our way out together!"
Li Ping's voice cracked with emotion. I didn't know what to do at that moment; I stood there helplessly as footsteps approached from behind—Ah Huang was coming with people to capture us!
I silently shifted closer to the door. I had done what I could; what remained was no longer my concern. Yet as I watched Li Ping holding onto Taotie, a sudden wave of sympathy and guilt washed over me for reasons I couldn't quite understand.
As the blood on Taotie continued to accumulate, Li Ping was almost sitting in a pool of it. At that moment, I saw the big dog’s chest heaving a few times, struggling to lift its head. It opened its mouth and licked Li Ping's hand, then fell still.
“Big Black!!!” Li Ping's voice was heart-wrenching.
“Old Wang! Are you okay?!” Ah Huang called out.
I didn’t respond. I leaned closer to Li Ping and whispered, “Surrender!”
Li Ping slowly raised his head and glanced at me. “The Eight Three Squad dictionary has no entry for surrender!”
I felt a jolt of fear. “Li Ping, it’s not too late to turn back now!”
Li Ping shook his head and chuckled lightly, “Damn it, why are you so nagging like my old instructor?” Under the light, his smile twisted half of his face into a grimace, but in his eyes, I saw memories—memories of the unit, filled with pride and honor…
“Big Black, let’s be comrades again in the next life!” Suddenly, Li Ping drew the dagger from his arm and swiftly slashed it across his neck. In my shock, Li Ping collapsed beside Big Black, blood gushing from his neck and mingling with the dog's blood.
I stood there with my mouth agape. I had thought about my own demise before, but I never imagined that tonight would end like this. For some reason, I suddenly felt a wave of sadness wash over me.
(To be continued; more exciting developments tomorrow!)
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