Embers Ad Infinitum

Chapter 23: Getting Worked Up

Despite being angry and willing to take risks, the muscular man still had basic reasoning. He had never considered taking revenge for his two companions at the risk of his life.

According to his plan, he would use the exoskeleton’s powerful leg strength to jump high again after landing on the jeep’s hood, dodging the life-threatening shots from the enemies in front and behind him. He would then fire a grenade from the sky, blowing up the woman and two men hiding near the jeep’s head!

During this process, he could also fire the submachine gun in midair so that he didn’t miss a single target. He would then activate the exoskeleton’s simple jetpack and forcefully change directions in the air, not giving the enemy hiding around the Blackmarsh Iron Snake’s corpse a chance to counterattack.

Just as the muscular man bent his knees slightly and was about to jump up, a strong thought suddenly flashed across his mind. No! I won’t!

He felt that he had to beat the enemy—who had riddled his companions’ faces with holes resembling a beehive—face-to-face and watch them die in horror and regret. Only then could he vent the anger in his heart. Only then could he truly help his companions take revenge!

Jumping up and delivering a sweeping shot from above was the behavior of a coward. There was no sincerity! A real man had to kill the other party head to head against each other!

This thought quickly turned into an uncontrollable urge, making the man instantly abandon his original plan. Of course, he did not lose his rationale completely. Wearing the iron-black exoskeleton, he suddenly crouched, bent his waist, and tipped his upper body down like a giant. This way, the two men and woman hiding at the jeep’s head would face his metal helmet, chest armor, and the spots where he was covered with an auxiliary exoskeleton. Only a few attacks could hit his unprotected body this way.

The next second, he saw his target’s eyes that seemed to be darker than a normal person’s.

Shang Jianyao did not put on a brave front. He gave up on aiming as he ducked to the side and continued rolling.

Jiang Baimian—who was behind the muscular man—found his actions and posture perfect. She didn’t even think before instinctively pulling the trigger.

Bang!

A glistening yellow bullet traversed a distance around 20 to 30 meters, grazed past the iron-black auxiliary exoskeleton, and drilled into the area where the muscular man’s spine intersected with the powerpack at a skewed angle.

This completely matched the point that Jiang Baimian was aiming at. It was like shooting an immobile target. For a sharpshooter like her, this wasn’t difficult at all. It wouldn’t be a problem even if the distance was increased by 20 meters.

With a dull sound, blood bloomed from the man’s back.

Amidst the intense pain that almost numbed him, he snapped out of his daze. He couldn’t believe that he had been so unreasonable at the critical moment and made the worst possible choice.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Jiang Baimian’s second bullet arrived on schedule. Bai Chen’s burst of bullets also sank into the muscular man’s abdomen. Long Yuehong’s continuous shots were blocked by the metal helmet and chest armor, preventing him from harming the enemy.

The man knew that he could not escape, and his expression immediately turned grotesque. As his thoughts raced, he prepared to launch the grenade launchers and fire crazily, a suicidal attack to kill all the enemies in front of him. However, he couldn’t pull the trigger no matter what.

Even someone who had never learned how to shoot wouldn’t have taken such actions at that moment as long as they had some general knowledge.

His hands seemed to have died one step ahead of him.

Clang!

This muscular man—who wore an exoskeleton that weighed 70 to 80 kilograms—fell onto the jeep’s hood heavily. Fresh red blood rapidly polluted the surroundings. His eyes were wide open, seemingly filled with confusion and indignation.

The black SUV that was holding the line in the distance had already begun charging over crazily after the motorcyclists let out tragic cries. However, it was still one step too late. When it entered the passengers’ effective firing range, Ji Shun and Ah Yu happened to see the blob of blood erupting from their boss’s back.

Ah Yu roared and stretched half of his body out the window in an attempt to find the enemy and kill them.

At that moment, the bandits’ boss fell down with abnormal weight, causing the jeep to shake visibly.

With a creak, the black SUV completed a large drift and flipped over.

Ah Yu was almost thrown out of the car. However, he did not fly into the air because he wore somewhat bulky clothes and had found support in time.

Bang!

The black SUV made another turn and sped back the way it came. It was extremely fast.

“What are you doing?” Ah Yu retracted his body and roared furiously.

The older Ji Shun held the steering wheel and replied loudly, “Fleeing!”

“Boss and the rest are still there!” His eyes bloodshot, Ah Yu pressed his United 202 pistol against Ji Shun’s temple and roared, “Go back!”

Unmoved, Ji Shun shouted again, “Boss is already dead! Do you want to die with him?” He almost floored the accelerator.

Ah Yu’s lips quivered a few times, and his expression kept changing. After staying stiff for a while, he suddenly swung his arm back and threw his body heavily into the passenger seat.

“You fucking coward!” he shouted angrily. “I’m a fucking coward too...” His voice trailed off, his face covered in tears.

...

Jiang Baimian swapped the magazine of her 9mm Ice Moss and sighed with emotion as she watched the black SUV disappear into the distance. “Wow, they sure ran fast.”

It was a pity that she did not bring the grenade launcher with her when she alighted from the jeep. Otherwise, she could have tried launching fireworks at her fleeing enemy.

In the jeep, Long Yuehong had already emptied his gun. He stopped, bent his back, and panted heavily. His eyes were unfocused and dazed. His entire mind seemed to have entered a world that was isolated from the outside world.

Bai Chen held the Orange rifle and looked around. She only heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that there were no other enemies. Her expression was relatively calm as if what had just happened was only a part of her daily life. She would experience it once in a while, so it was not worth wasting too much of her emotions on it.

She had seen the grenade launcher that Jiang Baimian had placed in the passenger seat, but she had confirmed that the muscular man was dead. There was no need for her to fire again. The black SUV had already fled very far. Due to lacking proficiency with grenade launchers, it had lost its value for Bai Chen to attempt attacking.

There’s no need to waste a grenade... Bai Chen retracted her gaze and looked at Shang Jianyao, who was seven to eight meters away. She was very confused about the man’s final choice.

In the situation earlier, the enemy wearing the exoskeleton had the perfect chance to kill the three of them at the cost of a light injury or a scratch. Unexpectedly, he acted as if he had lost his mind from anger and did not use any tactics. He could only be described as being reckless, nothing else.

In that instant, Shang Jianyao was the only one who reacted differently and pounced to the side in advance.

Bai Chen pursed her lips and glanced at Jiang Baimian, who had run back. “Are you guys injured?”

There was a medical kit in the jeep.

Long Yuehong shuddered when he heard this and snapped out of his daze, returning to the real world. His body trembled from nervousness, but this did not stop him from quickly checking his condition. “I-I’m fine.”

At this moment, Shang Jianyao replied with a smile, “My head hurts a little.”

“Maybe the sound of explosions and gunshots put some pressure on your ears.” Bai Chen analyzed the situation from a practical standpoint.

“Good.” Jiang Baimian praised Bai Chen when she returned to the jeep. She then said to Bai Chen, “I have a few abrasions. Give me a bottle of iodine.”

After saying that, she took the opportunity to teach Long Yuehong and Shang Jianyao. “In the wilderness, fatal danger often comes from infection and pollution. We can’t be careless in this regard just because people who have undergone genetic enhancement have strong immunity and self-repair abilities.”

After Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong nodded, Jiang Baimian took the iodine and disinfected the wound on her hand with a smile. “How was it? Wasn’t it exciting? Thrilling, I might say, right?”

Long Yuehong frowned and spoke with a slightly pale expression. “Team Leader, how can such a thing be described as exciting and thrilling?”

He only felt scared, sad, and nervous. He didn’t want to experience it again. If it weren’t for the fact that his companions hadn’t died, he felt that he might have collapsed on the spot. Even so, he still felt an indescribable feeling when he saw the three people he had previously conversed with lying on the ground silently, each in their own tragic state.

Jiang Baimian was not angry at Long Yuehong’s retort. She smiled and sighed. “This is the norm in the Ashlands. It’s completely different from the situation inside the company. After you experience all kinds of battles, you will realize how lucky and happy you are to still be alive after every battle, especially when your comrades remain alive.

“I mainly wanted to give you a sense of relaxation so that you can get over your PTSD quickly. Heh, don’t compare yourself to Shang Jianyao. His problem might be worse. PTSD isn’t even comparable.”

Shang Jianyao opened his mouth as if he wanted to say that there was nothing wrong with him. At this moment, Bai Chen had already pushed the exoskeleton-covered corpse off the engine hood, causing a heavy thud to sound.

Bai Chen then opened the hood and checked the vehicle’s situation.

Several bullets were jammed in the front of the jeep.

“How is it?” Jiang Baimian asked.

“It’s indeed damaged... I don’t know if it can be repaired. I’ll give it a try first.” Bai Chen pulled the gray scarf around her neck and returned to the trunk. She took out the plastic carry box that contained the repair tools. “I hope it can be fixed.”

Jiang Baimian turned to Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong. “Clean the battlefield and gather valuable items. I’ll be in charge of guarding the surroundings and preventing any accidents. Yes, let’s start from here.”

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong walked towards the corpse wearing the exoskeleton.

If they could strip the exoskeleton as soon as possible and grasp its usage techniques, they had a high chance of dealing with future situations successfully.