Chapter 481: Oh, Hell no!
Red had unleashed his anger on Addict long after the man had stopped moving.
Even then, he wasn’t finished.
He dragged Addict’s body all the way to the rooftop and, from there, tossed it into the middle of the battlefield below.
The shouting, gunfire, and chaos died almost instantly when a body suddenly crashed into the open space between both sides.
"B-Boss?" one of the soldiers stammered after recognizing Addict. His eyes widened in horror.
The other soldiers and prisoners remained behind their respective covers, cautiously peeking at the mangled body sprawled in the center.
"It’s over!"
A man’s voice suddenly thundered from above.
Everyone looked up, only to see Red standing on the rooftop, holding a megaphone.
"This battle is over," he declared coldly. "Your leaders are dead, and no reinforcements are coming to turn this around."
He paused, allowing his words to carry across the battlefield.
"Surrender now!"
Silence followed his echoing roars.
"If you insist on continuing this fight, we’ll kill every last one of you!" Red shouted. "But if you want to survive, drop your weapons and surrender!"
His voice echoed across the entire compound.
"I’m giving you ten seconds!" he roared. "Surrender!"
The prisoners exchanged glances before peeking toward the areas where the remaining soldiers had taken cover.
No one fired.
Red had given them only ten seconds, but each passing second seemed to stretch into minutes. Then, after what felt like an eternity, one soldier suddenly shouted,
"Don’t shoot!" He slowly raised both hands, his rifle held high above his head. "I’m putting it down!"
With deliberate movements, he placed the rifle on the ground and kicked it beyond his reach. Then he pulled out his pistol and tossed it aside as well.
After removing the rest of his weapons, he stepped into the open with his hands raised.
"Don’t shoot!" he repeated as he slowly lowered himself to his knees. "I surrender!"
The other soldiers looked at one another before turning their attention back to Addict’s body.
If Addict was dead, Baldy had likely fallen as well.
Their armory was burning.
Several critical parts of the base had already been reduced to rubble.
Even if they chose to fight to the death, there was no longer any point. Their morale had already been hanging by a thread.
Now, it was completely gone.
Compared to the prisoners charging at them with nothing left to lose, fear had begun to take hold of every soldier still standing.
"Don’t shoot!" another soldier shouted as he threw his weapon aside. "I surrender!"
"I surrender!"
One after another, the soldiers discarded their weapons and raised their hands.
They stepped into the open and joined the first soldier in the center.
The prisoners, however, didn’t lower their guard — not for a second.
They kept their rifles trained on the surrendering men, refusing to trust a single word coming from their mouths.
Once the last soldier joined the group, Gin stepped out from behind cover.
"Surround them!" he ordered, making the soldiers stiffen. "Tie every one of them up!"
At Gin’s command, the prisoners emerged and encircled them, keeping a safe distance while maintaining their aim.
Several others moved forward with ropes and began binding the soldiers one by one.
"If any of them tries something stupid, shoot them!" Red’s voice boomed from above. "Even if one of our own is standing in the way!"
The prisoners tying the soldiers flinched at the order, but none of them stopped.
They understood what Red meant.
They had already been prepared to throw themselves into enemy fire so the others could take down more soldiers. If one of these men tried to use them as shields, they would rather be shot alongside the enemy than become hostages.
The soldiers held their breaths as they looked around at the prisoners surrounding them.
There was no hesitation in their faces.
No mercy.
They knew those rifles would fire the moment any of them made the slightest wrong move, even if a fellow prisoner was caught in the line of fire.
They had seen it firsthand during the battle. They had watched prisoners willingly sacrifice themselves so their comrades could kill more soldiers.
With that memory still fresh, none of them dared resist.
They allowed themselves to be bound until Red finally came down from the rooftop.
Ashley arrived shortly afterward.
"I don’t see Tank and the others," she said as she approached.
Red glanced at her, his eyes sweeping over her from head to toe until she stopped beside him.
"I wasn’t shot," Ashley said. "Stop looking at me like you have X-ray vision."
"That’s not why I’m looking."
She blinked and tilted her head. "Then why?"
"Nothing." He looked away, earning a frown from her.
"Tank and the others are sweeping the rest of the compound," he continued. "They’re making sure no rats are left behind."
"I see," Ashley nodded.
For a moment, the two stood on the sidelines, watching the prisoners finish tying the soldiers together.
"There aren’t many soldiers left," Ashley commented.
"They fought until the end," Red replied. "And I realized there were fewer soldiers here than prisoners."
"Actually, there used to be more soldiers." Old Fool’s voice came from beside them.
Ashley and Red turned as he approached.
"The third leader of this place left on a mission some time ago," Old Fool explained in a low voice. "I don’t know where they went or when they’ll return."
Concern was evident on his face.
The prisoners had fought with everything they had, but they were already at their limit.
If Red hadn’t thrown Addict’s body into the middle of the battlefield and forced the soldiers to surrender, the prisoners might have run out of ammunition before they could finish the fight.
"They could come back at any moment," Old Fool added.
Red and Ashley nodded in understanding. Though neither of them looked particularly worried.
Silence once again settled over the battlefield as the prisoners continued binding the soldiers.
Then, out of nowhere, the faint sound of music drifted through the compound.
Ashley and Red frowned.
Several prisoners paused and looked around. The captured soldiers did the same.
At first, the sound was distant and difficult to make out. Then the booming rhythm of rock music grew louder.
Highway to hell...
Soon, everyone spotted a bus barreling toward them.
"Uh..." Red blinked slowly.
The bus swerved violently before drifting sideways, sending a cloud of dust and smoke billowing around it.
Once doors flew open with a bam, Rum stepped through the smoke, rifle raised.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"WHOO!" he shouted, looking fully refreshed and ready for battle. "Surprise, motherfuckers!"
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
He fired several more shots into the air. But all he received in return... was silence.
"Huh?"
Rum slowly lowered his rifle. He tipped his sunglasses down with the back of his hand and stared at the battlefield.
Everyone stared back at him with varying expressions: confusion, disbelief, annoyance, and pity.
Then Rum noticed the soldiers kneeling in the middle of the compound, their hands bound behind their backs.
His heart sank.
"Oh... hell no!"