Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1224 - 91 Victory and Spoils of War

Chapter 1224: Chapter 91 Victory and Spoils of War

If the mission was to kill Eve, then the policewoman could have unleashed the magma from both sides and simply drowned them in it, but alas, they needed her alive.

"Open fire!" The muscle-bound Group Leader had already spotted the figures of Dong Zixuan’s group and roared out his command. Bullets whistled through the air like death’s wails embodied in fireflies.

Boom, the cement floor beneath the survivors’ feet softened first, then, like a fountain, spewed out scorching magma, forcing them back and splitting them into two groups, unable to regroup.

The orange-red magma, like a bead of water, clung to the ceiling of the tunnel before falling. A slow-reacting Newbie was directly engulfed by the magma and burned to charcoal.

"Group Leader, we’re going to be wiped out." Lipstick, no longer concerned with concealing her identity, switched on her walkie-talkie and growled. In this pincer situation, she found escape impossible.

"Don’t panic, look for a way out, are you still in the tunnel?" Although the news was terribly bad, the Curl-tongue Captain remained calm; the trap he had set on Eve had enabled him to keep up the chase until now.

"Yes," Lipstick was forced to retreat by the magma.

"Who are you talking to?" Even in such a dire situation, the muscle-bound Group Leader noticed Natasha’s odd behavior and questioned her.

"To you, what do we do now?" Lipstick’s face was filled with urgency, and she dared not even shift her gaze for fear of being detected. Fortunately, her shapeshifting ability was still active; the Group Leader wouldn’t figure it out in such a short time, which presented an opportunity.

"Otherwise, I might as well surrender to spare my life for now." Concerned with the imminent threat of death, Lipstick was not a woman with scruples about surrendering. She thought of herself as a beautiful woman; surely the other side wouldn’t kill her outright. Even being toyed with was beside the point, as long as she temporarily stayed alive. Once the Group Leader arrived, it would be the end for these people.

To get Eve without risking mutual destruction, Tang Zheng recalled the environment of the tunnel where the Ukrainians were located, and racked his brain for solutions. Currently, there were two options: the first was to have Lipstick discover a ventilation opening in the tunnel and make her believe she could escape through it. If pressured enough, she would undoubtedly abandon Eve and flee alone since the child was nothing but a burden; secondly, to have her surrender.

"Surrendering has the best cost-to-benefit ratio. Capturing a captive also allows for interrogation, but it has the greatest uncertainty. Clearly, this woman has activated her ability." Tang Zheng’s mind was still weighing options, but he had already begun to speak, "Leather-clad woman, surrender promptly, and I’ll spare your life."

Tang Zheng was relieved that the muscle-bound Group Leader, thinking Lipstick was just a woman of little combat power, had left her to look after Eve, freeing his other men for combat. This unintentionally made it easier for Tang Zheng to act.

"Use the Steel Puppet as a Meat Shield; let’s break out," the muscle-bound Group Leader bellowed. In fact, he’d already been thinking of a way out. The Steel Puppet was effective only in close combat, so it was altogether overpowered by the magma. Though he was physically strong, he was certainly no brute; his eyes instantly pinned on a Ventilation Duct not far away.

Milifusiji indeed took this action, but only a few steps in, he was directly hit by a spew of magma from beneath his feet, igniting into flames.

The Steel Puppet stood upon the magma, serving as a bridge connecting the two sides.

"Lipstick, hand over Eve to me," the muscle-bound Group Leader endured the severe pain, sprinting over the glowing red steel.

Lipstick hesitated. The mission of the Chinese team was to kill Eve, so they naturally couldn’t let go of the little girl who was bawling her eyes out.

"This woman is a spy with shapeshifting abilities, Muscle-bound Group Leader, you’ve been fooled," Tang Zheng had no choice but to insist; if they fled together, he wouldn’t have a chance to catch even a single hair of theirs.

The face of the muscle-bound Group Leader stiffened, then he quickly pieced together the cause and effect, raising his gun’s muzzle. However, as a spy, Lipstick’s reaction was faster once her identity was exposed. She pulled Eve in front of her as a Meat Shield, while also drawing her Handgun and firing at the muscle-bound Group Leader’s head—she didn’t aim for his body since he wore a Bulletproof Vest.

The muscle-bound Group Leader didn’t shoot Eve, still hoping to make a comeback, and there was no time left to delay, so he shot Lipstick’s legs and rushed full force toward the Ventilation Duct.

"Lipstick, surrender; for the intel, I’ll spare your life," Tang Zheng was deceiving Lipstick again. Since this woman still had companions, there was still a chance for her to live; she wouldn’t go to extremes. Even as a captive, since their mission was also to protect Eve, it was highly unlikely she would kill the little girl.

Tang Zheng unleashed full firepower, spraying bullets at Belyaev, who had lost his composure and failed to put up a coherent defense. The only two Steel Puppets he had were already focused on protecting themselves.

"I surrender; I have a lot of secrets you’d want to know." Lipstick didn’t want to be burned to death by the magma. Seeing Shiyuekefu swallowed by the flowing magma and the two strongest men in the team driven like rabbits, she gave up.

"You bastard, I will avenge this." The muscle-bound Group Leader was furious. He couldn’t believe there was a spy hidden among them.

Tang Zheng took out an RPG-7 and toppled the Puppet, then wielding the Howling Reaper, he shot the other until it was riddled with holes. Belyaev was hit, and both his legs were broken; he fell to the ground.

"Save me, save me!" Belyaev stretched out his blood-soaked right hand, pleading for rescue from the Group Leader, but the latter only gave him a fleeting glance and did not even turn his head as he ran.

"As long as there’s life, there’s hope." The muscle-bound Group Leader’s sprint had reached its limit if it weren’t for his previous injuries, he would have already charged into the Ventilation Duct.

Boom, the floor in front of the Ventilation Duct cracked, and scorching magma surged out like a tsunami.

The heat wave hit the face of the muscle-bound Group Leader who had no choice but to retreat. Though he was not submerged, he was now cut off from his escape route. He turned the muzzle toward the policewoman, undeterred, still attempting to kill her.

This time Dong Zixuan did not need Tang Zheng’s reminder; she unleashed her full ability. The magma tsunami swept over the muscle-bound Group Leader, who didn’t have a moment to utter last words before being engulfed.

Rong He didn’t claim a life and felt slightly disappointed, but when he thought of the critically injured Belyaev, his head had already been smashed by Zhao Dongtao.

"Catch the woman, be wary of her ability, and take control of Eve first." The magma in front of him hadn’t cooled down yet, so Tang Zheng couldn’t cross it. He could only ask the newbie to do it.

"Don’t kill me, I’m very useful." Surrounded by several machine guns and facing an ability user, Lipstick wisely released Eve and raised her hands; she was waiting for the group leader to arrive.

Once Dong Zixuan retracted her ability, Tang Zheng hurried over, and the other newbies, heedless of spoils of war that didn’t need picking—reduced to ashes—left nothing behind.

The Muscle Group Leader died, leaving behind a Space Wristwatch and a Golden Seed; Dong Zixuan got them and handed them all to Tang Zheng.

Rong He looked eagerly at the two props that the magma hadn’t damaged, their value clearly immense. The traffic police also weren’t very calm, wanting them.

"That’s the Golden Seed, it can activate abilities." Lipstick, with her hands clasped behind her head, stirred up trouble, hoping to cause dissent among them.

Aside from Dong Zixuan, everyone else’s eyes suddenly lit up.

Slap, Tang Zheng swung his hand and slapped Lipstick across the face, with such force that it almost split her lips.

"Did I ask you to babble?" Tang Zheng roared, then glanced at Eve, "Don’t be afraid, follow brother, I’ll take you to find daddy."

The girl, rubbing her eyes and constantly crying, heard Tang Zheng’s words, looked at him, and then clung to Dong Zixuan’s thigh, steering clear of Tang Zheng. No help for it, the group leader was covered in blood and wounds, very frightening.

"Is your mission to protect the girl too?" Leather clothes, dazed from the hit, was still prepared to seduce this young and handsome group leader. She was suddenly stunned when she heard this question, "Didn’t you say you wanted to kill her?"

"You’d better hold back those little schemes, or you’ll suffer for it." Tang Zheng looked at Dong Zixuan, "You’re a policewoman, you must know how to conduct an interrogation. Give her a taste of it first."

"What kind of person do you take me for?" The policewoman frowned. Although she’d seen colleagues beat up thieves without leaving a trace, she had never done it herself.

"Take her with us, let’s go save Zhao Xiong and leave this place as quickly as possible." Tang Zheng opened the walkie-talkie, "Where are you guys?"

"Not sure, are you guys okay, did you catch them?" Liu Man rushed to answer, but her response made Tang Zheng wish he could give her a good thrashing.

"Everyone shut up, Kong Licheng, wait for us at the subway entrance." Tang Zheng reported their location and told Kong Licheng to find them.

Lipstick glared at Tang Zheng fiercely; she knew she had been played. If she had known their mission objective early on, she believed she could have used Eve to fight out of the situation, or at least have a bargaining chip for negotiations.

"Not convinced? Too bad, you don’t get a second chance. Turn around, raise your hands, and stand still." Tang Zheng tore off a strip of cloth, blindfolded Lipstick, and casually placed his hands on her shoulders, starting to search her.

Leather clothes had a good figure; Tang Zheng’s hands swept over her chest, then her waist, and finally slid down along her legs.

Seeing Tang Zheng’s hands touch Lipstick’s chest, Rong He felt envious.

"Ouch, be gentle." Lipstick chuckled flirtatiously, deliberately making her voice sound ambiguous.

Dong Zixuan frowned slightly, but she understood that Tang Zheng wasn’t the type to take advantage of women, and she couldn’t guarantee she would spot anything if she did the search herself.

"Let’s go, Rong He, Qian Wen, keep an eye on her. If she slows down, kill her." Tang Zheng let the traffic police and policewoman take a swig of the recovery potion, gave his orders, and started running ahead. In the walkie-talkie, Zhao Xiong was calling for help.

Seeing that Tang Zheng wasn’t stingy, the traffic policeman breathed a sigh of relief. Although the potion was foul-smelling, causing him to frown repeatedly, its effect was great.

Five minutes later, Tang Zheng found Zhao Xiong and, learning that he had been injured jumping from the car, offered him a swig of the potion, even though he hadn’t exerted himself; this was, after all, his classmate.

"Can I take off the blindfold?" Lipstick, because of being blindfolded, had stumbled and fallen several times while running, which hurt a lot.

"Take off the blindfold and you die, you choose." Learning that Kong Licheng had found the route but hadn’t arrived yet, he was in no hurry, prepared to walk and interrogate Lipstick on the way.

At that moment, Tang Zheng was very grateful to Yin Shangwu. If it weren’t for the tips he had once received, knowing the secret of the vending machine, even if they killed the Ukrainian survivors, they would have had to pay a heavy price.

"That coward Zhuo Yijie, he didn’t jump from the car." Zhao Xiong had just recovered a bit and complained loudly, also to show off his merit, and he was very grateful for his old classmate’s generosity. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)