"Were they launched by another country?" Li Xiaoning asked.
Chen Jinzhao shook his head. "No, no country dares to openly launch missiles onto our territory yet."
There was only one possibility: the missiles were launched by their own people.
"Then..." Li Xiaoning hesitated.
Chen Jinzhao said in a deep voice, "The targets are not you and me, but those people in the meteor crater. They are about to turn to ash."
As he spoke,
three missiles landed in the meteor crater, instantly erupting in towering flames. The ground shook for miles, nearly triggering an avalanche.
Hundreds of people from various factions perished instantly.
Chen Jinzhao's ears rang, and he suddenly looked up at the night sky. Three fighter jets flew low over the meteor crater in the darkness, dropping several more air-to-ground missiles. Even if anyone had survived the first barrage, they would perish in this second wave of cleansing.
There was no possibility of survival.
Chen Jinzhao thought of something and murmured with a frown, "These are elites from dozens of official and private organizations overseas. To die like this in China's far north, those people will be jumping with rage. China's far north will enjoy ten years of peace."
"A good tactic, a bold move!"
Li Xiaoning was greatly shocked. "Aren't you afraid of the people behind these organizations coming to settle the score?"
"Afraid?" Chen Jinzhao scoffed.
"They were in the wrong first. Even if they know we did it, they won't dare to speak up."
Li Xiaoning had to admit it was true.
Before she could say anything more, Chen Jinzhao said, "You stay here. I'm going to get to the bottom of this."
"Hey, where are you going..." Li Xiaoning asked.
Chen Jinzhao didn't answer, descending the mountain rapidly to where Ding Ling and others were. Before Ding Ling could speak, the surrounding black-clad men surrounded them. These men held long swords and wore the same attire as Ding Ling, but their strength was far inferior to his.
"Put them down," Ding Ling said, raising his hand.
The black-clad men in Taoist robes lowered their swords and retreated.
Chen Jinzhao then saw that Ling Nan and others had their tendons severed by these men and were being dragged along the ground like dead dogs. Besides Ling Nan, there were also Poisonous Hedgehog, Burke Ross, and others. It could be said that all the S-class powerhouses had been captured.
When Burke Ross saw Chen Jinzhao, it was like seeing a savior. He quickly shouted, "Chen Jinzhao, your China is too cruel, setting such a vicious trap for us. Given our past alliance, give me a way out."
Blood Wolf also roared, "Chen Jinzhao, stop pretending to be unaware. Make these people release us immediately."
Chen Jinzhao hesitated to speak.
Ding Ling said without looking back, "All of you shut up. You have no right to speak here."
"It's all fake. This was just a scheme, and we foolishly came to China to die. It's truly laughable." Ling Nan laughed heartily, tears almost welling up.
"Chen Jinzhao, give us a swift end. It would be a show of respect for our kind."
"Whether you live or die is not for Chen Jinzhao to decide. I told you, all of you, be quiet," Ding Ling continued. Ling Nan and the others' faces changed drastically, because Chen Jinzhao represented the Chinese military, yet it seemed Chen Jinzhao had no final say.
Then—
Who were these black-clad men?
Ding Ling said to Chen Jinzhao, "Chen Jinzhao, come over and let's talk."
The two walked about ten meters apart.
Chen Jinzhao naturally offered Ding Ling a cigarette. Ding Ling's expression became peculiar, and he waved his hand. "People of the outside world do not smoke."
"Indeed," Chen Jinzhao said with a wry smile, withdrawing the cigarette.
"Why did you take them away? And which faction do you belong to?"
Ding Ling said calmly, "I cannot tell you the whole story. You only need to know that someone wants to preserve your life. You don't need to worry about anything else. As for these people, they are all top-tier powerhouses, and we have our use for them."
Chen Jinzhao was stunned.
He then asked, "I also want to know, what is your strength?"
"A little stronger than you," Ding Ling said calmly.
Chen Jinzhao: "..."
This was the truth, and Chen Jinzhao had no way to refute it.
Ding Ling turned to Chen Jinzhao and said, "You've asked enough. I still need to take these people back to report. We will have opportunities to meet again."
"It's been an honor to meet you!"
With those words,
Ding Ling left with his people.
Chen Jinzhao watched Ding Ling depart, his chest heaving.
He was certain that Ding Ling's strength was far superior to his own. He had no chance of victory if he fought him.
Who was such a person?
Lost in thought,
Ding Ling and his group had already disappeared into the distance.
Chen Jinzhao turned and walked to the edge of the meteor crater. No one could be seen below, yet just a few minutes ago, hundreds of people had been there.
"All dead," he said.
Li Xiaoning had also arrived beside him. Just as she was about to speak, a rumbling sound came from overhead. They looked up and saw several helicopters slowly descending. Upon seeing the markings on the helicopters, Chen Jinzhao breathed a sigh of relief; they were their own people.
The helicopters landed not far from them.
Then, over a dozen figures descended. Leading them was an old man in a military coat, and beside him stood Li Tiannan.
The old man and Li Tiannan left a few soldiers by the helicopters and walked with a measured pace toward Chen Jinzhao.
As Chen Jinzhao saw them, he instantly understood the whole story.
"Elder Li, Cang Long," Chen Jinzhao said.
Li Buyan walked up to Chen Jinzhao. Seeing Li Xiaoning standing by Chen Jinzhao's side, he frowned. Chen Jinzhao immediately said, "She is from the Nan Tianwang family and is the intended bride of Young Master Tang of the Zijing Island family."
"Oh..."
Li Buyan seemed to understand.
He then said, "Fortunately, this girl stayed by your side. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't know how to explain to that old ghost of the Li family."
"This is Li Buyan, Old Master Li," Chen Jinzhao said to Li Xiaoning.
"What?!" Li Xiaoning was shocked.
As a member of the Lingnan Li family, she certainly knew Li Buyan's identity. He was the top figure in the military, wielding far more influence than the Lingnan Li family.
"Greetings, Elder Li!"
Li Buyan waved his hand, signaling that no formalities were needed.
"Wait a moment," Li Xiaoning suddenly thought of something.
She turned sharply to Chen Jinzhao. "You, how do you know Elder Li? Who exactly are you?"
Li Tiannan stepped forward and said, "After spending so many days with him, don't you yet know his identity? He is a formidable general in the army, and China's most powerful lone warrior—Zhu Long."
Li Xiaoning gasped.
Coming from a military family, Li Xiaoning had heard of Zhu Long. It was said that Zhu Long was inherently ferocious, which was why she had never associated Chen Jinzhao with Zhu Long.
"You are Zhu Long?"
Li Buyan chuckled. "Tiannan, you keep the Li family girl company for a while."
"Jinzhao, come with me."