Chapter 1 A Surprise Attack

Han Xiao extended the barrel of his sniper rifle out of the car window. A high-explosive incendiary round spun out of the chamber, accurately hitting one of the Rose Militant's off-road vehicles. Flames erupted, engulfing the vehicle. However, the desert off-road vehicles had undergone special high-temperature resistance treatment, so the high-explosive incendiary round's killing power was limited. After assessing the situation, Han Xiao decisively switched to armor-piercing rounds, firing at the Rose Militant vehicles' bulletproof glass one shot at a time, creating snowflake-like cracks.

"Surround them!" Ghost Fox's team immediately turned, two vehicles converging.

"Where will the ambush be?"

Since he knew there was a tiger in the mountain, yet he still traveled towards it, Han Xiao naturally raised his vigilance to the highest level. Suddenly, he controlled the magnetic-control armor to cover his face, blocking a sniper round fired from afar towards his brow. He raised his eyes and saw a new enemy off-road vehicle appear from the side. In the back seat was an unfamiliar enemy holding a sniper rifle. There was a thirty percent chance that he was also a Mechanic, a sixty percent chance that he was a sniper-type assassin, and a final ten percent chance that it was just luck that he could fire such an accurate shot from a high-speed vehicle just now.

That shot was fired by Er San. Seeing that it hadn't worked, he was slightly surprised and said in a deep voice, "The target has special defensive measures. It's uncertain whether it's an Esper ability or mechanical."

Estimating that the ambush was more than that, Han Xiao patted the back of the front seat and said, "Hurry up and run. Don't slow down. Go to the predetermined location."

Antonov skillfully shifted gears and stepped on the gas pedal. The car drifted and fled in another direction.

Suddenly, another off-road vehicle appeared from the direction they were escaping, as if it had been waiting for a long time. This time it was Er Wu, holding a rocket launcher, firing a shot.

The rocket approached rapidly, leaving a trail of flames.

Antonov's expression changed slightly. He slammed the steering wheel, and the car swung sideways ninety degrees, the rocket scraping past the tail and hitting the desert.

The deafening explosion sent sand flying into the sky.

The shockwave hit the rear of the car, lifting the tail thirty degrees before crashing back down. Han Xiao, in the back seat, bounced and felt a pain in his rear.

"Tsk, he dodged it." Er Wu was surprised by the driver's quick reaction. Without stopping his actions, he quickly reloaded.

Four off-road vehicles occupied three directions, forming a circle. Antonov could only run in the last direction, which was precisely the direction where Han Xiao had set up a trap.

"He has nowhere to escape." Er San narrowed his eyes and said, "Er Jiu is waiting for him in front, driving the Thorn."

The Thorn was an armored combat vehicle modified by Su Li, combining the attack and defense of a tank with the speed of an off-road vehicle, with strong firepower, abundant horsepower, and heavy armor.

Last night, Er Jiu had monitored Han Xiao's movements. The three assassins used this to set up an ambush. Er Jiu was the final insurance, driving the Thorn, cruising in the direction where Han Xiao had originally set the trap, even confirming the approximate range of the trap. It was impossible to fall for it. He was deliberately waiting in the direction Han Xiao was heading, to give him despair when he was beginning to hope!

"He's already dead," Er San thought to himself.

The chase was a series of sparks and explosions. Rain of bullets and rockets chased Han Xiao's car, bombarding it wildly. Han Xiao frequently fired back, barely hindering the pursuit of the four off-road vehicles. The attack power of the Chiyun sniper rifle plus the armor-piercing rounds also posed a significant threat to the Rose Militant, but his vehicle was currently fleeing in a disheveled manner, and with Er San and Er Wu suppressing him from the side, his aiming accuracy was greatly reduced.

"Woom—"

A different kind of engine roar suddenly erupted, like a tiger's angry roar.

Han Xiao's heart jumped, and he looked forward sharply.

An armored vehicle blocked the way, its exterior armor heavy and covered with spikes, like a hedgehog. Several cannons protruded from both sides of the front of the vehicle. Judging from the caliber, they should be grenade launchers and small missile launchers. There was a rotary four-barreled heavy machine gun on the roof. No, that caliber should be called a heavy autocannon, more than enough to be used as an airborne weapon.

The Thorn!

This combat vehicle just happened to block the last direction, forming a tight encirclement with the other four vehicles. There was no way to escape!

"We definitely can't withstand the firepower of that thing!" Antonov's expression changed slightly.

With wolves in front and tigers behind, blocked from all sides, they seemed to be in a desperate situation.

"Drive south. Don't worry about the firepower of that vehicle. I'll handle it," Han Xiao said in a deep voice.

The enemy to the south was Er San, with only a sniper rifle, posing the least threat.

Antonov could only choose to believe Han Xiao, and hurriedly turned, crashing towards Er San.

"Too late."

Er Jiu had a grim expression. He was about to control the Thorn's autocannon to blow Han Xiao's off-road vehicle into the sky when he suddenly saw Han Xiao turn his head and fire a shot in his direction. The bullet hit the glass, suddenly bursting with intense light.

Er Jiu's eyes teared up from the stimulation, and he subconsciously closed them.

A concussion grenade!

"Boom boom boom—" The Thorn's heavy autocannon barrel spewed thick fire and smoke, firing off course, hitting the ground a dozen meters away from Han Xiao's off-road vehicle.

"Damn, why did Old Nine miss?!" Er San was shocked and hurriedly told the driver to block Han Xiao's car.

Unafraid, Antonov slammed the accelerator to the floor, crashing head-on into the side of Er San's off-road vehicle.

Both cars shook, but in the end, Antonov chose a good impact angle, forcibly creating a path and breaking free from the encirclement.

"Chase!"

At a critical moment, they fell short of success. Er San was somewhat annoyed, but after looking at the situation, he relaxed again.

It didn't matter. The situation was still in their favor. Han Xiao had deviated from the direction where he had set the trap and was panicking and choosing any available road. Sooner or later, the Thorn would catch up and blow up his car with a round of firepower!

Looking back through the car window, Han Xiao saw the Rose Militant's convoy chasing closely, only two hundred meters apart. Both sides were now speeding at over one hundred and sixty kilometers per hour. The Thorn was still firing, chasing his car and setting off a series of dust explosions. The concussion grenade hadn't worn off on Er Jiu, his eyes were sore and swollen, his vision was blurred, and he had almost no accuracy.

Looking down at the coordinate radar, Han Xiao showed no sign of panic and said in a deep voice, "Antonov, activate the nitrous boost in forty-eight seconds!"

"Forty-seven... thirty... sixteen... three, two, one!"

When the time came, Antonov immediately lifted the small cover next to the gear lever, revealing the nitrous boost button, and pressed it hard.

The off-road vehicle's exhaust pipe spewed blue flames, and the speed instantly soared, quickly increasing the distance. The feeling of acceleration pressed the two people in the car against the backs of their seats, unable to move.

"A futile death struggle." Er San didn't care. The nitrous boost would end sooner or later. It was just a forced extension of his life. Sooner or later, the Thorn would catch up, and a round of firepower would blow him to smithereens.

The distance quickly increased to four hundred meters, and the effect of the nitrous boost disappeared.

"They've slowed down."

Er Wu loaded a new rocket and stood up through the sunroof, aiming from afar.

Just then, his car braked suddenly, and the sudden kinetic energy caused Er Wu to fall onto the back seat.

"What the hell's going on?!"

Er Wu roared, only to see the driver sweating profusely and constantly shifting gears, but the car didn't respond. He felt a sinking feeling in his heart and turned to look out the car window. All of the Rose Militant's off-road vehicles had stopped, including the Thorn. All of them had lost power.

"The cars are all paralyzed!"

"What's going on?"

The Rose Militant members were shocked. With their cars malfunctioning, they had become lambs to the slaughter in the vast desert. Han Xiao's off-road vehicle stopped in the distance.

Ghost Fox wanted to call for reinforcements at the stronghold but found that the communicator was malfunctioning. He exclaimed, "This is the effect of an EMP!" (electromagnetic pulse)

"Impossible! This isn't even the direction where he set the trap!" Er Jiu's face was horrified.

Thinking of the scene of Dorothy's death, Ghost Fox felt a chill in his heart.

"Run!"

The next moment, a high-explosive sniper round shot from afar, its target was a patch of sand at Er San's feet. The landmine buried underground exploded violently. This time, there were not only toxic explosive incendiary mines but also proper demolition mines taken from the Farrian warehouse.

Deafening explosions rang out, and dazzling flames soared into the sky, leaving orange-red incandescent colors on Han Xiao's retina. The area within a hundred-meter diameter where the Rose Militant members were located was completely filled with flames and explosions. No figures could be seen.

Han Xiao, carrying the sniper rifle, grinned. "Surprised? Unexpected?"