Chapter 174 Otherwise I Will Snap His Neck

Lin Xiaodou's eyes suddenly flared with rage!

Damn it, how dare this bastard bully her sister? He is courting death!

Just as Lin Xiaodou was about to rush forward, Zhou Qinglang grabbed her in time.

"Lin Xiaodou, calm down. They have guns in their hands!"

Lin Xiaodou stopped in her tracks.

She had been too anxious and completely forgot about this detail.

Although she possessed infinite strength and heaven-defying martial arts skills, she was not made of adamantium and was still vulnerable to blades and firearms.

With so many ferocious bandits present, rushing out rashly would indeed make her very vulnerable to injury.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Zhou Qinglang said softly:

"We need to find a way to create chaos and rescue Liu Yan'er while taking advantage of the confusion. A direct firefight is not advisable."

Lin Xiaodou deeply agreed.

If this group of ruthless bandits lacked weapons, she could handle them all by herself.

However, since they carried firearms, a split-second carelessness could lead to a dangerous sneak attack from behind.

Moreover, Liu Yan'er, who was entirely defenseless, was still at the scene. Getting her taken hostage or injured would result in losses far outweighing any gains.

Lin Xiaodou: "We certainly need to think of a plan..."

Not far away, the skinny man was already forcing Liu Yan'er to consume the dark-looking animal part.

Liu Yan'er's delicate face was completely drenched in tears.

Heartbroken at the sight, Lin Xiaodou's brain raced at top speed.

Soon, a brilliant idea struck her.

Earlier, while at the wooden cabin in the back mountains, Lin Xiaodou had rounded up many mindless little creatures in the forest and locked them into her spatial dimension for her own use.

Among them were several scouting sparrows, tunnel-digging rats, and a swarm of path-finding wasps.

There was also a nest of snakes, which she had originally caught to scare San Laizi and Zhang Lian.

These little creatures had already been tamed within her space and were utterly obedient to her.

If the goal was to throw the situation into chaos, they were the most suitable tools imaginable.

However, this could not be done in front of Zhou Qinglang, as it was simply too bizarre and carried the risk of exposing her spatial dimension.

Lin Xiaodou: "How about this? We will split up, and I'll go check out the situation over there first."

Zhou Qinglang: "Alright, be careful and don't act rashly."

"Don't worry." Lin Xiaodou pulled two sharp daggers from her crossbody bag and handed one to Zhou Qinglang.

"Take this. Later on, we can eliminate them quietly without alerting the others."

Zhou Qinglang let out a dry laugh: "Alright!"

This girl was truly fierce.

With that, Lin Xiaodou walked over to a nearby patch of bushes.

Once inside, she summoned several sparrows from her space and sent them ahead to scout out the intelligence.

The little sparrows fluttered their wings and flew off instantly, returning in less than ten minutes.

Through them, she learned that this band of ruffians intended to head deeper into the mountain forest, where they maintained a permanent base.

Currently, the base was unoccupied, and all the bandits were gathered right here.

Furthermore, Lin Xiaodou learned another useful piece of intelligence.

This gang originally had more members, but after being reported previously, several of them had been hunted down by the armed police.

The forest fire that morning really had been set by them, purely to avenge their fallen brothers.

The reason the little sparrow was able to gather such detailed information was that everyone was currently roasting a whole sheep, complaining and gossiping while they ate, and the sparrow had overheard everything.

As for the remarks regarding Liu Yan'er, they consisted of indescribably filthy obscenities.

Lin Xiaodou's eyes narrowed.

Hah, a bunch of lawless outlaws.

Since they dared to provoke someone under her protection, she would make sure they suffered!

Lin Xiaodou directly released the wasps and the group of snakes:

"Go on, bite those stinking men hard and let them taste your power!"

......

By the campfire.

The group of ruthless bandits was gorging themselves on roasted whole lamb, their mouths oily and the aroma intoxicating.

"This mutton tastes pretty good. Once we finish eating those sheep, let's go snatch a few more back!"

"Forget it. With the massive commotion we caused today, the armed police are probably coming after us. We can't stay in this place much longer."

"Damn it, setting the forest on fire didn't even kill many people, and now we have to run away without avenging our brothers. So damn annoying!"

"Stop thinking about revenge. Right now, we should figure out where to hide. I'm genuinely terrified those dog-eat-dog armed police will catch up."

"Afraid of a bird? Disagree and fight! We have so many guns, one shot for each!"

"True enough, and we still have that little bitch as a backup. Once we're done having fun with her, we'll use her as a shooting target,哈哈哈!

...Hey... why do I hear wasps buzzing... What the fuck... these damn wasps are stinging my face!"

"There's one over here too, constantly staring and biting my arm. There's no wasp nest nearby, where the hell did these come from!"

"Ah! Snakes! A snake bit my foot!"

"Fuck fuck fuck! So many snakes, ahhhhh, I'm terrified of snakes, help!"

"Three snakes crawled onto my body, get them off, get them off!"

The buzzing of wasps filled the air like a tidal wave, the hissing sounds of crawling and attacking snakes were endless, and the screams and breakdowns of the bandits were deafening.

These sounds intertwined, seemingly piercing the vault of heaven.

"Bang, bang, bang!!!"

...

Suddenly, gunfire erupted.

It turned out that some of the bandits, unable to drive away the snakes, had actually opened fire.

In a flash, the scene descended into utter chaos, gunshots echoed back and forth, and dirt splattered everywhere.

Liu Yan'er curled up in a corner, her eyes filled with terror, staring dumbfounded at everything unfolding before her.

She had no idea what was happening, with only a single thought echoing in her mind: hoping those wasps and snakes would not bite her.

She held a deep-seated fear of these creatures; merely looking at them made her hair stand on end.

At this moment, she did not dare to move her feet to escape.

She was terrified that the moment she stood up, the bandits would spot her figure and open fire at her back.

If that happened, she would undoubtedly meet a certain death...

Not far away, Zhou Qinglang wore an expression of sheer astonishment.

After separating from Lin Xiaodou earlier, he had been debating whether to hunt down a wild beast to disrupt the scene.

Never had he expected that before he even took action, the other side would descend into chaos on its own.

Catching sight of the wasps and snakes, Zhou Qinglang's eyes flickered slightly.

Could it be... that Lin Xiaodou captured all of these?

This speed was simply too fast!

They seemed to have parted ways less than five minutes ago...

Regardless of the cause, the deadlock was broken. Why wait any longer? Time to rescue the hostage!

With a sharp glint in his eyes, Zhou Qinglang moved like a shuttle and rushed forward.

Almost simultaneously.

Lin Xiaodou charged forward as well.

Under the hazy night sky, taking advantage of the chaos, she gripped her dagger and began her lethal campaign.

These were criminals guilty of all heinous crimes, and she felt zero burden slaughtering them.

One slash to the throat for a fatal strike!

In less than three minutes, she had dispatched six or seven bandits.

Zhou Qinglang's speed was equally impressive, as he swiftly laid several more low.

The original force of over ten bandits was suddenly cut in half.

Soon, someone noticed that something was amiss.

Before the bandit could open his mouth to shout, Lin Xiaodou blew his head off from afar with a gun.

"Holy shit! I was shooting at the snake and accidentally killed Old Eight!"

A bandit, mistakenly believing he had killed his own brother, yelled out loudly.

"Shut up! Stop shouting and everyone gather around!"

The ringleader finally realized something was wrong and hurriedly signaled the remaining men to cluster together.

Seizing this opportunity, Zhou Qinglang signaled Lin Xiaodou.

Lin Xiaodou sprinted toward the spot where Liu Yan'er was hiding.

In the deepest corner, Liu Yan'er kept her eyes tightly shut, her delicate body trembling as she chanted:

"Don't kill me... Don't kill me..."

Suddenly, a familiar, heavenly voice rang in her ear: "Yan'er!"

Overjoyed, Liu Yan'er opened her eyes to see Lin Xiaodou making a shushing gesture:

"Let's go. I'll hold your hand and we'll slip away quietly from over there."

With reddened eyes, Liu Yan'er nodded eagerly: "Okay... Okay..."

The Tibetan Mastiff puppy, which had been hiding all this time, also trotted over.

Holding Lin Xiaodou's hand and feeling the furry creature approach her feet, Liu Yan'er's tightly wound nerves relaxed slightly.

After running for about thirty minutes without seeing any pursuers behind them, she finally let out a long breath of relief.

She was finally saved! Little Douzi had saved her!!

Liu Yan'er threw her arms tightly around Lin Xiaodou and sobbed aggrievedly:

"Little Douzi, wuwuwu... I was scared to death, I was truly so scared!"

"It's fine, don't be afraid. Am I not right here?"

Lin Xiaodou patted her shoulder, feeling deeply sympathetic.

This girl had never endured such severe grievance; those hateful bandits!

The torrential rain had stopped by now.

The two girls and the dog waited in the bushes for a long time without seeing any sign of Zhou Qinglang, causing Lin Xiaodou to grow anxious.

Earlier on the road, they had agreed that during the rescue, she would focus on saving the hostage while Zhou Qinglang covered the rear.

This patch of bushes was the mandatory route back and their designated rendezvous point.

Yet nearly half an hour had passed, and he had not returned.

Lin Xiaodou thought: "Given his martial arts skills, he should have broken free by now. Since he hasn't shown up after so long, he must be injured!"

There were still seven or eight bandits left at the scene; although armed, without Yan'er as a hostage, Zhou Qinglang should logically have been able to escape.

Hearing this, Liu Yan'er asked with a panicked expression:

"What should we do then? Those bandits are extremely cruel. If they catch Comrade Zhou, they will definitely kill him."

At this thought, she suddenly grabbed Lin Xiaodou's sleeve and urged:

"Little Douzi, why don't we go back and save him? I'm so terrified he might die......"

"No way. I just got you out, how could I possibly go back!"

Lin Xiaodou rejected the proposal outright.

In fact, Zhou Qinglang had mentioned earlier that if twenty minutes passed without his appearance, they should leave first.

Selfish though Lin Xiaodou might be, she lived by her own principles.

Besides, Zhou Qinglang had gotten into trouble precisely because he rescued her good friend.

She simply could not stand by and let someone die.

"Here's what we'll do: follow the little Tibetan Mastiff all the way back to the cave. Zhu Damei and the others are over there."

At this, Lin Xiaodou looked into her eyes and reassured her:

"I'll go back and check out the situation. Don't worry about me, the armed police force should be arriving soon as well."

"Little Douzi..." Liu Yan'er desperately wanted to say she wanted to go along, but knowing she would only be a burden, she could only nod: "Alright, I'll wait for you!"

Lin Xiaodou instructed: "Run fast. Don't look back no matter what sound you hear, understand?"

Tearful, Liu Yan'er replied: "Mm, Little Douzi, you must return safely."

"I will." Lin Xiaodou smiled, then lowered her head to pet the little Tibetan Mastiff: "Little guy, Sister Yan'er is entrusted to you!"

The Tibetan Mastiff barked: "Woof!" Master, I will!

Watching the girl and the dog vanish from sight, Lin Xiaodou turned around and headed back.

Upon returning to the previous cliffside, what met her eyes was utter devastation, with not a single living soul in sight.

Numerous corpses lay scattered across the ground in disorder.

Shining her flashlight, Lin Xiaodou searched the bodies one by one, but Zhou Qinglang's figure was nowhere to be found.

She counted the dead bodies again and found there were several more than before, all killed with a single shot to the head.

Therefore, Zhou Qinglang must have eliminated several more bandits.

However......

Lin Xiaodou carefully examined the bloodstain trails and multiple muddy footprints on the ground.

It appeared his path had been blocked, forcing him to flee deeper into the mountains.

The remaining living bandits had chased after him.

Lin Xiaodou's gaze darkened.

She needed to locate Zhou Qinglang quickly; he was likely injured!

......

Hoo~ Hoo~ Hoo~

The cold wind whipped across Zhou Qinglang's face like a razor blade.

Clutching his injured shoulder tightly, he sprinted desperately through the mountain forest.

During the earlier skirmish, he had dropped both his dagger and his firearm.

Unarmed and wounded, lacking a gun to retaliate, he had no choice but to keep running.

Behind him, the sounds of pursuit and shouting grew closer and closer.

Zhou Qinglang's heart hammered like a battle drum, thumping violently against his ribs as if trying to burst through his chest.

Sweat mixed with blood trickled down his forehead, blurring his vision, yet he gritted his teeth and sprinted forward relentlessly.

Unfortunately, bad luck struck; an unseen dirt pit lay ahead in the pitch-black night, and he stepped into empty air.

"Plop!"

Zhou Qinglang tumbled straight in.

As he scrambled back out of the pit, the gang of bandits had already surrounded him.

From the original nearly twenty bandits, the night's assassinations by Lin Xiaodou and Zhou Qinglang had wiped out a vast majority.

By now, only five or six of the strongest and most lethal outlaws remained.

One of them spat on the ground and said with bitter hatred: "Boss, just put a bullet in his head!"

The ringleader gritted his teeth, fury blazing in his eyes:

"No! He killed over ten of our brothers; killing him this quick is too easy!

Tie him up. Once we reach the base later, I'm going to carve his flesh off piece by piece, a thousand cuts, to avenge our fallen brothers!"

"Not just a thousand cuts, throw him into a boiling oil vat too! Don't let him leave a single intact piece!"

A bandit nearby glared at Zhou Qinglang with bloodshot eyes.

This very man had killed his only surviving younger brother; he could never let him off so easily!

The ringleader: "We'll torture him slowly and make his life a living hell!"

"A living hell!!" the other bandits roared in agreement.

"Awooooo~~~"

Right as the tension reached its peak, a series of wolf howls suddenly echoed from ahead.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat; judging by the sound, it seemed to be a wolf pack.

A bandit asked urgently: "Boss?"

The ringleader's expression turned anxious as well: "Quick! Tie him up fast!"

Hearing this, the two ferocious thugs immediately put away their firearms and walked slowly toward Zhou Qinglang.

The boss had given orders to torture this fellow slowly, and absolutely no accidental gun discharges were allowed.

Zhou Qinglang stared vigilantly at the two enemies closing in on him.

When they drew close enough, Zhou Qinglang suddenly lashed out with a vicious kick, sending one thug flying.

Then, with lightning speed, he darted behind the other thug, clamping his powerful hands tightly around his neck.

"Nobody move! Or I'll snap his neck right now!"

Zhou Qinglang's voice carried an air of absolute resolve and firmness...