69novels Chapter 980 Fight again
Chapter 980 Fight again
The system's voice rang in Gu Nan's mind, clear and calm: "Gu Nan, there are a total of twenty-one people in the abandoned brick kiln. Their exact locations have been synchronized to your topographic map."
Gu Nan stared intently at the 3D topographical map that appeared in his mind. Red dots dotted the mottled kiln structure—more than a dozen red dots were scattered across the open ground in front, while six or seven more were clustered in the row of abandoned brick kiln warehouses behind, which, judging by their location, should be the core area. He knew in his heart that Xiao Bao was most likely hiding in the back.
Taking a deep breath, Gu Nan pushed open the rusty iron door. The hinges creaked loudly, sounding particularly jarring in the empty brickyard. His gaze swept over the dozen or so people in the open space ahead. They were all holding weapons—steel pipes, machetes—and staring at him menacingly.
"Where's Xiao Bao?" Gu Nan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling edge that cut through the noise. "Call him out. I have something to say to him."
A burly man with a buzz cut stepped forward, spat, and said with disdain, "You piece of trash, all alone, do you think you're worthy of seeing Brother Leopard? If you know what's good for you, get lost, or I'll break your legs!"
The others joined in the laughter, their eyes practically overflowing with contempt.
"Heh." A soft laugh came from the direction of the brick kiln warehouse. Gu Nan looked up and saw Xiao Bao leaning against the broken window sill on the second floor, playing with a dagger in his hand, looking down at him with a cruel smile: "Fine, you want to see me? Unless you can kill your way up here."
Gu Nan met his gaze, his eyes sharp as knives: "When I get up here, I hope you can tell me who hired you to kill me, and who instructed you to harm my family."
Xiao Bao tapped lightly on the windowsill with his dagger, making a soft "tap-tap" sound, as if mocking, "Sure. But that depends on whether you have the ability to walk to me alive." He waved his hand and gave his men downstairs a wink, "Give him a good 'welcome,' don't let him die too easily."
His men on the open ground immediately surrounded him with sinister grins, banging steel pipes against each other, filling the air with a heavy smell of gunpowder. Gu Nan gripped the short stick hidden behind his back, his eyes darkening—it seemed this tough battle was unavoidable.
Xiao Bao's words still echoed in the abandoned warehouse when the assassins lying in ambush, like hungry wolves smelling blood, pounced from the corner piled with tattered sacks and behind the rusty iron racks. Seven or eight figures rushed forward with a whoosh of wind, their blades gleaming coldly in the dim light filtering through the broken windows, aiming straight for Gu Nan's vital points.
Gu Nan was prepared. He pushed off the dusty ground with his toes, sliding half a step to the side and back like a cheetah poised to pounce, just avoiding the short knife slashing at him from the front. The blade grazed the corner of his clothes and struck the concrete with a "bang," sending sparks flying and leaving a deep gash in the ground.
Before the assassin could sheathe his blade, Gu Nan used the momentum to twist his body, his right elbow like a leaden whip, slamming into the man's ribs with a whistling force. "Ugh!" the assassin cried out in pain, the short knife flying from his hand and striking the iron frame with a piercing clang. Gu Nan's left hand swiftly caught the knife on the ground, and with a flick of his wrist, the back of the blade slammed heavily into another man's wrist with tremendous force. A crisp "crack" rang out, and the man screamed as he clutched his wrist; his finger bones were clearly broken, and the dagger clattered to the ground.
He moved nimbly through the crowd, like a butterfly flitting among flowers. Sometimes he sidestepped a sweeping blade, sometimes he ducked to avoid a slashing steel pipe. Each strike was precise and ruthless, yet he held back—these men, though assassins, were ultimately pawns hired by Xiao Bao; there was no need to take their lives. The whistling of blades cutting through the air, the muffled groans of bones being struck, and the thuds of limbs colliding mingled together. Gu Nan's figure nimbly dodged amidst the flashing blades, always managing to avoid fatal attacks by the slightest margin, while simultaneously disarming his opponents with fluid, graceful movements, as if dancing a dance on the edge of life and death.
Just then, the system in Gu Nan's mind suddenly issued an urgent alarm: "Warning! There is a gun locked on at the three o'clock position! Strong energy fluctuations!"
His heart skipped a beat, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a man in black crouching in the right corner, a black pistol pointed directly at him, the trigger already being pulled. In that split second, Gu Nan ducked down abruptly, his left hand gripping the collar of one of the assassins beside him like an iron clamp, and yanked him roughly in front of him.
"Bang!" The gunshot rang out muffledly, the bullet whistling past Gu Nan's shoulder before striking the leg of the assassin being used as a human shield. "Ah—!" The assassin screamed in agony, his body convulsing violently. Taking advantage of this momentary opening, Gu Nan's right hand released his short knife, the blade tracing a gleaming silver arc in the air before striking the gunman's wrist with the precision of an arrow.
"Ah!" The gunman screamed as a deep, bone-revealing gash appeared on his wrist from the blade, and the pistol clattered to the ground. Gu Nan kicked the wounded assassin aside, then lunged like an arrow towards the corner where the gun had fallen. As the man bent over in pain to retrieve it, Gu Nan's right knee, carrying all his strength, slammed into his chin. A muffled thud followed, the man's head snapped back, his eyes rolled back, and he fell straight to the ground, lifeless.
Having eliminated the biggest gun threat, Gu Nan turned to look at the remaining assassins. Without the threat of firearms, these men were clearly panicked; their hands trembled as they drew their knives, their attacks became chaotic, reduced to mere bluster and shouts. Gu Nan took a deep breath, the surging blood in his chest gradually calming. His eyes sharpened, and he no longer held back. Using both fists and feet, he sometimes clashed head-on like a tiger descending a mountain, breaking an opponent's arm bone with an elbow; at other times, he struck with the cunning of a snake, his fingertips precisely striking the opponent's nerves.
In no time, the remaining assassins were all wounded, some with broken arms or legs, lying on the ground unable to move. Only their heavy breathing echoed in the empty warehouse, mixed with the pungent smell of blood in the air.
This time, Gu Nan didn't hold back either, since they had come to kill him.
Gu Nan shook his slightly numb wrist, his gaze as cold as ice as he turned to Xiao Bao, whose face was pale and whose lips were trembling. A mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth: "You think you can keep me here with these good-for-nothing trash? Xiao Bao, your abilities are not enough."