Don't You like Little Dogs? Now that I'm Taking Liberties, You're Suddenly Reluctant? - Chapter 43

The day of Skeleton’s operation arrived swiftly.

The Rust Belt was thick with the mixed scent of corroding metal and decaying waste. Buildings were dilapidated, and the streets were twisted in ruin.

Goshawk led the First Squad as they ghosted into the target stronghold. Windhawk’s manic laughter echoed occasionally through the communication channel, punctuated by precise gunfire and the roar of explosions. Initially, the operation went smoothly, perhaps even too smoothly.

Elsewhere, the adjutant led his team to an ambush at the exchange site, only to encounter resistance far fiercer than anticipated. The members of Scorpion seemed to have been tipped off. They unleashed ferocious firepower and even deployed heavy weaponry, locking the battle in a stalemate.

“Fall back! Retreat to point A3!” the adjutant commanded calmly, though his brow furrowed deeper. The enemy’s performance was not that of a disorganized rabble, but rather a disciplined force prepared for this exact moment.

Meanwhile, Jiang Si and Pei Ye arrived at the designated meeting point, which was a deserted freight warehouse. The interior was cavernous, filled only with scattered piles of shipping containers. A man in a disheveled suit waited there, looking visibly agitated.

“Mr. Jiang,” the man muttered, rubbing his hands as he stepped forward.

Jiang Si stood his ground, his gaze sweeping the surroundings like an icy blade. Pei Ye followed closely, every muscle tensed and on high alert for the slightest movement. There was no one else in sight.

“The intelligence,” Jiang Si said, looking at the man. He had no patience for small talk.

“It is, it is about Scorpion,” the man whispered, but his eyes drifted involuntarily toward a specific direction.

In that fleeting second, a shot rang out.

A muffled, suppressed sniper shot aimed directly at Jiang Si. His reactions were superhuman. Almost the instant the man’s muscles twitched, Jiang Si twisted his body. The bullet grazed his arm, leaving a trail of blood.

“As expected,” Jiang Si cursed under his breath.

“An ambush!” Pei Ye drew his gun instantly, putting a bullet through the head of the terrified middleman before lunging forward to shield Jiang Si with his own body.

Dozens of dark figures emerged from the second floor of the warehouse and from behind high containers, raining down a torrent of bullets. Not only that, but several specialized metal capture nets sprang from the floor as heavy shutters slammed down from the ceiling. This was not a simple assassination attempt; it was a meticulously designed fire trap tailored specifically to Jiang Si’s tactical patterns.

“Go!” Jiang Si’s eyes sharpened. He shoved Pei Ye aside to dodge a falling net, firing his dual pistols in rapid succession and precisely taking down two enemies.

His movements remained cold and lethal, every shot claiming a life.

“Concentrate all fire on the target!” the enemy commander roared over the din of the gunfight.

Firepower from the second floor surged, and rounds impacted all around Jiang Si. Under the relentless barrage, the cover began to show dense clusters of craters. While returning fire, Pei Ye kept a constant watch on Jiang Si to ensure his safety. “Master, on your left!”

Jiang Si quickly adjusted his position while firing back. “Worry about yourself.”

The two moved in perfect synchronization, rapidly eliminating enemies amidst the hail of lead. However, Pei Ye’s brow remained tightly knit. After a fierce exchange, Jiang Si’s movements suddenly faltered.

He realized he was out of ammunition and cursed again internally.

The number of enemies continued to grow, and frantic fire poured from above, creating a crossfire that sealed off all exits. In the heat of the moment, Jiang Si felt a sudden wave of dizziness. A strange numbness spread from the graze on his arm.

“The bullets are poisoned,” he realized, his expression darkening. That seemingly minor scratch had been the true killing blow. The initial sniper shot was merely a feint to force him into motion.

“Master!” Pei Ye’s eyes nearly burst with fury as he saw Jiang Si’s movements hitch.

Pei Ye continued to fire wildly, attempting to carve out a path, but the enemy’s superior firepower pinned him down behind cover. Jiang Si struggled against the paralysis and vertigo brought by the potent toxin. His combat prowess remained terrifying as he snapped the neck of a nearby enemy with his bare hands, but his speed was visibly flagging.

Jiang Si gritted his teeth, his frustration mounting.

While Jiang Si was occupied with the enemies in front of him, a corpse lying in a pool of blood suddenly lunged. It was one of the men Jiang Si had just taken down. With eyes flashing with madness and hatred, he drove a poisoned dagger toward Jiang Si’s back.

Jiang Si sensed the threat from behind, but the toxin and the fire from the front slowed him by a fraction of a second.

The dagger sank deep into his side rather than his heart. At the critical moment, he had managed to dodge the fatal point, but the poison was injected instantly through the blade.

“Ugh!” Jiang Si let out a muffled groan. He swung a fist back, crushing the man’s skull, but his body staggered. Blood rapidly soaked through his clothes.

“MASTER!”

Pei Ye roared like a wounded beast. He went completely berserk, lunging out of cover with total disregard for his own life. Bullets whistled past him and tore his skin, but he felt no pain. His eyes were fixed solely on the staggering figure.

Jiang Si’s vision began to blur. His sheer willpower kept him from collapsing as he leaned against a piece of cover for support. He saw Pei Ye pounce like a bolt of black lightning, using his body to shield him from the bullets. Pei Ye’s gun spat the fire of vengeance, and every shot precisely claimed an enemy life.

Gunshots continued to echo as the ambushing enemies maintained their frantic assault. Pei Ye grabbed the reeling Jiang Si, shielding him underneath his own body. He took several bullets to his back, and the groans of pain were crushed behind his clenched teeth.

He roared into his communication device. “Coordinates 7A! Master is under attack! He is severely wounded! Maximum priority rescue! I repeat, coordinates 7A! Master is severely wounded!”

On the other end, the adjutant, who was still in a heated battle, and Goshawk, who was nearly finished clearing his stronghold, felt a massive jolt to their hearts upon hearing Pei Ye’s distorted, murderous scream.

“First Squad! Abandon current mission immediately! Full speed to coordinates 7A!” Goshawk’s voice turned cold enough to draw frost. There was no hesitation.

“Second and Third Squads, continue the suppression! Everyone else, with me!” the adjutant ordered instantly, abandoning the battlefield to rush toward the coordinates.

Inside the warehouse, Pei Ye pulled Jiang Si behind a relatively sturdy shipping container. The wound in Jiang Si’s abdomen bled uncontrollably, his lips began to turn purple, and his breathing became heavy and labored. Yet, his gaze remained sharp as he tried to lift his hand to continue firing.

“Do not move. Master, I beg you, do not move.”

Pei Ye’s voice shook uncontrollably. He frantically tried to apply pressure to the bleeding wound, and his hands became soaked in red. It was warm and thick, the warmth of his Master’s life slipping away. A massive wave of terror gripped his throat like a cold, giant hand, making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Jiang Si’s consciousness was drifting. The poison and the severe injury were consuming him. In his blurred vision, he could only see Pei Ye’s eyes, which were filled with horror, madness, and despair. They were so bright, like dying stars.

He thought to himself that he was a fool. He had known it was a trap yet came anyway, always thinking he could risk himself to gather more intelligence. Pei Ye was right; he was a complete fool. And now, because of his mistake, he might cause both himself and his puppy to die here.

“Master, please. Do not sleep,” Pei Ye’s voice trembled as he carefully touched Jiang Si’s pale face. “Please.”

Amidst the noise of the gunfire, in Jiang Si’s fading world, he could only hear Pei Ye’s voice.

He wished the puppy would stop crying because it hurt him to see it.