Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 239: Chapter 166: Annihilation! Hollowing Out the Secret Palace Base

In the distance, a figure came charging toward them!

He was carrying something sealed in a translucent substance. The object was about the length of a person, its shape indistinct, as if encased in a giant piece of amber.

”Damn, Brother Yu is a total badass!” Zhai Jia couldn’t help but exclaim. He quickly raised his hand and shouted, ”Over here!”

He didn’t dare shout a name, just waved his arm frantically.

The words had barely left his mouth.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

A dense volley of gunfire suddenly erupted!

Bullets whizzed in from behind, striking the walls and sending sparks and concrete shrapnel flying past them!

With lightning-fast reflexes, Wan Ze grabbed Zhai Jia and yanked him back.

THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!

Several bullets grazed the spot where they had just been standing, leaving a series of smoking holes in the wall.

”Damn it! They fight dirty!” Zhai Jia cursed under his breath.

Wan Ze pressed himself against the wall and exchanged a look with him.

’At least seventeen or eighteen people, and they’re closing in fast.’

Zhai Jia knew they couldn’t delay. He pointed to the exit outside, then to himself, and made a hand gesture: ’You take the left, I’ll take the right?’

Wan Ze nodded.

The two took a deep breath and charged out at the same time!

WHAM!

Using the terrain to his advantage, Wan Ze shot forward and lashed out with his sword, sending a gunman who had just popped his head out flying.

The man screamed as he was thrown backward, crashing into and knocking over two people behind him.

”This way!”

He deliberately shouted, charging hard to the left. His sword flashed repeatedly, cutting down two more men.

The gunfire was instantly drawn to Wan Ze, a storm of bullets raining down on him!

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, he never stopped moving. Pushing the Mysterious Shadow Step to its limit, his entire body became a blur, weaving through the hail of bullets!

Bullets struck the walls and ground behind him, kicking up clouds of dust!

Wan Ze dodged and struck with his sword at the same time!

With every swing of his blade, a man fell!

”Fuck! What kind of monster is this kid!”

”I can’t hit him! I can’t hit him at all!”

”Concentrate fire! Concentrate fire!”

The gunmen shouted in alarm, all turning their weapons on Wan Ze!

Watching from the right, Zhai Jia was frantic with worry.

He knew Ah Ze was risking his life to buy them time!

Gritting his teeth, he deliberately made a ruckus, then snatched a gun and started spraying bullets at the crowd.

”Come on! Come and get me, you sons of bitches!”

Soon, the gunfire directed at him grew heavier as well.

In the chaos, Zhai Yu dodged left and right, clutching the object as he sprinted toward the West Gate.

He glanced up just in time to see Wan Ze send two gunmen flying with a single sword strike and rush over to him.

”You go first,” Wan Ze said quickly as he arrived.

Zhai Yu looked at him, wanting to say something, but the situation was too critical for words.

”West Gate. I’ll wait,” he said, just four words.

Wan Ze nodded, turned, and charged back into the crowd.

The light from his sword was like falling snow.

Every strike sent a spray of fresh blood into the air.

The gunmen fired at him like madmen, but when the bullets reached him, they were caught in the light of his sword and deflected with a series of sharp TINGS.

All the gunmen stared, dumbfounded.

’What in the world is he?’

’Blocking bullets with a sword at such close range?’

Wan Ze advanced step by step, each foot landing on a dead body. His mask was already stained red with blood, revealing only a pair of icy eyes.

”Stop! All Secret Palace personnel, fall back!”

A loud shout came from behind the crowd.

The gunfire weakened, then sputtered out after a few stray shots.

The crowd parted automatically to form a path. A white-haired old man in a lab coat and glasses walked quickly forward, his hands raised and open to show he was unarmed.

It was Qin Yuming.

He had finally been unable to hold back. Of course, given his personality, he had surely already thought of a way to resolve the situation.

Wan Ze stopped, his sword tip lowered, but the murderous aura emanating from the blade did not diminish in the slightest.

Qin Yuming stopped three steps in front of him. He glanced at the bodies littering the floor, then looked at Wan Ze, took a deep breath, and said loudly, ”Things have come to this. I don’t want to see any more killing.”

His voice echoed through the spacious research facility.

”You want her body. I can give it to you. But what can you do with it? All the required equipment and data are in my hands. Without them, it’s just a corpse.”

He paused, looking Wan Ze directly in the eyes, trying his best to convey goodwill. ”So, why don’t we cooperate?”

Wan Ze didn’t speak.

In the distance, Zhai Jia also stopped fighting, his brow furrowed.

’If this were before, I’d definitely think killing them all would be easier. But the old man’s right. We can’t take the experimental data with us, and we don’t know if the Female Sword Immortal needs any of this stuff. What if she needs this data to inhabit this body again?’

”Cooperation isn’t out of the question.”

Just then, a voice came from the direction of the West Gate.

Zhai Yu had returned at some point. He stood at the entrance, still holding the object, and looked at Qin Yuming. ”But the location for this cooperation definitely won’t be here,” he said in a low voice.

Qin Yuming nodded and quickly said, ”Of course, of course. I am being very sincere. With your level of strength, even Pang Chuanshan and his people couldn’t stop you, let alone these ordinary gunmen. Besides, we’ll need manpower to move the equipment, won’t we?”

Zhai Yu glanced at Wan Ze, then at Zhai Jia.

They both gave a slight nod.

”Fine,” Zhai Yu said coldly.

Qin Yuming breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered the Secret Palace gunmen to unload their weapons.

Meanwhile, Fu Hai stood at the back of the crowd, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

’I don’t understand. Why is the professor backing down? These people were the ones who broke in, killed so many of our men, and stole something we’ve been researching for years! Why should we cooperate? We should just kill them all!’

”Professor?” Taking advantage of the chaos, he stepped forward, frowning at Qin Yuming, and asked in a low voice, ”Why?”

Qin Yuming glanced at him, knowing what his student was thinking.

He reached out and patted Fu Hai’s shoulder, his voice so soft only the two of them could hear. ”Where there’s life, there’s hope. These three killed Pang Chuanshan and Shan Wu’s younger brother. Do you really think these gunmen can stop them? If we fight them head-on now, it’s a dead end. We’ll placate them for now. There will be other opportunities.”

Fu Hai lowered his eyes and said no more.

When everyone started moving the machinery, he quietly slipped away. He went to a hidden room, found a marker from somewhere, and made a faint, barely noticeable mark on the third wall from the south.

Then he turned around...

...and was suddenly met by a pair of eyes staring right at him.

Wan Ze had appeared behind him at some point, wearing the mask of the Thunder Celestial God, his gaze calm and undisturbed.

Fu Hai’s entire body went rigid, his pupils shrinking.

”I... I... Let me explain.” He opened his mouth to explain, but his tongue felt like it was tied in a knot, and he couldn’t get a single word out.

Wan Ze didn’t speak.

He just reached out a hand.

CRACK.

He snapped Fu Hai’s neck.

The body slumped to the ground with a dull thud.

The room fell into a dead silence.

Wan Ze glanced around the hidden room and muttered to himself, ”I knew there had to be something good in here.”

He reached out and touched it.

[Stealing Celestial Secret successful... Sword Momentum: Splitting Mountain 100%]

[Stealing Celestial Secret successful...]

[Stealing Celestial Secret...]

「Half an hour later.」

Wan Ze walked out of the base. Zhai Jia was already waiting by an off-road vehicle. ”Let’s go.”

”Where’s the package?” Wan Ze asked.

”Brother Yu already loaded it into the vehicle. He’s waiting for us on the main road up ahead,” Zhai Jia replied.

Wan Ze didn’t ask any more questions.

Before long, a barrage of gunfire erupted from the mountain.

In the end, Qin Yuming never made it out of the base.

As far as Zhai Yu was concerned, he didn’t like keeping a snake by his side—especially a venomous one that bites.