Chapter 524: Life and Death

Long Bing shook her head, hard, and her dizziness eased a little. She then saw the mixed-blood woman standing opposite her. She looked about 190 centimetres tall and the modified gun in her hand, and that platinum shield made for quite the visual.

"Cough, cough..." Gu Kewen struggled, but Long Bing's elbow held her like a vice. She was going to suffocate.

Long Bing did not loosen her grip - she pressed harder. She knew that she was in a very bad situation now, and if she was going to die, then she was going to help Xia Lei kill Gu Kewen, so Gu Kewen would never be able to threaten him again!

"Let her go," said the mixed-blood woman softly. "She has some use to me. It'll inconvenience me if you kill her."

"Oh, really?" Long Bing's voice was cold, and she moved her left hand from Gu Kewen's back to her front as she spoke. A knife was above Gu Kewen's heart when she stopped moving.

"Hm." The mixed-blood woman raised an eyebrow. She had disarmed Long Bing earlier, but she did not expect that Long Bing would still dare to use a knife on Gu Kewen in this situation.

Gu Kewen did hold some use for her. She was just a new member of the CIA, but she has deep connections in China. Getting promoted within the CIA and being of greater use was just a matter of time. Being able to control this person would mean having a double agent in the CIA, and getting some information which wouldn't normally be easy to come across. Unfortunately, this woman in front of her was pointing a knife at Gu Kewen's heart. This woman did not seem afraid of being shot either!

Long Bing let go of Gu Kewen.

Gu Kewen stared at the hunting knife in her chest in horror, not believing that Long Bing had stabbed her like this. She didn't get it. She wanted to turn around and look at Long Bing, to ask her why, but she lacked the strength to even turn around. She felt like there was a dark vortex below her, sucking her into its depths. She managed to hold on for one second, then fell to the floor.

She looked up at the ceiling, her mouth open and gasping for air. No matter how she gasped, though, there didn't seem to be enough air, and her breathing got weaker and weaker. She wanted to look once more at this world, but her vision was getting blurry and clouded.

When she'd been alive, she had a life of luxury. She had a luxury car, bodyguards, adoration, whatever she wanted. But now, she suddenly felt like she was rather pitiful, and not much different from the beggars who froze to death by the streets.

Darkness came roiling, consuming her. In that little bit of time before it devoured her, an image flashed in Gu Kewen's head. She saw the light, and the young man who walked towards her in the light. It looked like he had come through dimensions to her, and he was in front of her instantly. The image stabilised, and she saw his face clearly - Xia Lei...

Why was it Xia Lei?

Her consciousness was devoured by darkness before that question could be answered.

"Aren't you afraid that I'll kill you?" The mixed-blood woman looked icily at Long Bing, but there was a faint smile in the corners of her lips.

Long Bing shrugged. "I'm right in front of you. You could fire at any time but you didn't. I know what you're up to. You want to use me to pressure him, don't you?"

The mixed-blood woman moved, but not closer to Long Bing. She went to stand behind a pillar. That position was such that the pillar blocked off any potential shots which could come from up the hill. However, she was still able to keep Long Bing in her line of fire. She could shoot Long Bing at any time, and if she sensed that Long Bing was going to flee.

No more gunshots came from the direction of the hill. That battle was already over.

Xia Lei's location was unknown, but what could be confirmed was that he would not stop on the hill. He could turn up here at any time.

The Heart of Oshino was where everything was going to end.

Long Bing's heart sank slowly. She could sense the power from this mixed-blood girl before her. It was not just her skill and her gunmanship, nor her experience and her foresight... It was because Long Bing had not even been aware that the battle on the hill was over when this mixed-blood woman moved to a position where Xia Lei couldn't snipe her!

"Who the hell are you?" said Long Bing. "You're not CIA."

"CIA? Heheh." The mixed-blood woman snickered. She pointed her gun at Long Bing's thigh. "Are you coming to me, or should I break your leg and drag you over?"

Long Bing did not move. Her eyes were cold.

She was not just ruthless to her enemies, but to herself too.

The mixed-blood woman bent her finger over the trigger.

A small sound suddenly came from the corridor outside.

The mixed-blood woman shouted, "Xia Lei! Hold it right there! Don't come any closer!"

Long Bing was stunned. She had not sensed Xia Lei's arrival, but this woman had shouted a warning!

Xia Lei's voice came abruptly from the corridor. "Leave now and I won't kill you. Touch my woman and you die."

The mixed-blood woman was calm. "You're that confident?"

"Your men are all dead," said Xia Lei. This was why he was confident.

The mixed-blood woman sneered. "I don't think you know the situation, Xia Lei. My target is you. Your woman is in my hands too. I can kill her at any time, and you want me to leave? Don't think you can threaten me because you killed my men. Those were just cannon fodder, and their role is to die. They have fulfilled their purpose. The battle between us is only just beginning."

Long Bing suddenly ran for the window.

Bang bang! Two bullets flew from the muzzle of the mixed-blood woman's gun. One hit the windowsill, and the other hit the wooden floorboard in front of Long Bing. The splinters which flew up obscured her vision, and the splinters stabbed into her legs and her lower abdomen, bringing stinging pain.

Long Bing came to a halt.

The handgun she had had been specially modified to use high-impact bullets - it was as powerful as a shotgun!

In the instant the mixed-blood woman shot at Long Bing, Xia Lei flashed into the doorway and fired. A bullet flew from his handgun, towards the mixed-blood woman.

Ding! Sparks flew as the bullet hit the woman's shield.

The woman's ability to assess the situation, and her skill in reacting to it was astounding!

Xia Lei disappeared from the doorway.

The woman also moved to the other side of the pillar. She was keeping Long Bing in her range and under control.

The atmosphere in the room was instantly tense, quiet, and full of killing intent.

That was the first exchange of blows between Xia Lei and the woman, but he had been obviously disadvantaged. That had been his only chance to fire and kill the mixed-blood woman, and it had also been the opportunity Long Bing created for him by risking her life, but he had failed.

Xia Lei's heart sank at this failure. He knew well that if he made another move, the one to die wouldn't be him or the mixed-blood woman, but Long Bing.

"Xia Lei, you should be thankful about my task," said the mixed-blood woman. "My task is to capture you alive, not kill you. You won't be alive otherwise. I cannot guarantee your woman's life, though."

Xia Lei was silent for a bit. "Who are you?"

"I'll give you one minute. Put down the weapon and come in." The mixed-blood woman did not answer Xia Lei's question. "I can let your woman go in exchange. You know, I've never made this allowance before, but for you, I can break some norms."

This was a very difficult decision.

"Never mind about me!" Long Bing shouted at the doorway. "You don't have to bother about me. Leave! Leave now!"

The mixed-blood woman shouted. "Shut the hell up!"

"Wait!" The shouting in the room stopped Xia Lei from thinking normally. He was afraid that Long Bing would anger the mixed-blood woman. He came out from the corner he was hiding in, holding the butt of his gun and throwing it to the floor.

Long Bing looked dumbly at Xia Lei as her eyes filled with tears.

She was willing to die for Xia Lei, and he was willing to surrender himself to save her, to accept a dangerous fate. This sincerity, this man - what more could she want?

"And the sniper rifle over your shoulder. And your knife." The mixed-blood woman's voice was cold.

Xia Lei removed the gun and his knife, and put them both on the floor. "I've done as you asked. Let her go. You'll be inconvenienced too, if I die."

"Heh heh heh..." The woman laughed. "You're the strongest enemy I've met, but you have a critical weakness. Your emotions." She glanced at Long Bing. "Go, before I change my mind."

Long Bing did not seem to have heard the woman. Her gaze had not left Xia Lei. At that moment, Xia Lei seemed like a part of her life, and she could not be without him. How could she bear to let him fall into the hands of this woman? She didn't want to leave - she couldn't!

"Didn't you hear her?" Xia Lei was anxious and he shouted at Long Bing. "GO! Go far, far away!"

Long Bing's lips twitched, but she moved in the end. She walked towards the doorway, but her steps were fairly slow.

"Hurry up and leave! I don't want to see you here a second longer!" Xia Lei seemed angry.

Tears fell unchecked from Long Bing's eyes. She knew that Xia Lei did not truly hate her, but was acting in this way to make her leave quickly.

Long Bing brushed past his shoulder as she went, but Xia Lei did not even give her a second glance.

His heart was hurting too.

Long Bing disappeared from the doorway.

The mixed-blood woman came out from behind the pillar, gun in one hand and shield in the other. She walked elegantly over to Xia Lei. A mocking smile sat in the corners of her lips. "It really does take quite a bit of effort to capture you. This was more difficult than killing you, but I did it."

"Who are you?" Xia Lei pretended to be calm.

The woman spoke flatly, "Didn't your father mention me to you?"

Xia Lei stared blankly.

A name surfaced in his head in that instant.

The woman stopped in her tracks, several steps away from Xia Lei. Her voice was soft. "FA Organisation. Dark Mona. I'll take you home, Xia Lei."

The name Xia Lei had thought of was Dark Mona's. His father, Xia Changhe, had mentioned her in Moscow, and said that she was the most frightening killer in the FA Organisation. He had suspected that the gunmen and this woman had come from the FA Organisation, but he had stubbornly refused to believe what his brain told him.

The snake head on Dark Mona's shield suddenly opened up, revealing a hidden space.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.