Xia Lei left Tang Yu-Yan behind before she could speak and ran higher up.

Dozens of Islamic militants swarmed out from behind bunkers on the sides of the hills. The rocket earlier had blasted Xia Lei’s hiding spot apart and there was a chance that the rock shrapnel had claimed his life. This was the Islamic militants’ assumption from their experience.

The distance pulled short between them and the battle heated up. The sounds of gunshots and exploding grenades and rockets filled the air. Fire, smoke and rock fragments danced in the air and around each other in absolute chaos.

The frontmost White Rock tribesmen had to leave bodies behind in defeat due to them being on lower ground. The pressure of battle on the Bureau 101 agents behind them increased drastically with the collapse of the White Rock Tribe and the situation turned very dangerous for them.

“We can’t hold on for much longer! Section Chief Tang!” The voice of a Bureau 101 agent came from over the communications device, “What do we do?”

“Hold them off!” Tang Yu-Yan clenched her teeth and turned to dash down the hill.

She’d gone up the hill because she was worried for Xia Lei’s safety but he didn’t seem to want her concern so she couldn’t be bothered with him anymore. The frontlines below needed her leadership.

Behind a large tree on the hill, Xia Lei reached behind himself and plucked the piece of rock from his buttock. Red-hot pain lanced through his body from the wound, making him gnash his teeth in a grimace. The wound was still bleeding but there were no important blood vessels on the buttocks. There was much less bleeding than there had been earlier.

Xia Lei couldn’t be bothered with it either. He looked up at the crown of the tree and bent his knees, bounding up with a whoosh. He reached out with his hands and grabbed ahold of a branch four metres off the ground. He swung his body and was on the branch in the next second. He then climbed to a position higher still and lifted his rifle to search for targets.

The crown of the tree was at least 15 metres from the ground and Xia Lei had a wider visual range at the top. Islamic militants had appeared on the hill opposite, below the hill on the right and Xia Lei was in a position higher up than them. The entire battlefield in the canyon was in his visual range, and everything could be seen in a glance.

The Islamic militants seemed to have forgotten his existence and they rushed madly downwards. They displayed the characteristics of terrorists unafraid of death as the canyon filled with their shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar’.

“Think I’m dead? You’re all going to die!” A sinister smile appeared in the corners of Xia Lei’s lips and he pulled the trigger. An Islamic militant carrying a Soviet-made RPG rocket launcher had his head explode like a watermelon being flung to the ground from a high place.

And this was just the beginning...

The Islamic militants fell one by one in a wash of blood. They were below Xia Lei so it was difficult for them to avoid the mysterious bullets even if they hid behind rocks. The sounds of clustered gunshots and hand grenades exploding prevented them from discerning where the ‘revived’ sniper was. In this situation, every one of them was a live target and would be reporting to hell one second after Xia Lei locked on to him.

With the thinning of their numbers, the Islamic militants begun to make their escape but they were unable to escape the palm of Death’s hand in the end. The White Rock tribesmen used the heavy machine guns installed on the pickup trucks and shot crazily at them. The ones lucky enough to avoid being hit by the machine gun bullets were not lucky enough to avoid Xia Lei’s sniping and they fell one by one in their escape.

Bang! The modified sniper rifle roared and a bullet shot from the muzzle, going through the heart of an Islamic militant at least 700 metres away in an instant. This was the last target and Xia Lei put away his sniper rifle after the last victim fell and slid down the tree.

His taut nerves were fully relaxed then and after returning to ground, Xia Lei sat himself on the ground and took deep gasping breaths. He had sniped at least 50 Islamic militants in this battle. Add the battle from last night and that meant that he had killed over 60 people in 24 hours!

America’s ‘most deadly marksman’ Chris Kyle had killed over 160 people in Iraqi battlefields but that was over the course of a few years. Xia Lei had killed over 60 in a day, and all through sniping.

If Chris Kyle were to go up against Xia Lei, then he would be the one who would wind up dead, not Xia Lei. There was no one who could triumph over Xia Lei in this world because his left eye was something no one could surpass or copy!

‘Fifty two… Long Bing was right. I don’t feel anything after killing more people. Will I become a cold-blooded person?’ This question popped up in Xia Lei’s mind after he’d calmed down.

He would not have done this given the choice but this was a battlefield - kill or be killed. He had no choice.

“Lei!” Tang Yu-Yan’s voice came from below the hill. “Where are you?”

Down below, the Bureau 101 agents and White Rock tribesmen started cleaning up the field. They shot those they found still breathing. No mercy for terrorists. Tang Yu-Yan did not join them but climbed up the hill to look for Xia Lei.

Xia Lei had pissed her off earlier but she’d been mad for just a little bit; she was still most concerned about Xia Lei after the battle was over.

“I’m up here!” Xia Lei put his thoughts in order when he heard Tang Yu-Yan’s voice. He took the scope he had removed from the sniper rifle out of his rucksack and re-equipped it.

Tang Yu-Yan quickly appeared in his field of vision with a first-aid kit in her hand.

Xia Lei got to his feet and walked towards her. A piercing pain came from his buttock as he walked and only then did he remember that his buttock was injured.

Tang Yu-Yan stepped quickly to him and asked in concern, “How’s your wound?”

Xia Lei turned to look at his bloodstained butt and smiled wryly. “Not affecting anything, just my trousers can’t be worn anymore.”

“Why are you concerned about trousers at a time like this?” Tang Yu-Yan rolled her eyes at Xia Lei, then her gaze landed on the sniper rifle in his hand. “Didn’t you say that the scope was damaged?” she asked in surprise.

“I fixed it.” Xia Lei had an answer prepared. “How could I fight otherwise?”

“Do you know how many enemies you killed?” Tang Yu-Yan believed Xia Lei’s lie.

Xia Lei shook his head. “I don’t know. Uh, about…”

How many should he say to not appear too outstanding?

This was a problem.

At that moment, the voice of an agent of Bureau 101 came from over the communications device, “Oh my heavens! Section Chief Tang, Consultant Xia has killed… killed 52 enemies! Heavens!”

Clatter! The first-aid kit in Tang Yu-Yan’s hand dropped to the ground. Her jaw seemed to have followed the kit and her little mouth could not close.

Xia Lei pretended to be confused. “Huh… He must’ve counted wrong. I didn’t keep a close count either so I don’t know how many enemies I’ve killed.”

It was actually quite obvious which enemies had been killed by a sniper bullet. It was useless for him to feign ignorance since the people cleaning up the battlefield could easily tell which person had been killed by a sniper bullet and determine the number.

Tang Yu-Yan snapped back to her senses and gave Xia Lei an odd look. “Long Bing was touted as the best sniper in Bureau 101 but now I think she’s not even worthy enough to hold your shoes.”

Xia Lei was speechless.

Tang Yu-Yan smiled as she said, “I’ll tell Boss Shi when we get back. You’re going to be our Bureau 101’s Chief Sniper.”

“No!” said Xia Lei hurriedly, “Don’t tell your godfather this. I don’t want to be a Chief Sniper. Don’t get me to come on missions like these anymore - I am just an honest businessman.”

“We’ll talk about this later. Turn your butt around and let me have a look. I’ll bandage it up.” Tang Yu-Yan opened the first-aid kit to get ready to treat Xia Lei’s wound.

Tang Yu-Yan was ready to be a field-doctor but Xia Lei did not move. “Uh, my wound isn’t going to get in the way. There’s no need,” he said awkwardly.

“This is an order! Turn around!” Tang Yu-Yan was fierce. “Besides, I’m a girl and I’m not giving up on you so why are you shying away? Stop blithering! Hurry up!”

Xia Lei hesitated but still turned around in the end.

Tang Yu-Yan reached her hand out and peeled away the torn fabric from his buttock. She saw the terrible wound in the muscle beneath and her brows wrinkled. “Better take your trousers off. I’ve got to stitch your wound.”

“Huh?” Xia Lei stared blankly.

“Take them off!” Tang Yu-Yan became fiercer. “This is the battlefield, so do away with courtesies! You think your wound is not going to get in the way, but look! Look at this big and deep wound! What will you do if it gets infected because it wasn’t stitched? If you lose your mobility and we run into Islamic militants again, who’s going to snipe them?”

Xia Lei twisted behind to take a look. He first saw Tang Yu-Yan’s angry red face, then the horrible wound. He’d studied medicine too and he knew that a wound like this would easily get infected if not treated. It could become inflamed and fester - troublesome and dangerous. However, he was uncomfortable with letting a beauty like Tang Yu-Yan sew up his bare butt.

“You’re not going to take them off? Then I will!” Tang Yu-Yan reached out and grabbed ahold of Xia Lei’s belt.

“Okay, okay, okay, I’ll do it myself!” Xia Lei cracked and he braced himself as he released his belt and slowly pulled his trousers down. He’d only pulled his trousers down; he was not willing to remove his underwear.

As he removed his trousers, Tang Yu-Yan suddenly grabbed his underwear and yanked. His bloody butt was exposed to the air.

“You… What are you doing?” cried Xia Lei in surprise.

“Don’t tell me you want me to sew your butt and your underwear together,” said Tang Yu-Yan.

Xia Lei had no words.

Tang Yu-Yan threaded the surgical needle and squatted behind Xia Lei’s behind. She pinched his wound with one hand as she poked his torn flesh with the other.

“Ssss…” There was no anaesthetic and the pain made Xia Lei draw breath.

“Come on! Show me your bravery! Don’t be a sissy!” Tang Yu-Yan provoked Xia Lei with her words.

“Do you have an anaesthetic?” Xia Lei couldn’t stand the pain lany longer.

“I got one but I’m not giving it to you,” said Tang Yu-Yan.

“Why?”

“Anaesthetic will slow the closing of the wound. You need to get well as quickly as you can so you can’t have anaesthetic.”

“You.. You’re so cruel. I won’t give you an anaesthetic either if you ever hurt your butt and need it stitched!”

These words made Tang Yu-Yan imagine a scenario. In her head, her luscious, bare, white buttocks were exposed to the air and Xia Lei was holding a surgical needle, giving her stitches one by one as drool crept down the corners of his mouth. This imagery annoyed her and she suddenly swung her hand, landing a slap on Xia Lei’s buttocks.

Pah! The just-stitched wound split open again, just a little bit.

“ARGH---” A scream echoed in the canyon.