Back To The 80s-Chapter 571 - 563: Rescue_1

Lu Zhanguo leaned against a tree trunk, his eyes closed in concentration. He perceived presences on both his right and his left. But being too far away, he couldn’t determine if they were friends or foes.

If they were on the side of the criminals, then this was undoubtedly a trap— stepping into their effective shooting range would spell certain death.

Seeing the small cabin about 800 meters away, Lu Zhanguo felt anxious. He wondered if Mo Wang was being tortured.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle echoed from deep within the pine forest—an indication that someone was signaling Duo Ji within the cabin.

With the whistle as his warning, Duo Ji instantly stood up. Someone was coming!

He carefully approached the cabin window, seeing nobody in the open ground before him. But he figured it was the nearby pine forest that might be hiding someone.

Duo Ji positioned himself near the window and gently pushed it open.

A gunshot echoed, the bullet hitting the window side and sent Duo Ji crouching in fright.

Lu Zhanguo was enraged. That shot had come from someone on his left, seemingly meant to draw out Duo Ji.

Lu Zhanguo raised his gun and aimed at his left, scouring for his target through his scope. But the dense pine forest hindered his search.

When it came to sniping, the game was about patience and speed.

Lu Zhanguo leaned against the tree, holding his breath as he focused on the sniper scope—waiting for a second shot from the assailant.

Looking at Mo Wang crouched in the corner, Duo Ji stormed around for a bit before grabbing Mo Wang by the collar and dragging him out of the cabin. He held Mo Wang in front of him, using him as a shield to his chest and head, before aiming a homemade gun at Mo Wang’s forehead. He shouted out, "Lu Zhanguo, is that you? Show yourself!"

Peering slightly from behind the tree, Lu Zhanguo caught sight of Mo Wang unharmed, before retreating back behind the tree. He needed to eliminate the sniper on his left first, otherwise Mo Wang’s life would certainly be in danger.

Seeing no response, Duo Ji took another step forward, shouting again, "Lu Zhanguo, show yourself! I’ll count to ten, if you don’t come out, I’ll kill your son right before your eyes." Duo Ji believed that if he could kill Lu Zhanguo today, it would be worth it. His men, hidden in some corner, were ready to backstab Lu Zhanguo the moment he showed himself.

Lu Zhanguo stayed focused, his eyes fixed on the left.

Getting frustrated, Duo Ji fired a round into the air and roared, "Lu Zhanguo, come out! I’ll start counting. Ten...nine..."

Being choked at his collar, Mo Wang’s face turned beet red as tears streamed down his cheeks. He bit his lip, feeling a tiny flutter of joy: His father was here; it must be his father.

The person on the left couldn’t contain himself any longer and began to shoot at Duo Ji.

Lu Zhanguo accurately aimed and fired towards the left.

Four gunshots echoed, startling sparrows in the woods, causing them to flutter up into the clear blue sky.

Even Lu Zhanguo was taken aback by the fourth gunshot. Charging out from behind the tree, he saw Duo Ji had fallen onto the ground, and Mo Wang tossed aside.

Rushingly, Lu Zhanguo scooped up Mo Wang and dashed into the wooden cabin.

"Mo Wang, Mo Wang, are you okay?" Lu Zhanguo’s voice choked as he sat down onto the cabin floor, tightly embracing his son.

Mo Wang pouted and cried, "Daddy, my feet are cold."

Lu Zhanguo looked down to see Mo Wang’s tiny feet, now red from the cold. He tenderly tucked them into his own clothes, murmuring words of comfort, "Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. Daddy will warm you. Don’t be afraid, Daddy’s here. I’m so sorry, I came late." He kept repeating.

Mo Wang’s mouth puckered again, and he burst into tears, feelings of grievance and fear overcame him.

The sound of a cuckoo bird traveled in from the woods. Lu Zhanguo listened attentively. It was the code their team used during combat—danger averted, retreat allowed.

Lu Zhanguo unfastened his coat and wrapped it tightly around Mo Wang. Tears welled up in his eyes and, finally surrendering, they rolled down his cheeks—dropping onto Mo Wang’s head.

Out of the four gunshots, one was from the person on the left aiming for Duo Ji’s arm. Lu Zhanguo had fired two rounds: one intercepted the incoming bullet, the other hit the shooter.

The fourth gunshot, coming from the right, had a bullet puncturing through Duo Ji’s left ear—it was an instant kill.

Lu Zhanguo recognized the person on the right as the one who had made the cuckoo sound earlier. That familiar sound belonged to Lone Wolf - he had also come.

The person on the left, probably a comrade in arms, dared to use Mo Wang’s life as bait. If his bullet had indeed hit Duo Ji’s arm, Duo Ji would have certainly lost it and counter fired.

Barely seconds had passed between Lu Zhanguo’s two successive shots when he was exposed.

...

Driving with one hand and holding Mo Wang with the other, Lu Zhanguo kept the little boy curled against his side all the way.

By the time they got home, it was already past midnight. The gate was left wide open, and the lights in the courtyard were still on.

Everyone inside rushed out as soon as they heard the sound of the car.

They all watched as Lu Zhanguo, holding Mo Wang, stepped out of the car.

Wen Xiuqing fell crying into Ji Xiangdong’s arms once again.

Red-eyed and choked with emotion, everyone wept silent tears of joy.

Li Fengmei hurried back into the house and said in Gu Xiaobei’s ear, "Sister-in-law, Mo Wang is back. He’s safe and sound."

The originally groggy Gu Xiaobei sat up at once and asked anxiously with vacant eyes, "Where is he? Where’s my Mo Wang?"

Lu Zhanguo hurried inside with Mo Wang. Mo Wang, upon seeing Gu Xiaobei, couldn’t help crying, "Mama, Mama..."

Gu Xiaobei instantly felt more sober. Taking her son from Lu Zhanguo’s arms, she burst into tears.

The western room was small and unable to accommodate everyone. Lu Songyuan managed to rasp out through tears, "He’s back... that’s all that matters." Then he motioned for everyone to move outside.

Wen Xiuqing and Xiaopang joined the weeping embrace of Gu Xiaobei and Mo Wang. Bai Xiaolan was sitting on the side of the bed, holding one of Mo Wang’s hands and crying too.

Seeing Li Fengmei and Bai Xiaolan present, Lu Zhanguo excused himself and stepped outside. If his guess was right, there would soon be military personnel coming to take him away.

Lu Zhanguo stepped outside, took Ji Xiangdong aside, and said a few words. Ji Xiangdong’s eyebrows furrowed.

Lu Zhanguo patted Ji Xiangdong on the shoulder, "I’ll be fine, don’t worry."

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before the military security personnel came to take Lu Zhanguo away.

Lu Songyuan stayed silent. He understood what this meant. So did Zhang Lijun and Liu Hongbing.

Liu Hongbing stood up and said, "I’ll go make some calls."

Ji Xiangdong looked at Lu Songyuan and said, "Let’s not tell mother and Xiaobei about this yet. It’ll be over soon."

Lu Songyuan shook his head: "Are you hiding something from me? This isn’t just about Zhanguo disobeying orders, is it?"

"No, it’s just about illicit possession of firearms. It’s not a big deal."

Ji Xiangdong calmly stated, though internally he was shocked by what Lu Zhanguo had said.

Lu Zhanguo said, "This wasn’t just a simple act of revenge. Someone wanted to use the criminals to get rid of me, or, to use Mo Wang to achieve their objectives."

In short, Lu Zhanguo had been set up by someone higher up this time.