Liu Li asked.
He Qiao was amused and exasperated. It wasn't just Liu Li asking; he himself wanted to ask if they had hired the wrong person. However, he didn't ask. He held up the binoculars, his gaze fixed on the nearby apartment, afraid to miss even a second.
Too fierce.
The way Zhang Wei dealt with ghosts made He Qiao and the others finally understand what "firepower suppression" and "fear of insufficient firepower" meant.
They inexplicably thought of the "fighting nation."
It was like the confrontation between the mercenary ghosts and Zhang Wei. Even if the mercenary ghosts had "powerful assistance" like ghost armaments, what of it? It seemed impressive, but compared to the "colossus" Zhang Wei, it was nothing.
The reason was simple.
Zhang Wei's firepower was far more intense, and crucially, he had the strength to back it up. When others provided powerful assistance to attack him, it could at best hinder his progress, but it couldn't stop Zhang Wei from advancing. With a Gatling gun, *da da da*, he routed the enemy, forcing them to retreat behind cover. If there was too much resistance, he would raise a rocket launcher and fire from a distance, taking out both the cover and the ghosts.
At this moment.
To Lin Tong and the others, a battle between the fighting nation and... was unfolding in the apartment building. The only difference was that Zhang Wei hadn't shouted "Ura."
He Qiao and his group were immersed in shock.
At the same moment.
Inside the apartment.
The mercenary ghosts were also immersed in shock, and in the terror of the ongoing battle.
"Retreat, cover our retreat!"
A ghost wearing a bulletproof vest was holding a machine gun, its muzzle spitting fire continuously, *da da da*, firing down the corridor towards the "Terminator."
[Ding! Mercenary ghosts are terrified. Shit, what kind of monster is this.]
[Host gains System Points +200]
Looking at Zhang Wei, who was holding a Gatling gun and walking towards them, unfazed by the bullets hitting his body.
All the mercenary ghosts, though still firing and retreating, were already panicking.
Was this really a ghost exorcist from Great Xia?
Why was he so different from the Great Xia exorcists they had encountered before?
Could it be.
This was the true face of Great Xia's ghost exorcists?
This wasn't just their wild speculation; they suddenly remembered a saying circulating in the international mercenary community.
[Ding! Mercenary ghosts are extremely terrified. Fuck! So the saying that 'Great Xia is a forbidden land for mercenaries' wasn't a joke, it's real.]
[Host gains System Points +210]
"I wish we hadn't chosen Great Xia, we should have gone to another country."
The bulletproof vest ghost muttered regretfully. Without forgetting, it gritted its teeth, took out a flashbang, pulled the pin, and threw it at Zhang Wei.
*Boom!!*
The flashbang exploded.
They took the opportunity to retreat to the sixth floor.
At this moment.
Through the blinding light of the flashbang, a figure emerged – it was Zhang Wei. His gaze, behind the sunglasses, shifted towards the stairs leading to the sixth floor. He walked forward, reloading his Gatling gun.
Thus.
Zhang Wei forced the mercenary ghosts all the way from the first floor to the twelfth and top floor, intending to cut off their retreat.
...
On the other side.
Just as Zhang Wei was pushing the mercenary ghosts to the twelfth floor, and He Qiao and the others were focused on Zhang Wei.
At the back door of the apartment building, three burly men sneaked in.
It was a middle-aged man with two younger men, one of whom was carrying a baseball bat. They looked fierce, with tattoos on their bodies. From their attire to their expressions, they looked like trouble. 138 Reading Network.
In fact.
They were loan sharks. Today, they had received news that someone who owed them usurious loans had recently fled to this area to hide. Now they were here to collect the debt.
At this time.
The tattooed middle-aged man, with his two subordinates, entered the apartment. They didn't take the stairs but walked directly towards the elevator. Although the apartment was old and the corridors had no lights at night, there was still an elevator, and it would be a waste not to use it.
While waiting for the elevator to come down.
The young man with the bat looked around, his gaze falling on the bullet holes in the walls from the Gatling gun. He couldn't help but say:
"This apartment is really run-down. No wonder that Old Zhang is hiding here. Is this place even fit for humans? Look at the walls, they're full of holes. This apartment might collapse any minute."
To his words.
Another young man beside him rolled his eyes:
"Idiot, have you ever seen walls crack with such small holes? Those are clearly caused by termites. This apartment is a dangerous building, with so many termites to make it look like that."
The middle-aged tattooed man in the middle also spoke up. He glanced at the two of them and said with some exasperation:
"You're not much better. I think you're both idiots. That's a cement wall, and termites bite wood, not cement. Those are clearly holes drilled during renovation. Didn't you hear? There's renovation noise in this apartment late at night."
In his words.
The middle-aged tattooed man pointed upstairs, where the rumbling sounds from the apartment building could be faintly heard, seemingly from drilling during renovation.
"Uncle Li is right."
"So it's drilling. Uncle Li is indeed knowledgeable. Speaking of which, working hard is really not easy. They're still renovating late at night. The construction foreman is really inhumane."
As the two spoke.
The middle-aged tattooed man cast a sideways glance at them and slowly said:
"It's normal. Where is work easy these days? Everyone has to work overtime, their labor is exploited, and the pay is not proportional to the effort. Do you think every job is like ours, where we just beat people up and threaten them to get money?"
"Uncle Li is right. We do this easily. Uncle Li, we will definitely work hard."
"Me too, Uncle Li. Tell us what to do, and we'll do it."
Hearing their replies, the middle-aged tattooed man nodded with satisfaction, entered the elevator, pressed the button for the 12th floor, and continued:
"This is your first job. I'll lead the way for you. In the future, you'll have to collect debts yourselves. Remember to be ruthless when collecting debts, don't give those who borrow money a good look. Hit them if you have to, understand?"
"And if he dares to resist later, beat him hard. If he doesn't have money, smash his house and take away his valuables. You have to be ruthless. If you're not ruthless enough, you'll only be bullied."
He said, looking at the young man with the bat:
"This thing you're holding is useless, it can only scare people. If someone pushes you too far and pulls out a knife to hack you, bring a knife for self-defense next time. This kind of stick is useless."
As he spoke.
The young man with the bat nodded and casually asked:
"Bring a knife? What if the other party has a gun?"
The middle-aged tattooed man's mouth twitched. He slapped the other's head:
"Are you an idiot? This is Great Xia, do you think this is America, where you can get shot walking down the street? There are no guns here..."
*Ding!*
The elevator dinged, interrupting the middle-aged tattooed man's words. The elevator had reached its floor, and the doors opened.
Seeing this.
The middle-aged tattooed man and the other two didn't hesitate and prepared to step out.
However, just as they were about to step out.
Hearing the rumbling sound from outside the door, they couldn't help but recall their previous words. Indeed, they were renovating...
As the thought crossed their minds.
They were about to step out of the elevator.
But in the next second.
They stopped, frozen at the elevator door, their relaxed expressions replaced by horror. They suddenly realized why there were muzzle flashes at the elevator door, and why this rumbling sound didn't sound like renovation.
Instinctively.
They looked out of the elevator door.
The sight made their scalps tingle, and their fear reached unprecedented levels.
They saw that in the corridor outside the elevator door, to the left of the elevator door, a young man was holding a Gatling gun, wildly firing forward, which was to the right of the elevator door. And to the right of the elevator door, there were several "people" with ferocious appearances, looking more like ghosts than humans.
Those "people" were firing back at the young man with the Gatling gun, and a gunfight had erupted in the small corridor!
That's right!
It was a gunfight!
And it wasn't a police-gangster shootout, but a street-level firefight akin to urban warfare, with both sides using heavy weaponry.
Even.
As they poked their heads out, they saw the young man throw a small grenade, shouting "Kill!!!"
Then.
With a *boom*, a cover wall to the right of the elevator door was blown apart by the grenade, debris flying, and screams of ghosts filled the air. Clearly, several of the ghosts on the right had been killed.
Looking at the scene before them.
The three, the middle-aged tattooed man and his companions, as if they had rehearsed it, slowly retracted their heads and bodies from stepping out of the elevator, and then...
The three frantically pressed the "close door" button and the "1st floor" button, jabbing at it with their fingers as if their frantic stabbing would make the slowly closing elevator door close faster.
At the same time.
Their hearts pounded, their faces were filled with terror, and all that remained was fear, dread, and trembling.
"Damn it! Close, quick, close!!"
The young man who had been holding the bat, which had long since dropped from his hands in fear, shouted.
The other two were no better off. Even the middle-aged tattooed man, who had been acting like a boss earlier, was sweating profusely.
At this moment.
They had only one thought.
What the hell, is this necessary? We just want to collect a debt, does it have to be like this?
The other two young men were the most terrified. This was their first time collecting a debt, and they never imagined it would unfold like this. Their minds were filled with... Wasn't collecting debts supposed to be easy? This was a death wish!
For a moment.
They were filled with terror and inexplicably understood why the person who borrowed money was hiding here. If you hide here, you can't get the money back.
As the elevator stopped on the first floor and the doors opened.
The middle-aged tattooed man and the other two rushed out of the elevator, scrambling out of the apartment.
And.
Hearing the sounds from the top floor echoing in their ears, their minds went blank, and they lost the ability to think. They didn't have time to figure out what was happening, they just knew they had to call the police.
Then, when the police call was connected.
Not long after.
The police, hearing the voices of the middle-aged tattooed man and the others on the phone, looked bewildered and said:
"What are you talking about? Terminator 7? Daoist Priest vs. Fierce Ghosts: Armaments Edition? God of Cookery Part 2? Predator vs. Fierce Ghosts? What are you guys saying? Are you crazy? Do you know the consequences of making false reports?"
...
(PS: This chapter is 3100 words. I humbly ask for some free gifts from readers. 'Powered by love,' thank you very much!)