49: Gunfight! People are dead!

Kian could even hear his own heart pounding violently.

A few seconds later, a tiny black shadow poked in from under the door crack—it was a tactical scope!

They were professionals, as expected!

Kian didn't wait any longer.

He jerked his muzzle up, aimed at the silhouette outside the door, and ruthlessly pulled the trigger!

"Bang!"

The deafening gunshot completely shattered the silence of the Baghdad night!

A muffled grunt came from outside the door; clearly, someone had been hit.

"Fuck! He spotted us! Open fire!"

Lucas cursed angrily.

A storm of bullets instantly riddled the thick door like a sieve!

Wood chips flew everywhere, and plaster splattered!

"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!"

The dense sound of gunfire echoed throughout the entire floor.

Kian and his companion had long since hidden behind a load-bearing wall; bullets whizzed past their scalps, leaving rows of gruesome bullet holes on the wall.

"Brother Kian! Where did these bastards come from? Their firepower is too intense!" the companion yelled, raising his gun and firing blindly toward the doorway.

"How would I know!"

Kian gritted his teeth, his heart turning cold.

The opposition was well-equipped, tactically precise, and clearly coming for them.

Downstairs.

The gunfire woke up all the policemen who were still asleep.

They had just grabbed their guns, still not understanding the situation.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"

Team B, responsible for clearing the area, had already emerged from the shadows; a few rounds of precise shots sent this rabble straight to meet God.

"Downstairs is clear, we're coming up!"

Team B members quickly rushed up the stairs, joining the suppression fire on the presidential suite.

The firepower instantly doubled in intensity.

Kian and his companion were completely pinned down, unable to lift their heads; almost everything in the room that could be destroyed had been destroyed.

"Damn it! We're running out of ammo!" the companion said, sweating profusely.

They had come to Iraq this time primarily to handle business matters.

They hadn't brought much ammunition with them, and it was being consumed extremely quickly in this intense firefight.

"No, we can't keep burning through ammo like this!"

Kian glanced at the floor-to-ceiling window not far away.

"You go through the window! This is the fifteenth floor; find a way to jump to the balcony on the floor below! Go!"

He prepared to stay behind to cover their retreat.

"No!" the companion refused without a second thought. "Brother Kian, you go! Your life is worth more than mine! I'll cover you!"

"Cut the fucking crap! That's an order!" Kian roared.

Just as the two were arguing.

The companion's position moved slightly closer to the window.

"Bang!"

A dull sniper shot came from a distance.

The companion's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, red and white matter instantly bursting out and splattering the entire wall.

His body swayed and then collapsed limply.

"Lao Zhang!"

Kian's eyes were bloodshot with rage.

Before he could even grieve, another companion roared and stood up, wanting to avenge his brother.

"Fuck you!"

He had just raised his gun.

"Boom!"

A loud bang.

The suite door was kicked open violently!

Several fully armed silhouettes filed in!

Kian subconsciously shrank into the corner and pulled the trigger frantically at the silhouette rushing in at the front.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two bursts of blood exploded from the chest of the SEAL in the lead, and he fell down, screaming.

A clicking sound came from Kian's gun—the slide had locked back.

Out of ammo.

He only had two bullets left.

Kian's heart sank to the bottom.

His only hope now was that the previous firefight would alert the Iraqi military and police, and that they would arrive quickly.

If he could just hold out until then, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

"Don't move!"

Kian grabbed Benjamin, who was about to rush out, and pinned him down tightly.

Benjamin was the brother who had come with him, and also the only other living person left in the room.

"Brother Kian! Let's fight them! The worst that can happen is we die!"

Benjamin's eyes were bloodshot; the image of Lao Zhang getting his head blown off was still playing in his mind.

"Calm the fuck down!" Kian lowered his voice, staring fixedly at the moving shadows at the doorway.

"If they wanted us dead, we would already be mincemeat from that last spray of gunfire! They want us alive!"

Kian knew very clearly that since the opposition was so well-equipped and used both sniping and assault tactics, they were definitely not ordinary thugs.

They wouldn't go through so much trouble just for two corpses.

Capture alive! That was their goal!

As long as they wanted to capture them alive, they could stall!

Stall until the Iraqi military and police arrived!

At the doorway, Lucas gestured for his team to cease fire temporarily.

The order he had received was indeed to capture them alive if possible.

This Kian was the top agent in the Middle East for that arms tycoon David, and the key to unlocking David's wealth empire.

He must be captured alive!

Lucas licked his dry lips and shouted inside.

"Listen up, people inside! You are surrounded! Drop your weapons and crawl out!"

Less than three kilometers from the hotel was the Baghdad police station.

The duty phone was ringing off the hook!

"Hello! Is this the police station? Rashid Hotel! Gunfight! People are dead!"

"Oh my Allah! It's all gunfire! You must come quickly!"

The duty officer initially thought it was a gang shootout and was recording it lazily.

When the words "Rashid Hotel" were mentioned, the pen in his hand clattered onto the floor.

The police chief, who was drinking coffee and reading the newspaper in his office, had his door burst open by a subordinate who crawled and stumbled in.

"Chief! It's bad! Something happened at the Rashid Hotel! There's an intense gunfight!"

The chief's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

Rashid Hotel!

Wasn't that where President Saddam's esteemed guest, that big businessman from China, was staying?!

"Fuck! What are you standing there for!" The chief kicked over his chair and grabbed the submachine gun hanging on the wall.

"Everyone! Everyone who can move! Follow me to the Rashid Hotel! Fast! Fast! Fast!"

"If anything happens to the President's guest, we'll all be hanged in the square!"

Inside the presidential suite of the hotel.

Lucas lost his patience.

He didn't want to wait for the Iraqi police to come and ruin things.

"Flashbang!"

He ordered coldly.

A team member immediately pulled the pin and threw a flashbang through the shattered door frame.

"Zzz—"

A piercing electrical sound rang out.

Kian realized something was wrong and shouted, "Close your eyes!"

He jerked his head away and buried his face in the sofa cushion.

Benjamin was a beat too slow.

The entire room was engulfed in a blinding white light!

"Boom!"

The violent explosion followed immediately.

It felt as if countless red-hot needles had been jabbed into Benjamin's eyes.

His mind went blank; he screamed and collapsed to the floor, unable to see or hear anything.

Kian endured the ringing in his ears and the double vision; he knew this was his last chance!

Just as the SEALs rushed in, he sprang out from behind the sofa!

He didn't have a gun, but he was the strongest weapon himself!

Like a cheetah, he slammed directly into the team member closest to him.

The team member hadn't expected anyone to still be able to resist in this situation; caught off guard, his rifle was grabbed by Kian.

The two instantly grappled together!

"Bang!"

Kian gave it his all, smashing a fist into the opponent's chin. Taking advantage of the moment the opponent was in pain, he snatched the gun, turned, and fired!

The movements were fluid and seamless!

"Pfft!"

A spurt of blood shot from the thigh of another SEAL who had rushed in, and he fell to the ground screaming.

"Fuck!"

Lucas roared and raised his gun to fire.

"Pfft, pfft!"

Bullets instantly drilled into Kian's shoulder, kicking up two mists of blood.