Chapter 327: Shock
Chapter 327: Chapter 327: Shock
The vines on Gu Xinsheng hadn’t retreated. They still covered his body and head, so when Qiao Wensong finally calmed down, the sight that greeted him was Gu Xinsheng looking like a wild man, completely covered in green vines.
This... this... this...
’Just a moment ago, when I was reporting to the Chief, he didn’t have any of these things on him. And even though he rolled on the ground to dodge the bullet, that shouldn’t have been enough to get him covered in this many vines.’
’Besides, no matter how I look at them, these vines don’t seem like they’re just stuck on him. It’s more like...’
’...they were woven together and worn like clothing.’
"What’s wrong?" Gu Xinsheng could feel the vines on his body, but he merely thought he’d picked some up when he rolled on the ground and didn’t pay it any mind. ’We’re deep in the mountains, after all. How could anyone stay perfectly clean?’ However, seeing the shocked look in Qiao Wensong’s eyes, he subconsciously glanced down.
The sight shocked him, too. Why did it look as if these vines were clothes he was wearing?
’This...’
Despite his shock at the scene before him, Qiao Wensong was still worried Gu Xinsheng might be injured. "Chief, are you hurt?" he asked quickly.
Gu Xinsheng was about to say he was fine, but he suddenly recalled the flash of pain in his back moments ago. The sensation was somewhat similar to being shot on past missions, only much, much fainter. So, on a strange impulse, he said to Qiao Wensong, "Take a look at my back."
"Right." Panic flared in Qiao Wensong’s chest. Thinking Gu Xinsheng had been shot in the back, he scrambled to look. What he saw stunned him even more.
He saw a sniper bullet lodged in the vines on Gu Xinsheng’s back!
’The Chief was really hit!’
Casting all other thoughts aside, Qiao Wensong said urgently, "Chief, don’t move."
Qiao Wensong worried that any further movement from Gu Xinsheng would make the wound bleed more. He carefully parted the vines on his back, trying to see how severe the injury was. At the same time, he took out the bandages he always carried, ready to apply pressure.
But as he parted the vines, Qiao Wensong froze. The sniper bullet hadn’t hit Gu Xinsheng at all. It was caught fast within the vines. Forget bleeding—even his clothes weren’t torn!
This...
’How is this possible!’
’This is a sniper round! How could a simple layer of vines possibly stop it?’
But the evidence was right in front of him. As much as Qiao Wensong didn’t want to believe it, he had to accept it as fact.
"What is it?" Gu Xinsheng asked, not understanding. "What’s going on?"
"Chief, look." Qiao Wensong removed the sniper bullet and handed it to Gu Xinsheng. "This round should have hit you, but it got caught in the vines, so you weren’t injured."
Gu Xinsheng’s heart jolted when he saw the bullet. He had definitely felt an impact just now and suspected it was the bullet. ’But the bullet hit me, yet I wasn’t hurt? It was stopped by the vines on my body?’
’This... is unbelievable!’
"You’re sure you pulled this from my back?" Gu Xinsheng asked, still finding it hard to believe.
"Yes." Qiao Wensong nodded. "Chief, these vines, they seem to be..."
Before Qiao Wensong could finish, his eyes went wide as saucers. He saw it clearly this time. He watched as the vines, as if alive, slithered off Gu Xinsheng’s body in a flash. They dropped to the ground and quickly shot into the nearby woods!
"What the—"
It wasn’t just Qiao Wensong; Gu Xinsheng had also noticed something was wrong. He glanced down at his now-bare body and sucked in a sharp breath. He and Qiao Wensong locked eyes, their faces masks of pure shock.
"Chief, that—that was—!" In all his years, Qiao Wensong had never seen anything so bizarre. ’Did those vines... deliberately protect the Chief? Did they block the bullet for him and then retreat, their mission accomplished?’
The thought was utterly insane.
But he had seen it with his own eyes. It was real. Otherwise, how could he explain the sniper bullet that had been caught in the vines?
"Let’s keep this between the two of us. Don’t mention it to anyone," Gu Xinsheng said to Qiao Wensong after a moment’s thought. ’Everyone is well aware of the current political climate. Spreading a story like this, especially from our position, would be handing our enemies a weapon to use against us.’
"I understand." Qiao Wensong nodded quickly. Even if Gu Xinsheng hadn’t given the order, he wouldn’t have dared to speak of something so unbelievable.
Gu Xinsheng took the sniper bullet he was holding and slipped it into his pocket. He said only one thing: "That sniper’s aim seems a bit off today."
"Agreed." Qiao Wensong nodded. He then glanced toward the woods where the vines had vanished, a chill creeping up his spine. ’What in the world *were* those things?’
Meanwhile, Su Qing and her party, who were rushing back, heard the sound of gunfire from up ahead.
Liu Peng stopped short, exclaiming in alarm, "Damn it, that’s from the Chief’s position!"
Without another word, he ignored the prisoners stumbling behind him, their hands bound, and yanked on the rope, breaking into a run. The men had no choice but to scramble to keep up, crying out in pain.
’Su Qing knew exactly what had happened, but she couldn’t let on.’ So she, along with Cheng Beilin and Du Haoran, followed Liu Peng back at a run.
"Chief! Chief, are you all right?" Liu Peng gasped, panting as he arrived. Seeing Gu Xinsheng standing there unharmed, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
’Thank God, the Chief’s okay. If anything had happened, I’d never have forgiven myself.’
"I’m fine." Gu Xinsheng’s gaze fell on the string of people Liu Peng and Su Qing were hauling along, and he nodded. "Well done. You even managed to round up a few more on your way back."
Su Qing pointed at one of the men. "This is one of their leaders," she told Gu Xinsheng. "They call him Brother Qi. I heard his underlings shouting it."
Brother Qi shot Su Qing an angry glare.
Liu Peng saw the look and slapped Brother Qi on the back of the head. "What are you glaring at? You’re in for a world of hurt."
Fuming but not daring to speak, Brother Qi pressed his lips together in silent indignation.
Gu Xinsheng was relieved to see that Su Qing’s group had returned safely. Just then, Su Hao also came back, though his expression was rather strange.
"Captain Su, did you get the sniper?" Qiao Wensong asked.
Su Hao nodded. "We got him, it’s just..."
"Just what?" Qiao Wensong asked, his curiosity piqued by Su Hao’s odd expression.
Su Hao explained, "It was strange. When we rushed over, we did find a sniper at the three o’clock position. But he didn’t react to our approach at all. When we got closer, we found he’d apparently been choked unconscious by something. There was a ring of red marks around his neck."
A ring of red marks on his neck!
Gu Xinsheng and Qiao Wensong involuntarily exchanged a look, their minds immediately flashing to the image of the vines.