The hunting dogs barked, disturbed, then were instantly quiet; they all sat obediently on their haunches.
A group of female White Hun warriors appeared from the thick forest. They held torches of fire and the crackling flames chased away the darkness of the forest. However, the flames were unable to s.h.i.+ne light through the foliage. They could only light up over ten metres of the surrounding area and this was vastly inadequate.
“d.a.m.n. They lost the trail of those two,” said a female White Hun warrior.
An old matronly woman squatted on the ground and took a look, then touched the gra.s.s and looked up at the tree canopy above her head. She was the most experienced hunter in the White Hun Tribe. She seemed to have discovered something and she looked surprised.
Just then, a tall, st.u.r.dy woman walked to the old woman. Her features were delicate, and wonderfully s.p.a.ced on her pretty face - a face so beautifully painting-like it couldn’t be real. She looked like she had practically no Asian blood - head of long, blonde hair, skin as white as jade, eyes as blue as the bluest gems. She looked like a pure White Hun from the fifth or sixth century.
This woman’s name was Dayetia, the chief of this isolated White Hun Tribe. She had commanded the previous battle and it was also she who had led the tribe’s best on a chase after Xia Lei and Tang Yu-Yan.
“Dayetia, those two can’t have disappeared up in to the sky. I suspect they’ve climbed up the trees and away. Our dogs cannot climb trees. Those two are sly,” said the old woman.
A young warrior named Szlamy said, “One man, one woman, both Chinese. I saw them with my own eyes. Amu was killed by that woman. She flung a throwing knife into Amu’s brain and Amu died on the spot.”
Dayetia raised the torch in her hand high, lighting up the tree canopy. She quickly spotted a broken twig - the break looked fresh. She frowned at the discovery. “Old one, you seem to be right. But how did those two Chinese manage to climb up such a tall tree? There are no marks on the trunk. If you say that the Chinese escaped via the trees, then are they monkeys?”
The freshly-broken twig was evidence and could prove that Xia Lei and Tang Yu-Yan had escaped via the trees, but no one was willing to believe it. People were not monkeys, and even they who lived in this forest were unable to do this, so how were those two Chinese people able to do it?
At that moment, a sound suddenly echoed from a tree to one side.
Szlamy immediately raised the AK47 in her hand and shot at the tree canopy. Her movements were fluid and the old, tattered AK47 seemed like part of her body.
The shot shattered the silence of the forest. A squirrel dropped from the canopy after the gunshot.
“Squirrel,” laughed a woman, “Szlamy, you are the marksman of our tribe but you should not waste bullets on killing squirrels. It is not our enemy.”
Szlamy glared at the woman mocking her but she did not dare act out against her in front of Dayetia. She had witnessed the might of those two Chinese people, so she was still tense, even now.
“Enough,” said Dayetia, “Let’s go back. We search again when it is light.”
“When it’s light? That’s a few hours and those two Chinese people will probably escape,” said the old woman.
“Yeah,” Szlamy added, “Dayetia, we have lost their trail but we can split up and search. We are familiar with this forest. We will find them.”
The group of tribes-women agreed with what Szlamy had said.
“Those two Chinese people are strong, and very dangerous. We had their campsite surrounded but they were able to kill a path out. With power like this, and if we split into groups in our search… Which one of you can fend off their attacks?” Dayetia spoke sternly, “Enough. Return, all of you. We search again when it’s light.”
“But… What if those two escape?” Szlamy was not willing to let this go.
A strange smile appeared in the corners of Dayetia’s lips. “They will not escape.”
“Oh, I know what they came here for. Dayetia, I’d like to make a request of you…” Szlamy paused, “If we catch them, I want the male.”
“Haha! Szlamy wants a man now,” said someone and the group of women laughed.
Szlamy’s face turned red and she protested, “I already 18! I can have my own man now. Don’t you all have a few men of your own? Is it wrong for me to want one?”
“Szlamy, if you catch that Chinese man, I’ll trade my five men for him. How about that?” said a woman laughingly.
“No! Your men are dirty. What can they do other than tend the fields and cook meals? I don’t want them!” Szlamy rejected the proposal right away, as if Xia Lei was already caught and in her hands, and she felt him a rare commodity worth h.o.a.rding.
Dayetia patted Szlamy on the shoulder and brought her back the way they’d come.
Szlamy was shorter than Dayetia and was a short, nimble girl. She had a doll-like face but she had all the right curves in all the right places.
Szlamy was the marks-woman of the White Hun Tribe and also their little clown. The women in the tribe liked to joke with her and tease her all the time and this troubled her, so she wanted a man. According the the tribe’s traditions, men were not just property but a symbol of success. If she caught that Chinese man, she was going to make him her first husband. She would have just one but she felt that a strong man like him would be worth more than ten others. The women of the tribe would look at her differently then!
“Szlamy, do you really have your eye on this Chinese punk?” said Dayetia to Szlamy as they walked.
Szlamy’s face turned red. She did not say anything but she gave a small nod.
“Heehee… Okay. We will catch him alive,” said Dayetia with a laugh, “Then I will give him to you, as your husband. Our Szlamy has grown up. You should have your own man now.”
“Yep!” A bright smile appeared on Szlamy’s face. “I’ll feed my dog when we get back. Time to go catch him when daylight comes.”
“Hahaha…” Laughter boomed from behind her. Someone said, “Our Szlamy is going crazy with her want for a man.”
“Szlamy, it’ll hurt a lot the first time. Let me help you. I’ll help you get rid of your problem with a cuc.u.mber. I’m the best at using a cuc.u.mber,” said a woman with a smile.
“Might as well let me do a demonstration with your man for you. I’m very experienced,” said another woman.
“Hahaha…” Almost all the women were laughing.
Szlamy glared hotly at them all, then covered her ears…
Meanwhile, at a military base in eastern Afghanistan…
A Hercules transporter came down from the sky and landed on a runway. Some people in unmarked military clothing waited quietly at the end of the runway. The middle-aged man in charge had a sombre expression and it looked like something was weighing on his heart.
He was named Hanks, a colonel, and it was him who had led a line of special forces to the Afghan-Pakistani border to attack the Bureau 101 agents. His mission had been to capture Xia Lei and kill everyone else other than him but he had failed.
“Colonel, who did the higher-ups send to take over that mission this time?” asked a subordinate.
“The Middle East supervisor, Goodson,” said Hanks, “I heard that there’s a woman too but I don’t know who she is.”
“Woman?” The subordinate who’d spoken snorted, “Those guys sure like to bring women who do nothing but blow them.”
His voice was drowned out the sound of the approaching engines.
The Hercules transporter stopped on the runway and the door of the tail cargo hold opened. Some black-suited CIA agents walked out of the hold, with an old man in their midst. A woman also walked out a little later, dragging a luggage case behind her.
Black sungla.s.ses and a tight-fitting womens’ suit highlighted her great figure, especially that pair of perfect-looking long legs. They were perfect be it length, fullness or overall shape and no one could fault them. These legs were her trademark - she was Liang Si-Yao.
The special forces soldiers’ eyes went straight to Liang Si-Yao once she appeared and they did not hide the l.u.s.t and desire in their eyes.
Hanks strode over to welcome them and he shook hands with Goodson. They talked as they walked.
Their subordinates followed behind them at a bit of a distance. The CIA were expressionless and appeared cold. Hanks’ subordinates seemed rough and uncouth; they stared unabashedly at Liang Si-Yao, and some were even muttering something under their breaths.
“f.u.c.k. What’s a s.e.xy chick like that going to do here? Anyone gonna bet with me that I’d be able to get her out tonight and give me a blow?” said a special forces soldier softly as he stared greedily at Liang Si-Yao’s a.s.s.
His comrades close to him smiled nastily.
At that moment, Liang Si-Yao suddenly turned around and kicked the perverted b.a.s.t.a.r.d in the face.
Bam! The special forces soldier collapsed to the ground.
A soldier who’d gone through a hundred battles had gone down just like that - and the one who did the KO was a woman too!
The special forces soldiers goggled dumbly at Liang Si-Yao, and the leg she had kicked with was still in the air, steady as a sculpture; not one trace of strain.
Liang Si-Yao retracted her leg and swept her gaze over the soldiers as she said tonelessly, “Just this one time. Disrespect me again and you die.”
No one dared utter a word.