Under the moonlight

Chapter 164 Back to the Shed

Xu Ao and the others carefully went down to the second floor. They hid in the corner and listened intently. It was indeed very quiet, except for the occasional painful groans from a few people downstairs.

Xu Ao and his group quickly reached the hall. The others helped Xu Ao settle the men in. Then they went to the hall entrance, only to find the door unlocked. It seemed these mercenaries weren't worried about them escaping at all. Were they not worried, or did they simply not care that they might escape? However, recalling what Saudi Arabia had said earlier, it seemed he didn't care. What kind of disaster could have occurred here that made them so suddenly relax their long-standing control? When the rancher opened the tightly closed cage door, it meant death was about to descend.

A bad premonition sent a shiver down Xu Ao's spine, and his scalp tingled. He glanced back at the indignant faces behind him, then turned back to gaze at the inky night. He steadied himself; things had come to this point, like an arrow on a bowstring, with no turning back.

“That should be their armory. Lead the way.” Xu Ao pointed to the flickering lights in the distance. Immediately, someone stepped forward and looked in the direction he was pointing. Having been locked in that small room for too long, he seemed unable to adjust to the scene before him. After looking for a while, he said, “That’s our warehouse where we store our crystal jewelry. The climate here is humid and hot. Only there is a desiccant that keeps it dry.”

"Okay, let's go, lead the way." Xu Ao didn't say much and just said to him. The man nodded and walked in front, and the crowd behind him followed. As they walked down the stairs, they looked around from time to time. The entire city was dark, except for the bright lights in the buildings behind them. Every now and then, someone would let out an incredulous exclamation, and someone would involuntarily let out a few sighs. But most people looked angry and sad.

Ignoring their emotions, they followed the man's footsteps and soon reached the perimeter of the warehouse. Xu Ao quickly told them to stop, and they hid behind a clump of thick grass, crouching down to observe the movements inside.

There wasn't a single mercenary at the warehouse entrance, but angry shouts could be heard from inside from time to time. Xu Ao recognized Saudi Arabia's voice, and his anger was palpable even from the sound alone.

"Idiots! All idiots! They came prepared, we've all been fooled!" Then came the sound of something being smashed on the ground. Xu Ao wondered what could have made him so angry. However, the current situation wasn't optimistic for them. Saudi Arabia had suffered a setback here and would definitely rush back as soon as possible, which would be disastrous for them!

"Hurry up, let's go to the shed area!" Xu Ao whispered to the people behind him. Although they didn't know why, seeing the anxiety and fear on Xu Ao's face, they quickly turned around and headed towards the shed area. No matter what the situation was like there, it was the best place to go at the moment.

Fortunately, the shed area wasn't too far from the warehouse. They walked very fast, as if some deadly monster was chasing them from the shadows. None of them wanted to go back to that little hut and be imprisoned again, to end their lives in a state of panic and helplessness. Such a death would be too hasty and not worth it.

Soon, Xu Ao saw a familiar place. They had reached the outer edge of the shed area. At this point, he didn't care about anything else. Xu Ao reached out and tore open a ring of barbed wire blocking the outside. The sharp wire pierced his skin, and his hand immediately felt a stinging pain. But compared to the unknown fear behind him, this was nothing. The others did the same as Xu Ao, tearing a large hole in the barbed wire fence. Then they crawled into the shed area.

Xu Ao looked at the numerous tents before him and shouted, "Yuri! Nasha!" As his voice faded, the empty tent area seemed to fall into slumber, only silence responding to him. Xu Ao called their names again, and just when he thought the whole world had abandoned them, Huang Meng ran out of the tent in front: "Xu Ao, Xu Ao!"

Xu Ao turned around to look ahead. Huang Meng was already running towards him. Before he could see her face clearly, she crashed into his arms. Xu Ao held Huang Meng tightly, and the pain spreading throughout his body made him groan softly, "Hiss~ Ah~"

Hearing this, Huang Meng quickly let go of him. "How are you? How are you?" Xu Ao looked down at the girl in front of him, her face streaked with tears and tears streaming from her eyes. He reached out and gently stroked her forehead, his hand tracing her hair down her soft, boneless back. So this is what it feels like to survive a disaster. Before seeing her, he thought that if he had died, he would have died. Whether he died in the line of duty or was in an accident, he would have been content to face the mercenaries head-on without admitting defeat. But as soon as he saw her, his whole being, his whole heart, felt like it had been injected with new blood and he had come back to life. He was even grateful that he had escaped and that he could hold her in his arms.

"I'm fine, I just got beaten up, nothing serious." Xu Ao reached out and cupped her cheeks, his eyes full of tenderness, glossing over the torment and pain he had just endured.

"Hello, Xu Ao." Huang Meng looked at the dark red on his forehead and before she could ask any questions, Vara's voice came from behind her. "Who are these people?" Vara immediately saw the people standing behind Xu Ao. He recognized a few of them and had brought them food many times before. However, they were also covered in dust and dirt now.

"Hello, Vala, it's been a long time. How are you all doing?" The woman behind Vala said with a forced smile.

"You are Ms. Cheshire, and you are from the government?" Vala finally confirmed her suspicions upon hearing her voice, and then walked towards them incredulously. "We are fine, but it seems your lives aren't any better than ours. Those damned mercenaries, it's time to say goodbye to them. Would you like to hear our plan?" Vala looked at each of them seriously, and only after they looked at each other and nodded did Vala finally smile.

"Xu Ao, you guys come too." Vala said, pulling Xu Ao's arm forward. Huang Meng lagged behind, and with just a side glance, she saw a patch of bright red on Xu Ao's back. "Xu Ao, your back!" Hearing Huang Meng's exclamation, he inwardly cursed; his act of showing off was about to be exposed. He had thought she wouldn't see it, but alas...

"It's nothing, it's just that the wound is a bit..."

"Let's go into the tent first." Huang Meng glanced behind her and saw that many people were watching her. Everyone had more important things to do, so she had to suppress her heartache and turn her head away to force herself to speak.

Xu Ao knew she was worried about him, but he hadn't had time to heal his own wounds yet, so he lowered his head and followed Wala forward. Huang Meng looked at him, not only because of the glaring red marks on his body, but also because he was limping. The pain in her heart made her gasp for breath to keep from feeling suffocated. Huang Meng wiped away her tears, bit her lip, and followed them into the tent.