Chapter 233: Damn You, Tang Qiqi
"Lost her?" Zhang Yang repeated in surprise. At the same time, he also heard Ao Tian's extremely shocked tone on the other end, saying exactly the same thing.
The two hung up the phone at the same time, looked at each other, and then stood up simultaneously.
"Crap!" Zhang Yang glanced at Ao Tian. It looked like that woman wanted mutual destruction with him, heading straight for the villa. Damn, ruthless enough. If he had known, he would have killed her back then... Sigh, she was the target of an M-level mission, damn it!
After exchanging information, the three didn't waste words and rushed toward the villa.
Zhang Yang greeted Xu Dantong and Xu Danying, telling them to wait there, while the three of them each drove their own cars at full speed toward the villa.
"Do you really have to drive that fast?" While Zhang Yang was fully focused on driving, Ao Tian, who had been left far behind, weakly sent a text message.
Immediately afterward came another one, from Pan Ningning.
"Be careful of her luring-the-tiger-away strategy."
If anyone else had said it, Zhang Yang wouldn't have believed it. But coming from Pan Ningning, he did. After all, they were twins, and their thoughts tended to be similar.
"Then what should I do?" Zhang Yang quickly replied.
"Which woman do you love the most?"
Zhang Yang looked at the message on his phone and fell silent. Pan Ningning meant that her sister would probably kill the woman most important to him! These cold-blooded twin sisters!
Zhang Yang hesitated for a moment and replied to her.
"Return to the villa!"
Which one did he love the most? Right. Qiao Xier was in the lab now. Lulu was home alone, Yang Fei was in the library, Yang Jing and Gao Qi were at the hospital. Where should he go? All were precious to him.
So he could only return to the villa, because he was already nearby, and the doctor also said the last sighting was toward the villa.
Zhang Yang drove with one hand while frantically calling everyone with the other. Apparently doing this violated the new traffic regulations...
Lulu, currently safe; Yang Fei, safe; Gao Qi, safe; Yang Jing, safe; Qiao Xier... didn't pick up. If she was in the lab, she usually wouldn't take her phone in.
"Idiot, didn't you plant a tracker on Tang Qiqi?" Pan Ningning suddenly texted him again.
Zhang Yang slapped his forehead. Damn, how could he forget? He quickly took out his phone and called Lulu, telling her to find Tang Qiqi's location. The tracking system was on the fifth floor next to the Shadow System, and only Lulu could operate it now.
In less than a minute, Lulu replied.
"Yangzi, she's currently at the intersection of Linhai Road and Government Avenue, two kilometers from the villa..."
"What? Government Avenue and Linhai Road intersection? Isn't that right after exiting the undersea tunnel?" Zhang Yang turned his head slightly. The place she mentioned was near his current location.
"Yangzi, the target is not moving..."
Damn! Zhang Yang instantly understood. Tang Qiqi's target was still him.
But she used throwing knives—how could she attack him on a fast-moving highway?
But soon he understood. As the car turned, he saw a black Volkswagen Sagitar blocking the two-lane road leading to the villa.
It appeared too suddenly, and Zhang Yang was already speeding. He could only instinctively slam the brakes.
Thirty meters... twenty-five meters... twenty-three meters...
The Land Rover's tires left thick black smoke and emitted a sharp, screeching braking sound caused by intense friction.
"Nuwa System Warning... Within twenty meters, a threat to the system owner's life has been detected. Target: Type 92 5.8mm pistol. Estimated right-side shot in three seconds..."
Zhang Yang was speechless. Three seconds? Damn! Wasn't she supposed to be just a throwing-knife expert?
The Land Rover wasn't bulletproof at all. And because he braked, the car still moved forward due to inertia, heading straight toward the Sagitar blocking the road.
Twenty meters. Tang Qiqi might be inside the car or in the nearby dense grass. But since the system warned of a right-side shot, she must be hiding in the grass.
This woman really was going all in. Damn it. He regretted not finishing her back then—if not killing her, at least keeping her captive.
"Bang!" Even though Zhang Yang stomped the brakes desperately, at over a hundred kilometers per hour, the Land Rover still slammed into the Sagitar.
The airbag burst open, pressing tightly against Zhang Yang's chest.
"Fuck!" Misfortune never comes alone. But there was still a little time before the system's predicted shooting moment. And Zhang Yang was prepared—he had unfastened the seatbelt, and the collision wasn't too severe. He immediately reached for the door, pushed it open through the gap, and dived out. His butt had just hit the ground when—
A crisp gunshot rang out right above his scalp. If he were twenty centimeters shorter, his head would've exploded.
Another two shots followed—one grazing the ground, one hitting the car door on the other side and penetrating through.
The one hitting the car door wasn't much, but the ground shot sent fragments flying, and one unlucky shard scraped his elbow.
It didn't pierce the skin deeply, but it instantly tore a terrifying bloody gash on his elbow, making Zhang Yang nearly tear up from the pain.
Speechless, Zhang Yang clutched his elbow and looked ahead. Before him was open land with nowhere to hide. If he tried to run, he'd be choosing death against a professional killer with a gun.
So he could only rely on the two cars—and pray Pan Ningning quickly caught up.
But despair set in. Because he'd been in a rush earlier, he drove like a racecar and left Pan Ningning and Ao Tian at least ten minutes behind. And they weren't familiar with the roads.
This meant he would have to face, empty-handed, a powerful female assassin filled with hatred and determined to kill him. And she had a gun.
Blood had soaked his sleeve. From holding back the pain, sweat dripped from his forehead.
Damn it, he regretted it so much! All of this was self-inflicted. If he hadn't tried to be clever, he wouldn't be in this situation.
But right now—he had to stay calm. Stay calm!
Zhang Yang leaned against the Land Rover's rear tire, body low. The system had said Tang Qiqi held a Type 92 pistol. Based on the calculation, she should be ten-plus meters away.
Zhang Yang didn't know much about guns, but he knew a pistol couldn't pierce both tires. As long as she didn't rush forward, he was temporarily safe.
But of course, since Tang Qiqi wanted to kill him, she wouldn't just hide in the grass waiting for him to break.
Now it depended on whether she knew he had backup. If not, Zhang Yang guessed she would keep observing. She knew his close-combat ability and wouldn't take extreme risks.
But Zhang Yang couldn't rely on that assumption. He had to calm down and listen carefully. Once she moved, he needed a countermeasure.
"Rustle." Maybe due to the bend in the road, no other cars were passing.
Without noise interference, Zhang Yang's ears picked up faint sounds of grass being brushed aside.
Then came the soft crunch of military boots stepping on dirt.
Tang Qiqi was still in the grass but obviously moving. She must've judged that Zhang Yang wouldn't dare lift his head and was preparing to attack.
Zhang Yang held his breath. Blood from his elbow dripped onto the ground, forming a patch the size of two fists.
The blood trail exposed his location. The sounds behind the grass grew clearer, then fainter, and eventually disappeared.
Zhang Yang tensed. She had emerged from the grass.
He needed something to fight back with. He felt around—only an iPhone 5. Painful...
As his hand touched the phone, he suddenly remembered—no, he had something else: Tang Qiqi's throwing knife.
It was in his coat pocket.
He thought for a moment, then quickly pulled out the throwing knife. His injured hand had no strength—unfortunately it was his right—so he held it in his left.
His greatest disadvantage now was that Tang Qiqi knew his position and could choose how to attack. He could only hide behind the tire, unsure of her direction, relying solely on his hearing.
"Swish!" A faint sound appeared. Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes. Left side!
He slightly raised his body, ready to strike.
"Zhang Yang, I know where you are!" Just as Zhang Yang was at peak tension, Tang Qiqi's cold, venomous voice rang out.
"Today, I will use your blood to honor my fallen fellow disciples."
"I won't kill you right away. I want to watch your blood drain slowly..."
Hearing this, Zhang Yang let out a bitter smile. Since she was talking, he could only try learning throwing-knife technique. Desperate measures—"System Assistant, I want to learn Throwing Knife Technique..."
[Advanced Throwing Knife Technique requires consuming five system points. Accept? ]
"Accept!" When Zhang Yang heard her speak, he relaxed slightly. If she spoke, it meant she was also worried—hesitating whether she could kill him in one shot.
And using verbal threats first was an attempt to crush his psychological defenses.
Unfortunately for her, she picked the wrong target.
He didn't expect Advanced Throwing Knife Technique to cost only five points. Zhang Yang was delighted. The system deducted the points and uploaded the technique into his mind.
The content was minimal but practical. Now it was all up to luck.
"Zhang Yang!" Tang Qiqi shouted again, her tone heavier this time. The sound of her boots stepping on the ground grew louder. She was losing patience.