Chapter 276: Ambushed
The next day early in the morning, the security around Jiuqu River Airport was almost raised to the highest level.
The security regiment responsible for airport defense was fully mobilized, with sentries every three steps and posts every five steps, sealing off the entire airport airtight.
Fully armed soldiers tirelessly scanned every corner.
Inside the airport, teams of soldiers conducted dragnet-style searches, repeatedly checking hangars, control tower, runways, and even every manhole cover in the sewers over and over.
In the words of those watching American guys, now forget a Japanese spy—even a mouse couldn’t slip out of this area without alerting anyone.
Doolittle and other American guys forcibly dragged from their hangovers, along with Pi Ruoyu, Li Gaoyuan, Lu Shaobin, and other officers staying behind in Wuta County, all arrived early at the airport apron, standing in the cold wind, craning their necks in anticipation.
Around ten twenty in the morning.
From the end of the horizon came a deep and majestic engine roar, growing from far to near.
Everyone’s spirits lifted!
Soon, more than ten huge four-engine C-54 Skymaster transport planes, like soaring eagles, appeared in the blue sky. Their massive bodies briefly blocked the sunlight, casting huge shadows on the ground.
Among the crowd on the airport, an irrepressible excited commotion erupted.
Soon, the first C-54 transport plane, guided by the control tower, steadily descended, aligned perfectly with the runway, and its huge wheels emitted a piercing friction sound upon touching the ground, kicking up a wisp of blue smoke.
As the cabin door slowly opened, the hydraulic stairs smoothly lowered, and a tall figure appeared at the cabin door.
Dressed in a crisp gray military uniform with no extra accessories, polished shiny riding boots, and a face that looked exceptionally young yet steady in the sunlight.
Su Yaoyang was back.
He just stood there quietly, his gaze sweeping over the dense crowd below, and an invisible aura unique to the supreme commander instantly enveloped the entire apron.
“Attention…”
The adjutant nearby shouted loudly.
“Swish!”
Doolittle, Li Gaoyuan, and all the militia officers present snapped their feet together, stood straight, raised their right hands, and saluted the figure on the stairs with the most standard military salute.
“Commander… safe travels!” Pi Ruoyu and Third Regiment Commander Lu Shaobin were the first to step forward.
“Ruoyu, Shaobin, thanks for the hard work at home while I was away.”
Su Yaoyang skipped the pleasantries, directly reached out, and firmly patted their shoulders, the solid force warming their hearts.
Then, he turned to the other side.
“Boss! Welcome back!”
Doolittle smiled and hugged Su Yaoyang.
One-Eyed Jack behind him and a group of American pilots, though saluting, had much more casual postures.
“Jimmy!”
Su Yaoyang smiled and walked toward Doolittle, using an American-style nickname to close the distance, “While I was away, you didn’t dismantle my precious babies（ P-47 fighters）, right? And how much whiskey do I have left in the club?”
“Report to the boss!”
Doolittle laughed, “Planes are intact, ready to kick Japanese asses anytime! As for the whiskey… they made outstanding contributions to maintaining high morale!”
“Hahaha!” The American guys burst into laughter.
One-Eyed Jack’s good eye gleamed as he grinned, “Boss, as long as your bonuses come through, we can bomb Tokyo!”
“There will be a time you’ll be satisfied.”
Su Yaoyang’s smile carried strong confidence, then his gaze passed over the group of soldiers and fell on a vibrant scenic line not far away.
Elizabeth led her medical team, standing quietly there.
Dressed in clean, neat nurse uniforms, they were like beautiful flowers amid the airport filled with steel, gunpowder, and masculine hormones.
Su Yaoyang came before them, his voice softening considerably.
“Miss Elizabeth.”
His voice carried a teasing smile, “Seeing you all still so radiant puts me at ease. Looks like Tom and those bastards haven’t caused you too much trouble.”
As the medical team’s captain, Elizabeth had a pair of blue eyes and a tall, voluptuous figure; even the loose nurse uniform couldn’t fully hide her stunning curves.
She kept a professional smile on her face, but a faint blush quietly crept up her ears.
“They… just have too much energy, Commander. But it’s all under control.” She covered her mouth with a smile, “In any case, welcome back safely.”
Su Yaoyang’s gaze turned to Anna and the other young nurses behind her.
Anna’s already astonishingly full bosom rose and fell slightly with her excited breathing, the pair of snowy, plump mounds nearly bursting the buttons on her chest.
He smiled playfully, “Ladies, enjoy this rare leisure time, because starting tomorrow, you probably won’t even have time for a good sleep. I’ve brought back new missions with countless wounded waiting for you. I hope your medical supplies are sufficient.”
This half-joking remark brought varied expressions to the young nurses’ faces—some nervous, some excited. Anna boldly replied, “As long as you share Tom and their bonuses with us, boss, we’re willing to work twenty-four hours!”
“I can consider that request—if you’re willing to marry Tom, I can promise you right now that from now on, all his bonuses will be collected by you!” Su Yaoyang’s words triggered roaring laughter.
“God… tell me this isn’t real!” For a moment, everyone except Tom laughed.
This interaction completely turned the airport’s tense, serious atmosphere into one of relaxed liveliness.
After greeting all core personnel, Su Yaoyang, escorted by a crowd of officers, headed to the long-waiting black sedan.
After brief exchanges, he didn’t linger at the airport and got into one of the three black sedans already waiting with Pi Ruoyu.
Then, two trucks loaded with fully armed guard soldiers started their engines, sandwiching the sedan front and back, forming a convoy that sped toward the county seat.
The black sedan smoothly drove along the dirt road to Wuta County, with fields and villages outside the window rapidly receding.
Inside the car, Su Yaoyang leaned back on the soft leather seat.
Chief of Staff Pi Ruoyu beside him was quietly reporting on recent important militia affairs.
The convoy advanced in standard escort formation: a truck full of guard soldiers leading, the black sedan carrying Su Yaoyang and Pi Ruoyu in the middle, followed by another sedan with entourage personnel, and a truck full of soldiers bringing up the rear.
Everything appeared orderly and calm, like this early summer afternoon.
When the convoy entered a section flanked by low hills and dense bushes, the county silhouette was already faintly visible, less than two kilometers away.
At that moment…
“Boom…”
A terrifying roar capable of shattering eardrums erupted without warning!
An orange-red fireball mixed with black smoke and dirt suddenly shot up from under the leading truck.
The several-ton military truck, like a toy kicked by a child, was instantly lifted off the ground by the massive explosion, its body twisting into a shapeless mass of scrap metal in the air. The more than ten soldiers on board didn’t even have time to scream before being torn to pieces in the flames and shockwave!
The huge shockwave followed closely, slamming hard into Su Yaoyang’s sedan.
“Clang!” With a massive bang, the sedan jolted violently to one side, the windows instantly covered in spiderweb cracks, then shattering completely with a crash!
“Enemy attack!”
Almost simultaneously with the explosion, Pi Ruoyu beside him issued the warning.
He instinctively lunged toward Su Yaoyang, trying to shield him with his body.
Su Yaoyang’s body was flung hard against the door by the massive inertia, his forehead smashing heavily into the window frame, warm liquid instantly flowing down. Intense ringing in his ears and stars in his vision dazed him for a moment, but the next second, a bone-chilling killing intent replaced all dizziness!
The driver was scared out of his wits by the sudden event and instinctively slammed on the brakes. Tires screeched long marks on the dirt road, and the entire convoy came to a chaotic halt.
Before the people inside could react.
“Da-da-da-da-da-da…”
The unique rapid, crisp roar of a Czech light machine gun suddenly erupted from a dirt slope on one side of the road!
More than ten agents in black tights and face-covering black cloths, like demons from hell, leaped out from bushes and slopes on both sides of the road.
Their movements swift and deadly, using the machine gun for cover, their submachine guns and rifles spat dense fire nets, madly sweeping toward the three black sedans in the middle!
“Ding-ding-dang-dang… bang-bang-bang!”
Bullets hammered the sedan’s steel plates like hail, sparking densely.
The car body was riddled with holes, emitting piercing metallic wails. Several clerical entourage in the other sedan were instantly turned into bloody sieves by bullets penetrating the body!
“Protect the commander… return fire… return fire…”
On the rear truck, a platoon leader roared with bloodshot eyes.
The more than ten soldiers on the truck finally snapped out of the explosion shock, roaring in fury, raising rifles and submachine guns, using the truck as cover to fiercely return fire at the Japanese agents!
Instantly, gunfire roared, bullets crisscrossing in the narrow road airspace, the air thick with acrid gunpowder and pungent blood.
“Quick! Reverse! Reverse now!” Pi Ruoyu yelled at the front-seat driver while pinning Su Yaoyang down.
The driver snapped awake, hands trembling as he shifted to reverse and floored the accelerator!
The sedan roared and frantically backed up.
But the Japanese agents’ target was clear: Su Yaoyang’s vehicle! Several agents ignored bullets from the rear truck, charging fearlessly to throw grenades!
“Protect the chief!”
The soldiers on the rear truck were blood-mad! They knew every extra second they held meant more chance for their commander to survive!
They abandoned all cover, stood tall, emptied their guns at maximum speed, using their flesh and blood to build a brief, heroic barrier for Su Yaoyang’s retreat!
One after another, soldiers fell shot, blood staining the truck bed and dirt below.
But their sacrifice was worth it. Those short ten-plus seconds of desperate cover bought precious retreat time for Su Yaoyang’s sedan.
The sedan spun around while reversing wildly, tires kicking up clouds of dust, fleeing madly back the way it came.
Through the shattered rear window, the last thing Su Yaoyang saw was the rear truck engulfed in grenade firelight, and those young faces fighting to their final moments to protect him…
A towering, ice-cold rage exploded from his chest!
