Chapter 11 Umbrella Enters the Field

“Rocket!” Wu Xiaobo shouted, then quickly dove to the ground. Before his voice faded, a rocket slammed into a concrete pillar. A huge explosion instantly erupted, and concrete fragments flew everywhere with immense force. He knew, of course, that the warning was useless. “Is everyone alright?” he asked loudly, dusting off his helmet.

“We’re fine, thankfully it was just an armor-piercing round.”

“Captain, Captain, I’m suppressed! Watch out for the heavy machine gun!” Yang Zi’s anxious voice came through the walkie-talkie.

Yang Zi had initially taken out several machine gunners on the rooftop, but then he was targeted. The enemy wasn’t new either; they immediately organized personnel to seize the high ground on the opposite building. An RPD light machine gun suppressed him so much that he could barely lift his head.

“Retreat to the second floor,” Wu Xiaobo ordered without hesitation. The group coordinated skillfully, suppressing fire while quickly alternating their retreat.

Just as they reached the stairwell, the dull yet suffocating sound of a DShK heavy machine gun finally rang out. This heavy machine gun, widely used by the Soviet army in World War II, didn’t have a very high rate of fire, but its powerful 12.7 × 108MM bullets were every infantryman’s nightmare. The seemingly sturdy walls of the building simply couldn’t withstand these machine gun bullets; the concrete exterior wall was shattered like tofu.

The bullets penetrated the outer wall, their power seemingly undiminished. Several WJ huddled in the corner of the stairwell, drenched in cold sweat and daring not to move. This wasn't a movie scene where a machine gun hit would only leave a small hole; in reality, a hit to the arm would blow the entire limb into shredded meat, and a hit to the torso would at least tear a person in half.

Wu Xiaobo silently calculated the number of bullets. A DShK typically used a 50-round belt, and even if the machine gunner used 3-5 round bursts, it wouldn’t last long. As expected, the gunfire stopped in less than half a minute.

Wu Xiaobo stood up and shouted, “They’re coming in! Prepare grenades! Number 4, go to the rooftop and help Yang Zi take out the machine gun.” At the same time, Luo Jialing’s clear voice came through the walkie-talkie, “Captain Wu, the enemy is trying to climb up from behind the building, prepare for engagement.”

Luo Jialing stood behind a wall, holding her Type 92 pistol at her chest with her right hand. She cautiously used her left hand to extend a small mirror she had picked up beyond the cover, carefully controlling the angle to observe the situation at a nearby window. A terrorist, with his head covered by a turban, had already climbed to the window and was carefully climbing in from outside.

Luo Jialing retracted the mirror. Before the man could get the AK rifle from his back, she quickly leaned out, holding the pistol with both hands, and ran forward while firing 5 shots at the target.

At this moment, the second person following behind had just poked half his head out of the window. Luo Jialing adjusted her aim, and with a “bang,” precisely hit the second person’s forehead. This was immediately followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground and a flurry of shouts.

At this point, Luo Jialing had just reached the window. She quickly holstered her pistol, picked up the AK47 rifle from the ground, switched the selector to full auto, pulled the bolt, and a bullet ejected. Then, with a gun-slinging posture reminiscent of an Africa native, she extended the rifle’s muzzle downwards out of the window, and with her right thumb, slammed the trigger. Almost instantly, an entire magazine of bullets was fired.

Afterward, Luo Jialing directly threw the empty rifle aside, drew her pistol again, and quickly glanced out the window using a quick peek. Three people lay on the ground below, one groaning, the other two motionless.

She didn’t hesitate. She switched the pistol to her left hand, knelt on her right knee, picked up the AK47 with her right hand, braced it in the crook of her right leg, pressed the magazine release, and removed the empty magazine. Then she took a new one from a nearby corpse and put it in. Forcing the bolt back to chamber a round, she completed a standard one-handed magazine reload tactical maneuver in less than 3 seconds.

At the same time, a WJ finally arrived. Seeing Luo Jialing’s actions, he quickly stood to the right of the window on alert. Luo Jialing naturally took up position on the left with her rifle. “Good thing only the railing here is broken. How’s it going downstairs?”

“We’ve already abandoned the first floor. Grenades are used up, only two smoke grenades left, and not much ammo. If the Navy doesn’t arrive soon, we’ll have to fight hand-to-hand.”

Luo Jialing said through clenched teeth, “I hope they make it in time.” Just as she spoke, her phone vibrated silently a few times in her pocket. Luo Jialing pulled out her phone; it was an unknown number. Luo Jialing answered the call, and her expression changed from confusion to surprise as she listened to the voice coming from the phone.

After hanging up, Luo Jialing pressed the PTT button on her shoulder walkie-talkie and said, “Captain Wu, friendly forces are entering the field. Be careful not to cause friendly fire.”

“The Navy is here?” a WJ nearby asked with a surprised voice.

Luo Jialing was about to reply when several sharp whistles came from outside the building, followed by dull explosions. “Is that an AT4? The 08 doesn’t sound like that,” one of the WJ asked, frowning.

“Of course it’s not the Navy.”

On the roof of a 7-story building, over five hundred meters from the factory, there was a makeshift sniper position. Bob Lee pulled the bolt of his Mk13 MOD5, ejecting a spent casing. “Rooftop machine gun eliminated. Hannibal can enter the field.” Curtis, standing nearby, grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, a cigarette dangling from his mouth. He discarded the fired AT4 rocket launcher and quickly lay down behind cover. “This job is pretty easy, isn’t it?”

Bob Lee watched through his scope, unmoving. “You’re celebrating too early.”

At the factory gate, an MRAP Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle charged in with unstoppable momentum, pushing aside the twisted wreckage of two pickup trucks, and stopped in front of the building where Luo Jialing and the others were located.

The M2 heavy machine gun on top swept the rebel forces, who had been stunned by the rocket, instantly emptying a belt of ammunition. After confirming there were no intact enemies in sight, the electric tailgate at the rear of the vehicle opened. Four armed personnel, wearing lightweight tactical vests and desert camouflage uniforms, and carrying SIG 553 assault rifles equipped with suppressors, rushed out of the vehicle.

The four coordinated skillfully. First, they threw two M84 stun grenades into the doorway. As the explosions sounded, the four quickly stormed into the building. Each was responsible for a firing sector, easily taking out three disoriented rebels. At this time, Wu Xiaobo and the others, who had retreated to the second floor, also seized the opportunity to eliminate the enemies who had already entered the stairwell.

Several armed police officers did not rashly go downstairs. Even though Luo Jialing had said that the newcomers were not enemies, they did not relax their vigilance. Wu Xiaobo pressed his back against the stairwell wall, his muzzle always pointed at the first-floor entrance, and shouted loudly in English, “This is China Armed Police, please state your identity.”

The newcomers were also very cautious. After clearing the enemies on the first floor, the four divided their tasks clearly: two guarded the building entrance, one was responsible for internal security, and the fourth person came to the stairwell entrance, slung his assault rifle behind his back, and said, “We are Umbrella security personnel, entrusted by the Yemen government to provide security services for your expatriates.”

Wu Xiaobo was a bit confused hearing the Chinese. The person who spoke was not only a woman but also sounded too young. While he hesitated, Luo Jialing had already come down with the expatriates. “I know who they are, it’s fine.” Suddenly, a huge explosion sounded, and the entire building shook twice. The voice downstairs continued, “Don’t worry, it’s normal demolition work.”

Some of the expatriates in the stairwell were so scared they collapsed to the ground. Luo Jialing cursed inwardly. She walked out alone first, looking at the smoke-filled first floor and the large hole blown in the north wall by explosives. Luo Jialing was covered in cold sweat; if the rebels had done this earlier, they would definitely not have lasted until now.

Looking at the M35 truck parked outside the wall, Luo Jialing instantly understood their intention. Without saying a word of nonsense, she immediately organized the armed police and expatriates to board the truck. “Lieutenant Luo, speed up. We only have 5 minutes. Rebel reinforcements will arrive very soon.”

Lu Jiacheng, holding his son Lu Xuan, nervously followed at the back of the group. A pair of arms reached out from beside him and took Lu Xuan. A girl’s voice said, “Uncle Lu, follow me.” Before Lu Jiacheng could react, he was pulled towards the MRAP at the entrance.

“You’re Dong Qin?” Lu Jiacheng asked in surprise, looking at the girl in front of him, who was fully armed, with her face covered by a black cloth, a ponytail, and wearing a baseball cap.

The girl habitually blinked, not answering. She had the two sit in the MRAP’s suspended seats, helped Lu Xuan fasten his seatbelt, and said, “This car is the safest, just sit tight.” She then pinched Lu Xuan’s cheek. “Be a good boy, I’ll take you on a boat later.” Turning to Lu Jiacheng, she said, “Uncle Lu, my brother has already gone to Auntie’s side, so you can rest assured.”

“Curtis, prepare to withdraw,” Bob Lee stood up, removed the suppressor from his rifle, folded the AICS stock, and packed it into a rectangular travel bag. He picked up the MK18 short assault rifle he had set aside and rushed downstairs with Curtis.