Qin Ye and the others were startled and immediately whipped their heads around.

"What’s going on? Are there enemies behind us?"

"Young Master, something feels off. Everyone, on alert!"

Zhao Chen gave the order, feeling a sense of unease.

Meanwhile, Adika heard the explosion and was furious. He cursed at a burly man beside him.

"Lu Chuan, what kind of sloppy arrangement was this? I told you not to make any noise."

"Captain Adika, I gave specific instructions. Who knew this would still happen?"

’Those two idiots,’ Lu Chuan cursed internally.

"Everyone, with me!"

Adika waved his hand, leading his men in a full flanking maneuver.

At that moment, Long Ming, who was searching a room, froze when he heard the grenade explosion.

He immediately sensed something was wrong. The sound of the blast had come from behind him.

They had already cleared the area on their way here. Even if there were a few stragglers, it shouldn’t have warranted using a grenade.

The noise was too loud; it would easily reveal their position. The veterans on the team shouldn’t be making such a rookie mistake.

As this thought crossed Long Ming’s mind, he prepared to leave the room.

Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps outside. It was clear someone was sneaking in.

More than one person, too. He immediately made a dash for the window.

A moment later, a flashbang was thrown in.

BANG~

An intense light flared.

Two players from the All Stars Guild rushed in, only to find the room empty.

All they saw was an open window, the old curtains fluttering in the breeze.

The two immediately ran to the window and glanced out, then spoke in frustration.

"Damn it, he knew we were coming!"

"After him."

The two turned to run back outside.

CREAK!

Just then, the door of a wardrobe in the house was pushed open.

Hearing the sound, their hearts skipped a beat, and they instinctively spun around.

Long Ming emerged from the wardrobe, aimed his Viper at them, and rapidly pulled the trigger.

SWISH! SWISH!

Both men were hit multiple times and collapsed, their faces filled with disbelief.

After dealing with the two, Long Ming walked over to loot their bodies, taking a smoke grenade and a flashbang before quickly departing.

Meanwhile, just as Zhao Chen was preparing to retreat with Qin Ye and the others.

BANG!

Suddenly, the dull crack of a gunshot rang out.

One of the guards next to Qin Ye was hit by a sniper rifle. His body armor failed to stop the bullet, and he fell straight to the ground.

Just then, Adika and his thirty men launched a surprise attack, opening fire on Qin Ye’s group.

BANG! BANG!

"Crap, it’s an ambush! Spread out!"

Caught off guard, Qin Ye and his men could only scatter, some taking cover behind wrecked cars, others by the sides of buildings.

Zhao Chen and his men immediately launched a fierce counterattack, pulling the pins on high-explosive grenades and throwing them one after another.

Adika and his men scrambled for cover!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A series of explosions erupted.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Chen’s group laid down heavy return fire on Adika’s men.

BANG! BANG!

Adika’s assault faltered, and his men were forced to fire from behind cover.

The two sides traded fire continuously, sparks flying as bullets slammed into their cover.

"AHH~"

Members from both sides fell one by one.

It had to be said, Qin Ye’s guards were incredibly skilled. Even facing professional opponents, they weren’t instantly overwhelmed.

"Shit, who the hell are these guys?!"

Qin Ye cursed in frustration.

"Young Master, they’re from the All Stars Guild."

Zhao Chen said quickly to Qin Ye, having glanced at their armbands.

"Fuck, how did we run into them so soon?"

Qin Ye felt like he’d seen a ghost. He had figured they wouldn’t run into any of the three major guilds until they reached the observatory at the earliest, yet here they were.

Seeing Qin Ye’s group putting up a desperate resistance from behind the car, Adika raised his hand and gave a signal.

A subordinate carrying a rocket launcher stepped forward.

Xu Lie saw this, and his face paled as he shouted to Qin Ye and the others.

"Rocket launcher! Move!"

The color drained from their faces, and they scrambled backward.

WHOOSH!

A rocket shot forward, scoring a direct hit on the wrecked car.

BOOM~

The entire vehicle erupted in a massive explosion.

"Go!"

Adika charged forward with his men.

"Split up and run, or we’re all dead!"

Bai Xiu shouted anxiously to the group.

So, Qin Ye and the others each took a few guards and scattered, running for their lives.

"Trying to run? After them!"

Adika personally led the chase after Qin Ye, while Lu Chuan and his men split off to hunt down Wang Yin and the others.

「...」

In a labyrinth of alleyways, Long Ming’s heart sank as he heard the intense gunfire. He couldn’t help but quicken his pace.

If Qin Ye and Qin Ying were killed, his payment would go down the drain.

Just then, a man suddenly rushed out from a corner up ahead. He had light brown hair, broad shoulders, powerful muscles, and a high-bridged nose. He wore combat fatigues with an All Stars Guild armband on his shoulder. He raised his submachine gun, ready to open fire.

But Long Ming reacted faster, raising his Carbine and spraying a volley of bullets.

The man was startled and quickly ducked back behind the corner.

Seeing this, Long Ming immediately took cover behind a nearby utility pole, his muzzle trained on the corner.

The man then pulled out a grenade, cooked it for two seconds, and threw it from around the corner.

Long Ming’s eyes narrowed. Instead of dodging, he strode forward and kicked it hard.

The grenade was kicked back before it even hit the ground.

The man had just peeked his head out to follow up with more shots when he saw the grenade flying back at him. His expression changed drastically as he turned and leaped backward.

BOOM!

A huge explosion swept through the area.

Although the man avoided the fatal blast, he was still knocked silly by the shockwave.

His head was ringing, and for a moment, he couldn’t get up.

Long Ming walked over, raised the Viper in his hand, and aimed at the fallen man, about to finish him off.

But when he got a clear look at the man’s face, he froze.

It was his old university classmate, Zhou Li.

’I remember him joining the Mountain City Mountain military after graduation, didn’t he?’

At that moment, Zhou Li struggled to lift his head. He looked at the approaching Long Ming and was about to raise his gun to fight back.

Long Ming opened fire without hesitation, killing him with a single shot.

He glanced at Zhou Li’s body, then immediately turned and ran back the way he came.

「...」

Elsewhere, Dino and Xu Lie were providing cover for Wang Yin as they took refuge in a standalone building.

"These All Stars bastards are fucking psychos! Why won’t they stop chasing us?!"

Wang Yin cursed, grinding his teeth.

"Young Master Wang, there’s no point talking. It’s either them or us now."

Dino clutched his automatic rifle, warily watching the door and windows.

Just then, Lu Chuan and his subordinates surrounded the building.

He didn’t order a direct assault. Instead, he raised his hand and gave his subordinates a tactical signal.

One of his men snuck to a side wall, placed a portable explosive charge on it, and then quickly retreated!

Inside, Wang Yin heard how quiet it had become outside and asked with uncertainty.

"Did they stop chasing us?"

"Hmph. Dream on. You really think they’re just regular players? To put it bluntly, these guys are all special forces from Mountain City Mountain."

Dino scoffed.