Chapter 273: The Injured Stunning Beauty
"Bang!" The unique sharp whistling sound of the SSG69 sniper rifle tore through the freshly fallen silence over the mountains, startling a flock of unknown small birds that had just landed on nearby branches.
Even though it was only a 7.62mm light sniper rifle, the distance of just over a hundred meters was far too close, and the shot was almost directly head-on. Through the scope, the extremely hot and tall blonde beauty's body jolted violently, and then, like a sack of sand thrown out, she was lifted into the air and heavily crashed into the grass.
Her curvy and seductive figure flattened a patch of weeds and shrubs.
He vaguely remembered that the bullet had hit her chest.
Through the scope, he observed for a moment, and after confirming she didn't get back up from the grass, Zhang Yang let out a gentle breath, tiredly pulling his eyes away from the scope.
Zhang Yang had no love for blonde women; he didn't like their rough facial lines, and in his impression, Western women had particularly bad skin and lots of freckles. This had long shaped a fixed mindset in him.
But the blonde beauty he had just seen through the scope was different from those he had seen in movies and on TV. Her skin was outstanding— even with only a brief glance through the scope, he could see that her skin was like condensed milk, pale and delicate, and her facial contours were soft and rounded like those of Eastern women.
It could be said this was an extraordinary, top-tier blonde beauty—both in appearance and profession.
But Zhang Yang didn't hesitate when pulling the trigger. He only hesitated for a split second at the moment of firing, unwilling to blow her head apart with one shot, and instead aimed at her heart.
"I hit her..." Zhang Yang looked back at Pan Ningning, hesitated for a moment, then added, "It was a woman."
"And a very pretty girl at that." Pan Ningning glanced at Zhang Yang and repeated calmly. In her eyes flickered a hint of surprise. "I thought you'd pity a beauty."
Zhang Yang jumped off the rock, placed the SSG69 aside, reached out, and rubbed his forehead. "You mean I'm a pervert, right?"
Pan Ningning lowered her eyes without speaking. Silence was basically agreement.
Zhang Yang laughed lightly and didn't mind. Honestly, what man didn't have a soft spot for beautiful women? But it depended on the situation. At a time like this, if he didn't kill her, was he supposed to let her kill him instead?
"There shouldn't be a third sniper team, right?"
Pan Ningning shifted slightly to make herself more comfortable, then nodded. "There shouldn't be."
"Can you hold on?" Zhang Yang asked with concern after checking her complexion.
"Barely!"
Zhang Yang nodded and told Lao Yi's group to drive further up and help carry Pan Ningning down. In fact, the spot she had been hiding wasn't far from the road.
After spending dozens of minutes, they managed to put together a makeshift stretcher.
Once Pan Ningning was transported to the Land Rover, Zhang Yang checked the time. There were still twenty minutes before his agreed meeting with Ao Tian. He thought for a moment and suddenly felt the urge to check the identities of those snipers.
After giving a few instructions, he took two pistols and carefully walked toward where he had shot the blonde beauty.
From a distance, Zhang Yang saw a body quietly lying in the grass, long blonde hair cascading like a waterfall across the greenery, like an angel looking up at the sky—completely still.
Even so, Zhang Yang still carefully observed for a while before approaching.
About three to four meters from her body, an M9 pistol came into view first. Zhang Yang hesitated, then picked it up and slipped it into his pocket.
Only then did he approach her. First he saw her face. Even though he had already seen her through the scope, seeing her up close again still shocked him. This girl was unbelievably beautiful.
Rumor had it that Western women aged badly—after having kids or reaching a certain age, their skin and figures always deteriorated. But this blonde beauty had none of those signs. Just from her skin, he could tell she wasn't very old.
Exquisite facial features, a distinctively tall Western nose bridge, long eyelashes, and a classic cherry-like mouth—though a hint of blood lingered at the corner of her lips.
Her chest was covered in crimson—right at the spot where she had been injured…
Zhang Yang frowned, because he suddenly noticed the blonde beauty's eyelashes tremble faintly, showing an expression of pain.
Only then did Zhang Yang notice the tear streaks hanging from her pale, jade-like face.
She wasn't dead? Zhang Yang instinctively stepped back and aimed his gun at her. Better safe than sorry—if she was pretending to be hurt or was highly skilled, he'd be in trouble.
Just as Zhang Yang was about to finish her off, her eyes suddenly opened, blue like sparkling sapphires, quietly staring at him. Within them were fear and helplessness. She moved slightly, raised her hand but quickly lost strength and let it fall. Her slender white neck trembled as she swallowed, wanting to speak but failing.
She simply stared quietly at Zhang Yang, then slowly shifted her gaze toward the muzzle of the gun in his hand.
Zhang Yang had to admit—though he didn't like blonde foreign beauties, he was still shaken by the gaze of this wounded girl.
She didn't beg for mercy, didn't seem to understand Chinese, and didn't show any intention of resistance. Her hands were spread—one tightly clutching a dagger, the other open, with what seemed to be a pendant resting in her palm.
Her height was about the same as Qiao Xier's—perhaps even one or two centimeters taller.
Zhang Yang hesitated and looked again at her chest wound. Yes, the bullet had hit her chest, but the injury looked similar to Pan Ningning's. In other words, it wasn't fatal.
Then he checked the gunshot wound on her thigh—there wasn't much bleeding. Meaning neither shot had hit an artery. She could still be saved.
Zhang Yang hesitated, then asked her in English, "Can you speak?"
The blonde beauty nodded weakly, parting her pale lips and answering in stiff English, "Yes. I can!"
From her tone and expression, Zhang Yang judged she wasn't planning to resist. She wanted to live—otherwise she could've just refused to speak.
"Do you have any other weapons?"
The girl hesitated, then shook her head. Unclear whether she didn't understand or truly had none.
Zhang Yang paused. This top-tier beauty was extremely dangerous. Honestly, the safest choice was to kill her and walk away. But if she wasn't resisting, he might be able to get valuable information from her—at least, he needed to know besides Spade Eight…
Who else wanted him dead.
From her clothing, she was clearly an overseas mercenary. Judging by her features, height, skin, and stiff English, she was likely Slavic.
Most likely from Eastern Europe.
He wanted to know—what reason would drive such a stunning beauty to travel across the world to Huaxia Kingdom to assassinate him? Of course, maybe their target wasn't him. If these snipers had really been sent for him…
He probably wouldn't be alive.
After thinking briefly, Zhang Yang looked at her and said softly, "I don't intend to hurt you. I want to save you. Can you cooperate with me?"
The beauty seemed to half-understand. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded.
Zhang Yang gestured with his hands and asked, "How is your partner?"
The beauty's face dimmed. She shook her head lightly. "Dead."
"Wait here a moment." Zhang Yang checked the area around her—no weapons nearby—then walked toward where the other sniper had been crouching. He needed to confirm whether her partner was really dead.
About thirty meters away, behind a rock, Zhang Yang found the corpse. A clean headshot—red and white splattered across the grass. The man also wore green digital camouflage and, judging from his hairy features, was likely Slavic as well, around his thirties.
Fighting nausea, Zhang Yang searched the corpse. He found only a passport, some money, a phone, and a medical kit.
He briefly checked the passport. The writing looked like Russian, though he wasn't completely sure. Slavic languages looked similar, and Eastern Europe was known for its abundance of beautiful women.
He pocketed the passport, grabbed the medical kit, and returned to the blonde beauty.
She still had a bit of movement left, but for some reason hadn't moved. When Zhang Yang tried to lift her, he accidentally touched her forehead and realized it was burning hot—she was running a high fever.
No wonder.
Zhang Yang set aside all his weapons—guns, military knife, everything—far away. Then he returned and crouched beside her to check her wound.
The chest wound looked frightening, but wasn't the worst. It was a penetrating wound—the bullet had passed through her breastbone and exited from her back. It only looked scary, but wasn't immediately fatal.
Zhang Yang first stopped the bleeding, then said, "I need to remove your clothes to bandage you. Do you understand?"
The blonde beauty still had a confused expression. Her English clearly wasn't good. After all, thanks to Yang Fei's training, Zhang Yang could manage basic English conversations, though not professional topics.
Helplessly, Zhang Yang repeated with gestures. This time, she seemed to understand. She looked up at him, nodded, and whispered, "Thank you."
Before Zhang Yang could move, her head tilted to the side—she passed out.