SCOM - Chapter 43
Chapter 43
Night fell, and the usually tranquil Federal First Military Academy was shrouded in darkness. An Yingjing's heart sank as he watched the masked figures closing in. They were clearly prepared. Even if he could escape, he couldn't risk heading north; that area was full of Alphas. Going there would only endanger the other students.
Though… An Yingjing thought wryly, escaping at all was another matter.
The students from the three academies were armed to varying degrees. An Yingjing touched his waist, where he'd concealed an SL-7 light gun. The smallest and most compact of the SL series, it fit in his palm. A single energy block powered a hundred shots. The academy had provided it to him before their departure, as they had for every member of the joint academy exercise team, for self-defense in emergencies like this.
An Yingjing glanced at the figures above, then into the distance. He drew his light gun and fired at the Gashro Empire soldiers.
Hopefully, someone will find us before it's too late.
"The United Military Academy students have light guns?" Luo Shaoyuan dodged a Gashro soldier's attack from her position upstairs. Looking down, she realized the Gashro soldiers were incredibly strong, even dodging light gun fire.
"Where's Hui Bing?!" Cha Lili's strained voice echoed from the floor above. "Is she upstairs? Are there any other United Military Academy students here?"
Hui Bing, a Northern Military Academy student and an exceptional sharpshooter, was currently surrounded by Gashro soldiers half a corridor away from Luo Shaoyuan. Luo Shaoyuan kicked a Gashro soldier, ignoring their slashing blades as she wrestled for their weapon. Hearing Hui Bing respond, she yelled back, "I'm here!"
After a moment, other voices chimed in from the third floor: "Here!" "Over here." "I'm from the United Military Academy."
"Get the light guns to Hui Bing! Let her handle it! The people downstairs can't hold out!" Cha Lili shouted.
The Gashro soldiers understood their language. They wouldn't let the students succeed. Their mission was to eliminate the students. Lacking specific intel and with everyone shouting, they couldn't distinguish individual students, only that one United Military Academy student had a light gun.
The lone United Military Academy student still on the upper floor, armed with only his light gun, yelled down, "Catch!" and tossed the weapon.
On An Yingjing's floor, one of the two Alphas with him leaped out, caught the light gun, and jumped down to the next level.
The Gashro soldiers, unable to identify individuals, could only pinpoint Hui Bing's location by her voice. As the Alpha landed, he kicked down another soldier. He was still some distance from Hui Bing, but Luo Shaoyuan was fighting like a woman possessed, leaving few Gashro soldiers alive around her.
The remaining students on that floor had a single, shared goal: get the light gun to Hui Bing and protect her as she fired.
Meanwhile, Cha Lili and the other student were heading upstairs to support the United Military Academy student there.
"Your arm is injured," the Alpha said, finally reaching Hui Bing and noticing her wounds.
"It's nothing," Hui Bing wiped her face. "Give me the light gun."
The Alpha handed it over and positioned himself behind her, shielding her from the approaching Gashro soldiers. Hui Bing gripped the light gun, extended her arm, and aimed at the soldiers below.
They hadn't deployed robot dogs, likely due to the strict regulations in the capital. Judging by the varied attire of the Gashro soldiers, they must have been embedded in the capital for years, now emerging en masse.
Downstairs, An Yingjing and the others were running low on energy blocks. Only half of the enemy soldiers were down; the rest remained unaffected. Some students had even been captured.
An Yingjing was surrounded by the most soldiers, his comrades protecting him. "Save him," An Yingjing gritted out to a Yundong Military Academy student. "He's from your academy."
"We're all part of the Federation," the student replied without hesitation. "Your life is more important right now."
An Yingjing couldn't accept that. He stepped out from the protective circle and shot the Gashro soldier holding the captured student, exposing himself in the process. A masked Gashro soldier seized the opportunity, grabbing An Yingjing, snatching his light gun, and pinning him from behind, the tip of a curved blade pressed against the back of his neck, aiming for his scent gland.
The blade was sharp. An Yingjing felt an icy sting and intense pain at his scent gland. He was about to be mutilated.
Just then, a light gun blast from above pierced the Gashro soldier's hand. Hui Bing, holding her breath, fired several more shots, hitting the soldier's wrist and the back of his knee. She didn't have time to aim for the head; her own position was under attack. But An Yingjing seized the moment, grabbing the falling curved blade and slashing across the Gashro soldier's throat.
Dodging an attack from the side, Hui Bing returned to her position and continued firing downwards. With her superior vantage point and impeccable aim, she forced back the Gashro soldiers surrounding An Yingjing in under two minutes, taking out three with headshots. The pressure on An Yingjing and the others lessened considerably.
But the advantage was short-lived. More Gashro soldiers kept appearing, and An Yingjing's light gun was in enemy hands.
The Gashro soldier with the light gun glanced at An Yingjing, now surrounded again, and the corners of his mouth twitched beneath his mask. He raised the weapon, aimed at Hui Bing upstairs, and fired.
Mid-flight, Hui Bing's scalp prickled. Instinct screamed that the shot was aimed at her forehead, but her body froze. "Bang!" A non-light gun shot rang out from the south, echoing through the building. The bullet, a standard projectile, was no match for a light gun blast, but it was enough to deflect the shot's trajectory. That split-second deviation gave Hui Bing time to react. She yanked the Alpha next to her down, dodging the light gun blast, which ultimately hit the Gashro soldier who fired it.
"Wow, ganging up on Federation students? Have you no shame?" Guan Xue asked, tucking a pistol into her waistband, a rocket launcher slung over her shoulder.
"You give the Gashro too much credit. They have no shame," Qian Mao quipped from beside her.
The Gashro soldier with the light gun stared at Guan Xue, then at Ji Yuezhi in the center.
Upstairs, Cha Lili finally reached the United Military Academy student, who was barely holding on, covered in cuts. "Hold on, reinforcements are here," he said. "Captain…"
"An Yingjing is alright," Cha Lili reassured him, looking down. "Don't worry, if anyone's dying, it'll be us Yundong students first, then your captain." The United Military Academy student leaned weakly against him, uncomforted.
"Thank goodness it's Ji Yuezhi and his team, not Zuo Luohuan's," Cha Lili thought, looking down, relieved. Their group upstairs, separated from An Yingjing, was starting to feel the effects of An Yingjing's pheromones. If the First Academy Alphas had arrived, they would have been incapacitated by An Yingjing's scent, easy prey for the Gashro. Ji Yuezhi nodded to the students behind him, and they sprang into action. With their help, the tide turned against the Gashro soldiers, who now found themselves in the same predicament An Yingjing and his group had faced.
"How is he?" Ji Yuezhi asked, approaching An Yingjing. He felt a momentary dizziness, a whiff of ice and snow. He curled his fingers and bit his tongue to regain his focus. Seeing the blood staining the back of An Yingjing's neck, his heart sank.
"The edges of the wound are deep, but the scent gland itself is only superficially grazed," said a Beta student from Yundong Military Academy, supporting An Yingjing. Less affected by An Yingjing's potent pheromones, she continued, "He'll be fine once it's treated."
The skin around the scent gland was highly sensitive. Though the gland itself was intact, the deep cut caused An Yingjing excruciating pain. Pale and sweating, he finally managed to speak. "Your academy's being raided, and none of the instructors noticed?"
Ji Yuezhi remained silent. An hour had passed since the attack began. He was more worried that instructors had noticed but were unable to intervene. "What's that?" someone shouted, pointing to the roof of a building in the north. Flames erupted from the rooftop, burning brightly against the night sky.
"Hey, hey!" A crackling voice, interspersed with shouts, came over the First Academy's PA system. "Can you hear me? Gashro scum! See that fire on the north building? That's your buddies lighting your way to hell! I'll be chanting sutras for your souls down there!"
"That's Jiang Hong," Qian Mao said to Ji Yuezhi. "The broadcasting station isn't in the north, is it?"
The burning building was an old one, on the far north side, far from the Alpha dorms. Ji Yuezhi immediately knew who was responsible. "Jiang Hong didn't start that fire," Ji Yuezhi said quietly, taking the offered coagulant and applying it to An Yingjing's neck. "Zuo Luohuan did."
"I was wondering…" An Yingjing gasped through the pain. "So Zuo Luohuan ran into the Gashro too."
Ji Yuezhi took an alcohol swab from the medical kit and pressed it to An Yingjing's wound. "Hiss—" An Yingjing winced, then quickly said, "Captain Ji, we're both Omegas. A little gentler, please?"
Ji Yuezhi said impassively, "Even if she were here, she couldn't save you. You'd only endanger her." "Just making conversation," An Yingjing muttered, sitting down and letting Ji Yuezhi treat his wound. The skin around his scent gland was so sensitive that all sensations, including pain, were magnified tenfold. Though the gland was undamaged, the deep puncture wound was agonizing.
Ji Yuezhi had brought too many reinforcements. The Shadow Disciplinary Committee students were all highly skilled, armed with light guns, and mostly Omegas and Betas, unaffected by An Yingjing's pheromones. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Gashro soldiers, armed only with curved blades, began to retreat.
"Guan Xue, third person on the right. Take him out," Ji Yuezhi instructed, still bandaging An Yingjing but keeping a close eye on the situation. The person he indicated was the one who had nearly shot Hui Bing.
Perhaps sensing Ji Yuezhi's attention, or perhaps simply overwhelmed, the Gashro soldiers began to flee, especially the one Ji Yuezhi had pointed out. He was the fastest, nearly escaping.
"Trying to run?" Guan Xue hefted her rocket launcher, finally loading a precious round. "I'm destroying school property for a good cause," she muttered. With a roar, the rocket streaked towards the fleeing Gashro soldier, exploding in the distance with a small mushroom cloud.
"Yes!" Guan Xue kissed her still-hot rocket launcher affectionately, then led her team to search for the remains. They found only a mask, an oxygen tank, and blood-soaked scraps of clothing.
"He got away," Guan Xue cursed under her breath.
"He's probably badly injured," another student said, picking up the shattered oxygen tank. "There's a piece missing. It's probably embedded in him."
Guan Xue frowned. "Stay close. Let's search the area."
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