Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

"Splash—"

The thirty elite soldiers moved with perfect precision and without hesitation. They rolled on the spot, carrying their semi-automatic rifles, and quickly dispersed to the four corners of the stone chamber.

Dozens of people hid themselves tightly by using the huge blue stone pillars that one person couldn't hug and the camphor wood chests piled up like small mountains.

Gu Changfeng scooped up Lin Wanrou and Ya Ya and pulled them into his arms. He took a big step and hid behind two stacked camphor wood chests at the innermost part of the stone chamber.

"Niu Dan, lower your body! Hide the blade inside your clothes, don't let it reflect light and give you away!" Gu Changfeng said in a low voice, delivering a cold and harsh sentence.

Niu Dan looked like a wolf lying in ambush. His body was pressed against the black floor tiles. With a flick of his wrist, the blade of the cast iron boning knife was pressed tightly against his thigh. His eyes were gleaming with ferocity as he stared intently at the entrance of the passage.

Ya Ya was completely shielded by Gu Changfeng's broad back. Her chubby little hands rummaged in the pocket of her tactical vest, gripped the small sandalwood slingshot tightly, and then pulled out two solid black steel balls, which she held in her palm. Her big eyes darted around as she peeked out through the small gap.

The footsteps in the passage grew increasingly chaotic, rustling loudly as they crunched on the dry tree debris on the paving stones. Accompanying the footsteps was a pungent smell of torch pine ash.

The red glow of the torches grew brighter and brighter in the dark passage. The flickering flames cast several elongated and distorted shadows directly onto the open space in the middle of the stone chamber.

"Damn it, those soldiers really razed this godforsaken place to the ground! If I'd known all the underground mechanisms were crippled, I wouldn't have had to stand up here in the northwest wind for half the day!"

A harsh, hoarse voice boomed from the end of the passageway.

Immediately afterward, a burly man with a shaved head and a face full of scars swaggered out. He was wearing a tattered sheepskin coat so dirty that its original color was unrecognizable, and half of his left ear was missing, leaving only a rotten lump of flesh. In his hand, he carried an old-fashioned double-barreled shotgun, the muzzle still emitting the smell of dirt.

Behind the one-eared bald man, more than thirty people surged out. Each one was ugly and grotesque, with fierce faces, carrying long-handled homemade guns and large-eyed foreign rifles, and with broad-backed machetes unique to the northwestern desert at their waists. This group blocked the only upward exit of the stone chamber.

The one-eared bald man took two steps forward, his triangular eyes scanning the surroundings. The stone chamber was quiet; all thirty elite soldiers were hidden behind cover and remained silent. You could hear a pin drop in the underground palace.

The bald man's gaze didn't linger in the shadows; it was immediately drawn to the hundred large camphor wood chests in the center of the stone chamber. Especially the chest whose lid Gu Changfeng had opened.

The torchlight illuminated the layers of perfectly square, bright yellow croakers packed tightly inside the box, making the desperados' eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.

"Gold! Boss, it's all pure gold bars!" A skinny bandit next to him yelled in a hoarse voice, drool dripping down his chin onto his sheepskin coat.

The bald man's Adam's apple bobbed twice, and he burst into wild laughter: "We're rich! I've been licking blood off the chopping block in Hongshan Fort for over a decade, and I've never even dreamed of seeing so many big yellow croakers! Brothers, this is a win-win situation, even if we die!"

Ya Ya hid behind Gu Changfeng, holding a steel ball in her hand, and pouted.

"Dad, this bald uncle without ears looks like a spoiled potato, and his eyes are glowing green. Is he starving?" Ya Ya asked in her childish voice, which was particularly loud in the empty underground stone chamber.

Gu Changfeng's lips twitched slightly. He ruffled his daughter's high ponytail with one large hand and coaxed her in a low voice, "Ya Ya, be good. Cover your ears and don't listen to the barking dogs, they'll get your ears dirty. These people are begging all the way to the King of Hell. Dad will make sure they're well-fed in a bit, and we'll send them down there to eat their fill."

Gu Changfeng's protective and cold-blooded words made Platoon Leader Li and several veteran soldiers grin behind a pillar. The chief of staff truly didn't consider these ruthless bandits as human beings.

Upon hearing the noise, the one-eared bald man turned around abruptly, pointing his double-barreled shotgun directly at the camphor wood box where Gu Changfeng was hiding.

"You surnamed Gu! Don't you dare hide in the back like a coward!" The one-eared bald man spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

"My nickname is 'Northwest Wolf,' and I've been watching you guys since outside the Red Mountain Fortress Inn. You managed to get rid of that scarred-face guy, but I'm not so easy to deal with!"

"Those two soldiers you left outside to watch the camels, I've already drugged them and tied them up like dumplings! If you don't want them to die, you'd better behave yourselves!"

When Gu Changfeng heard that his soldiers had been outmaneuvered, the murderous intent in his eyes exploded. He ignored the one-eared bald man's taunts, gripped his Type 54 pistol in his right hand, and made several clean and crisp tactical hand gestures in the air with his left.

Lieutenant Li and his elite soldiers, hiding behind the stone pillars, could see everything clearly: using the stone pillars as cross cover, rifles were loaded and ready to be fired, preparing for all-around fire coverage.

Thirty elite soldiers pushed the bolts of their rifles, and the "click" of bullets being chambered echoed throughout the four corners of the stone chamber.

The one-eared bald man was startled by the synchronized cocking sound and took a half-foot back. His bandits panicked, pointing their dozens of broken, rusty homemade guns in all directions, completely disoriented.

"Damn it, stop bluffing!" The one-eared bald man, defiant and daring, ripped open the front of his sheepskin coat, revealing a row of homemade high-powered detonators wrapped in waterproof cloth.

"See that? I'm covered in detonators! This underground palace only has one escape route. No matter how good you soldiers are, you only have about thirty guns. With one command, the shotguns in your hands can turn this place into a sieve! If you push me too far, I'll pull the detonator and blow this underground palace down. Nobody will get out alive!"

The one-eared bald man got more and more excited, thinking he had the soldiers' weakness in his grasp. "Chief of Staff Gu, let's be frank. You leave all the boxes behind, and tell your men to put down their guns. Oh, and that delicate wife of yours behind you, you have to leave her too, so the brothers can have a taste! I'll leave you few men to walk back! Otherwise, this day next year will be your death anniversary!"

Lin Wanrou trembled with anger. She grabbed the boning knife that Niu Dan was about to throw away and stared coldly at the group of reckless thugs at the entrance of the passage.

Niu Dan's two little tiger teeth were grinding together, making a crunching sound. If Gu Changfeng hadn't stopped him, he would have rushed up and slit the bald man's throat long ago.

"Let my mom give you a taste of meat? You're so ugly, you've got a dream come true!" Ya Ya poked half of her fluffy little head out from beside the box and made a face at the one-eared bald man.

"Those few lousy firecrackers you've strapped to your body aren't even as good as the two-stage firecrackers my family sets off during Chinese New Year. Try lighting them and see if this stone house collapses first, or if your bald head explodes first!"

Ya Ya's mouth is sharp and sarcastic; she insulted the one-eared bald man so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him.

"You little brat, I'll shoot you first!" The one-eared bald man was losing face when a five-year-old girl pointed her finger at him and cursed him. He was so angry and embarrassed that he lost his temper.

He picked up the double-barreled shotgun, forcefully turned the bolt with his thumb, and aimed the sight directly at Ya Ya's head that was peeking out.

Gu Changfeng stared at the gun pointed at his daughter, and the temperature around him instantly plummeted to freezing.

He stood up with a cold face, his tall figure blocking Ya Ya's way like an iron tower. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his Type 54 pistol and aimed.

"I gave you the chance to leave your bodies intact, open fire!" Gu Changfeng roared, his voice echoing throughout the underground stone chamber.

Just as Gu Changfeng finished speaking, the one-eared bald man's face contorted with rage as he yanked his finger hard on the trigger of his double-barreled shotgun. Meanwhile, in the shadows, Xiao Li's semi-automatic rifle was already locked onto the bald man's forehead.

The air in the underground palace was completely drained by the tense killing intent; a great battle was about to break out.