Chapter 1: The Storm of Longguan Town

  Foreword:

  "The Deadly Gunner" will attract readers with its brand new text and thrilling plot. Some people say that being a man is very tiring, but I don't think so. A man's world is magnificent, full of wonders and surprises, the question is how you discover and explore them. As a man, you must be self-reliant and stand tall. With strong bones and hot blood, you should strive for a career that makes you and your loved ones proud. The eagle flies high in the sky because it has the wind beneath its wings; the giant ship sails across the ocean because it is supported by the water's power. To achieve great things, one must have an unyielding determination and the courage to fight, otherwise, you will accomplish nothing. Who can pierce through the bone with a single arrow, ride a horse at full gallop? Only he who can conquer the world, stand alone as the greatest.

  His hidden location was excellent, and in the eyes of a professional commander, such a place could be called a desperate situation, but it could also turn defeat into victory. However, the probability of turning defeat into victory was very small. The surrounding mountains were desolate, with a slope that stretched down for hundreds of meters, forming a hill of yellow earth. There was not a single blade of grass on the hill, only one solitary tree standing tall on the lower slope. The tree was very high and large, and four people could not surround it even if they joined hands. It would be easy to hide someone inside the tree without being discovered. However, because it was a solitary tree, it was absolutely not a good place for an ambush.

  Behind the tree is a ditch, but it doesn't look like a ditch, at most it's just a muddy pit, formed after rain. This year there has been little rainfall and the land is dry, so no river has formed, and the water in the pond is also drying up gradually, only now the rainwater hasn't been completely absorbed into the yellow soil yet.

  The entire militia of Longguan Town has been mobilized. Longguan Town is not a big town, with a total population of less than 50,000 people, even including the villages under its jurisdiction, there are only about 200,000 people. A small town with a population of 50,000 is usually as calm as stagnant water. This is one of the most inconspicuous towns in the north, more than 100 miles away from the county seat, without any industry or specialty, relying solely on nature for food, so the peasants here have been living a life of farming with their faces to the earth and their backs to the sky, working at sunrise and resting at sunset, year after year.

  Longguan Town has a Longguan Township, and in the township there is a village called Longguan Village. The village has over 100 households with more than 1,000 people. Many families in the village have the surname Ying, which is quite rare. The Ying family has a long history, and in Longguan Village alone, there are 70 to 80 households with this surname. Among all the villages in Longguan Town, only Longguan Village has its own Ying Family Ancestral Hall, continuing the ancient clan system. People with other surnames are not allowed to enter this hall. The current head of the hall is named Ying Jicheng, who is very prestigious in the village.

  After Ying Ji became the head of the household, there were two happy events at home. One was that his only son, Ying Tianlong, joined the army and went to the troops. At that time, many people wanted to join the army to leave the countryside, but the quotas were limited, and a few places were almost all taken by the children of rural leaders. Ordinary farmers were not eligible to compete. However, there were exceptions. The people of Longguan Village loved martial arts, and the older generation of men would know a few moves, which were generally used for self-defense and were not very skilled. But even the best ones could only deal with two or three people. Now, however, few young people practiced martial arts anymore. It required hard work to practice, as the saying goes, "Winter training in the cold, summer training in the heat, shedding a few layers of skin and sweating a few buckets." If you wanted to take shortcuts, it wouldn't work.

  Ying Tianlong had liked martial arts since he was a child, and Ying Jicheng thought his son was good material, so he taught him to practice martial arts, including knife, gun, stick, spear, fist, palm, leg work, and everything else. Ying Tianlong was intelligent and diligent, and by the time he was 18 years old, there was no one in Longguan Village who could beat him. That year, the army came to recruit soldiers, and without hesitation, he put on his uniform and left, making Ying Jicheng very happy.

  The troops come to Longguan Town every few years to select people. Those with good martial arts skills go directly to the army as scouts.

  Er Xi is the son who has been a soldier for four years. He performed outstandingly in disaster relief and rescue efforts, was awarded for his meritorious service, and promoted to squad leader. Upon returning home with the news of his achievement, Ying Ji Cheng came to the ancestral hall, kowtowed several times to express gratitude to their ancestors for blessing the Ying family with honor.

  However, the current master of the hall, Ying Jicheng, is now lying in a coffin in the center of the ancestral hall. After death, he should be buried to rest in peace, but Ying Jicheng has been lying here for three days and three nights, and no one dares to come and bury him.

  Ying Cheng's home also had a coffin placed in it, and the person lying inside was Ying Tianlong's only sister, Ying Fengju.

  Ying Tianlong was there, everyone knew he had run to the hills formed by Huangtushan, someone saw him disappear here, people must not have gone far.

  The head of the Longguan Town Armed Forces Department, Zhang, led the militia to surround the hilly area, but no one dared to take a step further because they knew who they were dealing with. In the town government courtyard, several people had been killed by Tianlong, and no one dared to approach him as he wielded a three-section staff. All the personnel of the town government had fled in fear, including Town Mayor Li Nan, who was attending a meeting in the county seat and had not returned, and Deputy Mayor Li Zhi, who was hiding even further away and did not dare to show his face. Zhang Fushun, the head of the Armed Forces Department, had some experience in the army and had some guts, so he ordered the militia to surround the town government courtyard. The militiamen were armed with guns and aimed at the gate. Zhang Fushun shouted into the courtyard: "Tianlong, put down your weapon, come out with your hands up, and we can resolve any issues."

  There is no movement inside.

  The police from the town police station who rushed to the scene also joined in, aiming their pistols at the gate as if they were facing a great enemy, fearing that Tianlong would suddenly rush out.

  The director of the police station said to Director Zhang: "Director Zhang, how did it end up like this? Isn't Ying Tianlong in the troops?"

  Director Zhang is now unable to express his grievances and can only sigh and shake his head.

  "Director Zhang, if Tianlong comes out, should we open fire?" Luo Shouzhang asked.

  Director Zhang hadn't had time to respond when the phone in his hand rang. He answered it, and it was Li Nandu, the mayor of Longguan Town, calling. After asking about some situations on the phone, the final instruction was: "If Yingtian Long dares to resist, kill him without hesitation, I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

  Director Zhang's forehead suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, damn it, this is going to be a murder.

  His heart was sinking, but he had to muster up his spirit now. Tian Long may not have caused any casualties yet, but it was already a ferocious beast that could devour people at any moment.

  This beast in the troops is a scout, with excellent martial arts skills. An excellent scout's combat power is not inferior to that of an enhanced platoon. Director Zhang understood this in his heart, and even if he concentrated all the militia in Longguan Town and added all the police officers from the police station, they might not be a match for them. Ying Tianlong was looking for Li Nandu, the town mayor, but Li happened to be attending a meeting at the county seat and escaped this disaster. The order to open fire was part of his premeditated plan, and Ying Tianlong simply helped to push it forward, putting his own life on the line.

  Ying Tianlong was known for his exceptional marksmanship in the army, earning him the reputation of a divine shooter. However, he currently doesn't have a gun in his hand, and the muzzle is controlled by his own people; otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

  Director Zhang turned his head and said to Director Luo: "If you can catch him alive, try to catch him alive. If he dares to hurt anyone, you, you can shoot."

  Luosuo Chang said I understand.

  The town committee's compound is now quiet, with no one in the yard, surrounded by crowds of onlookers from all sides. Longguan Town has never been so lively before.

  It's not a solution to drag on like this, things have become bigger and more complicated, someone must have called the county public security bureau, if they don't solve it before they arrive, Director Zhang understands that whether he can keep his official hat is still a problem.

  He had the militiamen with guns stand out, counted them, and there were more than a dozen people, all of whom were sturdy young men holding domestically-made semi-automatic rifles, with bullets loaded and bayonets shining. Director Zhang said: "Fellow villagers, you are the main force of Longguan Town, the militia, responsible for defending the safety of this place. Now that the safety of Longguan Town has been compromised, it is necessary for you to come forward to solve the problem. As the saying goes, 'raise soldiers for a thousand days and use them for one moment', I'll lead the team, we'll charge in, Tianlong doesn't have any weapons, if he dares to resist, you open fire, if anyone gets killed, I'll take responsibility."

  No one responded, the gun in hand can boost courage, but the gun in heart has long been rusty, who is prepared to fight, slogans are far from reality, here the best shooting score of a militia with live ammunition was 85 rings, still last year's result.

  Some people's legs were trembling slightly, some were panting with their mouths open, and others were looking around, thinking of finding an excuse to leave.

  There were also those who were unafraid of death, gripping their guns tightly and saying: "Director Zhang, give the order."

  Zhang Fushun finally gained some confidence and said to Luo Suozhang, "Let's take action together." Luo Suozhang agreed, saying "Alright, let's do it."

  Armed militiamen and police arrived at the gate, someone went up and pushed it hard, the door was not locked, it opened, all the guns were aimed at the courtyard, the courtyard was empty, there wasn't even a shadow of a person.

  Ying Tianlong hid where, Director Zhang said: "Three people in a group, search for me, pay attention, never separate."

  The militiamen and police officers entered one after another, some people's legs went soft. Luo said, how about this, two militiamen with one police officer, the police have received training and can bear more mentally.

  People quickly dispersed, searching house by house. The town government was a five-story building and also the most luxurious building in Longguan Town. The first floor was a warehouse cafeteria and garage, the second floor was an office, the mayor and deputy mayor were on the third floor, the fourth floor was a conference room, and the fifth floor became a temporary dormitory. Director Zhang focused the search on the third floor, directing people to point their guns forward, one staircase at a time, just like when the devils entered the village.

  As for the warehouse cafeteria on the first floor, Tianlong shouldn't be there. The house is big and not convenient to hide in. Military strategists call it a dead end. It's enough to have one policeman bring two militiamen to search around, the target is upstairs.

  This is a big mistake, and the dragon should be hidden in the cafeteria.