Chapter 3: Exploding Head

  Only after walking out of the house did Di Lie realize that this was a village destroyed by war. Everywhere he looked, there were ruins and rubble, with fires still smoldering. The hut where the craftsmen were being held was relatively less damaged, barely enough to provide some shelter from the wind and rain.

  The Jin people are accustomed to living in felt tents and are unwilling to squeeze into thatched cottages, at this point, the craftsmen are quite lucky.

  Looking out from the village, the dense and numerous yurt tents are distributed in a ring shape, surrounding the entire village. Between the yurt tents, Jin soldiers on foot and horseback patrolled back and forth with bows and knives, their blades gleaming coldly, their armor clanking, a stern and murderous atmosphere of a military camp hitting one's face.

  Jin Bing led the way in front, Di Lie followed behind him, walking and silently memorizing the route, surroundings, number of yurts, patrol routes, methods, frequency, etc., while quickly evaluating in his mind, once escaped, the best escape route and direction.

  At dusk, the sound of slaughtering cattle and sheep could be heard all over the camp, and the air was filled with the smell of smoke and roasted meat.

  Di Lie's mind had been preoccupied, completely forgetting his hunger, but now the aroma stimulated him and his stomach suddenly growled loudly. The golden-armored soldier leading the way seemed to be intentionally teasing him, pulling out a greasy lamb leg from his oily collar, chewing with relish while making loud noises, glancing at Di Lie with a slanted gaze, but he was destined to be disappointed.

  For an excellent sniper, anti-hunger training is one of the most important contents. Di Lie once endured fifty hours with only a small amount of water - and at that time, there was a fragrant Kentucky chicken in front of his nose.

  It's not too difficult for a person to endure hunger when food is scarce, but to resist the temptation of delicious food in extreme hunger requires extremely strong willpower and self-control.

  Compared with Di Lie's previous training, this Golden Soldier's move was really too childish.

  That Jin soldier was increasingly surprised, he often used this trick to tease those starving southern barbarians. In the end, he threw a bone and watched as his opponent knelt down like a dog, licking and gnawing at it, really enjoying himself. But this time it was strange, that craftsman actually looked calm and composed, as if he had just finished attending a banquet, but those rumbling intestinal sounds were absolutely real!

  In the midst of the golden army's gloom, Di Lie arrived in front of a felt tent that was much larger and more colorful than any he had seen on his journey. Outside the tent stood two robust golden soldiers holding large axes, with a grayish-white wolf-hair banner standing to the left.

  Jin Bing led the way forward and whispered to the two guards for a while. One of the guards lifted the curtain and went inside to report. After a while, he came out and nodded at Di Lie, indicating that he could go in.

  Di Lie's body was straight as a pen, without any hesitation, he strode in with his head held high.

  The canopy was very spacious, at least fifty or sixty square meters. Four thick candles were burning on both sides, illuminating the interior brightly. The floor was covered with a colorful carpet. In the upper left corner, knives, bows, axes, shields and armor were piled up. In the upper right corner, high piles of gold, silver and copper coins were randomly stacked, as well as boxes of various sizes and shapes containing jewelry. Some of the boxes were not tightly closed, and some hairpins, pearls and precious stones spilled out, shining brightly.

  In the large tent, there were only a few people. In front of the person in charge, a table was placed horizontally. As soon as Di Lie entered, his first glance fell on the scattered parts of the Barrett M82A1 anti-material sniper rifle on the table. He couldn't believe he had seen this life-saving and self-defense killing machine so quickly. Di Lie's heart felt greatly relieved, and his chances of escaping safely increased to at least 80%.

  Di Lie's mind was finally at ease, and he had the leisure to observe the people in the tent. The first person to catch his eye was an old acquaintance - the one who had ambushed him from behind, causing him to spit blood, and had brought him to this godforsaken place, putting him in harm's way: Big Beard!

  Di Lie almost burst out laughing, what a coincidence! It seems that the heavens are indeed powerful. Hmm, hmm, this is called running into gunfire!

  With a great mood, Di Lie surprisingly nodded and smiled at the big bearded man with great magnanimity, making the other person feel depressed: What is this? Who is the captive between us two?

  A big-bearded man in military uniform sat on the lower left side. In the middle of the case, a robust and majestic man with a bald forehead and a braid at the back of his head, wearing a fur-lined garment, was sitting upright. This man didn't even glance at Di Lie after he came in, but instead continued to fiddle with a green-clad young girl dressed in Song-style clothing beside him.

  The bright candlelight illuminated the girl's delicate and beautiful face, as well as her pitiful and helpless appearance. When Di Lie lifted the curtain and entered, the girl subconsciously cast her gaze towards him, their eyes met, and Di Lie's heart was deeply shocked. He was deeply moved by the despairing beauty in the girl's eyes.

  At this time, the burly man beside him suddenly grabbed the girl's dodging wrist and pulled her over, putting his long garlic nose close to the girl's jade neck and sniffing hard, then burst out laughing. Then he glanced at Di Lie who was standing upright after entering the account, with a hint of strange color in his eyes, turned his head and chattered with the big beard below, and then another burst of laughter.

  The big-bearded man's face turned red with rage, his eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and humiliation as he glared at Di Lie, his expression eager to try again, clearly still smarting from the embarrassment of being knocked off his horse by Di Lie.

  That majestic big man finally turned his head around, looking at Di Lie with an arrogant expression, and muttered something.

  On the right side of that majestic big man, a thin and small man who had been kneeling on the ground slowly raised his head, using a sharp and fine voice to say to Di Lie: "This is Moulanbeidijiasitelai. The adult says that if you can throw Mugebeidixilisi into a somersault, it's considered a good deed, and you'll be exempt from the crime of not kneeling down to show respect, don't you thank the adult?"

  It turns out that this middle-aged man was an interpreter. Judging from his clothing and hairstyle, he should be a Song person. As for what Mengan Mouke is, Di Lie vaguely remembers that the Jin country had a relatively famous military system called the Mengan Mouke system. The specific things are not very clear, but Mengan means thousand households or commander of a thousand soldiers, Mouke means hundred households or commander of a hundred soldiers, and Moujin is roughly the meaning of adult, which is still known.

  These two guys are actually a chiliarch and a centurion, it seems that their status is not low in this Golden Army, will killing them cause some kind of chaos in this Golden Army?

  Di Lie was weighing the pros and cons in his heart, when he heard a burst of bird language, followed by an interpreter saying: "The master asks you, are these exquisite iron instruments on the case made by you? What is their purpose?"

  Well asked! It's really a case of "the pillow fortuitously meeting the head". Di Lie was overjoyed in his heart, but replied calmly: "This is indeed my thing. If you assemble it, it will be an extraordinary device that you have never seen before in your life. How about it? Do you want to take a look?"

  Dilena's calm and collected demeanor, as well as her nonchalant tone, clearly surprised the interpreter. He then translated Dilena's words to the man named Sariel, but looking at the interpreter's servile appearance, she suspected that he would distort her original words to match his current attitude.

  Sa Ci's interest was piqued, and he carelessly gestured for the interpreter to put all the gun parts back into the box, then handed it to Di Lie.

  Di Lie took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and without saying a word, he quickly assembled the rifle.

  Insert the barrel into the lower receiver, then insert it into the upper receiver, close the lock, screw on the muzzle brake, card in the day and night sight, and finally install the magazine with five remaining rounds. A brand new, shiny, beautifully lined super weapon from the future appeared before everyone's eyes.

  Sa Chi Ben was teasing that girl, but seeing Di Lie's assembly action like a flowing cloud, he couldn't help but be gradually attracted. When the entire gun was finally assembled, the unprecedented strange shape and dazzling metallic luster made everyone in the room brighten up.

  "What is this thing? What is its purpose?"

  "This is a Barrett M82A1 anti-material sniper rifle, as for its purpose..." Di Lie's face was expressionless as he pointed the muzzle at Sa Ci, "You'll find out soon!"

  The interpreter was tongue-tied and didn't understand what Di Lie said about guns... let alone translate it.

  Although Sa Di didn't understand what the young "artisan" in front of him meant, years of fighting on the battlefield made him instinctively feel a sense of unknown danger, and the danger came from that peculiar metal aimed at him.

  Sa Ci suddenly stood up and shouted loudly. Shi Li also changed color with anger, making a gesture to pounce.

  The interpreter hastily stuttered and shouted: "Your Honor orders you to quickly... put down the objects in your hands... otherwise, you will be punished severely!"

  Di Lie said coldly: "The reaction is not slow, unfortunately, it's too late!"

  The index finger on the board machine moved, and with a light "pa" sound, the big head like a gourd suddenly burst open. The headless corpse shook slightly and fell to the ground.

  Almost simultaneously, the muzzle shifted, this time aiming at Sari's chest - in an instant, the bullet entered his body, and Sari's robust figure, clad in heavy armor, suddenly arched backward, splitting into two pieces from the chest without warning, flesh flying everywhere, all internal organs gushing out onto the ground.

  "You bumped me, I'll return you a shot, and we're even!" Di Lie calmly blew a mouthful of air at the nonexistent smoke from the gun barrel. Suddenly, as if he had realized something, he put down the gun, pulled out a military dagger from his combat boots, and rushed to the door curtain.

  Just then, the door curtain moved, and the two guards outside heard Sa's angry shout before he died, and they hastily entered to investigate.

  Di Lie flashed out, swung his dagger and wiped the throat of a guard, while quickly swinging his hand to strike another guard's helmet flying. His right hand holding the dagger drew a semicircle, with a "pu" sound, inserting the entire blade into the guard's skull.

  These two guards, being the personal bodyguards of the chiliarch, were also strong and brave men, but under the sudden attack, they were slaughtered by Di Lie like chickens and ducks without any resistance.

  From shooting the guard to killing the remaining two, and then instantly killing the other two guards, the whole process took less than five seconds! The other two people who were still alive in the room were completely stunned, with a dazed expression on their faces.

  It wasn't until the girl was splattered with blood and woke up with a sharp cry that the interpreter was also shocked awake, and then his whole body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

  Di Lie put away his dagger, picked up his gun and sat down at the table with a swagger. He grabbed the meat from the plate and wolfed it down. As he ate, he asked, "Are you two Song people?"

  The girl and the interpreter were both pale, nodding repeatedly. The interpreter wanted to say something, but his tongue was as if it had been tied into a knot, unable to make any sound.

  "Don't worry, I don't usually kill Song people - of course, that's assuming they don't pose a threat to me." Di Lie said calmly, "Now, let's talk about your situation, the two of you."

  The man finally plucked up the courage, after receiving a promise of protection for his life. The interpreter, Hou Fangjing, finally spoke up: "This hero... my humble name is Hou Fangjing, I was originally a tea and horse merchant who traveled between the Song and Jin countries. A few months ago, when the Jin people invaded the south, I was intercepted while traveling on business, my goods were confiscated, but fortunately, I had spent many years traveling along the border of Jin and Liao, so I knew some Jurchen and Khitan languages, and thus was appointed as an interpreter, barely escaping death. These Jin dogs don't treat Song people like humans, they lash out with whips at the slightest displeasure, I too have suffered a lot of torture, it's really unbearable..."

  Di Lie's expression turned cold as he cut off the other person's words: "So what do you plan to do now?"

  Hou Fangjing was taken aback at first, then noticed Di Lie's icy gaze and couldn't help but shiver. He hastily kowtowed and trembled as he said: "This humble life was saved by the hero, naturally willing to follow the hero, but please give orders."

  Di Lie said calmly, "It's too early to talk about following anyone, but before we leave this place, you must stay within my line of sight... now it's your turn." Di Lie shifted his gaze to the girl.

  The girl, after this period of recovery, was much calmer and bowed her head to say: "I am a tribute woman presented by the imperial court to the Jin State..."

  Tribute girl? The literal meaning can probably be guessed, this should be one of the spoils of war that the defeated Song State presented to the victor. Di Lie carefully looked at the girl, although her face was still pale and her body was stained with blood, she couldn't hide her youthful beauty, even in later generations, she would be a target for talent scouts to pursue. Di Lie nodded, indicating for her to continue.

  The young girl stammered for half a moment, her face flushing red: "My humble name is Ye Die'er..."

  Di Lie grunted and waited for half a day, but didn't hear the girl speak again. He couldn't help but be stunned: "Is that it?"

  The butterfly maiden lowered her head in shame and no longer spoke.

  Di Lie patted his head: "That's right, the life trajectory of young women in this era is simple anyway. What else can be introduced besides identity and surname?" He turned to Hou Fangjing and said, "It's strange, although the movement I made earlier was not big, but Miss Ye's scream was not small, why hasn't anyone come to check for half a day?"

  "Miss Ye?" Hou Fangjing found Di Lie's address quite strange, because in the Song Dynasty, there was a general term for young women - "little girl". Strange as it was, Hou Fangjing didn't dare to correct him, and only smiled wryly: "In this Jin army camp, whether it is the Jin people or the Song captives, they are used to various calls for women. The call of 'Miss Ye' is actually quite ordinary..."

  Hou Fangjing spoke in a subtle tone, but both Di Lie and Ye Die'er understood his meaning. The former had a faintly discernible aura of evil intent between her eyebrows, while the latter's face lost its luster, secretly rejoicing that she was lucky to have encountered a savior just as she was being sent into the camp, thus preserving her innocence. Thinking this, she couldn't help but feel grateful and steal a glance at Di Lie, hmm, although he wasn't as refined as that young scholar who had just passed the imperial examination next door, the vigorous and heroic spirit between his eyebrows was quite reassuring...

  Just then, a sudden footstep and a shout came from outside the account. Hou Fangjing's face turned pale instantly, and he fell down with a thud.

  Di Lie's eyes flashed coldly, and he suddenly gripped his sniper rifle tightly.