dognovel Chapter 1128 Attack
Chapter 1128 Attack
As the car drove along Queen's Road, the arcades along the street were crowded with vendors. Vendors carrying loads on shoulder poles called out, "Wonton noodles—hot!" Rickshaw drivers wiped their sweat as they weaved through the crowd, their rickshaw bells ringing incessantly. Foreign firms along the street displayed English signs, and their glass windows showcased gleaming gramophones and peep shows. A few girls in school uniforms gathered around, pointing and laughing, their voices carried on the wind into the car.
The road leading to the tailor shop grew narrower and narrower, the shadows of the arcade buildings stretched long, and red paper advertisements for "Big Sale" were pasted on the walls, their edges curled up in the wind. Occasionally, you could see a coolie in short clothes carrying a sack, the words "Taikoo Shipping" printed on it, his footsteps making a "thump-thump" sound on the bluestone pavement.
“This area is on the edge of Yau Ma Tei,” Ah Cheng said while turning the steering wheel. “I don’t usually come here. I’ve heard it’s a mixed bag. But the owner of that tailor shop is from Shanghai. His skills are authentic. Brother Qiang found it through connections.”
Gui'er looked out the window. The houses here were shorter than those in Central, mostly two-story brick and wood structures. Blue cotton shirts and baby diapers were hanging on the balconies, and bamboo poles swayed precariously, almost hitting car windows. A little girl with braids was leaning on the windowsill, waving a rattle drum in her hand. When she saw a car pass by, her eyes widened.
“Speaking of which,” Ah Cheng suddenly lowered his voice, “I heard from Old Chen at the pier a few days ago that things aren’t peaceful in the New Territories. His cousin lives in Lok Ma Chau and said that he could see Japanese searchlights at night, and trucks were being transported to the border one after another. He said that there would be another ‘military exercise,’ which made the residents there scared again, and they started contacting relatives and friends in other areas to think about moving away.”
Gui'er's heart sank, and her fingertips clenched the hem of her clothes: "Don't the British have any measures in place?"
"Hmph." Ah Cheng scoffed. "The newspapers talk about 'joint defense between China and Britain' every day, but when it really comes down to it, those bigwigs have already sent their families to Australia. In the end, Hong Kong is nothing more than a place occupied by the British. In their minds, we are not one of their own. Why would they care about the people of Hong Kong?"
As the two talked, the car slowly moved forward. After turning a corner, a large green truck suddenly rushed out from in front of them. The words "Kowloon Warehouse" were printed in black on the front of the truck. It was going crazy and was heading straight for them.
"Damn it!" Acheng slammed the steering wheel, the tires screeching as they rubbed against the ground. The car narrowly avoided a head-on collision, but was still scraped hard by the truck. With a loud crash, the car shook violently. In this era, cars didn't have seatbelts, and Gui'er was thrown from her seat by inertia, slamming heavily against the other side door.
The car came to a wobbly stop on the side of the road. Acheng's temples were bulging with veins. He turned around and saw Gui'er covering her forehead, her face pale. He quickly asked, "Miss, are you alright?"
Gui'er shook her head, about to say something, when she heard several burly men jump out of the back of the truck with a "whoosh," holding wooden sticks and machetes, cursing and charging towards them menacingly.
Acheng's expression changed, and he slammed the car window shut, but the men had already rushed up to him. The wooden sticks slammed against the glass, shattering it into pieces in no time, with sharp fragments scattering all over the car.
"Grab that woman!" someone roared, and a rough hand reached in through the car window, reaching straight for Gui'er. Gui'er trembled with fear and quickly squatted down in the middle of the seat, grabbing a piece of broken glass and stabbing it at the hand.
"Ah!" the man cried out in pain, pulling his hand back. Another man thrust a machete inside. Gui'er recoiled, the blade grazing her hair. The others smashed the other side of the car window and rammed it in with sticks. A-Cheng reacted quickly, pulling a revolver from under his seat and firing a shot out the window.
Gunshots rang out in the narrow alley. The burly men froze for a moment; two of them instinctively took two steps back, fear flashing in their eyes—clearly they hadn't expected the other side to be armed. A-Cheng gripped his gun, his eyes fixed on the window: "Get out of here! If you don't leave, I'll shoot you all!"
The burly men exchanged glances.
"There's only one gun, and you can only shoot one at a time. Go for it! If you kill him, there'll be a reward."
At this moment, not only Gui'er, but even Acheng was stunned. He did not expect that this was actually a group of desperate criminals. Acheng himself had been involved in the underworld, and usually, no matter what, they would save their own lives first.
Immediately, the group of thugs surrounding the car started smashing and vandalizing it again. Some even brandished knives and reached inside, trying to open the car doors.
Acheng fired a shot at the person who was working the hardest.
"boom"
The man fell to the ground with a thud. This time, he showed no mercy and shot him in the chest.
Those people were stunned, and a few of the more timid ones took two steps back.
Acheng seized the opportunity to start the car, accelerated forward, and a burly man standing at the front of the car was caught off guard and knocked to the ground. The other burly men came to their senses and rushed forward again.
Acheng dared not stop the car. He knew that if he were surrounded by these people again, the danger would be great. He only had six bullets left in his pistol.
He stepped on the gas and ran over the person who had fallen to the ground, then drove off.
The car sped forward for several kilometers, not stopping even in crowded streets. Ah Cheng honked the horn incessantly, startling pedestrians who scattered in fear. People in shops on both sides peered out, watching the car with its shattered windows speed past.
It wasn't until they reached a quiet, secluded spot that Acheng dared to stop the car.
He turned around and found shards of glass scattered all over the car. Gui'er had beads of blood on her forehead, and several cuts on her face, hands, and neck from the broken glass. There were also bruises on her arms from being hit with a stick. Her eyes were wide open, and cold sweat was pouring down her face. She was completely terrified.
Panting heavily, A-Cheng hurriedly got out of the driver's seat and opened the car door to help her: "Miss, get out of the car quickly." In his carelessness, he also cut his hand, and blood immediately seeped from the wound.
Gui'er finally came to her senses. Although she had experienced many dangers, this was the first time she had ever faced such a vicious and blatant attack from so many people. She had even thought that she might not be able to escape today.
"Brother Cheng, you've scratched yourself too, be careful!" Gui'er quickly used her book to sweep away the glass shards on the seat and back of the chair, and then carefully moved herself off the bus.
"Miss, your hand is injured," Acheng said.