The corners of Daryl's mouth couldn't help but twitch upward. He shot a smug glance at the stunned Merle beside him and snorted.
"See that? I told you this bird would be useful. I'm the one who picked it up."
Merle rolled his eyes and lowered his voice, ruthlessly deflating him, "It's not like you raised it. What the hell are you so smug about?"
"Enough, shut it."
Rick put away the keys, interrupting the brothers' bickering. His eyes were filled with fighting spirit. "This is our chance. Move out!"
With the keys in hand, the subsequent infiltration became a smooth and logical process.
Merle and Daryl were like two black shadows. Using the cover of the scrap car wall, they crept up behind the side door guards.
The two coordinated perfectly, striking simultaneously. Merle covered the left guard's mouth while Daryl's dagger instantly sliced through the right guard's throat.
The two guards didn't make a sound before their bodies were quietly dragged into the dark undergrowth.
Click.
The key was inserted into the lock and turned gently; the side door swung open in response.
With a wave of Rick's hand, the group entered in single file, quickly fanning out and seeking cover behind the scrap vehicles in the yard.
Everything was carried out in silence, demonstrating the terrifying rapport this team had forged through countless life-and-death situations.
However, accidents always accompany battle.
Just as Rick's team broke into the inner courtyard and prepared to advance toward the workshop where the captives were held, a hound tied up in the shadows beneath a scrap car suddenly began to bark wildly!
"Woof! Woof woof!!"
This beast was clearly much more alert than the lazy guards. The barking was exceptionally piercing in the silent night, instantly tearing through everyone's camouflage.
"Who's there?!"
"Rats have snuck in!!"
The auto repair shop immediately erupted into chaos. The previously closed roller shutter door was violently pulled open, and the sound of disorganized footsteps was accompanied by the crisp clatter of bolts being racked.
Immediately following, countless blinding high-intensity flashlights and weapon lights suddenly flared to life, so bright they almost blinded everyone.
"Stop!"
On the rusted corrugated iron walkway upstairs, a burly man wearing a filthy tank top with arms full of tattoos pushed past his subordinates and stepped out.
He held a modified submachine gun, looking down from his high vantage point at the intruders locked in the beams of light.
Though he was somewhat surprised by how they had snuck in so silently, the leader showed no panic, seeing that his dozens of fully armed brothers had already occupied the high ground and firing positions.
On the contrary, he even wanted to toy with these trapped rats.
"Yo, middle of the night, and you make such a big scene?"
The leader leaned one hand on the railing with a fake, cat-and-mouse smile on his face, his voice sounding exceptionally arrogant in the night air.
"Don't be nervous, fellas. If you're lost or looking for some gas or something, we can totally talk like civilized people."
"In this day and age, a living person is more precious than a bullet. No need to have flesh and blood flying everywhere the moment we meet, right?"
He babbled on, putting on a helpless and hospitable front, attempting to trick Rick and the others into lowering their guard.
At the same time, he subtly signaled his subordinates to flank them from both sides and surround the group.
"We're all friends here..."
Shuu!
The response he got was a rocket trailing fire!
A deafening explosion erupted on the second-floor walkway!
A massive fireball instantly swallowed the area behind the leader, blasting a huge hole in the fragile corrugated iron wall.
The few lackeys standing behind the leader, just about to raise their guns to fire, didn't even have time to scream before they were torn to shreds by flames and shrapnel, falling along with the collapsing walkway railing.
In the nick of time, that leader relied on a beast-like instinct to suddenly lunge to the side!
The shockwave sent him flying, slamming him heavily behind a distant sandbag fortification. Though he was dazed and battered, the cover and distance saved his life.
Smoke filled the air as debris rained down like gravel.
Rick's ears were ringing from the blast. He wiped the dust from his face and turned to shout at Merle.
"Merle! Didn't I say to try and not make such a big noise?!"
"Yeah..."
Merle tossed aside the hot launcher, shrugged with a rogue-like expression, and replied righteously, "That's why I only fired one, nice and easy."
Daryl, whose ears were also ringing, immediately gave his brother a middle finger in a show of support.
Seeing that the group was on the verge of arguing again, Glenn stepped forward awkwardly.
"Uh... regardless, we've successfully infiltrated now anyway. Let's focus on the task at hand?"
At the edge of the ruins, the leader scrambled up from behind the sandbags in a pathetic state.
He shook his dizzy head, feeling the blood and dust all over his face.
Looking at the smoking hole behind him, the fake smile on his face completely vanished.
He flicked the blood off his hand, his eyes turning cold and cruel. "Looks like you chose the hard way."
"Kill them!!"
An intense firefight broke out instantly.
Countless bullets poured down like a rainstorm, creating a dense clatter as they struck the metal shells of the scrap cars. Windshields shattered into countless shards, scattering like snow under the beams of the searchlights.
"Dammit! The fire is too heavy! I'm pinned down!"
T-Dog was pinned down behind a stack of massive truck tires by the rapid hail of bullets, unable to even lift his head.
Andrea's palms were slick with cold sweat as she gripped her gun, but she forced herself to hold her breath and tighten her hold on the grip.
Bang!
A crisp gunshot rang out, cutting through the cacophony of the battlefield.
The thug who was pulling the trigger suddenly stiffened, a flower of blood blooming on his chest. He fell backward, and that damn machine gun went silent.
Feeling the suppression lift, T-Dog quickly peeked out and then turned back to give Andrea a delighted thumbs-up.
"Nice shot, Andrea!"
More bullets then slammed into the tires, sending rubber fragments flying and kicking up dust over a person's height.
"What are you afraid of? These bastards might have numbers, but they're just a damn mob!"
Merle hid behind the hood of a scrapped sedan. Peering through a gap in the chassis while expertly reloading his shotgun, he leaned out and blew the head off a thug trying to flank them.
The leader had not yet realized the gravity of the situation. He was hiding behind a thick steel plate, coldly watching the battle below.
Although the enemy's firepower was intense and their marksmanship terrifyingly accurate, this was his home turf. He naturally had trump cards these outsiders wouldn't expect.
"A bunch of idiots who don't know they're dead."
He barked orders to the subordinates beside him, "You guys, take some men and flank them through the scrap piles in the back! Block all the exits. I want to catch them alive and play with them slowly."
"Boss," one subordinate hesitated, pointing toward the rear, "but aren't our people still inside? The women and children are all hidden near there. If a fight breaks out and they get caught in the crossfire..."
Although this gang was brutal, they weren't all loners. Some members had family members who were settled in the relatively safe workshops at the back.
"Who cares about them?"
The leader spat impatiently, his eyes full of indifference. "Who has time to worry about that now? A bunch of useless weaklings, just a waste of food."
"If they die, it just lightens the load!"
The subordinate was so frightened by the murderous glint in the leader's eyes that he shrunk back. Realizing there was no one in there he cared about anyway, he shut his mouth and said no more.
"Go! Get 'The Beast' out here!"
The leader pointed to a modified pickup truck in the corner of the yard, welded over with steel plates and spikes, and grinned savagely.
"Since these rats like hiding behind cars, then crush them for me! Smash right through them, men and cars alike!"
"Yes, sir!"