Los Angeles defector

Accidental killing

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! Friendly forces, friendly forces."

Hearing the shouts from the other side, Old Blackskin angrily jumps out from behind the low wall and exclaims, "I'll be damned, you bunch of turtle bastards, are you all possessed by demons?"

The person at the very front, startled by Jason's g*n barrel and the already deeply depressed trigger, breaks out in a cold sweat and stammers, "I had intended to take this second floor as a firing position, little did I know you all were here."

Old Blackskin responds irritably, "This crucial position was assigned to our third platoon by the platoon leader. You guys better get out of here."

Silly Boy, grimacing and clutching his lower back, gets up and grumbles towards Jason, "Why do you always kick me? If you're brave enough, go kick someone bigger."

Brown, reflecting on the recent events, couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. After calming down, he replayed the moment in his mind. Everyone's reactions were crystal clear in that instant. Old Blackskin, that old stubborn guy, fell so quickly and skillfully, managing to land in a blind spot. Brown almost thought he had slipped on a banana peel and was tempted to give him a round of applause. He truly lived up to his reputation as a seasoned veteran. As for Jason, who was at the rear and unaware of the situation, he was the only one about to open fire in that split second. While Brown and the others, including the guys from the opposing squad, were still busy chambering their rounds, that guy was already on the verge of taking lives. He was as alert and swift as a wolf. This inhuman ability couldn't be attributed to mere luck or coincidence. Old Blackskin must know more than he let on. Watching Silly Boy complain to Jason, Brown thought to himself, "Silly Boy is just that, silly. He doesn't appreciate the fortune he's in. I would have gladly taken that kick instead of him, and I would have thanked Jason afterward."

Both the occupants of the ground floor and the upper floor carefully surveyed the surroundings. The brick wall on the ground floor appeared thick and sturdy, with a square opening in one corner of the ceiling. A wooden staircase had been constructed against the wall, leading up to the opening and connecting to the second floor. The second floor seemed to be predominantly made of wood, suggesting that the house was built in two stages. Jason prevented the big guy from attempting to open the window and instead observed the direction of the harbor through a broken corner of the window. The harbor was approximately 400 meters away, with numerous buildings in between, making it difficult to discern the details of the harbor through the foggy haze.

Old Blackskin instructed Brown to keep an eye on the door of the ground floor while telling Silly Boy to find furniture or wooden boards to block the ground floor window. Afterward, Old Blackskin climbed up to the second floor and observed the surroundings through the window. He then sat on the floor, took out a cigarette, and lit it. "The position is a bit higher, but it's good for using suppressed firearms. At least we don't have to engage in close-quarters combat up front. With the thick fog like this, we can only rely on the sound of gunfire. Can't see the vampires' figures at all. This time, we can even save on suppressed firearms," Old Blackskin muttered to himself, as if seeking Jason's opinion.

Jason's eyes remained fixated on the c***k in the window, carefully discerning the sounds of gunfire amidst the fog. He replied to Old Blackskin, almost as if talking to himself, "If the fog gathers and doesn't disperse, it will rain. If the fog disperses, it will be clear."

Second Platoon's Sergeant Big Yellow Teeth led his subordinates, the brothers of Second Platoon, as they blindly felt their way forward in the residential alleyways. They turned here and there without paying attention to how far they had gone, feeling a sense of unease creeping into their minds. The Company Commander instructed me to reach a distance where I could see vampires. How far is that? Haven't even spotted a single ghostly figure. Damn it, the First Platoon found shelter in a house, while my Second Platoon is still aimlessly wandering. What will we do if we end up in the embrace of a vampire? He raised his hand to stop the following brothers, and the formation temporarily leaned against the wall, coming to a halt.

The soldier turned around and asked the soldier behind him, "Do you know how far we've advanced?"

"Maybe... around two hundred meters? Or three hundred meters?" the soldier replied.

"Damn it, am I asking you or are you asking me?" the first soldier retorted.

At that moment, another soldier approached and said, "Platoon leader, can you hear the gunshots from the east? Are we parallel with the vampires on the small street?"

Big Yellow Teeth perked up his ears. He could hear the gunshots from the east, even through several layers of buildings. The sound of the crooked handle was particularly clear, with rapid bursts that resembled popping beans, without a hint of exhaustion. Occasionally, it was mixed with the chattering cries of vampires. Big Yellow Teeth's thoughts shifted, and he decided to make a quick detour to the small street in the east. From the side, he would strike at the vampires, helping to relieve the pressure of the ongoing confrontation on the small street. With a wave of his hand, the second platoon turned left and stealthily made their way towards the small street in the east.

Just one or two minutes later, at the corner of the wall where the second platoon had just stopped, a squad of vampires began searching in the opposite direction...

On the small street, the first platoon was engaged in a direct firefight with the vampires. The visibility was extremely poor, forcing them to blindly shoot at each other from their improvised positions. They took cover behind street-facing windows, door frames, porch pillars, and steps, crouching and hiding as the crooked handle across the street kept sweeping the area. The Czech soldiers on their side responded with constant shouts. The distance was too far for hand grenades to be effective, and although the vampires had grenade launchers, the lack of visibility made it difficult for them to target accurately. Despite the blind shooting, the small street was straight, allowing them to aim along the street and hit their targets, albeit with some guesswork. Since the firefight began, the first platoon had already lost over ten soldiers, with even more wounded. Apart from the machine gunner who was still active, most of the others were hiding on both sides of the street, relying only on the sound of bullets whizzing past. The small street had reached a stalemate, and they could only hope for the guerrilla warfare in the alleys and passages of the residential buildings on both flanks.

Big Yellow Teeth, along with the second platoon, finally made their way to the side of the small street, only one house away from the vampires who were blocking the street. He gestured with his hand, signaling over twenty comrades to press against the wall and crouch down. He lifted his ears, carefully determining the location of the machine g*n fire behind the building. He grinned to himself, thinking that if he could eliminate the enemy on the small street, it would be his accomplishment. Finally, his second platoon would have a chance to shine. He turned around and quietly beckoned his comrades to gather around, whispering, "You three in the front, no, three won't be enough. You five, each of you prepare a hand grenade. When you hear my command, throw them over to the neighboring houses."

"Platoon leader, I don't have any hand grenades!" the new recruit Ethan interjected, looking bewildered.

"What the hell, can't you ask someone nearby for one? You're so damn stupid. Don't interrupt. Oh, when the hand grenade goes off, First Platoon charges through the left side of the house, Second Platoon flanks from the right, and Third Platoon follows me through the window. Give them all a good beating, no one should hesitate. Is that clear to everyone?"

Seeing his comrades nod in understanding, Big Yellow Teeth stood up and leaned against the window at the back of the house. He carefully raised his rifle, slowly and silently pulling back the bolt, making sure it didn't make a sound. "Take your positions, get ready!" he said in a low voice.

Sssshhh— The fuses of four hand grenades were pulled, emitting smoke as they flew over the roof.

It was the first time for the new recruit Ethan to use a hand grenade. His heart was pounding incessantly, feeling thirsty and his legs trembling. Seeing the four people beside him already throwing their grenades, he hesitated for a moment. Turning his face away, he gritted his teeth and pulled the fuse of the hand grenade, closing his eyes as he swung it towards the roof. The fifth one also flew up, emitting smoke.

Clang clang—rattle—three smoking wooden handle grenades happily bounced on the gravel ground of the small street, leaving a dozen vampires who were focused on shooting dumbfounded. The hunchbacked machine gunner and two assistant gunners crouching under the eaves also stopped shooting upon hearing this strange sound and turned their heads to look. Crash—The fourth grenade also fell down through the gaps between the roof tiles, landing with a loud bang on the machine gunner's helmet.

Boom boom boom boom—The chemical reaction expanded perfectly in a radial pattern, accompanied by seductively plump smoke. Within a radius of a dozen meters, everything shattered into pieces, accompanied by a breathtakingly intense tremor. Almost none of the dozen or so enemies on the spot survived, and the machine gunner's torso was completely obliterated. The effect was flawless.

Grenade! Charge!

First and second squads dashed out along the sides of the buildings. Big Yellow Tooth smashed open the window next to him with the butt of his rifle, using one hand to grab the windowsill and leaping into the room. Several members of the third squad followed suit.

The fifth grenade had the longest fuse delay. It was thrown with a slightly higher arc, spinning leisurely in the air before reaching its peak and pausing momentarily. Then, trailing a plume of smoke, it descended straight down, smashing through the roof tiles, piercing the roof, and landing right in front of Big Yellow Tooth inside the house.

This was destiny, something that nobody could escape. On the battlefield, the one who kills you isn't always the enemy; sometimes, it might be yourself.

Boom—the entire house trembled as if it had sneezed. The explosive shockwave shattered all the doors and windows, and a thick cloud of smoke, ash, and debris billowed out, sending the last soldier from the third squad, who had just crawled in through the rear window, flying out as well.

The explosion inside the house momentarily stunned the first and second squads advancing on both sides of the house. Some of them were knocked off their feet, but they still pressed forward. At a moment like this, nobody paid attention to the explosion inside the house. Amidst the smoke from the explosion, the second platoon charged onto the small street, which was now covered in vampire corpses and blood. There wasn't a living soul in sight, causing a momentary daze. But in an instant, as the smoke cleared, dozens of vampire figures emerged on the street leading to the dock...