Chapter 309

Chapter 309

A Costly Mistake

"Lin Kangnian," Zheng Jun shouted, ignoring the children, "We've known each other for years. Why are you forcing us into a corner? The Zhengs have already conceded and are backing off. Do you really need to wipe us out and make this a bloodbath?"

As he yelled, he gestured to the others, signaling them to leave first.

These guys, all bark and no bite, panicked when things got real. None of them noticed Zheng Jun's signals—except Zhou Ling.

Crouching, she covered her daughter, hissing at her to keep quiet and not make a sound, then began fleeing...

When she bolted, no shots rang out. Others who had steadied their nerves also started to act, throwing off Lin Nannan’s ambush—she’d missed her shot at Zhou Ling.

She had no qualms fighting anyone—except kids. No matter whose child it was, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Not just her—even Yu Jiadong and the others couldn’t do it. So, they could only target those trying to protect Zhou Ling and her group as they fled.

They were dug in like rats. Zheng Jun fought a desperate retreat, only to despair as his companions fell one by one. Meanwhile, those lurking in the shadows remained unharmed—he hadn’t even seen their faces.

"Lin Kangnian, Lu Hang, don’t push this too far! If it comes to a fight to the death, we won’t back down either!" Zheng Jun bluffed, hoping to buy more time.

Lin Nannan, who hadn’t been named, chuckled softly, finding Zheng Jun’s bravado rather unconvincing.

Zheng Jun barely escaped, leaving a trail of bodies, abandoning their gear in their scramble.

He never guessed they were after the weapons, not him.

Zheng Jie had equipped them with the best gear, so the fallen had plenty on them. Once Lin Nannan confirmed Zheng Jun had fled, she immediately ransacked the bodies, grabbing anything useful without hesitation.

To them, it was survival—every bullet counted.

Yu Jiadong hefted the loot, impressed by Lin Nannan’s gamble paying off.

When she’d proposed stealing ammo, they’d laughed her off. But she’d zeroed in on the Zhengs’ arsenal instead, set up the ambush, and hit the jackpot.

Not only had they dealt Zheng Jun heavy losses, but they’d also replenished their own stockpile, boosting their confidence.

"Let’s go!" Lin Nannan ordered once everything was gathered. She paid no mind to the dead and wounded, eager to leave before Zheng Jie and his men arrived and confronted them directly.

Even armed to the teeth, they’d be crushed by Zheng Jie’s crew—he was the main force, and they had no idea how many he’d bring.

Earlier, she’d taken the gamble precisely because Zheng Jun’s group was small and Zheng Jie was absent, signaling they’d split up.

If they’d stuck together, she’d have stayed in hiding.

As they retreated, their excitement was hard to contain—especially the youngest, thrilled by their victory. "That was way too easy! Wish we could’ve finished them for good."

"Dream on," Lin Nannan scoffed bluntly. "They were rushing out and half-assed the fight. Plus, they thought it was Lu Hang’s group in the shadows, so they held back. If they’d known it was us, we’d be dead already."

If caught, they’d hunt us down—no survivors.

In the end, they’d won by trickery.

"Heh, guess you’re right," the younger one replied, unbothered, rubbing his neck with a grin.

Still, their joy was undeniable—though Lin Nannan’s thoughts were elsewhere.

She chewed over why the Zhengs had divided their forces. Shouldn’t they have pressed forward in one decisive push?

She frowned, and Yu Jiadong asked her about it. After she explained, Yu Jiadong analyzed, "They have concerns, afraid of being wiped out in one go. Splitting up would be safer."

This left Lin Nannan completely baffled.

"How could splitting up be safer? Shouldn't they make a decisive break and just get it over with?" She thought whoever came up with this idea was being overly cautious and had made a blunder.

Yu Jiadong didn’t know how to respond to that.

What he didn’t say was that if it were him, he’d probably make the same choice. After all, this was the Zheng family’s last hope. If they all went together and something went wrong, no one could bear the consequences, and their plan would fail completely.

By splitting up, they still had a chance. Even if one group was lost, a few could still be protected. As long as some made it out, their plan would succeed.

Lin Nannan only pondered for a moment before dismissing it and seizing on another key point. "Do you think if we follow Zheng Jie, we might get a cut of the action?"

Yu Jiadong had already been nervous as hell when Lin Nannan proposed her earlier plan, only going along because they had the advantage of surprise and their small numbers.

Now, hearing she wanted to target Zheng Jie, he felt his stomach dropped.

"The Zheng family is calculating. Knowing something might happen, God knows how many men they’ve arranged? There might even be an ambush waiting. If we get sandwiched, we’ll be surrounded. Do you really want to try?" he asked bluntly.

Lin Nannan was good at avoiding danger. After hearing Yu Jiadong’s analysis, she immediately shook her head in refusal.

"Forget it. Let’s distribute the weapons first," Lin Nannan dropped the crazy plan and said to Yu Jiadong, "Zheng Jun’s group will definitely run into an ambush. No matter who it is, a tough fight is unavoidable. They probably didn’t expect the Zheng family to split into two groups, so after burning through ammo, they’ll be running on fumes. Once it’s over, we’ll need to resupply them."

Yu Jiadong and the others had already prepared for this and didn’t object.

Just as Lin Nannan predicted, Lu Hang and his men hadn’t expected the Zheng family to split up. When they detected movement, they attacked immediately, leading to an all-out shootout where both sides burned through their ammo without holding back.

Due to their position and the element of surprise, Zheng Jun’s group, still reeling from the earlier skirmish, was sent into a tailspin again. The battle ended quickly, leaving even Zheng Jun severely injured.

When Lu Hang and his men descended and realized Zheng Jie wasn’t among them, they knew something was wrong. Upon learning that Zheng Jie hadn’t come with them and that more were still behind, their faces fell.

They had already used up much of their ammunition in fear of the Zheng family escaping. If another group showed up, the situation would turn dire—they would surely lose.

Everyone’s faces grew grim, they had no clue what to do next.