lcionline Chapter 152 Speed of Life and Death
Chapter 152 Speed of Life and Death
Chapter 152 Speed of Life and Death
"boom-!!!"
On the highway, the Dodge Challenger roared like a raging ancient beast, its V8 engine under the hood unleashing a deadly roar.
Qin Han gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands, staring intently at the gray Ford sedan that was desperately fleeing through the traffic ahead.
A heavy truck loaded with logs was changing lanes when the gray Ford narrowly missed it, grazing the edge of the truck.
Qin Han didn't even apply the brakes; he simply turned the steering wheel sharply to the left.
The Dodge Challenger cut into the overtaking lane right next to the truck, getting even closer to the vehicle in front.
"Snap!"
In the passenger seat, veteran Sam gripped the Remington pistol with one hand and skillfully cocked it.
He leaned most of his body out of the window, steadily supporting the heavy gun, and aimed at the gray Ford that was swerving left and right in front of him.
"Bang!"
A deafening gunshot rang out on the highway, the piercing sound of metal tearing apart accompanied by bursts of sparks, completely shattering the Ford's left taillight.
But that sniper was clearly a tough opponent.
Despite the severe damage to the rear of his car, he maintained a steady driving trajectory and instead veered to the right between two family cars, attempting to use civilian vehicles as human shields.
The assassin knew that if he were stopped, he would not have a good ending facing the two furious men in the car.
There was a ramp ahead, and he had no intention of slowing down at all. Less than fifty meters from the ramp entrance, he suddenly slammed on the handbrake!
"squeak-!!!"
With a dramatic drift, Ford fooled Qin Han, avoiding the ramp and instead crossing the median strip to drive into the oncoming lane.
The car window had been completely shattered by Zhou Ruofei. Under the pull of centrifugal force, the black canvas bag containing the sniper rifle on the back seat was flung out of the car with a "whoosh" through the broken window!
The Ford then drove against traffic off the opposite ramp and into a poor neighborhood in Los Angeles.
Qin Han's mind was rapidly weighing the pros and cons.
The slums beneath the ramp are a labyrinth of alleyways, making it virtually impossible to catch a professionally trained assassin.
But inside that canvas bag was the other party's murder weapon, which was absolutely equally important physical evidence!
"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, slamming the accelerator to the floor.
The Dodge Challenger slid forward for dozens of meters under its enormous inertia, coming to a stop less than half a meter in front of the canvas bag.
Qin Han jumped off the car and picked up the long, dusty backpack.
"Chirai!"
Unzipping the canvas bag revealed its contents, causing Sam beside him to gasp in shock.
"XM21! Goodness, this isn't something just anyone can get their hands on!" He stroked the long barrel of the gun and exclaimed in amazement.
"Even within the army, only the most elite snipers are allowed to use this weapon."
A weapon representing the highest level of industrial technology currently in service with the U.S. military has fallen into the hands of an assassin who is trying to kill Bruce Lee.
The implications of this are self-evident.
It's no longer a simple case of conglomerates hiring killers; within this massive chain of vested interests, high-ranking moles in Washington must have played an extremely dirty role.
The protective umbrella shielding the "Japanese clique" was far larger and more deeply entrenched than he had imagined.
"Get in the car, back to base!" Qin Han zipped up the canvas bag, threw it into the back seat, turned around and climbed into the driver's seat. Twenty minutes later, in the underground command center of Han's Security, at an abandoned cannery on the outskirts of the city.
"Bang!"
Qin Han tossed the heavy canvas bag onto the table. Bruno unzipped it and glanced at it. The head coach's face instantly turned as ugly as Sam's.
"What does this mean?" He looked up at Qin Han, whose face was ashen. "These Japanese actually managed to get their hands on this level of weaponry?"
"This is the answer we need to ask those big shots." Qin Han pulled his sniper rifle out of his bag. "Contact General Samuel and General Bill immediately!"
"We'll first disassemble the gun, take photos of the serial number, factory stamp, and batch number of each part, and then immediately fax them to them!"
Bruno nodded and immediately turned to walk towards the communication device next to him.
Qin Han stared at the murder weapon on the table, his mind racing.
.
This weapon, representing the highest level of military technology, nearly killed America's most famous martial artist and caused widespread panic.
What would the Nixon administration think if such irrefutable evidence were placed on the desk in the Oval Office?
After arranging the veterans' work, Qin Han did not stay at the base and immediately drove back to his villa in West Hollywood.
Zhou Ruofei had already dispatched security personnel to guard the area, and more than ten young Chinese people dressed in black were watching the surroundings warily.
Pushing open the heavy door, Qin Han entered the living room.
Bruce Lee had changed out of his iconic yellow jumpsuit and into a loose white Tang suit.
"Master, that gunman got away." He stopped two steps behind Bruce Lee, his voice slightly helpless.
Bruce Lee turned around, his angular face showing neither relief nor fear after escaping death, only a calm expression.
"It's alright, are you alright? Are you hurt?" He squeezed Qin Han's shoulder and asked with concern.
"The assassin drove his car into the slums, but the terrain was too complicated, and he escaped. But we got his gun, a high-precision military sniper rifle that was still in service."
"I've already had Bruno submit the evidence to the military, and this will cause a major upheaval in Washington."
Qin Han reported the situation truthfully, then took a deep breath and presented the plan he had repeatedly considered on the way back: "Master, this is no longer an ordinary assassination. This gun indicates that the American high command behind the Japanese is getting restless. The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. For the next period of time, you must minimize all public appearances."
"It's not just about personal schedules. For all upcoming UFC promotional events, including media interviews, I suggest having someone else handle them. If you absolutely must appear in person, use a stunt double with a similar build, and even indoors, wear the highest level of bulletproof gear."
Bruce Lee looked at his most valued disciple, his chest heaving slightly.
Suddenly, he reached out and ripped open the collar of his Tang suit.
There was a very noticeable red mark on the skin next to the carotid artery.
"Ah Han, look carefully." His voice remained resolute: "Just a hair's breadth away, my head would have exploded like a watermelon today."
"You want me to hide now? To wear a bulletproof vest and have a body double stand in front of the media in my place?"
"Have you forgotten what I taught you?"
Taking a step forward, the master's aura exploded forth: "The philosophy of Jeet Kune Do is 'Be Water'."
"Water, when gentle, can be contained in a cup; but when driven to the brink, it can become a devastating torrent, capable of destroying everything in its path!"
"If we back down today and put on bulletproof vests, those rats hiding in the gutter will think we're scared, and they'll take advantage of us and come within ten steps!"
"Will I have to hide in the basement even to eat and sleep then?"
For a moment, Qin Han was unable to find any words to refute it.
"But Master, this isn't a duel on the ring, it's a sniper rifle!" He gritted his teeth and tried to persist.
"I know that's a gun!" Bruce Lee interrupted him, pacing back and forth in front of the French windows. "Han, you're a smart businessman, can't you tell?"
He pointed to the city outside the window: "Why did they dare to open fire at Long Beach Harbor? Because they thought they could create an accident in the chaos, and afterwards, those politicians could still blame it on a regular gangland feud or an attack by a madman."
"Especially in times like these, we must not hide; we must be high-profile!"
"I want the eyes of all of America, and indeed the world, to be fixed on me 24/7!"
Bruce Lee's every word resonated deeply: "I want everyone to know who the murderer is, and who is protecting the murderer!"
"With millions of eyes watching, even if they had atomic bombs, they would never dare to lay a finger on me!"
After hearing Bruce Lee's words, Qin Han's mind raced.
This logic of applying pressure in reverse works fine under normal circumstances, but now that the other party is hiding their true intentions, how can we shift the pressure onto them?
It seems we can only make things harder for President Nixon.
Only if any action against Bruce Lee is escalated to a fatal blow to the credibility of the US government, making him feel the pain, will he really take action to properly suppress the "Japanese clique" within the government.
"I understand, Master." An unyielding madness ignited in Qin Han's eyes: "Since they want to play, then let's take this fire to the White House lawn!"
He walked to the phone, picked up the receiver, and dialed Lorna Barrett's number.
"Lorna, it's me."
A frantic voice came from the other end of the phone: "Qin! God, I already know about what happened at Long Beach Port!"
Is Bruce alright? Are you hurt?
"We're all fine. Lorna, listen, I need you to prepare a live interview for viewers across America tomorrow night. The guest is Bruce Lee."
He explained Bruce Lee's strategic maneuvering in detail to the media queen.
The port shooting is currently the biggest news story in the US, providing perfect fuel to the fire and turning this assassination into a media frenzy that forces the US government to confront the issue.
The gunshot and the broken microphone couldn't be covered up.
The event was attended by some of the nation's top sports media, who captured every detail of the terrifying moment with their cameras and microphones.
The next morning, the sun rose as usual, and the American press was once again presented with earth-shattering news.
As soon as the newsstand opened, all the newspapers were snapped up.
The New York Times' front-page headline, printed in bold, read: "Assassination in broad daylight! Kung Fu King succumbs to fatal sniper attack!"
The Los Angeles Times published a high-resolution black-and-white photo on its front page that took up half the page—Bruce Lee lying on the ground, with a microphone in front of him shattered by a bullet.
The accompanying headline was even more provocative: "[Ghost Gunman Spotted at Long Beach Harbor: Who's Turning America into a Killing Ground?]"
Even tabloids that usually only care about gossip are all reporting on this real-life action thriller.
That evening, the media storm reached its true climax.
Tens of millions of households across the United States turned on their radios and tuned in to Lorna Barrett’s special live interview program.
"Bruce, what happened in Long Beach yesterday shocked everyone." Lorna's voice, devoid of its usual lightheartedness during gossip interviews, became extremely serious. "As far as we know, this isn't the first time you've faced such a deadly threat. The attempted bombing on Oscar night also appeared to be aimed at you and your team."
"I'm sorry to have caused concern among my fans and those who care about me."
Addressing an audience across America, Bruce Lee posed a carefully prepared question: "But my question is, why?"
"Why would a sniper fire so recklessly at a high-profile sports press conference in a country that prides itself on freedom and security?"
"Why did such horrific attacks occur in such a short period of time, from Hollywood's cultural center to Los Angeles' public harbor?"
"Who gave these terrorists such overwhelming firepower? And who is allowing them to repeatedly point their guns at unarmed civilians?"
"I am a martial artist, and also an ordinary filmmaker. I can protect myself with my fists and my security team, but who will protect ordinary American citizens?"
"If the gunman were pointing the gun at you, sitting in front of the radio, could you have avoided that threat?"
This live interview was like pouring a bucket of boiling gasoline on the anger of the American people.
The public is absolutely furious!
The bombshell of the Oscars ceremony had only just passed a few days ago, and the official vague press release already raised many questions.
Now, in broad daylight, right under the noses of hundreds of reporters, a sniper has opened fire to assassinate a national idol?
Countless people spontaneously took to the streets, holding protest signs, and surrounded Los Angeles City Hall and federal police stations across the country.
"We don't want lies! We want the truth!"
"Is the government's security system just a piece of paper?!"
"Who is condoning terrorists? Find the traitor!" The angry shouts grew louder and louder.
Washington, D.C., the White House.
Inside the Oval Office, President Nixon stared at a stack of urgent reports on protests and demonstrations across the country, his eyes bloodshot, his chest heaving.
Across from him, Secretary of State Kissinger stood with a grim face, saying nothing.
"Bang!"
Nixon grabbed his favorite coffee cup from the table and smashed it hard against the marble fireplace!
They've really shot themselves in the foot!
After the Oscars scandal, his original plan was brilliant: to conceal the Chinese background and use the urban legend of the "Hollywood anti-terrorism hero" to divert public attention from the Watergate scandal and give the government, which was mired in the scandal, a chance to breathe.
As it turns out, this tactic did work, and there were signs of a rebound in public opinion polls.
But now, that boomerang has slammed into his own head!
The news of Bruce Lee's assassination sparked panic across the United States. The foolish "Japanese gang" actually used military firearms to openly assassinate him on American soil in order to protect their interests in Asia!
The public now, in addition to accusations of "eavesdropping on political opponents" and "political corruption," also labels the issue as "government incompetence."
'
A new charge of "conniving with terrorists"!
"Mr. President—" Kissinger's voice carried a hint of bitterness: "The Pentagon has just sent word that General Bill has recovered the lost sniper rifle."
"Those are weapons from the Department of Defense's special equipment inventory. He has applied to Congress for an internal investigation order based on that."
Nixon slumped into a chair, staring blankly at the ceiling.
If they continue to try to smooth things over, they risk being impeached by Congress very soon.