Chapter 1700 - 1344: In a Narrow Encounter, the Brave Prevail (Part 2)

Almost simultaneously, he pulled the trigger.

At a distance of 287 meters, the .338 bullet's flight time is about 0.31 seconds, while the RPG-7 rocket takes about 0.1-0.2 seconds from ignition to exit the launch tube and accelerate to maximum speed.

The window of time he has may only be 0.5 seconds, or even shorter!

In the instant almost impossible for human consciousness to capture, Jiang Feng's brain worked frantically like an overclocked supercomputer—

The target's distance, azimuth, relative speed, wind speed vector, the effect of humidity on the trajectory, the RPG shooter's exposed area size, the likely flight path of the rocket...

All calculations, experiences, and instincts collapsed into an innate shooting plan within 0.1 seconds.

His muzzle twisted sharply with minimal range, and the reticle in the scope locked onto the figure at three o'clock with lightning speed, revealing more than half a shoulder and a rocket launcher.

There was no deliberate aim at the head or heart - the window was too small.

The reticle pressed steadily on the opponent's upper body.

Even if not immediately fatal, hitting the upper body could still cause lethal trauma and motion distortion.

Pull the trigger!

The AXMC's body steadied with a backward jolt.

Jiang Feng's shoulder, as if welded to the steel shoulder pad, absorbed most of the recoil.

His left hand pulled the bolt almost simultaneously with the gunshot, expelling the hot cartridge shell, allowing the second bullet to chamber precisely under spring action.

The .338 bullet spiraled through the air, and 0.31 seconds later, it slammed into the RPG handler's right chest.

The immense kinetic energy tore through muscle, shattered ribs, and shredded lung tissue in an instant.

The shooter reeled back as if struck by an invisible giant hammer, the RPG-7 slipping from his shoulder and flying away.

The ignited PG-7VL rocket lost stable guidance, wobbling into the sky and exploding into a harmless fireball about 300 meters above the ground.

The assistant quickly picked up the rocket launcher and swiftly loaded a new rocket.

Jiang Feng's muzzle adjusted without a pause.

BAM—

The second gunshot.

The bullet left the chamber.

0.36 seconds later, it struck below the assistant's collarbone.

The collarbone shattered instantly, the bullet deflecting and tearing through a large portion of neck muscle and blood vessels.

The drummer let out a heart-wrenching scream, his finger on the trigger spasming from agony.

The rocket launched but its angle terribly skewed, carving an ugly arc through the air and finally crashing into the rear of a Mercedes, exploding upon impact with the ground.

The violent shockwave slightly lifted the heavy bullet-proof vehicle's body before slamming it back to the ground.

The bullet-proof glass showed numerous cracks but hadn't shattered yet.

However, as the assistant was taken out, another RPG handler emerged from behind a pickup's rear tire, aiming the RPG launcher at Masood's Mercedes G-Wagon.

He seemed to witness the fate of his two predecessors, reacting with remarkable quickness.

He lunged from the burning pickup's wreckage, RPG-7 on his shoulder, the launcher's mouth zeroing in on the Mercedes the instant he appeared!

Without hesitation, his finger pressed the trigger with the utmost speed!

Jiang Feng's heart sunk heavily.

His AXMC had just finished its second shot's recoil reset, and even at his fastest, pulling the bolt, re-aiming, and stabilizing before firing again would never be quick enough to shoot before the opponent's rocket launched!

A fraction of a second makes the chasm between life and death!

"Two o'clock!"

Jiang Feng roared into the channel, an urgent call to nearby snipers.

In this life-and-death moment—

BAM!

An unusually crisp gunshot came from a support sniper position about seventy meters to Jiang Feng's left.

It was his observer Farhad, who had already trained his M110 semi-automatic sniper rifle in the general direction when Jiang Feng fired his first shot.

He didn't possess Jiang Feng's extraordinary marksmanship and speed, but he seized the deadly moment when the RPG handler fully exposed his torso for aiming!

The 7.62×51mm M118LR bullet exited at approximately 850 meters/second, and 0.25 seconds later, precisely struck below the RPG handler's right scapula!

The bullet disrupted part of the right arm's motor nerves and muscle tissue.

The shooter screamed, his body toppling left under the combined force of pain and bullet impact.

In that moment of imbalance, his spasming finger pulled the trigger.

The PG-7VR rocket roared out of the launch tube, but the shooter's tilted body caused the launch axis to veer dramatically.

It didn't aim for the passenger cabin of the Mercedes but, with a small angle, crashed into the car's front—the junction of the hood and windshield's edge!

This area was where the car's armor was relatively weak and structurally complex, connecting the bullet-proof glass and the car body framework.

BOOM—!!!!

An explosion more ferocious than any prior fireball instantly engulfed the front half of the Mercedes!

The tandem warhead's precursor charge first pierced through the hood armor, with the main charge following to detonate inside the engine bay!

Shattered engine parts, turbocharger fragments, and scorching coolant ejected in all directions.

Though the bullet-proof glass wasn't directly breached, it became densely striated with milky cracks from the proximity of the blast impact and intense heat, starting to crumble and peel from the edges.

Raging flames burst from the blown-open engine compartment, rapidly spreading along circuits and interiors towards the passenger compartment!

The explosion-proof fuel tank held for the time being, but the entire front half of the vehicle had become a burning iron coffin, with thick smoke billowing upward, straight into the not fully brightened sky.