Ran Pretty Fast

The Wasteland's wilds had always been dangerous. Mutated Beasts were terrifying, but people were even more terrifying!

Based on the bullet impacts and the sand kicked up, Qu Jianlei could roughly determine the other party's position.

They should be hiding on an inconspicuous little dirt mound ahead.

The reason it was inconspicuous was that there were two slightly taller mounds beside it.

But taller did not necessarily mean better. Qu Jianlei understood that well—what suited the situation was best.

In his haste, he could not tell why the other party had chosen this spot to ambush him.

But he could be certain of one thing: there were not many of them, only one or two people.

If there had been more people, they would definitely have let him get closer before killing him instead of shooting from so far away.

It was precisely because of this that he believed the shooter was a mugger rather than a Fallen.

Fallen also used firearms, but they had no supplies. Their ammunition all came from what they seized, so they would not waste it like this.

Moreover, Fallen were good at sticking together for mutual survival. They usually moved in groups of three to five, and lone ones were rare.

However, even after determining that there were few enemies, Qu Jianlei had no intention of counterattacking.

The enemy's situation was unclear, and so was the terrain. Rashly striking back would be irresponsible toward himself.

On this Wasteland, there were simply countless people who preyed on others from the shadows...

Any seemingly insignificant person, once out in the wild with a gun in hand, could easily develop thoughts they should not have.

Even a businesswoman like Fat Sister, or a coward like Morrison, might suddenly decide to play bandit.

Qu himself was a lone traveler, and he had both long and short weapons on him. It was perfectly normal for others to see him as prey.

Just as Fat Sister had said, having a gun might get you killed faster—the ambusher would strike lethally at the first opportunity.

Given Qu Jianlei's temperament, he should have hated muggers like these: I never provoked you, so why do you want to kill me?

Yet he knew even better that as long as the Wasteland's order did not change, this would continue forever.

Every Survivor could become a bandit under the right circumstances.

This phenomenon could never be stamped out. It was not something he alone could change, nor was it his responsibility to change it.

Rather than stew in anger, he might as well retreat quietly.

As for who the other party was, he had no interest in finding out. There were too many possible suspects, and overthinking it would only bring himself trouble.

But running away required a plan as well. One thing was certain: since the other party had chosen this place for an ambush, they had to be familiar with the surrounding environment.

Qu Jianlei had passed through here several times before. His memories were not particularly clear, but after thinking carefully, he managed to dig them up.

Then realization dawned on him... No wonder they had set up on that little dirt mound! It was not the best ambush point, but compared to the higher ground, the difference was not that great.

The key was that spot was excellent for retreating. If the target wanted to counterkill, they would have to consider the possibility of being ambushed a second time.

On the other hand, Qu Jianlei's current position was neither convenient for attacking nor for escaping.

Of course, convenience and inconvenience were relative, not absolute.

But being able to find such a spot for an ambush out in the wilderness was already quite impressive.

Qu Jianlei instantly thought of three directions in which he could escape, but after some consideration, he decided against all three.

The reason was simple: what if the other side had set traps or landmines? Never overestimate the bottom line of people like these.

To them, killing someone with an explosion just to get a Vibrating Blade was worthwhile, even if the price difference was only one tube of Nutrient Solution.

As long as the return outweighed the investment, it was worth doing, not to mention that he was carrying firearms.

If he had sufficient time and space, Qu Jianlei would not have feared traps. But there was no time now! He rolled forward several more times, then raised his hand and threw out a low-quality Smoke Grenade.

Once the smoke billowed up, he charged diagonally forward.

He truly had no intention of counterattacking. Leaving from this direction was simply safer. He understood the Wasteland's human nature far too well.

"Tsk, ran into a vigilant one," the ambusher sighed.

He was a short, sturdy middle-aged man with an honest-looking face weathered by the elements, and his clothes were old and tattered.

He held an old Gauss Automatic Rifle. A short knife was tucked into his leg wrap, and he also had a small waist pouch and a Hand Grenade.

To an outsider, he looked like a fairly impoverished Survivor.

Though he had weapons such as knives and guns, he absolutely did not give off the impression of being capable or battle-hardened.

Without that battered Gauss Gun, he would basically look like a bottom-tier Survivor with a few weapons for self-defense.

Ordinary people would never imagine that he had already hunted five Survivors. Today was his sixth.

Just as Qu Jianlei had guessed, he was not a murderous maniac. It was simply... an easy way to acquire extra money.

Whenever he was short on funds, he would come hunt a lone traveler.

The moment he saw the other party throw a Smoke Grenade, he knew he might return empty-handed today.

Right afterward, the other party actually fired another Gun-launched Grenade. It landed not far from him, and it was also a Smoke Grenade.

Attack? He sneered inwardly. Just a lone traveler... Do you know how many people I have here? This was nothing more than a bluff before retreating.

Still, caution kept one safe. He was here to earn extra money, not to fight a Life and Death Battle.

If he wanted to retreat, he needed a plan as well. So he rolled twice and changed positions.

Then he raised his Gauss Gun and fired another two short bursts—I'm still over here.

Immediately after, he rolled several more times, hunched over, and quickly left.

He was also a cautious person. Though he killed without blinking, he truly valued his own life.

The other party might have been advancing in order to retreat, but he did not dare bet that was definitely the case.

He only wanted to earn some extra money. If it cost him his life, there would be no point.

So this time, instead of retreating along his usual route, he crouched and moved sideways three to four hundred meters before sprinting away in a zigzag.

The many small dirt mounds around him concealed his figure well.

He was exceptionally good at running away. Though he carried quite a few odds and ends and wore ragged clothes, everything was tied down snugly against his body.

He ran nearly three thousand meters before turning into a hollow beneath a dirt mound.

The pit was not large. If he curled up, it was just enough to evade observation, and covering himself with a dirt-colored scrap of cloth would make it perfect.

He came around while panting heavily, only to see a dark gun barrel pointed straight at him...

Qu Jianlei was also helpless. He swore he had run here at random and had only intended to rest here for a while.

As angry as he was at people who preyed on others from the shadows, he truly had not planned to investigate them, much less seek revenge.

But less than a minute after he sat down, he heard light footsteps approaching from afar.

The other party's footwork was truly good, but there was no concealing that heavy breathing.

Qu Jianlei held up his Laser Pistol and aimed it at the head that suddenly appeared. Both men froze.

The honest-looking man recognized him at a glance, but they were far too close, and the other party was holding a pistol.

It was already too late for him to turn and run again.

After staring blankly for a moment, Qu Jianlei sighed. "You ran pretty fast."

The honest-looking man obediently raised both hands, then decided to lie.

"This is where I rest, friend. We have no grievance between us... If you want to rest, you can borrow it for now."

Qu Jianlei did not care at all what he said. How could there be such a coincidence in the world?

Especially when the other man really did have a Gauss Gun and was panting hard from running—if it was not you, then it was you.

He helplessly curled his lip. "To be honest, I really didn't plan to strike back at you... There are too many people who prey on others from the shadows."

The honest-looking man froze for a moment, but still shook his head and answered honestly, "I really don't know what you're talking about."

Qu Jianlei curled his lip dismissively. He did not expect to force the other man to admit it—what would be the point? He merely sighed softly. "Sorry. Your Luck was too bad... You just didn't run fast enough!"

If the other man had arrived here first, then the one at a disadvantage... the one who would die, would have been him.

Seeing that Qu Jianlei kept talking to himself, the honest-looking man realized that if this conversation continued, he would be finished.

He decisively admitted defeat. "I only wanted to rob you of a little money. Surviving on the Wasteland is truly difficult. I never intended to kill you for sure."

After a pause, he added, "Just as you didn't plan to come after me for revenge... I was originally going to run away."

Qu Jianlei silently watched him. After a while, he spat out two words. "That's it?"

"I can buy my life," the honest-looking man finally got to the point. "I have some good things hidden at my camp."

Qu Jianlei did not believe him. Other than groups, few Wasteland Survivors hid valuable items where they lived.

If he claimed they were hidden out in the wilderness, that would have been somewhat more believable.

The real issue was that if Qu Jianlei followed him, he might run into his companions, and it would not be easy to kill someone casually at a camp.

So after disarming him, Qu Jianlei made the man tie himself up.

Then he raised his hand and slashed his blade directly into the man's thigh, muttering, "A little injury won't matter, right?"

Even if this mugger had not intended to kill him, being hit by a Gauss Gun would inevitably leave him injured.

If he was not hurt, how could the other man rob him? Then Qu Jianlei spoke expressionlessly, "Tell me where you've hidden your things, or I'll let you bleed to death!"

The moment the blade came down, the honest-looking man's expression changed—so you still wanted to kill him.

Though he often preyed on people from the shadows, he did not necessarily kill people when he robbed them. After all, his goal was merely robbery.

Of course, injuring people was inevitable. Killing them might bring revenge.

I should have tried to resist just now! He felt some regret, even if it likely would have meant dying on the spot.

However, there was no medicine for regret. He gave a miserable laugh. "How can you guarantee that you won't kill me to silence me?"

"Then you can only gamble on it," Qu Jianlei said, his face still expressionless.

The honest-looking man lowered his eyelids and said nothing, clearly resigned to whatever was done to him.

Qu Jianlei did not stand on ceremony. He first searched through the odds and ends on him.

This man was truly poor. Other than two tubes of Nutrient Solution and some bullets, he did not even carry water.

However, in a box at the man's waist, he unexpectedly discovered a brown stone the size of a pinky fingertip.

"What is this?" Qu Jianlei carefully touched it with a short dagger.

The honest-looking man's face instantly turned deathly pale.