1943, during World War II.
Led by German Führer Adolf Hitler, the Nazi-dominated forces launched a large-scale invasion of Europe.
As a new recruit, Kyle was sent directly to the 102nd Regiment of the Sixth Marine Division, camped near the front lines.
That afternoon, a military transport plane arrived at the Training Base to pick people up. Kyle reached the front lines at around nine that night. The moment the transport plane arrived over the temporary operations camp, he understood why he had been dispatched here in such a hurry.
Looking down from the plane, beneath more than a dozen warm, dim lamps, the tents and military supplies in the temporary camp had been set up and piled about in complete disorder. The officers and soldiers moving among them looked like ants on a hot pan.
"The Nazi lunatics are still pushing forward! Requesting additional ammunition support!"
"Someone, help me carry this medical stretcher!"
"Where is everyone? Has no one come from the rear yet?!"
"All units, proceed to the combat zone for reinforcements! We cannot let them trample another step into European territory!"
The commanding officer barked hoarsely into a megaphone. Wounded men missing arms and legs were continually carried into the tent area on medical stretchers by military doctors. Soldiers covered in blood hauled newly delivered ammunition and equipment onto mud-spattered military vehicles, then drove headlong into the darkness toward the combat zone.
The American military, normally renowned for its strict discipline, was now in utter chaos.
"Soldier! Are you one of the newly arrived reinforcements?" A bearded officer, drenched in sweat, rushed forward and grabbed Kyle, who had just stepped down from the military helicopter.
"Yes. Soldier Kyle reporting," Kyle replied quickly.
"You're the only new recruit? Forget the report. We're short on manpower, so take your weapon and head straight to the battlefield! We'll assign you afterward." The bearded officer spoke hurriedly, took Kyle's backpack, and tossed it beside a military tent, treating him entirely like cannon fodder.
And that was true enough. A recruit with no combat experience being sent into a large-scale battle for the first time usually meant there was no coming back.
"I understand." Kyle took a deep breath. He was already wearing a Combat Suit and Steel Helmet. Holding an American Rifle, he jumped directly into the rear compartment of a military supply truck.
The four-wheel-drive military truck did not even shut off its engine as it sped toward the battle zone with its supplies. Two beams from its headlights thrust like sticks into the darkness ahead.
Kyle gripped his American Rifle tightly. As the sounds of bombardment ahead grew clearer, his heartbeat and adrenaline continued to rise.
"I don't think I'm afraid—I'm vaguely excited instead?" Kyle murmured. He had drawn far too many Ability Cards, including more than a dozen that strengthened his will.
Forget it. Better distract myself.
Kyle's gaze fell upon the supplies in the truck's rear compartment. With a thought, dense rows of Item Cards appeared across the surfaces of the crates.
Medical Stretcher Emergency Medical Kit Military Canned Supplies American Grenade American Rifle (general term for American rifles) Medium Caliber Rifle Ammunition Box
These were all numerous White Item Cards, with a small number of green items mixed among them, such as High-Explosive Grenades, High-Power Sniper Rifles, and Short Rocket Launchers.
Unlike before, all these Item Cards were in a drawable state!
"So that's how it is." Kyle's eyes lit up as he muttered, "I can't draw privately owned items while they are being held by others. But these supplies are temporarily ownerless, so I can freely draw them and turn them into Item Cards to carry with me."
No reason not to take what was free.
Kyle immediately began drawing supplies from the truck, converting some into Item Cards to carry on him. These were being rushed to the front for battle anyway, and no one would notice if a little went missing.
He had originally assumed that Green Item Cards, like Green Ability Cards, would require over three minutes to draw. To his surprise, drawing ownerless items always took only three seconds.
"Five rocket rounds. Taking two should be enough, right?"
Kyle hesitated briefly as he made his final draw. Then, a burst of intense gunfire erupted. The driver of the military truck screamed, and the vehicle slammed violently into an obstacle and stopped.
Enemy attack!
Kyle reacted instantly. His body immediately tensed as he silently crouched with his rifle against the rear wall of the truck compartment, pricking up his ears to listen to the sounds outside.
Tap, tap, tap.
Several sets of footsteps rapidly approached. Kyle quickly understood that the enemy did not intend to destroy the supply truck outright. They wanted to loot it.
"They can't bear to destroy the supplies on the truck. That's my opportunity." Kyle was exceptionally calm. More than a hundred practical combat techniques and Ability Cards showed their worth perfectly at this moment.
He held his rifle in his right hand and quietly spread his left hand toward the air. A green Item Card quickly materialized between two fingers.
Unlike Ability Cards, which could only manifest as skills within himself, Item Cards were originally physical objects converted into cards. Therefore, Item Cards could become intangible or materialize, or revert directly into their original form for use.
"Be careful. Go check it out."
"Don't let your guard down."
Two enemy soldiers spoke quietly in German as they jogged toward the rear compartment of the military truck, concealed beneath a green tarp. Just as they raised their bayonet-tipped rifles to lift the tarp, a dark, round metal object was thrown out from inside.
"Damn, grenade!"
"Get down!"
The moment the words fell, the two German Soldiers at the front were blown apart. Rubble, flesh, and blood sprayed through the night as a figure shot rapidly out from the rear of the truck.
"Enemy!"
The remaining three German Soldiers standing guard nearby shouted and held down their triggers, spraying the area behind the truck with bullets. Every shot missed, striking only the ground and their comrades' corpses.
Too fast!
Under the cover of the night and the high-explosive grenade, they had not had time to lock onto Kyle's position. By the time they reacted and tried to find him, Kyle's fierce counterattack had already begun.
Bang!
A sharp gunshot rang out from the darkness. The foremost German soldier was shot directly between the eyebrows, his head exploding as red-and-white fluid sprayed over the other two.
The two soldiers were too terrified to even identify the direction of the shot before two more gunshots rang out in quick succession.
No more and no less—exactly three shots in total. The gunshots were like death sentences from the Grim Reaper, and the remaining German Soldiers soon became corpses strewn across the ground as well.
"Not bad." Kyle emerged from behind a tree beneath the cover of night, sweeping his gaze over the soldiers' bodies lying in pools of blood.
As he had rushed out of the truck's rear compartment, he had used the corner of his eye to confirm the enemy's positions. After evading the first intense barrage of bullets, he had returned fire with precise rifle shots.
His first battle in life had been a flawless, uninjured one-against-five counterkill.
"My first time killing someone." Kyle looked at the mangled remains of a German soldier nearby, whose eyes were still wide open, clearly unwilling to die.
There was neither joy nor sorrow on his face. He was as cold as a god of death.
Kyle had thought that after killing someone for the first time, especially in the face of such an extremely bloody scene, he would at least vomit.
But in truth, he felt nothing. His incomparably resolute heart warned him that if he had not killed them, he would now be lying on the ground as a cold corpse.
"It isn't for any American justice of defending home and country. I'm doing this for myself. And on the premise that I can survive in this world, I'll establish myself and accomplish something." Kyle spoke coldly to the corpses on the ground. "Running into me only means your luck was too bad."
None of the military items should be judged by reality. Things such as specialized pistols and laser guns appearing are perfectly normal.
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