Our Side Failed to Pierce Enemy Armor

"You're here."

An impatient voice called from the second-floor platform.

Cao Wenliang quickly looked up, and the moment he saw Bai Fu, his body stiffened.

He hadn't expected to be discovered at all, and judging by Bai Fu's words, she clearly knew he was coming.

How was that possible?

Except for the time they brushed past each other this morning, he hadn't even glared at Bai Fu in front of her.

Did such people really exist in the world, those who suspected ill intent just from a glance in a crowd and immediately prepared themselves?

Damn, she was a freak!

As Cao Wenliang's expression flickered, Bai Fu spoke again, "I bet your next question is – how did you know I was coming."

"How did you know I..."

Cao Wenliang stopped himself mid-sentence and quickly shut his mouth.

"Do you suspect I can read minds now?" Bai Fu chuckled. "Don't worry, I obviously don't have superpowers like that."

Cao Wenliang immediately drew his gun and pointed it at Bai Fu, shouting, "Enough with the nonsense."

Bai Fu was unfazed. "Aren't you even a little curious why I knew you'd come looking for me, yet I'm here awake in the middle of the night?"

Cao Wenliang's pupils contracted.

Damn it, a trap!

He quickly raised his gun and scanned his surroundings. "Come out, whoever's hiding there, come out now!"

As time passed, Cao Wenliang gradually realized something was wrong.

If there were people ambushing nearby, why would Bai Fu expose them for no reason?

He quickly looked up again, and as expected, Bai Fu, who had been standing on the second-floor platform, was gone.

"Damn it, you dare to mess with me, you're looking for death!"

Anger surged through Cao Wenliang, and he rushed towards the stairwell with his gun.

He moved with incredible speed, covering the distance in a few strides. Before him lay a scene of ruins.

"You can't run far in this short amount of time. Come out obediently, and I can make your suffering less. Otherwise, when I catch you, I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead, a living hell!"

No response.

"Do you enjoy playing this cat-and-mouse game with me? Fine, I'll play with you until you've had enough. We're far from the Wildfire Gang here, so don't expect anyone to save you!"

Perhaps because he thought he would catch Bai Fu soon, Cao Wenliang became extremely agitated, his breathing growing rapid.

He moved through the ruins, occasionally letting out a laugh and uttering threats.

"Here I come!"

"Do you know what it feels like to have your fingernails pulled out one by one?"

"Your fingers are beautiful. I'll break them, joint by joint."

While he searched, Bai Fu, hidden in the shadows, was silently counting.

1000 minus 7 equals, no, that's not what she was reciting, but rather—

"28, 29, 30. Alright, time's up."

Feeling that enough time had passed, Bai Fu stood up and threw a [Spiritual Vision] at Cao Wenliang, who had his back to her.

Skill check successful. Cao Wenliang's status panel popped up.

[Name]: Cao Wenliang (Elite) (Fatigued) (Lightly Wounded)
[HP]: 124/130
[Attributes]: Strength 14(-4), Agility 7(-2), Constitution 10, Intelligence 3, Spirit 3, Inspiration 4

Seeing these stats, Bai Fu smiled.

She knew well that with her extreme stat allocation, it would be difficult for Cao Wenliang to kill her. Likewise, it wouldn't be easy for her to kill Cao Wenliang.

After all, Cao Wenliang's Agility was a high 7 points, while hers was a pathetic 3 points.

If they were to fight, and Cao Wenliang shamelessly used his ultimate move [You Give Road] to escape, she would truly have no way to deal with him.

But the situation was different now.

As soon as she met Cao Wenliang, she had used a combination of [Rate Amplification (Inferior)] and [Power Surge (Inferior)] on him.

After that, she successfully used her "mouth skills" to stall until Cao Wenliang's first Strength surge buff disappeared, and immediately applied a second set of skills to him.

Including the 10% bonus from the [Low-Level Psionic Specialization] skill on active skills, these two combos had directly depleted Cao Wenliang's stamina by 44%. The stamina reduction was reflected on his status panel as a decrease in Strength and Agility. Now, Cao Wenliang's Agility was only 5 points.

5 Agility was still higher than her 3 Agility.

But it didn't matter. Bai Fu still had a trump card to play.

After attacking the player stronghold, she gained 3000 experience points through the [Faction Quest]. This experience was enough for her to level up her [Unemployed] profession to Lv5.

[Unemployed has leveled up to Lv4, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Attribute Points +1]

[Unemployed has leveled up to Lv5, Strength +1, Constitution +1, Attribute Points +1]

Two notifications sounded in succession.

Bai Fu did not hesitate, pouring both attribute points she had gained into Agility. Her stats became:

[Strength 7, Agility 5, Constitution 24, Intelligence 3, Spirit 11, Inspiration 11]

"My Spirit is only 5 points left, but it's more than enough."

After all, she had a class-exclusive skill that could consume 20 HP to restore 5 Spirit.

Now, it was time for the cat-and-mouse game to turn around!

A sharp glint flashed in Bai Fu's eyes.

"Cao Wenliang!"

She called out.

Cao Wenliang spun around abruptly. After the initial shock, a ferocious grin spread across his face. "What, you know you can't hide anymore so you're giving up? It's too late!"

He laughed and walked towards Bai Fu.

Bai Fu stretched her body leisurely, a smile on her face. "I was waiting for your Strength enhancement effect to wear off. What were you waiting for?"

Strength enhancement effect?

Cao Wenliang was taken aback by Bai Fu's words.

But he quickly dismissed them. "I've fallen for your trick once, do you think I'll fall for it again?"

He pulled the trigger.

The gunshot pierced the night, the muzzle flash a fleeting moment. The bullet accurately hit the wall ten centimeters to Bai Fu's left.

"If you don't want to be shot dead, stand still."

To his surprise, Bai Fu acted as if she hadn't heard him, walking straight towards him.

"Hoohoo, approaching me willingly? Not choosing to run, but actively coming closer."

Cao Wenliang grew even more excited.

He lunged, reaching for Bai Fu's hair. However, Bai Fu simply sidestepped to the left, easily evading his attack.

It was only then that Cao Wenliang suddenly realized his body felt fatigued. But there was no time for him to ponder the reason.

Bai Fu's right foot, empowered by Zealotry, kicked him in the chest.

The spot had already been injured by a kick from the Wildfire Gang leader. Now, with a new wound on top of an old one, as he fell to the ground, a bright red [-9] floated above his forehead.

"You piece of trash, die!"

That single kick shattered Cao Wenliang's sanity. He raised his right hand and fired at Bai Fu.

Only after the gunshot did he snap back to reality.

It was over. At this close range, Bai Fu wouldn't survive. He had promised to torture Bai Fu severely, and now it was all ruined!

Cao Wenliang looked up in annoyance.

But contrary to his expectations, Bai Fu hadn't fallen. There was no gush of blood from her body. A smile graced her face as she slightly raised her right hand. Clutched between her five fingers was a bullet!

"You..."

At that moment, Cao Wenliang felt as if something was stuck in his throat. An unprecedented chill crawled up his spine, reaching the crown of his head.

Catching a bullet with his bare hands – it was something he wouldn't even dare to dream of!

He watched, dumbfounded, as Bai Fu pocketed the bullet and then, just as incredulously, watched as she took the handgun from his grasp.

Your gun is good, but now it's mine!

Bai Fu examined the gun in her hand with great interest.

[Star of Trash P7]

[Quality]: Gray

[Base Stats]: Attack Power 16~23, Rate of Fire 2 rounds/s, Magazine Capacity 8 rounds, Effective Range 50m

[Additional Effects]: None

"My calculations were correct after all. After using Hardening, this shoddy handgun poses no significant threat to me."

Catching a bullet barehanded, Bai Fu was confident.

The gun Cao Wenliang used was the same model as the one the head of the External Affairs Department used last night.

When the head of the External Affairs Department had fired at players, she had been observing the damage numbers. Comparing the players' stats with her own, she figured that unless the gun hit her weak points, it wouldn't pose a threat.

And indeed, the shot just now had only cost her 2 HP. For someone with a total HP of 270, this amount of damage was negligible.

Actually, even if her estimation was wrong and the bullet had embedded itself in her palm, Bai Fu wouldn't have been afraid.

She was unlike ordinary NPCs. With her data-driven body, she possessed an ability that all NPCs envied: the magic of breathing to recover HP!

As long as she wasn't in combat, wasn't crippled, or suffering from a high-damage, continuous bleeding debuff, her injuries would heal over time as her health regenerated.

If she didn't have this ability, she wouldn't dare to take on missions with such high intensity.

"Now, it's time to send you on your way."

Bai Fu raised her gun.

By this time, Cao Wenliang had already scrambled to his feet and was running desperately towards Wildfire Gang's location like a madman.

Bai Fu pulled the trigger.

The bullet whizzed out and hit Cao Wenliang's backside. He let out a scream and fell to the ground.

"I missed?"

Bai Fu rolled her eyes.

She had clearly aimed for Cao Wenliang's back just now.

Whatever, it's not a big deal. Practice makes perfect!

Bai Fu put away her gun and quickly rushed in front of Cao Wenliang. Just as he was pushing himself up, she kicked him in the chest again.

"Ah!" Cao Wenliang let out a beast-like roar from his throat, "Bai... Ahhhhh..."

He had intended to shout Bai Fu's name loudly, but his mouth suddenly Hardening made him only able to utter muffled sounds.

Before he could figure out what was happening, Bai Fu kicked him in the jaw.

"-27"

This kick not only dealt high damage but also inflicted a 10-second [Dizzy] debuff on Cao Wenliang.

Bai Fu pressed her gun against Cao Wenliang's neck. "I didn't intend to kill you so soon, but since you're looking for death, there's nothing I can do."

Bang!

The bullet entered Cao Wenliang's throat. After struggling for a while, Cao Wenliang's health bar was completely depleted.

[You have killed Cao Wenliang, contribution 100%. Gained 1750 experience points after correction based on level difference.]

Just like when she killed Martin, no quest was triggered this time. This was normal; they were from the same faction after all. It would be truly ridiculous if killing someone from your own faction triggered a quest reward.

Bai Fu dragged Cao Wenliang's corpse to a distant location, made some easily detectable camouflage, and then went home.

The next day, she didn't receive any news from Wildfire Gang until noon.

"Minister Cao is dead!"

"I heard the Outsiders killed him in retaliation for the attack the other night. Minister Cao died horribly; his jaw and throat were completely mangled. The boss rushed over as soon as he heard the news."

"Damn it, those Outsiders are too lawless!"

When Bai Fu arrived at the scene with the main group, she found the Wildfire Gang boss squatting on the ground, examining Cao Wenliang's body.

Standing beside the Wildfire Gang boss was a woman she had never seen before. The woman clearly had a Western face, and her hair was an icy blue that couldn't grow in reality. She stood expressionlessly, exuding an aura that warned others to stay away.

"Who is that?"

Someone nearby explained, "She's a distinguished guest from out of town. The boss has been entertaining her lately. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let those Outsiders get so arrogant."

Bai Fu subconsciously cast [Spiritual Vision].

[Skill check failed]

"?"

Bai Fu was surprised. This was the first time her [Spiritual Vision] had failed. Even the Wildfire Gang boss wasn't this outrageous; at most, the returned data would be all question marks.

She felt like she might have stumbled upon a hidden quest or the main quest of the Novice Village Abandoned Cooling Plant.

While she was thinking, the Wildfire Gang boss stood up. "It seems I have to personally make time to meet those Outsiders."

"Wait."

Suddenly, the ice-like woman spoke.

The Wildfire Gang boss turned around in confusion.

"It probably wasn't those Outsiders who killed him."

"Why do you say that?"

"Think about your men's encounters with those Outsiders these past few days. They only use dirty tricks. If they had done it, there would have been some bodily excrement found on him or around here."

Holy crap, Sherlock, you've found the key point!

In an instant, all eyes around them focused on the ice-like woman.

Bai Fu was no exception.

You guy must be visiting from a Conan movie, you figured that out!

The onlookers whispered amongst themselves.

These days, when they went out to fight those Outsiders, they always encountered some degenerates who smeared feces on their weapons. The same happened when the External Affairs Department Minister launched his surprise attack the day before yesterday. There was no reason why the Outsiders Cao Wenliang encountered would suddenly turn into benevolent individuals.

The Wildfire Gang boss's expression changed slightly. "If it wasn't the Outsiders, then..."

The Ice Woman said, "I'm not sure. There's no evidence."

The leader of the Wildfire Gang didn't say anything further, his face showing unconcealable anxiety.

Whether Cao Wenliang's death was the work of the Outsiders or not, its occurrence meant the survival of the entire Wildfire Gang was under threat. He had to take it more seriously.

He thought of Bai Fu.

He had finally found a successor with great potential, and he couldn't let this successor follow in the footsteps of that idiot Cao Wenliang.

After ordering people to drag Cao Wenliang's corpse back, he shouted to the guard at the door:

"Go fetch Bai Fu. I have a new mission for her."

PS+: Thanks to Liu Tianzun, Gao Leng Na Jie, Book Friend 20170708165333886, and Lin Wang Zhi Yu for the tips.

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