Fusion

Although the Sniper Armored Warrior had scored spectacular results, while the other five Armored Warriors had failed to accomplish anything, he had instantly killed one Spiked Pincer Insect and gravely wounded another.

But only David, who was sensing the Sniper Armored Warrior's condition, understood that he could no longer fire a third shot in quick succession.

The recoil of such an incredibly powerful Sniper Rifle was terrifying.

In the Interstellar Federation, many designers had tried to reduce its recoil. But experience had shown that every reduction in recoil came at the cost of even greater firepower.

Sniper Armored Warriors would rather endure the powerful recoil than weaken their sniping power by even a little.

The Sniper Armored Warrior's purpose was to kill with a single shot. His second choice was to inflict a grievous wound. Lightly injuring Zerg was never an option.

David sensed the Sniper Armored Warrior's body trembling faintly as he took just three seconds to dissipate most of the force still lingering in his body.

This was a technique every Sniper Armored Warrior had to learn. It allowed them to return to battle more quickly.

But three seconds on a battlefield could change a great deal. One Spiked Pincer Insect unleashed all six Venomous Stings, leaped over the Great Shield, and attacked the five Armored Warriors.

Another Spiked Pincer Insect slammed into the Great Shield, preventing the Defense Armored Warrior from covering both threats.

In this situation, the five Armored Warriors had to give it everything they had. They split into two groups and managed to hold off the two Spiked Pincer Insects.

But by then, the last uninjured Spiked Pincer Insect had seized the opportunity to circle around the five Armored Warriors and charge toward the Sniper Armored Warrior.

Once a Spiked Pincer Insect began charging, its speed was beyond what an ordinary Armored Warrior could match. What's more, none of the five was a Scout Armored Warrior, a class known for its speed.

By the time the Sniper Armored Warrior had recovered enough to fight, three seconds had passed, and the Spiked Pincer Insect was less than three hundred meters from the boulder.

Through the T3 Sniper Auxiliary Device, David could clearly see the disgusting bristles covering the Spiked Pincer Insect.

The Sniper Armored Warrior still hadn't moved. His extra-long Sniper Rifle tracked the approaching Spiked Pincer Insect as a flood of data appeared and began another round of analysis.

This analysis was more complicated, however. The Spiked Pincer Insect kept using rocks and the swaying of its body to evade the Sniper Armored Warrior's aim.

The war between the Zerg and the Interstellar Federation had lasted for ten thousand years. The Zerg had long since grown familiar with fighting Armored Warriors, just as Armored Warriors had grown familiar with the Zerg.

The Spiked Pincer Insect wasn't very intelligent, but its battle instincts told it that the Sniper Armored Warrior had to be killed.

Closer and closer it came. The Spiked Pincer Insect was now only a hundred meters from the Sniper Armored Warrior. It would take just a few breaths to reach him.

David was anxious, but he sensed the Sniper Armored Warrior's steady heartbeat, as though this danger couldn't affect him at all.

When the Spiked Pincer Insect was fifty meters away, it began retracting its six Venomous Stings. In that instant, the white spot beneath its head was exposed.

The Sniper Armored Warrior's finger moved ever so slightly. A tremendous force slammed back into his Exoskeleton Armor and body, while a Level 1 Bullet flew into the white spot.

The Spiked Pincer Insect shuddered from the impact. The shot had blown its heart apart.

But its incredible vitality kept it moving forward, and its momentum carried it the remaining fifty meters in an instant.

Yet as it reached the Sniper Armored Warrior, the last bit of strength left its body. The Spiked Pincer Insect's corpse slid several meters across the ground before stopping in front of the boulder.

The Sniper Armored Warrior didn't even look at the Spiked Pincer Insect. His attention had already shifted to the two Spiked Pincer Insects fighting in the distance.

Another piece of knowledge entered David's mind: when allies were ahead, as long as they were still alive, the Sniper Armored Warrior had to keep his Sniper Rifle trained on the enemy as a deterrent.

He couldn't think about retreating. The extra-long Sniper Rifle wasn't suited for use while moving, and its enormous recoil couldn't be neutralized while standing. In other words, the moment the Sniper Armored Warrior stood up, he would lose his combat ability.

And going prone again and recalculating all the data would take time. The time wasted could be enough to drastically change the battle.

Of course, in most cases, the Armored Warriors did everything they could to protect the Sniper Armored Warrior.

The Sniper Armored Warrior was so valuable that every squad hoped to have one.

The battle ended quickly. The Sniper Armored Warrior directly killed three Spiked Pincer Insects, the War Hammer Armored Warrior killed one that had been gravely wounded, and the five Armored Warriors surrounded and killed the last one.

David's Illusion continued. The battle scenes that followed featured ever-changing Armored Warrior squads fighting different Level 1 Zerg.

In one battle involving thirty Armored Warriors, they swarmed a Level 2 Zerg. It was a massacre, and David felt the Sniper Armored Warrior's helplessness.

In the end, several Sniper Armored Warriors used Level 2 Bullets at the same time. They killed the Level 2 Zerg, but several of them were gravely wounded.

All thirty Armored Warriors died in that battle.

The later Illusions no longer showed any Zerg. The Sniper Armored Warrior's targets shifted to various spaceships, with different Armored Warriors by his side, but the Sniper Armored Warrior's formidable long-range combat ability remained unchanged.

Although the Illusion showed nothing about the Sniper Armored Warrior's life beyond the battles, David now understood why Abbott had become so twisted.

After an outstanding Sniper Armored Warrior survived a brutal battle, his mind had been completely shattered.

He had become a mercenary who took pleasure in killing people. He was just as calm when he picked up a Sniper Rifle, but only when he held one was he a Sniper Armored Warrior.

David didn't know what to think of Abbott, who had caused nearly a hundred deaths. After coming out of the Illusion, he opened Abbott's file again.

Perhaps Abbott hadn't always gone by that name. His file contained nothing about his earlier life.

Maybe Abbott didn't want to remember that part of his past. Perhaps he didn't even want to remember the name he'd had back then.

David closed the file in his hands and gently shook his body. It was the Sniper Armored Warrior's technique for dissipating recoil.

Unexpectedly, David performed it with ease. Having mastered Proficient Body Technique and Proficient War Hammer Mastery, he found that learning combat abilities at the same level was now quite easy.

Now he was extremely interested in Myron's invitation to visit the Shooting Range. He thought he'd remind Myron when he had the chance.

As he was thinking about it, his Identity Bracelet suddenly issued an alert.

He opened it and saw that the message had come from a program he'd installed in the Security Optical Computer at Steer Hotel.

He had set up alerts for several important things in the Security Optical Computer, such as Mr. Steer's daily schedule and any events connected to Trainer Jeremy.

This time, Trainer Jeremy had sent Mr. Steer a message. He seemed to want to keep it secret, so he had sent it through Skynet to the Security Optical Computer at Steer Hotel.

In fact, this was the safest way. Identity Bracelets could track their owners' locations. If the authorities were monitoring someone, all the messages on that person's Identity Bracelet could be intercepted.

Trainer Jeremy had used this method to ensure complete security.

He hadn't realized that David had already hacked into Steer Hotel's Security Optical Computer. By sending a message through it, Trainer Jeremy had effectively told David everything.

The message was brief, just one line: "All operations against the target are suspended. They won't resume for the time being!"

The message made no sense to anyone else who saw it, but David understood what it meant.

Gallen's appearance, and his involvement in the investigation of Lixin Security Company, seemed to have put the mastermind on alert. They were afraid Gallen would uncover more, so they had decided to suspend their operations against David.

Seeing the message, David felt a weight lift from his heart. He needed time to grow stronger.

The mastermind had been targeting him all along. Mr. Steer's involvement had made him suspect his stepmother, Bertha, leaving him with almost no one he could trust.

Gallen had arrived at just the right time, and his powerful status and strength had made the mastermind afraid.

Under Gallen's guidance, David had also grown much faster.