This Humble One, Reincarnation Stream Player

"Fine, fine, I'll do my best."

"Everything is in your hands." Yuki tossed the walkie-talkie back to Mai Sakurajima, laid a sheet of white paper over the pile of explosives, and sketched out the building's structural diagram with a few quick strokes.

It was certainly not as accurate as a computer-aided design, but after Mai Sakurajima and Yuki had wandered through this unfinished building twice and conducted a field survey, they could roughly identify where the circles Yuki drew were located.

"Activate your Ego Trait. Bury the explosives here, here, and here. Drag the detonator wires to the second building and wait for my signal to detonate."

"Wait a second, I've never done demolition work before, and where would I even find the time to bury explosives?" Sweat beaded on the girl's forehead; she usually spent her time at school or acting, so how could she have encountered something so professional?

"The blast holes and materials are already prepared, and the workers even left the cables ready. Just stuff the explosives into the spots I marked, insert the detonators, and connect the cables." Yuki had wanted to do it himself, but there were some things he simply couldn't do; the supernatural had far surpassed the level of mere knowledge.

"The second question is even simpler: just think about what your trait is actually for."

Listening to the sound of the rotor blades, Mai Sakurajima was stunned for a moment, then she understood.

Her trait allowed her to plant explosives right under the enemies' noses. Furthermore, the building was pitch black, the holes in the walls weren't made by them, and it even caused people to overlook her past actions; unless they were focusing their full attention, it was hard to notice her.

"Li Dan and I will draw their attention. Don't worry and just do it. Remember, you must hide in the spot I told you before you detonate."

Yuki roughly calculated that there was enough explosive stored here to blow up two buildings. Even if he detonated this one as well, he would need an additional fifty kilograms of TNT—this was manual labor.

But he had no choice; only Mai Sakurajima could do this. As long as her trait was active, never mind blowing up a building, she could dance in a bunny girl outfit right in front of the enemies and it wouldn't matter.

"Oh, right, if you have time, throw all those mattresses the workers sleep on into that empty elevator shaft."

Yuki pointed to the empty elevator shaft, grabbed his blade, and climbed up the stairs without even waiting to explain further. Only then did Mai Sakurajima raise her hand.

"Wait..."

Before she could finish, the man had already vanished. Mai bit her lip. She didn't mean she "couldn't do it," because that was meaningless; she had to succeed.

I just want to know how you're going to escape alive.

Mai took a deep breath. At this point, there was no use asking questions; she just had to follow orders and perform to the best of her ability.

The sound of gunfire drew closer. She bit down on the diagram Yuki had left behind, nimbly tore open the packaging, took off her coat, stuffed the brick-like blocks of TNT inside, and turned to run.

They were on the second floor. The professional construction crew had long since drilled blast holes into the load-bearing pillars and left the detonation cables on the ground. She only needed to follow Yuki's diagram and do some physical labor.

She had just stuffed in a few blocks, inserted the detonators, and connected the cables when the sound of intense barking erupted.

There was almost no time to think. Several black-backed police dogs over a meter long rushed in, stopping less than a meter in front of Mai, tilting their heads as if confused about why they had run inside.

Next, blindingly bright tactical flashlights shone in. SWAT team members holding assault rifles appeared at the stairwell. They scanned the floor with thermal imaging night-vision goggles and signaled with tactical hand gestures.

"Clear."

"Target spotted on the floor above."

"Cover each other. Leave two men to seal off this floor. Second and Third Squads, go intercept the other group of suspects."

"GOGOGO!"

The sound of military boots faded away. Mai froze in place; her heart had stopped for a moment. The array of fully automatic firearms was enough to turn her into a sieve—this was far more terrifying than that time in the subway.

But they can't see me. Is this the power of the supernatural?

Mai Sakurajima glanced at the two enemies guarding the stairwell with their weapons raised. They were checking their surroundings, yet they were like the blind; they simply couldn't see the girl standing five meters away, nor did they notice the explosives installed in the holes of the load-bearing pillars.

Hoo—

She suddenly felt a surge of confidence. She picked up the explosives and began working right under the enemies' eyes.

Nineteen minutes left. No matter what, she had to finish!

It had begun.

Yuki could already hear the footsteps of a large number of SWAT officers flooding into the building. The "bang-bang" of gunfire had not ceased for a second. Li Dan was slaughtering them; every shot was a headshot, and that Chaos Item had no ammunition limit, with a terrifying piercing power. Anyone who crossed paths with him was instantly killed.

Extremely dangerous. At the very least, he was a level stronger than Thomas.

He had long since realized that the two veteran players were not on the same level. If he had to name a weakness, it was that Li Dan's attacks were too monotonous; they weren't as effective as Thomas's chainsword when dealing with large, high-health enemies. But who could say he didn't have other trump cards?

"But the stronger he is right now, the better. He can draw more enemies away, allowing Hayasaka Ai and the others to crawl through the underground pipes into the parking lot."

Yuki's mind was clear; the battlefield was divided into inside and outside the building.

He drew a portion of the enemies into Building A, while Li Dan kept the majority of the pursuers tied up on the east side of the village. Once the two of them had drawn enough aggro, he would have Hayasaka Ai hack the communications, leaving only a tiny number of enemies to search the empty underground parking lot, thus leaving a sliver of hope for survival.

But my role as the secondary damage dealer isn't easy either.

The dense footsteps were also coming from upstairs; there was no need to ask—they had rappelled down from helicopters and were searching downward.

Fully armed, fearless of death. If this were the first night, I wouldn't have a shred of a chance of survival.

Yuki's footsteps paused. He held his blade vertically with his left hand and slowly crouched down.

Physical Reinforcement. Full Power.

Mana like electric arcs spilled out. Reinforcement Magecraft was output at full capacity. This was the greatest feature brought by the "Mastery" level: the concept of reinforcement extended from objects to the human body, causing glowing marks to appear on the surface of Yuki's skin.

They looked like tattoos, or perhaps veins, but in reality, they were "Magic Circuits."

In an instant, an unprecedented sensation flooded Yuki's body. It felt as if he had transcended the shackles of flesh and blood, making him impatient to experience this supernatural power.

Bang—

The moment the footsteps above the stairs ceased, he lunged out, feeling as if his feet were equipped with springs, instantly leaping several meters forward.

Speed.

Rounding the corner, he saw several men in black uniforms blocking the upper floor, the one in front holding a large shield, much like the ones from Rainbow Six in his memory.

It felt like slow motion; he saw a pistol emerge from behind the shield, and more red laser dots shifted along with the muzzle. Yuki didn't think; he simply side-stepped and leaped out, hearing the ding-ding of bullets striking the wall tiles behind him.

Reflexes.

He kicked off the wall, vaulting like a gecko, and managed to circle behind the ballistic shield before it could rotate. He landed right in the middle of the squad, causing the scene to freeze for a split second.

Their muzzles were still pointed at the wall, and they could only instinctively lower their heads to see the man crouching in the center of their formation, leaning forward with a blade gripped in his right hand.

"Spread out!"

Some tried to aim, some tried to retreat, and others turned, only to block each other's lines of fire in the cramped corridor. Or perhaps they simply couldn't comprehend how a human could clear a dozen stairs in two bounds.

But regardless of their thoughts, with a sound like a dragon's roar, a bright blade flashed through the dimly red-lit corridor.

Swish—

The blade, already reinforced with Reinforcement Magecraft, sliced into the ballistic plate, nearly cleaving a man in two. Yuki kicked forward, drew his blade, and leaned back, watching an assault rifle sweep past his face, its muzzle erupting with bright flame.

Rat-tat-tat-tat.

A friendly soldier screamed, but the shooter didn't care. He tried to lower his muzzle, only to see another flash of steel as his gun-wielding hands were severed from his body.

Yuki severed his hands, tapped the tip of his blade on the floor, and used his core strength to spring back up. In his peripheral vision, he saw the SWAT team members divided into front and rear segments by his strike; the three in the back were sent rolling across the floor by dozens of rifle rounds.

Thanks.

Yuki exploited the fact that these 'people' had no concept of friendly fire. He watched as the handless SWAT officer was shoved aside by the large shield, and a pistol pointed his way.

But before the shield-bearer could pull the trigger, Yuki, having regained his balance, surged upward, knocked the muzzle aside, and drove his long blade accurately into the man's neck.

Gurgle...

With his throat pierced, the shield-bearer let out a wheezing hiss. As the blade twisted, shattering his spine, he collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

And strength.

Yuki reached out, grabbed the straps of the ballistic vest, and gritted his teeth, actually tossing the burly man—who weighed over two hundred pounds with his gear—into the air, crashing him into the last remaining gunman.

Before the two could separate, Yuki kicked off the stairs, leaping like a swallow, and drove his knees into them, pinning them against the wall.

Thud!

Cracks appeared in the wall tiles, and a horizontal slash of the blade severed two heads, embedding them deep into the wall.

The distant gunfire and the footsteps from above and below continued. Yuki, expressionless, pulled his blade free and flicked it, leaving a long line of blood across the five corpses.

In summary—

Within seven paces, the blade is fast!

Chapter 31: Detonation!! (4K)

Preset battlefield, segmented interception.

Yuki, wearing a ballistic vest, ran headlong through the corridor. Utilizing the intelligence advantage he had established earlier, it was as if a structural blueprint of the building was etched into his mind.

He listened to the approaching footsteps while calmly thinking.

There wouldn't be too many enemies rappelling onto the roof. The complex architectural structure was enough to split them into small squads, and by utilizing the extraordinary power brought by Reinforcement Magecraft, he could engage in short, intense close-quarters combat.

His skills weren't perfect, and he couldn't challenge Heroic Spirits with a mortal body like a certain teacher, but it was enough to deal with these elite soldiers in complex terrain.

"This is the power of the extraordinary!"

Yuki curled his lips, looking somewhat ferocious and terrifying. The most intuitive experience brought an infinite sense of excitement, making his killing intent even heavier.

Right side, four men.

He heard the sound of military boots hitting the floor. He rose onto his toes, turning into a silent cat. While running, he twisted his wrist, using the back of his blade to flick a bag of cement in the corner into the air, then stepped and vaulted into the adjacent room.

Rat-tat-tat-tat.

As the cement bag flew across the corridor, the four SWAT officers immediately stopped and raised their guns, shredding it in mid-air. Amidst the spreading cement dust, everyone turned their eyes toward the corner of the corridor.

As long as the target dared to show his head, they would open several bloody holes in him on the spot. But just a second later, the team leader in the lead heard a dull thud and instinctively turned his head.

A long blade had flown from somewhere, piercing the neck of the last team member and pinning him to the wall. The body twitched as blood sprayed. Then, a hand firmly gripped the hilt.

"Turn around, he's behind—"

Before the rest could react, Yuki, who had circled around from the side room, had already drawn his blade, crouched, dodged the turning muzzles, and swept the reverse-gripped blade across the throat of the SWAT officer in front of him.

Pfft.

A head detached from its body. He gripped the chest of the headless corpse, using it as a shield to block the incoming bullets. Listening to the dull thuds of bullets hitting the vest's plates, he reached his left hand under the corpse's armpit and drew a pistol.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The corridor was filled with cement dust. He didn't need to aim; he just kept pulling the trigger. The 9mm bullets weren't enough to penetrate the ballistic vests, but they were enough to knock the remaining two men backward.

And once they fell, they would have no chance to stand up again.

Without hesitation, Yuki tossed the corpse aside and sprinted forward. The dragging blade sliced the third man's throat, then he dropped to his knees, pinning the chest of the last man who was just trying to rise, pressing the gun down with one hand and driving the blade through his head with the other.

Hoo, hoo.

Yuki looked at the wide-open eyes of the corpse at his feet, still filled with confusion, a blood-stained longsword plunged exactly into the center of its brow.

Unlike the monsters in the ancient castle, this type of enemy was truly deceptive, but Yuki had no time to ponder philosophical questions like 'am I killing a person.'

The sound of military boots hitting the floor reached his ears once again; he glanced at his wristwatch and could feel the concept of Reinforcement Magecraft beginning to fall apart.

"Nine forty-eight. Five minutes left—that's the limit."

Yuki knew that Master-level Reinforcement Magecraft simply wasn't enough, especially since this full-power output couldn't be maintained for long. Without this extraordinary power, no matter how complex the terrain, the world would always return to the truth that guns are faster than blades.

Not only that, but the gunfire outside the building was gradually thinning. There was no need to ask how that bastard Li Dan had managed to temporarily shake off his pursuers; it didn't matter that he had disengaged from the fight, but now all the enemy's attention was focused on the building.

"Fortunately, I chose an advantageous battlefield, and fortunately, I didn't pin my hopes on you."

As blood sprayed, he pulled out the blade and snatched a stun grenade from the corpse's belt, pulled the pin, and tossed it with a flick of his wrist.

A search team of over a dozen men was hugging the wall as they approached, and just as they reached the corner, they saw a round object fly right in front of them.

Bang!

A blinding light filled their vision, their heads buzzed, and amidst the spinning world, the muffled sounds of blades sinking into flesh followed one after another.

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft.

Yuki's blade rose and fell; piercing heads, thrusting through chests, slitting throats. He was like a cold-blooded butcher, never needing a second strike to kill.

After killing five in a row, he paused, only to see a swarm of SWAT officers rushing up the east staircase, their dense laser sights painting the area.

Damn it.

Yuki leaned back, quickly ducking back into the room, followed immediately by the sound of gunfire like popping beans.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat...

The walls erupted in a dense spray of sparks, and the few men who had just been stunned back to their feet were turned into sieves by their own allies.