Infiltration

The night grew ever deeper.

Sixth Avenue.

The once-prosperous street had long since been utterly destroyed by the war, leaving behind nothing but ruins.

However, some buildings, because of their immense size and sturdy construction, had remained relatively intact despite the bombardment.

Of course, that "intactness" was only relative to the other buildings that had been completely reduced to rubble.

For example: the department store on Sixth Avenue!

As the largest department store in the entire city, it had long lost its bright and glamorous appearance. More than half of its roof had even collapsed. From the sky, it looked like a battered boot turned upside down on the ground—one with a hole in the sole.

Even so, it could still serve as the best shelter from the chaos of war.

The only regrettable thing was...

At that moment, it was occupied by a group of armed thugs.

Outside the department store, two armed thugs leaned half-hidden in the shadows, their eyes sweeping over their surroundings.

However, the carelessness on their faces was enough to show that they were merely going through the motions.

It was not their fault!

Among the survivors on all of Sixth Avenue, which thug did not know that this was Vulture's territory? After the first rebels had been hanged and burned to death not far ahead, outsiders had long stopped setting foot here.

What was more, above their heads, on the mostly collapsed roof of the department store, was another man.

He was the true guard at the entrance to the nest.

Not only did he stand higher and see farther, but his weapon was also far superior to the M1905s in their hands: a sniper rifle with a larger caliber, longer range, and greater accuracy.

In the eyes of the two armed thugs, that guy was the real Grim Reaper. Every stranger who approached this place had his head blown apart by him.

"I want a smoke!"

One armed thug said to the other.

"Come on, let's go together!"

Rather than rebuking him, the other immediately agreed.

The two armed thugs emerged from the shadows and headed straight into the department store.

They needed somewhere sheltered from the wind to smoke.

There was no such good spot outside the department store.

Naturally, the two armed thugs did not use the department store's main entrance. In fact, shell craters riddled the surrounding walls, and going through those holes was far more convenient.

The thug who had made the suggestion eagerly crawled through one of the holes. Just as the thug behind him bent down to follow, a hand suddenly shot out from behind and covered his mouth.

As he instinctively tried to cry out, a sharp pain flared in his neck. Then, the armed thug sank completely into the darkness of death.

[Thrust: Vital attack, deals 100 damage to the opponent's Health (50 Cold Weapon (Dagger) (Basic) x2), opponent dead...]

"Hurry up!"

The armed thug who had entered the department store first did not notice anything wrong and was still urging his companion on.

He even leisurely lit a cigarette.

Just as he lit it, a figure suddenly pounced through the hole, tackling him to the ground. A dagger swept across his throat.

The armed thug had no time to react before he died.

[Thrust: Vital attack, deals 100 damage to the opponent's Health (50 Cold Weapon (Dagger) (Basic) x2), opponent dead...]

Huff!

After killing the two armed thugs in quick succession, Qin Ran stood up and let out a long breath.

He had arrived nearby half an hour earlier and quietly waited for an opportunity like this.

With the Stealth skill, sneaking into the department store before him was not difficult for Qin Ran!

The difficult part was entering the underground warehouse without alerting the two armed thugs on the ground and the one on the roof.

The warehouse door had been deliberately damaged by Vulture's men, and every time it opened, it made a piercing noise.

It would be difficult for Qin Ran to bypass the guards outside and open the warehouse door directly.

Especially the armed thug stationed on the roof. According to the information he had obtained during interrogation, the man on the roof had a sniper rifle. That was also why Qin Ran had firmly refused to let Colin come along.

Even though Colin had repeatedly asked to accompany him.

Qin Ran was confident he could hide himself, but Colin could not.

If he brought Colin with him, not only would he expose himself, but Colin would also be doomed to die.

After all, according to the prisoner, the sniper on the roof was quite skilled.

Of course, "quite skilled" was only in comparison to these armed thugs.

To a real marksman, he was still far from qualified.

Otherwise, Qin Ran would not have been able to sneak in like this.

Still, Qin Ran did not underestimate him because of that.

After quickly searching the two armed thugs' bodies and finding nothing, Qin Ran cautiously made his way toward the roof.

As for the guns on the bodies?

Qin Ran already had an M1905 and enough magazines. Picking up more guns would only affect his mobility.

The route to the roof was no longer the original staircase. Instead, it was the half of the roof that had collapsed directly downward.

The roof of steel bars and concrete had fallen along one side of the department store's wall, but it had not completely detached from the wall it was connected to. Coupled with the fact that the department store's height was far less than the radius of its footprint...

A peculiar natural staircase had formed.

Qin Ran silently climbed the staircase and reached the roof.

The moment he stepped onto it, Qin Ran saw the sniper who had concerned him so much.

The man was holding his sniper rifle in a half-crouching, half-kneeling posture, his gaze scanning the area around the department store.

Without question, his attitude was extremely serious compared to the other armed thugs.

But his ability still left much to be desired.

Qin Ran approached him lightly, raising the dagger in his right hand slightly. His left hand rose as well, and then both hands moved at once.

As if he had practiced it countless times, his left hand accurately covered the man's mouth and yanked backward, pulling his jaw away from the rifle stock and exposing more of his neck. The dagger in his right hand swiftly swept across it.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed out, staining the sniper rifle that fell to the ground red.

The man's body trembled violently, his limbs twitching as though electrocuted. But Qin Ran's left hand sealed his mouth shut, pinning him firmly against his chest.

Until the man stopped moving completely, he did not make a single sound.

It only caused the wound in his neck to tear open further, becoming even more gruesome.

[Thrust: Vital attack, deals 100 damage to the opponent's Health (50 Cold Weapon (Dagger) (Basic) x2), opponent dead...]

Only after the battle notification appeared and confirmed the man's death did Qin Ran release him.

Qin Ran lowered the lifeless body and grabbed the sniper rifle.

"Huh!"

Qin Ran exclaimed in surprise.

Only then did he realize that the so-called "sniper rifle" had actually been assembled from a rifle and an additional scope that looked extremely awkward.

Clearly, the two were not a matching set.

[Name: M12]

[Type: Firearm]

[Quality: Common]

[Attack Power: Common]

[Magazine Capacity: 20 rounds]

[Attribute: None]

[Special Effect: None]

[Can be taken out of this dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: A well-maintained 7.62mm rifle. Reliable.]

[Name: Worker Bee Scope]

[Type: Firearm Attachment]

[Quality: Damaged]

[Attribute: 4-8x Magnification]

[Special Effect: None]

[Can be taken out of this dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: It was never meant to be mounted on a rifle.]

Looking at the system's remarks, Qin Ran examined the strange-looking sniper rifle again before finally setting it aside.

Even if it had been a genuine sniper rifle, Qin Ran would not have taken it.

Aside from his previous reasons—he needed a lighter load to make himself more agile—the sniper rifle was simply too conspicuous and would have a fatal impact on Qin Ran's next plan.

After clearing out the guards outside Vulture's nest, Qin Ran intended to infiltrate Vulture's nest.

He had entertained that idea ever since his first clash with Vulture's subordinates.

Even though Colin had rejected it without hesitation, Qin Ran had not given up.

When he learned that Vulture had twenty-one remaining subordinates rather than eleven, Qin Ran became even more determined to carry out the plan.

Because Qin Ran knew very well that even with the skills granted by the game, he could not truly fight twenty-one people alone.

After inspecting the roof where the sniper had been stationed and confirming that he had overlooked nothing, Qin Ran climbed down and headed for the underground warehouse.

Qin Ran crossed the wrecked department store and soon saw the slope leading to the underground warehouse.

After walking down the slope, Qin Ran spotted the warehouse entrance at a glance.

It was simply too conspicuous—

The underground warehouse door was not fully closed, but left half-open.

The lights inside shone brightly through the gap. Using that light, Qin Ran could easily see the warehouse's interior.

There was a corridor wide enough for a forklift to pass through, with rooms arranged along both sides.

As Qin Ran understood it, this underground warehouse had not been a single large mixed-storage space. Instead, it had been divided by concrete partitions into small rooms for the department store's merchants to rent.

Now, they had become rooms for the armed thugs.

Qin Ran slowly approached.

The glaring light spilling from the warehouse door formed a dazzling patch of light and shadow on the ground.

Unlike the other survivors, who lived difficult lives, Vulture and his group were living quite comfortably. Their dealings with the rebels had not only brought them enough supplies to live on, but also a diesel generator.

However, that only proved even more clearly that they deserved to die!

The better Vulture and his group lived, the more dealings they had with the rebels.

And that meant more innocent women had fallen into the rebels' hands.

The killing intent rising in his heart made Qin Ran's entire body radiate a chilling aura.