Sniper

Qin Ran smiled in the face of such silence.

It was not the forced, mocking grin from before, but a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart.

He knew that, for the moment, he had seized the initiative.

The other side had numerous fully armed subordinates and considerable power, that was true, but... they were greedy!

Greedy beyond measure!

And that was their weakness!

As long as there was a weakness, they could be defeated!

Even if they were incredibly powerful!

Qin Ran firmly believed that.

So, he patiently waited for the other party's reply.

"What do you want?"

A moment later, Saruka's voice sounded again. Even through the receiver, Qin Ran could sense the anger he was suppressing.

But Qin Ran did not care.

In Qin Ran's eyes, the other party was merely a BOSS for improving his dungeon-clearance rating.

Other than that... he was nothing!

"What do I want? Major, that is a very good question! What could I want in this damned city? Of course, I want to leave! Leave this damned place!"

Following the plan he had prepared long ago, Qin Ran acted crazed, like someone on the verge of being driven mad by the war.

"Return my jewels, and I will take you out of here!"

Saruka readily gave an affirmative answer.

"No problem. When night falls again, I'll be waiting for you at Vulture's hideout!"

Qin Ran likewise did not hesitate.

Afterward, Saruka hung up.

Looking at the disconnected phone, Qin Ran swiftly removed the battery again. Then he curled up against one wall, closed his eyes, and rested.

He knew that a fierce battle was coming.

He had to seize the time to conserve his strength.

As for the deal with Saruka?

Qin Ran had never taken it seriously.

The strength Saruka had displayed from the beginning was enough to show that he was not someone who would compromise easily.

After suffering a loss, he would not remain silent and pretend nothing had happened.

He would definitely retaliate against Qin Ran!

But because of that backpack full of jewels, he would not make a huge commotion. He would only send an elite squad of soldiers.

Moreover, that squad would definitely consist of his trusted men!

Therefore, there would not be too many of them!

But that also meant these people should be strong!

Otherwise, they would never have become Saruka's trusted men.

However, Qin Ran would not retreat!

Because this was exactly what Qin Ran needed!

If he were facing a large number of rebels, then even with his strengthened skills, Qin Ran would avoid their edge. But if it was only one squad, he believed he could fight them!

And he had to win cleanly and decisively!

Only then could he proceed with the next step of his plan.

"One minute should be enough for him to find me!"

Qin Ran narrowed his eyes, silently thinking as he rested.

When he had seen that phone in Vulture's room, Qin Ran had immediately noticed something strange about it.

It looked far sturdier than an ordinary mobile phone.

Furthermore, this was a city ravaged by war. Its communication infrastructure had likely been destroyed long ago!

Yet this phone could still make calls. Qin Ran did not need to think hard to know it came from the rebels and had surely been given to Vulture by that major to make contact convenient.

Given the strength that major had displayed, it would have been stranger if he had not tampered with the phone.

That was why Qin Ran had hung up earlier and removed the battery.

He did not want to drag Colin into this danger.

He also wanted to leave himself a safe supply point.

After all,

It was only the second day!

"What a long day!"

Watching [Main Quest: Survive Seven Days, 1/7] change into [2/7], Qin Ran felt the world brighten with the sunrise and the warmth of the sunlight, and could not help sighing softly.

"Have you found that sewer rat, that cockroach?"

After hanging up, Saruka turned his gaze toward his adjutant.

"Locked on! That guy is near the Garden Villa District!"

The adjutant answered immediately.

"Very good! Mark that location. Send Hank and a squad to kill that bastard immediately and recover my things—remember, I want every last item returned completely intact!"

Saruka nodded and issued his orders.

"Yes, sir!"

The adjutant gave a military salute and swiftly headed out.

"You sewer rat, you cockroach. Do you think you can threaten Major Saruka?"

After his adjutant left, Saruka stared coldly at the red dot on the tracker and muttered to himself.

Under the sunlight, a troop carrier appeared on the street between Sixth Avenue and the Garden Villa District.

The special markings on the troop carrier allowed it to travel without obstruction.

A squad of ten soldiers nimbly jumped down from the troop carrier, then stood silently at its side. When the man sitting in the front passenger seat stepped out, all ten soldiers immediately raised their hands in salute with perfectly synchronized movements.

"Major Saruka has assigned us a top-secret mission—find an armed thug somewhere nearby, kill him, and bring back all of his belongings! Remember: leave no survivors!"

As the troop carrier drove away amid the roar of its engine, the man who had been sitting in the front passenger seat spoke in an apparently calm tone.

But his extremely stern expression showed just how seriously he took it.

As one of Saruka's trusted men, Hank knew exactly how important this mission was.

If they failed, they would not even have to wait for the government army to launch its final offensive. The rebel generals would have them shot, even if Saruka had given those esteemed generals plenty of "toys."

Those people at the top would turn on anyone without hesitation!

Knowing that clearly, Hank became even more cautious about this mission.

"Sniper, machine gunner, find the best positions! The rest of you, split into two teams and search!"

"Yes!"

Upon receiving their captain's orders, the soldiers moved swiftly.

First, the sniper ran toward a high point.

Then, the machine gunner and his assistant gunner carried a crate of ammunition to an open stretch of ruins, where they set up the light machine gun.

The remaining eight men, including Hank, split into two groups and rapidly entered the Garden Villa District before them, beginning a carpet search.

The four-man squad held assault rifles and moved forward in coordinated tactical formation, taking turns covering one another as they searched.

Watching from his hiding place, Qin Ran frowned deeply.

He had tried to estimate his enemies' strength as highly as possible, but he had still underestimated them.

"They are on a completely different level from those armed thugs!"

Qin Ran watched the two approaching search teams, then looked at the sniper who had appeared on the roof of a partially collapsed building in the distance. Without making a sound, he slowly backed away.

He could not make a move!

Whether he fired or engaged in close combat, the sniper would inevitably lock onto him!

"I have to take out that sniper!"

Having made up his mind, Qin Ran quickly entered [Stealth]. Using the ruins for cover, he crouched and moved toward the best firing position.

Qin Ran had not chosen this street between Sixth Avenue and the Garden Villa District at random when he called Saruka and allowed him to lock onto his position.

He had selected it carefully!

Qin Ran had passed through this area while relocating with Colin, and it had left a deep impression on him.

Before the war, this place should have been a low-end commercial district packed with buildings.

But after the war, not only had many buildings collapsed and large stretches turned into ruins, more importantly, the once-dense buildings had created one excellent hiding place and ambush site after another.

Thus, after deciding to fight the rebels, Qin Ran had immediately chosen this place. After a brief sleep, he had familiarized himself with it as thoroughly as possible.

Besides memorizing the terrain, Qin Ran had also used the firearm knowledge and experience granted by [Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms) (Basic)] to devise a suitable plan.

Just like with the sniper before him!

The sniper had not noticed a single figure approaching him.

A sniper's strength lay in long-range attacks and being impossible to predict.

Especially the latter. In an extremely favorable environment, an outstanding sniper taking out an entire squad of fully armed soldiers was not impossible.

But now, he had no environmental protection.

On the contrary, the environment now favored Qin Ran!

Moreover, every one of the sniper's movements was under Qin Ran's gaze!

What would happen to a sniper who had lost his mystery and revealed his whereabouts?

Standing in a patch of shadow, Qin Ran raised the assembled "sniper rifle" in his hands and aimed from the side at the target roughly a hundred meters away. [Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms) (Basic)] granted Qin Ran the best ability currently available within the skill, allowing him to easily accomplish something ordinary people could not imagine.

Perhaps [Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms)] at the basic level could not make Qin Ran an outstanding sniper.

But it had definitely brought him up to a passing standard!

And that was enough!

Qin Ran adjusted his breathing. The hand gripping the gun was steady and strong as he locked onto the target through the scope.

Then... he pulled the trigger!

Bang!

After the gunshot, Qin Ran did not pause, nor did he check on the target. Hugging the "sniper rifle," he rolled to one side, swiftly burrowed into a patch of ruins, and headed toward the next firing position he had memorized.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The instant Qin Ran rolled away, the distant machine gunner opened fire. A dense barrage of bullets struck the spot where Qin Ran had been standing, punching through the seemingly sturdy wall within moments.

However, Qin Ran was no longer there.

"What happened?"

Hank, who was searching in the distance and could not see the situation here, could only hear the gunshots. He shouted into the radio.

"The sniper is dead!"

The assistant gunner immediately answered his captain.

"What?"

Hank froze and instinctively asked again.

Bang!

Before the assistant gunner could reply, another abrupt gunshot rang out.

This time, Hank saw it clearly. A member of the other search team not far from him had his head blown apart.

"There's a sniper! Take cover!"

Hank shouted loudly.

Faced with the sudden attack, the entire squad immediately made the correct response, ducking behind the nearest cover.

In an instant, the rebel soldiers on the battlefield vanished from sight.

Except for... the machine gunner and his assistant gunner.