Sniper

Faced with such silence, Qin Ran smiled.

It was not the teasing grin he had put on 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 possessed numerous fully armed subordinates and was undoubtedly powerful, 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.

Therefore, he patiently waited for the other party's answer.

"What do you want?"

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

But Qin Ran did not care.

In Qin Ran's eyes, the other man was nothing more than a boss for improving his clearance rating.

Nothing else!

"What do I want? That is an excellent question, Major! In this damned city, what could I possibly want? Of course I want to leave! Leave this damned place!"

Following the plan he had made 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 away!"

Saruka gave a positive answer without hesitation.

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

Qin Ran did not hesitate either.

After that, Saruka hung up.

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

He knew a fierce battle was coming next.

He had to seize the time to rest and recover his strength.

As for the deal with Saruka?

Qin Ran had never taken it seriously.

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

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

He would definitely retaliate against Qin Ran!

But because of the backpack full of jewels, he would not make a big show of it. He would only send an elite squad of soldiers.

And those soldiers would certainly be his trusted men!

Therefore, there would not be too many of them!

But that also meant they would 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 had faced a large number of rebels, even with his enhanced skills, Qin Ran would have avoided 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 is enough for him to find me!

Narrowing his eyes, Qin Ran quietly thought as he rested.

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

It looked far sturdier than an ordinary phone.

Moreover, this was a city ravaged by war. Its communication facilities had probably 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 certainly been given to Vulture by that major for convenient contact.

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

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

He did not want Colin dragged 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, then could not help sighing softly.

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

After hanging up, Saruka looked toward his adjutant.

"We've locked onto him! That guy is near the Garden Villa District!"

The adjutant immediately replied.

"Good! Remember that location. Have Hank take a squad there immediately and kill that bastard for me. Retrieve the goods—remember, I want everything returned intact!"

Saruka nodded and gave the order.

"Yes, sir!"

The adjutant saluted and quickly left.

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

After the 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 pass without obstruction.

A squad of ten soldiers leaped nimbly from the vehicle, then stood quietly beside it. When the man seated in the front passenger seat stepped down, all ten soldiers immediately raised their hands in a crisp, synchronized salute.

"Major Saruka has given us a top-secret mission—find an armed thug in the vicinity, kill him, and bring back all of his belongings! Remember: no survivors!"

The man from the front passenger seat spoke in an apparently calm tone over the roar of the troop carrier's engine as it drove away.

But his extremely solemn expression revealed how seriously he took the order.

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

If they failed, they would not even need to wait for the government forces to launch their final assault. The rebel generals would have them shot, and it would make no difference how many "toys" Saruka had given those esteemed generals.

Those people in power could turn on anyone without hesitation!

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

"Sniper, machine gunner, find the best positions! Everyone else, split into two teams and begin the search!"

"Yes!"

At their captain's command, the soldiers swiftly moved into action.

First, a sniper ran toward a high point.

Then the machine gunner, along with his assistant gunner and a crate of ammunition, found a stretch of open ruins and set up the light machine gun.

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

Each four-man team held assault rifles and advanced while searching in a tactical formation, coordinating smoothly as they alternated cover.

Qin Ran, hiding nearby, frowned deeply at the sight.

He had tried his best to overestimate his enemies' strength, but he had still underestimated them.

"They are on an entirely different level from those armed thugs!"

Watching the two search teams approach, Qin Ran glanced at the sniper standing 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, he would inevitably be targeted by that sniper!

"I have to take out that sniper!"

Having made up his mind, Qin Ran quickly entered [Stealth]. Using the cover of the ruins, 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 with great care!

When he had relocated with Colin, Qin Ran had passed through this place and it had left a deep impression on him.

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

After the war, not only had many buildings collapsed and ruins spread everywhere, but more importantly, the formerly dense structures had created one excellent place after another for hiding and ambushes.

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

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

Just like the one he had prepared for the sniper before him!

The sniper had not noticed the approaching figure at all.

A sniper's strength lay in long-range attacks and elusive movement.

Especially the latter. In an extremely favorable environment, it was not impossible for an excellent sniper to wipe out a fully armed squad of soldiers.

But now, he did not have the protection of the environment.

On the contrary, the environment now favored Qin Ran!

Furthermore, every movement the sniper made was under Qin Ran's watch!

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

Standing in the shadows, Qin Ran raised the assembled "sniper rifle" in his hands and aimed at the target roughly a hundred meters away from the side. The abilities granted by [Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms) (Basic)] allowed him to accomplish something ordinary people could scarcely imagine.

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

But it had certainly 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 his 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" to his chest, he rolled to one side, swiftly dove into a patch of ruins, and headed for the next firing position he remembered.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The instant Qin Ran rolled away, the distant machine gunner opened fire. A dense stream of bullets tore into the spot where Qin Ran had been standing, punching through the seemingly sturdy wall in the space of a breath.

But Qin Ran was no longer there.

"What happened?"

Unable to see what was happening from where he was searching in the distance and able to hear only gunfire, Hank shouted into the radio.

"The sniper is dead!"

The assistant gunner immediately replied to his captain.

"What?"

Hank froze and instinctively asked again.

Bang!

Before the assistant gunner could answer, 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.

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

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

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