Hit

The rebel machine gunner and assistant gunner clearly understood their predicament.

Against a sniper hidden somewhere, their position was far too dangerous. After all, their firing point had only been hastily built from the ruins; it was not a real defensive structure like a bunker.

Without any communication, the machine gunner and assistant gunner chose the same course as the other rebel soldiers: take cover!

But they were obviously too slow!

Bang!

Another gunshot rang out. The machine gunner, who had just raised his light machine gun, had his head blown apart. The machine gun immediately fell to the ground, while the assistant gunner completely shrank back into the ruins and did not dare show his head.

Compared to staying alive, what did cowardice matter?

No one would blame the assistant gunner, even if they despised him inwardly.

As the captain, Hank paid even less attention to that subordinate. The instant the gunshot rang out, he judged the general direction, and the assault rifle in his hands began spewing fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The surrounding soldiers joined in as well, and bullets immediately sent stone chips flying from that section of ruins.

After firing, Qin Ran rolled again to evade the bullets that followed.

The skill [Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms) (Basic)] had not only strengthened Qin Ran's body, but also given him knowledge related to firearms. Aside from letting him clearly understand how to use guns, it had also taught him the characteristics of firearms.

For example: sniper rifles!

Although it was merely an assembled sniper rifle, that did not stop Qin Ran from treating himself as a sniper.

And a sniper's greatest rule was never to let the enemy know his position!

That was even more important than killing with a single shot!

Holding his sniper rifle, Qin Ran rolled into a hiding spot among the ruins that he had selected beforehand.

Then, he lowered his head and looked at the injury on his left calf.

[Shooting: Graze, the opponent dealt 5 points of damage to your Health...]

Just as the combat record described, it was only a graze from a bullet, but that graze reminded Qin Ran of his opponent's strength.

He had selected an environment extremely favorable to himself beforehand and launched a surprise attack, yet he had been injured by merely the third exchange.

Seriously speaking, this was the first time Qin Ran had been injured since entering this beginner dungeon.

Riiip!

Qin Ran tore open his lining, ripped it into strips, and tied them around his left calf.

"I should have learned how to bandage wounds from Maggie before starting!"

Feeling the pain from his calf, Qin Ran mocked himself like that.

Then, Qin Ran had no choice but to move again.

Qin Ran knew that if he stayed here even a moment longer, he would fall into an encirclement. Those rebel soldiers could definitely use the location where he had fired from earlier to judge his current general position.

Of that, Qin Ran had no doubt.

His injured calf made his movements sluggish. Especially after entering the [Stealth] state, his already slow speed became even slower.

It took Qin Ran five minutes to completely leave that area.

When he hid in a new hiding place and looked toward the original area, seven rebel soldiers assigned to search had already surrounded it.

With three in front and four behind, three soldiers advanced carefully while four remained where they were, aiming ahead.

If Qin Ran had still been there, he definitely would not have escaped.

Even if he took out one or two soldiers, the remaining soldiers would have been enough to turn him into a sieve.

But things were different now!

Having left that area, Qin Ran could snipe them without restraint.

Bang!

One of the soldiers assigned to search fell into a pool of blood.

[Shooting: Critical hit, dealt 100 damage to the opponent's Health (50 Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms) (Basic) x2),

Opponent died...]

The combat notification indicated the opponent's death.

Qin Ran immediately began relocating again.

Listening to the sound of bullets striking behind him, Qin Ran was incomparably glad that he had chosen such terrain, one so favorable to himself.

"Damn it!"

The death of another subordinate made Hank curse under his breath.

He wanted nothing more than to drag out that damned sniper and tear him to pieces, but he understood even more clearly that anger would not solve the problem before him.

If he did not think of something soon, his entire squad would be left here.

Hank's gaze swept across the surroundings, but layers of ruins blocked his view.

More importantly, aside from the sniper's initial firing position, there was not a single true high point nearby that could overlook the entire area.

"He deliberately chose this place!"

A realization arose in Hank's heart.

At the same time, a sense of foreboding emerged.

This was definitely not an ordinary armed thug!

Someone who could skillfully use a sniper rifle and choose such terrain had to be a qualified soldier!

"Could he be... government army?!"

The guess made Hank frown, followed by a moment of hesitation.

Although Hank was only an ordinary second lieutenant, as Saruka's trusted subordinate, he was perfectly clear about the state of this war.

The rebels were doomed to lose!

Trapped in an isolated city without any outside support, their supplies would eventually run out. Defeat was only a matter of time.

And when that time came, there would be a reckoning!

Hank did not want to die in that reckoning!

So, he had chosen to follow Saruka—because Saruka had promised that he could safely get through the reckoning and live a prosperous life without worrying about food or clothing for the rest of his days.

But that promise naturally depended on Hank not killing large numbers of government soldiers, or important figures in the government army.

Otherwise, even Saruka would not be able to protect him.

"If that man really is a scout sent by the government army, and I kill him... Forget it. This is the major's order! I had no choice long ago!"

After hesitating, Hank finally gritted his teeth and immediately gave his orders.

"Mark, Johnny, go to the previous sniper position and take the high ground!"

"Handel, go draw his attention!"

"The rest of you, keep an eye on that bastard's movements!"

Orders were issued one after another.

The rebels immediately sprang into action.

Once again, they showed the difference between rebels and armed thugs. If they had been armed thugs, they would have started shirking responsibility at a time like this. They might even have turned on each other outright.

But the rebels did not!

They carried out their captain's orders and performed their respective tasks.

The two soldiers heading for the sniper position and the soldier assigned to draw Qin Ran's attention set off almost simultaneously.

The remaining three soldiers, including Hank, swept their eyes over the possible places where Qin Ran might appear.

Qin Ran immediately noticed the soldier being used as "bait."

The man made no effort to hide himself, making him extremely conspicuous amid the ruins.

Qin Ran instantly aimed at him!

But Qin Ran did not fire!

The rebel soldier's abrupt behavior made habitually cautious Qin Ran suspicious.

It did not match their earlier professional conduct at all!

It was not even as good as an armed thug's behavior!

"A trap?"

Qin Ran instinctively thought of that possibility.

After all, one of the best ways to deal with a sniper was to throw out bait.

Qin Ran removed his index finger from the trigger. With the magnified vision provided by the Worker Bee Scope, he searched the area before him.

Very quickly, Qin Ran made a discovery.

When he had familiarized himself with the entire ruined area earlier, Qin Ran had paid particular attention to where people could hide and where stealthy movement was suitable.

Combined with the rebel soldiers' current positions, finding the target was not difficult.

"Two people... are heading for the previous sniper position!"

Looking at the rebel soldiers through his scope, Qin Ran instantly guessed what they intended to do.

That sniper position could be said to be the only place in this area that could restrain Qin Ran. After taking out the first sniper, Qin Ran would absolutely not allow a second or third sniper to appear.

Without hesitation, Qin Ran fired!

Bang!

One rebel soldier heading for the sniper position was hit and fell.

The other rebel soldier did not hesitate at all. He decisively sprang up from the ground, changing from a crawling posture into a full sprint.

Qin Ran saw all of it!

But Qin Ran had no chance to fire continuously!

After the first shot, he once again relied on rapid rolling to evade the rebel soldiers' suppressive fire, but his position was exposed once more.

The rebel soldiers closed in again.

What was worse, he did not have enough time to use [Stealth] to circle out of this encirclement!

Because the sprinting rebel soldier was less than a hundred meters from the sniper position. At the speed he was showing now, more than ten seconds would be enough for him to reach it.

"I have to risk it!"

Watching the man get closer and closer to the sniper position, Qin Ran gritted his teeth and raised the sniper rifle again.

If he exposed himself while inside the encirclement, it would definitely be dangerous.

Qin Ran knew that perfectly well.

Calling it a near-death situation would not be an exaggeration.

But if that rebel soldier occupied the sniper position again, Qin Ran would have no chance of survival at all!

Bang!

Qin Ran fired. The sprinting rebel soldier was hit and fell.

And Qin Ran, who had immediately begun rolling after firing, was also knocked off his original course by the tremendous impact of a bullet.

He had been shot!