Sudden Change

The instincts he had honed on the battlefield saved Hank's life at a critical moment.

Bang!

Just as he lunged fiercely to one side, a gunshot rang out from somewhere farther away than the ruins before him!

"He's over there!"

In an instant, the rebel soldiers present reacted.

Although they did not understand why Qin Ran, who should have been hiding in the ruins before them and barely clinging to life, had suddenly appeared there, they knew what to do.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The interwoven muzzle flashes of three assault rifles gave Qin Ran no chance to fire again.

With a swift roll, Qin Ran slipped into the ruins to one side.

Sunlight crossed the walls like sharp blades, splitting the area before him in two—one half bright and warm, the other cold and damp.

Qin Ran curled up in the cold, damp half, his brows tightly furrowed.

After his earlier, more careful observation, he had finally identified the leader of this group. But what Qin Ran had not expected was for his sniper shot to fail.

[Shooting: Intuitive Dodge, opponent completely evaded, dealt 0 damage to opponent...]

"A true rebel elite?"

Qin Ran muttered softly.

His heart was filled with shock.

This was the first time Qin Ran had encountered someone who could foresee danger.

Though he did not know whether the other party could predict danger so accurately every time, even if he could achieve that effect once in ten attempts, it was enough to astonish anyone.

However, Qin Ran moved again almost immediately.

No matter how shocked he was, Qin Ran would not forget his objective.

Besides, Qin Ran did not believe that the remaining rebel soldiers possessed the same ability as their leader.

Concealed in the shadows, Qin Ran entered the [Stealth] state once more.

His jacket, which had been rolled around on the ground, had already provided Qin Ran with the perfect disguise, making him even harder to detect while in [Stealth].

The assembled "sniper rifle" extended from the shadows once again.

This time, Qin Ran no longer chose the enemy leader as his target, but the remaining three soldiers.

Those three rebel soldiers had clearly become skittish. They hid completely among the ruins, shielding themselves while their eyes swept from side to side in hopes of finding Qin Ran.

Yet all their wide-open eyes saw were patches of ruins and blinding sunlight.

This was a natural sniper's battlefield!

Even the stupidest person would understand that.

"Captain!"

Handel looked toward his captain.

Hank understood exactly what his subordinate meant—use heavy weapons, or... retreat.

The former was impossible!

Hank knew that very well.

As for the latter?

Hank hesitated.

He did not want Saruka to be disappointed in him!

Because Hank understood that once he disappointed Saruka, his value in Saruka's eyes would plummet without limit, followed by... abandonment.

Let alone being taken away from this battlefield.

That was something Hank did not want to see.

Bang!

Just as Hank hesitated, another shot rang out.

Handel, who had just made the suggestion, had his head blown apart.

Warm blood mixed with brain matter splashed across Hank's face. Watching his remaining two subordinates fire back frantically yet helplessly, Hank instantly snapped out of his hesitation.

Why had he followed Saruka?

Wasn't it to survive?

And now?

If he stayed here any longer, he would be walking straight into death. He would not even have to wait for this damned war to end before dying in the other party's vicious trap!

That was right, a vicious trap!

As Qin Ran fired again and again,

Hank had already seen through Qin Ran.

His marksmanship was decent, but only a little better than that of a rookie. He was far inferior to the army's true elites! If he had really been an elite soldier, Hank would already be dead.

And while his techniques for dodging and concealing his tracks were worthy of praise, they were nowhere near the level of a real scout.

If the environment had not favored him, Hank was certain he could have killed him before he even fired.

Moreover, Hank vaguely felt that all of this was a setup!

A setup that had deceived Saruka and sent them out here to die!

A burning sense of humiliation rose from Hank's heart, making him want to skin Qin Ran alive and tear out his tendons. But Hank knew even better what he needed to do now.

Leave this place!

"Machine gunner, provide cover!"

Hank shouted into the radio.

"Y-Yes, Captain!"

The newly promoted machine gunner's slightly timid voice came through the radio to Hank's ears.

It made Hank feel irritated once more.

Fortunately, after receiving his earlier order, the man should have already been on his way here. As the call ended, Hank quickly caught sight of him.

Despite carrying a light machine gun and a box of ammunition, his evasive tactical movements were quite good.

The speed with which he set up the machine gun was also among the best Hank had seen in any soldier.

"Not bad!"

Watching this, Hank finally understood somewhat why the man had been able to join his squad.

"Retreat!"

Hank waved at his only two remaining subordinates.

At once, the two rebel soldiers began to fall back under alternating cover.

Hank stayed at the rear. He believed that vile opponent would not let such an opportunity pass.

Likewise, this was his final opportunity!

Hank's hand touched the grenade at his waist.

Come on!

Hank gritted his teeth.

He swore he would make Qin Ran pay.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A dense volley of gunfire erupted. Hank collapsed to the ground in agony, seeing his two subordinates lying in pools of blood—and the smile of the newly promoted machine gunner.

A mocking smile, like a cat toying with a mouse.

"How could this be?"

Hank stared at him in disbelief.

The answer Hank received was a sweeping burst of gunfire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

When the gunfire ceased, Hank's body had been blasted to pieces, completely unrecognizable.

Qin Ran watched the scene before him in utter astonishment.

Instinctively, he aimed the "sniper rifle" in his hands toward where the machine gunner had been, but apart from the light machine gun, there was no sign of the man at all.

A bad feeling rose in Qin Ran's heart.

Without hesitation, Qin Ran immediately left his current position and headed for another hiding place.

Qin Ran did not know why the other party had opened fire, but he knew that not only those rebel soldiers had been deceived—he had been deceived as well.

Earlier, after he had killed the original machine gunner, the assistant gunner's cowardly appearance had perfectly fooled him.

It had made him instinctively believe that the man posed no danger, causing him to focus all his attention on the remaining rebel soldiers.

What Qin Ran had not expected was that the man had been the most dangerous one.

Stronger than the rebel leader he had ambushed!

"Was this arranged by that major?"

Qin Ran, in [Stealth], made his guess.

But he quickly threw the thought out of his mind.

Such a guess simply did not hold up; there were far too many contradictions.

Although he had only spoken with that major over the radio, apart from greed and arrogance, the man had shown no signs of madness or abnormality.

He had absolutely no reason to do this!

"What exactly is going on?"

A deep confusion rose in Qin Ran's heart.

However, it did not affect Qin Ran's pace.

More than ten seconds later, Qin Ran reached a new hiding place and let out a slight sigh of relief.

Though he could not see him, Qin Ran was certain that the vanished machine gunner had already appeared at his original hiding place.

From the instant the man disappeared after opening fire, Qin Ran had had that premonition.

As if to confirm Qin Ran's feeling.

Just as Qin Ran breathed a sigh of relief, a voice came from his original position—

"Sir, I think we can have a proper talk!"

The other party's tone was serious and sincere.

But Qin Ran was not moved in the slightest and had no intention of responding.

Instead, Qin Ran began moving once more.

The sight of the other party mowing down three fellow rebel soldiers with the machine gun had made Qin Ran exceptionally wary of him.

However, after Qin Ran had moved less than ten meters, a series of footsteps appeared.

Tap, tap, tap!

The hurried footsteps revealed that their owner was sprinting at full speed.

And in these ruins, aside from Qin Ran, who else could it be?

The impostor!

That was what Qin Ran called the newly promoted machine gunner.

The man possessed powerful Tracking skills!

As realization flashed through his mind, Qin Ran immediately switched the special assembled "sniper rifle" in his hands back to its original assault rifle burst-fire mode. He aimed toward the source of the footsteps and pulled the trigger the instant a figure appeared before him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Flames burst from the muzzle.

But every shot missed!

Qin Ran did not need to check the combat log to see clearly that he had only hit a jacket.

"Damn it!"

Realizing he had been tricked, Qin Ran instinctively turned around.

Qin Ran's current hiding place was a narrow, short passage open at both ends. Its walls were made of collapsed concrete and rotten wood. From inside, he could clearly see outside through the gaps, but anyone wishing to enter could only come from the direction Qin Ran had just fired toward or from behind him.

Yet when Qin Ran turned around, he found no target.

"I've been fooled!"

Qin Ran immediately understood. The other party had thrown out the jacket not to circle around behind him, but to make him turn around.

Because the man had not moved at all. He had been waiting right in front for Qin Ran to turn.

Qin Ran prepared to turn back again.

But he was obviously too late!

"Hello, sir!"

The familiar voice rang out, sending an icy chill from Qin Ran's head to his feet.