Sudden Change

The instincts honed on the battlefield saved Hank's life at the 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.

Though they did not understand why Qin Ran, who should have been barely hanging on inside the ruins before them, 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 cut across the walls like sharp blades, dividing the area before him in two.

One half was bright and warm; the other was cold and damp.

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

After his earlier, more careful observation, he had finally identified the leader of this squad. What Qin Ran had not expected was for his sniping attempt to fail.

[Shooting: Instinctive Dodge. The opponent completely dodged, dealing 0 damage to the opponent...]

"Actual rebel elite?"

Qin Ran muttered to himself.

His heart was filled with shock.

This was Qin Ran's first time encountering someone who could foresee danger.

Though he did not know whether the other party could predict danger that accurately every time, even achieving that result once out of ten times was enough to be astonishing.

However, Qin Ran immediately began moving again.

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

What was more, Qin Ran did not believe the remaining rebel soldiers possessed such abilities aside from their leader.

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

The clothes that had rolled repeatedly across the ground had already provided Qin Ran with the perfect camouflage, making him even harder to spot while in [Stealth].

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

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

These three rebel soldiers had clearly become jumpy. They hid completely within the ruins, concealing themselves as their eyes swept from side to side, hoping to find Qin Ran.

However, all their widened eyes could see were ruins upon ruins and blinding sunlight.

This was a natural sniper's battlefield!

Even the dumbest person would understand that.

"Captain!"

Handel looked toward the captain beside him.

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 Saruka was disappointed in him, his value in Saruka's eyes would plummet without limit. Then... he would be discarded.

Not to mention being taken away from this battlefield.

That was something Hank did not want to see.

Bang!

Just as Hank hesitated, another gunshot rang out.

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

Warm blood mixed with brain matter splattered across Hank's face.

Watching his two remaining subordinates fire back frantically yet helplessly, Hank's hesitation vanished in an instant.

Why had he followed Saruka?

Wasn't it to survive?

And now?

If he stayed here, 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 continued firing,

Hank had already seen through Qin Ran.

His marksmanship was decent, but only somewhat better than a recruit's, far inferior to the army's elites! If Qin Ran had truly been an elite soldier, Hank would have died earlier.

And while his dodging and concealment techniques deserved praise, they were nowhere near the level of real scouts.

If the environment had not favored Qin Ran, Hank was certain he could have killed him before he 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 slightly timid voice of the machine gunner, who had just become a regular member, came through the radio and reached Hank's ears.

It made Hank feel annoyed again.

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

His evasive tactical movements were quite good, even while carrying a light machine gun and a box of ammunition.

The speed at which he set up the machine gun also ranked among the best Hank had seen in a soldier.

"Not bad!"

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

"Retreat!"

Hank waved at his two remaining subordinates.

Immediately, the two rebel soldiers began retreating under alternating cover.

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

Likewise, this was also his final opportunity!

Hank's hand touched the grenade at his waist.

"Come on!"

Hank gritted his teeth as he thought.

He swore he would make Qin Ran pay.

Bang bang bang!

A burst of dense gunfire rang out. Hank collapsed to the ground in agony, his entire body wracked with pain. He saw his two subordinates lying in pools of blood, as well as the smile on the face of the machine gunner who had just become a regular member.

It was a mocking smile, like a cat toying with a mouse.

"How...?"

Hank stared at him in disbelief.

The only response he received was a sweeping barrage.

Bang bang bang!

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

Qin Ran looked at the scene before him in utter surprise.

Instinctively, he aimed the "sniper rifle" in his hands at where the machine gunner had been. But aside from a light machine gun, there was no trace of the man.

A bad feeling rose in Qin Ran's heart.

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

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

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

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

Unexpectedly, that man had been the most dangerous one.

Even stronger than the rebel leader he had ambushed.

"Was this arranged by that major?"

Qin Ran, now in [Stealth], guessed inwardly.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

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

Though he had only spoken to the major over the radio, aside from displaying Greed and arrogance, the man had shown no signs of madness or abnormality.

He had absolutely no reason to do this!

"What the hell is going on?"

Deep doubt arose in Qin Ran's heart.

However, it did not slow Qin Ran's advance.

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.

He had had that premonition from the instant the other party disappeared after opening fire.

As if to confirm Qin Ran's premonition—

just as Qin Ran sighed in 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 completely unmoved and had no intention of responding.

Instead, Qin Ran began moving again.

The scene of the other party using a machine gun to mow down three fellow rebel soldiers had made Qin Ran far more wary of him than usual.

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

Tap tap tap!

The footsteps were hurried, showing that their owner was sprinting at full speed.

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

That pretender!

That was what Qin Ran called the machine gunner who had just become a regular member.

The other party possessed powerful Tracking skills!

As realization flashed through his mind, Qin Ran immediately switched the special assembled "sniper rifle" in his hands back into its original assault rifle's Rapid Fire mode. He aimed toward the source of the footsteps, and the moment a figure appeared before him, he pulled the trigger.

Bang bang bang!

Flames burst from the muzzle.

But every shot missed!

There was no need to check the battle record. Qin Ran could already see clearly that he had only hit a coat.

"Damn it!"

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

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

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

"I've been tricked!"

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

Because the other party had not moved at all. He had been waiting in front for Qin Ran to turn around.

Qin Ran prepared to turn back again.

But it was obviously too late!

"Hello, sir!"

The familiar voice rang out, making Qin Ran feel as though he had fallen into an ice pit, chilled from head to toe.

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