Sowing Discord

Time passed second by second.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled in through the window, draping the solid wooden desk in a layer of red and reflecting Saruka as he sat in his office.

His face bore no extra expression. With his usual rigid appearance, Saruka waited patiently.

He held a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

The rich aroma of coffee filled the room, yet Saruka did not savor its flavor as he normally would.

He felt restless.

Something bad was about to happen.

Saruka trusted his instincts deeply.

They had saved him from death several times before.

This time, Saruka did not think there would be an exception.

But first, he needed to confirm exactly what had happened.

"What could it be?"

Saruka frowned as he thought.

Subconsciously, he thought of that sewer rat. That cockroach.

"Impossible. With Hank leading a squad, they can easily deal with him!"

Saruka immediately shook his head with a self-mocking smile.

How could an armed thug who relied on petty Trickery possibly be a match for real soldiers?

Not to mention, it was an entire squad of soldiers!

At most, it would take a little effort to dig that bastard out of the sewer where he was hiding.

Saruka laughed at himself for making such a fuss.

Just as he was about to consider where things had gone wrong, his phone rang.

The white screen displayed the caller's name: "Vulture"!

Saruka's breathing caught.

But he immediately answered the call.

This time, the domineering Saruka did not speak at once. He waited for Qin Ran to speak first.

He did not believe his men could have failed!

Therefore, he had to find out exactly what had happened!

"Are you still waiting for your men? Let me tell you, there's no need to wait! They've all gone to Hell! And you'll be joining them soon—my new partner not only offered me a better deal, he also agreed to this request! I can hardly wait to see a lying bastard like you die miserably!"

Qin Ran spoke extremely quickly, his voice thick with resentment and venom.

After saying that, Qin Ran did not wait for Saruka's reply. He hung up directly, then removed the phone's battery.

When Saruka called back, all he heard was the familiar shutdown message.

"Damn it!"

Furious, Saruka viciously smashed his phone onto the floor.

However, Saruka quickly calmed down.

He did not believe that sewer rat, that cockroach, could deceive him.

Still, to be safe, Saruka remained cautious.

"Adjutant, contact Hank for me!"

"Yes, sir!"

The trembling adjutant answered immediately.

He had noticed that his commander had become increasingly irritable over the past few days.

Could the situation really be that bad?

As Saruka's adjutant, he was fairly well-informed about certain matters.

But the adjutant kept all of it buried in his heart and carried out Saruka's orders.

Several minutes later, the adjutant reported his results.

"Sir, I can't reach them—aside from Captain Hank, I tried contacting the other squad members through their radios, but none of them responded!"

"Damn it! Send a squad of scouts to those ruins and find out what happened!"

Saruka did not give up as he cursed.

"Yes, sir!"

After saluting, the adjutant hurried out.

The entire office was immediately left with Saruka alone once more.

He began recalling what Qin Ran had said during their earlier call.

"Someone saved that sewer rat, that cockroach? And they even promised that bastard they'd kill me?"

Saruka narrowed his eyes, carefully considering who this person could be.

There were not many people who could detect the operation he had sent out, eliminate Hank's squad, and avoid drawing too much attention.

And the most likely person...

General Janning!

Only he knew Saruka had been working with Vulture!

In fact, half the jewels in that bag belonged to the general—this had been the agreement between Saruka and him. Saruka would pay a sufficient price, and the general would take him and everything he owned out of the city.

The general controlled a "passage" out of the city!

That was no secret!

At least, the rebel leadership all knew about it.

That was precisely why those important figures could calmly play their negotiation game with the government forces.

Yes, the rebels and the government forces had already come to the negotiating table.

That was why Saruka had urged Vulture to hurry.

But now...

With heavy breaths, Saruka's chest rose and fell.

He was furious!

Because he had been toyed with like a clown!

"Janning!"

Saruka growled through gritted teeth. A dangerous gleam shone in his eyes, like a wounded and starving wolf.

Not only had he lost an enormous fortune, he was now facing a grave threat.

Saruka knew Janning very well.

Since the other man had made a move against that bag of jewels, he would not spare Saruka, a man who knew too much.

If he did not want to die without knowing why, then he had to do something!

"You forced my hand!"

Saruka muttered viciously, then shouted, "Adjutant! Put the entire battalion on alert and have them stand by!"

Waiting helplessly for death was absolutely not Saruka's style.

He swore that anyone who tried to deal with him would pay a devastating price.

Even if it was one of the rebel leaders.

And once his scouts returned, everything would have an answer!

Hidden in the shadows of the ruins, Qin Ran watched the changes in the nearby military camp. Combined with the squad of rebel soldiers that had left earlier, he knew his plan to sow discord had succeeded.

The moment he learned Deceiver's identity, such a plan had surfaced in Qin Ran's mind.

General Janning had planted spies in Saruka's ranks, and Deceiver's evaluation of Saruka was enough to show that although the two belonged to the same camp, their relationship was definitely not harmonious.

At the very least, it was nowhere near as good as it appeared.

Saruka believed that everything he did in secret could be hidden from General Janning.

Meanwhile, General Janning believed he could control everything.

For two people like that, a tiny spark was all it took to trigger a violent explosion.

Qin Ran did not mind becoming that tiny spark.

That was why, during his call with Saruka, he had not only spoken vaguely, but had also hung up before giving the other man any chance to interrupt.

Because Qin Ran knew that the more he said, the more likely he was to slip up.

A domineering man like Saruka would not believe him simply because he said enough!

Saruka would only believe what he saw and what he thought!

Even if it was wrong, he would believe it without question.

As for General Janning?

Qin Ran could more or less guess what he would do in response to Saruka's unusual movements. Especially after Deceiver, his spy, became unreachable, an internal conflict among the rebels seemed unavoidable.

What Qin Ran needed to do next was remove the word "seemed."

Only then could he complete his plan!

Not only was Saruka, his original target, now on his list—General Janning had become a target he needed to eliminate as well!

The moment the name General Janning had appeared, Qin Ran had intended to do exactly that.

To raise his completion rating!

Because only then could he accomplish his purpose for entering this Underground Game: earn more money as quickly as possible and treat his illness.

Naturally, that would not be easy.

But Qin Ran did not intend to give up.

He still had far too many hopes and dreams for life.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Ran quickly cast aside the chaotic thoughts in his mind. As the last trace of sunlight vanished beyond the horizon, he lowered his head and looked at the sniper rifle he had just obtained—

[Name: Viper-M1]

[Type: Firearm]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attack Power: Strong]

[Magazine Capacity: 5 rounds]

[Attributes: 1. Armor-Piercing Lv1; 2. Extreme-Range Strike Lv2]

[Special Effect: None]

[Requirements: Gunpowder Weapons, Light Firearms (Basic)]

[Can be taken out of this dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: Its 12.7mm caliber grants it powerful long-range attack power, but it requires a certain degree of skill]

...

[Armor-Piercing Lv1: Can easily tear through light armor]

[Extreme-Range Strike Lv2: Its effective firing range extends to within 1 kilometer]

...

Unlike that specially assembled "sniper rifle," the Viper-M1 before him displayed the true terror of a sniper rifle. It possessed not only two attributes, but also formidable attack power.

According to the system's item descriptions, aside from the -II grenade, whose attack power was Strong, even the M12 assault rifle was merely Average.

Yet this Viper-M1 had likewise reached the Strong category.

Although the two special attributes likely contributed to that, its base attack power was terrifying enough. Anyone hit by a single shot would have no chance of survival.

Even if someone had 150 Health like he and Deceiver did now, it would be useless.

As his Health recovered, Qin Ran suddenly realized that the 20 Health he had gained earlier was not the full amount—it was actually 50!

This was because the system had calculated the increase in Qin Ran's Constitution based on the percentage of his original 100 Health, raising it to 150.

Stamina had changed in the same way.

Of course, his attributes and equipment had changed as well.

He opened his character panel and inspected it carefully.

[Name: Qin Ran]

[Age: 17 years old (Male)]

[Bloodline: Human]

[Title: None]

[Health: 150]

[Stamina: 150]

...

[Strength: F+]

[Agility: F]

[Constitution: F+]

[Spirit: F+]

[Perception: F+]

...

[Skills: Cold Weapons: Dagger (Basic), Dodge (Basic), Stealth (Basic), Gunpowder Weapons: Light Firearms (Beginner), Unarmed Combat (Basic), Tracking (Basic)]

[Equipment: Dagger x1, M1905, Viper-M1, Grenades x8]

[Backpack: Canned Food x2, Purified Water x2, Painkiller x1, Advanced Bandage x2, Lighter x1, Several Cigarettes, Various Ammunition]

(Evaluation: Still a newcomer, but much stronger than ordinary cannon fodder.)

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