Prelude

The change in evaluation reflected the change in Qin Ran's strength.

Moreover, compared to the objective evaluation, Qin Ran felt the changes even more deeply himself!

In two and a half days, Qin Ran felt as though he had been completely reborn.

Holding the [Viper-M1] taken from the slain sniper, he felt like a seasoned military veteran. Even though Qin Ran knew it was all based on virtual reality and was false—

He still found himself immersed in it.

Because everything was too real.

If he had not been able to call up his character attributes, quest log, and the like, Qin Ran would have completely taken this for reality.

"Is this what makes the Underground Game so captivating?"

Thinking of the people unlike himself who had entered the Underground Game, Qin Ran somewhat understood their way of thinking.

However, if he had truly been healthy, he would never have touched this game.

No matter how realistic it was! No matter how thrilling!

For Qin Ran, none of it was better than living out the rest of his life peacefully and safely.

Qin Ran had never been an ambitious person unwilling to settle for an ordinary life.

He was merely someone forced into this situation.

But that did not stop Qin Ran from striving to do his best.

After all, his life was at stake!

Leaning against a ruined wall, Qin Ran concealed himself in the shadows. He narrowed his eyes slightly and breathed as quietly as possible.

If he could, Qin Ran would have loved to lie down on the ground and sleep.

But the situation before him did not allow it.

The critical moment was about to arrive!

Night had fully fallen.

The moon rose into the night sky. Its thin crescent cast the only hint of tranquility over this war-torn city.

But that tranquility was immediately shattered by a series of footsteps—

Tap, tap, tap!

The footsteps coming from the distance caught Qin Ran's attention.

By the moonlight, he saw the rebel soldiers who had left earlier.

These rebel soldiers hurrying back did not notice Qin Ran hiding in the shadows.

The anxiety in their hearts had greatly dulled their awareness.

At that moment, they only wanted to report the news they had discovered in those ruins to their commanding officer, Saruka.

Hank was dead!

Along with an entire squad under him, there had not been a single survivor.

That shocked them beyond belief!

Hank had been a true powerhouse among them. Whether in Shooting or hand-to-hand combat, he had been among the best. Especially after completing several seemingly impossible missions, word had spread throughout the camp that Hank was the strongest.

Most of the soldiers had tacitly accepted that claim.

Yet Hank, of all people, had died!

Killed by machine-gun fire!

By the machine guns of his own side, no less!

All of this filled the soldiers with doubts and made it impossible for them to accept.

They needed an explanation!

And Saruka was the one who could provide it!

So their pace quickened even further.

Watching the squad of soldiers hurry past from his hiding place in the shadows, Qin Ran slowly stood up.

Qin Ran knew that everything he had been waiting for had begun.

"Bastards!"

With an almost roaring voice, Saruka, having heard the soldiers' report, abruptly rose from his chair. The sudden force knocked the chair to the floor with a dull bang.

However, no one present cared about the chair.

All eyes were on Saruka.

They needed an explanation for why Hank and Hank's squad had been completely wiped out.

Even the adjutant, who feared Saruka deeply, did not avert his gaze at this moment.

"I know you all have many doubts and questions right now!"

"In a moment, I will tell you everything!"

"For now, gather the soldiers on standby!"

"They have the right to know the truth as well!"

Saruka swept his gaze over everyone in the office and spoke in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir!"

After saluting, the adjutant and soldiers left the office.

Left alone in the office, Saruka's expression darkened.

Before his scouts returned, Saruka had still harbored a trace of hope deep in his heart.

But when the scouts returned with their news, Saruka immediately cast aside that last shred of hope.

One of his most capable subordinates, Hank, was dead. The men Hank had taken with him were dead as well.

They had died under a sniper's gun and their own machine guns.

The instant he received the news, Saruka pictured that bastard Janning sending men to follow Hank and the others before launching a sudden attack.

No one else could have done it.

After all, Janning's few subordinates were thoroughly practiced at doing such things.

"You swallowed what was mine, and now you want me dead? Then let's see who dies first!"

Saruka muttered to himself.

Then he yanked open a drawer and took out his sidearm.

His palm felt the rough texture of the grip.

The fiery passion of charging into battle seemed to return to Saruka. He turned and walked out of the office. Through the window, he could already see his soldiers gathering.

No matter how furious Saruka was, he would not go after Janning alone.

That would be suicide!

Fortunately, he commanded a battalion with the most advanced equipment and the strongest combat ability in the entire rebel army.

These were the trump cards he had accumulated over the years!

Now was the time to play them.

Saruka walked out of the office with his back straighter and his stride steadier and more forceful. The scrape of his boots against the ground grew louder.

Tap, tap, tap!

Like a clock.

Anyone who saw him would be deceived by his meticulous appearance and believe him to be a true soldier.

Even if he had a fiery temper and an overbearing personality.

But wasn't that exactly what soldiers needed?

Therefore, even a few flaws could be forgiven.

That was precisely what Saruka had seized upon.

He knew very well what kind of commander soldiers needed, so he played that role.

Looking at the rows of soldiers before him and the respect in their eyes, Saruka was immensely satisfied.

Saruka walked up to the platform, took a deep breath, and began in a low, forceful voice through the loudspeaker.

"My soldiers... we have been betrayed!"

Saruka did not beat around the bush and directly delivered those earth-shattering words.

The moment the words left his mouth, the surrounding soldiers were stunned. Yet the authority Saruka had built up over time kept them from speaking immediately.

And Saruka continued.

"General Janning agreed to peace talks with the enemy—at the cost of our lives!"

"That damned son of a bitch chose to betray us so he could live!"

"He started this war and made us fight with our lives! Yet now, he has shoved all the blame onto us! He wants us to become his scapegoats!"

Saruka's voice grew more agitated and louder.

Then, a trace of sorrow suddenly appeared.

"I know this is hard to believe, but it is the truth!"

"I sent Hank to gather more evidence... but that son of a bitch had him assassinated!"

"The reconnaissance squad I sent out earlier can prove everything!"

"Hank was one of my most capable men, a true soldier. Such a scheme was unfair! It was not something a true soldier should have to suffer!"

Saruka looked sorrowful, and his eyes even reddened.

The soldiers standing closer could all see tears glistening in Saruka's eyes.

As though unwilling to let his soldiers see his vulnerable side, Saruka turned around and waved at the soldiers from the reconnaissance squad beside him.

Seeing Saruka in such apparent grief, their captain walked to the loudspeaker.

"I can testify that Captain Hank was assassinated—he was shot in the back, and the other squad members were also killed in a surprise attack by a sniper!"

That was what the captain said.

The entire camp immediately erupted in an uproar.

The soldiers looked at one another.

They stared at each other in disbelief, and then... anger began to grow.

Saruka seized the timing.

When the soldiers' anger reached its peak, he turned around at just the right moment.

"My soldiers, Hank was assassinated! I may be next, and then it will be you—because only by eliminating us, the force fighting on the front lines, can that bastard Janning earn the enemy's forgiveness, complete the peace talks, and... stay alive!"

Saruka once again stared at the surrounding soldiers.

There was a note of incitement in his voice.

"I do not want this, because we are soldiers!"

"Even if we die, we must die on the battlefield! We must die knowing why—not in such humiliation!"

"Now, I am going to settle the score with that bastard Janning!"

"Who is willing to come with me?"

Saruka shouted.

"Me!"

"Me!"

The soldiers, already blinded by rage, responded one after another upon hearing Saruka's call.

Only the adjutant standing to the side looked surprised and hesitant.

As Saruka's adjutant, he knew a little more.

Everything seemed to be different from what Saruka had claimed.

For example, he had once heard the word "jewelry" with his own ears.

But before the adjutant could voice his doubts, a pistol was pressed to his forehead.

The one holding the gun was Saruka.

Bang!

Saruka fired without hesitation.

Looking at the adjutant's corpse, whose eyes remained wide open in death, Saruka felt no mercy.

Who told him to know too much?

"He was the spy that bastard Janning planted at my side. Unfortunately, I discovered him too late! Otherwise, Hank..."

Saruka once again put his acting skills on display.

Immediately, the soldiers' surprise turned into even greater fury.

The way they looked at the adjutant's corpse also became disgusted.

"My soldiers, it is time to demand justice from Janning—move out!"

"Demand justice!"

"Demand justice!"

The voices surged like waves, ultimately scattering the night's last trace of tranquility.

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