Prelude

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

Compared to the objective evaluation, Qin Ran felt the change even more deeply himself!

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

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

He still found himself immersed in it.

Because everything was too real.

If he could not call up his character attributes, quest log, and so on, Qin Ran would have completely believed this was reality.

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

Thinking of those who, unlike him, 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 real it was! No matter how thrilling!

To Qin Ran, neither could compare to living out the rest of his life in peace and stability.

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

He was simply someone who had been forced into this situation.

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

After all, his life was at stake!

Leaning against a wall in the ruins, 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 liked nothing more than to lie down and sleep.

But the current situation would not allow it.

The critical moment was about to arrive!

Night had fully fallen.

The moon rose into the night sky. Thin and curved, it brought the war-torn city its only faint sense of peace.

But that peace was immediately shattered by a burst of footsteps—

Tap, tap, tap!

The footsteps coming from afar drew Qin Ran's attention.

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

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

The anxiety in their hearts had greatly weakened their powers of observation.

At this 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 been no survivors at all.

That shocked them beyond measure!

Hank had been a true powerhouse among them. Whether in Shooting or hand-to-hand combat, he had been one of 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!

Everything about it filled the soldiers with doubt, and made it even harder for them to accept.

They needed an explanation!

And Saruka was the one who could give it!

So their steps became even more hurried.

Qin Ran, hidden in the shadows, watched the squad hurry past before slowly rising to his feet.

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

"Bastard!"

With a voice nearly roaring, Saruka, having heard the soldiers' report, abruptly rose from his chair. The force sent the chair toppling to the floor with a dull bang.

However, no one present cared about the chair.

Their eyes were all fixed on Saruka.

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

Even the adjutant, who feared Saruka deeply, did not look away 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 face was as dark as water.

Before his scouts returned, Saruka had still held onto a trace of hope deep down.

But once the scouts returned with their news, Saruka immediately cast aside his last shred of wishful thinking.

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

And they had died to a sniper and his own machine guns.

The instant Saruka received that news, an image appeared in his mind: that bastard Janning sending men after Hank and the others, then launching a sudden attack.

No one but that man could have done it.

After all, Janning's few subordinates were quite practiced at this sort of thing.

"You swallowed what was mine and still 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 hot-blooded feeling of charging into battle seemed to return to Saruka. He turned and headed out of the office. Through the window, he could already see his soldiers gathering.

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

That would be nothing but suicide!

Fortunately, he commanded one of the best-equipped and most battle-hardened battalions 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. His posture straightened even further, his steps became steady and powerful, and the sound of his boots scraping against the ground grew louder.

Tap, tap, tap!

Like a clock ticking.

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.

Saruka had seized upon that point.

He understood very clearly what kind of commanding officer soldiers needed, so he played that role.

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

Saruka walked to the raised 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. He directly delivered those earth-shattering words.

The moment those words left his mouth, the surrounding soldiers were shocked beyond measure. But the authority Saruka had cultivated over time kept them from speaking immediately.

And Saruka continued.

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

"That damned son of a bitch chose to betray us in order to survive!"

"He started this war and made us fight with our lives! Yet now, at this moment, he is putting all the blame on us! He wants to make us his scapegoats!"

Saruka's voice grew more emotional and louder.

Then a trace of sorrow suddenly appeared in it.

"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 my most capable subordinate, a true warrior. Such a treacherous attack was unfair! It was not something a true warrior should have had to suffer!"

Saruka looked sorrowful, and his eyes even reddened.

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

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

Looking at the "grief-stricken" Saruka, the squad leader stepped up 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 sneak attack by a sniper!"

That was what the squad leader said.

At once, the entire camp erupted in an uproar.

The soldiers looked at one another.

They exchanged disbelieving looks, and then... anger began to grow.

Saruka seized the timing.

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

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

Saruka once again stared at the surrounding soldiers.

A hint of incitement entered 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 accounts 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 beside him wore a shocked, hesitant expression.

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

Everything seemed to be different from what Saruka had said.

For example, he had once personally heard the word "jewels."

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, who had died with his eyes still open, Saruka felt no pity whatsoever.

Who told him to know too much?

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

Saruka once again displayed his acting skills.

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

The way they looked at the adjutant's corpse also became filled with disgust.

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

"Demand justice!"

"Demand justice!"

The voices surged like waves, finally scattering the night's last trace of peace.

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