Escape from Death

[Shooting: Vital attack, inflicted 100 damage to the opponent's Health (50 Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms) (Basic) × 2), opponent dead...]

[Shooting: Vital attack, inflicted 100 damage to the opponent's Health (50 Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms) (Basic) × 2), opponent dead...]

[Killed rebel general Janning, changed the main quest's progress, greatly increased the clearance rating, main quest will end 3 days early!]

[Killed rebel major Saruka, changed the main quest's progress, increased the clearance rating, main quest will end 1 day early!]

Four consecutive notifications appeared on Qin Ran's retina.

When he saw the last two, Qin Ran could not help but freeze.

He instinctively opened the quest panel and saw that the original main quest, [Survive Seven Days: 2/7], had now become [Survive Three Days: 2/3]!

Clearly, this had exceeded Qin Ran's expectations.

Moreover, it had disrupted Qin Ran's original plan—after killing Saruka and Janning, he had intended to take advantage of the rebels' chaos to find and kill rebel soldiers with skills superior to his own, upgrading his existing skills. That had been what Qin Ran wanted.

Qin Ran believed there were definitely quite a few rebel soldiers whose skills exceeded his.

But now, it had all been completely thrown into disarray.

"No! There's still a chance! There's still some time before today ends!"

Qin Ran instinctively raised the [Viper-M1], about to search for a target.

But at that moment, he heard a faint sound from below.

Someone!

Qin Ran was instantly alerted.

After taking out the sniper Janning had stationed earlier, cautious as he was, Qin Ran had kept part of his attention elsewhere.

He had no desire to die for no apparent reason, just like the sniper he had killed.

Immediately, Qin Ran turned the muzzle of the [Viper-M1] in his hands.

When a shadow appeared below, Qin Ran fired without even needing the scope.

Bang!

The entry-level [Gunpowder Weapons: Light Firearms] gave Qin Ran an extremely high hit rate.

With less than ten meters between them, Qin Ran spotting the enemy first, and Qin Ran firing first, the opponent's fate had long been decided.

[Shooting: Vital attack, inflicted 150 damage to the opponent's Health (75 Gunpowder Weapons (Light Firearms) (Basic) × 2), opponent dead...]

[Killed an enemy with Stealth (Entry)...]

[Skill Stealth (Basic → Entry)]

[Name: Stealth (Entry)]

[Related Attribute: Agility]

[Skill Type: Support]

[Effect: Makes better use of shadows, making it harder for others to notice you; increases concealment by 20%]

[Cost: Stamina]

[Learning Requirement: Agility F]

[Note: You are merely good at hiding, not truly invisible!]

[Stealth skill increased, related attribute increased...]

[Agility F → F+]

Warmth surged through his body once again as knowledge flooded into his mind and his body adjusted at the same time.

"That was lucky!"

Qin Ran thought to himself.

Feeling the changes brought by Entry-level [Stealth], as well as the related knowledge surfacing in his mind, Qin Ran knew very well that even though he had kept part of his attention elsewhere earlier, he would still have fallen into a passive position the moment the enemy appeared.

And that disadvantage would eventually have become a fatal one!

After becoming familiar with the convenience brought by [Stealth], Qin Ran had long understood the terror of losing the initiative.

Watching the headless corpse fall, Qin Ran felt waves of lingering fear.

The other man had undoubtedly been one of Saruka's people!

If Saruka had not suddenly died, the man would never have made a sound he should not have made out of shock,

thereby allowing Qin Ran to discover him!

But before Qin Ran could breathe a sigh of relief, a shout rang out—

"There's a sniper up there!"

Undoubtedly, the falling corpse had drawn the attention of the nearby rebel soldiers.

Chaotic footsteps followed.

Qin Ran's heart immediately tightened.

He quickly slung both his [Viper-M1] and the attribute-less [Viper-M1] taken from the earlier sniper over his shoulder, pulled out a [-II], and threw it down.

Boom!

After the grenade exploded, Qin Ran did not hesitate. Holding the [M1905], he charged down.

He did not dare remain here any longer.

Although this was a high point that gave him an overview of the entire Times Square, it also offered no route of retreat at all!

Once he was trapped, it would truly be a dead end!

Boom!

Just after Qin Ran left the high ground, a rocket slammed viciously into it.

The scorching blast wave threw the charging Qin Ran to the ground.

After rolling several times in a row, Qin Ran sprang up and kept running.

Because he could clearly see that at least another dozen rebel soldiers had noticed this place.

Bang bang bang!

The firepower from more than a dozen assault rifles instantly formed a net that covered the area. Even though Qin Ran leaped and rolled again before they fired, several bullets still grazed past his body.

Boom!

As Qin Ran rolled across the ground, he threw out another grenade.

Amid the explosion, more than a dozen rebel soldiers collapsed to the ground, howling in pain.

But this only drew even more attention from the rebel soldiers in the area. When a distant tank began adjusting its turret, Qin Ran no longer gave any thought to his original plan.

Saving his life came first!

Qin Ran sprinted with all his might toward the ruins filled with obstacles.

Boom!

The tank's turret fired.

Although the ruins blocked the shell, the immense force still sent Qin Ran sprawling to the ground again.

"Damn it!"

Qin Ran cursed inwardly and reluctantly threw down his backpack and the attribute-less [Viper-M1].

Because he knew that at his current load, he could not possibly escape!

Of course, Qin Ran would not let the rebel soldiers chasing behind him get off so easily.

A grenade with its pin pulled was thrown onto the backpack by Qin Ran.

With only one [Viper-M1] left, Qin Ran's speed abruptly increased. His F+-rank Agility was displayed to the fullest at that moment.

He was like a combination of a gymnast and a sprinter.

Qin Ran was unbelievably nimble, and incredibly fast.

Boom!

When he slipped into the shadows once more and entered Stealth, the grenade detonated the remaining grenades in Qin Ran's backpack. The massive explosion inflicted severe losses on the rebel soldiers pursuing him.

And Qin Ran finally shook off the rebel soldiers' pursuit.

This was Qin Ran's first time experiencing the terror of human-wave tactics!

Against those soldiers one-on-one, he was quite confident he could take them out.

One against two, or even one against three, was also possible!

But when that number became more than a dozen, or even dozens, Qin Ran had no choice but to run.

And he had to run fast enough!

Thinking of the rocket and the tank from earlier, Qin Ran could not help feeling as though he had narrowly escaped death.

But when he thought of the backpack and sniper rifle he had been forced to abandon, Qin Ran's heart ached terribly.

It felt like cutting off his own flesh!

However, if Qin Ran had to choose again, he would still do the same.

Weapons and equipment could be found again, but if he lost his life, then it would truly be over!

Qin Ran moved swiftly through the shadows, with no intention of returning to that battlefield.

Qin Ran was certain that although the rebel soldiers searching for him had suffered severe losses, even more rebels would focus their attention on this area. If he returned, he would be walking straight into a trap.

And now, there was another place he needed to go—

Saruka's barracks!

His original plan had been completely cut off by the sudden accident. Qin Ran needed a new plan to make up for the losses caused by the failure of the old one!

Of course, there were also the losses to his original weapons and equipment.

Saruka's barracks naturally became Qin Ran's primary target.

He had already had his eye on that place.

Only three squads guarded the enormous barracks. Other than the necessary sentries and patrols, there were not many people left at all!

With his current Entry-level [Stealth], as long as he was sufficiently cautious, he could definitely infiltrate it without making a sound.

And the weapons and equipment inside were certainly not comparable to the backpack and sniper rifle Qin Ran had just abandoned.

Thinking of those piles of weapons and equipment, Qin Ran's heart burned with excitement.

Then, without lingering any longer, he began running again.

The massive searchlights brightly illuminated the road and barricades in front of the barracks.

Especially the two heavy machine guns mounted behind the barricades atop layers of sandbags—they were enough to make anyone who saw them shudder.

However, Qin Ran's gaze was more drawn to the watchtower inside the barracks.

A rebel soldier manned a light machine gun atop the ten-meter-high watchtower. Once he noticed anything amiss, the descending rain of bullets would surely make any intruder feel terror.

Because what would follow was the sweeping fire of the two heavy machine guns on the ground.

Unless one came with rockets or drove a tank over, there was no way to ignore such suppressive fire.

Naturally, Qin Ran had no rockets, and he certainly could not drive a tank.

But Entry-level [Stealth] gave him a simpler way to enter the barracks.

Having circled from the ruins to one side of the barracks, Qin Ran used the cover of shadows to cling to a beam standing amid the ruins and carefully observe.

The barracks were arranged in neat rows.

Five patrol squads of three crossed through their routes, ensuring that no one entering the barracks could escape the rebel soldiers' eyes.

"It should have been a school!"

Qin Ran guessed at the barracks' former identity, shifting his watchful gaze from the patrol squads to the sports field and buildings beyond the wall.

Then he looked at the stretch of open ground between himself and the wall.

It was an open area that felt extremely out of place to Qin Ran.

"A minefield!"

Qin Ran guessed.