Shared Feelings

Qin Ran did not know who had arranged the camp's defenses.

It could have been Saruka, or someone else.

However, whoever it was, they were no mere figurehead. The watchtowers, the machine-gun fire network, and the patrols were enough to prove that.

Even though the rebel soldiers on guard had been forced to reduce their numbers due to heavy casualties,

there were still guards wherever defenses were needed.

Except for the open space before him.

Qin Ran did not believe that someone who had made the entire camp's defenses watertight would make a mistake in this one place.

There was only one explanation: there was a trap here!

And land mines were undoubtedly the perfect choice.

They could inflict massive casualties,

while also alerting the soldiers in the camp.

It killed two birds with one stone.

"I hope this works!"

As Qin Ran examined the open ground before him, he thought to himself.

The next moment, he activated the skill [Tracking].

In an instant, the world in Qin Ran's eyes changed.

White, red, and black intertwined. Then rows of white footprints appeared before his eyes.

Those white footprints were faint, as though they were only a layer of ash that could be carried away by the wind at any moment.

Qin Ran knew that was because too much time had passed.

The most frightening thing about time was that it could quietly turn anything profound into something ordinary, followed by forgetting and disappearance.

Fortunately, Qin Ran had arrived just in time.

If he had waited another few days, he probably would not have found anything.

Even more fortunately, following the footprints, Qin Ran found a safe route through.

Qin Ran carefully stepped along those footprints.

By the time he reached the base of the wall, his forehead was covered in sweat.

Walking through a minefield while enduring the fear of an explosion was undoubtedly a test of Qin Ran's nerves.

What drained him even more was the Stamina consumption of [Tracking].

The mere dozen or so meters had reduced his Stamina, which had reached 150 after his Constitution increased, by more than half.

"Active skills really burn through Stamina!"

Qin Ran glanced at his Stamina and panted softly.

Once his Stamina had fully recovered, Qin Ran bent his knees and sprang upward. His hands caught the top of the wall, and with a powerful pull of his arms, he hauled himself over.

Qin Ran swiftly and carefully leaped down from the wall, rolled once, and blended back into the shadows.

He completed the entire sequence in one fluid motion.

Other than blending into the shadows at the end, which relied on [Stealth], Qin Ran had accomplished the rest through his enhanced physical abilities.

Though it was only a small step from F to F+, Qin Ran was keenly aware of the changes it had brought.

He was stronger, faster, and his Stamina had clearly improved.

If this had been when he had first entered the game, Qin Ran could still have completed those movements, but doing so in one smooth sequence would have been out of the question.

He would have been delighted just to finish them relatively cleanly.

"Only F+... What about higher levels?"

As Qin Ran speculated, excitement involuntarily rose in his heart.

As long as he continued, he would soon be able to raise his attributes to higher levels.

However, Qin Ran quickly came back to his senses. His surroundings forced him to calm down.

Only after Qin Ran, standing in the shadows, had completely calmed himself did he follow his planned route toward the three-story building that had once been a school building but was now the camp's offices and warehouse.

The searchlight beams swept back and forth across the playground.

The corners and shadowed areas in particular

were repeatedly illuminated.

This prevented Qin Ran from moving quickly.

Every few steps, he had to stop and wait for another opportunity.

At the same time, Qin Ran once again felt fortunate that he had chosen to appear when the guards were stretched thin.

Of the original three roaming searchlights, only two were operating normally.

Otherwise, he would have been spotted by the third searchlight before he ever had a chance to wait for another opening.

Then there were the rebel patrols.

Although their numbers had been reduced, their effectiveness had not diminished in the slightest.

In Qin Ran's eyes, these patrolling rebel soldiers were the ones he needed to guard against most.

After all, people had not only eyes, but also ears and noses.

The shadows might conceal his body,

but they could not conceal sound. Therefore, Qin Ran made every step as light and silent as possible.

Naturally, this meant Qin Ran could not move very fast.

It took Qin Ran a full ten minutes to get from the wall to the three-story building, whose entrance was guarded by two rebel soldiers.

Without alerting the two guards, Qin Ran had already chosen his point of entry—

a second-floor window.

He chose it not only because it was close to him and did not require passing through the two rebel soldiers' field of vision, but also because its glass had long since been shattered, allowing him to pass through safely.

As swift as a hare rising and a falcon diving, Qin Ran pushed off with his toes and leaped onto the first-floor windowsill. Then he climbed onto the eaves between the first and second floors and, using both hands and feet, slipped in through that window.

Just like the first floor he had passed through, this place was empty as well.

Aside from a blackboard, there was only a pile of scattered desks and chairs.

Qin Ran could not determine what had originally happened here, but the dried bloodstains on the floor, visible even without [Tracking], gave him some guesses.

Those bloodstains must have been extremely thick at first.

Otherwise, they would not have covered such a large area.

And that meant it was definitely not the blood of one person!

It would have taken the blood of dozens of people to form this!

"Damn rebels!"

Anger surfaced in Qin Ran's eyes.

War could make you die like a dog.

Qin Ran would not deny those words.

But neither would Qin Ran deny the anger he felt at this moment.

Looking at the desks and chairs, only two-thirds the size of normal ones, Qin Ran could not imagine what those innocent children had looked like when facing rebels as vicious as wolves: helpless, terrified.

It was as though he could hear the gunshots that had once echoed here.

It was as though he could see young lives fading away before his eyes.

Like him, those children had held so many hopes and dreams for life.

But unlike him, before they could realize those dreams or touch the most beautiful things in life, they had been torn to pieces.

Not even the slightest chance had been left to them.

This feeling...

made Qin Ran's chest feel tight.

It made it hard for him to breathe.

It made Qin Ran feel an anger he had not known in a long time.

Once a normally calm person truly became enraged, that anger was not so easily soothed.

Qin Ran wanted to do something to vent it, to calm it.

And conveniently enough, it seemed he truly could do something!

Having had to make a living too early in life, Qin Ran could not believe in simple kindness or mercy.

But neither would he become evil or brutal.

Because someone had once helped him.

That gave him a bottom line he insisted on keeping.

Therefore, he was willing to help an innocent person within the limits of his ability.

Only... within the limits of his ability!

After glancing once more at the black, dried bloodstains, Qin Ran turned and left the classroom. He walked out through the open door and quickly confirmed his destination.

A place guarded by a rebel soldier was simply too easy to identify.

After all, aside from the two guards at the entrance, this was the only rebel soldier Qin Ran had seen inside the entire building.

What he guarded was naturally of utmost importance!

Drawing his dagger, Qin Ran silently approached him.

The corridor was somewhat narrow, and only one dim lamp lit the entire floor.

But that did not affect Qin Ran in the slightest.

On the contrary, [Stealth] + [Cold Weapons (Dagger)] made him like a fish in water in such an environment.

Like a hunting cheetah, Qin Ran pounced on the rebel soldier guarding the door. Before the man could react, Qin Ran's powerful hand covered his mouth, and with a sweep of the dagger in his other hand, he slit his throat.

[Thrust: Critical attack, deals 100 damage to the opponent's Health (50 Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic) × 2). Opponent dead...]

After confirming the man's death, Qin Ran glanced at the locked door and immediately searched the body.

The next second, Qin Ran found what he was looking for.

He pulled a ring of keys from the man's belt.

[Name: Warehouse key]

[Type: Key]

[Quality: Common]

[Attributes: None]

[Special Effects: None]

[Can be brought out of this dungeon: No]

[Remarks: If you know Lockpicking, you do not need it at all!]

Click!

The large padlock opened directly with a twist of the key.

Qin Ran pushed open the door, and rows of crates immediately appeared before him.

Unable to wait any longer, Qin Ran walked to one crate, smashed off its lock with his dagger, and flipped open the lid.

By the faint light spilling in from the corridor, Qin Ran saw what was inside.

A rocket launcher!

[Name: Panzerfaust-II]

[Type: Rocket Launcher]

[Quality: Brand New]

[Attack Power: Powerful]

[Ammo Capacity: 1 round]

[Attributes: None]

[Special Effects: None]

[Requirement: Gunpowder Weapons. Heavy Weapons (Basic)]

[Can be brought out of this dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: Different effects such as explosion and Armor Piercing can be activated depending on the rocket used, provided you possess such a rocket.]

...

The item information appeared before Qin Ran as soon as he raised his hand to touch it.

Unfortunately, Qin Ran did not possess the skill [Gunpowder Weapons. Heavy Weapons (Basic)].

Although he could still use this powerful weapon, he could not handle it as skillfully as he could Light Firearms.

After staring at it for a moment longer, Qin Ran turned, smashed open another lock, and opened the next crate.

[Name: H-20]

[Type: Firearm]

[Quality: Brand New]

[Attack Power: Fairly Strong]

[Magazine Capacity: 100 rounds]

[Attributes: None]

[Special Effects: None]

[Requirement: Gunpowder Weapons. Light Weapons (Basic)]

[Can be brought out of this dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: To use it, you will need a large quantity of 5.56 mm bullets.]

...

Qin Ran's eyes lit up. This was a weapon he could use with complete ease.

However, that was not enough to make Qin Ran stop smashing locks and opening crates.

This was not enough!

He needed more!

Welcome, readers. The latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works are all available here! Mobile users, please read on the mobile site.