Night Battle

Qin Ran narrowed his eyes, thick killing intent burning within them.

He had never minded thoroughly eliminating enemies who showed killing intent toward him.

Earlier, he had been forced to give up because Sheriff John had taken action first.

But now?

Qin Ran did not think he would run into that kind of trouble again.

"What a surprising coincidence!"

Qin Ran smiled as he looked at the young policeman before him.

"I'm sure Karl and the others won't mind my help!"

"Can you tell me where you're fighting?"

Qin Ran asked directly.

"Near the train station. Once you get there, you'll know where we are by following the gunfire!"

"But be careful. They have not only guns, but explosives too!"

Having already witnessed Qin Ran's skills, Karl did not refuse his help. Still, he kindly warned Qin Ran before hurrying off to catch up with Sheriff John.

[Side Quest Discovered: Shuberk's Madness!]

[Side Quest: A misjudgment on your part has driven Shuberk into a corner, but he will never surrender without a fight! You have chosen to stand with the police, so you must head to the train station as soon as possible!]

It was an unexpected side quest.

But for Qin Ran, it was good news.

He now had another reason to take action.

With the case containing [Viper-M1] on his back, Qin Ran quickly left the police station and vanished into the night.

The train station was destined to be exceptionally lively today.

A corpse had been discovered in the morning.

At noon, the murderer had been arrested, along with a pickpocket gang uncovered through the investigation.

And by nightfall, another gunfight had begun.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hearing the intense gunfire, everyone living nearby did their utmost to curl up beneath their beds, hiding themselves as thoroughly as possible.

But hiding like that did nothing to reassure them.

One look at them trembling in their hiding places made that obvious.

Boom!

Another deafening explosion rang out, and the civilians all shuddered.

Even the policemen fighting Shuberk had their hands tremble around their guns.

"Damn it! Where did they get guns and explosives?"

Deputy Sheriff Lestrade pressed his back against a sturdy wall, loading his gun as he growled under his breath.

None of the policemen around him could answer Lestrade's question.

That only made Lestrade angrier.

And he chose the best possible way to vent his frustration: the deputy sheriff sprang out from behind the wall where he had been taking cover, and his cavalry pistol flashed with fire.

Bang!

"Argh!"

After the shot rang out, a scream came from the rooftop opposite them, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.

"Teach those dogshit scum a lesson!"

Lestrade shouted.

The deputy sheriff's successful shot greatly boosted the surrounding policemen's morale, and they raised their guns from behind cover and fired.

But the results were far from impressive.

The combined volley from more than a dozen guns did nothing but graze one of Shuberk's men on the arm. There were no other casualties at all.

"Idiots! Aim properly! Are you all blind?"

Faced with that result, Lestrade roared again.

His seemingly thin but actually sturdy body produced a roar that nearly drowned out the next gunshot.

Bang!

"Argh!"

With a scream, one of Shuberk's men fell from behind a chimney on the opposite rooftop.

"Nice shot! Who was that?"

Lestrade, who had been roaring only moments ago, immediately broke into a grin and turned to look at the men around him.

He did not mind having a good marksman in his unit.

But the subordinates in his sight all wore bewildered expressions.

Bang!

Then another gunshot rang out.

It was followed by a scream and the sound of another heavy body hitting the ground.

"Deputy Sheriff, over there!"

A sharp-eyed policeman spotted a figure slowly emerging from the darkness.

"Qin Ran?"

Lestrade could not help being stunned when he recognized Qin Ran.

"Karl told me you needed help here!"

Qin Ran smiled and greeted the deputy sheriff.

Just as Karl had said, once Qin Ran approached the train station, he immediately found the location of the firefight by following the gunfire and explosions.

It was on a street not far from the station.

Shuberk's side held a considerable advantage.

Not only had they occupied a sturdy, detached two-story building as a defensive position, but its height also suited these underworld thugs perfectly.

By moonlight, they could easily see the exposed policemen.

The police, on the other hand, were hiding behind buildings on the other side of the street. Every time they fired, they exposed themselves to the enemy's line of fire.

Qin Ran had already seen four or five injured policemen.

To avoid getting hurt, the remaining policemen awkwardly stuck only their gun-holding arms out to fire. The results of that kind of shooting were obvious.

If Shuberk's men had not been even worse shots, the police would have been pinned down long ago.

Of course, that was not the most important thing!

The most important thing was that Shuberk's side actually had explosives.

They were not the loose, powder-like explosives people usually imagined.

They were homemade explosives wrapped in tough kraft paper and packed with glass shards and iron pellets, like weakened hand grenades!

Qin Ran had personally witnessed the power of those homemade explosives.

The wooden door of a shop facing the street, along with its frame, had been blasted into the air.

Against that kind of power, Qin Ran knew that if he were within the blast radius, he would not escape unscathed. He would certainly be seriously injured, perhaps even killed outright.

Moreover, the enemy seemed to have a large supply of homemade explosives.

They showed no intention of conserving them, tossing one out every so often and leaving the attacking police in an increasingly miserable state.

Seeing that, Qin Ran became even more cautious.

He did not approach the building where Shuberk was hiding directly. A broad street separated them, and six or seven people stood on the enemy rooftop, looking down from above. Unless Qin Ran could truly turn invisible, there was no way for him to sneak over.

That was why Qin Ran appeared before the deputy sheriff.

He needed to work with him to break the deadlock.

Though the simple memories he had of this identity indicated that the deputy sheriff before him had a distant relationship with him—perhaps even some hostility—there was no doubt about Lestrade's position as deputy sheriff. He possessed a policeman's integrity.

Faced with Qin Ran's sudden appearance, Lestrade instinctively said,

"We don't need amateurs..."

Bang! Bang!

Before the deputy sheriff could finish, the [M1905] in Qin Ran's left hand and the [Viper-M1] in his right fired almost simultaneously. Two screams rang out from the opposite rooftop, followed by the sound of two heavy bodies crashing down.

Even across the street, the vision granted by E+ Perception allowed Qin Ran to clearly see every movement made by Shuberk's men on the rooftop.

Combined with his Master-level [Gunpowder Weapons: Light Firearms], calling him infallible would not have been an exaggeration.

If not for the era mismatch reducing the power of firearms and grenades by 50%, increasing pistol reload time by 1 second, and increasing sniper rifle reload time by 30 seconds, Qin Ran was confident he could have wiped out every one of Shuberk's men on that rooftop within ten seconds—this was also why he had chosen to cooperate with the police.

Even so, Lestrade's eyes widened in astonishment.

Lestrade was an excellent shot himself—one of the key reasons he had become deputy sheriff and been assigned to carry out Shuberk's arrest.

Therefore, Lestrade understood very clearly how difficult Qin Ran's earlier shots had been.

Holding a gun in each hand, with one of them being a cavalry pistol, and hitting two targets almost simultaneously—such shooting was beyond even Lestrade himself.

Even the army's finest marksmen would likely struggle to accomplish it.

Though he was dissatisfied with Qin Ran, Lestrade had no choice but to admit at that moment that Qin Ran's shooting was outstanding—far better than his own.

But that did not mean Lestrade would show a friendly face to an "amateur" like Qin Ran.

Stubborn as he was, Lestrade had always believed that the existence of detectives like Qin Ran was an insult to the police.

"Hmph!"

The deputy sheriff snorted coldly.

Then he quickly loaded his gun, preparing to charge out once again.

But before Lestrade could spring out, Qin Ran grabbed him and rolled across the ground with him.

Boom!

The explosion made Lestrade's expression change.

Clearly, he knew what the outcome would have been if Qin Ran had not pulled him away.

Instinctively, Lestrade wanted to thank Qin Ran.

But his pride made the words difficult to say.

While the deputy sheriff hesitated, Shuberk's men began their counterattack.

Faced with the sudden string of casualties, Shuberk's men were not frightened.

Instead, they retreated into the two-story building and struck back from safer positions with even more ferocious methods.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

One homemade explosive after another, its fuse lit, spun through the night as it was thrown from the rooftop, scattering like celestial maidens strewing flowers.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A continuous series of explosions once again echoed through the night sky.

The policemen, as the attacking side, scattered in panic to avoid them once more.

Meanwhile, the men who had just retreated into the building appeared on the rooftop again and fired down amid the chaos.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Amid the rapid gunfire,

a policeman was carelessly shot and fell to the ground.

"Take cover!"

The deputy sheriff shouted. Seeing his fallen subordinate, he instinctively prepared to rush out and rescue him.

But someone was faster than him.

It was Qin Ran!

Readers are welcome to enjoy the latest, fastest, and hottest serialized works here! Mobile users, please read on your phone.