Ambush

Qin Ran froze as he watched the other person rush out.

When the other person had proposed, "One person draws their attention while the other attacks!" Qin Ran had instinctively assumed the other person would have him draw the attention of the two armed thugs.

But to Qin Ran's surprise, the other person had actually volunteered to take on the riskier role.

"Haha, an unexpected find!"

The woman's scream and the armed thug's laughter quickly snapped Qin Ran out of it.

His moral bottom line kept Qin Ran from taking the chance to run away, and he was even less willing to give up this opportunity.

Qin Ran gripped the dagger in his hand and shot forward.

Two figures immediately entered Qin Ran's field of vision.

They were moving one in front of the other. The one in front had been completely drawn in by the woman's screams, while the one behind warily scanned the surroundings.

The moment Qin Ran rushed out, the thug in the rear spotted him and immediately raised his gun, preparing to fire.

"Not good!"

Qin Ran's heart jolted as he watched the other man raise his gun.

Qin Ran knew perfectly well that he had no ability to dodge bullets. The enemy was still three meters away, a distance that made it impossible for Qin Ran to stop him before he fired.

A hopeless situation!

Qin Ran could even smell death.

Cold and bone-chilling!

Yet what Qin Ran felt more strongly was a trace of heat within his body!

It was his unwillingness to face death, his desire to live!

It was because of that spark of heat that Qin Ran had stubbornly scraped together money for his treatment in the real world rather than giving up in despair.

So he would not give up now either!

Qin Ran did not stop. His eyes widened as he stared at the two armed thugs before him.

His mind raced as he searched for even the slightest chance of survival!

The armed thug, however, began to laugh.

His smile was full of contempt and mockery.

He had seen far too many people like this, struggling desperately at death's door. He had personally finished off seven of them, or perhaps eight.

The exact number was a little blurry.

He could not remember clearly.

But it did not matter. With the guy in front of him included, he could call this one the ninth!

The armed thug stuck out his tongue and licked his lips with barely concealed excitement as he prepared to pull the trigger.

But at that moment, Qin Ran, who had been charging forward, suddenly took a huge step to the right!

The armed thug's gun barrel instinctively followed!

Yet all he saw was the back of his companion's head!

The armed thug froze.

"Now!"

Qin Ran, already moving at high speed, burst forward even faster. He lowered his body and slammed hard into the first armed thug, whose attention had been drawn away.

The dagger in his hand flashed like a shuttle, avoiding the man's ribs and stabbing swiftly into his heart.

[Thrust: Critical attack, dealt 100 HP damage to the opponent (50 Cold Weapons (Dagger) X2). Opponent dead...]

Splurt!

As the dagger was pulled free, blood sprayed out violently.

That burning sensation splashed across Qin Ran's face again, but having learned from before, he had narrowed his eyes as he pulled out the dagger.

Qin Ran did not stop moving just because the enemy in front of him had died.

Because Qin Ran knew that his real enemy was the man behind him!

"Hah!"

With a fierce shout, Qin Ran used every ounce of strength in his body to grab the corpse in front of him and ram it at the remaining enemy like a shield.

Bang!

With a dull impact, Qin Ran, the corpse being used as a shield, and the remaining armed thug all crashed to the ground.

The corpse used as a shield landed atop the remaining armed thug, while Qin Ran rolled away to the side.

The moment Qin Ran hit the ground, he scrambled up and pounced at his enemy.

The armed thug sensed danger descending upon him and struggled violently.

But the weight of the corpse pinning him down clearly exceeded his expectations. Before he could shove it aside completely, Qin Ran had already pounced in front of him.

Qin Ran showed no mercy toward an enemy. He pressed directly down onto the corpse, making it even harder for the armed thug to break free, while the dagger in his hand stabbed toward the man's right hand holding the gun.

Firearms!

They were the armed thug's greatest reliance and the thing Qin Ran feared most.

Slash!

The metal blade pierced straight through the other man's wrist.

"Aah!"

With a scream, the armed thug's hand sprang open and flung the pistol aside. Qin Ran did not stop. He raised his dagger sharply and stabbed straight at another vital point: the man's neck.

Compared to the vital area in front of his chest, blocked by the corpse, the man's neck was clearly visible to Qin Ran.

Splurt!

The dagger pierced through the man's throat, abruptly cutting off his scream.

[Impact: Dealt 2 HP damage to the opponent. Opponent entered a stunned state for 1 second...]

[Thrust: Dealt 12 HP damage to the opponent. Opponent's right hand entered a crippled state...]

[Thrust: Critical attack, dealt 86 HP damage to the opponent (43 Cold Weapons (Dagger) X2). Opponent dead...]

As the combat records appeared, Qin Ran suddenly slumped to the ground, gasping for breath.

Though the battle had lasted less than five seconds, it had consumed an enormous amount of Qin Ran's mental and physical strength!

From using the two armed thugs' positions to evade them to launching his later attacks, Qin Ran had given his all each time. Now that the two armed thugs had been taken down, stars swam before his eyes, darkness blurred his vision, and the dizziness forced him to remain half-prone on the ground.

Even with the stench of blood assaulting his nose, Qin Ran did not want to move at all.

And he seemed to be... getting used to the smell of blood!

"A terrifying habit!"

Qin Ran laughed at himself.

With only death or survival before him, Qin Ran had no choice.

Still wearing that self-mocking smile, Qin Ran looked at his status panel.

[Stamina: 20]

His Stamina, which should have been at 100, had fallen to only 20.

However, as Qin Ran breathed, his Stamina was recovering at a rate of +1 to +2 per second.

Thus, a little over ten seconds later, Qin Ran was able to stand again.

He quickly stripped the two corpses before him of all their loot.

[Name: M1905]

[Type: Firearm]

[Quality: Damaged]

[Attack Power: Average]

[Magazine Capacity: 7 rounds]

[Attribute: None]

[Special Effect: None]

[Can Be Taken Out of This Dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: An 11mm pistol that has not been properly maintained. Be careful of jamming.]

[Name: Bullets]

[Category: Ammunition]

[Quality: Average]

[Attribute: None]

[Special Effect: None]

[Can Be Taken Out of This Dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: 11mm bullets. They are quite effective as pistol ammunition.]

Two M1905 pistols and six bullets were Qin Ran's greatest gains. Other than that, there was nothing else worth noting.

With an M1905 pistol in his hand, Qin Ran felt a little safer.

He looked behind him.

"It's safe!"

Qin Ran gestured to the woman not far behind him.

However, the woman did not immediately come forward.

Having survived four months in this war-torn city, the woman was not only vigilant but clever as well!

When she had taken the initiative to draw attention earlier, aside from the reasons she had given, it was more because she knew that if Qin Ran had been the one to draw the armed thugs' attention, their already fragile alliance would have shattered instantly, leaving them to be defeated one by one.

Qin Ran understood the reason behind it now as well.

That made him want to communicate with her, and... cooperate with her, even more.

Cooperating with smart people was always pleasant!

Of course, one had to show sincerity—

"Look, we've run into each other twice by chance, and we've worked together twice. I think we can continue helping each other—in these damned times!"

Faced with her hesitation and wariness, Qin Ran immediately tucked both pistols into his waistband and raised his hands high.

Qin Ran's actions displayed absolute goodwill, while his words moved her slightly.

A few seconds later, the woman walked over.

"I contributed earlier. I have the right to a share of the loot!"

That was what she said.

"Of course!"

Qin Ran nodded in agreement.

She had played a crucial role in the earlier battle. Without her drawing the attention of one of the armed thugs, Qin Ran would never have escaped the gunfire of two men, no matter what he did.

Therefore, Qin Ran did not mind giving her a share of the loot.

So in the next moment, Qin Ran prepared to hand one of the M1905 pistols at his waist to her.

But to Qin Ran's surprise, after he nodded, she turned and ran toward the headless corpse in the distance.

Qin Ran froze, then immediately understood.

Their earlier standoff had definitely not been caused by their chance encounter alone.

There must have been one or more items involved.

Though Qin Ran was curious what those things were, since he had acknowledged that she was entitled to a share of the loot,

he would never go back on his word.

Standing where he was, Qin Ran kept watch on the surroundings while waiting for the woman to search.

Very soon, she returned carrying a backpack.

"I think we need to find somewhere more secluded. This place isn't safe!"

That was what Qin Ran said.

The sudden gunshots from earlier would surely attract some people.

In fact, Qin Ran could already feel malicious gazes watching him.

Anyone who dared investigate after hearing gunshots was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

Even though Qin Ran had obtained two pistols, with only six bullets, he had no desire to fight an unknown number of enemies.

"Follow me!"

The woman spoke and gestured for Qin Ran to follow.

Having lived in this war-torn city for four months, the woman understood their situation better than Qin Ran did.

Fighting was not frightening!

What was frightening was one battle after another, without end!

To avoid that, they needed to finish battles as quickly as possible and leave the battlefield immediately.

Fortunately, that was not difficult for the woman.

Following behind her, Qin Ran turned left and right. Even when he staggered at times, he never stopped for a moment, closely following in her footsteps.

After running for about twenty minutes, Qin Ran and the woman arrived before another ruin.

As the woman stopped, Qin Ran stopped as well, then instinctively surveyed the surroundings.

But Qin Ran found nothing.

In truth, the ruins before him were no different from any of the ruins Qin Ran had seen before.

Collapsed walls, broken bricks and rubble, snapped rotten wood.

However, there was one thing Qin Ran could be certain of.

After that stretch of running, as the sounds of pursuit faded farther and farther behind them, all those following them had been shaken off.

He was safe for the moment.