Nightfall

The stamina cost of rolling to either side was almost negligible. Rolling forward or backward cost 5 stamina, while each one-handed cartwheel cost 10 stamina!

Qin Ran muttered to himself and looked once more at the two skills in the skill menu.

[Cost: Stamina]

Without exception, all of them were marked as consuming stamina, yet none specified exactly how much stamina they consumed.

The reason the exact stamina cost isn't listed is because different ranges of motion consume different amounts of stamina!

Recalling the previous battle and his recent movements, Qin Ran easily reached that conclusion.

Next, Qin Ran checked the system's various records.

There was no information there about stamina consumption either.

Yet the loss of stamina was real, just like the special status [Hungry].

Is the information hidden? Or...?

Qin Ran frowned slightly as he guessed.

He had encountered similar games more than once, and he had seen this kind of hidden information before.

It was usually either completely useless or tremendously important.

For this underground game, Qin Ran naturally leaned toward the latter.

However, there was currently too little information for him to find the key point.

Qin Ran quickly calmed himself.

He would never waste energy on thoughts destined to yield no results.

"Qin Ran, can you teach me how to fight?"

When Qin Ran came back to his senses, he heard Colin ask that question.

"No problem!"

Qin Ran had no reason to refuse. He nodded and said, "There are many forms of combat, but I'm only familiar with fighting with a dagger!"

Qin Ran knew quite a lot about combat.

But that knowledge was merely the vague, common knowledge everyone knew. It was impossible for him to use it to teach someone.

Except for the skill [Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic)]!

After learning [Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic)], Qin Ran not only felt like a veteran who had used daggers for years, but also had gained much related knowledge in his mind.

It was more than enough to teach someone.

"That's exactly what I wanted!"

Colin smiled, clearly satisfied that Qin Ran would teach her dagger combat.

After all, she had witnessed Qin Ran's fighting stance with a dagger yesterday. He was not only fast, but vicious as well. It could practically be said that every strike was fatal.

Living amid war, Colin understood very well the advantages of mastering such dagger combat.

Qin Ran began explaining while demonstrating.

The system did not give Qin Ran any prompt about teaching skills to someone else.

Apparently, Qin Ran could learn from others, but could not teach them.

It might have been a restriction of the game itself.

Or perhaps his skill level was too low.

That was Qin Ran's guess.

The lesson began in the morning and lasted until the afternoon.

Then it was time to rest.

To deal with the battle certain to come that night, both of them deliberately conserved their stamina.

"Looks like I don't have much talent for this!"

As soon as they stopped, Colin returned the dagger to Qin Ran and shook her head helplessly.

"You did very well!"

That was what Qin Ran said.

He was not comforting her; he meant it sincerely.

However, Colin took it as consolation.

"Compared to you, I'm practically the dumbest person alive!"

Colin sighed, but the woman soon displayed the strength that had allowed her to survive four months in wartime. "Don't worry. I won't hold you back in tonight's fight!"

"I believe you."

Qin Ran smiled and nodded.

Although they were resting,

the two of them were not doing nothing. Qin Ran and Colin refined their plan.

Colin especially began drawing on the ground with her finger.

Before long, a simple map of the Garden Villa District appeared before Qin Ran.

"This is the main road through the Garden Villa District. It's seven or eight meters wide, with a clear field of view. We absolutely can't fight there. If we get surrounded, we're finished! The best place to fight should be around these villa ruins. There's cover to block their view, and the rubble, wood, and standing walls all over the ground will make their numerical advantage useless!"

Pointing at the sketch on the ground, Colin spoke seriously.

"Then we'll fight here!"

Qin Ran nodded.

As someone unfamiliar with the area, Qin Ran naturally needed to listen to the survivor Colin's advice.

Especially when it came to terrain!

"Besides these places, where else should I be careful of?"

Qin Ran would not miss any opportunity to gather information about the surroundings.

"There's another gang of thugs entrenched here! And here..."

Colin pointed at the sketch on the ground and warned Qin Ran.

As they spoke back and forth, the sky gradually darkened.

"Jackal" Hook was Vulture's right-hand man and most capable subordinate.

At that moment, Hook was leading six men through the Garden Villa District. Every one of them carried a gun and wore body armor.

As the six men looked around, Hook's face was filled with anger.

Someone actually dared challenge the famous Vulture!

As Vulture's capable subordinate, Hook had made contributions that could not be erased from Vulture's fearsome reputation.

Hook himself took great pride in that.

Especially after gaining tangible benefits from it.

While others starved, he could eat and drink his fill, carry weapons, and casually kill anyone he disliked.

To Hook, that was the perfect life.

Anyone who dared ruin such a life was his mortal enemy.

Thus, after receiving reports from several unimportant people and confirming the deaths of two subordinates, Hook personally made a request to Vulture!

He wanted to kill that bastard couple with his own hands!

"They should be somewhere in this area. Search carefully! Remember, don't spread out too far. They have two guns! And don't lower your guard just because there's a woman with them!"

Hook shouted loudly.

"Got it, Boss Hook!"

The six subordinates replied in unison, then headed into the ruins.

However, each of them wore a trace of contempt.

So what if they had guns?

According to Vulture's rules, everyone leaving the nest was only given four bullets. From Sixth Avenue to this place, their two dead companions must have fired off one or two of them. After all, they often did the same—after firing, watching survivors and thugs flee in panic had become one of their few hobbies over the past four months.

With that in mind, facing that bastard couple would inevitably use up even more bullets!

So what if that couple had gotten hold of two pistols?

How could opponents with only three or four bullets left possibly threaten them?

The deaths of those subordinates had enraged Boss Vulture. Not only had he sent several times their number, but he had also given them plenty of bullets and... body armor!

Touching the body armor on their bodies, every one of Vulture's subordinates was brimming with confidence.

The police station's body armor could not withstand assault rifles, but it was more than enough against a pistol of the M1905's caliber.

It was not only the six subordinates who thought so. Jackal Hook, leading them, thought the same.

Holding his gun and following close behind the six men, Hook swept his gaze across everything before him.

He could hardly wait to deal with that bastard couple!

Qin Ran was just as impatient!

Hidden within a pile of ruins, Qin Ran had spotted Jackal Hook's group the moment they appeared.

In fact, Qin Ran was not surprised that they had quickly found his general hiding place.

Although he had shaken off those pursuers last night, it would still not have been difficult for the few who followed to the end to determine the direction he and Colin had gone.

Simply put, everything was within his expectations.

All he needed to do now was wait quietly.

Wait for them to come close, then deliver a fatal blow.

That was not an easy thing to do. It required tremendous patience and considerable skill.

Fortunately, Qin Ran had always possessed excellent patience.

And the skill [Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic)] had granted him considerable skill.

Together, they turned what had been difficult into something easy.

Especially when the enemy was filled with contempt, it became effortless for Qin Ran.

The seven thugs spread out in a line, keeping some distance between one another as they began searching separately.

The armed thug passing in front of Qin Ran was at the very edge of the line!

The man looked relaxed, as if he were taking a stroll. He never imagined someone was hiding in the ruins, and his gaze did not even sweep this way. He merely looked around, searching for places that seemed habitable or suitable for shelter.

The possibility that Qin Ran and Colin would take the initiative to attack never occurred to him.

In his mind, that bastard couple had to be hiding somewhere, trembling in fear.

So when Qin Ran suddenly lunged out, the armed thug was completely unprepared.

Pfft!

The sharp dagger sliced straight through the man's throat.

"Urgh!"

Blood flooded his windpipe, turning the armed thug's final scream low, hoarse, and indistinct. In the end, Qin Ran dragged him into the ruins, his face frozen in disbelief.

[Thrust: Vital attack, deals 100 damage to the opponent's Health (50 Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic) x2). Opponent dead...]

First one!

Qin Ran picked up the M1905 from the man's hand and thought silently.

Then he quickly inspected the gun.

It was damaged as well, but its magazine was full.

It had seven bullets!

That made Qin Ran happy.

To make the plan more reliable, Qin Ran had given one M1905 to Colin, along with five bullets.

In fact, if not for unexpected emergencies, Qin Ran would have given her all the bullets—after only a few hours of instruction, her close-combat ability was still far from ready for actual battle.

And now, a fully loaded M1905 was naturally an unexpected delight for Qin Ran.

Of course, what pleased Qin Ran the most was the body armor on the man's body!