Night Veil

"Rolling to the left or right barely consumed any Stamina. Rolling forward or backward consumed 5 Stamina, while each one-handed side flip consumed 10!"

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

[Consumption: Stamina]

Without exception, both were marked as consuming Stamina, yet neither specified exactly how much Stamina they consumed.

"Different ranges of motion consume different amounts of Stamina, which is why there's no fixed value listed!"

Recalling the previous battle and the movements he had just made, Qin Ran easily reached that conclusion.

Next, Qin Ran reviewed the various records in the system.

There was no information about Stamina consumption there either.

Yet the loss of Stamina was real, just like the special status [hunger].

"Is the information hidden? Or...?"

Qin Ran frowned slightly as he guessed.

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

There were generally only two possibilities: it was either completely useless, or it was extremely important.

For this Underground Game, Qin Ran naturally leaned toward the latter.

But there was too little information at hand for him to find the key point.

That made Qin Ran quickly rein in his thoughts.

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

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

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

"No problem!"

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

Qin Ran knew quite a lot about fighting techniques.

But that knowledge was merely the vague, half-understood kind that everyone had heard of. 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 a great deal of related knowledge added to his mind.

It was more than enough to teach someone.

"That's exactly what I want!"

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

After all, she had seen Qin Ran fight with a dagger yesterday. He had been fast and ruthless, every strike capable of killing in one blow.

Living amid war and chaos, Colin understood the benefits of mastering that kind of dagger fighting.

Qin Ran began explaining and demonstrating at the same time.

The system gave no prompt indicating that Qin Ran was teaching another person a skill.

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

Perhaps it was a restriction of the game itself.

Or perhaps his skill level was too low.

That was Qin Ran's guess.

The lesson lasted from morning until afternoon.

Then came a rest.

To prepare for the battle that would inevitably come at night, both of them deliberately conserved their Stamina.

"It seems I don't have much talent."

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

"You did very well!"

Qin Ran said so.

This was not comfort from Qin Ran. He meant it sincerely.

However, Colin took it as consolation.

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

Colin sighed, but then this woman, who had survived four months in the chaos of war, showed her strength. She said, "Don't worry. I won't hold you back in tonight's fight!"

"I believe you."

Qin Ran nodded with a smile.

Although they were resting,

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

Colin, in particular, began drawing on the ground with her finger.

Before long, a rough 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 an open view. We absolutely can't fight there. If we get surrounded, we're done for! 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 place will be enough to make their numerical advantage useless!"

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

"Then we'll fight here!"

Qin Ran nodded.

Since Qin Ran was unfamiliar with the area, he naturally needed to heed the advice of a survivor like Colin.

Especially when it came to the terrain!

"Other than these places, what else should I watch out for?"

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 map on the ground and reminded 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 subordinates through the Garden Villa District. Everyone carried a gun and wore a bulletproof vest.

As the six subordinates looked around, Hook's face was filled with wrath.

Someone actually dared to challenge the renowned Vulture!

As one of Vulture's capable subordinates, Hook had made an indelible contribution to Vulture's reputation.

Hook himself took pride in that, and he was smug about it.

Especially after obtaining tangible benefits.

While others went hungry, he could eat and drink his fill, hold a weapon in his hand, and casually kill anyone he disliked.

To Hook, that was the perfect life.

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

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

He wanted to kill that pair of dogs himself!

"They should be somewhere in this area. Search carefully! Remember, don't stray too far from each other. They have two guns! And don't let your guard down just because one of them is a woman!"

Hook shouted loudly.

"Understood, Boss Hook!"

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

However, every one of them wore a trace of contempt.

So what if they had guns?

According to Vulture's rules, everyone only received four bullets when leaving the Lair. From Sixth Avenue to here, their two dead companions had surely fired one or two of those bullets, wasting them. After all, they often did the same thing themselves—after every shot, watching survivors and thugs flee in panic had become one of the few hobbies they had developed over the past four months.

With that in mind, confronting that pair of dogs would certainly consume even more bullets!

So what if that pair had obtained two pistols?

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

After all, the deaths of those subordinates had made Boss Vulture furious. He had not only sent several times their number, but also provided ample ammunition and... bulletproof vests!

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

The police station's bulletproof vests might not withstand assault rifles, but they were 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.

Gripping his gun, Hook followed closely behind the six men, his gaze sweeping across everything before him.

He could hardly wait to deal with that pair of dogs!

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 trackers last night, it was still not difficult for the few who had followed them to the end to determine the direction he and Colin had gone.

Simply put, everything was going as expected.

All he had to do now was wait quietly.

Wait for them to draw near, then deliver a fatal blow.

That was not an easy task. It required immense patience and considerable skill.

Fortunately, Qin Ran had always possessed excellent patience.

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

Together, they made what had once been difficult become easy.

Especially when the enemy was so full of 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 the one farthest to the side!

His expression was lax, as though he were taking a stroll. He had never imagined that someone was hiding in the ruins. He did not even look in this direction, merely glancing around for what appeared to be a place where someone could live or take shelter.

The possibility that Qin Ran and Colin would take the initiative never entered the armed thug's mind.

In his view, that pair of dogs 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 cleanly severed the man's throat.

"Urgh!"

Blood flooded back into his windpipe, making the armed thug's final cry low, hoarse, and indistinct. In the end, Qin Ran dragged him into the ruins with an incredulous expression still on his face.

[Thrust: Vital attack, deals 100 Life damage to the opponent (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 swiftly checked the gun in his hand.

Its quality was also Damaged, but its magazine was full.

It had seven bullets!

That made Qin Ran happy.

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

In fact, if not for unforeseen circumstances, 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, an M1905 loaded with bullets was naturally an unexpected delight for Qin Ran.

Of course, what delighted Qin Ran most was the bulletproof vest on the man's body!