Movies Are All Lies

Two pickup trucks were parked in the corner of the shooting range. Jill skillfully found the keys beneath the seat, started one up, floored the gas, and drove Xiao Miao and the female reporter out of the range.

"It's coming after us!" Inside the pickup, the female reporter screamed in despair, yet she still remembered to switch on the camera in her hand and record everything she saw.

God knew what she had just been through. When she had arrived at the gun shop and encountered the special operations squad, she had thought she was completely safe.

Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the heavily armed, well-trained special operations squad would be wiped out without causing even a ripple.

Xiao Miao turned around with the M4A1 in his arms and aimed behind the truck. "Get down!"

The black muzzle said more than enough. The female reporter immediately crawled beneath the seat, wrapping her jacket around her head to keep the scorching shell casings from burning her skin.

It had to be said, Americans really did have experience with this sort of thing.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!

Bullets shattered the rear window and struck the Nemesis pursuing them.

Blood sprayed from its body, but its pursuit did not falter in the slightest. Its health bar might not have changed, but its favorability was rising rapidly.

Yes, there was a die floating above Nemesis's head too.

[Story Character: Nemesis (Matt Addison)]

[Current Bond: Level 2 (Enemy)]

[Draw Cost: 70 Fate Points]

So favorability could rise in reverse too!

A cost of seventy points was not low. Xiao Miao felt the pinch and hesitated over whether to take two draws.

The truck suddenly jolted violently twice. Nemesis seized the chance, caught up at a visible speed, and pulled out a rocket launcher.

"Watch out for the rocket!"

Xiao Miao hurriedly warned her. Jill glanced into the rearview mirror and sharply yanked the wheel.

The rocket exploded beside the pickup. The rear tire blew, and the vehicle slowed more and more.

It would be impolite not to return the favor. Xiao Miao pulled out a grenade and bit down to yank the pin, only for it not to budge at all. His teeth ached badly.

Movies were all lies!

He put down the M4A1, pulled out the pin, and threw two grenades. They exploded beside Nemesis.

When the flames and dust cleared, Nemesis's clothes were slightly dirty, and it continued striding after them.

[Ding, detected a change in story character bond]

[Current Bond: Level 3 (Mortal Enemy)]

[Draw Cost: 50 Fate Points]

"..."

Its favorability had risen again!

Xiao Miao glanced at [Character Card: Elf Princess Aya]. He was somewhat reluctant to use it now, and Nemesis's favorability had risen twice already, so it ought to be possible to draw something good.

If he could draw Nemesis's character card, then by working with Jill in a guerrilla fight, they might be able to kill it before the character card's duration ran out.

"Draw!"

One hundred Fate Points vanished instantly, leaving only 555 points in his account balance.

The die flashed twice. A white glow and a green glow appeared, and Xiao Miao's heart sank.

A bust. As expected, he was cursed with bad luck. Drawing Jill had been the truly improbable event!

[Item Card: Stylish Black Leather Jacket (Black leather clothing that automatically adapts to the wearer's body shape. Most importantly, it is really stylish!)]

[Item Card: T-Virus Original Strain (An RNA virus created from the Sun Ladder after combining with leech genes)]

There was no pity system for Fate draws. Nemesis was not worth wasting too many Fate Points on.

With the tire blown, they would eventually be caught. Xiao Miao decisively stopped and turned to Jill. "Pull over. I'll deal with it."

Jill froze. "Are you sure?"

"There's no time to explain. Stop the truck!"

Jill did not ask any further questions. She quickly braked the pickup to a stop, leaving it crookedly parked by the roadside.

Before the truck had even fully stopped, Xiao Miao and Jill jumped out at the same time.

Jill raised her gun and fired as she moved. She did not know what Xiao Miao intended to do, so she chose to provide support in her own way.

Xiao Miao passed Jill and touched the card with his mind. [Character Card: Elf Princess Aya] instantly turned into a stream of light and entered his body.

Xiao Miao's body shivered slightly. His mind inexplicably filled with countless images related to magic and swordsmanship, along with bizarre bits of knowledge such as twenty ways to match high heels and tips for period care.

Elf princesses wore high heels too?

He clenched his hand, and a wondrous energy surged through his body, responding to his will. Xiao Miao knew that was magic power!

"Hiss... not bad. The power isn't as high as I'd imagined, but it isn't a waste to use it here. There are only 180 seconds left, so I need to hurry..."

Xiao Miao unfastened his ammo rig and threw it to the ground. His body immediately felt much more nimble as he walked toward Nemesis, which was striding toward him.

Jill stared in disbelief. "Xiao, what are you doing?"

"Stay dry. I'm about to show off."

Xiao Miao waved a hand, leaving Jill with a dashing silhouette from behind.

Magic power gathered in his palm. Seeing this, Nemesis directly raised its rocket launcher. The preloaded rocket spewed flames and screamed toward Xiao Miao.

Xiao Miao held out his palm. The hard concrete ground suddenly cracked open, and an earthen wall rose with a boom.

The rocket struck the earthen wall and blasted it apart. The resulting shockwave knocked Nemesis flat on its ass.

Jill: "???"

Umbrella personnel: "???"

Not only was Jill utterly dumbfounded, even the Umbrella personnel remotely controlling Nemesis experienced a mental short circuit and instantly crashed.

What had they just seen?

Magic? Or some kind of unknown high-tech device?

Unfortunately, Nemesis had already become a chip-controlled bio-weapon. It would not feel human emotions such as shock or fear. It was the most qualified cold-blooded killer!

Unless the goddess in its heart appeared... like Alice.

The facts proved that cold chips could not understand the blazing passion of a simp. Human emotions were enough to break free of programming constraints. A certain famous dog lover had plenty to say on that matter.

Roar!

Nemesis roared as it rose to its feet, its voice seemingly filled with rage and despair. The die above its head shook without stopping, while the favorability bar beneath it skyrocketed, just a little short of reaching the next stage.

Bzzzzz—

The Gatling Gun in Nemesis's hands began to spin. Three thousand rounds stood ready to fire, and orange-red flames were about to spew forth. The next second, a basketball-sized fireball streaked across the night sky and struck precisely... between its legs.

Xiao Miao: ...It was my first time using Fireball Spell. Sorry, my aim was off.

Come to think of it, Nemesis sounded like a woman, but that was entirely the translation's fault. It was an unmistakably pure-blooded man.

So Xiao Miao's Fireball Spell had counted as a strike to a vital area.

Flames roared. Nemesis howled in pain and fiercely pulled the trigger. A storm of bullets swept out like a raging downpour.

Xiao Miao pressed both hands against the ground, and a thick earthen wall rose before him. Bullets slammed into it, leaving dense clusters of holes. Smoke and dust billowed, but they could never break through its defense.

Other than bombs specifically designed for burrowing underground, the thick earth was the sternest father of most firearms.

Nemesis was not an idiot either. It did not foolishly stand in place and waste bullets. It immediately moved left, adjusting its firing angle.

Seeing that, Xiao Miao decisively moved left as well, keeping the earthen wall between them at all times. Nemesis froze, then moved right again. Xiao Miao immediately followed.

Left... right... left... right...

After several rounds, Nemesis was completely enraged. It threw aside the Gatling Gun, strode toward the earthen wall, bent its knees, and launched itself upward. Its burly, cumbersome body actually leaped high into the air, vaulting over the wall from directly above.

"Perfect!"

Xiao Miao released magic power again. The top of the earthen wall changed shape, hard stone spikes shooting skyward one after another as the entire wall rapidly rose.

Crack!

Some stone spikes were snapped by Nemesis's thick skin, while a few pierced into its flesh through the bullet wounds, skewering Nemesis atop the earthen wall.

Nemesis struggled desperately, roaring as it reached out and snapped the stone spikes one by one. Dark brown, viscous blood splattered everywhere.