Who Opened the Sunroof

Russell glanced at Smith from the corner of his eye and confirmed that he had not transformed into a super carrot man. Still puzzled, he began his second consecutive draw and obtained one Character Card and one Item Card.

Character Card: Smith (A man who could defy fate with just one carrot)

Item Card: Carrot (Eating more vegetables was good for physical and mental health)

Looking at the Character Card he had drawn, Russell's fear of insufficient firepower eased considerably. He was still exploring the damn system and had reached two conclusions.

First, Skill Cards and Item Cards were far less useful than Character Cards. Subway Police and Swart had never disappointed him.

Second, the system's notes on cards were fine to read, but they could not be used as a basis for judgment. Take Smith's Character Card, for example. Without knowing Smith, who the hell could tell what he was capable of based on the system's note?

Seeing that Smith still wanted more, Russell silently used the 'Item Card: Carrot' and pulled another one from his pocket. He took a bite first and, after confirming that the carrot had no healing effect, handed the remaining half to Smith.

Smith did not mind that Russell had bitten it. He crunched through the carrot cleanly. With Smith chatting beside him, Russell's drowsiness faded, and as he drove, the two of them made idle conversation.

When Smith saw the M1911 pistol and magazines Russell had prepared for him, he did not stand on ceremony and tucked them straight into his clothes. Then he explained what he had done on the plane.

Russell looked completely dumbfounded. "So you killed the senator who was running for president next Monday?"

Smith answered as if it were only natural. "That's right. He was more valuable dead than alive."

"But he was a senator, and the person most likely to become president. Wouldn't killing him bring you enormous trouble?"

"It's not a big problem. Senator Lattridge had too much dirt on him. If they truly investigated the cause of his death, a huge number of political scandals would be exposed. Think about it. What would happen if the public learned that the senator they supported was a hypocrite who preached gun control in public while secretly colluding with arms companies?"

Russell was suddenly speechless. Their countries were different, and he did not know how to answer.

Smith gave him the answer. "The public would protest in front of the White House, the government would be overwhelmed, and its credibility would plunge to rock bottom. The other presidential candidates would be implicated as well. Not one of them is clean. They'll desperately cover up the truth behind Lattridge's death. We might even see a news report tonight saying Lattridge died of a heart attack."

Russell considered it. "What if some fearless reporter exposed the truth?"

"There's a reporter that formidable?"

"I said if!"

Smith sighed. "Then the gun control bill would be brought into the spotlight. I'd actually like to see that happen!"

Russell shook his head. Gun control was impossible in America. Gun control bills surfaced again and again, yet gun sales only kept climbing. The fiercer the gun control debate became, the better arms companies did, leaving other countries watching the spectacle utterly dumbfounded.

As they chatted, Russell suddenly frowned. A car had been following them for quite a while in the rearview mirror. At first, Russell thought they merely happened to be heading the same way. It was not until the other car maintained the same speed and hung far behind them that he realized something was wrong.

Smith also glanced at the rearview mirror. The two silently met each other's eyes and nodded together. At the next highway exit, the Ford turned off and headed toward the nearest town.

"Why are people still coming after us? Didn't you say they would cover up the truth about the senator's death?"

Smith shrugged. "We know what happened, don't we?"

Russell had no response. That was indeed true. He, Smith, and Quintana all knew the truth, and the strongest evidence was in Quintana's arms. The baby shared DNA with Senator Lattridge. Once the baby's identity was exposed, the truth would come to light.

Smith was growing irritated. "Who do you think it is, the CIA or Hammerson Arms Company?"

If it was Hammerson Arms Company, then although it was a giant in the arms industry, Smith still had ways to deal with them. But if it was the CIA, he could only leave America and live in another country.

"We'll find out soon enough..." Watching the car continue to follow them in the rearview mirror, Russell sharply turned the wheel and charged onto a rough mountain road nearby.

Half an hour later, more than ten cars arrived one after another. A total of seventy gunmen got out, led by the short leader and the major shareholder of Hammerson Arms Company.

The Short Leader glared furiously at the empty Ford, then brought out a military dog to search the woods. He hated Smith to the bone. Unless he killed Smith with his own hands, he would not be able to sleep peacefully.

In truth, Smith ought to thank the Short Leader and the Major Shareholder. Through their extensive connections, they had suppressed the truth behind Senator Lattridge's death. The senator had not died in an assassination, but in a plane crash, with not even a body left behind.

To the Short Leader and the Major Shareholder, Smith's group of four were the last people who knew the truth. Once the four of them were dead, their crimes would never surface.

Having witnessed Smith's marksmanship, the Major Shareholder had no intention of going up the mountain to hunt. He had the Short Leader lead the team while he waited for good news inside the armored car, surrounded by bodyguards.

Seventy well-equipped gunmen, all former military men, plus a military dog to hunt down four people—two of whom were a prostitute and a baby with no combat ability. This operation was surely in the bag!

Soon, gunfire erupted in the woods. Sitting in the car, the Major Shareholder opened the sunroof and smoked a cigar, a glass of red wine in hand. He was completely at ease. Senator Lattridge's death was a good thing. Without a gun control bill, his assets would only continue to grow.

In a patch of unnoticed grass, Russell narrowed his dead-fish eyes at the luxury armored car carrying the Major Shareholder. According to his and Smith's battle plan, Smith would deal with the gunmen while he protected Quintana and the baby.

So after circling through the woods, he had secretly driven away with Quintana and the baby. He had not expected to encounter the mastermind here. After telling Quintana and the baby to hide, he prepared to kill the Major Shareholder here. Opportunities like this were rare; if he missed this one, it would only become harder later.

Russell had never met the major shareholder of Hammerson Arms Company and did not know his identity, but that did not matter. The system knew!

The Host had come into contact with plot character Harmosen, triggering the Lottery Draw. Draw now?

This system was somewhat useful after all!

Russell silently chose to draw and obtained an Item Card.

Item Card: Bank Card (Contains 500,000 dollars. Unregistered, cannot be reported lost, cannot withdraw cash. Though it has many restrictions, Franklin's scent is still intoxicating)

It was a card with little practical use. Russell glanced at it and ignored it, sweeping his eyes over the area and memorizing every gunman's position. Including the Major Shareholder, there were eighteen people in total. They had everything from pistols and rifles to Submachine Guns and Shotguns, while his M9 had fifteen rounds loaded and two spare magazines.

Russell crouched in the grass and calculated how to eliminate them all. In the end, he realized it was completely impossible on his own.

The gunfire in the woods grew increasingly intense, with barking from time to time. Russell glanced at Smith's Character Card, considered it, and could not bear to use it.

"System, use 'Skill Card: Bullet Time'!"

The Host had equipped 'Skill Card: Bullet Time'. This card was a one-time-use Skill Card!

In an instant, Russell felt his heartbeat become incredibly fast, while everything around him slowed down. His senses became incomparably clear. His skin could easily detect the flow of the wind, and every sound entering his ears was rapidly analyzed by his brain and converted into concise, clear information.

A feeling of being able to do anything rose in his heart. Following that feeling, Russell suddenly sprang from the grass, sweeping the M9 in his hand before him as bullets roared from its muzzle.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—

Russell could see the mist produced the instant the bullets left the chamber, and he could feel their trajectories. It was an extraordinary sensation. Reason told him that everything was happening in an instant, but his vision deceived his brain and created an utterly realistic impression.

After emptying half a magazine, Russell immediately dropped it and loaded a full one. Only then did the gunmen react. Seeing their fallen companions, they all crouched down where they stood and hid behind the cars.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—

Russell raised his gun and fired again. This time, he violently swung his arm as he fired, and the moment the bullets left the muzzle, their trajectories became incomparably agile.

The bullets curved through the air and struck the gunmen from the side. After firing all fifteen rounds, Russell felt his heartbeat beginning to return to normal. Unable to adapt to the abrupt change in his senses, the world spun around him. He lowered his head into the grass beside him, hid behind a large tree, and panted heavily.

All seventeen gunmen had been hit. Most died from a single shot, while several were wounded but still alive. During the time Russell was catching his breath, they howled in pain and passed out one after another.

Watching this scene, the Major Shareholder nearly spilled his red wine. Sitting in the back seat, he was about to climb into the driver's seat when he suddenly remembered that he was in an armored car, and smiled as he sat back down.

My car isn't even afraid of land mines. Why would it fear a little pistol?

After resting, Russell emerged from the grass and put several more bullets into each gunman who was still alive. Only then did he walk up to the armored car. Looking at the utterly arrogant Major Shareholder through the window, he truly did not know what to say to him.

The Major Shareholder swirled his wine, raised the glass toward Russell through the window, and drank it in one gulp.

Russell said nothing. He pulled a grenade from behind his backside, yanked out the pin, and tossed it through the sunroof atop the armored car, directly smashing the Major Shareholder's wineglass.

Major Shareholder: "..."

MMP, who opened the sunroof?

Failure Diary

I never looked at the rankings, because I did not care about such empty fame.

This failure begged for support!