VS Fire Fox

The old man's acting was superb, perfectly capturing the helplessness and timidity of a lonely elder, leading Wesley around by the nose. He told Wesley that he had arranged to meet Cross on the train, and the next day, he headed to the train station.

Wesley and Fire Fox hid in the shadows of the platform, watching the old man's every move. Wesley was in a phase of overflowing confidence, utterly convinced he could kill Cross.

Young people are all like that—beat one or two mediocre opponents and think they're invincible!

Catching the scent of the 36C's perfume beside him, Wesley's mind wandered. He marveled at Fire Fox's boundless charm and decided that after killing Cross, he would pursue her.

While keeping an eye on the old man, Wesley struck up a conversation with Fire Fox: "Fire Fox, have you ever thought about a different kind of life?"

Fire Fox didn't move, keeping her surveillance posture. "What do you mean?"

"Like an ordinary person—get married, have kids, drive them to school every morning, then go to work. On days off, put on nice clothes, go shopping with a few girlfriends, or get romantic with your husband, have a candlelit dinner to the sound of a violin in a Western restaurant..."

Fire Fox was silent for a few seconds, then said coldly, "No, never. I hate that kind of boring life!"

Fire Fox was lying. No woman doesn't long for a happy, fulfilling life—especially a killer walking the line between life and death, exhausted in body and soul, desperately craving a warm harbor to rest in. No matter how charming Fire Fox was, she couldn't escape that psychological yearning. But her unfortunate childhood made her cling to the Brotherhood's creed. She lived to kill more people who harmed society, to prevent her own tragic childhood from repeating in other families.

That was also why, in the original story, Fire Fox chose suicide after learning Sloan had forged the Loom's codes. Her faith crumbled, and she became the very person she despised most.

Fire Fox caught the signal of courtship in Wesley's words. She had feelings for him too, but between the personal and her faith, she resolutely gave up her emotions. So she coldly rejected Wesley.

Before the confession even began, the romance was already over. Wesley was deeply shaken. Both of them, lost in their own thoughts, fell silent—so much so that when the old man took the chance to slip away, they didn't snap out of it in time.

By the time they reacted, it was too late. The old man darted into the crowd, displaying agility completely at odds with his age, as if his feet were greased. A few twists and turns, and he vanished without a trace.

Wesley and Fire Fox sprinted across the platform, hoping to find a clue to the old man's whereabouts. They both knew that once they lost this lead, finding Cross would be nearly impossible.

Just as they split up to search, Wesley, in the final moments before the train departed, saw Cross waving at him from inside. His father's killer was right there. Without a second thought, Wesley's eyes reddened as he charged into the carriage.

The doors closed, and the train slowly pulled away from the platform, leaving Fire Fox dumbfounded. Seeming to realize something, she dashed out of the station, stole a car, and sped off along the tracks.

Fire Fox floored the accelerator, her mind fixed on one thought: she couldn't let Cross and Wesley be alone together.

America's trains are slow, expensive, and time-consuming. Some lines are even slower than buses, lagging behind China's by over a century. They're not cost-effective for travel.

For various reasons, Americans don't like taking trains. Unless absolutely necessary, they refuse. And in this country, trains have gradually faded from the ranks of regular transportation, shifting to tourist travel and getting slower and slower.

The train Fire Fox was chasing was an interstate tourist train, meant for enjoying the natural scenery along the way. Most of the time, it wound through deep mountains and forests, so Fire Fox caught up with it easily with a stomp on the gas.

Keeping the car parallel to the train at the same speed, Fire Fox watched Wesley and Cross tussling inside the carriage through the window. She pulled out her beloved modified M1911 pistol. Suddenly, her eyes caught something strange in the rearview mirror, and she quickly pulled her hand back inside.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out, shattering the exterior rearview mirror. The roar of a revving engine grew closer. In the rearview mirror, Fire Fox saw a pitch-black Ford F-150. The two cars were closing in, and she could even see Russell's middle finger raised in the driver's seat.

Recognizing Russell as the killer who had taken out Big Slick, Fire Fox cursed under her breath and raised her gun to shoot behind her. But Russell didn't give her a chance. He shot out her rear window, forcing her to weave in an S-pattern to protect herself.

Fire Fox's speed dropped, and the train entered a mountain tunnel. Staring at the dead-end mountain road ahead, she slammed her palm on the steering wheel, murder flashing in her eyes.

Boom!!

The Ford F-150 surged forward, ramming straight into the car's rear bumper, pushing it toward the mountain wall. If it connected, the 36C would be flattened into a meat sandwich.

At the critical moment, Fire Fox slammed the brakes, entering Bullet Time. She spun around and fired a shot, then unbuckled her seatbelt and leaped out of the driver's seat.

Sensing danger, Russell threw himself into the passenger seat, stomping the brakes to slow down. The bullet passed over his head, shattering the opposite window. Just before the car crashed, he managed to jump out of the Ford pickup.

Hitting the ground, Russell rolled a few times and vanished into a patch of weeds.

"System, use 'Character Card: Smith.' No skin overlay!"

Host equipped with 'Character Card: Smith.' Countdown: 240 seconds. Timer starts.

After equipping Smith's character card, Russell clearly sensed a shift in his perception. Quick eyes and fast hands didn't even begin to cover it. His thoughts became sharper, and the surrounding terrain materialized in his mind as a top-down 3D map, with various tactics springing up endlessly.

Strong.

Only four minutes, but for a duel between experts, that was enough!

Bang! Bang!

Almost on pure muscle reflex, before his eyes even locked onto Fire Fox's position, his body followed instinct and fired two shots ahead.

As his gunshots rang out, Fire Fox fired two shots in an instant. In slow motion, four bullets met midair, and Fire Fox intercepted Russell's rounds.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Russell had gotten plenty of intel on Fire Fox from Cross—her favorite gun's specs, her various parameters, and Cross's threat assessment of her. Fire Fox didn't have Wesley's killer bloodline, but she was an undeniable genius. Her Bullet Time ability wasn't much worse than Big Slick's.

Russell had experienced Bullet Time and fought Big Slick. Big Slick could enter Bullet Time three times in a short period, and Russell estimated Fire Fox was at about the same level.

No higher than that—otherwise, Cross's first sniper target would have been Fire Fox, not Big Slick!

Russell knew the terror of Bullet Time. He kept firing, firmly holding the initiative. His One Hundred Percent Accuracy was chilling. Fire Fox calculated the trajectories and knew she couldn't dodge, so she had to intercept with bullets.

The M1911's 11.43mm rounds packed a huge punch, but they didn't have an advantage in a head-on collision with 9mm bullets. Both would fall simultaneously, not with the 11.43mm shattering the 9mm first and then hitting Russell.

That only happened in sci-fi movies. This world still respected observable facts!

Newton: #￥%~son of a bitch※※!@#￥&*...

Ahem, Newton, due to excessive language, has been removed from this group.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After four shots, Fire Fox's magazine ran dry. Her modified M1911 didn't have a double-stack magazine, and the extended magazine held fewer bullets than Russell's M9. After firing her last rounds, she rolled into a gravel pit for cover.

Pulling out her last extended magazine from her waist, Fire Fox's gaze turned even colder. The situation was heavily against her.

I summed up why my last book didn't make it to 1000 chapters, and I finally found the problem. Other people write 2000 words per chapter, while I write 2500...

(￣︶￣)

Such a simple truth, and I only just realized it. I'm really a pure newbie, too honest!