Mastering the Tactic-Redirect the Calamity (Excellent)

Mastering the Tactic—Redirect the Calamity (Excellent) [Ding...]

[Congratulations! You have mastered the tactic Redirect the Calamity (Excellent). Reward: 200 Survival Points.]

Yu Yuan paused in the Sewer. He stared blankly for a moment, then seemed to understand. Delight spread across his face.

"Looks like it worked!"

But what was a tactic?

Wasn't it a skill?

He opened the [Combat] page on the Virtual Light Screen. A [Tactics] section had appeared beneath [Skills].

The first slot already held a tactic called [Redirect the Calamity].

[Redirect the Calamity]

Quality: Excellent

Effect: When a conflict between you and another faction (or individual) is about to bring disaster upon you, deliberate guidance, planning, and maneuvering give you a 60% chance of shifting the blame to a third-party faction or individual.

Yu Yuan read the description of [Redirect the Calamity] and grinned from ear to ear.

He laughed and slapped his thigh.

His earlier decision had been brilliant.

It had all happened just as Yu Yuan was about to leave. He had considered killing the guy who stole the milk powder. The man was dangerous.

But then he had realized that sparing him might work better than killing him. All Yu Yuan had to do was redirect the Burning Fortress's hatred toward another faction.

It had been a sudden idea, and he had only tried it to see what would happen. He hadn't expected it to succeed.

Yu Yuan could hardly believe it.

He had also unlocked a new [Combat] feature. Even now, he had no idea what other functions remained hidden on the Virtual Light Screen.

Apparently, the corresponding functions unlocked only when he met certain special conditions.

That was how he had unlocked [Skills], and now [Tactics] had worked the same way.

The Virtual Light Screen was an unfathomable mystery, ready to spring a new surprise on him at any moment.

He shook his head and closed the screen. The delight faded from his eyes, replaced by caution and vigilance.

With Miemie no longer in Equipment State, every step felt like a struggle. Yu Yuan's gear alone weighed ten or twenty kilograms, and he had two backpacks of supplies on top of that. At this rate, who knew when he would make it back to the 13th District?

But the 13th District wasn't his destination. He was headed for Canchino Avenue in the 11th Block. With this many supplies, he had to complete the Luxury Card's removal task first.

Miemie seemed unbothered by the mountain of supplies on its back. It only seemed puzzled by their slow pace and kept glancing at Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan kept an eye on the supplies strapped to Miemie's back, too. If anything fell, he would have to tie it down again and waste more time.

The man and the sheep soon reached the stretch of Sewer near Carlisle Tunnel. Yu Yuan had to pass through here to reach the 11th Block.

Bang...

He had barely approached when a sudden gunshot made him jump.

He immediately switched off his Flashlight and raised his gun, peering down the Sewer in the opposite direction. Someone was shouting over there.

The voice was no more than a hundred meters away, perhaps just around the corner.

Without hesitation, Yu Yuan dropped his backpacks and looked at Miemie.

"Equip!"

Miemie turned into a streak of light and merged with Yu Yuan.

Thud... Several large bundles of supplies hit the ground, but the shouting drowned out the noise.

Moving lightly now, Yu Yuan crept toward the corner beneath Carlisle Street.

Click to view.

"Hahaha! Run, Carmen! Weren't you so good at running?" a wild voice called from beyond the corner.

"Soda, you idiot. If you kill me, do you think Commander Old Ke will let you off when you get back?" A cool voice answered, followed by a cough and ragged breathing.

"Old Ke? Pah! I work for Lawrence now. He'll protect me. Old Ke, heh... You think he'd turn against Lawrence over you?"

Yu Yuan made his footsteps even quieter and peered around the corner.

A little over thirty meters away, a Flashlight lay on the ground. Its beam illuminated two figures facing each other—or rather, one about to execute the other.

One stood over the other with a gun. The other lay on the ground, bleeding heavily.

It's them! Yu Yuan recognized them from their conversation.

The Enforcers Carmen and Soda, along with Commander Old Ke and Lawrence, were all from the Black Shield Police Department mentioned in the newspaper.

Surprise flashed through Yu Yuan's eyes.

He hadn't expected the two of them to survive the ambush by Marauder Prison and Burning Fortress.

That was impressive.

I really can't underestimate these block thugs. If two factions had set a trap like that for Yu Yuan, he doubted he could have escaped unless he had planned an exit in advance.

But how likely was that?

Yu Yuan looked them over, rapidly recalling everything he knew about them.

Soda secretly went over to Lawrence. Does that mean Carmen works for Old Ke? Lawrence is that bald guy's older brother, so that's why he wants Carmen dead. Of course, the person Lawrence wants dead most is me.

A commander, huh? Yu Yuan's gaze settled on Carmen, and a new idea took shape.

There might be another way to deal with the threat Lawrence posed.

Bang! Another shot rang out.

"Hahahaha! Weren't you so arrogant? So full of yourself? Come on, try acting tough now!" Soda's mocking laughter filled the Sewer.

A fresh wound opened on Carmen's body, and he couldn't hold back a grunt.

Soda planted a foot on the wound and ground down hard. The sight of Carmen in pain filled him with satisfaction.

Only when Carmen went limp did Soda begin to lose interest.

"Fine. Can't say I let you die without knowing why. Remember, Lawrence ordered me to kill you. What choice did I have? When that idiot Fries was attacked, you went after Marauder Prison instead of rushing over to help him. That's why the Sewer rat hacked Fries to death.

"Tsk. Dying in the Sewer was Fries's fate. Looks like it's yours, too." Soda felt wonderful.

He looked down at Carmen and shook his head.

"Well, now you know. Time to send you on your way! Hahaha!"

Laughing wildly, Soda aimed his pistol at Carmen's head.

But just as the barrel rose, while Soda was still laughing, Carmen's unfocused eyes turned sharp. A Claw Blade had appeared in his right hand.

In an instant, the blade slashed across Soda's gun hand, severing both the artery and the tendons in his wrist. The pistol dropped.

At the same moment, a gunshot rang out from around the corner of the Sewer.

Bang!

The bullet punched through Soda's skull, spraying blood.

Only when Carmen heard the shot did he realize someone else had been hiding nearby. Alarmed, he tried to dodge.

But his injuries were too severe. His counterattack against Soda had used the last of his strength.

He crashed to the ground and reached for Soda's fallen pistol. Just before his fingers touched it—

Bang!

A bullet struck the ground. The ricochet grazed his scalp.

It was a warning not to move.

Carmen froze. As he slowly withdrew his arm, a bitter smile crossed his face...