Plan Formulation

As he rode along the road to the Qin Residence, Tianyang surveyed his surroundings. There were surprisingly few vehicles and pedestrians on the road, and their numbers dwindled further the closer he got.

Although few people ventured out at night in the Fortress, there should not have been this few.

This was probably the result of the Nightwalkers' intervention. Perhaps road restrictions were already being imposed somewhere out of sight... The young man's thoughts wandered until his communicator rang.

He took it out and saw that he had received two images.

One was a photograph of the master sniper. The man named Qu Gao was not tall or imposing at all. On the contrary, he was remarkably short, a conclusion easily drawn from the objects beside him in the photograph.

In the photograph, Qu Gao held a gun with an excessively long barrel. Judging by its elaborate components and design, it did not seem to be a star essence firearm, which prioritized simplicity and portability.

In all likelihood, the gun was not even a finished production model, but something Qu Gao had modified himself using assorted parts.

Tianyang studied the master sniper's face carefully. His bald head, thin lips, and small eyes were all distinctive and easy to remember.

With six fingers on his left hand as well, he would be even easier to identify.

The other photograph showed Qin Jie. The middle-aged man, nearly fifty, wore a crisp, dark uniform, and his facial features bore a strong resemblance to Qin Wu's. One glance was enough for Tianyang to recognize tonight's target without even reading the note beneath the photograph.

Then Tianyang received another text message: delete after reading.

The young man committed Qu Gao's and Qin Jie's appearances to memory, then deleted the message and photographs.

Just then, the motorcycle's navigation system announced that the next intersection would take him into the district where the Qin Residence stood.

Before reaching the intersection, Tianyang stopped. He rode into a small plaza nearby, parked his motorcycle, and looked around.

This was no longer the central district of the Upper City, yet it was so spacious that scarcely any tall buildings were visible. Only the Fortress's distant, ring-shaped dome hung over it like a night sky.

Tianyang knew this was a district reserved for the Fortress's families. Each family received living space in proportion to its influence-or, more precisely, its power.

Even the smallest house here came with a garden and garage. In the Lower City, its grounds would have been enough to accommodate ten households, perhaps even more!

Despite all that available living space, the tallest buildings here rose only three stories.

Most were small, two-story houses, another indication of just how extravagantly the Upper Citizens lived, particularly those who belonged to established families!

Through his Tactical Electronic Eye, Tianyang took in virtually the entire layout of the surrounding buildings. Such open terrain, with so few obstructions, was extremely dangerous for both a sniper and his prey.

The prey would be spotted almost as soon as they entered the sniper's hunting range.

As for the sniper, the lack of cover and obstacles meant that once his opponent discovered his position, he would probably have only one chance to fire.

Of course, even under these circumstances, the sniper still held most of the advantages.

After all, to attack a sniper, his prey first had to survive the initial shot, then move fast enough to pose a threat to him.

Finally, as a rank 3 master sniper, Qu Gao was unlikely to lack close-combat skills entirely.

"Eight Gold Hunters, one Ascender, and possibly a public security force..." Silently calculating the difference in strength between the two sides, Tianyang racked his brains for the first time, struggling to recall the books he had read. He extracted whatever knowledge he could apply and began formulating a battle plan.

Plan objective: kill Qin Jie.

Enemy strength: one rank 3 master sniper, eight Gold Hunters, and a public security force likely to appear.

Strategic approach: killing every obstacle before eliminating the primary target would be virtually impossible, given the enormous disparity in strength between the two sides. Therefore, after removing the greatest obstacle, every effort should go toward eliminating the primary target. No stamina should be wasted on anyone or anything else.

Conclusion:

1. Eliminate the enemy Ascender first, removing the greatest obstacle.

2. Commit fully to killing the primary target.

3. Establish an escape route and try to get clear before the public security force arrives.

Soon, the outline of a plan had formed in the young man's mind. Though rudimentary, it was clearly structured.

Tianyang looked up toward the street beyond the plaza. "So, where are you hiding, Qu Gao?"

The young man looked back, then located the tallest object in the plaza: the sculpture in the fountain.

To give the sculpture sufficient visual impact, its designer had made it nearly six meters tall, almost as high as a two-story house. Tianyang climbed it easily and concealed himself within an intricate section on its shadowed side.

Although he had never received professional counter-sniper training, fortunately, the books he had read had mentioned more than once that snipers possessed excellent eyesight.

To avoid giving his opponent a chance at a headshot, Tianyang carefully kept himself hidden.

Through a microchip implanted in his brain, Tianyang adjusted his Tactical Eye's viewing range and activated thermal imaging mode.

The Qin Residence drew closer in his vision, and several red human silhouettes appeared. From this height, Tianyang could easily see that the residence consisted of a main building, a lawn, a parking plaza, a garden, and an enclosing wall faced with ancient melody tiles.

The entire Qin Residence occupied enough space to meet the living needs of at least thirteen households in the Lower City, not counting the public land surrounding it.

Normally, a sniper would establish his position some distance from the battlefield. Depending on his firearm's performance and his own abilities, that distance would generally be around eight hundred to a thousand meters. Any farther, and there would be too many variables affecting the shot.

Tianyang put himself in Qu Gao's shoes. If he were the sniper, the ideal choice would be to establish a position outside the Qin Residence. Taking sightlines and relocation into account, he had already picked out several suitable sniper positions.

But this was the Upper City, within the families' residential district. If Qin Jie had any sense at all, he would not let this battle spill over onto the other families' property. Otherwise, even if Tianyang failed to kill him, the other families would still hold him accountable.

In that case...

Tianyang's gaze returned to the Qin Residence. "Qu Gao should be hiding inside the residence. That's the only way to ensure the battle doesn't spill over onto the other families' estates."

The young man surveyed the grounds again. He saw cars parked in front of the main building, guards patrolling with dogs on leashes, and every blade of grass and tree within the Qin Residence.

But he did not find Qu Gao.

Even with thermal imaging activated, none of the red silhouettes appeared to be a sniper.

That meant Qu Gao either carried a jamming device or wore equipment that blocked his body heat.

However, Tianyang did spot a red silhouette sitting motionless in a small sitting room on the main building's second floor.

Unfortunately, thermal imaging did not reveal the person's appearance, leaving him unable to determine whether it was Qin Jie.

Tianyang withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes, and mentally rehearsed his next moves.

Only ten minutes later did he slide down the sculpture from his hiding place in the shadows.