Xue Shang

Amid the dense bushes.

A heavily modified heavy sniper rifle had been cleverly camouflaged and set up there.

The one using it was a middle-aged man with a full beard.

After discovering Cao Bing's hiding place earlier, this High-level General had not rushed to fire. After all, out in the wilderness, firing rashly before clearly understanding the other party's strength and intentions was undoubtedly unwise.

That was why he had ordered the two martial artists standing out in the open to investigate.

Just now, when Cao Bing took advantage of the instant those two vanished from his line of sight, he had sensed that something was wrong. He just had not expected Cao Bing to be so decisive, daring to strike without the slightest hesitation despite the threat of death.

And that brief obstruction of his view had made him lose his best chance to kill Cao Bing.

Damn it!

The bearded man hurriedly adjusted his muzzle. This time, he planned to teach that reckless brat a lesson and let him know how terrifying the wilderness could be.

Before long, with the combat instincts of a professional sniper, he found an opening despite Cao Bing's incredible speed.

"I advise you not to do that!"

Just as the bearded man was about to take Cao Bing's life, a cold voice interrupted his fatal shot!

"When did you...?!"

The bearded man went cold all over. The stabbing pain at the back of his neck told him that a sharp blade could pierce his throat before he fired.

"Ghost Leopard Guan Yong. Your reputation is well deserved!"

He removed his hands from the weapon. Without even looking, the bearded man had already guessed the identity of the person behind him. The only one who could silently slip behind him and place that death-dealing curved blade against his neck was Guan Yong, the "Death Warden."

After all, the bearded man was a High-level General. Moreover, snipers like him were especially accurate at sensing danger. Otherwise, if two squads clashed in the wilderness and engaged in a sniper duel, they would have long since been taken out.

"Dark Eagle Xue Shang, how about we end this here?" Guan Yong held his saber in one hand. Even though the other party had given up resisting, he did not relax.

"No problem! I'm already in your hands!" Xue Shang, the bearded man, rose beneath Guan Yong's blade without touching the heavy sniper rifle again, answering indifferently.

"Then tell your men to stop." Guan Yong fixed a sharp gaze on Xue Shang and spoke coldly.

To his surprise, Xue Shang merely glanced at him, then sighed.

"I think you should tell your people to stop. Kui and Big Chuang are both Beginner Generals; they can't take a beating from your Divine Arrow Squad!"

Sure enough, not long after, Yan Ying received a transmission through his earpiece. The two martial artists who had gone after Cao Bing had already been captured by the Divine Arrow Squad.

"I remember your squad has five people?"

"They aren't here," Xue Shang said, shaking his head.

"They aren't here?" Guan Yong looked doubtfully into Xue Shang's eyes.

"They really aren't. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let you get this close to me so easily!" Xue Shang sighed, looking utterly aggrieved. As the captain of a squad and a High-level General, he had somehow allowed an Intermediate War General Level fighter to get behind him without noticing.

Xue Shang felt like he had completely lost face, even if the other person was the renowned Ghost Leopard Guan Yong.

"Where did they go?" Guan Yong nodded. A squad that relied primarily on a sniper naturally revolved entirely around Xue Shang, its captain.

If his other two teammates had been here, Guan Yong truly could not have taken him down so easily.

"Wait until your captain arrives before we talk." Xue Shang shrugged, speaking carelessly. He had no interest in becoming enemies with a powerful squad like the Divine Arrow Squad. The reason he had aimed at Cao Bing earlier was that Cao Bing had also been spying on his combat team members.

Moreover, the round loaded in his rifle had not been lethal ammunition, but a rubber bullet. It was just that the power of a shot fired from Xue Shang's rifle was still not to be underestimated.

...At the very least, it could break a bone...

Before long, the members of the Divine Arrow Squad arrived before the two men, escorting the two martial artists who had previously pursued Cao Bing.

The moment Xue Shang saw them, he burst out laughing. Those two idiots had charged into the woods after Cao Bing without receiving Xue Shang's order. The outcome was obvious: before long, the frustrated Divine Arrow Squad had surrounded them and kicked the crap out of them. Their bodies had swollen up, and their faces were puffed up like pig heads. Cao Bing had hit them the hardest.

After being targeted by a gun and having a blade held to his neck, how could he possibly hold back when he had a chance for revenge?

"Boss, what are you laughing at? Didn't they catch you too?!"

The moment Xue Shang laughed, one of the pig-headed men immediately took offense and shouted.

Xue Shang's face darkened.

"Didn't we agree to end this? Can you let us go now?" Xue Shang looked at the blade tip still pointed at his throat, then glanced toward Yan Ying, the Divine Arrow Squad's captain.

"Mm."

Yan Ying nodded, and only then did Guan Yong withdraw his saber.

But the instant Guan Yong put away his blade, Xue Shang rushed out and kicked the man who had spoken earlier, sending him tumbling.

"Ah! Boss, I was wrong! Brother Kui, save me!"

The other martial artist simply shut his eyes and pretended not to see anything.

Only after kicking the martial artist twice more did Xue Shang stop. He plopped down on the ground like a hardened thug, swept his large eyes across the members of the Divine Arrow Squad, then fixed them on Cao Bing.

"When did your squad recruit a newcomer? Not bad. You managed to escape my rifle."

"Hmph!"

Cao Bing's expression darkened as he snorted. Anyone who had been targeted by a sniper rifle for so long would not be in a good mood, especially when the person holding that gun was sitting openly in front of him.

"We're the ones asking questions here!" Yan Ying said coldly, his face as taut as ever.

"Still that rotten temper!" After running into two straight refusals from Guan Yong and Yan Ying, Xue Shang could only accept it. His strength was inferior, after all.

"Someone spread word that they found a location suspected to be a Mutation Source. Old Seven and Little Bao went to the temporary gathering place!"

"What gathering place?" The Divine Arrow Squad exchanged glances, then pressed for more information.

"Rhino Liao's squad started it. I heard they were the first to discover it, but they seemed to have suffered heavy losses and lost one of their companions. That was why they had no choice but to spread the news and share it with everyone."

"Our squad was interested in that 'source' too, so we sent Old Seven and Little Bao over!"

"Rhino Liao? He isn't an easy person to get along with." Xie Hongxin, who had remained silent at the side until now, suddenly spoke.

"Exactly. But that source is just too tempting. Quite a few squads have gathered there already, along with several powerful lone operators." Xue Shang patted the dirt from his clothes, his voice lazy.

"Lead the way," Yan Ying said coldly.

"Tch, I knew this wouldn't end well! I don't want to see Rhino Liao's ugly face!" Xue Shang pouted, clearly unwilling. Otherwise, he would have brought his entire squad there already instead of keeping people posted here.

"You aren't much better-looking yourself!"

"Damn it! Yan Ying, don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're wearing that sour expression!" Xue Shang instantly flew into a rage.