He crouched down and dug the bullet out of the soil. After examining it, he realized it was an armor-piercing bullet.
The people in the River Valley Manor should all be his own people, so this shot was just a warning; otherwise, they would have aimed for vital organs. With this in mind, Han Xiao took out a bronze coin from his pocket, held it up, and waved it. The Sniping in the manor would definitely be able to see it through their scopes.
This coin was given to him by Ouvannuo before the trip, as proof of identity for his teammates.
After waiting for about a minute, Han Xiao walked forward again. This time, as expected, no one fired a shot. He successfully arrived at the gate of the River Valley Manor and found that it had been defensively modified. Countless iron plates were nailed to the outer walls, completely covering the interior of the manor. There were traces of damage from explosions on the steel plates.
The gate opened, Han Xiao walked in. The layout of the River Valley Manor unfolded before him. It covered a vast area and could be roughly divided into an inner and outer layer. The outer layer consisted of various defensive fortifications, with fully armed mercenaries coming and going, patrolling everywhere with guns slung over their shoulders, chatting loudly and boisterously, unlike regular soldiers who were usually quiet and reserved.
The inner layer is the central area, a villa with a fountain garden, surrounded by black railings that distinguish the inner and outer layers. Through the railings, he could see that there was no one in the villa and garden, as if no one lived there.
"The new guy, is he an assassin?"
A burly, dark-skinned man called out to Han Xiao. This was the person who opened the door. Han Xiao looked at his skin color and thought that this burly man was the best candidate to blow up the bunker at night, provided he was naked.
Ignoring Han Xiao's reaction, the burly man turned on the walkie-talkie and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Chen Li, there's a new assassin here. Come and pick him up right away."
"You just wait, I'm coming right now," came the cursing voice from the walkie-talkie.
A yellow-skinned mercenary named Chen Li quickly arrived at the gate. He first gave the burly black man the middle finger, then looked at Han Xiao, sizing him up. "Come with me."
Following Chen Li to the southeast of the River Valley Manor, Han Xiao learned from Chen Li about the River Valley Manor's defensive layout, which was divided into three sides. The west side faced the river, where attackers might use yachts to attack, but the river itself would be an easy target.
The other two sides are the southeast and northeast, forming an overall triangular defensive layout. Chen Li is the mercenary leader for the southeast side.
"What type of assassin are you?" Chen Li asked.
"Sniping type."
"That's good. We need ranged attackers. Last time, we had an assassin who only knew how to attack in close combat; he was completely useless."
Han Xiao glanced back at the central villa and asked the three key questions that had been on his mind, "Who are we protecting? How long will we be holding out here? Who are our enemies?"
Perhaps every newcomer asks these questions, but Chen Li answered fluently, "The higher-ups didn't say how long we'd hold out. Anyway, if we really can't hold out any longer, I'll retreat immediately. I don't care how much money they offer; I'm not going to be cannon fodder. We don't know who the enemy is. Sometimes they attack during the day, sometimes at night, sometimes every few days. It's a constant stream; there will always be new enemies appearing."
"As for the target we're protecting, hehe..." Chen Li suddenly sneered, "I heard the target is hiding in a villa, but has never shown himself. The mission forbids us from entering the villa to investigate. Maybe there's no one inside, and we're guarding an empty shell... Hmph, whatever the employer's intentions, as long as they pay, that's all that matters."
An abandoned villa, a protected target who has never appeared, a vaguely defined conscription order, and an enemy of unknown origin—these factors combined to create an inexplicable sense of unease for Han Xiao, as if shrouded in a fog of mystery.
"By the way, what level of assassin are you, Dark Grade or Ghost Class?" Chen Li asked casually.
"Mr. Black, Scorpion Grade."
Chen Li turned around abruptly, looking surprised. "Scorpion Grade? How come you're here? Only those at the Dark Grade and above receive conscription orders. You're not qualified, are you?"
"Since we're already here, rank doesn't matter." Han Xiao had no intention of explaining himself to a mercenary leader. To paraphrase the King of Pretension... I don't need to explain my actions to you! It's all about one word: pretense!
"Although it's a Scorpion Grade weapon, since it's Sniping, let's just make do with it. As long as you can hit people with Sniping rifle, that's fine."
Chen Li frowned, pointed into the distance, and said, "Do you see those three bunkers? Go to the middle one; the Venomous Bee Brothers will arrange things for you."
Following Chen Li's finger, the three bunkers were located at the intersection of the southeast and northeast defensive lines, at the apex of the triangular defensive zone. This position provided Sniping with the best field of view and firing range. However, the downside was that they were too conspicuous. If the enemy attacked, the Sniping would be the first to be taken out. Fortunately, many machine guns and grenade launchers were mounted on the outer walls next to the bunkers, making them the most heavily fortified.
Han Xiao had no objections; he had been indifferent until the panel task was triggered.
Entering the central bunker and climbing the stairs to the top floor (the Sniping position), I found two people there, each holding a Sniping rifle and sitting against the wall, seemingly asleep. Hearing Han Xiao's footsteps, they both opened their eyes and looked over. From their cold demeanor, I knew they were assassins.
One was tall and the other short, and they looked somewhat alike; they were the Venomous Bee Brothers that Chen Li had mentioned.
"Newcomer?" the tall man asked casually. "Code name, rank, abilities."
Han Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Black, Scorpion Grade, Sniping."
"What's a Scorpion Grade rookie doing here?" The tall man frowned, saying impatiently, "Go to the left fortress as a Sniping's second-in-command. You're responsible for taking care of any stragglers we let through. Can't you handle something as simple as that?"
"Okay." Han Xiao nodded.
The short man only glanced at him when he entered, then closed his eyes and continued resting, seemingly too lazy to talk to him; he appeared quite arrogant.
Within just over ten minutes of entering the manor, Han Xiao had already changed locations three times. Helpless, he headed to the left bunker, which was the area he was responsible for, essentially working as an assistant to the Venomous Bee Brothers.
There was already a man in the left bunker, a bearded assassin. He sized Han Xiao up and down, and after Han Xiao himself, he got straight to the point. "Scorpion Grade? You're in charge of the left, I'll take care of the right."
The left side had the narrowest field of vision and the lightest task, and the bearded man didn't trust his abilities, which was only natural. Han Xiao had no other thoughts; he just needed to be responsible for his own area.
[You have triggered a chain quest [Summons) ]]
[Mission Summary: "First, do not inquire about the identity of the target you are protecting; second, do not leave your post; third, do not allow the enemy to breach the manor; fourth, try to appear useful."]
[Note: This is a chain mission; please follow the instructions.]
[First mission: Defeat the first wave of enemies]
[First Round Reward: 20,000 Experience Points]
[Other mission failure scenarios: 1. Unauthorized entry into the villa area.]
[2. More than 120 minutes after leaving the manor.]
"A chain of quests? Interesting." Han Xiao's heart skipped a beat.
Chain quests, also known as loop quests, require completing one quest requirement to learn the next requirement. The difficulty and rewards increase with each loop, and completing all loops grants an additional reward. Generally, chain quests are quite tedious.
"Let's finish the first step and see what the rewards are like. If it's not good, we'll back off," Han Xiao thought to himself. He wasn't in a position to complete the task without expecting a high reward; it was only worth doing if the reward was substantial.
After spending a few hours wandering around the River Valley Manor, he figured out the personnel configuration: mercenaries with various heavy firepower and vehicles, some superhumans, mechanics to repair equipment, supply ammunition, and repair fortifications, and assassins who were high-end combatants.
I learned from casual conversation that this group of people had been guarding this place for more than ten days. Some of the more capable people had already shown their talents, such as the Venomous Bee Brothers, Chen Li, and others with other names and code names, such as Volcano and Moonlight.
As darkness fell, the leaves rustled in the night breeze through the woods, and the babbling brook created a tranquil atmosphere.
The sound of rapidly approaching engines shattered the tranquility.
"Buzzing--"
Han Xiao looked out through the Sniping slit of the bunker and saw beams of headlights appearing in the distant woods, rapidly approaching. The mercenaries in the manor began shouting and returned to their posts, ready for battle, their dense footsteps sounding like popping beans.
With a quick pull of the bolt, producing a smooth, crisp click, Han Xiao began to adjust his stance.
"The first wave has arrived."