Bullets flying straight at him clanged against the mechanical arm, rapidly reducing its durability. A stray round struck Han Xiao's shoulder, taking 16 health points. He felt a slight pain but paid it little mind. His endurance was high and his muscles were tough, leaving the bullet lodged in his flesh, unable to penetrate any farther. A thin trickle of blood spread across his clothing.
The mechanical arm hammered a thug in the chest with a thud, caving it in and killing him beyond any doubt. Han Xiao grabbed another thug to use as a human shield. Only then did the four thugs behind Raccoon Cat finally get to their feet and open fire. Every bullet struck the shield, riddling the thug with holes.
Han Xiao heaved with his back muscles, unleashing enough force to snap the door's bolt lock. With a crack, the door spun away, sending screws clattering across the floor like tiny metal sprites bouncing about. Han Xiao turned and ran out.
"After him!"
Raccoon Cat roared. Footsteps sounded throughout the junkyard as dozens of thugs patrolling elsewhere heard the gunfire and rushed over.
Kro Junkyard was Raccoon Cat's stronghold, and enemies were everywhere, making every step difficult. Han Xiao encountered a group of thugs arriving as reinforcements and swiftly beat them to death at the cost of another 20 durability points from his powered arm, then seized a pistol.
With a means of attacking at range, Han Xiao immediately overcame his disadvantage in close combat. He held the pistol in his right hand, ready to fire at any moment, while the powered arm on his left supported the grip and helped him aim. He advanced in a crouch, using standard tactical movements that let him react quickly.
[Basic Shooting] and [Precision Shooting] improved his accuracy. In every encounter, Han Xiao needed no more than two shots to kill an enemy. His reactions were lightning-fast, and he always fired before the thugs did: one shot to the body to interrupt an attack, followed immediately by a slight lift of the muzzle and a shot to the head. Less than half a second separated the two shots, which were swift and precise, and not a single one missed. When surrounded by several enemies, Han Xiao rolled and dodged in fluid motions, frequently returning fire and killing them as he moved. Only his ammunition limited him. After killing each group of enemies, he searched their bodies for spare magazines, sustaining the fight through battle. Corpses littered his path, and the bloodstains were a shocking sight.
Raccoon Cat was horrified. One man had easily killed more than twenty of his underlings!
But there were simply too many thugs. They poured in from every direction, gradually surrounding Han Xiao and pinning him down with enough firepower that he could barely show himself.
Han Xiao hid behind the shell of an abandoned car. Dozens of muzzles flashed in the darkness, and the dense barrage of bullets striking his cover was so loud that he couldn't even hear himself panting. He could only return fire occasionally.
Good thing this is my turf. No matter how well he fights, he's only one man. Sooner or later, he'll be caught.
Raccoon Cat resolved that once he caught Han Xiao, he would make him regret being born into this world.
Just as he was thinking that, something unexpected happened.
Rat-a-tat-tat- A rapid burst of submachine-gun fire erupted like a violent storm, sweeping into the battlefield from the side with a murderous force. It mowed down a large swath of thugs like wheat, and screams rose one after another.
The Stinging Bee Squad charged onto the battlefield under cover of darkness, each member carrying a submachine gun. They ran and dodged, advancing and retreating with control. Their agile movements showed their extensive battlefield experience. Raccoon Cat's men were shot into a panicked rout before they could mount a single decent counterattack.
"Where the hell did these mercenaries come from?!"
Raccoon Cat went pale with shock, thinking the mercenaries had come to kill him. Perhaps they coveted his territory, or perhaps they were after him over a grudge...
While his thoughts ran wild, what happened next left him completely dumbfounded. The mercenaries, who had arrived with such ferocity, suddenly turned and attacked Han Xiao on the other side, without so much as a glance at him.
These mercenaries, who killed without batting an eye, were actually after Han Xiao?!
Raccoon Cat's eyes went as wide as saucers.
People who operated in the gray areas understood one thing: a person's standing could be judged by the enemies he made. These mercenaries were willing to risk making a move in West Capital, so their backer's payment was surely commensurate with the risk. Judging by that, Han Xiao was definitely no ordinary person!
Raccoon Cat remembered what Han Xiao had said.
"You can try turning on a computer, going on the dark web, and looking for the latest bounty."
Could Han Xiao have been telling the truth?
Just who was he?!
"The sound of submachine guns."
Han Xiao's ears twitched. His mission targets had finally appeared. Using their muzzle flashes, he determined the Stinging Bee Squad's position.
"Three hundred meters west, six people, six submachine guns." Han Xiao calculated rapidly. The enemy's firepower was fierce; he would definitely be at a disadvantage if he confronted them head-on.
Good thing I planned ahead and brought the First-Generation Ranger, Han Xiao thought with relief. He pulled a remote controller with a screen from his pocket. This was the First-Generation Ranger Remote Controller he had made himself. The First-Generation Ranger's chip was a common model he had bought on the market. It was foolproof to operate, and he had only needed to enter a simple program to make the controller.
He switched on the power, and a jumble of static crackled for two seconds. The imaging devices in the robot's eyes connected to the controller, displaying everything they saw on its screen. At the moment, the screen showed an "out of remote control range" warning. The fight just now had taken Han Xiao outside its fifty-meter operating radius.
Han Xiao immediately got up and ran back the way he had come under cover of darkness. The Stinging Bee Squad's submachine guns swept toward him at once.
He moved erratically, using the obstacles and large pieces of junk scattered throughout the yard as cover as he darted through the hail of bullets.
"Damn it, there's too much cover here!" the Stinging Bee Squad's long-haired man cursed, deftly changing magazines. "He's running faster than a rabbit."
The Stinging Bee Squad had originally planned to assassinate Han Xiao, but Han Xiao had started fighting Raccoon Cat first. On second thought, they realized they might be able to use the gang shootout to conceal their objective, so they boldly made their move.
"He's already running for his life. Hurry up and catch him!"
Kaili shouted.
After the squad's sweep, Raccoon Cat's men had lost all morale and were scurrying away with their heads covered. With no one hindering them and Han Xiao fleeing in disarray, the Stinging Bee Squad grew fearless and more aggressive.
Han Xiao ducked as he sprinted. A stray bullet severed a strand of his hair, which fluttered in the rush of air left by his running. He dropped into a slide, passed two car-shell obstacles, and hid behind cover.
The rest station was not far away. The controller in his hand finally showed that he was back in operating range, and the screen connected successfully.
"Activate!"
Inside the rest station, which was in complete disarray, the dust cover over the handcart suddenly stirred, and two red lights came on!
The Ranger's eyes!
The engine hummed to life, and the treads began to turn. Han Xiao piloted the First-Generation Ranger out of the rest station.
The Stinging Bee Squad was not far from him now. The First-Generation Ranger's armor might not withstand concentrated fire from six submachine guns, making a head-on confrontation too risky. His advantage lay in surprise: no one would guess he had a robot as backup. A sneak attack was the best choice.
Han Xiao looked around, and his eyes lit up when he found a suitable ambush site.
Nearby, two car shells formed an angle, creating a blind spot right along the Stinging Bee Squad's only route. Han Xiao maneuvered the First-Generation Ranger into the angle, then held his breath and waited for the perfect moment.
The junkyard was noisy, and the gunfire never let up. The First-Generation Ranger's engine was drowned out and attracted almost no attention. Only Kaili sensed that something was wrong. It was an instinct he had developed from repeatedly walking the line between life and death. He paused and said, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"What did you notice?" the long-haired man asked.
"That's the problem. I didn't notice anything."
"Nothing's going to go wrong. The target's already been driven into a dead end. He's as good as dead."
The long-haired man planted a huge flag, and the moment he finished speaking, the Stinging Bee Squad stepped into the First-Generation Ranger's firing range.
At the same time, Han Xiao's eyes shone as he gently pressed the fire button.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-
The First-Generation Ranger's finger barrels spewed thick fire and smoke, unleashing a torrent of steel!
The approaching shadow of death froze the expressions of every member of the Stinging Bee Squad.
〔Your mechanical creation [First-Generation Ranger (Tracked)] killed a mercenary. You gained 800 experience.〕X3