Omniscient Vision

Morning mist hung over the abandoned road like a thin veil as Lu Chen carefully led Xiaobai through the dense undergrowth.

The air was filled with the scent of damp earth and a barely perceptible trace of decay, the smell of death unique to the apocalypse.

"Whoosh-"

Suddenly, a sharp sound tore through the morning stillness!

A bullet skimmed past Lu Chen's ear and slammed into the trunk of a tree as thick as a bowl.

With a muffled bang, the bark burst apart, leaving a scorched bullet hole.

Lu Chen's face darkened instantly. He shoved Xiaobai to the ground and quickly crouched down himself, his gaze sharp as a hawk's.

"Stay down. Don't move." He lowered his voice, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of tension.

This was no ordinary stray bullet, but a precisely calculated sniper attack!

His opponent's marksmanship was exceptionally precise. If he hadn't reacted fast enough, he would probably be lying in a pool of blood by now.

Lu Chen took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He quickly summoned the energy within him and silently activated his [Infinite Replication] talent.

Everything around him grew clearer. The rustling of grass in the wind, particles in the air, even the sounds of insects crawling beneath the ground all reached his ears distinctly.

Interesting. Going straight for the kill, Lu Chen sneered inwardly.

He wasn't so easily frightened. They wanted to snipe him?

They'd have to prove they had the ability!

Without giving anything away, he sensed his surroundings, trying to find the sniper's hiding place.

The terrain in this area was complex and overgrown with bushes, making it an excellent place to hide.

Finding a hidden sniper in the vast woods was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Then let me spice things up for you! With a thought, Lu Chen quickly copied the C-rank [Heat Source Camouflage] talent of a patrol soldier he had killed earlier.

"Ding! Replication successful. [Heat Source Camouflage] has been elevated to SSS-rank [Absolute Zero]!"

As the system notification sounded, a thin layer of frost instantly covered Lu Chen's body.

His previously scorching body temperature dropped rapidly until he almost blended into the surrounding environment.

Under a thermal imager, he was like a cold stone, showing no signs of life.

Not only that, Lu Chen also unleashed [Extreme Speed Storm], controlling the surrounding airflow to create tiny disturbances in the air.

Though these disturbances were slight, they were enough to reveal a target's location to an experienced sniper.

In the distance, a dense bush on a small hill swayed slightly.

Lu Chen's eyes instantly locked onto the spot, and a cold smile curved his lips.

"Found you!"

Having confirmed the enemy's position, Lu Chen didn't rush to attack.

He knew that hiding and waiting were what snipers did best.

Once he revealed his intentions, his opponent could very well seize the chance to kill him in a single shot.

You want to play dirty? Let's see who's dirtier! With a thought, Lu Chen activated [Infinite Replication] again.

Using [Beast Speed Instinct], he silently circled around to the flank while copying a scout's D-rank [Full-Area Scan] talent.

"Ding! Replication successful. [Full-Area Scan] has been elevated to SSS-rank [Absolute Perception]!"

In an instant, a powerful surge of mental energy poured out from between Lu Chen's brows, covering every area within a three-kilometer radius.

A clear three-dimensional map slowly unfolded in his mind, leaving no life fluctuations hidden from view.

He saw two concealed targets lying in wait in the bushes on the hill.

One held a sniper rifle, while the other was responsible for observation and keeping watch.

Judging by their builds and movements, they were probably professionally trained snipers.

"Interesting. Looks like I've met my match this time." Lu Chen loved challenging the strong more than anything. Only through constant fighting could he grow stronger.

Through [Absolute Perception], Lu Chen clearly "saw" the man with the sniper rifle using his scope to keep Lu Chen's previous position firmly in his sights.

His breathing was steady, and his finger rested lightly on the trigger, ready to deliver a lethal shot at any moment.

The woman keeping watch held binoculars and vigilantly observed everything around them.

Her eyes were sharp, and her movements were agile. She was clearly an experienced fighter as well.

"One-Eyed Snake" and "Sand Fox." Lu Chen quickly searched his mind for those two names.

Soon, he found the relevant information.

"So it's them! No wonder they're so hard to deal with." The corners of Lu Chen's mouth lifted slightly.

One-Eyed Snake had once been the ace sniper of a border special forces unit, known for his composure, precision, and ruthlessness.

In countless battles, he had successfully sniped important enemy targets, becoming someone whose very name struck fear into his enemies.

Sand Fox was his partner, skilled in disguise and concealment.

She was proficient in camouflage techniques for all kinds of terrain, able to blend perfectly into her surroundings and make herself difficult to detect.

The two worked seamlessly together and were a golden partnership on the battlefield.

They had joined forces to complete many impossible missions and were the most trusted fighters in the military's eyes.

"Since we're old acquaintances, let's have some fun." Lu Chen decided to test their strength first before deciding on his next move.

He deliberately exposed himself, slowly rising to his feet and walking toward the road.

"Bang!"

Almost the instant he stood up, a gunshot rang out across the sky.

A bullet carrying the aura of death whistled toward him, heading straight for the space between his brows.

Lu Chen had been prepared. The moment the gun fired, he activated [Extreme Speed Storm].

His figure instantly blurred, almost becoming an afterimage as he narrowly dodged the lethal shot.

The bullet struck the ground behind him, kicking up a cloud of dust.

That was close! Lu Chen secretly felt relieved.

If he hadn't reacted fast enough, he would probably be a corpse by now.

"Looks like these two are even harder to deal with than I imagined." Lu Chen's gaze grew more serious.

He knew the battle ahead would be even tougher.

"Since you want to play, I'll play with you!" With a thought, Lu Chen activated [Infinite Replication] again.

He copied the D-rank [Combustion] talent of a patch of dry grass nearby.

"Ding! Replication successful. [Combustion] has been elevated to SSS-rank [Flame Manipulation]!"

Lu Chen took a deep breath and channeled the energy within him into the dagger in his hand.

In an instant, fierce flames engulfed the dagger's surface, radiating scorching heat.

He hurled the dagger into a patch of dry grass in the distance.

"Boom!"

With a tremendous crash, the dry grass instantly caught fire, turning into a sea of flames.

Thick smoke billowed upward, blotting out the sky and engulfing the entire hill.

"The show begins..." Lu Chen said quietly, a playful smile curling his lips.

The thick smoke spread rapidly, obscuring the sniper's view.

Lu Chen knew this was his best chance.

Like an arrow loosed from a bow, Lu Chen raced toward the hill at astonishing speed.

He intended to use the smoke as cover and catch them off guard.

Meanwhile, One-Eyed Snake and Sand Fox realized that something was wrong.

"Damn it, it's a trap!" One-Eyed Snake cursed viciously, hurriedly putting away his sniper rifle and preparing to retreat.

Sand Fox sprang into action as well. She pulled a camouflage net from her backpack, trying to hide herself and One-Eyed Snake.

Just then, however, a dark figure suddenly burst out of the smoke, moving as fast as a ghost.

"Watch out!" Sand Fox cried, hurriedly raising her dagger to meet the attack.

But it was already too late.

The dark figure appeared before her in an instant. The dagger in his hand flashed coldly as it slashed through the camouflage net's ropes...

The smoke was like fog on a battlefield, the best possible cover.

Lu Chen moved so fast he was a blur, tearing through the air like a bolt of black lightning.

"Snap!"

The camouflage net's ropes snapped. Before Sand Fox could even scream, she lost her balance and tumbled awkwardly down the hill like a kite with a broken string.

Lu Chen appeared before her like a ghost, a trace of cat-and-mouse mockery on his face. "Tsk, tsk, nice moves. Too bad the information gap is a fatal weakness. Remember this: in my game, whoever controls the information is the real hunter, not bugs like you who hide in the dark." He paused, then continued in an intensely oppressive voice, "Go back and tell your master to wash his neck and wait. The game has only just begun."

With that, he didn't even look at Sand Fox. He merely leaped lightly and vanished into the smoke again, as though he had never appeared at all.

The next second, a crisp shattering sound was especially piercing in the silent air.

The sniper scope lens One-Eyed Snake relied on for survival was instantly ground to powder beneath Lu Chen's iron heel.

Before he could even react, a cold muzzle was already pressed firmly against his forehead.

"You... deserve to die..." Lu Chen's voice was icy and devoid of emotion, like judgment from hell.

One-Eyed Snake's pupils contracted sharply as an aura of death instantly enveloped his entire body.

He could clearly feel that what pressed against his forehead was not a cold gun barrel, but the Grim Reaper's scythe.

"Don't... don't kill me..." He swallowed with difficulty, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

The only response he received was Lu Chen's icy gaze.

Sand Fox struggled to get up, only to find a foot planted on her wrist...