Chapter 17: Kill
“Ugh… cough…”
Han Xiao suddenly heard another person making feeble noises. He followed the sound and found Hu Fei, who was riddled with 5 or 6 bullet holes. He was on the brink of death.
When he saw the handgun clutched in Hu Fei’s hand, Han Xiao understood exactly what had transpired. Mixed emotions filled him.
“I told you the gun was dangerous… but you didn’t listen…”
Hu Fei clutched onto Han Xiao’s pants with a shaking hand. The sight of him crying was heartbreaking.
“I shouldn’t have been so greedy! I— I regret it so much… I was wrong… I was wrong…”
Hu Fei weakly lifted a finger to point at Kai Luo.
“Don’t believe him… he betrayed my uncle…”
Hu Fei spurted out a big mouthful of blood.
“I will help you end your misery,” said Han Xiao, shaking his head.
Crack!
“Don’t listen to h-”
Before Kai Luo could finish his sentence, Han Xiao fired a shot. A hole appeared in his head.
Kai Luo’s body collapsed to its knees.
“Everyone is dead. You should join them, too.”
Han Xiao closed his eyes tightly.
Although Han Xiao’s killing intent was skyrocketing, it was being restrained by his logic, much like a caged tiger. The cooler he appeared, the hotter he would erupt.
Han Xiao walked over to Hu Xuan Jun’s body. His finger was still outstretched, pointing towards some car trails.
The exact opposite of where he had headed to!
Hu Xuan Jun had not sold him out.
Han Xiao’s heart ached.
Even until the end, Hu Xuan Jun had looked out for him, an outsider.
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You have activated a Class-E Quest
[Revenge]
Quest Hint: Eliminate the Test Subject Squad
Quest Reward: 15,000 Experience
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Han Xiao left the couple’s side and walked into the tent to retrieve Hu Xuan Jun’s prized bayonet musket. For a second, it seemed to glow and call out to Han Xiao.
“You want to avenge your partner, right?”
Han Xiao took all the guns in his bag and lay them beside the bayonet musket. He began to dismantle them and use their parts to remodel the bayonet musket.
Han Xiao’s Basic Assembly and Basic Enhancement were both Lv. 10. Although the names of these two abilities were very simple, they were indispensable abilities of a mechanic.
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Bayonet Rifle (Modified)
Grade: Average
Base Stats:
Damage: 66-69
Fire Rate: 1.1/s
Magazine Capacity: 10
Effective Range: 450
Power Output: 37
Bonus Stats: +2 Dexterity
Length: 0.86m
Weight: 8.3kg
Additional Effect: Accurate – Wind effects reduced.
Additional Effect: Piercing – Modified to use large-caliber ammo for higher penetration.
Description: It hungers for vengeance.
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Han Xiao counted his sniper bullets. There were 25, all looted from Silver Blade.
As there seemed to have only been two cars, there was probably not more than twelve enemies.
Han Xiao began to give chase into the forest.
He knew that it would be impossible to catch up with a car, but that was not Han Xiao’s intention at all.
There was a high chance that they would realize they had been lied to and head back. Hence, Han Xiao planned to ambush them when they inevitably retraced their steps.
Although if Han Xiao fled in the opposite direction he would be able to shake them off once and for all, an inner voice told him that he would regret it.
The quest itself was irrelevant. This was personal.
“Germinal!” spat Han Xiao hatefully.
…
The forest was pitch black at night, making it hard to even see one’s fingers. Wolves howled in the distance.
Han Xiao had been lying in wait for almost three hours.
Suddenly, the sound of engines approached. Han Xiao’s face twitched. Four headlights appeared in the distance.
“Finally…” mumbled Han Xiao calmly.
He put on one of the Night Owl Squad’s night vision goggles and spotted the outline of two cars.
He then cocked the rifle and held his breath to aim.
After eight seconds, he pulled the trigger.
In an instant, the sniper bullet travelled across hundreds of meters to strike a tyre on the front car, causing it to explode.
The car crashed into a tree.
“Do you even know how to drive‽” cursed a dazed No. 1.
“Leader, the tire exploded.”
“How can a low-pressure tyre explode‽”
One of the squad members knelt down to investigate the tyre.
“There’s a bullet lodged in here!” he suddenly exclaimed.
“Ambush!”
Suddenly, the agent closest to No. 1 was blown up in the head by a sniper bullet. His blood splattered all over No. 1.
“Get down!” he yelled.
The agents hurriedly dropped to the ground. A suffocating silence ensued. They were all terrified. Only No. 1 was able to contain his nerves and he immediately called for reinforcements.
The Test Subject Squad was pinned. None of them dared to move.
“Who is ambushing us?”
“No idea!”
“It’s so dark here. He must have night-vision goggles!”
“What do we do now?”
“Just lie in wait I think… until reinforcements arrive.”
No. 1 suddenly exploded. “Are you stupid‽ Won’t he escape then? The enemy is one, why are we so afraid of him? What will the Organization think of us?”
The faces of his teammates instantly changed.
“It’s just one enemy! We have cars, guns, and the advantage in numbers. How can we lose?” No. 1 added.
“Right…! We need to counterattack!”
“Ascertain the sniper’s position!”
One squad member plucked up the courage to reveal himself, hoping to bait the sniper into revealing his location. However, the sniper was faster than he could imagine. He was instantly shot. The force of the impact alone caused his body to fly back several metres.
No. 1 felt a chill run down his spine. Who is this godlike sniper‽
The agent’s death had not been in vain. One squad member was able to catch the muzzle flash of Han Xiao’s rifle.
“I’ve found him! 300 meters south!”
“Get in the car!”
Han Xiao could see them get up and run towards the other vehicle. He instantly understood their plan.
There were seven enemies displayed on the thermal imaging. They seemed to be betting on the slow firing rate of a sniper, and were willing to sacrifice one or two to get to the vehicle.
Han Xiao decided not to rush. He calmly fired two more shots to kill two more of them before the rest hopped onto the vehicle. The vehicle’s engine roared as it charged towards him.
All of a sudden, Han Xiao’s situation seemed to turn for the worse. However, he still appeared calm.
The best tactic, he mused, is also the most predictable one.
