Chapter 98: Mutual Destruction, Day Fifteen

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The deadly threat posed by Yu Jin’s level-three Fang Heavy Sniper forced Bei Lihui to shift his aim, causing him to miss the rare opportunity he had painstakingly created to finish off Zheng Tian.

He clenched his teeth in frustration.

Through the magnified image from his tactical goggles—now down to a single lens—he recognized the weapon in the young man’s hands: a Fang Heavy Sniper!

There was only one such rifle in the entire Spark Town, the very equipment Bei Lihui had consigned in the Spark Arms Market.

Judging by the pinpoint accuracy of the boy’s single airborne shot, Bei Lihui concluded that the opponent had been handling this weapon for more than a day or two.

Yet, no funds had been credited to his account.

Then it dawned on him.

He had been double-crossed by Ju Qingmeng.

She had exploited her managerial authority to withhold the payment!

Damn it!

Someone had freeloaded off his gun, aimed it right at his head, and was probably wearing his own level-three biochemical combat suit.

Bei Lihui’s anger escalated from gritted teeth to eyes blazing with fury.

Overwhelmed by rage, his mind momentarily faltered.

A volley of bullets tore through the dusty veil ahead, heading straight for his face.

It was Zheng Tian’s counterattack.

Though a gunsmith’s defenses could not compare to those of a mech warrior, the activated biochemical combat suit still provided substantial bullet resistance.

Zheng Tian’s level-two rapid-fire gun could only cause Bei Lihui pain unless the shots hit a vulnerable spot on his suit.

Moreover, Bei Lihui was wounded and his vision impaired, whereas Zheng Tian’s tactical goggles remained intact, receiving real-time ultrasonic scan modeling relayed by Ren Zhong over the command channel.

Zheng Tian was no fool.

Ren Zhong had created so many battlefield advantages that Zheng Tian, a level-two gunsmith, surprisingly managed to hold Bei Lihui to a standstill in an instant.

But Bei Lihui was still one of the strongest gunsmiths in Spark Town, with top-tier skills and equipment.

His level-four floating shield on his shoulder automatically detected the incoming bullets, activating itself to drift and block Zheng Tian’s barrage.

Otherwise, his face would have been riddled with holes.

Narrowly escaping death, Bei Lihui immediately changed tactics, leaping sideways as he slipped the Scorpion Heavy Sniper behind his back.

The automatic clasp on his back secured the sniper, its muzzle pointed downward.

At the same time, he swept his hands along his waist, already gripping two high-powered ray pistols.

He resolved to dive into the dust wall, closing the gap to Zheng Tian by speed, and eliminate this pesky flea at close range.

Based on Zheng Tian’s previous firing position and the dust vortex stirred by his rapid movement, Bei Lihui roughly estimated Zheng Tian’s location.

If he could get close enough, he was confident he could burn through Zheng Tian’s throat within half a second using his two ray pistols.

As for the boy threatening him with the Fang Heavy Sniper, Bei Lihui was unconcerned.

Their past had not escaped Yang Bingzhong’s surveillance.

Bei Lihui knew the boy’s name was Yu Jin, just a rookie gunsmith barely above level one.

Perhaps the boy could manage one forced shot with the level-three combat suit and the Fang Heavy Sniper.

But there could be no second shot!

No normal person could endure the immense strain of forcing a level-one body to use level-three combat gear twice.

Yet, after just a few steps forward, a sudden warning flashed in Bei Lihui’s mind.

He stopped without hesitation.

Half a meter ahead, the ground suddenly exploded.

Bei Lihui focused ahead.

The boy on the motorcycle had shifted position after landing.

He was slowly moving the Fang Heavy Sniper behind him, preparing to drive to the next shooting point.

His once crimson face was now blood red, with black spots quietly appearing—a sign of carbonization.

White smoke wafted from his body, faint electricity flickering around him.

His expression was grimacing, each movement seeming to cause tremendous pain.

But in his eyes flickered endless regret.

He had deliberately left a margin, but the opponent still caught the sign and evaded.

Bei Lihui glanced down at the pistols in his hands.

They were meant for mid-range combat.

Given the distance and the swirling dust, switching to attack the boy now was of little practical value.

Forget it; the fool had already fired two shots with the Fang Heavy Sniper.

Even if he ignored him, the boy was doomed.

He wouldn’t survive the burn.

Meanwhile, Zheng Tian switched ammunition again, firing a string of sparks.

Bei Lihui dodged once more and made his final decision—not to concern himself with the boy marked for death.

He activated his biochemical combat suit, sprinting forward to close in on Zheng Tian’s position.

When they were less than fifty meters apart, Bei Lihui sneered coldly and growled, “Got you now, little rat.”

Though his naked eyes were still obscured by dust, he had fully sensed the air currents and predicted Zheng Tian’s location.

He leveled both pistols, aiming at a thirty-three-degree angle to his right front.

His finger seemed welded to the trigger.

The long-barreled pistols unleashed two straight, high-energy beams burning into a nearby thicket.

But Bei Lihui heard no anticipated scream.

The bushes only trembled violently.

The next moment, Wen Lei, clad in a heavily modified level-two heavy exoskeleton, surged forward with the roar of a jet engine exhaust behind him, wielding a smoking giant shield that charged like a cannonball through the flames!

Zheng Tian leaned out from behind Wen Lei, firing a rapid succession of bullets from her machine gun.

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This time, she used organic corrosive rounds.

Though the bullets’ lethality was average, they severely damaged Bei Lihui’s already compromised biochemical suit.

Her concentrated fire did not target Bei Lihui directly but sealed off his three potential lateral escape routes!

Zheng Tian intended to force him to endure Wen Lei’s brutal charge.

Trapped, Bei Lihui was suddenly in a perilous situation.

He immediately retreated.

But then, that intense, snake-like sense of impending danger returned.

Bei Lihui glanced to the flank through the hazy smoke.

There, the boy who should have been incinerated by the level-three combat suit still stood firm.

The Fang Heavy Sniper was locked onto him again—targeting the rear escape path.

The boy’s body was ill-equipped to withstand the massive strain from activating the level-three suit.

Electric arcs crackled all over him, flames licking his form.

His organic tissue was fiercely burning like a victim touching a high-voltage power line.

Yet he gritted his teeth, his eyes not yet carbonized, still fixed on Bei Lihui’s back.

Bang!

The Fang Heavy Sniper’s barrel flashed fire!

At that instant, Bei Lihui was completely surrounded—his front, back, and middle locked down!

He let out a roar of frustration and gritted his teeth, shifting left.

Beep after beep sounded against his body.

In a moment, multiple corrosive rounds struck him.

The damage index on his suit surged, with two corrosive rounds penetrating existing wounds, striking deep into his body.

Wen Lei, charging forward, began spinning violently.

Then, the giant shield flew from his hands, spinning toward Bei Lihui’s waist.

Horrified, Bei Lihui finally triggered his last-resort survival gambit.

The Scorpion Heavy Sniper on his back fired autonomously, launching a massive thrust projectile while he activated the anti-gravity device on his belt.

With the combined thrust and anti-gravity, Bei Lihui soared upward, evading Wen Lei’s flying shield.

Roaring in pain, he reached behind, grasping the Scorpion Heavy Sniper.

Twisting midair, he loaded three level-four piercing rounds at blinding speed into the chamber.

Then, wielding the gun single-handedly, he fired repeatedly during the motion.

Bang! Bang!

Two shots cracked, and Bei Lihui’s airborne trajectory shifted in sharp angles.

Almost simultaneously, two piercing rounds struck Wen Lei’s helmet and Zheng Tian’s neck!

Killed!

He finally took down both of them!

Bei Lihui briefly glanced at the boy again.

The motorcycle stood silently.

The boy was now a blazing inferno, like a bonfire set alight.

That reckless youth had surely been fully consumed and was dead.

I have won.

Gravely wounded, Bei Lihui momentarily dazed, shut down the anti-gravity engine, and began drifting in a parabolic arc.

He felt a fleeting sense of survival.

At that moment, his whole body trembled.

He stared blankly at his chest.

There was a bowl-sized hole.

Bei Lihui looked up again.

The Fang Heavy Sniper had just slammed into the ground.

The boy was engulfed in flames, like a demon of hell.

This was Yu Jin’s desperate shot amid carbonization.

A shot born from the flames, eternal in fire!

This shot was the death of Bei Lihui.

Dying, Bei Lihui was stunned, unable to believe it.

Four shots!

How could anyone endure the agony of being burned alive, forcibly wield a level-three heavy sniper with a level-one body, fire four rounds, and all with such precision and ruthlessness?

You’re already charred to a crisp!

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

The boy, engulfed in flames, collapsed softly from his motorcycle.

Before his last shred of consciousness faded, Yu Jin felt no regret, no fear.

In his mind echoed the words Mr. Ren had spoken upon first hearing his name.

A faint smile crossed his carbonized face as flakes of charred skin fell away.

“I am Yu Jin,” Ren had said, “I am the thunder heard from silence, the ember left after fire consumes the ashes.”

Elsewhere, under the savage bombardment from Lin Wang, Ren Zhong laughed heartily at his endurance with a power output of 1000 kilowatts.

Even though Lin Wang was grievously wounded, their strength was no longer comparable.

Ren Zhong had survived to this point thanks to Ju Qingmeng’s intelligence on Lin Wang’s equipment.

“Bei Lihui is dead! Killed by Yu Jin! This is the boy you claimed had nothing to do with me! Now do you see what it means to play the good guy? Lin Wang! Now do you understand what a common man’s fury means, spilling blood within five steps?”

Provoked by Ren Zhong’s words, Lin Wang’s relentless assault faltered.

He instinctively shouted, “Impossible!”

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But the next moment, his captain’s command system reported Bei Lihui’s heartbeat had stopped.

This both enraged and terrified him.

“He was just a useless corpse—no loss. As long as I kill you…”

Lin Wang’s words trailed off as he collapsed headfirst to the ground.

Nearby, where Bei Lihui had fallen, Chen Hanyu lay prone, coughing up blood.

She tried to raise her right hand to pull the trigger again, but the severed limb wouldn’t obey.

She was neither a gunsmith nor trained in combat.

To guarantee this shot’s hit, she had to behave like a true sniper—prone, in perfect shooting posture, maximizing the Scorpion-191’s sighting capabilities.

Chen Hanyu, a level-four dissembler, fired this life-risking shot and struck Lin Wang’s helmet!

Earlier, Bei Lihui had loaded three level-four piercing rounds, one reserved for Yu Jin.

But he fired only twice, believing Yu Jin was dead!

Also, the Scorpion-191’s safety was off and unlocked—anyone could fire it.

Quietly observing the battlefield, Chen Hanyu seized the fleeting opening.

But the price she paid was immense.

The recoil was unbearable for her physique.

The Scorpion Heavy Sniper’s stock deeply embedded into her right shoulder, slicing through her body like a blunt blade.

Yet a smile appeared on her face.

Before closing her eyes, Chen Hanyu raised her left hand high, spitting blood and shouting, “Who doesn’t have a life? Kill Yang Bingzhong’s lackeys!”

Chen Hanyu, fallen.

Behind Ren Zhong, the medium engine burst into flame again, swinging the battered but still deadly cleaver—no longer emitting blue arcs but riddled with gaps—toward the staggering Lin Wang.

Chen Hanyu’s fatal shot had disoriented Lin Wang and briefly severed the data link in his helmet.

In that moment, his armor control lagged as if he were a beginner mech pilot donning enhanced training armor for the first time.

Still, he struggled to raise his silver short spear, preparing to block Ren Zhong’s strike.

At that moment, a Hunter mech suddenly appeared behind Ren Zhong.

Despite his lofty rank, Lin Wang, a wasteland survivor, still held a deep-rooted fear of Hunters.

His spirit faltered for an instant.

He was afraid.

Ren Zhong spun his body, the cleaver tracing an elegant arc, transforming from blade to sword, stabbing upward through the breach in Lin Wang’s helmet panel!

Death!

Almost simultaneously, an orange beam pierced through the back of Ren Zhong’s exoskeleton, then through his chest plate.

Ren Zhong was dead!

…

Ren Zhong slowly opened his eyes.

There was some turbulence, voices bustling nearby.

“Mr. Ren is amazing! Today we scored so much again, unbelievable!”

That was Zheng Tian’s voice.

“What Mr. Ren? Call me brother! No, call me grandpa!”

That was Ou Youning’s voice.

“Keep it down, don’t wake Mr. Ren.”

That was the voice of the recently deceased Chen Hanyu.

“Alright, remember that. Tonight, none of us will participate in the level-two qualification exam. Follow Mr. Ren’s orders.”

That was Zheng Tian again, now speaking softly.

Ren Zhong opened his eyes fiercely.

Two mountain peaks loomed before him.

His face was puzzled.

What’s going on?

Let me think.

This was the afternoon of the fifteenth day.

The squad had just finished daytime hunting and was returning to Spark Town.

He was resting his head on Chen Hanyu’s thigh, stealing a nap.

That morning, he had taken Chen Hanyu on her first morning training session.

The others in the squad would avoid the level-two qualification exam tonight, per his orders.

Tonight, Yu Jin would be reborn from the flames and join his night squad once more.

Tomorrow morning, I will clear out Lianshi Weiliang Liquor Industry.

I have been resurrected.

All as expected.

But why today?

Why now?

Why didn’t I return to the cryo chamber?

A flood of questions surged through Ren Zhong’s mind.

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