For review

by Little Merger

intro chaps

6. Fatal Shot 1- 32

As an international mercenary, Feng Luo entered a technologically advanced parallel world during a mission.

After living several years in the new world, an online sci-fi game called War became popular across the entire Star Federation.

Desert Eagles, Barrett, AK-47, Apache, RPG… One after another, familiar gears awakened his memories of the past!

Terminator, Zerg, Resident Evil, the Force,… The missions that appeared after a system update made him even more suspicious and shocked! As such, Feng Luo entered War and became a sniper.

---

Read Fatal Shot - Chapter 1 - One-Hit Headshot online free - Novelfull

East of Silvermoon City

Crimson Moon Gobi Desert

Coordinates: 1990, 0813

The vast, valley-like terrain was surrounded by steep slopes five to six meters high. In the middle was an expanse covered in sand and clouds of dust: the Gobi Desert.

The sun blazed in the cloudless sky, scorching the exposed earth and raising the temperature of the desert's surface, which seemed to be devoid of plants and vegetation, to 45 degrees Celsius. In this kind of weather, no ordinary man would dare to leave home, as he could never endure such frighteningly high temperatures. Even at this time of day, however, a group of people sat in three black-hooded SUVs, wearing severe expressions, driving around and "hunting" in the middle of the valley.

Members of the group wore heavy alloy armor, held flashing energy longswords, or wore elemental robes with mysterious symbols sewn on them. Some wore military helmets with camouflage combat uniforms and grasped oddly shaped assault rifles in their hands.

They all had one common identity—players of the virtual reality game, War!

The Elite-Grade Crimson Moon Bloodwolf variant—with silverish fur and bloodthirsty, crimson pupils, at a high level of 52—was surrounded by three energy SUVs. The beast's AI was anything but low, and it had an irritable temperament. Each time it tried to escape, it would succeed in pushing away the three Heavy Armor Warriors holding alloy shields blocking the way beside it. Its sharp, wolf-like claws left deep dents in their alloy shields.

Every time it beat back the shields, however, it would be blocked by the Level-30 skill "Earth Wall" used by the team's earth energy Manipulator, or it would be pushed back by a rain of bullets fired by the machine gunners wielding six-barrelled "Metal Storm" heavy machine guns. The beast would subsequently be surrounded once again by the Heavy Armor Warriors who rushed forward in the meantime.

After failing to escape several times, the Crimson Moon Bloodwolf revealed a hint of savagery in its bloodthirsty eyes—the look of a beast forced into desperation. However, the moment it revealed its ferocity, one of its eyes was accurately struck by a bullet. It blew up with a loud pang as blood flew into the air. Overtop of its head, a yellow-colored damage indicator number flashed by.

Pang!

1935!

The damage number's yellow color indicated that this hit had delivered a special effect known as a "weak point attack." Moreover, the shot left a frightening, bloody hole in the face of the Crimson Moon Bloodwolf. It was a chaotic mess of flesh and blood, and half of its head had already caved in. It was well known that, within the Gunman profession, only a Sniper could deal such destructive power.

"F*ck!" said a middle-aged man on one of the SUVs. He held a flaming staff with a magnificent dark red energy robe, and he was surrounded by several Heavy Armor Warriors. He turned to look at a yellow-haired youngster with a sniper rifle in his hands. "Long, that shot was really accurate! Let's see if this bastard still dares to stare at us!" Then he let loose a burst of insane, satisfied laughter.

The youngster with a head full of yellow-dyed hair wore combat uniform and sat on top of the vehicle with a black AW sniper rifle in front of him. He stared blankly for a moment before shaking his head and replying, "Boss, that wasn't me. My shot just now missed."

The middle-aged man known as the boss also looked confused. "If not you, then was it Huo?"

The boss turned around and looked at the top of the energy SUV on his right, at another player. This player was short and similarly held a sniper rifle in his hands. Among the 20 of them, only two were trained as Snipers. After all, the Sniper class was somewhat useless in the early stages. Specialized armor-piercing bullets were expensive, and they could only deal single-target damage. As a result, not many people chose the Sniper class.

"I didn't shoot!" the Sniper named Huo answered through the party channel, shaking his head.

"F*ck! Someone is kill-stealing!"

By then, everyone knew what was going on. Since none of them had fired the shot, it was certain that it had come from someone else.

In War, a game with hundreds of millions of players, things like kill-stealing happened almost every second. The problem was, the members of this group were usually the ones stealing the kills of someone else. This time, however, someone had actually dared to use their own trick against them.

This was simply unforgivable! Someone had actually dared to challenge the marshal? These damned people were brazen!

Pang!

2367!

Out of nowhere came another 7.62mm armor-piercing bullet, once again accurately hitting the head of the Crimson Moon Bloodwolf. A second row of weak-point damage numbers flashed by. The HP of the Crimson Moon Bloodwolf had been lowered to a critical level. It would likely be a goner after just a few more hits.

"F*ck! Hurry up and find that guy!"

"Don't be hasty! Let's kill the monster first!"

"The monster is going to get away! Warriors, block them!"

Due to the sudden emergence of the Sniper, the group in the valley was suddenly in disarray. Some grabbed their binoculars and looked around, hoping to find the location of the Sniper. Some, on the other hand, panicked and used their offensive skills against the Crimson Moon Bloodwolf, whose HP was almost depleted. Some low-HP players even frantically jumped off the SUVs, fearing they would become targets for the Sniper.

Amidst the chaos, on SUV in the middle, the middle-aged man wearing the magnificent magician robe's—previously well protected by several warriors—was left exposed. Over his head, a row of dark-red characters floated.

ID: Wielder of the End of the World, Level 44 Fire Manipulator (Wanted for Execution)

The report of a gunshot was followed by the familiar sound of a bullet hitting flesh.

Pang!

Splat!

3623!

The damage indicator numbers flashed in red. A critical hit! However, the recipient of the attack was not the nearly dead Elite Crimson Moon Bloodwolf. Unexpectedly, the temple of the middle-aged man spewed forth a gush of fresh blood. Then, with a boom, his head exploded like a watermelon. A white light, signifying death, was emitted from his body, and after that, a huge load of equipment—shining crystals, blood tonics, and other items—burst out gorgeously.

For a low-HP energy Manipulator, in a shieldless situation, the critical damage received from being hit by a sniper rifle was enough to result in a one-hit headshot kill.

As for why the huge amount of items had burst forth upon death, it was due to the player's dark-red name and his state of being wanted. This was a situation that would occur in War only after a player's malicious player kill (PK) amount surpassed ten, and the player made it into the system's wanted list.

"F*ck! The boss died!"

"Damn it, it's a bounty hunter!"

"Hurry up and find him!"

The group of players was flustered and exasperated. They now knew that someone had accepted the "red name wanted mission" of killing their boss, whom they had surrounded specifically to protect while hunting monsters and gaining levels. They would never have thought that someone could still target him in a large squad, in this kind of situation, and take out their boss!

It was simply shameful! It was a damned Sniper!

This was why some people still trained in the profession regarded as most useless in the game of War. It was because this profession had a frightening long-range ability to kill. In the hands of an expert, it could have devastating and horrifying effects!

The group was still shouting and scrambling about in the Gobi Desert while on a slope around 800 meters away, a young man with clear eyes, wearing a yellow camouflage suit, slowly removed the camouflage net from his body. The net bore colors that were similar to his surroundings.

He half-crouched with one knee on the ground and disassembled the over-one-meter-long M110 sniper rifle in his hands with great familiarity before quickly putting it into a long, rectangular case. After that, he clicked on the personal computer on his wrist. A white flash passed by, and a metal motocross bike with a bit of science fiction flare, loaded with four silver streamlined heat pipes, appeared in the empty space in front of him.

[SCV-Type One Energy Motorcycle]

Retail Price: 180,000 Credits

Passenger Capacity: Two

Maximum Speed: 300 km/hour

Nickname: Land Bullet

"There!"

The white light produced by summoning the transport attracted the attention of a player with the scout profession in the faraway group, who was looking around with his binoculars.

After that, three energy SUVs filled with angry players roared toward the Sniper's location. They no longer even cared about the Level-52 Elite-Grade Crimson Moon Bloodwolf running away behind them.

The team's two Sniper players even started firing from their sniper rifles while standing on top of the SUV with the hard hood open. However, the effective range of their sniper rifles was 800 meters, so even if their bullets were to reach their mark, it would produce very little damage, as the distance exceeded their attack range. Moreover, with the skills of average players, shooting while standing atop a turbulent SUV traveling through the Gobi Desert. Even a blind squirrel found a nut once in a while, but how could they hope to hit someone?

"F*ck, drive a bit more stable, will ya? How do you expect me to hit anything with all this shaking?"

"Drive faster, man! The guy is gonna get away!"

"We have to avenge our boss!"

The group continued arguing and complaining about each other. By the time the vehicles found a location where they could put the pedal to the metal and rush up the steep slope, a huge booming sound that no one would have expected erupted from the ground in front of them. A shockwave of hot air burst outward, sending yellow sand flying several meters into the air and covering the whole group with sand and dust. But the biggest problem was that this shockwave flipped over the forward SUV, sending it toppling backward to crush the other two vehicles behind it.

As for the SCV-Type One Energy Motorcycle, known to players as the "Land Bullet," it had already long departed from the Snipers' field of vision, leaving a trail of sand and dust in its wake.

"Sh*t. There was even a damned time bomb buried here!"

"How did he know we would go through here?"

"Idiot! This is the only place where SUVs can get up there. That bastard must have planned this long ago!"

Devices referred to as bombs could not deal as much damage as weapons personally wielded by players, as their power was limited in the game, but when used in the right situations, they always produced miraculous effects.

Reasonable use of various equipment and items—and the nearly 100 percent realistic environmental factors—were the most appealing charms of the technologically advanced online game, War.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 2: S-Grade Talent

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Player Feng Zhi Luoye has successfully completed an E-Rank hunting mission, obtaining 15,830 experience and 800 credits. Return mission deposit of 1,000 credits. Congratulations. Your hunter level has increased, and you have obtained authorization to accept D-Rank hunting missions!"

Silvermoon City spanned over 100,000 square meters. Inside the Hunters Guild, which was over 100 stories tall, Feng Luo handed over his hunter card to the beautiful NPC that checked and accepted missions.

"Congratulations," said the female voice in the system. "Your level has been increased to Level 39!"

With a flash of white light, Feng Luo's level finally reached 39, which meant he was hot on the tail of the mainstream players.

In War, increasing one's level was not easy. The game's server had started half a year ago, but until now, according to the rumors, the highest-level player was only at Level 49, with no one even reaching the level cap of 50 for the current version. Normally, any player above Level 40 would be counted among the mainstream players—especially for the Sniper profession, which did not have any crowd damage abilities and hence, leveled slowly.

Of course, the main reason Feng Luo's level was so far behind the rest was that prior to now, he had focused on other matters. It was only during the past month that he had begun to put all his energy into leveling.

As for methods of leveling, it would have been very unwise for a Sniper to hunt monsters, like other professions. That was because even the most common armor-piercing bullets cost three credits per round, and other special bullets with attack bonuses were even pricier. The expenditures from killing monsters were something that normal players could not afford. Moreover, for a profession that only possessed single-unit attack abilities, the Sniper's leveling efficiency could not be compared to the Manipulators, Machine Gunners, and other professions with crowd controlling or crowd damage skills. As such, Feng Luo had chosen to join the Hunters Guild to complete wanted missions from the system.

For this sort of hunting mission, every time he killed a red-name player on the wanted list, he would be able to obtain the 20 percent experience dropped by his target. And for the low-level Feng Luo, this would increase his experience by around 40 percent. In one short month, he had already gained seven levels and 60 percent experience by completing wanted missions—a leveling speed that was considered lightning fast.

It might even be said that these sorts of wanted missions had been specially created for Snipers. That was because only Snipers like Feng Luo were able to take players' heads from 1,000 meters away, scoring a fatal headshot on a target with just one shot!

And then, before the target's teammates could react, Feng Luo would escape with ease.

Wind Mark Gun Shop was located South of Silvermoon City. It was a small-scale player shop that covered an area of just over 40 square meters. The shop mainly sold guns and ammunition, and due to its diminutive size, the majority of the 500,000 players in Silvermoon City had never visited this tiny shop. As a result, the business had always been so-so.

The moment Feng Luo entered the shop, two beautiful female NPC shop assistants with near-perfect body and face ratios, clothed in Western cowboy attire, immediately bowed to him and said with sweet voices, "Boss!"

It was true; this gun shop was Feng Luo's asset in War, and this was what he had been busy with throughout the past six months since starting the game.

War was a science-fiction online game that was highly realistic, so players did not have to limit themselves to battles and hunting monsters. In this game, players could do many things. They could open and manage a business, explore ancient ruins, conduct science and research development, start a company, establish a corporation, construct a floating city… Official data even revealed that in the future, they would open up maps in space, allowing players to carry out extraterrestrial immigration.

The potential of the game was undeniably huge. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so popular. It occupied 80 percent of the entire market share of virtual reality games, and it had a staggering number of users.

"Where is Old John?" asked Feng Luo, looking around in the shop.

The two beautiful assistants were mid-rank sales NPCs he employed using credits. Their intelligence levels were decent, and apart from being able to sell items and serving as eye candy, they served fine for simple exchanges. As for Old John, he was an NPC employee of the shop. To be accurate, he was a Caucasian bum of an NPC who was a Gun Mechanic. Mechanics were a type of "Life Profession" within the game whose main abilities were to create, repair, modify, and maintain all kinds of guns and accessories.

"Master John went to the bar!"

In War, the intelligence level of mid-high-rank NPCs was very high. In fact, they were not all that inferior to human beings, and moreover, they had their own hobbies, traits, and ways of life. Old John was a Gun Mechanic Feng Luo had saved during one of his previous missions. After that, Old John had just stayed with him and was reluctant to leave. He loved drinking large quantities of vodka, but he always got drunk after just a sip. As a result, the total amount of time in the day in which he was sober did not exceed two hours. When he was sober, he would make some items and create a few guns for sale, but his creations were never anything but very common items; there was not a lot of profit even when they sold. They were just enough to cover the costs of his food and drinking. Sometimes, Feng Luo even had to lose a bit of money to cover for him.

In spite of this, Feng Luo had no intentions of chasing him away because he surmised that there was a hidden quest concealed somewhere within Old John. He just hadn't yet discovered the method to trigger it.

Hidden quests were something that one could only dream of. They could not be found by intentionally looking for them!

Feng Luo entered the gun shop. The interior was several times larger than the storefront outside, and it was decorated with all kinds of mechanical workshop areas. From his spacial backpack, he took out the case containing the disassembled M110.

Feng Luo opened the case with great familiarity. With an oily rag and maintenance tools in his hands, he wiped and cleaned every single part of the M110 in detail.

Most equipment in War required maintenance, especially equipment with exceptionally high-performance requirements like sniper rifles. These needed daily maintenance. Otherwise, their attributes would deteriorate. The M110 in Feng Luo hands, in particular, was his pride and joy. Naturally, he needed to be serious about its maintenance.

Feng Luo trained in two Life Professions: "Gun Manufacturer" and "Ammunition Manufacturer." A portion of the goods sold in the gun shop was manufactured by him.

In War, Life Professions were no less important than Combat Professions. That was because all equipment and support items—such as guns, medicines, defense equipment, and even military vehicles like tanks, armored helicopters, submarines, missiles, etc.—could all be manufactured through Life Professions. As such, Life Profession players could arguably wield more influence on the game than Combat Profession players. Many of their products could help other players, or, perhaps, an entire force of other players, to significantly improve their strength!

Of course, in light of this, it was not easy to become a top Life Profession player. The Life Profession in War was not like other games where players only needed to click a few buttons and wait offline while equipment was manufactured. War's system required players to control the machines personally or to operate them manually. Some equipment even needed players to design, test, and modify them in person.

All Life Professions had high requirements when it came to knowledge and experience related to the profession itself (which could be learned in the game). This affected the "realism" factor of War. Of course, compared to the complex manufacturing processes of military products in reality, equipment and items in the game were far less complicated to build.

The manufacturing processes were not only simplified, but many of the steps could be completed with the aid of artificial intelligence. Even so, training in a Life Profession required a great deal of time, which was why Feng Luo's level was lagging so far behind the pack. After all, he trained in two Life Professions at the same time!

But now, both of his Life Profession proficiency levels had already reached the cap of the current game version: the "Expert" level. Wind Mark Gun Shop's business was also finally in full swing. This had made it possible for him to find time to increase his level. And besides, considering the "Talent Rating" attribute of his character, if he were to have trained solely in Life Professions, it would have been considered a reckless waste of a God-given gift!

Talent Rating was a specialty of War. After one month of game time, every account would receive a systematic rating for the talent of their character. According to power and rarity, Talent Rating was divided into a range of five grades comprised of S, A, B, C, and D. The majority of players received D-Grade Talent Ratings. Only around one-tenth of all players received Talent Ratings above C-Grade.

As for the highest grade, S-Grade, every time its details were exposed, it invited the admiration and jealousy of countless players. And the talent for Feng Luo's account was…

Lethal (Talent)

Final damage of normal attacks reduced to 75 percent, final damage of weak-point attacks increased by 50 percent, final damage of lethal attacks increased by 100 percent

Talent Rating: S

It was a top-class Talent Rating best suited for a Sniper!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 3: Nightclub

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In a room on the highest floor of a humongous silver skyscraper that was over 200 stories tall, the silver door of an apparently live game capsule slowly opened. The strong, muscular body of Feng Luo, clothed only in his underwear, crawled out of the capsule.

Standing in the highest floor of the building—which was so tall that it would have caused the knees of anyone with acrophobia to immediately buckle—Feng Luo gazed out of the single-sided transparent nano window in front of him to look at the two silverish moons of different sizes in the sky. Suddenly, he felt a sense of nostalgia. Yes, there were two moons—because this was not Earth!

This was the 17th Administrative Planet. Its full name was "Star Federation's 17th Administrative Planet," and Feng Luo did not even know where it was located in terms of its place in the wider galaxy. It had an environment that was very similar to Earth, and it was a suitable habitat for humans.

Feng Luo was not a native citizen of this planet. He actually came from 21st century Earth, where he had been an international mercenary earning money by putting his life on the line. Once, he had been hired by a billionaire from Saudi Arabia, along with another group of other people, to protect several archaeologists.

The team had entered an underground area of a pyramid that had never before been exposed to light. They were there to procure a specific item that the billionaire desired. Then the pyramid had collapsed. Everyone had been buried in the cave-in. But Feng Luo—who had managed to hold on tightly to the item that was the object of their mission—had been sucked into a black whirlpool. After that, he had appeared in this world.

It was a world that was both very strange and very familiar to him. Strange because the technology was amazingly advanced. Humans had obtained the ability to leap through space and had entered an era of extraterrestrial travel. The Star Federation owned over 20 administrative planets and thousands of resource planets, as well as huge star fleets. Based on the technology of the 21st century, none of this could have been achieved even after several centuries!

As for the familiarity factor, this planet and Earth definitely had many similarities and associations. The most obvious proof was the official language of the Star Federation, which was 70 percent similar to Mandarin. Moreover, the world also had a language and numeric system that was similar to the English language.

Apart from that, Feng Luo could also find traces of Earth influence in architecture, lifestyle, personal habits, and various other aspects. However, the thing that puzzled him was that the people of this world had never heard of "Earth" before. It could not even be found on the internet.

"Otherworld? Cross-world? A parallel world?"

In the past, Feng Luo had considered the multiple possibilities, but he had never been able to find a satisfactory answer. It had gotten to the point that he even started to wonder if Earth and his life as a so-called "international mercenary" were simply experiences he had imagined. Perhaps he was actually just a hospital patient with severe mental illness. However, hanging in front of his chest was the mission item that he had held onto back then. It had been turned into a necklace, and the icy feeling delivered to his body whenever the item touched his skin was a reminder that those past experiences were not hallucinations.

And then, just half a year ago, the virtual reality game called War had been released across the Federation. Scenes released during the game's promotion confirmed the authenticity of Feng Luo's previous life.

Type 99 main battle tank. Apache helicopter. F-22. AK-47. Cobra. Stinger…

The familiar weapon names and models, one after another, had helped to clear the fog from the memories of his past life, which had grown vague after living in this new world for three years.

To the people of this world, these military equipment items were simply equipment in a virtual world; they were just objects imagined by game designers. But Feng Luo knew that these things actually existed in another world!

He could even remember being on a mission in a region of Saudi Arabia. A friend of his, a retired U.S. Marine, had used a shoulder-mounted "Stinger" missile to turn a triumphant-looking Apache helicopter into an enormous fireball. He'd done it with a smirk on his blood-streaked face.

That feeling—deadly and exciting! As such, Feng Luo had entered War for the first time hoping that, perhaps, this game could help unravel the mysteries within his heart.

Feng Luo stopped reminiscing. He dropped to the ground to complete over 100 push-ups. After that, he walked into the 30-square-meter bathroom, showered, and changed his clothes before putting on a coat and unlocking his digital lock. After that, he took the elevator and headed to the 100th floor of the building where the levitating vehicle car park was located. He took a levitating vehicle and drove toward his destination.

Night Club!

The colorful neon lights and large gold letters flashed on a huge screen, advertising the use of the luxurious building that was thousands of square meters in size but only around ten stories tall.

"Brother Feng! You're here!"

Feng Luo, clad in a black coat, walked through the main door. Beside the door, several sexy attendants wearing purple cheongsams immediately greeted him with bows. Some wore thick makeup while others wore light makeup, but all had smiles on their faces.

"Brother Feng!" Several large, muscle-bound men in black suits and sunglasses, seated in the hall, nodded to Feng Luo with respect.

"Hey!" Feng Luo casually replied, then proceeded toward the automatic rotating escalator that guided him towards the second floor.

The contents of the nightclubs of this world were similar to the ones on Earth and bore similar names. The only difference was that because this world's technology was so advanced, contraband items like drugs had gone practically extinct in places like these. Instead, people could take part in all kinds of experiences in virtual worlds that were not much different from the real world—simulations achieved through the sensory nerves of the body. Naturally, individuals did not need to stimulate themselves by relying on drugs that had immensely negative side effects on the body. As such, from a certain point of view, these nightclubs were cleaner than ones in the 21st century. Of course, a limited number of special transactions between humans still existed.

Feng Luo was here because of his real work in this world as the manager of this nightclub. To be precise, he was the assistant manager. He held a position and received a salary and bonuses, but, in reality, he never actually had to show up to work.

Even though he only held the title for show, Feng Luo still visited the nightclub occasionally. He would also go to one of the bars on the second floor for a visit or head to the gym on the fifth floor to work out.

As for the underground casino in the basement first floor and the underground fight club on the basement second floor, he was not really interested. However, by the time he had entered the bar that he frequented, he discovered that the atmosphere today was out of the ordinary.

The people inside were not drinking or chatting. No one was dancing, either. Most of them were just standing in the middle of the dance floor as if they were spectating something.

As Feng Luo walked to the side of the bar, the words of the bartender, a man clothed in a tuxedo, cleared the doubts in Feng Luo's mind. "The new activity that Brother Wu organized is to auction the equipment for War in the bar," he said as he poured Feng Luo a drink. "It has been going on for a few days now. The number of people coming every night has been increasing."

"Brother Wu" was Mu Wu, the manager of the nightclub—its actual manager. He was not yet 30 years old, but he was perceptive in dealing with people, and he had a certain way of doing things. Of course, it was a given that he was someone with a noteworthy background; there was no way an ordinary person would have been able to hold such a position.

"Auctioning game equipment? Mu Wu's newest idea is quite fresh."

Feng Luo held the alcoholic drink, known as a "Blue Starry Sky" in this world, and took a seat beside the bar, watching the center of the stage. Onstage, a tall, slender, enchanting beauty wearing a sexy red bunny outfit, her face flushed with excitement, hosted the auction of the game equipment. She would have been an eight out of ten—after makeup.

"Mr. Fang with a price of 3,300! Oh! Ah, this gentleman who just arrived has bid a price of 3,600! How generous! 3,600, going once. Does any gentleman want to increase the bid!? Yes? Sir, he actually bids again! 3,800, going once!"

To overhear this provocative-sounding exchange, one would have undoubtedly mistaken it for a negotiation in an exchange related to the flesh. Especially when it was accompanied by a scantily clad woman in a bunny outfit with meter-long legs, a sweaty, flushed face, crimson lips, and an alluring gaze. It increased the heart rates of the assembled men—who represented the majority of the crowd—quickening the flow of blood throughout their bodies, as well as the pace of their breathing.

"Mu Wu certainly has his methods…!" Feng Luo spun the glass in his hand and gave a gentle smile.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 4: Desert Eagle

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"3,800 going twice! Is there any lady or gentleman who wants to increase the bid? This staff is actually an amazing Level-44 piece of equipment. After equipping this, energy attacks will be increased significantly. There's also a fire-based percentage damage increase. You won't have any problem fighting same-level Elite-grade monsters at all! Don't miss this chance, everyone!"

The "blazing red lips" beauty onstage continued to provoke and tease the emotions of the attendees below with her sweet voice. On the virtual screen behind her, the attributes of the magnificent staff were displayed, along with an image of the staff itself. It was embedded with a fiery red ruby with flames and backlight surrounding it, spinning slowly.

Heart of Fire (Energy Converter)

Grade: Excellent

Attack: 480

Intelligence 9

Increase Fire Energy Damage: 8%

Level Requirement: 44

Overall Evaluation: Excellent

Equipment in War was categorized into four grades. From the lowest to the highest, they were Normal, Fine, Excellent, and Rare. Above that were they additional levels of Legendary, Epic, Mythical, etc., but those were not yet available, as of the current version. Excellent-grade equipment did not seem to be the rarest variety of equipment at the moment, but, in reality, the equipment worn by most current War players were simply blank items that did not have any additional attributes on them.

Any high-level Fine-grade piece of equipment could be sold for several hundred star coins. The prices of Excellent-grade weapons were in the thousands, especially staffs (the official name for a staff in War was "energy converter"), which were the main weapons of energy Manipulators. Because an energy converter needed to be assembled in multiple parts, it was even more expensive. Selling it for 2,000 to 3,000 was not uncommon. Of course, 4,000 was a bit too much, but the customers below the stage were actually still increasing the bid!

It seemed like the atmosphere of the bar, and the influence of Miss Blazing Red Lips standing onstage had everyone's blood pumping. After all, alcohol and hormones were the two substances that most induced impulsive behaviors.

It was no surprise that Mu Wu would have thought of such a method. Compared to buying items from the in-game trading post, the atmosphere of this sort of live auction got the blood pumping. Moreover, it also pleased those who wanted to show off and attract attention to themselves in reality.

In the end, that staff was won for a price of 4,500 by a balding, middle-aged man with a bulging belly and a beautiful woman in his arms. The woman, wearing heavy makeup and transparent black silk, was overjoyed and gave him a big kiss on his cheek.

"The next item is a pistol. It is also the main event today—one of the three Rare pieces of equipment available."

Onstage, Miss Blazing Red Lips in the bunny outfit began introducing the equipment. Behind her, the image on the virtual screen changed, turning into a black pistol with distinct edges and sharp corners. It had a metallic shine and emanated a vague, murderous aura.

"A Rare pistol? Hmm. This model is…" As he studied the strangely familiar pistol on the screen, Feng Luo was unexpectedly shocked.

Desert Eagle (Pistol)

Grade: Rare

Attack: 410

Attack Coefficient: D

Agility 15

Effective Attack Range: 100m

Bonus Effects: Increase movement speed by 10% when in possession

Level Requirement: 39

Overall Evaluation: Perfect

Onstage, the long-legged beauty began to passionately describe the amazing qualities of the pistol. However, Feng Luo wasn't listening at all. His familiarity with the Desert Eagle was, without a doubt, better than hers by at least 100 times.

The Desert Eagle had been considered the most popular pistol of the 20th century on Earth. Most people with military knowledge would have heard about it. It had a structure similar to that of a rifle, so bullets fired from this handgun carried frightening kinetic energy. Within the effective range, conventional bulletproof equipment was as fragile as paper against its AE bullets. Within 100 meters, it could easily burst the head of a human, and outside of 100 meters, it was still powerful enough to kill a large beast in one shot. It was a prime example of a powerful pistol.

However, although it had great power, the Desert Eagle had limited uses apart from hunting. Its weight of two kilograms as an empty weapon was too heavy for a pistol. At the same time, the recoil was frightening. A slight lapse in concentration could cause the shooter to suffer bone fractures. Moreover, the pistol had a limited ammo capacity and low reliability; it easily broke down in poor environmental conditions, so it was also impractical. As such, this was not a good gun in reality!

As a piece of game equipment, however, this Rare-grade Desert Eagle was almost perfect. This was because, for a player, the overall weight and rate of deterioration were simple problems, and the recoil was a problem that could be remedied by putting more points into the Strength attribute.

When compared to its high attack of 410 and its Rare grade, those weaknesses were negligible. The attack power was comparable to some of the game's main weapons and would have enough to impress most players—even non-gunners. That was because the equipping limit in War was very small. As long as the attribute requirement was satisfied, players could actually use the equipment of any profession. That made this Desert Eagle just as attractive to non-gunner players.

Of course, without the profession bonus, a player wearing the equipment of another profession could not take advantage of all the attributes of that piece of equipment. Furthermore, different professions required different types of main attributes. As such, eccentric player types like "Violent Manipulators" or "Submachine Gun Warriors" could never enter the mainstream.

For Feng Luo—as opposed to other players—this Desert Eagle had one additional important use. As an expert Gun Mechanic, he could analyze the structure and the materials of the Desert Eagle through disassembly, and then he could try to design a new kind of weapon.

In War, life players were allowed to design their own equipment, but it was not easy to design a piece of Rare-grade equipment.

"The final price of this item will surely be over 15,000!"

Feng Luo made a quick calculation in his mind and discovered that it would be a little difficult for him to purchase this gun because his pocket was already a little bit empty.

It couldn't be helped. War was a game that really burned through one's money, as evidenced by the piece of virtual equipment in front of him worth over 10,000 credits.

The initial investments for Wind Mark Gun Shop had also eaten into his bank account. The remaining money had been used to purchase the Land Bullet SCV-Type One Motorcycle that he used for his hunting missions. So although he was not yet considered penniless, his Federal bank account only had around 5,000 star coins in it at the moment. With that tiny amount of money, there was no way he could win the bid for this Rare-grade Desert Eagle.

At that moment, the bunny girl on the stage announced the starting bid.

"Level 39, Rare Desert Eagle. The starting bid is 8,000 star coins. Minimum increments of 500."

The moment she finished her sentence, the price soared and immediately went over 10,000, then 13,000… and straight to 15,000. Even then, there were still five to six people competing for it. It seemed like it was possible for it to reach 20,000 star coins.

Feng Luo tried to make a bid in the middle because he really liked this Desert Eagle. If he did not have enough money, he could get an advance from the nightclub first, and then he could sell a couple pieces of equipment he did not use in the game to pay it off. However, the moment he announced his price, he was overtaken, and before long, the price of the Desert Eagle had reached 20,000 star coins.

Beside the bar, Feng Luo shook his head, calmed down, and drank. He did not continue to bid.

In truth, the price had already overtaken the true value of this Desert Eagle. Even if it was a Rare-grade weapon, it was not a main weapon; the price would normally remain around 10,000.

The purchasing power of the Federation star coins in this world was similar to the Chinese yuan of the previous world.

Feng Luo had stopped bidding, but a young man with golden wire-rimmed glasses and a leather suit walked over. He held a wine glass containing dark red wine, and the corners of his lips were lifted upward. He sat down beside Feng Luo and looked at the Desert Eagle on the screen. "What's wrong? Got your eye on this gun?"

"Brother Wu!" the bartender immediately greeted, his face full of respect.

This man dressed in gentlemanly attire was the manager of the nightclub—the man called Mu Wu whose creative methods drew respect even from Feng Luo.

Feng Luo picked up the mixing bottle at his side and poured more Blue Starry Sky into his glass. He sounded a little depressed as he said, "Yeah, but I don't have the money to afford it!"

Mu Wu smiled. "Hehe! Hua, tell Xiao Yao that I bid 30,000!" he told the bartender.

The communicator that the employees of the nightclub wore on their bodies had an internal channel. At a time like this, it made it possible for Mu Wu to participate in the bid as a customer so that he did not break the rules of his own auction.

Hearing the message from the bartender through her ear mic, the flushed red face of the beauty onstage became even redder. "30,000!" she shouted in a loud yet delicate voice. "A new customer bid the price of 30,000! Is there a higher bid?"

However, the price was already too high. Those few who had still been involved in the bid chose to give up after hearing this price.

Mu Wu turned around and put a palm-sized tablet in Feng Luo's hands. Then he shook the wine glass in his hand at Feng Luo. "Enter your account ID and location. They'll send you a parcel later when they get online."

Although almost everyone who frequented the nightclub had an account in War, and many of them actually played together, Feng Luo was an exception. He always trained and played alone. Even Mu Wu did not know Feng Luo's account ID.

"30,000!" said Feng Luo. "Old Wu, one who is unaccountably generous is hiding evil intentions." He looked at Mu Wu's face, then finished the Blue Starry Sky drink. His expression was one of genuine interest.

Mu Wu did not try to hide anything. "The company wants to complete an important mission soon in War, and we need an expert we can trust," he said, revealing his true objective. "The boss asked me to ask you if you can give us a hand."

"You don't even know my account name," said Feng Luo. "How can you be sure that I am an expert?"

Feng Luo grabbed the terminal and entered his ID in War, as well as his address in Silvermoon City before handing it back to Mu Wu. In the game, players could use the system courier service and have the equipment delivered via a flight to any city.

Mu Wu took the tablet. "If you aren't, then you owe me 30,000 coins!"

"Get out of here!" Feng Luo scolded, but he did not decline the offer. Naturally, this meant he accepted it.

The "boss" whom Mu Wu referred to was the real owner of the nightclub, and the dynamic between them was not a normal employee/employer relationship. In truth, Feng Luo had been specially hired by the boss to become the assistant manager of this place in name only. As such, there was naturally no need for him to feel restrained. A salary and bonuses were considered the remuneration of being the assistant manager of the place. However, when Feng Luo was asked to do something else, it was natural to receive other forms of payment.

Getting paid to do something—this was the age-old principle of being a mercenary!

Such rules were not to be broken!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Three days later

Silvermoon City

Open-Air Mine

Coordinates: 1013, 2405

The Open-Air Mine was a popular map in Silvermoon City because the monsters in the area were in the range of Level 35 to Level 45, which was exactly what was needed for mainstream players to power-level.

Moreover, there was a high probability of the monsters dropping ores, specifically some high-class ores. Whether they were sold to players or to the system shops, high-class ores fetched decent prices. As such, if one were to continuously power-level in this area, one would be able to both level-up and earn credits, neither of which could be neglected.

Wearing armor that consisted of a camouflage combat uniform, Feng Luo crouched on a two-meter high boulder. He placed the M110 in front of him and looked through the scope, aiming at a Mutant Dog not far away from him.

Approximately 150 meters away from Feng Luo's position, the odd-looking greenish-black dog rolled around on the ground of the mine, using its two front paws to dig at something it was eating. It had lost some of its fur. Drool flowed continuously from its mouth, and its eyes were blood-red.

The Mutant Dog was a Level-35 monster. It was considered a "mutant" monster that had been affected by radiation after the war, and it had extremely quick speed and high-velocity attacks; however, it had a relatively weak defense.

Monsters in the Open-Air Mine dropped valuable items, and they also gave a wealth of experience, so the strength of the monsters was naturally abnormal. The monsters here did not just have high attacks, but most had amazing defense, too. But the defense of the Mutant Dog was fairly average. If it received a critical hit from a bullet fired by the M110, given Feng Luo's S-Grade talent of 100 percent increase in lethal damage, there was a high probability for it to be an instant kill.

However, this Mutant Dog's movement speed was extremely fast, and it also had high vigilance. As soon as it was attacked, it would quickly run away or counter. Feng Luo needed to take the opportunity to kill it with one shot.

Temperature: 31 degrees

Humidity: 45%

Wind speed: 3 m/s

The personal computer terminal connected to the scope of the sniper rifle displayed a few rows of simple environmental information so that he could adjust some of the parameters to ensure the accuracy of his shot.

In War, the personal terminal was a vital piece of equipment. It stored most of the more common monsters' information, as well as the regional maps of some of the already explored areas. It also had the function of communication, positioning, and receiving missions, among other functions. A player's personal terminal was delivered entirely by the Federation.

The backdrop of War was a setting in which human civilization had developed to the space era; however, a crisis had occurred around 100 years prior. The human survivors on the planet had discovered lost technology left behind amid the rubble and ruins, and they had established a new civilization. After 30 years, they had created a unified federal government. However, the planet still featured countless varieties of organisms, uncontrolled mechanical beings, and multiple underground research facilities, military bases, experimental facilities, and various other forbidden areas left behind by civilizations from centuries before.

The mission of the players was to accept the commission of the federal government to explore these ruins and forbidden areas, discovering lost technology while exterminating the monsters that roamed these places. As such, the federal government had created a personal terminal for every player to make it easier for the players to complete their tasks.

"Good opportunity!" whispered Feng Luo.

After he finished adjusting the parameters, he noticed that the Mutant Dog seemed to have finished eating. It raised its head to look around, so Feng Luo took the chance and decisively pulled the trigger of the M110.

The trigger pushed by the index finger spurred movements of the rifle's hammer to hit the thimble that struck the primer of the armor-piercing bullet. The primer exploded, igniting the smokeless gunpowder within the armor-piercing bullet. The explosion of the smokeless gunpowder then forced the gas within the bullet to expand several thousand times, and the expansion pushed the 7.62mm armor-piercing bullet to spin and exit through the rifle barrel at a speed of around 800 m/s. All of this happened in the short span of 0.2 seconds!

Pang!

150 meters away, the Level-35 Mutant Dog that had just raised its head was hit in the left eye by the armor-piercing bullet. A bright red row of damage numbers appeared overtop of its head.

3545!

It immediately dropped on the ground.

The red damage number signified that the shot had hit a vital spot, producing lethal damage with a super high bonus. Thanks to Feng Luo's S-Grade "Lethal" talent effect, the damage of that hit had been doubled. As such, the Level-35 Mutant Dog's HP had been completely emptied in a single hit.

Damage in War could be separated into four types. White meant normal damage, yellow meant weak-point damage, red meant lethal damage, and gold meant a critical hit.

For example, when an attack struck the defensive equipment of an opponent without piercing through a player's defense, the damage delivered would be normal damage. When an attack hit an area not protected by any protective gear—or perhaps a point of attack that had already lost most of its defense capability (over 50 percent)—then the damage would be the yellow-colored weak-point damage, which carried a certain amount of bonus damage. In a situation where a player's defenses had been completely broken, attacks to three key areas—namely, the top of the head, the throat, and the heart—would produce the high damage bonus of lethal damage.

As for the gold-colored critical hit, it would not appear in situations when players attacked each other; it only appeared when players faced monsters, and there was a low probability of it occurring. When it was triggered, the final damage output would be increased by two to ten times. It was the equivalent of a "lucky hit" in other games!

After Feng Luo killed the Mutant Dog, a system message flashed by on the corner of his field-of-view interface.

Killed one Mutant Dog. Obtained 65 experience points!

And after the Mutant Dog died, a brown ore and several tiny gray energy crystal pieces the size of fingernails dropped.

Energy crystals were the same as gold coins dropped by monsters in normal games, and in the game, the federal government exchanged credits for these crystals at a one-to-one ratio. This type of energy crystal piece had the lowest value. The selling price offered by the system was one credit each.

F-grade energy crystals were called gray crystals due to their dull grey color, and their value was 10 credits each. E-grade energy crystals were called white crystals due to their grayish-white color, and their value was 100 credits each; the D-grade silver crystals were valued at 1,000 credits each, while a C-grade diamond crystal was worth 10,000 credits each.

As for energy crystals that were B-grade and above, due to their relatively bigger size, they were widely used but rare. Under normal circumstances, they would not be used in currency circulation.

The ratio of credits to star coins fluctuated around a ratio of ten to one. That meant that this Mutant Dog had earned Feng Luo a few cents and a piece of pretty low-quality ore. It wasn't bad. At least he hadn't wasted his armor-piercing bullet, which cost three credits.

Just as Feng Luo prepared to put away his sniper rifle and head over to collect the dropped items of the Mutant Dog, in his field of vision through his scope, he saw the sudden appearance of a greenish-black Mutant Dog that was at least double the size of the previous one. It was in the mine pit on the opposite side. This was a Giant Mutant Dog that was almost two meters in length. It had a pair of blood-red eyes, and both of its canine teeth looked like white daggers. It rushed to the side of the Mutant Dog that had just been killed and sniffed at it. It immediately raised its head and howled in anger.

Level 40 Elite-Grade Mutant Dog

HP: 10,500

High attack power, fast movement speed!

The information relayed from the scope briefly stunned Feng Luo. After that, the Mutant Dog used God-knows-what method to lock onto his direction. Two bloody red eyes filled with hate stared straight at him.

"Oh, f*ck… An Elite monster!"

The M110 in Feng Luo's hands trembled a little.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 6: Level-40 Elite Mutant Dog

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Monsters in War were separated into Normal, Elite, Commander, Quasi-Boss, and Boss—five grades. Monsters in different grades differed significantly in terms of strength.

For a Normal-Grade monster, in a one-on-one situation, most same-level players would be able to get rid of them without taking any damage. When facing Elite-Grade monsters, a player with only average equipment and combat awareness might not be able to overcome it. Higher-grade monsters like Commander-Grade monsters required small parties of over ten players with a strong combination of professions and excellent teamwork to be able to deal with them. As for the Bosses, since the start of the server, the number of boss kills within the region of Silvermoon City could be counted on one finger. Even the lowest-level Boss monster, the Level-35 Crimson Moon Scorpion King in the Gobi Desert, had not been defeated more than a few times.

Even in the few instances when it had been defeated, those had been organized by large companies, and the boss had only been defeated by the tactic of cramming more than 100 players into such raids.

Monsters in War were simply far stronger than those in normal games. As such, when a Level-40 Elite-Grade Mutant Dog appeared so close to him, Feng Luo could not help but get a small headache. However, he reacted very quickly and immediately turned the muzzle and aimed the M110 at the Elite Dog.

Truth be told, if the distance between the two was over 300 meters, he could be 90 percent certain that he could kill it without incurring any losses. However, the distance between them was currently only a couple hundred meters. For a monster that was famous for its speed, it would be able to get to him in ten seconds.

Gunners were like Manipulators; they were both professions with low HP, and they were most afraid of high-speed and high-attack monsters getting close to them!

"Roar!"

After the Level-40 Elite-Grade Mutant Dog roared at Feng Luo, it locked its hate-filled, bloody gaze on him. Its four limbs pushed against the ground as it exploded into a run across the steep, bumpy mine, rushing toward Feng Luo's position. Its velocity was comparable to an arrow being shot through the air.

So fast! Thought Feng Luo.

Shock flashed in his eyes, but he quickly calmed his mind. The muzzle of the M110 immediately began to move, following the movements of the Mutant Dog as Feng Luo's brain calculated a bit before pressing the trigger.

Pang!

The bare bullet that shot out of the muzzle hit the Elite Mutant Dog right in the nose, and a row of yellow numbers appeared, indicating that this shot inflicted weak-point damage.

2314!

Damage on monsters and humans was determined differently; monsters did not wear any equipment, so as long as the attack hit an area that was not covered in fur or scales, or if the area that was hit had already received a great amount of damage, then the damage inflicted would be considered weak-point damage.

As for the factors determining lethal damage, they still required the condition of completely breaking or bypassing defense. Moreover, due to the differences in monster types, the vital areas were different, so normally, it was still quite difficult to deal lethal damage.

Two seconds later, Feng Luo fired a second shot, which only hit the front limb of the Mutant Dog.

Pang!

450!

The damage dealt was simple, white-colored normal damage; moreover, due to Feng Luo's talent, the damage was only 75 percent.

In the midst of the Mutant Dog's high-speed sprinting, it was far too difficult to accurately hit its head. No matter how good one's skill was with the gun, there was absolutely no way to do it. However, this shot was not completely in vain because. When it was hit in its front leg, the Mutant Dog trembled, and its speed reduced a little. This gave Feng Luo time to prepare for a third shot.

In War, every attack that hit the target would create certain side effects. For example, attacks could destroy, cause injuries, produce bleeding, etc. It was similar to reality. Even broken limbs, crippled movement, and other special effects would sometimes occur. However, ultimate effects like "headshot" or "decapitation" would only appear when the enemy's HP had been completely depleted!

Apart from that, the game had a "Gory Visual Effects" option. If one were to disable the gory visual effects, the gory, restricted scenes would not be seen. This was mainly to protect some of the female players, as well as underage players.

Pang!

1983!

Feng Luo's third shot hit the head of the Elite-Grade Mutant Dog, and this inflicted almost 2,000 points of weak-point damage. But by this time, the Elite Mutant Dog was already in a position where it was only around 30 meters in front of him. At this distance, it would have been unwise to continue to use a sniper rifle that was more than a meter long.

Feng Luo threw the M110 to the ground and extended his hands into his spacial backpack, grabbing a black, metallic pistol emanating a murderous aura. It was the Desert Eagle!

At a distance of around 15 meters, the Elite Mutant Dog opened a mouth filled with white canine teeth. Green saliva flew into the air as it roared, and a stench originating from its mouth was spewed in Feng Luo's direction.

Although the distance had been closed, Feng Luo did not seem to panic much. Both of his hands firmly gripped the Desert Eagle. He aimed the pistol with huge recoil at the Mutant Dog before firing the first shot.

Pang!

646!

The powerful AE bullet from the Desert Eagle accurately hit the stomach area of the Mutant Dog. Due to the defense provided by its fur, the damage was limited, but it still turned the left side of its relatively soft abdomen into a mess of flesh and blood. It was only after firing the first shot did Feng Luo leaped forward, rolling directly downhill from the boulder he was hidden behind, avoiding the first tackle of the Elite Mutant Dog.

"Awooo!"

Missing its first attack, the Elite Mutant Dog landed on the boulder and immediately let out a howl. It turned around and attempted to tackle Feng Luo again.

Pang! Pang!

Feng Luo's body rushed to the side to avoid the landing point of the Elite Mutant Dog. At the same time, the Desert Eagle in his hands did not rest. He fired two consecutive shots. Both hit the stomach of the Elite Mutant Dog rushing toward him from the boulder.

"Roar!"

With its second attack also failing, the Elite Mutant Dog's anger was clear. In the next moment, it leaped and attacked Feng Luo again, but Feng Luo's movements were more agile than it had imagined. With the "10 percent increase in movement speed" bonus of the Desert Eagle, Feng Luo actually managed to dodge the third attack of the Elite Mutant Dog.

However, something unexpected happened!

Although Feng Luo had evaded the Elite Mutant Dog's third attack, the creature's body hit the wall of rock behind Feng Luo after it missed.

Crack!

Its claws left ten deep scratch marks in the boulder, and as stone chips flew into the air, the Elite Mutant Dog's momentum ceased. Immediately, all four of its limbs pushed against the boulder as it leveraged its body weight against the wall and shot back at Feng Luo—who had not yet turned around for its fourth attack.

This unforeseen event was enough to make anyone panic, and Feng Luo took a direct hit from one of its paws in the back. The sudden force from behind threw Feng Luo several meters away from this violent attack. He rolled across the ground two times and almost lost his grip on the Desert Eagle.

1530!

The number that flashed overtop of Feng Luo's head was a row of yellow numbers. He was wearing a decent Level-30 Fine combat uniform, but the slash from the sharp claws of the Mutant Dog shredded it into rags.

Feng Luo's total HP amounted to no more than 3,200, and around half of it had already been taken away by a single scratch from the Mutant Dog. What frightening attack strength!

"Awooo!"

The Mutant Dog delivered a hit. A fierce look came from its crimson eyes, and by gaining momentum, it crouched on all four of its limbs, then leaped into the air. Once again, it rushed at Feng Luo. If he was hit one more time, given his current condition, he might die.

It was a moment of crisis, but Feng Luo's mind remained calm. He did not get up hastily, he just lay on the ground, raised his head, held up the Rare-grade Desert Eagle in his hand, and fired a shot.

Pang!

3966!

After the gunshot rang out, a damage indicator nearing 4,000 appeared overtop of the head of the Elite-Grade Mutant Dog. It was a bright red number, which meant that this shot had struck a vital spot and inflicted "lethal" damage.

The Desert Eagle in Feng Luo's hands had fired its fourth bullet from the cartridge. It had been a perfect shot to the beast's left side that had previously been hit by the first shot, allowing the powerful and lethal AE bullet to tear through its body and directly into its heart, destroying it completely!

The murderous and bloodthirsty aura vanished from its gaze in an instant. The body of the Elite-Grade Mutant Dog that had lost its life was sent into the air by the impact dealt by the Desert Eagle, then fell to the ground. As it landed, dust flew into the air.

The Elite-Grade Mutant Dog certainly had high attacks, but its HP was only a little over 10,000, and even if one included recovery during battle, its HP would not exceed 11,000. Feng Luo had been calculating the total damage amount. By relying on the cumulative damage from his earlier shots, as long as he could hit a vital area with his last shot, he had known it would be enough to win the battle, which was why he had not dared to dodge. Of course, this also required confidence in his own marksmanship.

"That sure was close!" he said. "Elite-Grade monsters aren't easy to deal with."

Feng Luo panted as he got up from the ground, his gaze still on the corpse of the Elite Mutant Dog several meters away.

The items dropped from a Level-40 Elite-Grade Mutant Dog were certainly better than the previous Normal monster. Beside the corpse, several gray crystals that were worth ten credits apiece appeared on the ground. There was also a light bronze ore that was about the size of a fist.

"Copper Ore Gem!"

Feng Luo recognized this type of ore, it was a type of rare material used to manufacture combat armor and shields. With such a large piece, selling it at the exchange would net him at least 2,000 credits or more.

"Looks like my luck is pretty good!"

Feng Luo patted a pack of blood tonic on his body and got up from the ground. He prepared to walk over to pick up the dropped items. However, at that moment, the sound of a gunshot rang from afar.

Pang!

Feng Luo's chest felt as if it had been crushed by a rock. His HP fell by a large amount, and there was less than one-third of it left.

A system message flashed by, revealing the reason.

You received the malicious attacks of Lonely Gunner (Sniper), I Love Loli (Light Warrior), and I Love Strong Women (Wind Manipulator). You have the right to counterattack within 30 minutes!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 7: Bug-Like Damage!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In any game, combat between players was unavoidable. And in an online game with such a high degree of freedom like War, fights and battles between players were directly reflected in the form of playing killing (PK)—or murder.

In a highly realistic, science-fiction simulator online game, human nature was easily driven by one's emotions. PKs or murders were undoubtedly one of the methods for people to vent their feelings. As for the reason for a PK, it could be real-life depression, kill-stealing, being dumped by a girlfriend, being unhappy with a certain hairstyle… The list went on, and there was never a lack of possible reasons.

Of course, there was only one reason Feng Luo was being attacked right now. It was due to the rare ore emanating fluorescent light on the ground.

Item ownership in War was determined by one's contribution to a battle (as calculated by the system). Only when the contribution of individuals or groups surpassed a certain degree when killing a monster would they be able to pick up the items dropped by the monster.

However, this did not mean that there was no way to kill-steal. The simplest method was to kill off all the players with claims to item ownership over the dropped items. Then the items would be in an unowned state, and anyone could pick them up.

A single copper ore gem had a market value of around 2,000 credits, which was close to 200 star coins, which was more than enough to entice the average player.

To Feng Luo, however, one level's worth of experience was substantially more valuable than 2,000 credits. So, upon hearing the reminder from the system, he did not hesitate. Feng Luo immediately gave up the copper ore gem in front of him. He quickly crouched down and rolled to his side. This action helped him avoid the follow-up attacks that came immediately after the initial gunfire.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three light green energy blades descended from the sky and left three long, thin marks on the sandstone ground where Feng Luo had been standing. Sand and dust flew into the air. A wind energy Manipulator!

Pang!

Another gunshot. The enemy Sniper's second shot hit the ground behind Feng Luo and sent dust flying three feet into the air. But by this time, Feng Luo had already started running. He leaped onto the boulder where he'd left his M110. After he extended his hands to pick up the sniper rifle, he immediately crouched down with his head low.

Pang! Swoosh!

A bullet and two wind blades flew toward him, but they were all blocked by the hard boulder.

This boulder had been carefully selected by Feng Luo beforehand for his hunting session. As long as he crouched down, it was difficult for any long-range attacks to hit him. However, there were three opponents. Apart from the Gunner and the Wind Manipulator, there was also a Light Armor Warrior.

Light Armor Warrior was the profession that was most proficient in handling close-quarters combat, and if Feng Luo were to allow the enemy to get close to him, there was 90 percent he would lose.

So, I must attack! he decided immediately in his heart.

After another wave of attacks from the enemy Sniper and Wind Manipulator, Feng Luo raised the M110 with his hands and determined the location of his opponents based on the sound of the gunshots. He looked through the scope, and within one second, he found and locked onto his target. In a position around 100 meters away from him, a Manipulator wearing elemental robes and a Gunner in a camouflage uniform were preparing for their next attack. In front of them, a warrior wearing light armor had already initiated the "Charge" skill and was rushing toward him!

Charge was a skill that players with the warrior profession and was learned at Level 20. The skill allowed the player to increase their speed by several times within a certain distance. The distance of Charge was related to the skill level. If it reached the Expert level, the distance would be about 100 meters. That meant that as soon as the enemy's Charge ended, he would almost be beside Feng Luo!

However, although the Charge skill of the warrior was very quick, it had a fatal weakness: During the process of the Charge, a change of direction was limited in some ways. If the attacker's agility was low and skill proficiency was insufficient, it was easy for an expert to predict the limited trajectory of the charge.

So Feng Luo's muzzle was naturally aimed straight at him!

Pang!

As soon as Feng Luo pressed the trigger, a rotating 7.26mm armor-piercing bullet burst out of weapon's red-hot muzzle. In less than one-fifth of a second, the shot accurately hit the helmet of the Light Armor Warrior.

543!

As it was blocked by the helmet, the shot only dealt normal damage. Moreover, due to Feng Luo's talent, one-fourth of the damage was deducted. As such, the total damage did not even reach 600.

At first, the player known as "I Love Loli" was shocked that the opponent had actually managed to hit his forehead while he moved at such a high speed. This level of skill was certainly that of an expert. However, after he looked at the system message about getting hit and saw that the damage was barely over 500 points, he relaxed. Compared to his nearly 8,000 total HP, it was negligible. He could not help but think triumphantly about the set of Level-42 Fine-grade equipment he had just changed into. The defensive capabilities were indeed amazing.

Hehe! A game is a game, after all, he thought. Equipment is the definitive truth. No matter how good your skills are, there is no way to remove the disadvantages brought about by inferior equipment!

Pang!

753!

However, just as he was in the middle of enjoying the moment, another bullet hit his helmet. The time between this shot and the previous one was only around two seconds, and the point of impact for both the bullets was also almost identical.

F*ck, what kind of marksmanship is this?

I Love Loli was shocked. The first shot to his helmet had surprised him a little, but he had not been altogether amazed. He knew that Snipers had a skill called "Precise Shot," which allowed Snipers to significantly increase their hit rate in the first shot. His opponent might have trained the skill to a high level, and with the decent skills a Sniper had to begin with, he was able to hit his helmet in the beginning.

However, he was no longer thinking like that. "Precise Shot" could only be used once; moreover, the cooldown was ten minutes. The fact that the opponent had found his helmet again, and in such quick succession, was enough to prove that the opponent was a genuine expert Sniper who could succeed without the help of skills—even in endeavors that other people could not achieve even with the help of skills!

If the distance between them had been over 400 meters, and if he had not had two other teammates behind him, I Love Loli would have immediately turned around without any hesitation. In a situation where there were no trees or bushes in the surrounding area, the attack damage of an expert Sniper was frightening. Even if I Love Loli had a Fine-grade helmet, he would not be able to hold out. As soon as the defense was broken, it was highly likely that he would be killed off immediately by a headshot.

However, at that moment, he was only around 30 meters away, and with the speed of his advanced charge skill, the opponent only had one more chance to fire. Considering the damage amounts of the two previous attacks, and his 6,000-plus remaining HP, even if he was hit by a lethal attack, there was no chance the hit would take him out.

Plus, I am not fighting alone! I Love Loli thought.

As expected, he immediately saw a row of white numbers of around 600 flash overtop of the head of the opponent. This was the damage dealt by the wind blade of his teammate. However, his other teammate's armor-piercing bullet did not hit; instead, it struck the boulder in front of the opponent, creating a deep hole in the rock. The gap between the target and the point of impact actually reached half a meter.

Sh*t! thought I Love Loli. I've heard it said that a bullsh*t buddy sucks more than a godlike enemy. The statement certainly rings true, considering their difference in levels of marksmanship!

His expression was a bit distorted, but I Love Loli was still very calm. That was because, by now, he was only around ten meters away from the opponent. He only needed to move two steps forward to initiate his warrior skill known as "Thunder Leap Slash" and directly engage the gunman.

A Sniper who allowed a Light Armor Warrior—who still had more than half his HP—to get close was as good as dead, even if the opponent was an expert Sniper! The odd thing was that the opponent did not seem to panic. He still held his sniper rifle and did not switch to a close-quarters weapon like most people would have.

"I don't care! Thunder Leap…!"

The moment he entered skill range, I Love Loli immediately cast the Level-30 Warrior skill Thunder Leap Slash. He raised his alloy longsword as his body leaped into the air. With a gust of strong wind, he slashed toward the gunman ten meters away.

Pang!

6582!

Overtop of his forehead, which now wore a helmet with a hole drilled straight through it, a row of red damage numbers appeared. It was a frightening number that was around ten times the amount of the previous two shots. I Love Loli's HP fell to nothing in an instant.

I Love Loli's body was still in the air, but a white light had already flashed by. I Love Loli's eyes still showed a look of disbelief.

Fu*ck…! What kind of damage is this? This must be a bug!

It was his last thought as he received the headshot.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 8: Shameless Gunner

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

I Love Loli did not even notice some of the details about Feng Luo's previous two shots. They had not dealt a lot of damage, but with the destructive power of the 7.62mm armor-piercing bullets, they had already damaged the area on his helmet by over 90 percent. And when the third shot hit the same position, the system judged that that shot had already completely penetrated the defense of his helmet, and the damage dealt was considered lethal damage. With Feng Luo's talent, the lethal damage was double the amount of a normal player.

The bonus damage of lethal attacks was already terrifying, and that damage was doubled as a basis. Forget Fine-grade equipment—even for a tank equipped with a full set of Excellent equipment, when facing a shot that ignored defense, there was a high probability that the player would receive a headshot as well.

In truth, Feng Luo's talent was truly fitting for a Sniper!

I Love Loli dropped a pair of combat boots after he died. Intentional PKers, designated by their yellow names, had double the chance of dropping items after death, and it just so happened that one of his set items dropped. He was probably going to be devastated when he got back.

In reality, I Love Loli was not all that enthusiastic about kill-stealing and PKing players. The set of Fine-grade equipment on his body was worth ten times the amount of the items dropped by the Mutant Dog.

The one who had fired the first shot was the player in his party named "Lonely Gunner." As for the identity of this Lonely Gunner, he was actually just a random player that he and his friend had formed a party with while hunting in the Open-Air Mine. He would never have imagined that this fellow would get greedy and try to steal ores when he discovered that Feng Luo had killed the Elite-Grade Mutant Dog. The rules of War stated that if one player within a party attacked, the entire team would be deemed as having agreed to the PK, so he had been labeled as a player that was "yellow named."

Of course, he was not entirely innocent. After all, after his name turned yellow, his first choice had not been to explain or retreat but to rush forward and try to PK Feng Luo. What I Love Loli had not realized was that he was jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Not only had he thrown away an entire level's worth of experience, but he had also lost a piece of equipment.

Moreover, he had made another mistake by thinking that Feng Luo's low damage was due to inferior equipment.

In reality, the attributes of Feng Luo's M110 were:

M110 (Sniper Rifle)

Grade: Excellent

Attack: 568

Attack Coefficient: D

Agility 7

Effective Range: 1,000m

Level Requirement: 35

Creator: Feng Zhi Luoye

Overall Evaluation: Perfect

An Excellent piece of equipment, evaluated as Perfect. When it came to its attributes, it was not inferior to even some of the Rare equipment. Even if the level was lower, the attack power was not any weaker than most Level-40 sniper rifles.

It was only due to the effects of the Lethal talent, which reduced Feng Luo's normal attack by 25 percent, that I Love Loli had the illusion that Feng Luo had weak equipment. However, the only thing that was lowered was the damage; the destructive power of the bullets against the helmet did not diminish at all. As a result, after two shots, I Love Loli's helmet damage had already far exceeded his expectations. And because attributes and information like equipment damage were not directly displayed, it had not even occurred to I Love Loli, in his excitement, that one of the areas of his head had almost completely lost its defenses. In the end, he received the terrible fate of a fatal headshot in the third shot.

In truth, this same error in judgment created by the talent had been experienced by several red-named players when Feng Luo conducted hunting missions. It was undoubtedly a great tool for tricking people.

After killing the Light Armor Warrior, Feng Luo rolled back toward the rocks behind him. He once again dodged two light green wind blades that came from the sky with a swoosh. The attack speed and range of the Wind Manipulator was quick and long, but his attacks were relatively weak. The previous attack that hit him had reduced his HP by around 600. Compared to the over 2,000 HP he had regained by using recovery potions, it was not serious.

Of course, the person he wanted to thank most was the Sniper. At around 100 meters away, he had actually only hit him the first time by using the "Precise Shot" skill. His second and third shots had been off by at least half a meter.

"Just what kind of sniper is this?" muttered Feng Luo. "Could this be a Machine Gunner training after changing classes?" Feng Luo's lips displayed a certain degree of mockery.

It was, of course, a joke. However, in War, it was certainly possible for something like that to happen. Since the equipment limitations in War were low, Snipers, Machine Gunners, and Scouts alike could all use sniper rifles in combat. However, because of these low weapons requirements, due to the different bonuses of different professions, only the most suitable weapons could be fully utilized to exert their full potential.

For example, if Feng Luo were to use a machine gun, the damage he inflicted would not even be half of what a player with the profession of Machine Gunner would be able to deal. And this was an instance involving a fellow Gunner profession who already enjoyed certain bonuses from using a gun. If a non-Gunner profession character were to use a Machine Gun in combat, they probably would not have been able to deal even one-fourth of the base damage. Only laughable posers would try to use the main weapon of another profession.

After dodging these two energy blades, Feng Luo peeked his head out from behind the boulder and noticed the Wind Manipulator among the two called "I Love Strong Women." He had discontinued his attacks. Instead, he had chosen to retreat.

Makes sense, thought Feng Luo. A Light Armor Warrior with 8,000 HP was just killed after using the Charge skill—before he could even get close. Anyone with a brain ought to reconsider whether you should continue to make life difficult for yourself.

Feng Luo thought that this Wind Manipulator was being quite prudent. However, the world was still filled with idiots. Especially in games.

Not only did the enemy Sniper not choose to retreat, but he seemed even more determined. He cast the skill "Rapid Shooting," then raised his rifle and shot continuously in Feng Luo's direction. Rapid Shooting was an active Level-20 skill of Snipers. It allowed the sniper rifle to greatly reduce the intervals between its shots. However, the destructive power of the bullets would decrease.

Feng Luo had also learned this skill, but, under normal circumstances, he would not use it. That was because sniper rifles were intended for headshots that required high accuracy and lethality. No matter how quick a sniper rifle was, it could not be compared to a machine gun that fired multiple shots per second. Moreover, the heat produced by Rapid Shooting increased the chance of the weapon overheating, which could severely damage the functionality of the gun.

For a Sniper, the reliability of his gun was crucial.

Feng Luo took cover behind the boulder and used another blood tonic on his body before slowly removing the cartridge in the M110 that held the armor-piercing bullets. He switched it with another cartridge that he grabbed out of his backpack. As an Ammunitions Expert in his Life Profession, he naturally carried more than normal armor-piercing rounds. He had continued to use these because he hadn't had time to change his bullets. But now, he decided he ought to bring out something good to really treat his opponent.

After about 14 seconds—he counted that the opponent had fired 15 shots—Feng Luo suddenly peeked his body out from the boulder and aimed the M110 muzzle in the direction he had long memorized. He did not worry about the fact that his opponent would continue firing shots; as a Gun Manufacturer, he had already noticed the model of his opponent's sniper rifle the first time he saw it through the rifle's scope. He knew how many bullets were in the cartridge of that rifle model.

Moreover, even if he made a mistake, and even if the bullet cartridge of the opponent had been modified to hold more rounds, it was fine. His HP had recovered to more than 2,000. There was no way for the opponent to one-hit KO him.

Through the scope, he saw that the opposing sniper really had run out of bullets. However, the person was still hiding behind a boulder rather intelligently to reload, only exposing the side of his uniform and making it impossible for Feng Luo to hit him.

But Feng Luo was not hasty. Since the enemy was already in Feng Luo's sights, all he had to do was wait for him to expose his head. He was 90 percent confident that he could finish the battle within three seconds of the opponent exposing his head.

However, what Feng Luo did not expect was that after more than 20 seconds, the enemy still had not yet completed reloading. His body was still well-hidden behind the boulder.

Something's not right!

Feng Luo felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately moved his muzzle into another position and scanned the area quickly with his scope.

Sure enough, in an area not far away from the enemy Sniper, seven to eight players were running in their direction. Moreover, one Light Armor Warrior was in Feng Luo's two o'clock position, and another was in his ten o'clock position. They were quietly sneaking toward his position, and they were only around 200 meters away from him.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 9: Red Name

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

God damn it, this bastard really doesn't have any shame, does he? thought Feng Luo, his expression a bit solemn.

Clearly, this Sniper knew that he was not Feng Luo's opponent, so he had sneakily called for backup. The ten people that were called over clearly belonged to a complete team. Apart from armored warriors, Manipulators, and other damage-dealing professions, there were also support professions like Scouts and Doctors.

To call for backup when one was on the losing side was not unusual, but the key factor was that this guy was in a situation where three people had lost after initiating a malicious sneak attack. Now, he had called for backup in the form of ten people to surround and attack a single opponent.

Did he even consider his reputation?

However, now was not the time to think about something like that. There was a total of 11 opponents. The people who played in this area would not be lower than Level 35, and with the comprehensive combination of professions in the team, facing them head-on was definitely impossible.

The best choice was naturally to retreat straight away.

"However, if I don't pay them back several times after getting hit like this, I won't feel right," Feng Luo said softly.

At the same time, he extended his hands quickly and took a black item from his backpack. He threw it to a position several meters in front of him.

Pang!

Dense black smoke rose into the air. The smoke of the D-grade smoke bomb, which he had manufactured himself, expanded quickly and rose into the air, blocking the entire area in front of him. After that, he quickly grabbed his M110 and ran backward, simultaneously casting the Quick Sneak skill.

Quick Sneak was a Level 25 Gunner skill. Although it had the word "sneak" in its name, it did not really allow users to really become invisible like thieves in normal games. The effect of the skill was to "increase movement speed by 30 percent (Advanced), and to reduce the sound of footsteps, reduce the traces left behind through movements, and to decrease the probability of being discovered by monsters."

Compared to the beginner skill of a Warrior's Charge, which provided a 200 percent bonus to speed, the speed increase of the skill was quite weak, but the advantage was that it lasted longer and that the user was able to move freely.

The two warriors who had already snuck within 100 meters noticed the black smoke rising in front of them and knew that their actions had been noticed by that Gunner.

"F*ck! We were discovered," said one of them. "Rush straight ahead!"

They no longer stayed hidden. Both used their Charge skill at the same time, leaving storms of sand and dust in their trails as they dashed toward Feng Luo's position. But by the time they got there, Feng Luo had long vanished. Plus, due to his Quick Sneak skill, there weren't any traces left behind, so they could not determine the direction he had gone by searching for footprints.

"Fu*k! This kid sure escaped fast!" said one of the Light Armor Warriors wearing gray armor, irritated.

"It's normal to run away," the other warrior, a man in silver armor, said in a deep voice. "We have so many people with us that if that guy actually dared to stay behind, then we would be the ones who would need to be careful!"

At that point, the gray-armored Warrior noticed the boots left behind by I Love Loli. He picked them up and checked their attributes with clear delight on his face. "Yo, this pair of shoes sure looks good. It's actually a part of the Wind Combat set. This is a lot stronger than the stuff I'm wearing!"

"It must have been dropped by one of the two players that Gunner said he'd been partied with before," said the silver-armored Warrior. "The price of the boots far surpasses the value of this piece of Copper Ore Gem. That guy sure got screwed by that Gunner."

"This isn't the first time that bastard has screwed people over," the gray-armored Warrior said with contempt. "What a joke. Three guys can't even beat a Sniper, and he still had the balls to call for backup. This piece of trash is lucky the captain wants to hook up with his sister, Lonely Qing Wu. Otherwise, I would be too busy to come help him."

The silver-armored Warrior frowned but did not say anything.

The two of them stood in place and waited for a while. The Sniper known as Lonely Gunner soon walked over, followed the other eight players. They had been informed through the communicator that Feng Luo had run away.

A big, tall male player around the age of 30 with a gloomy looking face asked, "Did you see where he went?" He was the captain of this group of players, a Level-47 Heavy Armor Warrior.

"We didn't see it clearly," said the Light Armor Warrior in the silver armor, shaking his head. "He must have used Quick Sneak. There aren't any trails or traces in the area."

Among the newcomers, a pure-looking young woman wearing a white nurse's uniform with a treatment box behind her back looked dissatisfied as she said, "He's a Gunner, and two of you Light Armor Warriors with Charge failed to get to him? Are you guys taking this lightly?"

Her name was Lonely Qing Wu, and her profession was that of a Doctor. She was the sister of the player called Lonely Gunner who had sneak-attacked Feng Luo.

"Qing Wu!" said the captain. The Heavy Armor Warrior frowned, and his tone revealed his displeasure. He looked around and saw no trace of Feng Luo. "Forget it. This time, Lonely Gunner initiated the PK, we didn't lose anything from the guy running away. On the contrary, we earned an ore. Third brother's pack is full right now, and we need to clear it up back in town. Gunner can join our party and train with us for a while."

The maximum number of players in a "small party" in War was ten. Any team with more than ten members was considered a "medium party," and the amount of experience gained from killing monsters would decline a certain degree. As such, players generally formed small parties with fewer than ten players to level.

That was why Lonely Gunner had been excluded previously and had needed to form a random party. Of course, it was also because he was too weak. He was an awful player and was considered such a dead weight that nobody wanted to play with him.

Hearing the words of the Heavy Armor Warrior, Lonely Gunner immediately looked delighted. "Thank you, brother-in-law! Thank you, brother-in-law!" he kept saying with the sniper rifle in his hands.

The two times the phrase "brother-in-law" was used were well-received by the Heavy Armor Warrior. The Doctor in the white nurse uniform, Lonely Qing Wu, blushed a little, looking pure and innocent.

However, in the middle of this moment of romance, a bloody hole erupted in the center of Lonely Qing Wu's brow, followed by the sound of a gunshot.

Pang!

3563!

Fresh blood spewed forth from the back of her head as a bullet blew a hole straight through her head. In the next moment, a white light flashed past her body. Lonely Qing Wu fell to the ground with her eyes wide, thoroughly puzzled.

"F*ck!" someone shouted.

"It's that sniper!" yelled another.

"Find that damned bastard!"

Seeing their team Doctor killed right in front of them, the entire team of players was dumbfounded for a moment. Then they became enraged. The face of the captain, the Heavy Armor Warrior, was even more vicious.

You killed a player in malice. You are red-named, and you cannot hide your information. When you are killed, there is a 100% chance for you to drop at least one item.

The system message rang out in Feng Luo's ears. However, this did not move the M110 in his hands.

His current location was an abandoned mine shaft surrounded by shrubs and bushes on the mountain of the Open-Air Mine. his field of vision was high, and he could clearly see down below. It was an exceptional spot for sniping.

Why did he have to kill Lonely Qing Wu first? It was simply because her nurse uniform was too obvious.

There was a saying in War: "One can lose a team battle, but the Doctors must die!"

The Doctor profession was very special in War. It was one of the rare dual professions that combined both the Life and Combat professions. Unlike normal games, where players could use healing skills to recover HP, players in War needed to use recovery potions, stimulants, hormones, and various other drugs to achieve effects like HP recovery or bonus effects.

This setting was more realistic. Of course, it was still a game. After all, there was no way it could be the same as reality. Especially when, in reality, administering liquid drugs required people usually required the use of a syringe. If the game were to do this, professions like Gunners and Manipulators would be able to do them, but it meant that other professions that were usually covered by heavy armor would have to take off their equipment and expose their muscles every time they needed to recover some health.

As such, using blood tonics in War did not require injections; players only needed to "pat" them on their bodies. Moreover, there were also no restrictions when it came to the use of drugs or medicine—any profession could use them on themselves directly.

So what was the use of a Doctor? First of all, when other professions used drugs, they needed to be close enough to the target to physically pat them against part of the body. Only Doctors could use the drugs by throwing them at mid-range.

Secondly, among the specialized skills of the doctor profession, there were a lot of amazing bonuses for the use of drugs or medicines that significantly improved the effects of HP recovery and bonus effects.

For example, if other professions were to use a D-Grade blood tonic, the HP recovery per second was 50, and it lasted 20 seconds, so the total amount recovered would be 1,000 HP. But when a Doctor with the bonus effect for blood tonics used the same tonic, it would recover 200 HP straight away, and then, for the next 20 seconds, the player would recover 75 HP per second, regaining a total of 1,700 HP. Moreover, this effect would improve as the Doctor gained related skills.

It was important to note that any drug in War had a cooldown for use, and the normal cooldown period was not low. For the same D-Grade blood tonic to allow a player to recover an extra 700 HP when used by a Doctor, the benefits were self-explanatory. Apart from that, because the Doctor was also a Life profession, Doctors could gain many manufacturing methods for special medicines or drugs as they leveled up. After that, the products manufactured by doctors had much better effects than common drugs sold in stores.

Plus, when doctors reached a certain level, they could even throw medicinal packs that contained multiple bonus effects, instantly increasing the combat prowess of players significantly.

"That's why doctors must die!" Feng Luo said with a sigh. After that, he casually moved the M110 to search for his next target.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 10: Deflagration Armor-Piercing Bullet

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Pang!

1435!

Within the group of players with Lonely Gunner, the Scout who held a pair of binoculars in hand and was quickly searching for Feng Luo's position was suddenly hit in his chest. He dropped the binoculars in his hand as his body was blown backward. After that shot, the camouflage uniform of the Scout began to burn in an instant. It made him crawl up from the ground quickly, trying to extinguish the flames on his body by beating at them with his hands.

Attempting this kind of solution while in range of a Sniper was undoubtedly a deadly mistake!

Pang!

1603!

A shot hit his forehead with pinpoint accuracy. The Scout quickly followed in the footsteps of the young Doctor.

As for why the shot had caused a burning effect, it was due to Feng Luo's new cartridge of bullets.

Deflagration Armor-Piercing Bullets (D-Grade Ammunition)

Increase attack by 15%. Deflagration and burning effect will trigger when flammable targets are hit, producing a certain degree of burning damage.

Ammunitions were considered expendable items in War. They were categorized by grades similar to crystals, ranging from F-Grade to S-Grade. Players normally used the most common F-Grade ammunition that did not provide any bonus attack or special characteristics.

The deflagration armor-piercing bullet, as D-Grade ammunition, not only increased attack power by 15 percent but also had a special characteristic of burning. Compared to normal armor-piercing bullets, its power was increased by at least one-third. One could not afford to look down on this one-third. In many instances, monsters that originally needed three shots to kill could be taken care of with just two. For a Sniper who pursued kill efficiency with every shot, that meant a lot. Moreover, the burning effect created a flame that, under certain circumstances, could guide snipers in terms of direction, guaranteeing hits in consequent attacks.

Apart from that, War had all kinds of special bullets with different special effects. For example, high-energy liquid projectiles, smart flares… This was also the reason why Feng Luo specifically trained in Ammunition Manufacturing. Of course, the price of special ammunition was naturally not comparable to normal ammunition. The cost to produce each deflagration armor-piercing bullet was around 20 credits, which was several times that of a normal armor-piercing bullet. But even this price was low, since the ammunition was made by Feng Luo himself. In the system store, a deflagration armor-piercing bullet cost 50 credits each. Plus, they were often out of stock.

That is why when Gunners PK, they are really using credits! Feng Luo though, shaking his head.

His muzzle had already locked on to his next target: the Sniper who had first started attacking him. Why did he not aim at the Manipulator? It was because after the Scout died, all of the opposing Manipulators immediately equipped a half-transparent energy shield that looked like an eggshell.

The shields of Manipulators represented a major headache for Sniper. That was because as long as the shield did not break, the Manipulator would not lose any HP while receiving all kinds of attacks.

It would have been a mistake to underestimate the low case HP of a manipulator. For manipulators with expert skill level in their energy shield, their ability to take damage was not all that inferior to some warriors. More importantly, some of the Energy Manipulators who played slyly loved to jump out into the fray during PK and bombard the area with their skills after putting on their "Eggshell." Then, when the shield was almost broken, they would take cover and wait until the shield skill cooled down before jumping out again. This sort of tactic was enough to depress most Snipers. As such, Feng Luo decided to ignore the three Manipulators for now and to think about that after he killed the Sniper known as Lonely Gunner.

After he took his aim, he pulled the trigger!

Pang!

1345!

A deflagration armor-piercing bullet hit Lonely Gunner's shoulder. Because of the location, Feng Luo's shot failed to inflict lethal damage. However, even if it were normal damage that was reduced by 25 percent, it had still taken half of Lonely Gunner's health. His shooting hand's defense, after all, was incomparable to that of a warrior. However, with the burning effect of the bullet, his uniform started to burn. Lonely Gunner looked frightened and panicked.

In War, realism was also reflected another key point. Players perceived pain and all kinds of sensations. When players were in a different environment or if they were attacked, the information provided by the system would stimulate the human's nervous system and create various kinds of feelings such as numbness, pain, suffocation… Although one could adjust the severity of the pain, one could not completely block it out. The minimum limit of pain receptors for male players was 10 percent, while it was 5 percent for female players.

A mere 10 percent was nothing to scoff at. For ordinary people who didn't usually get hurt in real life, that meager 10 percent alone was too much for most people to bear.

One could only imagine what Lonely Gunner was going through, with his entire body on fire.

In this highly realistic game world, the immersive and realistic experience of being engulfed in flames would make most people subconsciously forget that it was just a game. As such, Lonely Gunner behaved just like the previous scout. He quickly used his hands to beat at the flames on his shoulder, and this action was as good as a death sentence.

Pang!

1473!

Another gunshot rang out, accompanied by a flash of white light. Lonely Gunner was hit in the neck and became the third victim of the M110. At the same time, a piece of equipment burst out of him. Unfortunately, Feng Luo was unable to pick it up.

You've rightly killed a yellow-named player, Lonely Gunner. In retaliation, there is no punishment!

Currently, the original team of 11 had only eight left. They were the two Light Armor Warriors, two Heavy Armor Warriors, three Manipulators, and one Gunner. As the Scout was eliminated, the survivors could not quickly determine Feng Luo's location, which gave Feng Luo a lot of time.

The only thing is, there is a Machine Gunner among them. This might prove troublesome!

Feng Luo frowned as he looked through the scope and saw a Machine Gunner quickly taking out machine gun parts and setting them up from his anti-gravity spacial backpack under the protection of two Heavy Armor Warriors.

In War, gunners were separated into three main categories: Snipers, Machine Gunners, and Scouts. Their corresponding bonus weapons were the sniper rifle, the machine gun, and the assault rifle, respectively.

If the Sniper was considered the master of ranged single-target kills, then the Machine Gunner was without a doubt the king of mid-range.

With consideration to balance, the attack power and range of the machine gun had been greatly reduced, but one still could not block all the bullets from a machine gun! The multi-barrel heavy machine gun, for example, could normally fire more than 20 bullets per second, which meant that it dished out a rain of bullets numbering in the thousands within minutes.

Even if the attack strength of the machine gun were reduced to only one-tenth of the sniper rifle, that was still ten times the damage dealt by a Sniper. Moreover, Machine Gunners were not actually nerfed to one-tenth; in reality, their damage was nerfed by only one-fifth. As such, whether in terms of leveling or during group PK battles, their impact was substantial.

One might wonder, since the Machine Gunner class was so strong, who would pick another profession? Wouldn't everyone choose it?

Of course, that would not happen!

The first prerequisite for being a Machine Gunner was that one had to be rich! In War, bullets were exhaustible items. Even the most common F-Grade machine gun standard bullets cost around one credit each. That meant that a Machine Gunner would spend over ten credits per second. In a minute, he could use up thousands of credits.

This so-called "rate of burning through money" was unsustainable for ordinary people. In reality, apart from tycoons or professional players with the Machine Gunner profession specifically groomed and supported by companies or groups, no one could really afford to play it. So in War, the number of Machine Gunners was limited. In truth, they were even fewer than Snipers.

In truth, there really wasn't any profession that didn't burn money in the game of War. Gunners needed to purchase bullets, and Energy Manipulators needed to buy energy crystals. The expenses of these two indispensable items were huge.

Even skilled Warriors who could use a single blade to sweep through an entire continent in normal games had to spend a considerable amount of money in War. That was because the equipment in War could be broken. So, for Warriors that needed to be in close quarters in order to do battle, the expensive repair fees after an intense battle could very well break their hearts.

This was also why Feng Luo had prioritized getting his Wind Mark Gun Shop on the right track first. Without any money, nothing was possible in this game!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 11: Shock and Awe

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Pang!

314!

Another shot rang out from the M110. Naturally, the target for Feng Luo's shot was the Machine Gunner protected by the two Heavy Armor Warriors. However, due to the cautious movements of the Heavy Armor Warriors, the shot that was originally supposed to be a rare opportunity had failed. It only hit one of the Heavy Armor Warriors, and the damage was just over 300.

As the profession with the highest defense in War, the Heavy Armor Warrior's nickname of being the "worst enemy of Gunners" was not in vain. Before Feng Luo had destroyed the defense capabilities of the opponent's equipment, his "Lethal" talent could not show its strength.

Moreover, at that time, the enemy had finally confirmed his direction.

The Light Armor Warriors came from two sides and rushed toward the mountain. As for the two Heavy Armor Warriors, they took out their alloy shields. One of them stood in place and continued to protect the Machine Gunner, who was still setting up his machine gun, while the other protected the three Manipulators with their energy shield covering their bodies and moving behind the Light Armor Warrior toward Feng Luo's position.

The path that the two Light Armor Warriors chose was a pincer attack from the left and the right. As they ran, they even had the awareness to use an S-shaped path, relying on the uneven geography of the mountain mine and pits and holes as cover. Clearly, these two players had experience dealing with Snipers.

A normal Gunner faced with this situation would have had to immediately retreat because there would be only death waiting for a Sniper facing two Light Armor Warriors at close range. However, Feng Luo did not plan to retreat. That was because the shrub he had chosen was around 500 meters away from his opponents. This distance greatly weakened the damage of machine guns, and the attacks of Manipulators could not reach him. Even if the two Light Armor Warriors were to cast Charge, they would need at least half a minute to get to him.

He had at least ten more seconds!

To a Manipulator, ten seconds was probably only enough to cast two fireballs or create a wind blade. But for a Sniper, it was enough to kill a person.

The muzzle of the M110 moved quickly. The crosshair locked directly on the gray-armored Light Armor Warrior. Feng Luo quickly calculated his trajectory in his mind. And then, after a second, he fired a shot!

Pang!

785!

Just as the gray-armored warrior moved passed a covered pile of gravel and ran towards the mine shaft to the side, his body suddenly shook as his left leg was hit. Although it did not deal weak-point damage, the gray-armored warrior did not have high defense, which allowed Feng Luo to inflict almost 800 damage. The only drawback was that it hit the player's armor, so the burning effect did not trigger.

For damage at this level, a Level-40 Light Armor Warriors with an average HP of around 7,000 like the gray-armored warrior should have been able to take seven or eight shots. If he were to use blood tonics in between those shots, then it would probably take another one or two hits.

Of course, this was under normal circumstances. For Feng Luo, if he destroyed the opponent's defenses, he might only need to deliver a single lethal blow to drain the HP of the opponent completely.

The gray-armored warrior had no way of knowing this. So after he was shot once, he calculated how many shots he could take and flashed a mocking smile. He no longer took cover and exposed his body before rushing toward Feng Luo's location.

Similarly, Feng Luo's lips curled upward as his right index finger pulled the M110 trigger yet again. This is exactly what I want!

Pang!

2013!

Yellow damage numbers!

With around 350 meters between them, the shot once again accurately hit the left leg of the gray-armored warrior, which was continually shaking due to moving at high speed. The row of yellow damage numbers proved that this shot had hit practically the same spot as the previous shot hit. The previous bullet had already damaged this area's defense by more than 50 percent. As such, the second shot achieved a weak-point damage effect! This shot also completely destroyed the defense of that area of the warrior's leg, and the impact of the sniper rifle bullet also triggered an "attack special effect."

The gray-armored warrior felt as if his leg had been hit by a heavy hammer. His body, which had been running at full speed, fell immediately. After that, he continued to roll on the ground several times due to unstoppable momentum.

F*ck! the gray-armored warrior cried out in his mind.

The Heavy Armor Warrior captain protecting the three Manipulators with his shield was also in disbelief to witness the point of impact of the shot and the damage value that appeared in his team's party channel.

Naturally, the damage was considered high. With one shot, around one-third of the gray-armored warrior's HP was gone. However, this was not what really shocked the captain. What made his heart tremble was the accuracy of the shot!

At several meters apart, hitting a warrior running at high speed twice in a row was not easy, but it was also not impossible. Among the Snipers he knew, there were more than one who could achieve this. But these two shots had to hit the exact same spot. Among the Snipers he knew, there was absolutely no one who could do such a thing! In fact, if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would not have even believed that there were players who could do it!

Oh f*ck! The Heavy Armor Warrior captain looked despondent. Lonely Gunner, you idiot! Just who did you mess with?

However, what he did not know was that hitting the same spot and achieving a weak-point effect was also quite shocking to Feng Luo. His objective in taking the shots had been to hopefully, by continuously hit the leg, use the impact of the bullet to slow the progression of the enemy. He hadn't thought that the shot would happen to hit the same spot as the previous one, even triggering a rare special effect. So, in truth, there was a lot of luck involved in this shot!

Unfortunately, the damage of the shot was not high enough; otherwise, it might have been possible for a special effect like "Leg Break" to appear. In that case, the Light Armor Warrior would have become a sitting duck with no choice but to await his fate.

However, based on the current situation, the Light Armor Warrior who had fallen to the ground—and had not yet stood up—still made a nice target. It was way too easy to take him out.

Feng Luo raised his M110 in preparation to finish off this gray-armored warrior—

Pow! Pow! Pow!

At that moment, a cacophony of gunfire rang out. The Machine Gunner on the opposing side had completed assembling his weapon: a metallic Level-40, six-barreled "Hydra" Heavy Machine Gun. Six alloy gun barrels rotated at high-speed as tons of bullets sprayed toward Feng Luo.

The entire forest of shrubs trembled as if a strong gale had blown past. Trees exploded one by one, and bullet holes appeared one after another on the ground. The smoke and debris that rose into the air also blocked Feng Luo's field of vision and made him completely lose his accuracy from his previous shot. Apart from that, three rows of damage numbers also appeared consecutively over his head.

292!

356!

301!

The machine gun was 450 meters away, and its damage was weakened considerably. Due to the long distance and the poor stability of the shots, the bullets deviated from their trajectory significantly, so only three bullets hit Feng Luo. However, it still reduced around one-third of his HP.

The explosiveness of a Machine Gunner was too much! Plus, this explosive strength could continue until the entire 1,000-round cartridge belt was emptied entirely.

Pow! Pow!

The crazy wave of over a dozen bullets per second forced Feng Luo to press his head down. He could only take cover. He did not even have the opportunity to use M110 to fire a shot.

As for the uninjured silver-armored warrior, he had already taken the opportunity to cast Charge and rush straight at Feng Luo.

As he crouched down to hide from the onslaught of the machine gun, Feng Luo could not see the movements of the opponent, but he could guess them. It was a good thing he had long been prepared for this sort of situation.

The location he had chosen to hide in was not a pure shrub forest. In reality, it was an abandoned mine shaft that had been excavated. As long as one remained hidden, one could avoid being seen while changing locations. Moreover, he had also prepared a little something in the mine shaft. If the Light Armor Warrior got that far, perhaps it could be used.

While crouched down, Feng Luo picked up the M110 and crawled ten meters to another position, simultaneously removing the deflagration armor-piercing bullets cartridge and switching to another new cartridge of bullets.

After quietly switching positions to the back of the shrub, Feng Luo quietly peeked his head out. He set up his sniper rifle, aimed at the head of the heavy Machine Gunner, and quickly adjusted the shooting parameters.

Machine Gunners had crazy firepower and had the frightening ability to put pressure on opponents. However, their weaknesses were also pronounced; their bullets were depleted too quickly. A box of shells could be emptied in no time, and the moment the Machine Gunner reloaded, there would be gaps that their opponents could exploit.

In addition, as soon as a heavy machine gun was assembled, it was hard to move or dodge, which meant that they lost the mobility that Scouts and Snipers possessed. Faced against a strike, they were practically live targets. So although Machine Gunners were the nemesis of Snipers, Snipers were also the nemesis of Machine Gunners!

In just three seconds, Feng Luo pulled the trigger.

Pang!

364!

2830!

7.62mm armor-piercing bullets flew over 400 meters and hit the Machine Gunner in the head. The high-speed, rotating, armor-piercing bullets tore through the transparent safety mask of on the head of the opponent and accurately hit the bridge of his nose, exploding into a fountain of blood. This shot invoked the "Heavily Injured" condition on the Machine Gunner instantly!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 12: Double Armor-Piercing Round

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

There were a lot of special damage effects in War. Among them, the "Heavy Injury" and "Weakened" states were ones players encountered most often.

Heavy Injury

When HP is below 5 %, the character will be in a heavily injured state. All life indicators will be at their lowest point. Movement will become extremely difficult. Plus, in combat, one might not even have the strength to apply a blood tonic to replenish HP.

Apart from that, when HP was below 15 percent, players would be in a weakened state. This status was a negative status similar to the heavy injury status but on a less severe scale.

Feng Luo's shot had shaved off over 95 percent of the heavy Machine Gunner's HP straight away, sending him directly into the Heavy Injury status. And because of the shot's impact, the Machine Gunner's body was knocked backward.

His hands still tightly gripped the Hydra heavy machine gun the moment he was shot, and the angle of his aim shifted just a little. Very unluckily, several of his bullets hit the gray-armored warrior hiding behind a pile of dirt, who was just about to administer some blood tonics on his body.

245!

214!

199!

203!

235!

Consecutive damage numbers appeared overtop of the head of the gray-armored warrior. The impact from several bullets sent the blood tonics in his hand to the ground.

The gray-armored warrior was stunned by this attack from behind, and his reaction was to shout at the machine gunner who had fired those bullets. "F*ck! Old Huo, what the hell are you doing?"

It was important to note that in War, there was no setting that nullified friendly fire just because players were in the same team. There were also no settings such as "Peaceful mode" or "PK Mode." In truth, under whatever circumstances, players in War could attack each other at any time. The only difference was that after teaming up, damage from members from within the same party was regarded as "Accidental Injury," so the damage would be reduced to one-third of the original damage.

The gray-armored warrior was less than 200 meters away from the Machine Gunner. Within this range, the Machine Gunner's damage was not reduced due to distance. As such, even if the damage was only one-third of the original, it was still high, shaving off almost 1,000 HP of the grey armor warrior's remaining HP instantly.

The "Accidental Injury" setting of the game undoubtedly made the game more realistic, while at the same time substantially increasing the difficulty of the game. In this case, players could no longer swarm high-level boss monsters with high numbers like in normal online games because when the number of players hunting a boss exceeded a certain quantity, it was highly likely for hilarious situations to occur—such as a Warrior tanking on the front lines to be killed not by the boss monster but by the attacks of Manipulators and Gunners standing behind him.

Assuming that he had suffered an Accidental Injury, the gray-armored warrior turned around looking annoyed, but then the scene that awaited him left him dumbfounded.

The Machine Gunner known as "Old Huo" was on the ground, his eyes filled with panic while the Heavy Armor Warrior rushed toward him with his shield raised to protect him. However, an armor-piercing bullet was one step ahead. It had already flown past the shield and hit the head of the Machine Gunner!

Pang!

145!

Although it was simple, white normal damage, it was enough to take care of the last drop of HP of the Machine Gunner!

As he watched his teammate die in a matter of seconds and turn into a flash of white light, the Heavy Armor Warrior's face froze. Machine Gunners needed a wide field of vision and plenty of space to shoot; he clearly could not have stood directly in front of the Machine Gunner to block him, but he could have held the shield while standing beside him. He knew that there was only one opponent, and that opponent was being suppressed by the heavy firepower of the machine gun. As such, he had not been worried because he didn't think anything would go wrong. He would never have imagined that the Sniper would still dare to counterattack under this situation, let alone actually manage to break the defense of his teammate's headgear in one shot, placing his teammate in a Heavy Injury condition.

By the time he had reacted and tried to raise his shield to protect him, it was already too late.

"Just what is the grade and level of his gun?" said the Heavy Armor Warrior. "How can it have such destructive power? He only used one shot to break the Excellent-Grade protective facemask of Old Huo!"

The heavy armor warrior was puzzled by this, while Feng Luo was satisfied with the effect of the new bullets inside his M110 cartridge.

Double Armor-Piercing Round (D-Grade Ammunition)

Increase attack by 5%, attacks inflict damage twice. The first attack will have an extremely powerful effect in piercing the defense of equipment below D grade.

The structure of this bullet was akin to putting a small bullet inside a larger bullet casing, so the second damage that appeared would have stronger weak-point damage. The principle was similar to the effect achieved by Feng Luo's previous two shots, which had hit the same point twice. This was also why a white and yellow damage value had appeared overtop of the Machine Gunner.

Feng Luo had manufactured this type of bullet himself. The cost for each bullet was as high as 80 credits. They were expensive, but the effects were outstanding. That was because there was a high probability that the double armor-piercing round would directly break the defense of equipment below D grade.

Defense coefficient, attack coefficient, material coefficient… These were all the special coefficients used in War, and they affected the attack and defense of players substantially.

The higher the attack coefficient, the easier it was to break the defense of the opponent. If the gap between the two was larger, one could even completely ignore defense and penetrate through. Even with a piece of equipment in between, the shot could still deal weak-point damage or even lethal damage. Apart from that, the disparity between attack and defense coefficient also affected the value of the damage.

When the gap between the attack coefficient and the defense coefficient was one whole grade, the damage would be reduced by half. When it was two grades, the damage would be reduced by 90 percent. And when it was three grades, it resulted in a special characteristic called "anti-defense break."

However, the attack coefficient of the M110 was "D." Compared to the more common D or E-grade defense coefficient of most players at the moment, its destructive properties were quite significant. Adding the armor break characteristic of the double armor-piercing round that increased the probability of breaking armor, normal defensive equipment below C grade would not be able to withstand more than a few shots.

"Sh*t!" said the Heavy Armor Warrior. "If this bastard managed to break the Excellent defensive mask of Old Huo with one shot, then wouldn't it also be possible for him to break my armor in one shot?"

The Heavy Armor Warrior made sense of things and knew that the attack coefficient of Feng Luo's sniper rifle was astounding. Or perhaps he was using some special ammunition. After that, the Heavy Armor Warrior immediately crouched behind his shield, not exposing any parts of his body whatsoever.

The armor on his body only had D or D defense coefficients, and his boots were only E. It was clear that his defensive gear did not guarantee safety.

Although Heavy Armor Warriors were the natural enemies of Gunners, in situations when the armor of a Heavy Armor Warrior could not compare against the destructive power of a Gunner, the advantage was reversed. The slower Heavy Armor Warrior would undoubtedly become the best target for the hit-and-run tactics of Snipers.

However, at the moment, Feng Luo did not have time to deal with this Heavy Armor Warrior because another Heavy Armor Warrior, who was at Level 47, had already led three Energy Manipulators within less than 300 meters away of Feng Luo's position.

Two light green wind blades, one blazing fireball, and three crystal clear ice spears all flew toward the forest where Feng Luo was hiding!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 13: Duel

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The attack range of professions in War could be divided into long-range, long-mid-range, mid-range, and close-quarters.

The class that represented long-range was naturally the Sniper. Their firing range was between 800 meters to one kilometer, far exceeding the attack range of other professions.

Representatives of long-mid-range professions were Machine Gunners. They had frighteningly destructive damage within a range of 600 meters.

There were also mid-range professions—Energy Manipulators, Scouts, and other professions whose attack range could reach around 300 meters all qualified. Among them, the ones with the longest range were the Wind Manipulators, whose attack range could reach 400 meters.

As for the representatives of close-quarters professions, naturally, the attack range of Warriors was the smallest. Most of their skills could also realize their full potential in close quarters.

It was important to note that the attack power of all professions in War had a "half-range reduction" setting, in which the damage of skills and bullets would start to decrease after the distance exceeded half of the maximum attack range. However, the degree of damage reduction also differed between different professions. The reduction for Snipers was relatively lower; even at the periphery of their attack range, the damage would generally maintain about 50 percent of the original damage. The damage reduction for the skills of Manipulators was the worst. By the time an attack reached the maximum distance, the damage would only be 10 percent of its original amount.

Due to this fact, although the three Manipulators initiated their attacks against Feng Luo, Feng Luo did not choose to retreat. Instead, he quickly shifted the aim of his gun in another direction and locked his aim on the silver-armored Warrior using the Charge skill.

The silver-armored Warrior had not been disturbed all this while had already charged to a position less than 50 meters away from Feng Luo.

At that moment, the relative position of the two was that one had higher ground while the other did not. However, both could clearly see the expressions of each other's face. One was calm; the other was composed.

The moment their eyes locked—

Pang!

A dull gunshot rang out from the M110. However, for the first time, no damage value appeared. That was because the moment the gunshot resounded, the silver-armored Warrior had already thrown himself forward onto the ground with great speed. So, for the first time, Feng Luo's bullet missed!

Of course, the silver-armored Warrior had not dodged the shot by relying on the sound of the gunshot, since the initial velocity of bullets traveled faster than sound. Rather, the first time the silver-armored Warrior had locked gaze with Feng Luo, he had immediately taken evasive maneuver on instinct. As a result, he succeeded in achieving a feat that seemed impossible: dodging a bullet. This was a pure display of PK awareness.

An expert! thought Feng Luo.

As the shot missed, a chill went down Feng Luo's spine. At the same time, a fireball and two wind blades reached Feng Luo's body.

97!

350!

315!

The damage of the fireball was reduced greatly due to the distance and did not even reach three digits. The damage of the wind blade was also decreased, but the damage was still anything but weak. As for the three ice spears, they were off-target by some distance and fell into the shrubs behind him, puncturing several leaves in the trees.

Skills in War did not have automatic tracking functions like normal games. Instead, it required players to predict enemy maneuvers and control their attacks accordingly, so based on the accuracy of skills, one could easily differentiate the experts from the normal players.

Although the ice spears missed, the cooldown times for these sorts of basic long-range skills were very short. Just five seconds after the first wave of attacks, another two wind blades and three ice spears flew over. Not only that, but the air above Feng Luo's head suddenly turned very hot, and a strong pressure came from above. It felt as if something terrifying was brewing!

"An ultimate skill!"

Feng Luo did not hesitate. He grabbed his M110 immediately and cast Quick Sneak before running quickly towards the mine pit behind him.

Boom!

More than a dozen giant fireballs with blazing dark red flames fell from above, creating a huge wave of heat that blew the dust off the ground and into the surrounding air. They even dried up all the plants and trees in the forest within the attack range. The dry leaves on the ground began to burn fiercely. It was the Level-40 ultimate skill of Fire Manipulators: Meteor Rain!

It was a good thing Feng Luo had started running in advance. He was fortunate that this breathtaking skill hadn't hit him.

In truth, due to damage reduction from the increased range, even if the ultimate skill were to have hit him, he probably wouldn't have died. However, the intention of the opponent was clearly not to hit him but to alter the environment of the surrounding landscape. If the trees, branches, and leaves around him were burned, Feng Luo would have nowhere left to hide.

In addition, the dense black smoke produced from the terrible fires would substantially affect the field of vision and visibility of the Gunner. It could have been said that this single move negated most of Feng Luo's combat strength. And with this, the silver-armored Warrior on the team would be able to take care of Feng Luo easily.

In fact, the Light Armor Warrior had already rushed forward by then. He turned his head and, through the thick smoke, spotted Feng Luo quickly "escaping" into the interior of the pit.

Without a hint of hesitation, the silver-armored Warrior rushed toward Feng Luo. As he ran, a white light flashed in his hands, and a silvery-white alloy longsword appeared.

"Damn!" Feng Luo cursed, and an "anxious" look appeared on his face. After that, as if knowing that he could no longer escape, Feng Luo turned around and raised the M110, aiming right at the silver-armored Warrior, as if this was his last stand.

The silver-armored Warrior was calm and did not display any panic. He knew that with his defense and HP, even against a Sniper with a full set of Rare equipment, there was no way he would die within three or even four shots. And at such a close distance, the opponent would have the opportunity to take one shot, at most. The moment he closed the distance, he would be able to end the duel within ten seconds. He had absolute confidence in his ability!

"It's finished!" said the silver-armored Warrior.

He took half a step forward, and his right foot stepped onto the ground of the mine pit. Then, as if a powerful force exploded from beneath his feet, the Level-30 skill of the Warrior, the Thunder Leap Slash, started its cooldown.

Boom!

However, at that moment, a loud sound came from beneath the ground where he had stepped. After that, the silver-armored Warrior could only feel his body being swept away by a huge wave of heat.

Feng Luo's face suddenly appeared calm. Although the damage of the bomb he had planted there long ago only reached the hundreds, the shock wave threw the silver-armored Warrior high into the air, creating an opportunity for him to continue dishing out his attacks.

What…? This unexpected turn of events changed the facial expression of the silver-armored Warrior.

Pang!

552!

2734!

The body was still in the air, but the sound of the M110 rifle had already rung out!

The mighty, destructive force of the D-Grade double armor-piercing rounds demonstrated their full potential at close range. One shot was all that was needed to pierce a fist-sized hole through the belly of the alloy armor of the silver-armored Warrior.

Immediately after the first shot, Feng Luo threw the M110 to the side and switched to the Desert Eagle, increasing the distance between them while firing away.

In War, all guns were limited in their rate of fire. The M110 had a lengthy reload time. If one did not use the Rapid Shooting skill, one needed approximately two seconds to take another shot. As for the Desert Eagle, one could shoot once in less than one second. Although the damage of a single shot was lower, the total damage was certainly not weak. Moreover, it was more flexible.

1430!

1520!

Feng Luo fired the Desert Eagle in his hands twice. Both shots accurately went through the same hole pierced through the belly of the silver-armored Warrior's armor. Although they didn't deal lethal damage since it was not a vital area, with Feng Luo's talent, dealing weak-point damage also meant bonus damage of 50 percent.

After just three shots from Feng Luo, the silver-armored Warrior had already lost over 6,000 HP!

However, after the two shots from the Desert Eagle, the silver-armored Warrior hit the ground, rolled over, and quickly stood up. By now, the confidence had left the face of the silver-armored Warrior. This was because his remaining HP was now at less than 15 percent, and he was in a "weakened" state. Feng Luo had also managed to increase the distance between them to more than 15 meters, and the next shot from the Desert Eagle was already leaving the barrel.

Pang!

The silver-armored Warrior attempted to dodge, but at such close range, even a celestial being could not have dodged the shot.

437!

Although the normal damage from the Desert Eagle was not high—dealing just over 400 damage to the silver-armored Warrior who had just stood up—it was enough to send the enemy falling to the ground while he gazed up to the sky in resignation.

His HP was now lower than 5 percent, thus placing him in the "heavy injury" state!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 14: Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Pang!

335!

The fourth shot of the Desert Eagle took away the last remaining HP of the silver-armored Warrior. After the white light of death flashed, a silverish-white alloy longsword was left on the ground.

You intentionally PKed and killed player Sword of Wind and Cloud. Your PK value has reached five points. The period of your red name status will remain for 15 days game time.

"What luck! This must be unprecedented!" said Feng Luo, looking astounded as he gazed at the silverish alloy longsword on the ground.

Everyone knew that when players died in War, the probability of a white-name player dropping a piece of equipment was only 30 percent, while a red-name player always dropped at least one piece of equipment. When a white name was killed by a red name, the probability of dropping a piece of equipment was less than 1 percent!

Since Feng Luo had killed multiple players in succession, his name had turned red long ago. As for this player called Sword of Wind and Cloud, he was a white-name player. Who would have thought that after he died, he would drop a piece of equipment? Plus, it was his main weapon: an alloy longsword.

"It's too bad this game doesn't have a lottery system," muttered Feng Luo. "Otherwise, I would definitely have to buy one today." Feng Luo sighed.

Halfway up the mountain in the mine, the three Manipulators—under the protection of the Heavy Armor Warrior who was running up the mountain—were shocked to see the status of the silver-armored Warrior in their party column changed to "Dead."

"Sword actually died! How is that possible?"

"He's a Sniper! How is it possible for him to KO a Light Armor Warrior in such a short amount of time?"

They were not alone; the gray-armored Warrior hiding behind a pile of dirt and trying to recover his HP also looked shocked. As a Light Armor Warrior, of course, he knew the weaknesses of a Sniper in close-quarters combat.

The captain of the party, the Heavy Armor Warrior, looked gloomy and suddenly said after a moment of silence, "Retreat!"

"Captain?" the other four called out at the same time, clearly not understanding what he meant.

"This person is absolutely an expert!" said the captain. "Even Sword didn't manage to get rid of him. Even if Seven gets up there, he won't be a worthy opponent. Without Light Armor Warriors, it is too difficult to catch a Sniper who has already increased his distance from us. Furthermore, if we are careless, we might all die from hit-and-run strikes." He shook his head with a solemn expression. "Don't forget that we still have to do that mission today. If anybody else dies today, we certainly won't be able to complete the mission!"

The Heavy Armor Warrior sounded calm, but hidden in his eyes was a sense of gloom.

"But he killed six of us!" said the gray-armored Warrior called "Seven" after hearing the words from the captain. "Are we going to just let him go?"

After considering this for a while, the Heavy Armor Warrior said coldly, "Of course we can't leave the situation as it is! We will retreat first. We will make a decision after we check with Sword about what exactly happened. There is no way this matter will be left like this. We can't embarrass the mercenary group!"

Silver Will (Two-Handed Sword)

Grade: Excellent

Attack: 520

Attack Coefficient: D

Material Coefficient: D

Strength 19

Agility 7

Level Requirement: 45

Overall Evaluation: Excellent

Feng Luo looked at the alloy longsword with outstanding attributes in his hands and once again let out a sigh as he lamented the luck of the silver-armored Warrior.

In truth, given the attributes of this sword, if Feng Luo had allowed the Warrior to get close to him, he might have been destroyed with two to three skills from the opponent. It was no wonder the opponent had seemed so confident. However, the more confident a person was, the easier it was for that person to fall into a trap—especially in a game like War, where there was such a high degree of freedom. Confidence was often directly associated with hubris.

By now, that Light Armor Warrior was probably in his capsule feeling regretful. The penalty for dying in War was not light. Not only did players lose experience, but they were also unable to reconnect to the game for 12 hours in real time. But his biggest regret was surely that he had dropped the longsword.

As a piece of Level-45 Excellent equipment, the other attributes of the sword were ordinary, but the "Strength 19" attribute was beyond amazing.

It was important to note that in War, every player obtained just one free attribute point per level. At the same time, every two level-ups increased all attributes by 1. That also meant that under normal circumstances, if a player did not increase his or her Strength during level-ups, then the player would only have 20 points in Strength. After equipping this sword, his or her strength would almost double.

Of course, in reality, it was impossible for the player wielding this weapon to double their Strength. This was because the sword suited the Light Armor Warrior best, and for a Light Armor Warrior, Strength was their main attribute. Normally, they would focus most of their main attributes on Strength.

With the bonus effects of equipment, on average, a Level-40 Warrior might have around 80 points in Strength. Even so, the added Strength from this longsword would increase that by one-fourth. For any Warrior, it was considered a significant increase.

If it were placed in the exchange, by Feng Luo's estimation, this sword would probably fetch a price of 30,000 credits. It was far more valuable than that piece of copper ore gem he had lost.

Since the opponent had dropped a valuable piece of equipment, Feng Luo guessed that the others would not give up just like that.

Oddly enough, after waiting for a while, he noticed that the opponents were not only neglecting to continue their attacks, but they were actually retreating under the protection of the two Heavy Armor Warriors.

What's going on?

While Feng Luo was pondering this, a phone call reminder message appeared from the communicator.

Player "Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star" requesting a call!

In War, long-range communication between players could only be achieved by connecting with the communicator of the personal terminal. However, it was only possible to perform super-long-range phone calls within cities. Outside cities, communicators were affected by the magnetic field and, hence, could only work within a few kilometers.

That implied that the person calling him through the communicator right now had to be one of the few players on the mountainside. It was his attacks that had created the malicious PK situation, so the opponents already knew his ID, meaning they could call him on his communicator directly.

As expected, as soon as Feng Luo connected the call, a slightly deep male voice arose from within. "Feng Zhi Luoye! I am Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star from the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group!"

The person on the opposite end announced his origins. From his cold tone, one could also get a sense of his arrogance—and the sense that he was a real son of a b*tch.

"Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group?"

Feng Luo frowned. Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group was one of the strongest forces within Silvermoon City. He lived in Silvermoon City, so he naturally knew the reputation of his mercenary group. Moreover, the key players of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Groups all put the words "Roaring Dragon" in front of their ID names. Based on this factor alone, it could be inferred that Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star's position within the ranks of the mercenary group was not low.

In War, there were many types of player organizations such as mercenary groups, companies, guilds, clubs, alliances… As long as they were recognized by the Federation, paid the required registration fee, and didn't do anything illegal, they were considered legal organizations.

Mercenary groups were a type of mid-sized organization. The minimum number of members was ten while the maximum number was 10,000.

The Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group was the one and only mercenary group in Silvermoon City with the maximum number of members. It also happened to be the force with the most members. After all, Silvermoon City was only a small city with a population of less than 50,000. For a force with tens of thousands of people, their influence was significant enough.

In truth, due to their strength, people from the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group always walked through Silvermoon City with upturned noses. This was also why Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star spoke in such a high-and-mighty tone of voice—and did so as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Feng Zhi Luoye, in this incident, Gunner was the one who was at fault, but you've already killed him and taken your revenge. So I won't say anything else. Return the longsword dropped by Sword of Wind and Cloud and apologize in the forum. Then we will not continue to pursue this incident of you intentionally killing six of us. Otherwise, you will know…"

Feng Luo resisted the urge to vomit, but he felt puzzled in his heart. The silver-armored Warrior should not have been able to reconnect for another 12 hours, so how did these people know that a longsword had been dropped? He was reminded that players followed the "Fundamental Offline Law," which was to exchange messages in reality. It was no surprise that they had grasped the situation so quickly.

Feng Luo was in deep thought, so did not respond immediately. Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star, thinking that he was stunned, used a less intimidating tone as he continued, "After you apologize on the forum, this can all be settled through dialogue. The Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group would even welcome an expert like you to join our ranks. We won't know each other unless we fight, after all—"

"Crazy bastard!" Feng Luo said, cutting him off.

Feng Luo did not want to bother saying more. With a loud "pa" sound, he disconnected the communicator and blacklisted Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star straight away.

On the other side, the face of Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star turned dark. His expression was clouded after hearing the last words of Feng Luo and receiving the system message notifying him that he was blocked.

"Ungrateful bastard!"

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 15: Town of Exiles

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The "Town of Exiles" was a unique town around 200 kilometers south of Silvermoon City. From its name, one could tell that the function of the town was to exile! Exile whom? Convicts of the Federation—including a few infamous NPCs and red-name players who killed others or violated federal laws.

Due to the rules of the system, red-name players could not enter normal cities. Otherwise, they would be wanted by the city guards. They could not use some of the transportation, too. As such, after players were red-named, apart from helping their friends transport supplies, their only other choice was to go to the "Town of Exiles," which was commonly called the "Red City."

There were many towns of exiles in War. In any location between cities, there was bound to be at least one Town of Exiles.

In some large cities with population capacities of over 10 million, the Town of Exiles beside these metropolitan areas could even house millions of players. It was not an exaggeration to call these towns "Red Cities."

Players in towns of exiles were safe from the attacks of the Federation's army, and they could obtain supplies and repair their equipment. The only problem was that in towns of exiles, the prices of ammunition and supplies were several times higher than those in a normal city.

Riding the SCV-Type One Motorcycle nicknamed "Land Bullet," Feng Luo arrived at the Town of Exiles less than an hour after leaving the Open-Air Mine.

After committing a PK and becoming a red-name player, one needed three days to become a yellow name, and after that, an additional one day to return to a white name. However, this was the situation for a player with a PK value of only one point (one PK). Every time the PK value went up by one, the number of days one remained as a yellow-name player would increase accordingly.

Feng Luo had killed five players from the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group (killing Lonely Gunner and I Love Loli were considered reasonable retaliation). He needed to wait 15 days before he could "turn yellow."

It was too long. He couldn't wait that long. His only choice was to go to the Town of Exiles since there was a method to "clear" one from being a red name.

A player wearing a brown jacket on top of a gunner's combat uniform smiled at Feng Luo, showing a row of yellow teeth. "Hey, brother. First time in a red city?" he said in a familiar tone as Feng Luo was getting off his bike.

He passed him a cigarette and glanced at the SCV-Type One quietly. Enthusiasm flashed in the eyes of this "Yellow-tooth." An energy motorcycle like this had an aura of power and science-fiction that was the dream of most male players in War.

"No need!" Feng Luo waved his hand and declined his cigarette. He did not smoke because for a Sniper, getting the urge to smoke while hiding was a very troublesome thing.

Yellow-tooth paid the comment no mind and took out a metallic lighter, lighting a bunch of cigarettes for himself as he looked at Feng Luo's ID overtop of his head. "Hey, brother! Looks like you killed around five people. You got skills!"

Red names were separated by different degrees. The more players one killed, the darker the color. To a certain extent, the red would become dark red. Beyond that, a name would become purple or even black, which was what the players usually referred to as, "so red that it is turning black." Experienced players could roughly determine the PK value of a player based on the color of their name.

"Brother, if you want to clear your red name, I can provide you with some information," Yellow-tooth announced. "You just need to pay a finder's fee!"

Yellow-tooth did not seem concerned about hiding his intention, puffing the cigarettes clipped between his right-hand fingers, which were roasted black.

"How much?" Feng Luo asked. He looked around and noticed that there were many other players like Yellow-tooth in front of him, waiting around at the intersection of the town of exile. Every time they saw the arrival of a newcomer, someone would immediately walk over. It seemed like this had become quite a profitable business.

"For your situation, around 200 to 300 will do," said Yellow-tooth. "As for the specifics, I'll collect the payment after it is done."

"All right!" sand Feng Luo.

He was also very straightforward. It was his first time in the Town of Exiles, and he just wanted to get rid of the PK value as fast as possible. It was far preferable to allow someone who was familiar with the topic to guide him, rather than groping about blindly by himself.

"There are three ways to clear a red name," Yellow-tooth said. His expression became more formal now that a deal was in place. "The first is to spend money. For PK values below ten, spending 1,000 credits wipes off one point. As for PK values above ten, the price of one point is 10,000. PK values above 100 will require 100,000 credits for one point… The higher it goes, the more expensive it becomes. This method is usually only available for the wealthy."

That really is dark, thought Feng Luo. For those with PK values above 100, it's the equivalent of spending 10,000 star coins to reduce the total by one point. Even tycoons wouldn't be able to afford that!

It would have been a mistake to think that it was difficult to get 100 points in PK value. In fact, PK numbers in the hundreds were not uncommon in War.

For example, in a chaotic battle involving thousands of people, if a Machine Gunner with decent equipment were to seize the right opportunities, clearing a cartridge belt with 1,000 rounds could certainly net him over a dozen PKs. Or, in another instance, if a good Manipulator with high-level equipment were to use an area-wide skill, the results would be similar.

Even Snipers who could only deal single-target damage, if the equipment and awareness were both decent, could similarly net the player with hundreds of kills while hiding in a suitable spot. So, considering how easy it was to kill a player, the money needed to reduce the PK value was indeed expensive.

"The second method is to complete missions," continued Yellow-tooth, "which involves taking on clearing missions in the mission center in the Red City. The difficulty depends on how much PK value needs to be cleared. However, a deposit is needed when receiving missions, and the deposit will not be refunded if the mission ends in failure."

This method sounds pretty good, thought Feng Luo. The only thing is that the difficulty of the mission is not entirely clear.

"As for the third method…!" Yellow-tooth pursed his lips and breathed out a green smoke ring. "It's to PK!"

"PK?" Feng Luo was dumbfounded.

"Yes, PK! If you kill other red-name players, you will be able to clear half the number of that player's PK value. Killing white-name players decreases the PK value by two fixed points. However, killing yellow-name players is useless."

"White-name players? There are white-name players here?" Feng Luo looked around. The people around them practically all had yellow or red names floating above them. There wasn't a white-name player in sight.

"Very few," said Yellow-tooth. "But there are always some white-names who get here due to missions. Killing white-names reduces a PK count by two. It is much more effective than killing red-name players." Yellow-tooth showed an evil grin. But then, sensing that Feng Luo seemed to have been moved by this, he hastily added, "However, I won't advise you to choose the third method."

"Oh?" said Feng Luo. "Why?"

Feng Luo thought this was weird. PK was clearly the fastest method to clear one's name. He would not even need to spend money.

"First, it is because the red-name players who come here are mostly not good people. After getting killed, they are bound to hold a grudge. Even if your strength far exceeds them, being the target of revenge for people like that will be quite troublesome."

Feng Luo frowned. That was definitely a problem. After all, although one could not really kill a person in the game, one could still harass someone to the point that the game became unplayable!

"Second, it is because many people have the intention of using this method, which is why many of them form teams specifically to do this. If you were to make the rash decision to leave town alone, it is very likely you would become a target of people using you to clear their names" Yellow-tooth flicked some ashes.

"My only choice is the second method then," Feng Luo said. He hadn't expected there to be so many ways to cleanse one's red name.

"Yup," said Yellow-tooth. "I do advise you to clear your name by completing missions. However, if you want to select the third method, I can also introduce someone to you who is quite experienced in this matter."

"Forget it," Feng Luo said as he shook his head. "I'll just choose the second method. Where do I get these clearing missions?"

As for spending money to get rid of the red name, although a price of 5,000 credits wasn't much, Feng Luo currently had no choice. He was low on money.

"Follow me!"

The yellow-toothed man led him through a labyrinth of roads before finally arriving at a three-story building beside the administration hall.

"This is the mission center in the Town of Exiles," he said.

Rather than the beautiful NPC who greeted people with a smile at the hunter's guild in Silvermoon City, the NPC handling mission assignments here was a gigantic, burly man with a beard. He received Feng Luo's mission application with a cold face and passed a mission chip to him.

After Luo Feng placed the half-transparent chip into the personal computer reader, the mission information was displayed.

Mission Objective: Head toward the forest of exiles and kill a captain of the underground rebel army.

Mission Reward: PK Value reduced by five points; one manufacturing blueprint of the Eye of the Thunder Gun Barrel.

This mission requires a deposit of 2,000 credits!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 16: Hidden Mission

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

On the mission data interface, there was a grayish-black 3D picture of a gun barrel that had silverish-white electric current coursing across its surface from time to time.

Eye of the Thunder (Rare-grade Sniper Rifle) Barrel

Increases effective attack range by 250 meters. Bullets have a 1 percent probability of additional electric effects.

Rare gun barrel with an increase of 250 meters in effective attack range!

These two attributes immediately made Feng Luo's eyes shine. In War, large guns like sniper rifles or machine guns were categorized as assembly-type equipment. Most of the time, players only received parts of a gun. After that, they had to collect and assemble all the parts before obtaining a complete gun. The parts of different gun models could not be used interchangeably; however, they could be modified and then assembled by a gun manufacturer.

This "Eye of the Thunder" gun barrel could be used on the M110 after some slight modification, which would allow the M110 to have the attribute "increase effective attack range by 250 meters." The importance of adding over 200 meters to the attack distance of a sniper rifle was obvious.

It was important to note that the effective attack range of mainstream Sniper players was approximately 800 to 1,000 meters. Feng Luo's M110 originally had a 1,000-meter attack range, and it was already at the maximum limit of an Excellent-grade sniper rifle under Level 40. To exceed 1,000 meters, one would likely need to own a Rare-grade sniper rifle.

The catch was that it wasn't easy to obtain a piece of Rare-grade equipment. As an assembly-type weapon, a Rare grade sniper rifle was, without a doubt, several times more difficult to obtain than the Rare Desert Eagle in his possession.

I never would have thought that the Town of Exiles would actually have a mission that had the manufacturing blueprint for a sniper rifle part! thought Feng Luo.

He was a little excited. The reward for the mission was only the manufacturing blueprint of the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel and not the barrel itself, but for Feng Luo, the value of the blueprint was much higher! That was because his Gun Manufacturer level was already at "Expert." Theoretically, he could manufacture Rare-grade equipment. As soon as he got the blueprint, manufacturing the gun barrel wouldn't be a problem at all!

"If there are extra rewards for completing these red-name-clearing missions, why didn't you mention it during your introduction?" Feng Luo asked the yellow-toothed guy behind him.

If not for his lack of credits, Feng Luo might have chosen to spend credits to clear his red name and, in that case, would have missed his chance at this mission.

"Extra reward?" Yellow-tooth, still smoking his cigarette, looked dumbfounded at Feng Luo's words. Soon, his expression turned into genuine shock. "Brother, it looks like you really are an expert to even be able to trigger a hidden mission like this!"

"Hidden mission? You mean this extra reward is because of a hidden mission?" Feng Luo understood a little bit more.

"Of course, normal mission rewards only have one objective, which is to clear off the PK values. However, when the system's evaluation of the player is higher, there is a certain probability for a hidden mission like this with extra rewards to appear. This is a specialty of the missions in a Red City, man." Yellow-tooth said this in admiration, then added, "However, the difficulty for hidden missions like these are also quite high. The system would never allow players to have so many advantages so easily."

"The mission needs me to kill a medium-sized squad captain in the rebel army," said Feng Luo. "Is this difficult?"

"How should I say this…?" Yellow-tooth pondered aloud. "The underground rebel army is made up of humanoid-type monsters. More precisely, they are considered humanoid NPCs. You've heard about them, right?"

"The official briefing is that they are an armed force that rebel against the federal government," Feng Luo said.

War was meant to be set in modern times, and the current federal government was the by-product of a war that had occurred in the human world around 30 years prior. However, humans had not achieved true peace, as there were still various forces disassociated with the leaders of the government. Among them, the underground rebel army was one example. They controlled a large expanse of land outside the jurisdiction of the federal government. They could be considered the second-strongest armed force, just behind the federal government in War.

This information could all be found in the background information published by the official game company. Feng Luo was quite meticulous when doing his homework on the game, so he knew this much.

"Deep in the forest of exiles," said Yellow-tooth, "west of town, there is a base established by the rebel army. The people inside are planning something in regard to Red City, and they often kidnap yellow- and white-name players who enter the forest."

This piqued Feng Luo's curiosity. "Monsters are kidnapping players?"

"That's right," said Yellow-tooth. "Don't think of the rebel army as normal monsters. In truth, they are more like humanoid NPCs. They are familiar with the use of weapons and equipment, and they can even learn skills, use strategies, and make plans. They are completely different from normal monsters."

Suddenly, Feng Luo was interested in this rebel army. "Why are they kidnapping players? To get them to join them? Or to blackmail them for valuables?"

"The main thing is to blackmail them for money and valuables," said Yellow-tooth. "They hardly lack manpower. Since red-name players are regarded by the Federation as convicts and criminals, the rebel army isn't all that interested in them. They mainly target white- and yellow-name players. If the players are captured, they will be used as hostages to get the federal government to pay a ransom. And if, by the end of the time limit, they don't receive the ransom, they will kill the hostages."

"And the federal government doesn't pay the ransoms, right?" said Feng Luo with a smile. "After all, the players aren't actually going to die." The idea of players actually being kidnapped and killed by monsters was a bit funny.

"Whether or not they pay the ransom depends on the player," replied Yellow-tooth. "The ransom amount is actually directly deducted from the kidnapped players' account. The player can choose not to pay. Of course, in that case, he or she drops one level of experience and maybe even drops a piece of equipment."

"Since they target white- and yellow-name players, then red-name players should be safer, right?" Feng Luo asked.

"Of course not. When they encounter red-name players, most of the time, they will just kill them." Yellow-tooth puffed some smoke out of his mouth and wiped his neck. "You say your mission is to kill a medium-sized squad captain of the rebel army? This will be really difficult to do solo. If the bonus reward isn't very good, my suggestion is not to try." As Yellow-tooth said this, he stared directly at Feng Luo's face as if trying to detect something.

"Why? Are medium-sized squad captains of the rebel army very strong?" Feng Luo asked, changing the subject. He had no intention of revealing the existence of the Rare-grade gun barrel manufacturing blueprint.

"A small-sized squad captain in the rebel army is a Level-40 Elite-grade monster," said Yellow-tooth. "A medium-sized squad captain normally will be a Level-45 Elite-grade monster."

"A Level-45 Elite-grade monster?" said Feng Luo. "The difficulty isn't that high. Is it?"

A Level-45 Elite-grade monster was six levels higher than he was, and it would definitely be much harder to deal with compared to a Level-40 Elite Mutant Dog. However, if he had enough time to prepare and went in armed with the several kinds of unique bullets and ammunition in his arsenal, killing a Level-45 Elite-grade monster wouldn't be too strenuous.

"Perhaps killing the captain won't be too difficult," said Yellow-tooth. "The most difficult part is escaping pursuit. Although a medium-sized squad captain in the rebel army is only an Elite-grade monster, it usually has several rebel army soldiers protecting it, so its true strength is perhaps equivalent to a weakened Commander-grade monster."

Yellow-tooth had revealed the factor that would prove most troublesome. In War, a monster above the Commander grade would normally have subordinates alongside it, which were normally referred to as "mobs." Although a medium-sized squad captain was only an Elite-grade monster, if it had around 30 rebel army soldiers on its side, it would be almost equal to half a Commander-grade monster. And a Commander-grade monster was definitely not something a solo player could deal with!

"Moreover, a unique trait about the rebel army is that they are not afraid of death," Yellow-tooth added. "Even if you kill their captain, the remaining rebel army soldiers will not falter and run away. Instead, they will pursue you to the ends of the earth. Many players have been killed during the pursuit after completing their missions."

"If that's the case, then this really is a problem!" Feng Luo frowned. "Forget it. I'll go take a look first. If I really can't complete it, then I'll give up."

He understood the situation, but the temptation for the Rare-grade gun barrel blueprint was too much. He decided to check it out first.

"Since you've already decided, then 300 credits as a token of gratitude," said Yellow-tooth. "Oh, that's right—I'll give you a free map of the forest of exiles. It should prove useful!"

Seeing as Feng Luo had decided, Yellow-tooth smiled brightly. He had merely wagged his tongue a little, and he had made 300 credits. The transaction had certainly been worth it. As for the map, he only needed to make a copy using his personal terminal, so there wasn't even any cost involved.

Feng Luo took three white crystals (equal in value to 300 credits) and handed them to Yellow-tooth. After that, he asked him for the location of the shops and equipment store. He still needed to get some supplies, and there was a damaged area on his combat uniform that needed some repair.

After Feng Luo left, Yellow-tooth spun the three crystals in his hands as he walked casually into a bar beside the mission center.

He was clearly a regular in the bar. The moment he entered the bar, someone greeted him, saying, "Hey! Yellow-tooth just completed another deal."

"Just earning some small change!" Yellow-tooth said and threw one white crystal to the boss, a man with big ears who stood behind the bar. Then Yellow-tooth extended his hand to grab a glass of whiskey.

The boss accepted the white crystal while his other hand was busy searching for information using the computer on top of the bar. He then raised his head and spoke loudly, using his booming voice to drown out the noise in the bar.

"Hold on!" he said. "Quiet, everyone. I want to announce a bounty. Silvermoon City's Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group wants to offer a reward for a red-name player with the name 'Feng Zhi Luoye.' Killing him once, with video footage confirmation, will earn a reward of 5,000 credits. Unlimited kill counts allowed. If anyone sees him in Red City, you can earn some quick cash."

Bars in War featured an eclectic mix of people, and it was the best channel for players to announce missions and bounties.

"Yo! Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group? They're really breaking the bank! 5,000 for one kill!" a player shouted to create a ruckus.

Other players were unimpressed. "Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group ain't good people…"

"Feng Zhi Luoye…?" Yellow-Tooth, who had just grabbed his whiskey, first looked stunned. Then a smirk flashed across his face. "Brother, I'm sorry," he muttered under his breath. "But I'm a businessman. I can't resist a payday. Moreover, I'm also quite curious… Just what is your reward for the hidden mission?"

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 17: Forest of Exiles

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The forest of exiles was a sizeable indigenous forest west of the Town of Exiles. The gap between the levels of monsters within the forest was vast, ranging from the 20s to the 50s, and there were also many kinds of monsters that dropped decent items. It was supposed to have been a popular place for people to hunt and level up.

However, to level here, one had to face off not only against monsters that were adept at hiding, but also members of the rebel army who were always in squads. As such, players who were not strong enough did not dare to set foot inside the forest.

Feng Luo's face was painted with a thick layer of camouflage oil paint, and his combat uniform was coated with special bug repellant. He held his M110 and walked quietly on a forest floor that was littered with dry leaves.

Most people who had never been in an indigenous forest before would probably have assumed that it would be thick with all kinds of vegetation and that one's field of vision would be narrow. One might have thought that blazing a trail would require the use of a hunting blade to cut through the plants blocking one's view.

In fact, this sort of situation would only occur in a rainforest. Drier indigenous forests featured few plants or vegetation on the ground, and although sunlight was limited, it was not all that dark. This was because the indigenous forest of the northern climate could support 100-year-old trees that stood over a dozen meters tall. These tall, straight trees allowed for a great deal of empty space below them. As such, upon entering the forest, one would actually find it more spacious.

Although a forest like this limited a Sniper to an extent, the effect was not great, so Feng Luo still held the M110 in his hands and did not switch to the Desert Eagle.

Carrying a weapon was necessary because the density of monsters in the forest was anything but low. Monsters entered his field of view practically all the time.

Pang!

1433!

A Level-42 Mutant Mountain Monkey with black fur and dark green pupils hung in a tree. It had intended to ambush Feng Luo, but Feng Luo had detected it in advance. With one shot, Feng Luo hit the arm of the monkey holding the tree branch, dropping it from the tree branch that was over ten meters above the ground.

"Eek!"

Although the Mutant Monkey was hit in the arm and dropped to the ground, the forest floor was covered with layers of leaves, and it did not suffer much from the fall.

As soon as it hit the ground, the Mutant Monkey leaped up. Murderous intent emanated from its dark green pupils. All four of its limbs moved to grasp the large tree trunk, and it rushed toward Feng Luo.

Pang!

3767!

However, it was still in the air when Feng Luo's second shot reached the Mutant Monkey. In a bloody spectacle, a high-temperature rotating bullet entered its neck from one side. The force generated from the rotation of the bullet minced flesh, muscle, and blood vessels. By the time the armor-piercing bullet exited the other side, the wound was the size of a salad bowl. The neck of the Mutant Monkey was broken straight away by the close-range shot. Five meters from Feng Luo, its body dropped like an empty sack into a pile of leaves on the ground.

Most agile monsters such as this one had low HP. Two shots, totaling around 5,000 damage, had instantly depleted the HP of the Mutant Mountain Monkey, killing it.

However, after the Mutant Mountain Monkey died, several gray crystals and a pack of blood tonic burst onto the ground, which struck Feng Luo as an uncommon occurrence. Normally, when monsters died, they dropped energy crystals, materials, and—very rarely—equipment or equipment parts. Items like supplies were only dropped by Boss monsters and not by normal ones. It seemed like the monsters in the forest of exiles were somewhat unique.

Feng Luo put the Grade-E blood tonic, which could only recover 500 points of HP, into his backpack and continued moving forward while carrying the M110.

Since the mission did not specify which captain of the rebel army he had to kill, he could kill any rebel army captain to satisfy the mission completion requirement. Based on the mission information, the rebel army often sent teams into the forest of exiles to hunt and kidnap players. These teams were normally in squads.

A small squad would have at least 10 members, a medium squad would have at least 30 members, and a large squad would have 90 or more members. Feng Luo's mission target was a captain of a medium-sized squad the rebel army, which meant that the number of enemies he would face could be over 30.

The average level of a member of the rebel army was over Level 40. Considering the strength of monsters in War, there was no way Feng Luo could fight and win against 30-plus soldiers with high AI, let alone four Elite monsters (one medium squad would also contain three captains of small squads). It was a good thing he was a Sniper and could utilize a long-range assassination tactic to complete this mission. As such, this mission was not impossible.

However, the situation in the forest of exiles seemed a bit out of the ordinary. It had been over half an hour since he had entered the forest. He had already traveled over five kilometers, but he had not yet encountered even one member of the rebel army.

Aren't there supposed to be a lot of small rebel army squads in the forest of exiles? thought Feng Luo.

As Feng Luo pondered this, he heard a vague sound from somewhere close by.

Huh?

Feng Luo listened carefully and immediately recognized the source of the sound.

I can hear machine guns, sniper rifles, and even the explosions of fireballs in the distance, thought Feng Luo. Could it be that there are players battling monsters ahead?

Apart from setting the pain perception to 50 percent, Feng Luo set the game's other perception levels to 100 percent. As such, his hearing was very good, and he immediately distinguished the situation through the sounds.

In War, not everyone would set the perception settings to the maximum. This was because the higher the perception settings were, the more realistic the game would become. And in some situations, a highly realistic situation could be extremely uncomfortable to players! Examples included the feeling of drowning underwater or traversing a desert with a temperature of over 50 degrees Celsius, with the agony of being under the hot sun without a drop of water to drink—or even situations like the one faced by Lonely Gunner earlier, when his clothes had caught on fire. As a result, most people would limit the perception level to a range that suited them.

Relying on the maximum perception setting, Feng Luo quietly headed toward the source of the sound. After moving forward for about 300 to 400 meters, he discovered that, just as he predicted, people were engaged in combat with monsters within the forest of exiles. Moreover, the number of players was quite high. Within Feng Luo's field of vision alone, which was mostly blocked off by trees and vegetation, there were 20 to 30 players. They were fighting a group of green-eyed Mutant Mountain Monkeys numbering in the hundreds.

Although the monsters had the advantage in terms of numbers, these players were quite strong. They were completely dominating the Mutant Mountain Monkeys that outnumbered them.

These people seem to be from a guild, thought Feng Luo. Are they here for a mission?

Feng Luo observed the battlefield through the scope of the M110 from a hidden position over 100 meters away. He noticed the same symbol on the chest of each of these people. It was obvious they belonged to a particularly powerful player organization. But it was probably not an organization from Silvermoon City, since Feng Luo had never seen this organization's symbol before.

Oh, right, thought Feng Luo. Maybe their mission is related to the rebel army. If there is a chance, perhaps I can follow them from behind and use this as an opportunity to complete my mission!

A plan took form in Feng Luo's head as he observed the battle from his hidden location. During missions in War, if there wasn't a strict condition requiring the player to complete the mission alone, it normally meant that others could help. The main mission holder just had to play a main role in the process. In a killing mission like this, for example, the condition would normally be that one's contribution during the hunt reached a certain ratio, in addition to landing the final hit.

It was not that Feng Luo had not considered forming a team with others to complete this mission; it was simply that, first of all, he was used to moving alone, and second, one could not really be at ease when forming alliances with red-name players from the Town of Exiles.

However, encountering this party by coincidence was undoubtedly an opportunity. With so many players present in the depths of the forest of exiles, there was no way they were there to simply hunt and level up. It was possible they were trying to complete missions, too.

Missions in the forest of exiles were practically all associated with the rebel army. If this group of players was to encounter a squad belonging to the rebel army, perhaps Feng Luo could take out a captain in the chaos.

As he thought about this, Feng Luo shifted his scope and focused on a player who was in the middle of talking, protected by several Heavy Armor Warriors. He appeared to be the commander of these players.

From around 200 meters away, Feng Luo could not hear what the person was saying, but that didn't mean he couldn't guess the meaning behind his words. After all, fluency in lip reading was a skill that was compulsory for a professional international mercenary.

After "listening" for a while, Feng Luo confirmed the objective of this group of players. It was indeed to do something in the rebel army camp. As for the details of what they intended to do, the person who appeared to be the commander did not talk about it in detail. But knowing that their objective aligned with his was enough.

Looks like my luck is pretty good today, Feng Luo thought.

After that, he discovered something else that slightly shocked him. Just 50 meters in front of him, there were two scout players hidden on a tree.

They hid between the leaves, and their gazes were focused on their surroundings and on their flanks. It was only because Feng Luo had been careful in his movements and had found a place to hide out of habit that he had not been discovered by the two.

Interesting! Feng Luo thought.

Why would they have scouts defending them in secret while fighting in the forest?

Just what are they defending against? The rebel army?

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 18: Mad Dog Military Knife

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The equipment of these players was quite decent. Plus, they had a unified and centralized command. Although the Mutant Mountain Monkeys were more numerous, they clearly could not create too many problems for the players. So, very quickly, after most of the Mutant Mountain Monkey were cleared away by the group of players, the morale of those remaining collapsed. After reassessing the situation and seeing that it was no longer in their favor, they retreated while squealing. These players did not pursue them. Instead, they continued moving forward after picking up all the dropped items from their victory.

After ensuring that the two scouts protecting the group's flank had left, Feng Luo packed his M110 into his spacial backpack and followed along.

To prevent being discovered, Feng Luo intentionally kept a safe distance of around 100 meters between them. With over 100 people traversing through the forest, there was no way they would not leave any trail. For Feng Luo, who had been professionally trained in tracking, this degree of tracking was very easy.

As he moved forward, Feng Luo paid special attention to the corpses of the monsters that had been killed and left behind. In War, the corpses of monsters would remain for a longer period of time before they refreshed. This was mainly to make it more convenient for life profession players to collect materials. Players who were more experienced could easily get a ton of useful information from the corpses of monsters.

After approximately 30 minutes, Feng Luo noticed, for the first time, a corpse in the form of a human body. The body wore a camouflage combat uniform and wielded an assault rifle as a weapon. The face of the corpse was not much different from normal people, but beneath the combat uniform, the surface of its skin was covered with a dense layer of brown scales.

Rebel army!

Feng Luo confirmed the identity of this "human." This was indeed a soldier of the rebel army. As for the scales on its body, they were the product of genetic modification technology.

Of all the information released by the Federation, the most important piece of information was that the rebel army conducted immoral and illegal practices, including mass-producing clone soldiers and creating genetically modified beast soldiers through genetic biotechnology. It was also one of the reasons the federal government continued to accuse the rebel army of breaking the law.

The rebel soldier on the ground was clearly one of those genetically modified beast soldier!

Judging by the wounds on its body and the damage to its equipment, it was not hard to deduce that the HP and defense of the beast Warrior were higher than a player of the same level. The catch was that the AI level was unknown.

Feng Luo was delayed a little as he observed the body of the rebel army soldier. By the time he caught up with the players in front of him again, he suddenly discovered something shocking. Behind the two scouts, a black shadow was quietly following behind them!

It was a genetically modified beast Warrior from the rebel army with the silhouette of a human body. It wore no shoes and had the features of an ape, allowing it to grab hold of tree branches and move swiftly through the trees.

Even the abilities of two scouts around Level 40, at a distance of only 20 to 30 meters away, were not enough to discover that they were being followed!

Rebel army Reconnoiter!

Feng Luo's eyes brightened. He was certain that this was the profession similar to the scout in the rebel army. According to rumors, these beast soldiers had a retro title: "Reconnoitre!"

The rebel army Reconnoiter tracking the players was agile, and its speed was amazing. Not only was it able to move up and down trees over ten meters tall, but it also made practically no sound when running over ground covered with dried branches and leaves. In addition, there was the brownish-green combat uniform it wore, giving it excellent camouflage ability. Feng Luo estimated that if he hadn't been behind the enemy, it would have been difficult for him to have noticed it.

It probably appeared before I caught up, thought Feng Luo. Otherwise, it might have already noticed me. But the key question is, just what exactly is this Reconnoiter trying to do, following so close behind players? Forget it. I'll find out once I catch up.

Feng Luo thought about this a bit. Then, just to be safe, he took an army knife out of his anti-gravity spacial backpack and positioned it on his waist where it was easily accessible.

The appearance of the army knife was nothing to fawn over, but if one were to have studied it in detail, one would definitely have discovered its uniqueness. The black epoxy glass knife handle could withstand the impact from pistol rounds, and the bright white blade was covered with a layer of hardened chrome as if emanating a sharp, murderous aura. It was none other than the famous ATAK military knife, aka "Mad Dog."

ATAK Advanced Tactical Military Knife

Grade: Rare

Attack: 370

Attack Coefficient: D

Material Coefficient: D

Strength 15

Bonus Effects: 20% chance of directly breaking defense below grade C (not inclusive)

Level Requirement: Level 33

Overall Evaluation: Perfect

This had been Feng Luo's one and only Rare-grade piece of equipment before getting his hands on the Desert Eagle. Although the level requirement was only 33, in terms of its power and damage, it was not inferior to some Level-40 military piercing weapons.

The attribute of "Strength 15" was almost comparable to the two-handed sword previously dropped by the silver-armored Warrior. Having that military knife in hand during close-quarters combat would be undeniably advantageous. However, the most important trait of the weapon was the rare attribute of a 20 percent chance to break defense below grade C!

Equipment in War was only categorized into four grades, namely, Normal, Fine, Excellent, and Rare. Normal equipment was the white equipment commonly referred to by players, and their attributes were more common.

Fine equipment would have an increase in attribute number compared to normal equipment, and Excellent equipment would be another level up compared to Fine equipment. At the same level, the fundamental attribute of a piece of Excellent equipment could even be 50 percent stronger than a piece of Normal equipment.

However, the difference between the first three equipment grades was only the value of the attributes. As such, it was only a numerical change. Only equipment at the Rare grade was fundamentally different. That was because, compared to an Excellent-grade piece of equipment, a Rare-grade piece of equipment would have an additional bonus effect.

The primary reason that Rare equipment was so rare was because of this additional bonus effect. The strength of attributes also determined the value of a piece of Rare equipment. For example, the Desert Eagle wielded by Feng Luo had a Rare attribute of "Increase movement speed by 10 percent when holding the weapon." This was, of course, a strong attribute. This was especially true for professions afraid of being closed down on by fighters like Manipulators and Gunners. A 10 percent movement increase was certainly practical, which was also why the price had soared so high during the auction in the nightclub.

The Rare attribute of the military knife "Mad Dog" was even stronger: a 20 percent chance of breaking defense below C grade. For a close-range weapon, it was nearly perfect!

It was important to note that the defense coefficient of most players could never reach C grade. Even the alloy armor of many Heavy Armor Warriors had defense coefficients lower than C grade. That meant that, in theory, when in close-quarters combat, there was a chance for Feng Luo to penetrate through the alloy shield of a Heavy Armor Warrior straight away with the ATAK military knife in his hands. The "Mad Dog" tactical military knife, hailed by so many in his world, certainly lived up to its name.

After equipping the military knife, Feng Luo intentionally waited for a while. After increasing the distance between himself and the rebel army Reconnoiter, he became even more vigilant as he progressed forward.

However, several minutes after he started moving, the sounds of intense battle erupted in front of him.

Compared to the scuffle a while before, the sound this time was more distinct and noisier; it seemed like the situation was quite intense. There was even a possibility that it surpassed the battle against the Mutant Mountain Monkeys.

Did they encounter a large group of monsters? Or is it a large squad of the rebel army?

Feng Luo accelerated his advances while hiding cautiously. After passing a tree that had been blocking his view, he saw the situation faced by the players.

Hundreds of rebel army beast fighters—clone soldiers wearing military garments of the rebel army—rushed out of the forest, initiating attacks from three sides against the players. A barrage of bullets tore through trees and plants. Energy lights of all colors flashed by as they transformed into wind blades, fireballs, or ice arrows. There were also many beast soldiers roaring into the air as they rushed forward while holding their alloy longswords.

In addition, two "Hydra" six-barrelled heavy machine guns were set up on two strong gun stands. They were controlled by two rebel army beast soldiers with thick, muscular arms, shooting tightly packed bullets at the players!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 19: Underground Rebel Army

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A huge swarm of rebel army soldiers appeared. They even surrounded the players.

Feng Luo instantly understood the objective of the Reconnoiter of the rebel army. It was highly likely that it had been tracking the players and had informed their location to its commander in real time after discovering the players. Then they had set up this ambush in the path of the players.

This also explained why there had been only one or two encounters with the rebel army in the forest of exiles, which was normally populated with rebel army soldiers. It was because the rebel army in the region had all gathered in this single place for the ambush.

In the forest, there was at least one large squad surrounding the players, which totaled over 150 rebel army soldiers. The profession makeup was also very complete: Machine Gunners, Manipulators, Warriors—there were even Doctors, Snipers, and various other professions. It was highly similar to the party of players.

As for their strength, the strength of the rebel army soldiers, whose average level of 40 was slightly inferior to the group of players. On the one hand, they had a numerical advantage. Plus, the captains within the rebel army were considered Elite-grade monsters; they were several more times powerful than average players. And there were more than ten of these Elite monsters! In addition, the ambush gave them the initiative, which naturally threw the players into a crisis.

Fortunately, the players did not panic and make a grave mistake. Instead, after a shout by the commander, whose face was filled with anxiety, the players quickly set up a line of defense. They had practiced for this sort of situation in advance.

Over ten Heavy Armor Warriors with their levels in the 40s hastily raised their shields and rushed to the front to block the beast soldiers of the rebel army rushing toward them. Machine Gunners started firing away without any regard to exhausting their bullets or the heat of their guns' muzzles. Doctors carrying medical packs on their backs threw treatment packages while under the danger of the rain of bullets, trying to save those who had been injured. The battle instantly reached a climax!

Feng Luo hid behind a tree at the players' flank, observing the situation in detail. After he confirmed that the Reconnoiter of the rebel army had disappeared, he took the M110 out of his anti-gravity backpack and quickly set it up. He set the parameters and immediately aimed his gun in the direction of the rebel army.

In this massive battle involving hundreds of individuals, the responsibility of a Sniper was to kill the enemy that represented the highest level of threat. After all, a Sniper was always the best at taking the head of a general among an army of 1,000. Moreover, there was no doubt that his chance to complete the "Eye of the Thunder" gun barrel mission was right in front of his eyes.

The Elite captains of the rebel army were relatively easy to distinguish. Their outfits differed from normal rebel army soldiers, and their combat strength was also on a different level.

A rebel army captain with the Heavy Armor Warrior profession raised his large alloy shield and charged forward with a scream. Not even four or five Level-40 players could have blocked it. This sort of strength was befitting of an Elite humanoid-type monster that was over Level 45.

Click!

The D-grade double armor-piercing bullet was fed into the gun chamber. Feng Luo's muzzle was already aimed at his first target.

His aim was naturally not on the Heavy Armor Warrior holding the shield. It was instead on a Fire Manipulator who was in the midst of firing off his skills, positioned in the middle of the rebel army squad. He was a rebel army captain who wore a magician's robe while wielding a ginger-colored staff in his hand. A fireball with a diameter of around one meter flew toward the group of players. It exploded on impact and created a huge circle of flame, turning several players with dangerously low HP into white flashes of light.

As the branch of Manipulators with the most potent attacks, Fire Manipulators dealt devastating damage. A well-protected Fire Manipulator could even achieve results of over ten kills in a single battle.

The body of the rebel army Manipulator was covered by a red energy shield that blocked the attack skills and bullets of the players. However, the color of the shield gradually turned lighter after getting hit by the skills and the bullets of the players.

The attacks of Fire Manipulators may have been the strongest, but their defense shield was the weakest of the four branches. It was relatively easier to break their shields.

Feng Luo's index finger rested on the trigger. His eyes focused on the color of the shield of the Fire Manipulator in his scope. He did not even blink once, so focused was he.

For monsters at and above the Elite grade, the game system would calculate the contribution of players after the monster was killed before distributing rewards according to their contribution. Shield break, first damage, highest damage, final damage, and other special actions provided bonuses in terms of contribution. Facing an Elite-grade monster like this, if Feng Luo wanted to complete his mission, his contribution needed to be over 50 percent.

The requirement for Elite monsters was 50 percent. Commander-grade monsters required 30 percent, Quasi-Boss monsters required 15 percent, and Boss monsters required 5 percent… These were the hidden conditions for completing missions when receiving help from other players, discovered through other players' calculation.

An Elite-grade humanoid monster would not have high HP. If, before it was killed, it accumulated too much damage from the other players, it was possible that Feng Luo would fail to reach a 50 percent contribution. As such, Feng Luo had to seize the opportune moment to try and get the bonuses of "shield break" and "first damage!"

Finally, after getting hit by several skills from the players, the shield of the Fire Manipulator of the rebel army went from its original blazing red to a half-transparent red color. The moment it was about to vanish…

Pang!

The barrel of the M110 produced a dull noise!

750!

A double armor-piercing bullet—fired at just the right moment—flew over 100 meters and hit the shield. Like the straw that broke the camel's back, it broke straight through the energy shield, which was already on the verge of collapse. As for the hard alloy core of the double armor-piercing bullet, it accelerated after the explosion and hit the chest of the rebel army Manipulator. The second hit dealt white-colored damage of over 700.

"Ha! Pretty decent luck!" said Feng Luo.

He sighed in relief. However, his finger did not stop. He moved as fast as he could and pulled the trigger, firing the second shot. After the energy shield of the Fire Manipulator disappeared, several players noticed it and immediately focused their attacks on the Manipulator captain. Several long-range skills flew toward him at the same time.

420!

1075!

811!

503!

A second after the shield was destroyed, several damage values appeared in quick succession above the Fire Manipulator's head. In one short second, he had already lost around 3,000 HP.

420!

2550!

This time, Feng Luo's second shot also arrived. The 7.62mm double armor-piercing bullet, rotating at high speed, accompanied by a powerful force, struck the bridge of the rebel army Manipulator's nose, flinging his head all the way back. After that, his body fell on the ground. As he fell on the ground, he lost his grip on the ginger-colored staff. It flew out of his hands.

"Mistake!" Feng Luo muttered with a frown.

He had made a slight error in judgment, having been influenced by the variety of colors coming from the energy flashes across the battlefield. The distraction had made him miss the vital point of the rebel army captain, so he had only managed to inflict yellow-colored weak-point damage. Plus, the damage was off by a little bit. It had only knocked the Fire Manipulator to the ground and put him in a state of "heavy injury!"

In the current situation, even if he wanted to fire a third shot, he would not have had the opportunity to do so because the skills of several players had already started flying toward the heavily injured rebel army Fire Manipulator lying on the ground. Unfortunately, given that the opponent had less than 5 percent of its HP remaining, any skill would be able to kill him if it hit.

"I lost the kill shot!"

Feng Luo sighed slightly. He never would have expected that at that moment, a two-meter tall alloy shield would suddenly appear in his field of vision. A pair of thick, muscular arms covered in gray hair, a Heavy Armor Warrior of the rebel army, suddenly appeared and stood in front of the Fire Manipulator.

Boom!

179

207

251

206

67!

The sudden appearance of the Heavy Armor Warrior blocked the consecutive attacks of the players with his shield. Any one of those skills would have easily dealt with the remaining 5 percent of the Fire Manipulator's total HP if they had touched his body, but instead, they only dealt a total of less than 1,000 damage. The shield of a Heavy Armor Warrior, after all, had a base 50 percent damage reduction. Furthermore, there was a damage reduction from skills as well as his own defense. Even if he were to face off against the attacks of four or five players at the same time, a Heavy Armor Warrior would be able to hold out for quite some time.

Moreover, within the rebel army, there was a soldier with the Doctor profession with medical packs in hand, currently rushing toward the Manipulator to treat and help him recover. In this case, the lost HP of the rebel army captain would be quickly replenished. And after waiting a little longer, after the cooldown of the energy shield was over, he would have almost completely recovered and returned to the battlefield to continue to unleash his skills and prowess.

This specific Manipulator, Doctor, and Heavy Armor Warrior combination tactic was one of the most common among players when they hunted monsters. This time, however, it was being used by the rebel army—and it was being used to deal with the players.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 20: Military Knife Draws Blood

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The group tactics displayed by the rebel army truly exceeded Feng Luo's expectations. He had initially thought that although the rebel army had more people, and while there were also several Elite-grade captains of middle and small squads, they did not really have a high chance of winning when faced with a team of players who had a unified command, were familiar with all kinds of battle tactics, and could continue to replenish their health and treat themselves.

However, now that he saw the actions of the rebel army were no different than that of the players—or perhaps were even more familiarized with tactical cooperation—Feng Luo knew that he had underestimated the AI of the humanoid monsters.

Based on the current situation, the players held no advantage. On the contrary, they were at a great disadvantage! Because although they were ahead in terms of level and equipment, a player over Level 40 did not have the combat strength to deal with two Level-40 rebel army soldiers at the same time. Additionally, the incredible combat strength of over ten Elite-grade captains further emphasized the disadvantage of the players.

In fact, just as Feng Luo thought, on the battlefield at that moment, the players were already at a serious disadvantage. White light flashes of death kept on appearing.

"Looks like have no time to waste!" muttered Feng Luo. Noticing that the tide was turning, Feng Luo knew that time was of the essence. "No… My line of sight is completely blocked!"

Looking through the scope of the M110, he saw that the alloy shield was still between him and the body of the Fire Manipulator. A look of anxiety flashed across Feng Luo's face.

Forget it, he thought. I'll switch to another target.

With no other choice, Feng Luo could only move his muzzle and search quickly for a new target. The Elite-grade captains of the rebel army had practically all joined the battle. As such, from the position he was hiding in, Feng Luo could see the captains of five small squads and two captains of medium squads.

The two medium squad captains were a Heavy Armor Warrior and a Light Armor Warrior, respectively. The Heavy Armor Warrior holding a thick shield was the first one he excluded. The remaining target was the Light Armor Warrior.

At that moment, the Light Armor Warrior was just about to cast the Level-35 Warrior skill "Raging Slash." The alloy longsword made the leaves on the ground fly into the air as it slashed violently against the shield of a Heavy Armor Warrior player.

Peng!

3288!

Even if the player was a Level-45 Heavy Armor Warrior, this hit dealt over 3,000 damage, and the alloy shield in his hands was almost cut in half.

As the Light Armor Warrior pushed the Heavy Armor Warrior back, he created a gap in the defense perimeter of the players. It was a good thing these players were not just a motley crowd. Seven or eight of them immediately focused their firepower on him. Whistling bullets and skills of all sorts of colors instantly stopped him in his tracks.

599!

792!

664!

Faced with the concentrated firepower of the players, the Light Armor Warrior captain instantly lost around 3,000 to 4,000 HP.

Hold on, thought Feng Luo. I seem to have forgotten something.

A problem suddenly occurred to Feng Luo just as the muzzle of the M110 locked onto the head of the Light Armor Warrior captain and he was about to fire. Since the start of the battle, this Light Armor Warrior had remained on the front lines of the battlefield. He had already received quite a few attacks, and now, he had even lost around 3,000 HP.

"Then just how much HP does he have left?" muttered Feng Luo.

Even if I were to kill him, is there any guarantee that I will be able to reach the 50 percent contribution needed to complete the mission?

Feng Luo was a little dumbfounded. In a situation like this, the problem existed not only for the Light Armor Warrior; in fact, any other captain of a medium-sized squad would present the same problem because all the captains of the rebel army had already joined the battle. Moreover, they had already been attacked by the players. Even if Feng Luo were to switch and find another target, the same problem would persist.

Unless… he killed the Fire Manipulator with low HP.

It was the only way to guarantee that he would complete the mission!

"F*ck!" Feng Luo cursed. He struck the ground with his right fist, depressed. He then immediately got up and moved through the forest with his body bent.

He had no choice. His only recourse was to find a position where he could hit the Fire Manipulator. Otherwise, he couldn't guarantee the completion of the mission.

After shifting his position by around 25 degrees, Feng Luo finally found a position on the periphery of the battlefield where he could barely see the area behind the shield. His position was actually slightly behind the rebel army. Since the area was covered by trees and plants, and because Feng Luo moved cautiously, the rebel army did not notice there was a player who was so daring as to approach them from the rear.

"I have no choice," whispered Feng Luo. "To kill the Fire Manipulator, I must take a great risk to gain a high return!"

Feng Luo gritted his teeth. The current position wasn't all that much better. Around 150 to 160 meters away, his field of view was almost obscured by dense vegetation. Even if he were to zoom in to the maximum, he could only see half of the Fire Manipulator captain's head—barely.

However, if I can see the head, there's a chance!

For an Energy Manipulator who didn't have a shield on, the head was the biggest weakness!

Although Gunners and Manipulators were professions with weak defense, their defensive equipment was comprised of headgear, combat uniform, boots, and belt, as well as gloves, for a total of five pieces of equipment. However, a Gunner could wear an iron helmet with decent defense while Manipulators usually just wore decorative headgear with low defense.

Based on the name "decorative headgear" alone, one could guess that the main use of the equipment was not for defense. In truth, this sort of equipment was mainly used to increase the casting speed and the recovery rate of a Manipulator's energy. In terms of defense, it was fragile.

As such, to a Sniper, the head of a Manipulator was the best target!

Feng Luo's finger squeezed the trigger. The crosshairs of the scope were zoomed to the maximum and focused on half a head wearing flame-colored headgear through a dense forest.

For this shot, his focus heightened to the maximum!

Pang!

The gunshot rang out, and a double armor-piercing bullet burst out of the gun barrel at a speed of 800 meters per second. It flew over 100 meters through the tiny gaps between the trees and branches—as well as the rebel army soldiers—and accurately struck the right temple of the rebel army Manipulator.

With a bang, the Manipulator's head was blown off.

567!

5430!

Red-colored numbers appeared above the Manipulator's head. Super-high lethal damage!

The HP of the Fire Manipulator, which had just been recovered thanks to the Doctor, was reduced to nothing by Feng Luo's shot. This was, without a doubt, a kill shot. It completely stunned the rebel army female Doctor, whose face was splashed with red and white matter.

"Phew!" Feng Luo breathed a sigh of relief.

Truth be told, this shot had been quite challenging for Feng Luo because the environment and the angle of the shot were dreadful. At such a distance, even if it was a static shot, hitting the vital area was extremely difficult. That was because there was a multitude of trees in front of him, and there were many people too. If the muzzle were to have moved even a little, it would have been highly likely to have caused this shot to miss. And it was a given that he would not have had a chance to fire a second shot.

Killed the Level-46 Rebel Army Medium Squad Captain. Contribution 65.4%. Received 2,300 experience.

After reading the information that appeared at the corner of his visual field, Feng Luo nodded in satisfaction. Over 60 percent contribution was enough to clear the mission.

However, at that moment, Feng Luo's expression suddenly changed!

Without any hesitation, Feng Luo threw the M110 on the ground as his right hand quickly unsheathed the ATAK military knife hanging at his waist. He then swung his hand back and slashed at a particular area.

Clang!

The "Mad Dog" military knife and a military stiletto dagger known as the "Sanleng Thorn," emanating a blue light, clashed together, creating a bright spark!

The impact that came from Feng Luo's wrist pushed his entire body forward as he fell to the ground. However, he also used the momentum to roll across the ground two times to widen the distance.

The ambusher holding the stiletto that emanated a blue light was clearly stunned. He had no idea how Feng Luo could have accurately blocked his sneak attack from behind—a lethal thrust to the heart.

Does he have eyes in the back of his head? wondered the attacker.

After a slight daze, the ambusher quickly reacted and did not allow Feng Luo the chance to adjust. A vicious look appeared on his face as he raised the stiletto in his hand and swung it viciously at Feng Luo, who was just turning around after he got up from the ground.

Pang!

A mass of dried twigs and leaves were thrown into the face of the ambusher as Feng Luo kicked with his right leg, causing his action to pause for a moment.

Not only did Feng Luo not retreat at that moment, but he moved forward with a similarly vicious expression on his face. He held the military knife backhanded with his left hand and lunged at the ambusher.

He had clearly seen the face of the ambusher. He had a small body with a bright leg and a green combat uniform, which was very similar to the appearance of the Reconnoiter from the rebel army who had tailed the group of players earlier. The only difference was that this one was not barefoot; he wore a pair of brown combat boots. Apart from that, on his shoulder, there was also a symbol that signified that he was the captain of a small squad of the rebel army!

Of the three main Gunner professions, Snipers were clearly meant for long-range kills, Machine Gunners were defined by their suppressive firepower from mid-range, and Scouts were a bit different, with combat powers that were more well-balanced. Apart from having quite a few recon and hiding skills, this profession could also use mid-range harassing attacks using submachine guns and assault rifles. They also possessed decent close-quarters combat abilities that were not all that inferior to Light Armor Warriors. This was especially true when they used a stiletto or a military knife, with which Scouts possessed extremely high attack bonuses. Compared to the other Gunner professions, they had a distinct advantage in close-quarters combat.

The rebel army Reconnoiter was also a type of Scout profession. And the small squad captain was an Elite-grade monster. In terms of equipment and attributive strength, it was in no way weaker than high-level players. Which was to say that if Feng Luo were to engage in close-quarters combat against this rebel army Reconnoiter, it was very likely that he would be at a disadvantage.

So why did Feng Luo actively close the distance?

It was because Feng Luo's real choice was…

Pu!

Feng Luo extended his right arm and grabbed the left wrist of the opponent that held the military stiletto. After that, he pressed his entire body against him. The force generated from being tackled by someone one head taller knocked the rebel army to Reconnoiter captain off-balance. He was thrown to the ground by Feng Luo.

After that, Feng Luo's left hand, gripping the Mad Dog military knife, quickly followed. With a whistling sound generated by the knife slicing through the air, the snow-white blade of the "Mad Dog" knife slashed violently at the neck of the opponent.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 21: Rare-Grade Combat Boots

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In truth, if one only looked at the deadlines, the three-edged military stiletto was far more deadly!

This was due to the structure of the military stiletto. In fact, the wound created by a three-edged military stiletto will be in a square or rectangular shape, making bleeding difficult to stop because each side would compress against each other. Moreover, military stilettos had "blood grooves" that could quicken blood loss and cause oxygen to enter and block the veins, increasing the mortality rate.

The game reflected the characteristics of the three-edged military stiletto by inducing the "bleeding" special effect and causing the injured player to continue to suffer damage whenever someone was hit by the weapon. Only after special drugs or treatment from a Doctors would the effect be removed. Otherwise, one would have to wait until the "bleeding" effect's time limit ran out.

But the three-edged military stiletto did not have the attribute of "Strength 15." It did not provide its wielder with the power to turn the tide in a hand-to-hand fight.

The two of them tangled together on the ground covered with branches and leaves. Feng Luo's gaze and expression were savage while the face of the rebel army Reconnoiter, the captain of a small squad, was flushed red. He was unable to block the Mad Dog military knife that was inching closer and closer to him!

Pu!

6070!

The rebel army Reconnoiter captain resisted for a few dozen seconds before the white blade of the Mad Dog completely punctured his camouflage-painted neck. The moment an artery was severed, a red-colored damage value of over 6,000 appeared overtop of his head.

The color gradually drained from the despairing eyes of the Reconnoiter captain. The severed artery sprayed out a huge amount of fresh blood. Some even splashed on Feng Luo's face. The stench of blood stimulated his nervous system!

Killed Level-41 Elite Rebel Army Reconnoitre Small Squad Captain. Received 1,500 experience. Received one medal point.

"Phew!"

Hearing the notification from the system, Feng Luo relaxed his grip. Panting heavily, he pulled the bloodstained Mad Dog out of the Reconnoiter captain's neck before standing up.

He guessed that the small squad captain died with such an aggravated expression because, as a Reconnoiter of the Scout profession, he was the most adept when it came to close-quarters combat. Yet, before he could display any of it, Feng Luo had turned the fight into a super close-range melee through the most direct and violent method.

Although the difference between close-quarters combat and super close-range melee was small, this difference, in fact, negated all the skills-based advantages of the Reconnoiter of the Scout profession. The fight was simply a competition between attack and strength.

In terms of strength, Feng Luo had the "15 Strength" attribute gained from the Mad Dog military knife. Normally, this attribute was only present in the equipment of warriors. As such, even if the opponent was two levels higher than Feng Luo, there was no way his strength was higher.

Based on the damage of their close-range weapons, Feng Luo should not have been able to beat the small squad captain Reconnoiter who specialized in assassination. However, one couldn't forget that Feng Luo had the S-grade talent, "Lethal." The bonus increase of a 100 percent chance of inflicting lethal damage was not limited to bullets. He could use any type of weapon, and as long as he scored a hit on a vital point, he would inflict lethal damage that exceeded others by 100 percent. This alone was sufficient to make up for the gap of damage between their blade weapons in the fight!

This was especially true in fights against humanoid monsters such as soldiers in the rebel army. Although they possessed AI and combat techniques not inferior to players, as well as the ability to use equipment and skills, the rebel army monsters had a clear disadvantage. Their HP was a lot less than other monsters of the same level. Compared to a common Elite-grade monster that had around 10,000 to 20,000 HP, this rebel army small squad captain actually only had a little over 6,000 HP, which was considered extremely low. It was due to this fact that Feng Luo had gained the opportunity to slice its throat!

The emotions generated in this sort of extremely close-range combat was undeniably amazing. It was rare for Feng Luo to have an opportunity to kill opponents at close range, as he was used to being a Sniper who dispatched his enemies using bullets at long-range. The moment the blade of the Mad Dog sliced into the neck of the opponent, as blood splashed onto his face, Feng Luo had felt a sense of exhilaration that was hard to put into words.

"This feeling… It has been a long time," Feng Luo said, looking at the body of the rebel army Reconnoiter captain.

His eyes were still wide open, and he lay on the ground on a bed of bloodied leaves. Feng Luo was quite certain that this Reconnoiter had died very confused, as he had executed a near-perfect ambush. Just how had he been discovered, and why had his attack been blocked?

In truth, it was due to a special skill Feng Luo's character learned: "Death Sense."

Death Sense was a passive skill, and its effect was as the name implied; when an opponent initiated an attack that would be lethal to him, he would be able to sense the direction of the attack. This was not a skill of the Gunner profession. It was actually a rare skill that Feng Luo had learned during a hidden mission he had previously completed.

Skills in War could be learned by buying skill chips sold in stores. Apart from that, there were also rare skill chips that were not sold in stores that could only be obtained through missions or through killing monsters. Rare skills were not necessarily stronger than normal skills. However, they usually had unique effects, which was why the value of rare skill chips was quite inflated. They were not even inferior to the price of Rare-grade equipment.

Feng Luo had been lucky to obtain the rare skill from a mission. And today, it had resulted in a tremendous effect. Apart from that, after getting rid of the Elite Reconnoiter captain, the system had awarded him with one medal point in addition to the experience.

Medal points were rewards that were difficult to obtain. Only by completing extraordinary kills or special mission would one be able to obtain medal points in War. Furthermore, after the Elite rebel army Reconnoiter captain died, several white crystals and the brown combat boots he wore dropped onto the ground beside the corpse.

As Feng Luo picked up the combat boots, he found out that, to his surprise, they a piece of Level-38 Rare-grade equipment!

Assassination Reconnoiter Combat Boots

Grade: Rare

Defense 65

Defense Coefficient: E

Agility 10

Movement Speed 15%

Bonus Effect: Decrease Stamina consumption by 35% when moving

Level Requirement: 38

Overall Evaluation: Excellent

In War, most equipment did not require item appraisal because the personal terminals of players stored information on a lot of the common equipment and items. One only needed to scan the item to learn the attributes of a piece of equipment. Only some items obtained through quests or dropped from monsters of the Commander-grade or above required item appraisal services from a professional appraiser.

Feng Luo hadn't expected the Elite rebel army Reconnoiter captain to drop a piece of Rare-grade equipment. Although in theory even low-level monsters had a chance of dropping Rare pieces of equipment, the probability was so low that it probably did not even reach one in ten million.

Elite-grade monsters mostly dropped Fine-grades equipment of the same attributes, and the probability of dropping a piece of Rare-grade equipment did not even reach 0.001%. However, Feng Luo remembered reading the conclusion of a player on an online message board, stating that completing an "outstanding kill" alone would increase the chances of Rare equipment being dropped. Perhaps this was the reason the Reconnoiter captain had dropped a Rare piece of equipment.

Although the combat boots were only at Level 38, their attributes were actually pretty decent. In particular, the rare attribute that decreased Stamina consumption by 35 percent when moving definitely piqued Feng Luo's interest.

In War, there was an attribute known as Stamina. All actions and activities of players consumed Stamina, and once Stamina reached a certain value, players would enter a "weakened" state. If the Stamina value were to reach the bottom, one might even enter a "fainted" state.

Stamina recovered constantly. However, intense combat or running at full-tilt for a short period of time was certain to make it so that the Stamina recovery rate could not keep up with the consumption rate, and, as a result, it would decrease substantially. In the fierce battle between Feng Luo and the rebel army Reconnoiter, both sides had exerted their strength and fought for only a few dozen seconds, and now, Feng Luo's Stamina was only at 62 percent.

Even though there were potions to replenish Stamina, the rate of recovery was fairly slow. Moreover, the cooldown time was quite long. As such, players normally had to keep a constant eye on their Stamina in battle, in addition to their HP value. Plus, the Stamina recovery rate of the three main professions varied. Manipulators were the slowest, followed by Gunners, and Warriors' Stamina recovery rate was far better than the other two.

Gunners that focused on agility actually had a faster maximum movement speed than Light Armor Warriors who focused on increasing their strength. However, the main reason why Gunners could not widen the distance after being closed in on was that the Stamina recovery rate of the Warrior profession was far greater than that of Gunners. In addition, high-speed running consumed a lot of Stamina.

Gunners couldn't last very long if they ran at full speed, while Warriors could maintain high-speed pursuit for a long time. Furthermore, when paired with the explosive Charge skill, which increased speed, a Warrior's rate of movement was sufficient to make it so that most Gunners would be unable to shake their pursuit.

That was why the attributes of this pair of combat boots were so good. A decreased Stamina consumption, plus a bonus of 15 percent to movement speed, paired with the 10 percent movement speed bonus from the Desert Eagle—if a Light Armor Warrior were to close in on Feng Luo in the future, he would clearly have the upper hand.

He had enjoyed a thrilling kill and obtained a piece of equipment. This battle had certainly been enjoyable!

Feng Luo was in a great mood! However, what he needed to do right now was leave immediately. The formation of the players on the battlefield had started to crumble. The momentum seemed to have shifted toward the rebel army. The victor had been decided!

After equipping the combat boots of the Reconnoiter—exchanging them for his original Level-35 Fine-grade combat boots that granted an 8 percent speed bonus—Feng Luo quickly disassembled the M110 that he'd thrown to the side previously and put it in his anti-gravity spacial backpack. After that, he immediately ran toward the direction he had come from.

Perhaps it was only an illusion, but before he retreated, he glanced behind him and thought he saw the shadows of two energy off-road military vehicles behind the rebel army.

For military vehicles to appear in an indigenous forest did not seem reasonable. But Feng Luo, who was in a hurry to leave, didn't give it much thought.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 22: I Hate Being Tricked!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio#

Pang!

A Level-25 Mutant Wild Boar's head was burst open by the 5.0mm AE bullet of the Desert Eagle. Feng Luo, wearing his camouflage combat uniform, walked out of the Forest of Exiles.

Relying upon the twofold movement speed increase from the rare combat boots and his Desert Eagle, Feng Luo completed the return journey within an hour. The thing he needed to do right now was to quickly head into town and submit the mission completion request and remove his red name status. However, the moment he exited the forest, he noticed a person standing in a bush beside the intersection, waving at him.

"Yellow-tooth?"

Feng Luo was dumbfounded as his eyes narrowed. After that, he remembered that his map was from Yellow-tooth, so he guessed that Yellow-tooth had probably deduced his point of exit from that. But why would Yellow-tooth be waiting for him here?

At first, Yellow-tooth crouched on the roadside and smoked his cigarettes. The moment he saw Feng Luo, he stood up and got straight to the point. "I say! Brother, did you offend someone from the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group?"

Feng Luo frowned. The Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group moved faster than he expected. They actually pursued him all the way to the Town of Exiles just from one incident of conflict, were they not over exaggerating a little? Could it be that that guy called Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star actually had a unique status in the mercenary group?

"Why?" he asked. "Have people from the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group reached the Town of Exiles?"

"Not to this extent…" said Yellow-tooth. "However, they already sent out wanted posters to everyone. They put a 5,000 credit reward on you. A lot of people in the Red City are looking for you right now." He looked at Feng Luo and used his middle finger to flick his cigarette with a playful expression. "Brother, you sure have bad luck. The Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group is a group that seeks revenge even for the smallest grievances. Moreover, they're kind of reckless in how they handle things—"

"You waited for me here specifically," Feng Luo cut in. At the same time, his eyes scanned the surrounding quietly. "It can't be that you're here just to give me a reminder, right?"

"Heh! A situation like yours is relatively common in Red Cities," said Yellow-tooth. "So there are people who specialize in the protection business, receiving a certain amount of money to ensure that you aren't killed while you are in the Red City. I can be your intermediary!"

After stating his objective, Yellow-tooth cracked a wide smile and exposed his signature row of yellow teeth.

"Oh? And what's the price?" Feng Luo said, wondering if he was being overly suspicious since he saw no traces of an ambush in his surroundings.

"10,000 credits to ensure that you are safe within the vicinity of the Red City and the town for one day," said Yellow-tooth. "They require 50 percent as a deposit. Apart from that, I will take 1,000 credits as commission."

Hearing the words from Yellow-tooth, Feng Luo was genuinely interested. "11,000 credits? This sure is profitable for you guys!"

He was now a red name. If he were to be killed by someone, he would drop one level and most certainly drop equipment. Moreover, if he was killed while he was a red-name player, after revival, he would have to be placed inside the federal prison for a while—a bit like a ban in other games.

Whether the cost was in time or experience, the loss of credits was huge! But the critical factor was that he still needed to enter the Town of Exiles to complete his mission, and he was most certainly going to receive the blueprint of the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel. There was definitely a risk of getting killed.

As for why Yellow-tooth chose to protect him rather than to kill him, this was easy to understand. It was because although the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group promised 5,000 credits per level if one were to kill him, at most, one would earn 5,000 credits. Feng Luo's place of revival was in Silvermoon City. In addition, a red-name player would be imprisoned for some time after revival, so, in the short term, one could only kill him once, at most.

By comparison, choosing to protect him would ensure Yellow-tooth a profit of 10,000 credits. As such, in terms of believing the words of Yellow-tooth, Feng Luo was about 70 percent convinced!

Of course, Feng Luo did not believe Yellow-tooth's words when it came to the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group informing everyone in the Town of Exiles that he was wanted. The wanted orders of players could not be communicated through a system announcement. At most, they could announce it in the forums or perhaps in a public chatroom. With the high flow of players within the Town of Exiles, the number of people paying attention to the news would be limited.

The words of Yellow-tooth were mostly attempts to intentionally make the matter seem more serious than it was so that Feng Luo would be willing to pay for his peace of mind. This type of sales method was very old-school! However, considering the importance of the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel blueprint, Feng Luo indeed wanted to avoid an accident. He was prepared to agree to the terms. After all, compared to the blueprint of a piece of Rare-grade equipment, 10,000 credits wasn't that expensive!

But at that moment, Feng Luo's eyes detected a flash of light.

"Huh?" Feng Luo felt a chill crawl up his spine.

For a normal person, this type of flash, which vanished instantly, would have been ignored. As a Sniper, however, Feng Luo was all too familiar with this sort of situation. It was a situation that occurred when a person's head was within the sights of a sniper rifle. The flash of light was a phenomenon created when the scope of the sniper rifle moved past the eye!

A sniper! Feng Luo's heart sank, but his face remained calm. Is it an ambush? Or perhaps is it a player just passing by.

Feng Luo immediately eliminated the latter explanation. No passerby would intentionally aim their sniper rifle at someone else's head unless he had ulterior motives. The only explanation was that they were friends of Yellow-tooth!

It seems I have underestimated the intelligence of Yellow-tooth!

Feng Luo's brain raced as he suddenly thought of another possibility. It was very likely that the real intention of Yellow-tooth was to broker a deal between Feng Luo and his friends, but after receiving his commission and the deposit, he would think of a way to sell him out and claim the reward from the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, too. Not only would he earn more, but it did not require much time or effort. Plus, he would not offend the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. Feng Luo even suspected that Yellow-tooth had ideas about acquiring his mission reward. It was possible that someone as perceptive as Yellow-tooth had deduced that the reward for the mission was uncommon based on their previous conversation.

What a well-calculated plan! thought Feng Luo. However, does he not fear to destroy his reputation?

Feng Luo felt troubled. Logically, people in Yellow-tooth's line of work needed to value their reputation; if he broke the rules and lost the trust of others, how could he continue with his work?

After a while, though, Feng Luo came to his senses. This was a game, not reality! In reality, brokers and informants in the mercenary industry who did this were certain to die. But in a game, death only meant losing one level, and if they really couldn't survive, they could easily just delete their account, create a new avatar, and go back to conning people!

As this thought passed through his mind, Feng Luo felt a chill, but his face remained still.

The accident with the reflection of the light from the scope had exposed Yellow-tooth's plan. It was a coincidence.

Yellow-tooth's profession was that of a Machine Gunner. Although he was also a Gunner, it was highly likely that he did not know it was possible to detect the reflection of light caused by the scope of a sniper rifle being aimed at someone's head.

Professional snipers usually equipped sun shields on their scopes to counteract the effect. The only problem was that doing so would reduce the brightness of the sniper's vision substantially, which greatly affected players. As such, most players chose not to use them.

A non-Sniper would most likely not notice a phenomenon like the flash, which only occurred occasionally. After all, it only affected people at certain angles, so the probability of being exposed was actually quite low.

Unfortunately for them, Feng Luo was a Sniper—a top-notch Sniper!

"What are the details of the capabilities of the group of people you mentioned?" Feng Luo asked, intentionally making it seem like he was interested but still hesitant. He tried to get more from Yellow-tooth. "Do you have some idea of their levels and stats?"

"Everyone is above Level 43," said Yellow-tooth. "The highest is a Level-47 Light Armor Warrior. Relax. Since they're brave enough to take on the job, they are definitely capable of completing it." He flicked and discarded the burnt out cigarette in his hand, smiling. He clearly felt that his plan was almost successful, so he was feeling quite happy.

"Yeah, a Level-47 Light Armor Warrior. is indeed an expert," Feng Luo said calmly. "All right, I agree to it, but I want to see the person before we get into the details!"

"No problem. I'll contact them right now." Yellow-tooth looked delighted as he lowered his head to send messages through his communicator.

Just as Yellow-tooth was in the midst of calling someone through the communicator, Feng Luo suddenly asked in a fairly casual manner, "Oh yeah, and how many people did you guys prepare to ambush me?"

"Five—you!" Yellow-tooth muttered half a sentence before reacting. He looked shocked, then immediately moved his hand toward the pistol hanging on his combat belt.

However, the ATAK tactical military knife, emanating a chilly aura, had already punctured through the defense of his combat uniform like a mad dog gnashing its teeth. Feng Luo laughed coldly. A bloodied knife tip that glittered like frost and snow emerged out of Yellow-tooth's back.

2850!

A red damage number nearing 3,000 appeared overtop of his head. A white flash of light immediately passed through Yellow-tooth's body.

"I hate being tricked!" Feng Luo said coldly as he stared into Yellow-tooth's eyes, the knife still in his hand.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 23: Rebel Army Attacks!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Feng Luo was in a bad mood. His initial joy at completing the mission to clear his name had completely vanished thanks to Yellow-tooth. However, now was not the time to be angry.

After killing Yellow-tooth, he immediately cast the skill Quick Sneak and rushed toward the Forest of Exiles using a serpentine motion as quickly as possible.

Pang!

The dull sound of a Sniper's shot rang out. However, the armor-piercing bullet that came from a cliff around 300 meters away hit nothing but the air behind him. Yellow-tooth's sudden death had clearly stunned his teammates, who had been waiting in ambush for a while. After that, the Sniper had frantically moved his gun to fire a shot at Feng Luo's back. In his haste, he had missed by quite a lot.

Feng Luo reached the forest within ten seconds. The dense vegetation on the periphery of the forest blocked the vision of the ambushers, making it impossible for the ambushers to attack from behind. However, Feng Luo did not relax.

From what Yellow-tooth said, he knew that there were five more of them. That was less than half of the previous squad from the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, but Yellow-tooth had been confident enough to plan to get rid of him. After all, Yellow-tooth had known that Feng Luo had accepted a hidden mission and would not have treated him as a weak newbie, so he must have been confident in the skills of this group.

As such, the danger was still present. There was no way the opponent would give up after Yellow-tooth died!

Feng Luo quickly rushed into the forest. As he ran, he slashed around to leave behind obvious clues with his military knife. After running for 50 meters, he stopped in front of the path he had previously passed through. Then turned around and ran for a distance before sheathing the ATAK military knife back to his combat belt. He then climbed up a tree beside him like an ape and used the dense leaves to completely cover his body.

This was a simple mental battle. The average person would try to escape into the forest. The opponent would never expect Feng Luo to reject an obvious escape into the Forest of Exiles in favor of a peculiar course of action like climbing trees. Moreover, he had intentionally connected his current path with his previous exit path. The opponent would be in a rush to give chase; it was certain that they would not carefully observe the trail. As such, it was possible they would continue to follow the path deep into the forest.

Feng Luo sat on the branch with a cold smile. He took the M110 out from the anti-gravity spacial backpack and quickly assembled it. Even while in a tree, he still managed to complete the assembly within 20 seconds because of his familiarity with the weapon.

After Feng Luo completed all this, two Light Armor Warriors holding alloy longswords came running in his direction. They followed the traces he had left behind and continued their pursuit without another thought.

"Hunter or hunted?" muttered Feng Luo.

A light flashed in his eyes as he fed the double armor-piercing bullet into the chamber with an accompanying ka-chak! After that, he raised the M110 and aimed it in the direction the two Light Armor Warriors had come from.

There were five opponents. Only two Light Armor Warriors had passed by, which meant that another person, as well as the Sniper who had fired at him, were naturally the only ones left behind. Warriors with Charge would widen the distance between them and the other three by around 20 seconds. This was his chance!

Feng Luo held the M110 and hid quietly at the top of the tree. He counted accurately in his mind as if he was a timer.

One! Two! Three… Fifteen… Huh?

By the time he reached 15, Feng Luo suddenly thought he heard something.

The 100 percent auditory perception setting afforded him a great ability to distinguish sounds. And the source of the sound seemed to be coming from…

From within the Forest of Exiles?

Feng Luo held the M110 and quickly looked toward the source of the sound through his scope.

Through the fully zoomed scope, he saw the trees in one direction of the Forest of Exiles falling down one after the other. And beneath the trees, it looked as if a giant monster was coming slowly towards him.

What is this monster? he thought. Eh? No, that's not a monster. It's a machine!

After looking at it more carefully, Feng Luo was shocked to discover that a gigantic armored machine was moving through the Forest of Exiles.

It was an armored machine that was at least eight to nine meters tall. In front and on both of its sides was a row of equipment that looked like electric saws. It had wheels covered with treads, and everywhere it passed within the forest, the trees and plants were severed by the electric saws. After that, they were pushed aside by the mechanical arms installed on the machine. It seemed to be opening up a walkable path through the Forest of Exiles.

"What's the story here?"

Feng Luo was still shocked and after that, a scene that shocked him even more appeared within his sights. Behind this gigantic machine were four Tiger A-50 Robots that were five meters in height!

Yes, robots naturally played a role in a sci-fi online game like War. Not only were robots present, in fact, but there was also even a Robot Pilot profession specifically designed to use robots in combat. Similar to the Doctor, the Robot Pilot was a special profession that combined combat and life professions. The difference was that the number of people with the unique Robot Pilot profession was very limited. Its ratio to doctors was not even 1,000 to one.

The reason they were so rare was that Robot Pilots really burned through cash! The cheapest Level-30 Wind Wolf A-30 Robot had a base cost 50,000 credits. Currently, the most expensive model sold in stores was the Tiger A-50 Robot—the ones moving through the forest right in front of Feng Luo's eyes. The level requirement for piloting the model was Level 50, and the retail price was as high as 12 million credits!

In addition, the consumption of energy crystals and ammunition used by robots in combat was extremely high. Spending hundreds of thousands of credits in a single battle was a common occurrence. And if the robot was damaged during battle, the maintenance and repair fee would also be quite painful.

In the real world, a simple dent to a luxury car could mean a repair fee of several hundred thousand. The same was true for showboaty combat tools like robots driven by highly vain pilots. What better way to show off one's wealth than to spend a million or at least 800,000 credits in a single battle?

That was why only rich people could afford to play as Robot Pilots. Compared to that, the Machine Gunner Profession—which was sometimes referred to as a profession only for tycoons—was nothing. This was the difference between a normal tycoon and a godly tycoon!

Of course, there was a reason why the robots were so expensive! The Tiger Type A Robot model, for example, had a grayish-black high-tech alloy body made of expensive metals. It was filled with explosive strength and frightening defensive capabilities. The four 12-barreled metallic heavy cannons on its back were touted as a "meat mincer" on the battlefield. The energy cannon, which required a C-Grade energy crystal for a single shot, was enough to destroy Elite-grade monsters below Level 50, and it even had two small missile launchers with four missiles. The combat strength of the Level-50 Tiger Type A Armor made it an unrivaled presence at the game's current stage!

Of course, the might of the Tiger Armor did not mean that Robot Pilots were unbeatable in War! Just as Machine Gunners were restrained by certain game mechanics, Robot Pilots could not reach an "imbalanced" level in PK.

For one, the attack damage of the robots would be nerfed when facing monsters above the Commander-grade and players. Even if one Tiger Robot had enough ammunition, in reality, it would not be able to defeat the lowest of Level-35 Bosses. Secondly, robots had piloting level requirements. The lowest level limit for piloting the almighty Tiger Robot was Level 50.

Moreover, there was absolutely no way there was a Pilot who had reached level 50 yet. That was why, since the opening of the server, the almighty Tiger Robot had only been seen standing in the robot store within Silvermoon City, receiving the admiration and jealousy of the people.

For this reason, Feng Luo had never expected that he would personally see four Tiger model robots while in the Forest of Exiles. And upon seeing the same rebel army symbol that he had seen two hours earlier, imprinted on the silverish-gray alloy body of the tiger robot before him, Feng Luo sucked in a breath of cold air.

What is the rebel army up to?

Holding the M110 in his hands, Feng Luo was truly stunned—so much so that he no longer cared about the two Light Armor Warriors, presently fleeing in panic beneath his tree.

His mind no longer lingered on Yellow-tooth and his gang. First of all, it was because the rebel army was closing in. If he started fighting them now, it was highly likely that the rebel army would notice them, and one energy cannon shot was all it would take to take care of all three of them then and there.

Secondly, the scale of the rebel army was huge. It was likely that a large story mission had been triggered.

A large story mission! In War, players could participate in certain missions without the need to receive them personally. Wars between NPC powers represented one such example. Many unique rewards that were normally inaccessible or unavailable would appear in missions like these.

The scale of the rebel army was so huge that they cleared a path straight through the Forest of Exiles, moving directly toward the Town of Exiles. No matter how one looked at it, it seemed clear they weren't there for a tour. Feng Luo's guess was instantly proven true as a voice message sent by the federal army through the internal messaging channel rang in his communicator.

"Attention to all federal combatants in and around Town of Exiles 1022. A huge wave of the rebel army is heading toward the Town of Exiles. Please return to the Town of Exiles immediately and partake in its defense. Repeat. Please return to the Town of Exiles immediately and partake in its defense! Also, to all citizens, please head toward the emergency shelter immediately! Repeat. All citizens, please head toward the emergency shelter immediately!"

Every communicator of the personal terminal given by the Federation had an encrypted internal channel. It was used specifically by the Federation's military unit. The one who announced this message was clearly the city guard of the Town of Exiles. And after the message was announced, on the lower-left corner of the terminal, every player in the Town of Exiles had a new mission reminder that read, "Protect the Town of Exiles."

Story mission "Defense of the Town of Exiles" has begun. All players around Town of Exiles 1022 can head toward the mission hall to claim the temporary Certificate of Conscription to be eligible to participate in the mission.

During the mission, medal points will be awarded for killing rebel army units. Medal points can be used to exchange for resources, equipment, and other items. During the mission, players within the vicinity of the Town of Exiles are prohibited from fighting against each other. Violators will receive severe punishment!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 24: Temporary Conscription Mission

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Town of Exiles, Mission Center.

At that moment, the normally quiet mission center was filled with people. Multiple players queued up while waiting to claim their temporary certificate of conscription, and even more players were yelling.

"Level-43 Heavy Armor Warrior looking for a party! I have an Excellent Grade D grade shield and advanced skill level for Heavy Armor Defense!"

"Level-44 Fire Manipulator party leader looking for members! Requirement: Level 40 and above with at least two pieces of Fine-grade equipment."

"Level-45 Scout with Expert-level Detection skill, looking for reliable teammates…"

It was an unbelievably lively scene. Only heads could be seen moving. The players filled the mission center as well as the road in front of the entrance. Because most of the players had red names, a horde of bright red IDs floated overtop of every head. For a short moment, Feng Luo had the illusion that it was a 2D online game back on Earth.

Since the system announced the rule that players were prohibited from fighting each other while the mission was in progress, Feng Luo could enter the Town of Exiles without worrying. One could even say that this story had come just at the right time.

"Completed 'Clear Red Name' Mission. Removed five PK value. Obtained 1,200 experience. Obtained the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel blueprint (Usage Count 0/20). Returned mission deposit of 2,000 credits."

After receiving the mission card from Feng Luo and confirming that the mission was successfully completed, the soldier wearing the military uniform of the Federation guard who sat behind the window of a temporarily opened booth handed a chip containing detailed information about the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel to Feng Luo. In truth, "blueprint" was just what players were used to calling these. Actually, this chip had the complete manufacturing process for the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel.

On top of the blueprint, there was also a usage count, bearing a mark of "0/20." This was a mark that all blueprints in War had. It signified the number of times the blueprint could be used.

It would have been a mistake to believe that by acquiring the blueprint, a player could manufacture a Rare-grade piece of equipment like the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel as many times as they desired. Considering how selfish the system was, there was no way it would give such a treat to the players. Every equipment blueprint would automatically be deleted from the players' terminal after reaching the maximum usage count. Which meant that the maximum number of equipment pieces that a player could produce was the same as the usage count of the blueprint. Plus, one had to also deduct the number of failed attempts. As such, the value of an equipment's blueprint was highly correlated with the usage count.

However, there was one exception in the event of an extremely unique situation! If the player could produce a piece of equipment that the system evaluated as "Perfect" within the maximum usage count, then the player would acquire authorization to use the equipment blueprint permanently.

The only caveat was that creating a piece of equipment with the Perfect rating was more difficult than one could imagine. It was practically impossible to achieve it, unless one tried dozens or perhaps even hundreds of times.

As a result, the main sources of high-end equipment were still missions and boss monsters. Equipment that could be mass-produced by life profession players would always be slightly outdated. Of course, if a player had both good luck and excellent skills, and they successfully produced a piece of Perfect equipment within the blueprint usage restriction, then there would be no doubt that the player had struck gold!

"I still want to take on the conscription mission!" Feng Luo told the soldier after he inserted the chip into his personal terminal and read the blueprint information within it.

"Deduct 500 credits for deposit," said the soldier. "This is your temporary certificate of conscription. You can use this to head toward the resources center and receive some combat rations!" The soldier passed a new card to him and added sternly, "Please bear in mind that once you've accepted the mission, you will be seen as a normal soldier. If you disobey orders during the mission, any member of the guards will have the authority to kill you on the spot!"

The soldiers would say this to every player. However, most players would not pay much attention to the warning.

A message notification appeared in Feng Luo's lower-left field of vision.

Accept temporary conscription mission. The medal point counting system in the Town of Exiles 1022 has been activated. Current medal point: 0.

After that, Feng Luo walked out of the mission hall filled with players. He then followed the prompts on the roadside signs and ran toward the resource center to receive a combat ration designated for Snipers.

60 E-Grade armor-piercing bullets that increase attack by 5%!

Five packs of C-grade recovery potions. Recovers 50 HP every second within 20 seconds of use.

Five packs of E-grade Stamina recovery potions. Increases Stamina recovery rate by 70% after use. Lasts for three minutes!

The three types of items received were relatively common. Their total value was around 700 credits. However, truth be told, this was considered a decent income for normal players.

Of course, if players wanted to hide and avoid combat after claiming their rations, it was impossible. There was no way the system would allow such gaps for players to take advantage of. For everyone who received rations, if their medal point did not reach 100 points by the end of the mission, 700 credits would be deducted from their account as punishment. Moreover, the 500-credit deposit would also not be refunded! As a result, once they had accepted the mission, they would give their all and fight!

Outside the resource center, there were also many players screaming at the tops of their lungs, hoping to find someone to party up with them.

For a mission with a war storyline, getting teammates who cooperated together would certainly be safer than going solo.

Times like these displayed the difficulties of joining a party for the various professions. The most welcomed profession was the Doctor. After all, a healing profession would be extremely important in almost every situation. However, there probably weren't many Doctors in the Town of Exiles because—as a profession that was severely lacking in attack methods and could only use negative potions to attack their opponents—it was quite difficult for a Doctor to kill someone and earn a red name. Even if there were a few red-named Doctors, they were probably players who chose to remain in the Town of Exiles for the long term, much like Yellow-tooth. These players would already have fixed teams, and normal players would not dare to join them.

After the Doctor, the most welcome professions were, naturally, those that possessed powerful crowd-damage abilities such as the Machine Gunners and Energy Manipulators. This was a mission to defend against a siege, after all, so these two professions had an absolute advantage in this regard. Next in line after them were professions that fulfilled special roles like the Heavy Armor Warriors and the Scouts. Most teams and parties would consider having one or two of each.

As for the Snipers and Light Armor Warriors, the two professions that were often enemies became fellow sufferers in this instance. No one wanted to party up with them!

Although the Sniper had amazing long-range damage dealing ability, in a battle like this, they would not be able to earn medal points as fast as Machine Gunners, who could take out more than a dozen enemies with one box of bullets. As for the Light Armor Warriors, they would not have many opportunities to display their usefulness until the defense of the city was breached.

It was important to note that after players partied up, medal points would be distributed according to certain ratios. As a result, the two soy sauce professions were naturally given the cold shoulder.

However, Feng Luo never did want to join a party. As a Sniper, he had long ago gotten used to working alone. For him, unless he could find a teammate who would have his back completely, then working alone was perhaps the best partner a Sniper could ask for!

After exiting the resource center, Feng Luo quickly moved up to the rooftop of a building. However, by the time he reached the rooftop, he discovered that the rooftop he had identified earlier already had two or three snipers hiding there. They already occupied the best geographical location. Clearly, more than a few people had had the same thought!

As he disliked having someone else being beside him when he sniped, Feng Luo gave up on that location. After trying three other buildings, he finally found a sniping spot on top of an old abandoned building that was over a dozen stories tall. Although the location was not ideal, it was near the periphery of town, and the field of view was decent. He set up the M110, and he could see a Tiger CV Robot outside town.

The rebel army had already surrounded the Town of Exiles an hour before. However, they had not yet attacked. This was probably the system intentionally allowing the players some time to make their preparations to fight in a storyline mission that could possibly drag on for a very long time. After all, the players still had to deal with many trivial matters in the real world in advance.

The sun gradually sank. Another half an hour passed. By the time the sky was dyed with the dull red of dusk…

Boom!

A small missile was fired out of the launcher on one of the Tiger robots. It flew across thousands of kilometers, accompanied by yellow and orange flames, and collided with the defensive constructs outside the Town of Exiles. Shattered pieces of stones flew everywhere as smoke rose into the air!

The defense of the Town of Exiles had officially begun!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 25: Bombing Mecha

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The numerous rebel soldiers began to attack the Town of Exiles from several directions, and the players in the Town of Exiles defended under the arrangement and command of the town guard.

As a place threatened by the mutant beasts in the Forest of Exiles and rebel bases, Town of Exiles 1022 had strong fortifications and an NPC garrison of more than 500 people.

The fierce gunshots were like thunder. The bullets flew, and energy skills of various colors whizzed past. The sounds of explosions came in waves. There was no foreplay; the battle for the Town of Exiles heated up quickly!

On top of the roof, looking at his target through the M110 sniper scope, Feng Luo's eyes were calm and not as full of excitement as other ordinary players. He had experienced war more than once in the past, so there were no nervous feelings in his heart.

Click!

An ordinary armor-piercing bullet was loaded, and the muzzle of M110 was aimed at a rebel Machine Gunner who was shooting 700 meters away. In this kind of battle, there was no need for him to use his own special bullets. Even the E-class armor-piercing bullets that were produced were not necessary. After all, the E-class ammunition with attack bonuses of 5 percent cost almost five credits per round.

The Machine Gunner apparently did not know that he had been targeted and was controlling the six-barreled machine gun in front of him, violently firing at the defenses of the Town of Exiles. The bullets that were continuously fired formed six streams of orange and red flames at the end of the gun, making the Gunner's animalistic face even more hideous!

Bang!

1574!

Feng Luo's first shot hit the chest of the rebel Machine Gunner. As a humanoid monster, his level and equipment were slightly lower than ordinary players, so the shot not only tore the rebel Machine Gunner's combat suit, but the residual impact of the bullet caused over 1,000 points of yellow weak-point damage.

Outside the Town of Exiles, the rebel Machine Gunner that was shot in the chest showed some panic, then threw himself down, trying to take cover behind the metal plating on the bottom of the six-barreled machine gun.

"Very good reflexes!" Feng Luo praised.

However, the Machine Gun didn't provide much cover. The rebel Machine Gunner only managed to block his head and chest, and a small part of the body was left exposed.

For ordinary Sniper players, it would have been difficult to hit such a small target from 700 to 800 meters, but it was not difficult at all for Feng Luo!

Bang!

1945!

The second shot of armor-piercing bullets broke through and depleted the remaining HP of the beastly rebel Machine Gunner. A system prompt message appeared in Feng Luo's field of vision.

Level-42 rebel Machine Gunner killed. 80 XP. Town of Exiles 1022 gained 5 medal points!

This "medal point" was not the same as the "merit" that had been previously rewarded for killing the rebel Elite captain. The latter was much more difficult than the former. However, defeating a Level-42 Machine Gunner only yielded five medal points. It seemed like it would not be so easy to gain 100 points.

Fortunately, there were many rebels outside the town, and many mutant beasts at Level 35 or above were constantly converging on the Town of Exiles. As such, it would not be difficult to earn more medal points.

Bang! Bang!

The M110 fired at a steady pace, shooting a round every two seconds and soon killed a Level-39 Wild Boar with a pair of sharp fangs, gaining three medal points for Feng Luo.

It was said that the rebel army had invented a powerful technique for controlling the brains of mutant organisms through their deep research into biotechnology. Therefore, it was possible for them to influence some mutant organisms to join the battle. That was one of the reasons the federal government had been unable to completely destroy them. These monsters were all "brainwashed" by the biotechnology of the rebel army, so they violently attacked the Town of Exiles!

After about half an hour of fighting, the situation gradually fell into a stalemate.

The town's defenses had the perfect number of players, with 1,000 to 2,000 total, plus several electromagnetic energy cannons. But the rebel forces had the advantages of possessing more mechs, and the firepower of their attack had not diminished. Only a few attacks launched in succession could be suppressed by the support of the guards and the players. In the process, the players who had the long-range attacks naturally earn a lot, and even Feng Luo, who only attacked with his sniper rifle, had reached more than 70 medal points. But the acquisition speed was slowing down because the sky was almost dark.

There were differences in the daytime and nighttime environments in War. In general, night in the game was even more dangerous because there were many special mutant creatures that came out to hunt and move in the dark. Of course, a high risk also meant a high return; many special materials and equipment in the game could only be collected from nocturnal monsters. Therefore, there were many players at night in War.

For Snipers, who relied on vision the most, night was undoubtedly very unsuitable for combat. Feng Luo was preparing to put away his M110, thinking he would take a break or shift positions to a more obvious place. At that moment, a series of windy whoosh sounds could be heard above his head. A moment later, the entire Town of Exiles was brightened by ammunitions exploding in the air!

Looking up over his head, Feng Luo saw flares suspending in the air like small suns. "Tactical flares?" he said, a little surprised.

These flares, which were unique to this game, could last for more than half an hour and were the most desirable consumables for many players fighting in the dark. Because the price was so expensive and they were such rare items, general players could not get them. Only NPC forces could afford to fire hundreds of them into the skies.

Thanks to the flares, the problem of limited vision was solved, and Feng Luo aborted his plan to change position. As a Sniper, he had never tried to fight at night in the game, so this would be a novel experience for him.

Repositioning the M110, Feng Luo began to focus on an A-50 Tiger mech 50 meters away from town.

The rebel forces were using a lot of mechs and armored vehicles to attack together in all directions, causing great trouble to the defenders. In particular, the four A-50 Tiger-style mechs, along with their own heavy firepower and defense, had destroyed many defensive structures in the Town of Exiles.

However, the more conspicuous a player was on the battlefield, the more attention it drew. Hence, the mech spearheading the attack had been damaged very badly, and the heavy machine guns and the cannon on its back had ceased fire.

Boom!

A shell from the guards fell on the left side of the mech and hit the mech's armor, bursting into pieces. There were also many remote attacks from the manipulators in the town, such as wind blades and fireballs.

There were reasons for the players to attack so zealously—despite the fact that when the mech was destroyed, there was no way to collect any items from it. This kind of mechanical unit was recognized as an Elite or even a Commander level by the system and would definitely award players with more medal points than those of mutant beasts or ordinary rebel soldiers.

Additionally, if a weak spot was hit and its core structure was destroyed, with a player striking the final blow, many medal points would be awarded (the mechanical unit had no life points, so the core needed to be destroyed in order to destroy the unit).

The weak spot of the Tiger mech was located on the right side of the abdomen. Feng Luo knew this because he had studied the structure of the mech and knew the position of the core control chip. If the control chip could be destroyed, the mech would lose control, and the unit would be deemed by the system as having been destroyed.

However, the weak spot of this kind of mech was thoroughly protected by alloy armor. Even if Feng Luo had used the M110 in his hand with D-class double armor-piercing bullets, it would have been impossible to directly damage the control chip of this Tiger mech because a layer of high-alloy armor was protecting it.

Although the damage factor of the double armor-piercing bullet was high, the kinetic energy of the 7.62mm bullet was not enough to support the penetration of such thick armor. Therefore, Feng Luo did not even think about getting a final blow. He just thought about landing a few shots on the mech. When it was finally destroyed, he could get some experience points and medal points based on the contribution percentage.

However, the situation on the battlefield changed with time. No one expected that the control core of the Tiger mech would suddenly be exposed.

Just after Feng Luo aimed with the M110 and took two insignificant shots, a shell from the guard's fort happened to hit the ammunition box on the right side of the Tiger mech.

Boom!

There was a thunderous bang, along with orange flames and thick black smoke, and the armor protecting the chip was torn off by the explosion.

"An opportunity!"

Watching this through the sniper rifle's scope, Feng Luo was astounded. Without any hesitation, he instinctively aimed at the position of the Tiger mech's control chip, and the trigger was pulled.

Bang!

The M110 made a dull bang, and an armor-piercing bullet tore through the air, spinning at high speed over a distance of more than 300 meters. It passed through the black smoke pouring from the Tiger mech and plunging into its body.

Click!

The five-meter body of the Tiger mech was suddenly stunned, then bombarded by many players who also noticed the breakthrough.

Level-50 Tiger A-50 mech destroyed. Contribution 10.2%. 306 medal points obtained from Town of Exiles 1022.

Unfortunately, these players were one step too slow!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 26: Boss Battle (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"More than 300 points! Jackpot!"

Feng Luo showed a smile. He couldn't help it. The points he got on this shot were several times more than he had obtained in the last half an hour. He had not only met the requirements of the 100-point task but greatly exceeded them. But it was pleasing to score even higher medal points, as he could get equipment that was not available in the store.

The Tiger Mecha should only be equivalent to a monster at the Commander level, thought Feng Luo greedily, with 10 percent contribution worth 300 points. If it is a Boss, then maybe 10 percent of the contribution will be worth thousands of points!

But he immediately banished this idea because Bosses in War were too overwhelming. His first consideration when he met a Boss was definitely to run instead of killing to earn points.

"Hey? What's going on underneath?"

Moving the M110, Feng Luo was preparing to find his next target. When he swept his view over the square below, he was shocked to witness a strange phenomenon.

There was a huge square with an area of thousands of square meters next to the building he occupied, bordered by huge buildings on three sides. Players and guards were standing along the innermost line. Under the bright light of 100 flares in the sky, Feng Luo noticed, to his surprise, that there were cracks appearing in the square.

The cracks on the ground violently spread, creating a huge spider web pattern that covered the center of the square. It had happened without Feng Luo even noticing it!

Now, the center of the square was shaking violently!

Although the players in the square had their full attention focused on the battle, it was impossible not to notice what was happening. Everyone began to panic as they realized what had happened.

"What's happening?"

"Damn, is it an earthquake?"

"Oh my gosh! Look down!"

Boom!

The web-like cracks bloomed outward from the center of the square and suddenly slammed upward. Hundreds of boulder with a combined weight of thousands of kilograms rose from the ground and slammed down like cannonballs.

Boom!

More than 10 rays of white light were emitting simultaneously, making the square even brighter than the flares above. They were the lights emitted by players rushed to death by the boulders.

The personal terminal on Feng Luo's wrist produced a mad alarm. There was even a series of bright red warning messages scrolling nonstop through the corners of his view.

Warning! High-energy life detected! Warning…

"Damn it!"

The situation was enough to make even Feng Luo curse.

In War, there was only one reason for such a situation: the emergence of a Boss lifeform, the ultimate creatures in War! His thoughts had become a reality!

Crack!

In the center of the broken square, a huge black figure shaped like a beetle slowly climbed up, breaking through the earth. The hard, thick concrete floor was cracked and broken by its huge body. The surrounding street lamps, flower beds, and sculptures in the square were collapsing one after another…

When the sniper scope was aimed at the black giant beetle, the scanner connected to Feng Luo's personal information terminal library listed some simple information. It was enough to make Feng Luo sweat in fear.

"A Boss-class creatures at Level 45," he muttered under his breath. "What the type is? And attributes?"

It was a Level-45 Boss!

Level 45 may not have seemed very high. It even did not reach the level of some of the players here. But it was a Level-45 Boss!

According to the official standard index, the strength of Boss-level enemies in War was equivalent to the average strength of 500 players of the same level! Which mean they would need 500 players with the equivalent level to kill a Boss!

Moreover, that did not mean that the Boss would definitely be killed. It only meant that if 500 players were willing to trade one level of experience in exchange for the life of the Boss, then there was a 50 percent chance for them to destroy themselves along with Boss. In fact, a team with at least 1,000 members—or more than 300 elite players—would be needed to definitely kill a Boss at this level. And it had to be done under the strict coordination of a commander.

Although there were almost 2,000 red-name players in the Town of Exiles, there were only 200 people around the square, and their strength was unevenly distributed. Plus, there was no unified command. For these players to kill a Level-45 Boss was totally impossible!

Should we leave? wondered Feng Luo. Seeing the Boss appear in front, he was ready to leave without hesitation, but he considered for a moment as he stood up with the M110.

Logically, the system would certainly not arrange a task without a possible solution. A Level-45 Boss had appeared in the town would definitely cause terrible damage.

The Town of Exiles would be unprotected if they decided to let it go. The only solution was to settle it.

It seemed he could not escape even if he began at that moment. And there was a long distance between them. The Boss probably would not realize his presence at first.

I'll observe for a while, Feng Luo decided.

He was actually quite curious about the Boss.

He had never encountered a Boss in all his time since entering War. In the past, he had only watched videos of big companies or player corporations encircling Bosses. Based on those videos, he knew the strength of a Boss. While Feng Luo was immersed in his thoughts, players began to attack the Boss.

Bang!

A football-sized fireball, burning with red flames, slowly flew from the window on the second floor of a commercial building facing the street to the back of the Beetle Boss. It was the fastest skill a Fire Manipulator had in their arsenal: "Fireball."

Bosses in War were extremely rare. Although players had heard of the terrible Boss, many did not believe that they could be so strong that players would be unable to deal with. The very word "Boss" was synonymous with horror, but it also represented top materials and rare equipment. The temptation of credit points was enough for many players to overcome their fear.

Woosh!

After the first Fireball appeared, countless other skills, bullets, and energy beams were fired off at the same time, launched at the Boss. The sky looked gorgeous under the shining light.

The black Beetle Boss was slowly moving its eight giant limbs, supporting its body to drill at the ground. It did not make any counterattack and showed no fear—a characteristic of legendary Boss-level creatures.

Is this the opportunity from the system? wondered Feng Luo. A period in which we can attack it first?

The countless skills and attacks fell as one against the shell of the Beetle Boss, and suddenly there was a dense cluster of damage values over its head.

23

8

56

77

9

Looking at the white-colored damage indicators that couldn't even reach three digits, Feng Luo took a cold breath, and slowly spat a single word from between his teeth.

"Incredible!"

It was such an incredible defense level! The total damage could not even reach 300 points—not even when the strongest single-target skill from a Level 45 Fire Manipulator hit its body. And the Machine Gunners' bullets were only doing single-digit damage!

The players around the square were shouting obscenities. They were shocked and completely dumbfounded by the low damage their dealing.

"How the f*ck are we gonna kill this b*tch?"

At the same time, the Boss was finally supporting itself with its eight giant limbs. Its whole body had emerged from the ground, and it began to reveal its first attack!

Boom!

A vibrating, invisible sound wave came out from its wide, enormous mouth, sweeping around in overwhelming style!

Boom!

Everything around the Boss was shattered into powder by the sound waves, which were then driven by the power of the sound waves to form a translucent sphere that spread into the surroundings. The area it covered was in a state of pure destruction. It was a catastrophe straight out of science fiction.

Boom! Boom!

A few white lights flashed, and the stunned Scouts and Manipulators who were closest to it were killed by this horrible sound wave instantly. The rest of the players in the square were in the process of receiving damage values from injuries. Even Feng Luo, who was located the top of a 10-story building, realized that his HP had suddenly fallen greatly!

The players were collectively shocked! However, the full range of sound wave attacks against the group was only the first attack pattern of the Beetle Boss. The next moment, two white laser energy columns were shot from its eyes, and they suddenly blasted the wall of a two-story building located a few dozen meters away, completely evaporating a player hiding inside, turning them into white light. It was the Fire Manipulator who had used Fireball.

What a vengeful Boss!

The two white laser beams did not disappear after killing the player who caused the first damage to it. Instead, as the Boss's head turned, the beams moved like two laser cannons, devastating all the objects in its rampant path. Its destruction was impartial!

What severe destruction and damage! Even as players rushed to hide behind the bunker, the white light of death in the square continued. Only a few high-level Heavy Armor Warriors could block the laser with their shields the moment they were hit. They then rushed to escape with only a little health remaining.

Observing the situation, the players finally realized that the Boss was not something they could defeat. Without a unified command, it was impossible to pose any threat to the Boss even if there had been more than 200 players around the square.

The players were in chaos!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 27: Boss Battle (Part 2)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The players were in chaos. Not only were their attacks in disarray, but their minds were utterly confused.

No one would want to throw away the experience of an entire level here. Furthermore, many of the players were red names. If they were killed by the Boss now, causing them to drop some of their equipment, the loss would be quite significant. Many players thought of retreating, plotting to escape quietly and stealthily before the Boss could notice them and target them.

Unexpectedly, an NPC's commanding voice suddenly came in through the communication devices of all the players present. It was broadcast through internal communication channels by an NPC guard Staff Sergeant in the corner of the square.

"Everybody, do not retreat!" said the Staff Sergeant. "Reinforcements will be arriving soon. Attack! Full-on offense!"

At the same time, a red-colored system warning appeared at the bottom-left of the players' HUDs.

Warning: Orders must be obeyed during this mission, or players will face severe punishment!

"Damn! No wonder the mission's NPC soldier would specifically give us a heads-up." Feng Luo clenched his jaw, looking pale.

Damn!

Many players started to curse in their hearts. They felt like they had been conned and tricked by the system. Staying here to fight such a terrifying Boss would be akin to waiting around for one's own death.

But, as Feng Luo has guessed, the system did not assign an impossible mission to the players.

The low hum of engines erupted suddenly from the end of the street. Immediately, seven brownish-green Energy Military Vehicles bearing the insignia of the Federal Guards emerged swiftly from the crossroads. Sitting on the vehicles were about a dozen guards. Every vehicle was armed with a science-fiction-looking, electromagnetic, six-barreled, two-meter-long heavy machine gun. Then, with an electromechanical screech, the six barrels spun vigorously, unleashing their heavy payload onto the Boss.

233

255

259

A huge cluster of damage indicators appeared right overtop of the giant Beetle. Due to its crazy defense, the damage dealt by each bullet was quite low, but the output of seven electromagnetic machine guns clumped together was frighteningly concentrated. The damage dealt was far higher than the players' attacks. Small indentations even started to appear on the Boss's thick, black armor.

"We have a chance!"

The players who were cursing and hiding behind covers have just realized that, with the powerful firepower support from the guards, beating the Boss suddenly seemed to be a possible feat.

Bang!

You have dealt damage to the mysterious Boss lifeform! 1 Medal Point has been awarded!

Several players tried to hurl some Wind Blades and Fireballs at the Boss. Surprisingly, hitting the Boss now rewarded them with Medal Points directly. A few hits would be equivalent to killing a monster.

"Wow!"

Some of the players who were in the proximity and were trapped in the mission stopped trying to escape. If they couldn't beat this Boss, everyone in the Town of Exile would drop in level anyway. If they attacked more now, they could at least earn more points.

Not only the ranged characters, but even the melee players were moving forward. As helpless front-liners in this battle, they'd had nothing to do all this time. They had been hiding behind cover like tortoises in their shells—until now. Now they can get Medal Points just by hacking at the Boss. To the hopeless Warriors, it was tempting indeed. At the very least, they had to take this chance to try to collect 100 Medal Points!

Melee players had yet another benefit; by staying behind the Boss, they could completely avoid the Boss's immensely powerful laser sweep. As for the Boss's sonic wave attack from the side, while it boasted a wide area of effect (AOE), the damage was not very high. These Warrior-class players, who had high HP, could naturally be confident in taking such hits. As such, many Warriors quickly rushed out from every corner, using Charge to get beside the Boss and attack it with the weapons in their hands.

Luo Feng, on the top floor, did not stay idle either. He pulled his trigger repeatedly, firing his M110 at a consistent rate. At the same time, his Medal Points were rising steadily.

The players and the NPCs continued to attack with their full strength, and the Boss's HP started dropping at a quicker pace. The damage indicators on the Boss were appearing so quickly that no one could keep track of them. However, if one assumed that this would be enough to defeat the top Boss lifeform in War, they were wrong!

"Shriek!"

The Boss immediately let out a thundering cry. A translucent yellow energy shield rose around it. Immediately, all the attacks were blocked by the protective barrier. Even the powerful six-barreled machine guns' bullets could only create ripples in the shield.

Not only that, but the Boss shook angrily, displaying a new type of attack against the Warrior players squirreling around it like ants. A stream of green gas spurt out from its belly, covering an area with a radius of 10 meters. The melee Warriors were all swallowed by the cloud of greenish gas. Suddenly, a number of high damage indicators popped up consecutively overtop of the players. In just a few seconds, damage dealt over time had depleted their HP. A few bright white lights flashed immediately.

Poison Attack! It was another huge AOE attack, and it dealt a terrifying amount of damage!

The impregnable black shell on the Beetle Boss's upper body, a protective energy shield surrounding it, a huge AOE poison gas attack, unpredictable sonic waves, and a long-range laser that fired continuously—these capabilities made the Beetle truly worthy of being called a Boss!

Even though it moved slowly, its impregnable defenses made it seem undefeatable. Now, the Warrior players no longer dared to approach it. The Gunners hit by the laser sweep immediately lost half of their HP. If they were hit one more time, their HP would most likely be emptied.

And what about the Manipulators? Facing this immense ball of strength, they could only complain. The players and the Boss both had shields, but why was the difference between their energy shields so vast? The players' shields were broken within seconds when they came in contact with the laser. Currently, the black Beetle Boss's shield had taken more than 10,000 points of damage, yet it did not seem to be weakening one bit!

"How do we fight this? What should we do!"

The emergence of the shield and the gas has shaken the hearts of the players once more. But instead of thinking of fleeing like before, most players were concentrating on their attacks. After all, no one knew the consequences of running away.

Even with firepower support from the guards, the difference in power was clear. With the shield up, all these attacks were just scratches to the Boss. It stood firm on the ground, unmoving. It merely swept its lasers around, casually taking out several dozen players and three military vehicles.

In the meantime, only one-fifth of its shield had been depleted. If this continued, the final victory will no doubt belong to the Beetle Boss!

Tzzz!

But, at that moment, a blue cannon shell fell from the sky directly onto the Boss's shield. As it exploded, a cluster of plasma burst out, dimming the Beetle Boss's energy shield to a significant degree.

It was a charged attack from the town Guards' electromagnetic cannon. It was so devastating that a single blast could have annihilated a Level-40 Eagle Mecha.

"More support from the system has come in!"

On the top floor, Luo Feng, still shooting with his M110, let out a breath of relief. In just a short while, he had used up two magazines. The M110's barrel was steaming hot and in need of a cooldown.

But the Guard's electromagnetic cannon did not stop. After seven or eight consecutive hits, the yellow shield surrounding the Boss flickered a few times and disappeared!

"Attack! Attack!"

The Staff Sergeant's loud voice blared out over the players' comms. Immediately, the three Energy Military Vehicles started to fire their electromagnetic machine guns at the Boss.

Hearing the command from the Staff Sergeant, the players started to madly launch their skills as well. After all, the moment of an enemy's weakness was the opportune moment for attack. But, of course, the melee players are not so foolish as to throw away their lives. They depended on the ranged players to bring down the Boss's health. Nevertheless, even under the fire of so many parties without its shield, the Boss's black armor was still insanely strong.

Under the heavy firepower support of the guards and the full-on offense from the players, it seemed like its HP was dropping steadily.

Perhaps there was a hope of killing this Boss.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 28: Boss Battle (Part 3)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Killing a Boss. What was common in other games was a very difficult feat in War—not only because the strength of any Boss was very powerful but because the result of killing the Boss was often the death of the whole group.

Also, because the AI level of Bosses in War was extremely high, they weren't as stupid as standard monsters in the normal game. They fought hard against the players. However, once they found that their lives were in danger, most of them would escape.

To stop a Boss from running away was extremely difficult. Therefore, even if players were capable of defeating a Boss, they were usually unable to kill it. In the six months since the server had launched, the number of Bosses killed by players was very small.

But today, all the players present saw a glimmer of hope!

The movement speed of this Beetle Boss was so slow that it was certainly incapable of escape. And as this Beetle Boss was a loner, it was also impossible to escape the player's pursuit by sending out suicidal lackeys. The most common reason Boss monsters were difficult to attack was because of little monster by their side. Bosses in War had large groups of Normal, Elite, and even Commander monsters to escort them.

But this Beetle Boss was an exception. The rebel army could control it but apparently did not control its mobs. The players present were lucky to have encountered such a rare loner Boss. Otherwise, even with the help of the Guard NPCs, it would have been difficult to defeat a Level-45 Boss with the support of countless mobs.

In the meantime, at least 50 players and more than 10 NPC Guards turned into white light, killed by the Boss. But the Beetle Boss was also heavily scarred. Green mucus flowed down to the ground, one eye was blinded, and three of the eight sharp limbs were broken.

"Kill it! Get the rare equipment!"

Seeing that Boss's HP was decreasing, many players were delighted.

However, the black Beetle Boss that appeared to be dying seemed to be deliberately continuing the fight with the players.

Just as the players grew excited, the Boss unleashed a new method of attack. A ball of white energy brewed within its mouth. It spat the ball toward a moving Guard vehicle driving along the square.

Boom!

The energy ball hit the guard vehicle and burst into a flashing white light, blinding everyone's eyes!

By the time the white light had dissipated, the Guard vehicle had disappeared. On the ground where it had been located, there was a large crater, and the surrounding area had been burned completely black. Liquid metal and the black chunks of tires flowed from the point where the vehicle had melted. Even the soil on the inner wall of the crater was turned into heated ash.

Many players were shocked. This was an extremely horrible power! This Boss, even in the current situation, still had the power to resist?

Boom!

4020!

But just as the Boss opened its mouth and was going to spit out another energy bomb, a yellow weak-point damage value totaling over 4,000 appeared!

Feng Luo had seized the opportunity to shoot the Boss in the mouth, and the damage of this attack was unexpected. It seemed that although its shell was very hard, its internal defense was very weak!

"Ok?" he said. "Damn!"

However, his pupils suddenly shrank after he regained focus. He grabbed the M110 and hurriedly ran backward.

"Hey!"

A laser beam like a cutting torch sliced through the wall of the tall building, cutting all the way to the top, melting glass, cracking cement, and sending gravel flying all around. After two seconds, a white energy bomb flew out and landed on the outer wall of the building behind Feng Luo.

Boom!

The ceiling of the top floor was hit with a blast, and the resulting shock wave quickly spread outward.

Feng Luo was thrown to the ground. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly enough. He lost 1,500 points of health just from the shock wave from the energy ball. He could not imagine the damage he would have received if he'd been hit by that energy bomb. He probably wouldn't have turned into white light straight away; more likely, all the equipment on his body would have been destroyed, too. When he resurrected, the underwear would have been all that was left.

"This Boss really does harbor bitter resentment!"

Feng Luo, still in shock, stood up and looked back at the Boss. His face immediately grew even more haggard. The Beetle Boss on the ground-level square was gathering white energy, and a new bomb was forming. Worse still, it was still aimed at him.

"Sh*t!" Feng Luo cursed and fled.

But at that moment, an electromagnetic bomb suddenly fell from the sky into the open mouth of the Beetle Boss.

Boom!

58743

The plasma from the electromagnetic bomb exploded in the mouth of the Boss, which led to the explosion of the energy bomb in the Boss's mouth. Half of the Boss mouth was blown off, and the head was nearly blown off.

This was the highest damage amount since the beginning of War! Over 50k HP had been lost—enough to seriously damage even a Level 45 Boss!

"Hey!"

The badly damaged Boss was furious and started attacking in all directions. The horrible sound wave attack smashed the town square into half. The laser beam in its remaining eye swept through buildings, players, creatures, and nonliving things alike.

That electromagnetic shot had not destroyed its energy-emitting structure, but it had caused the partially severed head of the angered Boss to swing around. White energy balls flew in all directions.

Many players, unprepared for this, were killed as a result. Dozens of white lights flashed around the square like a gorgeous light show of death! The rest of the surviving players, however, were not afraid at this time but full of excitement. Based on their experience, they knew the Boss's HP must have dropped to a very low level.

The chance to kill a Boss was right in front of them!

"Attack, attack!" the voice of the Guard Staff Sergeant roared, growing hoarse.

On the roof above, Feng Luo—who that escaped certain catastrophe—was also filled with excitement. He quickly found a new position to set up the M110 and then, without hesitation, equipped the D-grade special ammunition: double armor-piercing rounds.

Now the Boss was constantly turning its body, and his head was not facing this direction. From this position, Feng Luo couldn't attack the weak point in the Boss mouth, but through the sniper rifle's scope, he located another better target.

It was a region that had been hit by many bullets and various attacks, causing the shell to be deeply dented. The center was a fist-sized pit where green mucus steadily flowed out. The wound was located was just behind the Boss head.

Distance: 102.4 meters. Wind speed: 5 m/s. Aiming…

Within two seconds, Feng Luo analyzed all this data in his brain and reached the desired conclusion. The next moment, the M110's fired, and the double armor-piercing round flew out!

Bang!

14200!

After traveling 100 meters, the double armor-piercing round luckily entered straight into the fist-sized wound. Subsequently, a value totaling over 10,000 points of damage floated over the head of the Beetle Boss, and the indicator was shining bright gold!

Gold indicator! Critical hit!

Regardless of the small probability, the lucky shot by Feng Luo which was the highest damage he had dealt since entering War. To his surprise, the Level-45 Boss received a massive amount of damage from his attack!

Feng Luo hands holding the M110 can't help shaking! "That was lucky!" he said.

This Beetle Boss had an extremely powerful shell, but the inside of the shell was filled with soft meat, just like an ordinary Beetle. Plus, its head was its weak point. Only the unique combination of these conditions—coupled with Feng Luo's "Deadly" talent—allowed him to make such an amazing shot!

"Huh?"

Feng Luo had originally intended to get up after he fired the shot because the Boss would attack him again with energy cannon, but he stayed behind cover. Through the view provided by the M110's scope, Feng Luo watched as the Beetle Boss made a sharp and miserable scream after being shot by the double armor-piercing round.

The screams pierced through the night sky, and a series of double-digit damage values appeared overtop of Feng Luo's head. At the same time, the black shell on the Beetle became rapidly discolored. Everyone felt the pressure released by its mighty breath.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 29: Boss Battle (Part 4)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Is this a pattern of unleashing super skills?"

Feng Luo's facial expression changed. He immediately dismissed this guess because the Beetle Boss's condition seemed to indicate another scenario.

"No, this is… self-destruction!"

Some Bosses used the self-destruction skill as a counter-attack when dying in War. Self-destruction didn't just cause great damage to surrounding enemies. More importantly, if players could not stop it in time, the Boss's most valuable energy crystal core or mechanical core would be destroyed when the Boss died.

This was undoubtedly a sneaky plan by the gaming company! The only way to stop the Boss from self-destructing was to attack its vital point and cause lethal damage, due to the fact that most active skills in War could be halted by a vital-point attack. This was also why lethal damage had a higher value than normal damage in War.

However, no one could stop this Boss's skill because, during the boss's self-destruction, an energy shield slightly darker than the previous one appeared over its body, blocking the attacks made by all the players.

Boom!

Less than ten seconds later, the Beetle Boss's originally black shell turned red, and there seemed to be flames burning within it. When it turned extremely red, a loud boom quaked sky above the entire Town of Exiles.

The power of self-destruction from the Level-45 Boss was indescribable. A spherical yellow energy storm started to spread rapidly, as overwhelming as a sandstorm. Debris weighing thousands of kilograms was swept up by the shock wave, creating craters and holes on the ground and the surrounding buildings. People could feel the earth rumbling from the strong impact!

Although he was in a prone position on the ground, at the top of a building almost 100 meters away, and even though the building blocked most of the impact, Feng Luo's HP still dropped more than 1,000 points from this self-destruction. If he hadn't used a blood tonic to recover his HP above a safe level after being damaged by the energy blast earlier, perhaps he would have sustained a heavy injury or even ended up with a Game Over.

"Level-45 Boss killed," said a voice over Feng Luo's player terminal. "6.3 percent kill contribution. 3,015 experience points awarded. 1,890 Town of Exiles 1022 Medal Points awarded!"

Listening to system's audio, Feng Luo leaned on the top floor of the heavily damaged building while holding the M110. Fear lingered in his heart.

"Phew, I've finally downed this Boss!"

Then his face turned sour. In the square below, following the Boss's self-destruction, many energy crystals, shining pieces of equipment, and rare consumable supplies which were not available in most markets were being blown around by the residual energy from the self-destruction storm.

Bosses would drop equipment after self-destruction. Even though there would not be energy crystal cores, the equipment that did drop would not be of common value. Not only would there be rare pieces of equipment, but there would also be special materials that were not dropped by most common monsters.

The problem was, Feng Luo was standing on the tenth floor of the building, and it was impossible for him to grab those things.

Scratch!

Feng Luo felt so dejected that he wanted to shoot himself with his M110. Especially given the fact that his kill contribution was as high as 6.3 percent. 6.3 percent! Subtracting the NPCs' contributions from the total, he was most likely at the top among the players. However, the player with the highest contribution could only stare at the items dropped by the Boss. Many players who were too scared to advance into battle and hadn't made any contribution stormed out greedily to loot the items dropped by the Boss.

Feng Luo was truly bitter. "F*ck," he said. "Why didn't I think of this before?"

Clink!

Even as Feng Luo was feeling despondent, a clear clink was heard from the rooftop beside him. It sounded as if something had fallen onto the ground and flipped twice. Feng Luo turned his head and realized that it was a silver, half-transparent chip the size of two fingernails.

"This seems to be an item dropped by the Boss," he said.

Feng Luo's face went blank. Could it be that one of the drops by the Boss fell to his side because it was blown to this building by the power of the self-destruction?

"Um, no," he concluded. "It doesn't seem likely."

He gazed through the M110's scope and realized that, based on the trajectory of the items scattered after the explosion, other players who had attacked while he was attacking the Boss were also receiving drops.

"If so, I suppose the system intended to divide the drops following the Boss's self-destruction!" Feng Luo guessed.

Even though the Boss had not spawned for very long, it had caused a flurry of activity on the square and caught the attention of all the players from the Town of Exiles. When the Boss had been nearly dead, many players had called their acquaintances over through the communicating system with the intent to loot the Boss's drops. After all, dropped items were not bound to anyone during this kind of huge mission. Anyone could loot those items. Therefore, if items dropped by the Bosses were picked up by lazy Light Armor Warriors or even taken by new players who arrived only for the drops, it would be too unfair for those players who had actively participated in the battle.

Feng Luo suspected that the Boss's self-destruction had been preset by the system, as most of the credit for damaging the Boss belonged to the Guards. If not for the huge damage dealt by the Guards' electromagnetic cannon, which had destroyed the Boss's morphed safety shield, it would have been impossible for these red-name players with their varied motives to kill this Boss. That was why it was impossible for the system to drop the expensive energy crystal core. Instead, they chose to let this Boss self-destruct instead and distribute the drops according to contribution points earned in killing the Boss.

"I think that must be it!" said Feng Luo.

Holding the silver chip—which was slightly hot—in his hand, Feng Luo discovered a few question marks in its attribute column. This situation only happened in cases of unidentified equipment. This had clearly been dropped by the Boss!

There were no Appraisers in the Town of Exiles, so he would have to wait until he returned to Silvermoon City to learn what this thing was.

He placed the chip in his anti-gravity spacial backpack and focused his attention back on the square. Battles had erupted down there. No new monsters were spawned; it was the players PKing each other instead.

Thump!

In a corner of the square, fire meteorites were falling from the sky and hitting the ground, producing flames. Clearly, some Fire Manipulator players were attacking using the "Meteor Rain" skill in an attempt to loot the drops from the Boss. Not just that, but there were also machine gun noises, Warriors' shouts as they used their class skills, and curses voiced by some players. It was obvious that combat hadn't erupted solely in one area.

People would die for money, not to mention Boss drops with uncommon value. The pieces of equipment that had been dropped around the square, especially five or six of them that were shining, had drawn too much attention. After all, drops by Bosses of this level had a 100 percent chance of being Rare-grade equipment, and each would cost at least thousands of credits.

Even though the system had warned players not to fight against each other earlier, some of them obviously couldn't help it when they saw the equipment dropped by the Boss. However, the fighting did not last long. Several new military vehicles drove over from the side of the square. Subsequently, six electromagnetic machine guns on the vehicles started to operate, dishing out fatal barrages and reducing the troublemaking players to Swiss cheese, transforming them into flashes of white light.

"The rebels are attacking from the outside, yet you are all killing each other in here!" a sergeant-ranked Guard officer shouted angrily. "Do not think that you can ignore the military's orders just because you are temporarily recruited. You are all Federal soldiers as soon as you step into the battlefield. This is the consequence for those who dare to defy the orders and fight among each other!"

Behind him, on the military vehicles, Guard soldiers stood emotionless one after another, holding their guns.

The few players who had initiated PK to loot items ended up with horrible fates. After they were shot to death, all their equipment, crystals, materials, and supplies were scattered to the floor and destroyed. Perhaps when they resurrected, all they would have left was their underwear.

Feng Luo placed his M110 on the rooftop. He actually enjoyed the scene. If the drops truly were distributed according to contribution points, he assumed that the item he got was the best. The chip with unknown attributes in his backpack must have been even more valuable than the other Rare-grade equipment.

He'd been worried that if the system didn't stop the fighting in time, someone with bad intentions would notice that he'd gotten the best item and cause him trouble.

Beep. Beep…

Feng Luo's communicator beeped, and a male voice came from the battle command channel.

"Hey, is this Feng Zhi Luoye? The Commander has demanded your presence at Battle Command Department at Number 35, New South Street. You have a new mission!"

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 30: Do Enemies Often Cross Each Other's Paths?

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After the Boss Beetle was eliminated, the attacks of the rebel army began to weaken. Perhaps it was also because nightfall was near, and even if they used flares, it was not convenient to fight. However, the rebel army still managed to build several constructs outside the town, which displayed an attitude that implied that they would take down the Town of Exiles no matter the cost.

One good thing among everything was that the system probably took the difficulty of the mission into consideration. At the very least, the rebel army did not send out military helicopters or other air transport vehicles. Otherwise, given the current standards of the players, they would not have had the capability to participate in air defense.

When Feng Luo received the notice from the Guards and reached the outside of the Battle Command in the center of the town, he discovered that he was not the only one who had received the notice. More than a dozen players were already waiting outside the Battle Command.

As the players in the Town of Exiles were either red-named or yellow-named, and their ID and levels were displayed on top of their head, Feng Luo swept his gaze over all of them and noticed that these players were not at low levels. Excluding him, the lowest-level player was at Level 44. Furthermore, each and every one of them had pretty good equipment on their bodies.

These were definitely elite players. Compared to them, Feng Luo, who was only at Level 39, appear rather out of place, especially given that he was also a Sniper.

"Feng Zhi Luoye? This name seems unfamiliar," a Water Manipulator said with a slight twitch in the face, showing some suspicion.

"Maybe he's a newcomer who managed to get his contribution up," a Level-45 Heavy Armor Warrior beside him said after glancing at Feng Luo. "In this mission, it seems like there are also contribution points for killing unique monsters."

Although the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group had announced a bounty, it was a bounty that had been created by players. After all, it was impossible for it to spread throughout the entire Town of Exiles for everyone to hear about it.

In truth, most people went to the Town of Exiles to remove their red-name status and were mostly busy clearing missions. The ratio of people who had seen the bounty posted by the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group was quite low. As such, almost no one gave Feng Luo a second glance. Instead, they turned around to continue with their personal discussions.

Only three people revealed expressions that were slightly odd when they looked at Feng Luo. However, they did not do anything out of the ordinary. After all, the Town of Exiles currently prohibited PK. No matter how gutsy they were, they wouldn't dare to disobey the rules.

From the few people discussing the mission, Feng Luo received a piece of useful information: The condition to trigger this mission was that one needed to reach a certain amount of contribution!

Contribution in War was a bit like "faction reputation" in common games. When contribution toward a particular force (stronghold, city, town, country, etc.) was high, one would get extra benefits when trading or completing missions.

Feng Luo's contribution was very high in Silvermoon City. It had already reached the level of a "Second-Class Honorary Citizen." However, he had never been to the Town of Exiles before, so how would he have any level of contribution?

Killing unique monsters rewards contribution? thought Feng Luo.

As he considered the words spoken by the Heavy Armor Warrior, Feng Luo's mind raced. He quickly opened the system interface to check. It was then that he discovered that killing the Boss Beetle and the Tiger Robot earlier had earned him a decent amount of contribution toward Town of Exiles 1022. By now, it had just reached the threshold of being the Town of Exiles Second-Class Honorary Citizen.

Apart from that, his cumulative medal points for participating in the war had also reached over 2,200 points. He was probably ranked first among all the other players, and among them, the Boss Beetle had definitely contributed to a large chunk of those points. That was why hunting Bosses was a good way of becoming rich.

I wonder what these medal points can be exchanged for? thought Feng Luo after understanding the mission trigger.

Since the "Exchange" option in his personal terminal was still gray and could not be selected at the moment, Feng Luo still didn't know what the medal points could be used to purchase. He could only hope the game company wasn't too stingy!

As Feng Luo was checking the information, a cold voice suddenly rose up behind him. "It's you! Feng Zhi Luoye!"

Feng Luo turned around and saw three people staring at him with unhappy expressions: a Light Armor Warrior wearing grayish-black armor, a Scout wearing a steel helmet, and a petite Sniper! The Light Armor Warrior in the grayish-black armor had an unbelievably cold expression. He gazed at Feng Luo was as if he craved human flesh.

An old saying flashed in Feng Luo's mind. "Enemies often cross each other's paths!"

This Light Armor Warrior was one of the Light Armor Warriors who had previously tried to ambush him with Yellow-tooth. Moreover, seeing that the three of them were in a gang, it was highly possible that the other two had also tried to ambush him!

"F*ck! You f*cking backstabbed Yellow-tooth, and you still dare to saunter through the Red City?" the Sniper said gravely, wearing a straight face.

"He only has himself to blame!" Feng Luo answered coldly, paying no respect.

"You…!" The Sniper's expression darkened. He extended his right hand and immediately went for a silver pistol hanging on his combat belt.

"Don't be impulsive!" said the black Light Armor Warrior, extending his hands to stop him. He had clearly seen the miserable end of players who had disobeyed the no-PK order. He was afraid that if his teammate took out his gun, he would be killed by the Guards.

At that time, the number of players outside the Battle Command had reached over 20. The other players, noticing the conflict, only watched with pleasure from the sidelines, occasionally pointing here and there.

For players who spent a lot of time in Red Cities, PK instances were all too common! If it weren't for the current war status, players would even be PKing in the streets of the Town of Exiles. This was quite normal, and as long as they didn't hurt the NPCs or damage the official buildings too much, even the system Guards were too lazy to be bothered by matters pertaining to the players. The rules of Red Cities especially created for exiled convicts and criminals were naturally different from normal Federal cities.

"Feng Zhi Luoye," said the black Light Armor Warrior. "We will not continue bothering you about the matter of killing Yellow-tooth. Although we were careless, it was still a matter of your ability, after all. However, the funny thing is that you have offended the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. The bounty of 5,000 credits they put on you will go to waste if we don't do anything about it. You had better hope that you find a way to leave the Red City before the 'war' status ends!"

The black Light Armor Warrior was very sinister. He knew they could not fight, so he intentionally brought up the matter of Feng Luo being wanted by the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. The surrounding players looked at Feng Luo with odd expressions. Although 5,000 credits wasn't all that much, it was still enough to purchase one normal-attribute, Excellent-grade piece of equipment.

Other players, however, did not seem to care about this, nor did they seem to really acknowledge the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. A tall, slim Scout player who emanated a military aura, upon hearing the name of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, couldn't hide the look of hatred that flashed across his face. After that, his expression as he looked at Feng Luo was one of curiosity.

"Heh!" Feng Luo pulled out his Mad Dog Military Knife and intentionally flicked the white blade. The meaning was clear even without any words. This was the knife he had used to stab Yellow-tooth to death right before the eyes of these ambushers!

"You! Humph!" The expression of Yellow-tooth's associates turned ugly.

However, they did not have a chance to do anything because, at that moment, the main door of the Battle Command opened. A muscular Guard officer with the rank of sergeant walked inside with two soldiers. He asked the players to follow him into the meeting room.

A total of 23 players followed the military officer. They moved forward and reached a spacious meeting room.

A somewhat plump military officer of the Guard with symbols on his uniform indicating the rank of captain was already seated in the central seat in the middle of the room. After all the players were seated, he stood up and said, "Everyone. You are the elite adventurers who performed extremely well in this town, and you have contributed greatly to Town of Exiles 1022. Now our town faces an assault by the rebel army, and the reason we've gathered you here is because we have an important mission for you!"

As he said this, he signaled to a soldier beside him. The soldier then proceeded to turn on a large projector screen located in the middle of the room. On it, a Caucasian face, half-covered by a silverish metal mask, appeared.

"We received a secret report from our spy in the rebel army that a commander of the rebel army, nicknamed 'the Silver-Faced Eagle,' Harry Luden, will be passing through the Dark Moon Valley before dawn tomorrow in a car. He will reach the base of the rebel army in the Forest of Exiles to command this attack."

The captain of the city guard looked solemn. He then continued, "This rebel army attack on the Town of Exiles is not an isolated maneuver. It is related to an important plan of theirs. As such, after much research, the decision from the higher-ups is to send you all to carry out an operation to kill Harry Luden. Some of his information has already been sent to your personal terminals."

"A kill operation!"

Upon hearing the description of the mission, joy flashed across the faces of the players on the scene. After all, just by hearing the name alone, one would know that it was an uncommon mission. Naturally, the rewards would not be normal—especially since this was during a war storyline, and a mission to assassinate the enemy commander would be exceedingly valuable.

However, as soon as they read the target information sent by the Guards to their personal terminals, several people were shocked.

Harry Luden. Wind Manipulator. Level-55 Rebel Army Commander. Likes to wear a silver mask. Real face: Unknown!

The rest could be ignored; all that mattered was that this Rebel Army Commander's level was as high as Level 55!

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 31: Assassination Mission

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It was worth mentioning that in the current version of War, the level cap for players was Level 50. This meant that, at most, players could only reach Level 50, with 0 percent additional experience. There was actually not much difference between this and Level 49 with 99 percent experience; in the current version, players still could not learn Level-50 skills (although they could use Level-50 equipment).

The reason this was noteworthy was that based on the information revealed by the official game company, after players entered the realm of Level 50, their strength would increase substantially. This was also one of the excuses used by the official game company to reject nerfing monsters' Strength. They explained that after breaking through Level 50, top-class players' abilities might even reach a level where they were not any weaker than advanced monsters.

As such, for players, Level 50 was an important watershed for capability. Similarly, this same watershed applied to humanoid NPCs and humanoid monsters like the rebel army! So although the information from the Guards did not provide much detail on Harry Luden, the simple claim that he was a Level-55 Wind Manipulator made it clear to every player in the meeting room that this person was not an easy opponent.

Moreover, as a Commander, this person known as Harry Luden would definitely have a good number of rebel army soldiers protecting him. This mission was quite risky!

Although it was not good for players to speak loudly with each other in front of the NPCs in the meeting room, several players who knew each other still discreetly exchanged glances with one another, each having ideas of their own.

"Don't worry, everyone," said the captain. "Since this mission is not easy, our team of City Guards will provide you with our full support. Apart from commodities like bullets, potions, and other supplies, after completing this mission, you will receive the authority to exchange for some unique resources in Town of Exiles 1022!"

As if the captain knew what the players were thinking, he signaled to the assistant soldier beside him. The soldier nodded and extended both his arms to operate the optical computer in front of him.

Town of Exiles 1022 medal point exchange system unlocked. You can now view the exchangeable items.

A notification flashed past the eyes of the seated players, and the initially grayed-out "Exchange" option was now clickable.

Feng Luo clicked and entered, driven by his curiosity, and discovered there were certainly quite a lot of things within it.

SCN-Five (Military Knife). Grade: Fine. Destruction Coefficient: D. Level Requirement: 40. Medal Point Exchange Requirement: 100.

Viper S7 (Combat Uniform). Grade: Fine. Level Requirement: 42. Medal Point Exchange Requirement: 120.

Eye of the Flying Eagle (Scope). Grade: Excellent. Level Requirement: 44. Medal Point Exchange Requirement: 340.

There were pieces of equipment above the Fine grade, supplies, and expendable items with amazing effects, as well as many rare materials that were impossible to obtain through normal missions. The system's stockpile was indeed fat and rich. Even the military flares used by the Guards previously could be purchased using medal points.

However, the price is actually as high as 30 points per flare, thought Feng Luo, shaking his head. For an expendable item, that's certainly too expensive.

Items from the system would definitely not be cheap. It was clear enough, based on the low credit amounts offered to players selling unwanted items to the system stores, just how crappy the prices offered by the system were. However, when Feng Luo selected the "Guns" option on the exchange page, the items that appeared before his eyes instantly attracted his gaze.

Eye of the Thunder (Stock) Blueprint. Medal Points Exchange Requirement: 400; First-Class Honorary Citizen of the Town of Exiles!

Eye of the Thunder (Magazine) Blueprint. Medal Points Exchange Requirement: 500; First-Class Honorary Citizen of the Town of Exiles!

Eye of the Thunder (Sniping Scope) Blueprint. Medal Points Exchange Requirement: 600; First-Class Honorary Citizen of the Town of Exiles!

Eye of the Thunder (Main Body) Blueprint. Medal Points Exchange Requirement: 1000; First-Class Honorary Citizen of the Town of Exiles!

The uniform-colored words "Eye of the Thunder" occupied four rows consecutively. It made Feng Luo's heart race.

In the exchange option, there was actually the entire set of blueprints for the Eye of the Thunder!

Feng Luo's breathing hastened. He never would have thought that there would be a possibility of directly exchanging for the full set of blueprints for the Eye of the Thunder. The value of the entire set of blueprints was ten times the value of the single gun barrel blueprint!

This was because a sniper rifle was considered an assembly weapon in War. A sniper rifle was made up of a stock, a gun barrel, a magazine, a sniping scope, and a main body—a total of five parts.

Individual parts could be installed onto other sniper rifles as long as the model fit or the part had been sufficiently modified by a gun mechanic. For example, if Feng Luo were to manufacture a gun barrel based on the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel blueprint, after modifying it, it could be used on the M110, and it would not affect the usage of the M110; its performance could even improve. However, this sort of mixing setup would most certainly decrease the performance of the sniper rifle in other areas to a certain degree.

The only thing was, the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel was part of a Rare-grade piece of equipment. Its attributes were far superior to that of the M110's gun barrel, which was why even if it were to lower some attributes of other areas, the overall performance would still increase.

Compared to a mixture of parts, when all the parts of a sniper rifle came from the same complete set of blueprints, the attributes of the assembled gun would not decrease—on the contrary, they would increase substantially. In this regard, it was like a "full set of equipment!"

When Feng Luo saw the blueprint options for four Eye of the Thunder parts available on the exchange page, he clicked them and checked the 3D images of the parts. Seeing that they looked the same as the actual item, his heart skipped a beat! However, to obtain all of the blueprints for the Eye of the Thunder was no easy task. In terms of the combined medal point requirement for exchange, apart from the huge amount—2,500 to be exact—his contribution to the Town of Exiles also needed to reach "First-Class Honorary Citizen" as well.

This was a very demanding requirement!

Everyone knew that contribution was not easily obtainable. If Feng Luo hadn't contributed so much to the destruction of the Tiger Robot and the killing of the Boss Beetle during the mission, his contribution level would certainly not have reached the "Second-Class" level. Using the other players in the meeting room as examples, most of them had probably spent a lot of time clearing missions before reaching the same level.

However, even though he was currently already a Second-Class Honorary Citizen, he was still a long way away from First Class, as the contribution level required to reach First-Class Honorary Citizen was ten times the amount needed to reach Second-Class Honorary Citizen! Which meant that unless Feng Luo blew up ten more Tiger Robots and helped kill another ten Boss Beetles, there was no way he could raise his contribution to the Town of Exiles to reach First Class in the short amount of time available. He could only do as the other players did and slowly clear missions in the Town of Exiles to build up his contribution until it satisfied the requirement before exchanging for the Eye of the Thunder pieces.

This matter sure is difficult!

Feng Luo was in a dilemma. He did not want to see the Eye of the Thunder parts that were right in front of him slip away. However, he couldn't stay here and waste time completing missions to accumulate contribution points. Moreover, whether the Town of Exiles could be successfully defended was a problem in and of itself. Even if he were to work hard and increase his contribution, where would he go to purchase the items if the Town of Exiles disappeared?

But what the captain of the Guards said next cleared all the hesitation from Feng Luo's mind.

"Oh yeah," he said. "To show the importance of this mission to the higher-levels, the exchange authority of the person who delivers the killing blow to Harry Luden will temporarily move up a level. Additionally, there will also be a bonus of a unique reward. So, everyone, I hope that you will do your best."

This statement from the captain of the Guards was undoubtedly an immense motivation to the players!

"It is our honor to serve the Federation!"

"It is our duty to protect the Town of Exiles!"

"We have zero tolerance for the rebel army!"

Each and every one of the players instantly became psyched and excited.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter

Chapter 32: Crazy Ripper

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the dark underground tunnel, a group of people advanced forward quickly without exchanging a word.

No one would have thought within the Town of Exiles—completely surrounded by the rebel army—there would be an underground tunnel connected directly to an area a few kilometers outside the town, which allowed players to break through the encirclement to execute a "kill mission" that would influence the tide of the war without making a sound.

Special Armor Piercing Bullet (Grade C). Increases attack by 25% and increases effective shooting attack range by 100 m. High probability of breaking the defense of equipment below Grade C (inclusive). (Non-tradeable).

Military Stamina Recovery Potion (Grade C). Increases stamina recovery rate 1.2 times, lasts for five minutes. (Non-tradeable).

This is some good stuff! thought Feng Luo. It's unfortunate that they are non-tradable; otherwise, I'd be able to earn at least 2,000 credits!

Feng Luo, who was positioned in the last third of the entire team, focused his thoughts on the two rations given by the Guards and put them into his bag. These two items were expendable items that life profession players were currently unable to produce. They could only be obtained through missions. They had excellent attributes, and their price was not something to be trifled with. Unfortunately, the quantities of the two items were low. There was only a magazine of 20 of the special armor-piercing bullet, and there were only five military stamina recovery potions.

The captain had confidently stated that they would provide their full support to the actions of the players, but one might as well have believed that the beautiful women in the game were just as beautiful in real life; the captain's claims were just about as likely. The game company would never allow the players to have too great an advantage. The supplies worth 2,000 credits could just be the payment for one level lost during this mission on the part of the players.

All 23 players who attended the meeting chose to accept the mission. This was not surprising. Feng Luo was certain that everyone had seen something that had struck their fancy in the system exchange store. After all, there was no way an ordinary player would be able to withstand the seduction of an item at the same level as the Eye of the Thunder.

Apart from the players taking part in the mission, 17 fully geared Guards also joined in the operation. The one leading them was the sergeant who had led them into the meeting room. Assault rifles were in the hands of the soldiers, and the bags on their backs were filled with ammunition. Only the muscular, two-meter-tall Guard held an eye-catching machine gun in his hands. It was a Level-45 Rare-grade weapon that was famous among the players.

Metallic black like the night. Eight high-tech S-series alloy gun barrels. An electrical chip that supported shot calculation. With a firing rate that could reach 9,000 shots per minute, the gun was nicknamed "Crazy Ripper"!

This superior machine gun weighed 45 kilograms while empty yet was easily carried by only the right hand of the muscular guard. His movement did not slow at all, which sufficiently demonstrated that his strength had already reached a level that was hard for players to attain. It also showed that he must have possessed multiple strong pieces of equipment that increased his attributes on his body. (Note: In War, humanoid NPCs could also equip items).

Feng Luo could feel several players sneaking glances at this NPC sergeant, especially the Crazy Ripper in his hands. They were probably wondering—if they could devise a way to kill him—if there was a chance for his machine gun to drop. It was well known that the price of this Rare-grade Crazy Ripper had already been speculated at five million credits on the exchange. Moreover, the situation was such that the gun was practically priceless. It was extremely difficult to attain.

However, the players only thought about it. None of them actually dared to try it.

Although the degree of freedom of War was relatively high, and it definitely would have been possible to ambush and kill this NPC, the consequences were not something one could easily withstand. The killer would certainly face multiple rounds of endless bounties from the system. That would be a real bounty, which was a whole lot more advanced than red-name bounties gained for murdering ten people.

In fact, the players who received this mission were quite lucky. Before they left for the mission, the captain had actively cleared the names of everyone and turned them all into yellow names. This also meant that if they died during the mission, at the very least, their equipment losses would not be too terrible. Plus, they would be revived after death and would not be locked in prison.

Is this an intentional trap devised by the NPCs? wondered Feng Luo. To make players willingly sacrifice their lives for them?

Feng Luo speculated out of boredom. Soon, the 40-man team had reached the exit of the tunnel.

The position of the tunnel exit was inside a secluded cave. The large, digitally controlled door, camouflaged and hidden by heavy boulders, opened slowly after the Guard NPCs entered the password and scanned their retinas.

Awaiting them outside was the dark night, which was accompanied by the constant, faint sounds of bombing coming from behind them.

After two soldiers left to scout ahead, the sergeant lowered his voice and called out, "Safe. Everything is here. Keep up!" He held the Crazy Ripper and walked out, bent low at the waist.

The rest of the soldiers from the Town Guard followed closely behind him. Behind them were the slightly confused players. Their discipline could clearly not be compared to NPC soldiers; while they were in the cave, they created quite a racket. However, the exit was sufficiently hidden, and they were already three kilometers away from the Town of Exiles. The territory of the rebel army did not extend this place, so the effect was minimal.

After that, it was another wave of hasty traveling. It was only after half an hour that the group of people reached their destination: Dark Moon Valley. This was the original location of the Town of Exiles, at coordinates 4345, 0780.

The area was a valley. In the sky, the pale moon was blocked by the clouds. The sandstone road between the two small mountains on either side of the valley was visible only occasionally in the moonlight.

After reaching the stipulated point, the sergeant started to distribute tasks and responsibilities.

"The next task will be executed in groups," he said. "Every group will hide in the location I designate. Be stealthy! When we start to take action, you will follow and attack. Make sure to kill Harry Luden. We must complete the mission even if it costs us our lives. Apart from that, from now on, all communications are prohibited. Everyone, turn off your communicator!"

"We" naturally meant the NPC soldiers. As for "everyone," it meant the players. The dozen NPC soldiers all had a solemn expression, tightly gripping the assault rifles in their hands. The players did not feel as tense. Since they were no longer at risk of facing the punishment of dying as red names, they would only lose one level's worth of experience after death.

Of course, the reward of this mission was exceptional, so the players did not plan to be lazy. After all, they had to kill the target to receive their rewards. And the captain had said that the results depended on their overall performance throughout the mission.

"Hold on, Sergeant," A Level-44 Light Armor Warrior suddenly spoke up, confidence showing clearly on his face. "There's no need to turn off the communicator, right? If we turn it off, we can't communicate, so how can we guarantee we'll know the exact time to attack and retreat? I suggest everyone keep their communicators on so that we maintain contact, and we can use attack tactics to lure enemies deep into our ranks based on the time gaps. This can better guarantee the mission's chances of success. Even if a situation arises, it would be easy to retreat!" Based on the Light Armor Warrior's shiny, luxurious equipment and his smooth, plump face, it was a safe guess that he was likely a genuine second-generation tycoon.

The sergeant glanced at him coldly out of the corner of his eye. "Because we must use disruptors to block the SOS signals of the enemy, so during that time, the communicators will be as useful as a brick. Are you prepared to command everyone at the top of your lungs in this huge valley then? Also, who told you we need to consider retreat? There are only two options for this mission: success or death. There is no retreat. Whoever dares to say this is trying to lower morale and will be executed on the spot. Our squad does not need cowards!"

His words made the Light Armor Warrior flush red. Clearly, he had not considered blocking the enemy's signals. He had only wanted to say a few words to share his thoughts and feel a sense of superiority. What had not occurred to this bastard was that the NPC in the game paid quite a lot of attention to military discipline. So instead, he was scolded and labeled a "coward" by an NPC!

The Sniper, an associate of Yellow-tooth, had already taken a grayish-black sniper rifle out of his bag. He had completed assembling it and was in the midst of testing it as he smirked and said mockingly, "What an idiot!"

The flushed face of the Light Armor Warrior sank, and he stared straight at the Sniper. "What the f*ck did you say…?"

"Everyone shut the hell up!" the stern-faced sergeant shouted in a low voice.

Over a dozen soldiers behind him instantly loaded the assault rifles in their hands and aimed at the two of them with uniform movements. With over a dozen guns pointed at their heads, neither of the two dared to make another sound.

This mission… It's probably going to be interesting… Feng Luo thought quietly, standing by himself.

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report chapter