Chapter 365 - 238: Snipe Kill (2)

Chapter 365: Chapter 238: Snipe Kill (2)

With the combined power of his Reversing Destiny Vision and Illusory Cicada Star Pupil, Yu Fei saw the enemy’s every move with perfect clarity.

He saw two groups converge, apparently discussing something. Soon after, a seven-man team began to sneak forward, while the rest remained behind.

The seven men drew closer, soon crossing the ten-kilometer line and continuing their advance. Yu Fei glanced over and saw that the Security Bureau agents were completely oblivious. So was Taolang.

In his vision, only the gems above their heads were visible—a mix of blue and purple. Their speeds varied considerably as they crept forward.

’So some of the assassins from Night Owl Mansion have actually learned a Stealth Secret Skill,’ he thought.

Yu Fei’s heart sank. While a Stealth Secret Skill wasn’t as rare as a perception-based one, the barrier to entry was still high. You had to be one of the top students at an ordinary Martial Arts University. People like that were supposed to be the backbone of the martial arts world.

The fact that people with their talent were willing to join an illegal organization like Night Owl Mansion suddenly made Yu Fei feel his assessment of the martial arts world had been far too optimistic.

The Seven Greats, the upper echelon and vested interests of the Martial Arts Extraordinary World, advocated for a system that guaranteed a relatively fair and upwardly mobile environment. But for the ninety percent of the martial arts world outside their sphere, perhaps the class divide had already grown immense.

’In any world, resources only flow upward.’

These thoughts vanished as quickly as they came. Right now, their sides were chosen. The enemy was engaged in illegal activities and had dared to attack the Security Bureau. They were foes, not friends.

As the men drew ever closer, Yu Fei abruptly lowered the muzzle of his rifle.

BOOM... BOOM...

A rapid volley of five shots echoed from the villa’s rooftop, shaking dust loose from the ceiling inside. Mei Shasha jumped in fright, then immediately went back to her translation work.

In the wake of five fiery trails, five mists of blood erupted over the open plains. The two survivors stared, their teeth clenched in fury, as the same thought struck them both.

’A support-class Martial Artist! And a whole team of snipers!’

The two of them immediately turned and fled for their lives, not even bothering to maintain their stealth.

It was a joke. With a support-class Martial Artist monitoring the entire battlefield, their stealth techniques were completely useless.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two more shots rang out. One man exploded into a red mist, but the other, despite losing an arm, tenaciously kept running for his life.

Yu Fei knew at once. ’That must be a Gang Qi Martial Artist. Otherwise, there’s no way he could have survived that.’

He then pulled out a special bullet. This one was loaded for bear, infused with his Illusory Sword Intent and augmented with the Spatial Penetration property.

On the plains, the one-armed man fled for his life. As he crossed the ten-kilometer mark, he felt a flicker of relief. He recalled that the perception range of most support-class Martial Artists maxed out at ten kilometers. If he just pushed a little harder, he might actually survive.

He cursed inwardly. ’Damn that Ghost Fish! As a member of the Security Bureau, how dare he feed us false intel! A support-class Martial Artist is part of the defense—how could he possibly leave out such crucial information?’

In a battle involving around a hundred combatants, the presence of a support-class Martial Artist changed everything.

With their help, it was like your own Martial Artists were using hacks—getting position markers, danger alerts, and some could even provide power-level comparisons or estimates of an enemy’s Inner Qi reserves.

BOOM!

The final gunshot rang out, the Annihilator’s report a deep, penetrating sound that carried far across the plains.

An instant later, the silent bullet pierced the one-armed Gang Qi Martial Artist’s skull. His head exploded like a watermelon, while his body, carried by inertia, tumbled a long way before stopping.

A look of pleased surprise appeared on Song Cheng’s face. He had just faintly sensed someone sneaking toward them and was about to warn Taolang and the others, but it turned out Yu Fei had it all under control.

’It seems that even though Yu Fei hasn’t mastered the core Mental Network of a support-class Martial Artist, he’s already started cultivating a perception-based Secret Technique,’ Song Cheng thought.

’Then again, that makes sense. He is, after all, a renowned prodigy from Shenhan University. He’s bound to be well-rounded. How could he possibly have a weakness?’

Song Cheng was delighted, yet he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. Even though he was a Grandmaster, his ultra-long-range perception couldn’t compare to that of support-class Martial Artists who specialized in it.

A Grandmaster’s perception was strongest within a hundred meters of their person—the closer the target, the clearer the sense. But at extreme distances, they were just as blind as anyone else, unless a violent fluctuation of origin energy occurred. Only then could a Grandmaster Martial Artist detect it, thanks to the acuity of their spiritual soul.

This ability stemmed from the foundation laid in the second realm of martial arts and was further strengthened by Innate Qi when a Martial Artist broke through to the Inner Qi realm.

An ordinary Martial Artist who fell behind at this stage would fall behind at every subsequent stage, creating a gap that was nearly impossible to bridge.

The night wind was cool and desolate. Members of the Bone Shattering Gang and Night Owl Mansion stood on a concrete threshing floor, where weathered stacks of grain bore the marks of wind and rain.

"Ghost Fish be damned! What does that bastard have to say for himself!"

The burly man in the dog-head mask was seething with rage.

"A support-class Martial Artist plus snipers... they’ll tear us to shreds on these plains! Anyone who pokes their head out is dead. We have almost a hundred men, but at least half of us will be cut down during a twenty-kilometer charge."

Judging by the recent rate of fire, the dog-masked man estimated they were facing a sniper team of at least ten. He was also certain there was a Gang Qi-level sniper among them. That was the only way they could have scored a headshot on another Gang Qi Martial Artist.

A woman in a skintight black bodysuit stared intently at her personal terminal. She remained silent, but the killing intent in her eyes was palpable.

"Got a message. Ghost Fish says there’s no support-class Martial Artist!"

The dog-masked man roared, "That’s a load of fucking bullshit! If there’s no support-class Martial Artist, how did Blood Fist and his crew die? Night Fox, you actually believe that crap?

"You guys from Night Owl Mansion said they only had twenty people. You never said a support-class Martial Artist was involved! The Bone Shattering Gang is out!"

The woman in black, Night Fox, glared at him, her expression turning sour. "You’ve already taken the deposit, and now the Bone Shattering Gang is quitting? Fine. You can tell Mansion Head Changfeng yourself!"

As she spoke, she held out her personal terminal, which now displayed a pending call to Mansion Head Changfeng. Her thumb hovered over the connect button.

"Oh, please. You think you can scare me? So what if your Night Owl Mansion has a Grandmaster? You think the Bone Shattering Gang are a bunch of nobodies with no one to back us up? If that’s your attitude, then I’m really out. Go on, let your precious Mansion Head Changfeng come kill me! Bring it on!"

As the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, more than half of the men rallied behind their dog-masked leader. They all wore assorted animal masks, whereas the people behind Night Fox wore simpler face masks.

Suddenly, Night Fox’s expression shifted. She seemed to be listening to something. Her face went blank as she turned to the dog-masked man and said:

"Your promised commission is doubled. But from this point forward, you advance only. No retreat. Take the money, solve the problem. If you break the rules of our trade, your Bone Shattering Battle Group can forget about making a living."

The dog-masked man snorted, his eyes glinting menacingly. "Deal!"

Night Fox continued:

"According to Ghost Fish’s update, the Security Bureau really doesn’t have a support-class Martial Artist. However, they’ve been joined by a prodigy from Shenhan. His methods are... unconventional. We can’t treat him like a normal opponent."

The dog-masked man was instantly furious. "Why the hell is a punk like that here? Shit! I’m going to chop him into paste!"

"I’d advise you to get that thought out of your head. When we run into this ’esteemed’ prodigy, our best bet is to just repel him or tie him up. Our mission has always been to kill that little bitch, Mei Shasha."

Night Fox shot him a contemptuous glance.

"A prodigy... you can’t afford to mess with them. If you kill Song Cheng, the worst that happens is Jingshan goes on lockdown for a while. But if you dare lay a hand on a prodigy, even your backers won’t be able to save you."

"Besides, you probably wouldn’t even succeed. Annoying little pests like that often have an even more annoying old monster watching over them from the shadows.

"The cultivation resources we bleed for, they get just by asking. Your life isn’t worth as much as his!"

"Fuck!"

The dog-masked man cursed, his face a mask of fury as he was clearly reminded of something unpleasant.

"If he really has one of those ’old monsters’ with him, how are we supposed to fight?"

But Night Fox said with conviction, "Relax. As long as the prodigy isn’t in mortal danger, his protector won’t make a move. They’ll probably just ignore us."

The dog-masked man grew suspicious. "How do you know so much? Seems like... you’re not so simple yourself. A rough brawler like me who fought his way up from the bottom doesn’t understand all these subtleties."

"Heh... What do you think?"

"Guess my ass. You’re no saint yourself. Taking a government paycheck while still grubbing for food in the gutter!"

"You..."

Night Fox’s chest heaved, her fury clearly reaching its peak.

The night wind howled. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. The most important thing right now was to kill Mei Shasha and prevent her identity from being exposed. It wasn’t worth wasting her anger on this fool.

A moment later, Night Fox’s icy voice cut through the air.

"All units, full-scale assault! Any who retreat will be executed!"