Chapter 6.4 - Intruder
When noon had just passed, the wilderness was still blistering hot despite the fact that the sun was concealed behind the clouds the entire time.
In a part of the wilderness that could be considered rather flat, two shabby looking loading trucks continuously roared as they made their way forward. Their speed wasn’t much faster than that of walking humans. The truck was loaded with people, and even the roof of the driving compartment had two people sitting in it. Their hands were holding AK rifles that were a hundred years past their time of popularity, and they were currently vigilantly running their eyes around the seemingly boundless wilderness. Thirty or so people followed behind the truck. These people ranged from both fat and skinny, and there were all types of things worn on their bodies. The weapons in their arms didn’t match either, to the point where some of them even had firearms designed only for killing birds. They all had lifeless looks in their eyes as they walked through the torrid heat in a robotic fashion.
The two trucks were separated at the two ends of the procession. The front was to pave the way, and the back was for providing support, preventing those in between from escaping.
Su carried the eye-catching modified rifle close to him. He moved along with the truck, shaking back and forth as he leaned against the side of the carriage. He sat on the back of the truck, occupying a space that was relatively good. There were a few others that were like him that took up a position that was close to the side, all of which were fierce-looking fellows. As for everyone else on the carriage, they could only crowd together. The fierce looking fellows were all fighters with one level of ability, so within this randomly assembled troop, they could be considered people that no one was willing to provoke. Meanwhile, the reason the relative frail-looking Su received similar treatment was due to the modified rifle in his hands. These veterans that experienced many battles clearly understood that during an intense battle, the sniper would frequently save their lives. They were not willing to pointlessly exhaust the strength of a sniper along the way.
As a result, Su was able to close his eyes and rest on the truck without paying any extra cost.
Su’s body was already completely relaxed, but his brain never stopped working. He continuously thought about the state of his own body. Fighting against Li allowed him to free up two complete evolution points, and even the hour long intense struggle of flesh improved a bit of his evolution capabilities. After the battle, watching Li, who had already exhausted every last shred of fighting strength, collapse bit by bit under his attacks gave him a sense of conquering that merged with his feelings of pleasure. It left Su with an incredibly shocking feeling.
Could it be that excessively powerful stimulation could also bring about evolution?
Su carefully thought about this question. For everything regarding evolution, Su always approached it with machine-like precision and a serious attitude. He definitely would not allow any of his emotions to get in the way. Right now, he had six evolution points, so as long as he obtained two more, he could evolve the infrared vision. Only after obtaining infrared vision could he be considered the true king of night.
However, before he obtained the evolution points, he had to obtain money. Su had long since become penniless. The coin he gave Li was the last bit of money on him. Of course, things like ammunition and plated armor were not included here. In reality, only impoverished mercenaries like Su would treat these like treasure. For those like Li who were high level figures within a large company, they couldn’t care less about these things.
Su found an inhabited area that he had visited in the past and also accepted a mob subjugation mission. Within the wilderness, there were mobs everywhere, and they only seemed to increase in numbers. It was impossible to completely eliminate them. The reward for this mission was extremely meager. Soldiers like Su who had specialized equipment and abilities received the highest level of reward, yet it was only a hundred yuan. The refugees walking between the two trucks, other than their rather sturdy figures and their weapon, didn’t have any other equipments. They were going to be the first line of offense on the battlefield, yet their reward didn’t exceed twenty yuan. However, those that signed up were still several times more than what was needed, and most of these only had reinforced steel bars or wooden sticks as weapons. The chief of the inhabited land only chose thirty armed refugees, as his budget was extremely limited.
The meaning of money was different for everyone. For these refugees, twenty yuan mean that they did not have to worry about food for an entire month. As for places to live, they could sleep anywhere in the wilderness, and there were many places in the inhabited area to take shelter from winds and rain. For Su, however, a hundred yuan was only equivalent to twenty rounds of modified bullets. Even if he didn’t participate in a mission, Su would still expend several dozen bullets in a day while roaming the wilderness.
Su’s current poverty was extremely severe, yet he couldn’t return to Asmo to accept missions. As a result, he could only accept missions like these with laughable rewards.
For as long as he could remember, Su knew that his body was different from that of others. During the new age of turmoil, everything was mutating, to the point where even a married couple living together would show great genetic differences after ten years. However, Su knew that his own body was different from these mutating people.
His body was flexible and nimble, to a point where he could control every single part of his body. Levels of radiation that were deadly for others were endurable by Su. After living for a while in a vile and harsh place, his body was correspondingly adapt and changed, increasing his tolerance to this environment. Through his days of wandering alone, as Su’s understanding of abilities improved, he determined that even though he did not undergo any Combat Domain strengthening, he possessed at least a level of ability in every single ability category.
Su slowly adjusted his body’s condition. His breathing, heart rate, and body temperature all slowly decreased in an effort to preserve every bit of strength. When he arrived in the inhabited area, he did not replenish any food, and his water supply had long been emptied. Only after this mission finished would he be able to restock food and drink. It wasn’t like Su never looted mobs in the wilderness, but the targets of his plunder were never places that were going to become his employer’s land. In this era, perhaps survival was the only principle, but when he still had a bit of power, Su still prefered to follow his few principles, for example, paying a woman after making love. During this era of disorder, where power was above all else, women were especially frail. Su’s money perhaps might allow them to survive a bit longer.
Of course, this wasn’t the case for Li.
The fleet traveled for three hours, and the ground had started to become uneven. Not far off, a collapsed highway could be seen, and from time to time, abandoned countryside villas emerged. They had travelled for such a long time, yet they didn’t see any signs of the refugee mob. Even the soldiers on top of the truck were in low spirits, and the armed refugees travelling on foot were even moreso approaching exhaustion.
Su suddenly widened his eyes!
His heart began to beat forcefully, and his body temperature quickly climbed. In just a few seconds, he transitioned from a near hibernating state to a completely awake, pre-combat state. The few veterans on the same car had also struggled between life and death repeatedly, so when they saw Su’s transformation, they also became alert and looked out towards both sides.
Ta ta ta! Heavy and forceful gunshots suddenly sounded. A few fist-sized holes immediately appeared on the truck’s body. A huge expanse of dark blood splashed onto the dashboard glass and slowly snaked their ways downwards. The reeking smell of blood filled the air. The armed refugees in the center of the fleet also fell.
The commander of this fleet jumped out from the rear truck’s driving position and laid on the ground. In a loud voice, he shouted, “Dammit! Heavy machine gun! Get down, all of you bastards, get down! Sniper, get rid of that son of a bitch!”
Before his shouting voice stopped ringing, an extremely rough sounding gunshot resounded in the skies above the troop. As if to respond to his command, the heavy machine gun firing from an abandoned villa a hundred meters out ceased firing.
The results were so good that they surpassed the commander’s most optimistic imaginations. He fiercely hammered his fist on the ground and roared, “Well done!”
The firing of weapons continuously sounded from both sides. There were at least ten guns that were firing madly at the fleet, and the frantic screaming was even more resounding than the concentrated gunshots. Bullets rained down, suppressing the barely armed refugees until they didn’t dare to lift their heads. Apart from a few veterans who were able to nimbly find bunkers between the truck and its doors to retaliate with some fire, the remaining people were practically shooting with their eyes closed, praying that their bullets would somehow hit their enemies. As for where the enemies were, they had absolutely no idea.
Su laid on the ground, and his earthen cloak was extremely close to the ground. However, in a battlefield where bullets flew everywhere, this did not guarantee his safety. Only luck could truly ensure such a thing.
The rifle fired once again, and the most vicious assault rifle in one of the houses immediately became silenced. The shooting sound of Su’s rifle was truly too frightening. Each time it fired, another weapon would be silenced; when the gunshot sounded, there would be an enemy that lost their life. In addition, the gunshots sounded one after another, shooting with a frequency that was not like that of a sniper at all. It seemed like this sniper didn’t even need to aim at all. The morale of the fleet’s men immediately received a great boost, and the few veterans even soared out from the ground. They seized the openings between their enemy’s shooting to outflank the refugees hiding within the buildings at both sides.
Enemies entered Su’s sight one after another, and they left his vision one after another. Their expressions were each completely different. Meanwhile, the expression of Su's green eye was steady and calm as he watched these people’s lives vanish one after another.
Ta ta! The heavy and dreadful heavy machine gun began to fire once again. The bodies of the two veterans that rushed up in front immediately went rigid. A spring of blood erupted from their chests out their back. The others once again lay on the ground without daring to lift their heads.
Su moved his gun almost the instant he heard the heavy machine gun’s shooting, placing the shooter within his scope. However, the finger around the trigger wasn’t immediately pressed.
The one operating the machine gun seemed to be a little girl that was only eleven or twelve years old. She had a delicate and pretty appearance that was rare among refugees, and her large eyes had some tear stains that hadn’t dried yet. She bit down fiercely, and strands of blood flowed between her teeth. The firing of the heavy machine gun made her face that was full of bitterness flash between dark and light. From this little girl’s face, Su seemed to vaguely see another expression, one that belonged to a little girl that he had almost forgotten about.
Just when Su was hesitating, another miserable sound could be heard. A soldier that was lying on the ground was caught by a heavy machine gun bullet, and several streaks of blood flew outwards.
Su’s pupils shrunk into a cross again, and the gunpoint moved slightly, and the trigger was pulled. The modified bullet carried tremendous force, directly flying towards the muzzle of the heavy machine gun!
The howling of the heavy machine gun immediately stopped. Then, it abruptly exploded, and burning fragments flew in all directions!
The little girl stood for a few seconds before backing up. A piece of the heavy machine gun was deeply embedded within her forehead.
Su buried his face into the earth that was suffused with the smell of gunpowder.
The battle quickly ended.
This region was where this group of refugees resided. The fleet’s fighters began to search the houses, and regardless of whether they resisted or not, adult or child, in the end, they met the same fate without exception: death. This was the usual practice of the wilderness. Any inhabited area’s capacity revolved around the amount of food and water supply. They did not have any extra for captives. The younger women among the refugees might still have some uses, but men would only be a burden. Most inhabited areas didn’t have production capacity, so they did not have any need of manpower. As for the refugees’ children, that was a source of hatred. They definitely would not be spared.
Su leaned against the carriage truck and smoked the final cigarette on him. He did not participate in the refugee’s search, and there was no need for him to either. In the fight just now, he completely proved himself. If he didn’t dismantle the machine gun twice, the one that was completely defeated would have been their fleet. Right now, even those condescending veterans were full of respect towards Su. They knew that the continued firing couldn’t have been done by a sniper of the first level.
The commander walked over to Su’s side. When he saw that Su’s cigarette was nearing its end, he handed over another and lit it. He asked, “Are you uncomfortable?”
“A bit tired.”
The commander was already approaching fifty years of age. He established the inhabited area after experiencing over ten years of combat. Just now, he already inspected the machine gun’s position, so he understood Su’s current mood a bit. After all, the refugee mob this time was a bit different than in the past. Their bodies lacked rotted parts, and their faces weren’t too different from other humans. In reality, ten years ago, the men that the commander brought about in search of a home weres just like this group they encountered today.
The winds stirred up the commander’s gray hair. His face that was full of scars had an understanding smile. For this type of smile, the corners of the mouth pointed downwards.
As he watched the residences where gunshots would still sound from time to time, the commander blew out smoke from his mouth and said, “Your performance today was truly excellent. I highly doubt that you are just a first level sniper. Haha, you don’t need to worry. I don’t want to know anything. When we return, your reward is 200 yuan. I don’t think anyone will object.”
Su forced a laugh and said, “This is the best news I’ve heard these past few days.”