Chapter Seventeen: The Second Sniper Attack

For example, those two snipers just now—if they had taken him seriously, swiftly relocating after realizing their positions were exposed and locking onto him from a different spot, even if only a dozen meters away, he wouldn’t have taken one out so easily.

His opponents might be careless, but he couldn’t afford to be.

Moreover, they were a team, and there were still two close-combat fighters. By now, those two would certainly be trying to approach him…

Gunslingers might seem formidable with their long-range attack capabilities, but among the evolved, close-combatants were the mainstream.

Why?

Because their genetic martial arts were terrifying in their own right. Some increased speed, others amplified lethality or enhanced defense—each unique and all extremely powerful.

Fang Mu had no confidence that, with a half-ruined gun and an exposed sniping position, he could kill two close-combat evolved and a sniper all on his own…

He withdrew, choosing his timing with precision. At that moment, Zhou Yang was furiously questioning Wang Cheng, while Li Yao was calmly analyzing the situation…

Thus, he slipped away from the tiger’s corpse, ducking behind a small hill in the rear.

He let out a long breath—the crisis was temporarily averted.

But it was far from over.

He quickly scanned the surrounding terrain. Moments later, he found a location with an excellent vantage point, from which he could overlook the entire area.

Without hesitation, he sprinted toward it.

About ten minutes later, he had climbed the knoll. Catching his breath, he cautiously peeked out to observe below.

With a single glance, he spotted two figures flanking the tiger’s corpse on the plain, roughly three hundred meters away on either side, rapidly closing in.

As they advanced, they continually executed tactical maneuvers. Judging by their speed, these two were formidable, not much slower than the Gale Tiger itself.

Fang Mu exhaled in relief. Luckily, he had withdrawn at once—otherwise, he would now be trapped like a rat in a jar.

Watching the two men draw closer to the tiger’s body, Fang Mu ignored them for the moment and instead focused on that hilltop—he had to confirm whether the sniper was still there.

After watching for a while, he concluded that the sniper was unlikely to remain. The enemy wasn’t stupid—caught off-guard once, would he make the same mistake twice?

He fell silent, then shifted his gaze to the distant hills, analyzing which new sniping positions the enemy might choose.

Moments later, he narrowed his eyes.

He had identified two potential targets—both with the best lines of sight. If he were in their place, he would choose one of these for a new sniping post.

Putting himself in their shoes, he decided to check them both.

Through his scope, he began a meticulous search.

After reaching the Black Iron rank, his eyesight had improved tremendously. Now, looking through the scope, he could see with remarkable clarity.

The first target was quickly ruled out—none of the comfortable sniping spots showed any sign of the sniper.

He shifted to the second target.

This time, after only a moment, his body tensed slightly, his eyes narrowing.

“Found you…”

He murmured softly.

In the scope, on the side of the second hilltop, a figure lay prone, clutching a sniper rifle. The model couldn’t be discerned, but the weapon was well maintained, its dark barrel glinting faintly in the light.

The sniper was wedged between two rocks, only the gun barrel protruding, aimed squarely at the tiger’s corpse below.

A burn scar marred the left side of his face, blackened and twisted, causing his cheek to twitch involuntarily as he aimed. His eyes burned with fury, filled with killing intent.

He seemed unaware that he had already fallen into Fang Mu’s sights—every move clearly visible.

Fang Mu exhaled slowly. Gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder, he pressed the G-301 to it. His expression remained calm, as a series of shooting calculations flashed through his mind, the crosshairs locked onto the man’s head…

In a contest like this, taking out the enemy’s sniper first was essential. As for the two close-combat evolved—perhaps they were fearsome up close, but he was a gunslinger. Why let them get near?

His finger found the trigger, his gaze sharpening…

…

…

“No gunfire yet, but keep moving—don’t give him a chance. Wang Cheng, have you spotted him?”

Li Yao, moving swiftly, kept his eyes glued to the direction of the tiger’s corpse, ready to react instantly to any sign of trouble.

“No, I can’t see anything from my position,” Wang Cheng’s voice came through the earpiece, tinged with frustration.

“Could he have moved already?” Zhou Yang’s voice abruptly cut in.

Li Yao fell silent, then replied, “Very likely. But don’t let your guard down. Either way, we check it out. Wang Cheng, your position isn’t exposed, right?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already relocated. He can’t possibly find me!” Wang Cheng replied firmly.

“All right, just stay alert,” Li Yao nodded, somewhat reassured.

On terrain like Tiger Roar Gorge, a gunslinger’s combat power was overwhelming. Unless the enemy appeared within a hundred meters, close-combat evolved were practically useless.

Wang Cheng was their only gunslinger. If he was taken out, their only option would be to run.

In such terrain, a gunslinger could toy with them at will…

Boom!

Li Yao was still deep in thought when a sudden thunderous explosion rang in his ears.

Startled, he looked around—he hadn’t been shot.

“Wang Cheng, Zhou Yang, who got hit?!”

He shouted into the comms.

Responses quickly came.

“Not me, I’m fine.”

But the voice sent a chill through Li Yao’s heart.

Not Zhou Yang—then it had to be Wang Cheng!

“Wang Cheng! Wang Cheng!”

He called repeatedly.

But only silence answered.

Li Yao drew a sharp breath. He knew—the worst had happened.

“Damn it, can’t do a thing right but talk big all day! Didn’t he say he’d never be found?!”

Zhou Yang’s furious voice came through; he had heard the gunshot and understood what had transpired.

And in terrain like this, with their only sniper gone…

“Fall back! Leave the open ground!”

Li Yao’s low command echoed out.

Zhou Yang didn’t hesitate. He immediately turned, dashing toward the nearby hills, never neglecting tactical movement along the way…

Elsewhere, on a high ground, a blazing fire raged.

Wang Cheng’s twisted face stared wide-eyed, most of his head blown away. Amidst the flames, his savage expression slowly dissolved into nothingness…