Chapter Two: The Sniper's Assassination

Fang Mu’s spirit lifted, and he squinted into the distance…

From the crevices between the stones in the stream, a series of black insects crawled forth…

These creatures were roughly the size of basketballs, with six segmented limbs and bodies shrouded in glossy black. Their shells glimmered in the sunlight, like polished obsidian, which was where their name came from.

Once out of the stone cracks, the black jade bugs gathered atop a large slab of rock, basking in the warmth of the sun. Counting them, there were six in total.

Seeing no more emerging from the stream, Fang Mu lightly licked his dry lips.

“At minimum, I must kill three…”

His eyes narrowed as he calculated silently.

Black jade bugs were classified as Black Iron-tier creatures. Though weak, their timid nature and skill at hiding made them hard to find, so their price among Black Iron creatures was relatively high—normally, one would fetch about two thousand star coins.

But this time, the task he’d accepted offered a fifty percent premium. So… if he could guarantee three kills, together with the ninety thousand star coins he’d saved over the past three months, he could finally purchase a ten-thousand star coin ‘gene seed’ for the Gene Original Energy Cultivation Technique.

At that thought, he exhaled softly, suppressing his impatience, and gripped his rifle, pressing the stock firmly against his shoulder.

Through the scope, he could see the black jade bugs’ sinister claws twitching. His finger brushed the trigger, carefully disengaged the safety, and adjusted his breathing. His gaze sharpened.

Moments later—

Bang!

The shot shattered the valley’s silence.

The powerful recoil slammed into Fang Mu’s shoulder, and the ground trembled slightly, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Three hundred meters away, a black jade bug’s body was jolted up by the bullet, tumbling to the ground.

Through the scope, he saw that a bullet capable of tearing a regular person in half had left only a thumb-sized hole in the basketball-sized bug’s shell—testament to the terrifying resilience of battlefield creatures.

Black liquid oozed from the wound as the bug lay overturned, its claws twitching. For a Black Iron-tier creature, this was fatal. Its genetic vitality would not allow it to recover from such trauma.

The sudden gunshot startled the rest, sending them scurrying in panic as they seemed to search for the attacker.

Fang Mu remained composed. After the first shot, his left hand swiftly worked the bolt, and with a crisp sound, a smoking spent shell ejected from the chamber, as he loaded another round.

Adjusting his angle, a second black jade bug came into view through the scope.

The G-301 semi-automatic sniper rifle had an effective range of fifteen hundred meters, and was lethal up to twenty-five hundred meters. Now, at less than three hundred meters, he didn’t need to worry about wind speed, air humidity, or shot angle—only the bug’s movement and direction.

For Fang Mu, this was hardly a challenge.

Bang!

Another bug flew through the air in the scope.

Hiss!

The remaining four bugs grew frantic, abandoning their erratic scrambling and fleeing toward the stream.

Their eyesight was poor, especially from their low vantage point, so they couldn’t see Fang Mu, who held the high ground. With two killed in quick succession, their instinct was to escape.

But Fang Mu wouldn’t allow it.

Another bolt pull, another shell ejected, and Fang Mu shifted his position. The third bug entered his sights.

Bang!

Another thunderous shot.

Fang Mu demonstrated the prowess of the school’s top marksman. Including the adjustment of his angle, his aim rarely took more than three seconds before the shot rang out.

The third bug was struck down just as it was about to reach the stream.

The remaining three had already plunged into the water.

Fang Mu aimed again, and fired.

Splash!

The bullet entered the water, grazing the last bug’s body before vanishing beneath the surface.

Unfortunately, it was wounded but not killed.

Fang Mu sighed regretfully. The black jade bugs disappeared into the stream.

He slowly put away his rifle and massaged his aching shoulder.

There was nothing for it—sniper rifles were powerful, but their rate of fire was a weakness. That last shot was too hurried, causing him to miss.

“Without Gun Combat Techniques, ordinary automatic rifles or machine guns barely scratch Black Iron creatures.”

Automatic rifles and machine guns had speed, but their accuracy and power paled beside sniper rifles.

Against Black Iron-tier creatures, a lethal blow was far more effective than rapid but non-fatal attacks… Of course, suppressive fire with numbers was another matter. But when acting alone, this was the way.

Fang Mu had not yet undergone evolution—if those Black Iron creatures got close, he’d be dead.

Thus, a long-range, one-shot kill sniper rifle was his first choice.

This was also the preferred weapon of most gunfighters.

For gunfighters, extreme range and instant kills were their greatest advantage. Even after mastering Gun Combat Techniques, this remained true, because those techniques required gene original energy to use—each bullet consumed an astonishing amount.

Spraying a machine gun and wreaking havoc was tempting, but if your energy bar couldn’t keep up, there was no point.

Of course, if one could learn those area-damage Gun Combat Techniques, it would be different.

A single shot would be like throwing a grenade or even a missile, killing a swath of enemies…

But such techniques were extremely advanced and rare. Fang Mu doubted he’d ever have the chance to learn them in his lifetime.

He shook his head, dismissing the thought. Slung his rifle over his shoulder, prepared to retrieve his tactical backpack, and headed down to collect his spoils.

Buzz… buzz…

His pocket vibrated.

It was his communicator.

Fang Mu paused, took it out, and frowned at the display. After a moment’s silence, he ignored it and continued his actions.

The communicator rang for quite a while before stopping, then was silent for some time.

But just as Fang Mu neared the valley floor, it rang again.

He glanced at it, slightly startled, hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly and answered.

“Xiao Mu?”

A woman’s voice.

“Yes. What is it?” Fang Mu replied calmly.

“Well… your sister said she tried contacting you, but you didn’t answer… I was worried something happened to you, so…” the woman said, sounding a bit embarrassed.