Chapter Sixty-One: Survived

Wei Lin’s gesture seemed to leave the man both surprised and flustered, as he glanced at Wei Lin with a mix of astonishment and apprehension. Wei Lin rather enjoyed that look, but considering the circumstances, he spoke: “All right, where do you want to go? Where’s the killer?”

Only then did the man seem to return to his senses. Something occurred to him, and though gravely injured and unable to speak, he struggled to raise a hand, as if directing them toward the edge of the cliff.

To the edge?

Wei Lin’s brow furrowed instinctively. He had examined the area thoroughly on his way over, specifically to guard against anyone escaping along the cliff, but had found no trace of anyone. He had no doubt about that. Yet now the “Ace” gunfighter at his side was visibly anxious, clearly intent on heading to the edge, and since he couldn’t speak, Wei Lin was puzzled, but his instincts led him to help the man and walk him toward the precipice. Wei Lin was curious himself to see what the man wanted.

The spot was no more than twenty meters from the entrance, yet it took them over ten seconds to get there, finally reaching the cliff’s edge.

The wind outside picked up, and as Wei Lin looked out, he could see distant flashes of battle—those were the Silver-ranked fighters. As for the likes of Zhou Potian and the others, their figures were already gone, vanished in pursuit somewhere out of sight.

Just as he was thinking this, Wei Lin suddenly sensed the man beside him stiffen, then grow abruptly agitated.

“Aah, aah...!” the man rasped, desperately pointing in a certain direction.

Wei Lin’s brow knitted, and he instinctively followed the man’s gesture with his eyes—

Immediately, he saw it: clinging to the icy plain directly beneath the cliff, a figure lay sprawled.

What?

A jolt of alarm shot through Wei Lin, his gaze sharpening in an instant.

Was that the killer?

The thought sprang to mind almost instantly, but then came doubt—

Impossible! He had checked carefully; no one had gone down the cliff. And if that really was the killer, why would he be lying there, unmoving? Besides, with his sharp eyes, Wei Lin could clearly see the marks of “Scorchfire” burns on the body—

It was nothing but a corpse!

Was the killer dead already?

How could that be?

Wei Lin simply couldn’t believe it. But at that moment, his only disbelief was that the killer was dead; his suspicions had not yet turned to the man beside him.

The reason was simple—

The corpse had been pointed out by this man.

Wei Lin’s first reaction was therefore that the corpse itself was suspicious, not the person beside him! And upon noticing that, his next thought was very natural—

Go down and take a closer look to see what was really going on.

So, acting on pure instinct, Wei Lin released his hold on the injured man, and without a second thought, leapt down toward the base of the cliff, eager to investigate the truth up close.

Thus—

He did not notice, at the very instant he let go, the sudden cold focus that flashed in the other man’s eyes.

Nor did he notice that, as he leapt without hesitation to see for himself, the man who had seemed on the verge of collapse, barely clinging to life, suddenly clenched his teeth—and a cold, heavy sniper rifle materialized in his once-empty hands.

...

...

“I must hit!”

At that moment, Fang Mu’s heart nearly stopped beating!

Because this was the critical moment he had been waiting for!

Time itself seemed to slow, every muscle in Fang Mu’s body drawn taut as he watched Wei Lin leap, his form dropping through the air.

The whole process was not slow, but to Fang Mu, it seemed agonizingly drawn out.

When Wei Lin’s head lined up with the barrel of Fang Mu’s gun—

Fang Mu squeezed the trigger without hesitation!

Boom!

Bang!!

The deafening blast erupted instantly, savage recoil slamming into Fang Mu’s shoulder. A flare of blinding light burst from the muzzle, and the rifle itself bounced violently. At the limits of his strength, Fang Mu couldn’t hold on; the weapon flew from his hands, spinning five or six meters before crashing to the ground...

...

...

The instant the shot rang out, Wei Lin felt the hair on his entire body stand on end!

That gunshot—was behind him?!

His eyes flew wide, disbelief twisting his features.

And in a split second, golden light blazed across his body, terrifying genetic energy surging madly!

Almost instinctively, he tried to spring away with his legs.

But there was nothing beneath his feet—only empty air. Only then did he realize—

He was midair—

With nowhere to land!

A chill of pure terror seized his heart.

And then—

Crack!

Midair, he felt a tremendous impact slam into the back of his head.

The next instant, darkness consumed his consciousness...

...

...

Crack!

The headless corpse crashed heavily to the bottom of the 150-meter drop. Horrific flames engulfed it, nearly swallowing the body whole...

That “gene round” was a variant of the “Scorchfire” round, but its power far exceeded the original...

Within the glacial crevice, Fang Mu lay sprawled at the edge, gasping for breath.

His heart thundered in his chest, threatening to explode from his ribcage. He didn’t know how long it took for that wild pounding to finally subside...

A survivor’s grateful relief washed over Fang Mu.

A narrow escape!

But in the end—he had survived...

He grinned soundlessly. After a long moment, he struggled to his feet. When his breathing eased, he looked down—

Flames had already devoured the corpse below. The power of the gene round was indeed extraordinary.

Conflicting feelings flickered in Fang Mu’s gaze.

It seemed simple, but only he knew how perilous it had been.

There were too many flaws in this plan. Even a single one being noticed by the enemy would have left Fang Mu a corpse by now.

Fortunately, he had gambled right!

The enemy had not died from carelessness—quite the opposite. He died precisely because he was too cautious.

If, in all his relentless pursuit, he hadn’t kept his eyes glued to the glacial crevice, he would have discovered the body outside while approaching.

Naturally, upon first entering the crevice, he would have noticed something was off... and would not have mistaken Fang Mu, the sole survivor, for an ally.

And the linchpin of Fang Mu’s entire plan was—

The enemy needed to instinctively treat him as “one of their own.”

Only then could he proceed to the second step...

The key to step two was... to personally lead the enemy to discover the corpse outside!

Fang Mu knew perfectly well that impersonating Greedy Wolf was not a long-term solution. Whether more of Greedy Wolf’s people arrived, or Mad Blade kept searching for the “gunfighter,” as the sole survivor, Fang Mu would always be exposed to them.

And once someone questioned his identity, he was bound to be found out!

Other than Chang Le, Fang Mu didn’t know a single name among the others here. And Chang Le was the first person Fang Mu had killed. The surviving gunfighters would certainly have reported Chang Le’s death to someone in Greedy Wolf...

So, hiding was not a viable plan.

That would only end in death.

If he was going to make a plan, it had to be one that might actually lead to survival!

So Fang Mu decided to take a gamble.

He hadn’t collected any of the bodies here with his spatial arsenal. He bet that the enemy hadn’t found the corpse at the foot of the cliff.

Because that corpse would be his trump card.

The plan had gone smoother than he’d hoped. The enemy had indeed missed the corpse. When he saw the four bodies in the crevice, he naturally assumed all four were “his own people.”

Then, when Fang Mu “regained consciousness,” he deliberately acted as if he couldn’t speak—precisely for this reason. The less he said, the less he could slip up.

Upon waking, he feigned confusion and helplessness. When he saw the enemy, he acted startled. Before the enemy could ask anything, Fang Mu shifted to agitation and anxiety...

Every move was calculated to draw the enemy’s attention, even if only momentarily.

Once the enemy instinctively accepted Fang Mu as “one of their own,” trust would come easily.

Then, struggling to his feet, Fang Mu led the enemy to the cliff’s edge—to get closer, ensuring he could still fire a shot in his weakened state.

And then came the plan’s most crucial step—personally pointing out the “fifth person” at the cliff’s base.

Only by being the one to reveal the body would the enemy not suspect him—at least not immediately.

The enemy would never believe the “fifth person” was the killer.

But that didn’t matter; Fang Mu didn’t need him to. He only needed the enemy not to suspect him in that first, crucial moment.

Fang Mu was certain: upon discovering a fifth corpse, no matter what the enemy’s thoughts, his first reaction would be to go down for a closer look!

That’s human nature.

And the more cautious the man, the more likely he’d do it.

And that—

Was the chance Fang Mu had been waiting for.

The enemy did not suspect him—because it was Fang Mu who had led him to the body. Maybe after close inspection and some thought, suspicion would arise... but not in that initial, reflexive instant.

No one, no matter how sharp, would react faster.

Nor would the enemy be on guard against him—Fang Mu was too weak, grievously injured, barely alive. More importantly, in the whole glacial crevice, there was not a weapon—nothing that could be used as one.

From the enemy’s perspective, Fang Mu posed no threat at all—so he was subconsciously overlooked.

In that moment of being ignored, Fang Mu had a fleeting chance to shoot—

It was at that instant, when the enemy was suspended in midair with nowhere to move, unable to react even if he realized the danger!

In the end—

Everything unfolded according to Fang Mu’s plan.

And so—

Wei Lin died, and Fang Mu survived.

...

...

It hadn’t been a hard-fought battle, but Fang Mu felt an overwhelming exhaustion.

This time, it had taken a terrible toll on his mind and nerves...

Not until more than half a day had passed did he finally manage to struggle to his feet.

The greatest crisis was temporarily over, but that didn’t mean he was safe.

He looked to the distance...

On the ice plain, skirmishes still flickered—they were the Silver-tier evolvers.

Once they finished, they would likely come to the glacial crevice.

And now, after his self-inflicted injuries, Fang Mu was grievously wounded.

He had to leave quickly and tend to his wounds...

A flash of blood-red glinted in his eyes.

Since earlier, that terrible hunger had been welling up inside him, though the tension had pushed it aside for a time.

Now that he relaxed, it became almost unbearable.

Suddenly, his nose twitched—he caught a scent that made his stomach clench with ravenous longing...

A red light flashed in his eyes as he whipped his head around—

It was the nearby corpse!

He could smell an aroma rising from the body that made his mouth water with uncontrollable hunger...