Fatal Shot

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In any game, combat between players was unavoidable. And in an online game with such a high degree of freedom like War, fights and battles between players were directly reflected in the form of playing killing (PK)—or murder.

In a highly realistic, science-fiction simulator online game, human nature was easily driven by one’s emotions. PKs or murders were undoubtedly one of the methods for people to vent their feelings. As for the reason for a PK, it could be real-life depression, kill-stealing, being dumped by a girlfriend, being unhappy with a certain hairstyle… The list went on, and there was never a lack of possible reasons.

Of course, there was only one reason Feng Luo was being attacked right now. It was due to the rare ore emanating fluorescent light on the ground.

Item ownership in War was determined by one’s contribution to a battle (as calculated by the system). Only when the contribution of individuals or groups surpassed a certain degree when killing a monster would they be able to pick up the items dropped by the monster.

However, this did not mean that there was no way to kill-steal. The simplest method was to kill off all the players with claims to item ownership over the dropped items. Then the items would be in an unowned state, and anyone could pick them up.

A single copper ore gem had a market value of around 2,000 credits, which was close to 200 star coins, which was more than enough to entice the average player.

To Feng Luo, however, one level’s worth of experience was substantially more valuable than 2,000 credits. So, upon hearing the reminder from the system, he did not hesitate. Feng Luo immediately gave up the copper ore gem in front of him. He quickly crouched down and rolled to his side. This action helped him avoid the follow-up attacks that came immediately after the initial gunfire.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Three light green energy blades descended from the sky and left three long, thin marks on the sandstone ground where Feng Luo had been standing. Sand and dust flew into the air. A wind energy Manipulator!

Pang!

Another gunshot. The enemy Sniper’s second shot hit the ground behind Feng Luo and sent dust flying three feet into the air. But by this time, Feng Luo had already started running. He leaped onto the boulder where he’d left his M110. After he extended his hands to pick up the sniper rifle, he immediately crouched down with his head low.

Pang! Swoosh!

A bullet and two wind blades flew toward him, but they were all blocked by the hard boulder.

This boulder had been carefully selected by Feng Luo beforehand for his hunting session. As long as he crouched down, it was difficult for any long-range attacks to hit him. However, there were three opponents. Apart from the Gunner and the Wind Manipulator, there was also a Light Armor Warrior.

Light Armor Warrior was the profession that was most proficient in handling close-quarters combat, and if Feng Luo were to allow the enemy to get close to him, there was 90 percent he would lose.

So, I must attack! he decided immediately in his heart.

After another wave of attacks from the enemy Sniper and Wind Manipulator, Feng Luo raised the M110 with his hands and determined the location of his opponents based on the sound of the gunshots. He looked through the scope, and within one second, he found and locked onto his target. In a position around 100 meters away from him, a Manipulator wearing elemental robes and a Gunner in a camouflage uniform were preparing for their next attack. In front of them, a warrior wearing light armor had already initiated the “Charge” skill and was rushing toward him!

Charge was a skill that players with the warrior profession and was learned at Level 20. The skill allowed the player to increase their speed by several times within a certain distance. The distance of Charge was related to the skill level. If it reached the Expert level, the distance would be about 100 meters. That meant that as soon as the enemy’s Charge ended, he would almost be beside Feng Luo!

However, although the Charge skill of the warrior was very quick, it had a fatal weakness: During the process of the Charge, a change of direction was limited in some ways. If the attacker’s agility was low and skill proficiency was insufficient, it was easy for an expert to predict the limited trajectory of the charge.

So Feng Luo’s muzzle was naturally aimed straight at him!

Pang!

As soon as Feng Luo pressed the trigger, a rotating 7.26mm armor-piercing bullet burst out of weapon’s red-hot muzzle. In less than one-fifth of a second, the shot accurately hit the helmet of the Light Armor Warrior.

−543!

As it was blocked by the helmet, the shot only dealt normal damage. Moreover, due to Feng Luo’s talent, one-fourth of the damage was deducted. As such, the total damage did not even reach 600.

At first, the player known as “I Love Loli” was shocked that the opponent had actually managed to hit his forehead while he moved at such a high speed. This level of skill was certainly that of an expert. However, after he looked at the system message about getting hit and saw that the damage was barely over 500 points, he relaxed. Compared to his nearly 8,000 total HP, it was negligible. He could not help but think triumphantly about the set of Level-42 Fine-grade equipment he had just changed into. The defensive capabilities were indeed amazing.

Hehe! A game is a game, after all, he thought. Equipment is the definitive truth. No matter how good your skills are, there is no way to remove the disadvantages brought about by inferior equipment!

Pang!

−753!

However, just as he was in the middle of enjoying the moment, another bullet hit his helmet. The time between this shot and the previous one was only around two seconds, and the point of impact for both the bullets was also almost identical.

F*ck, what kind of marksmanship is this?

I Love Loli was shocked. The first shot to his helmet had surprised him a little, but he had not been altogether amazed. He knew that Snipers had a skill called “Precise Shot,” which allowed Snipers to significantly increase their hit rate in the first shot. His opponent might have trained the skill to a high level, and with the decent skills a Sniper had to begin with, he was able to hit his helmet in the beginning.

However, he was no longer thinking like that. “Precise Shot” could only be used once; moreover, the cooldown was ten minutes. The fact that the opponent had found his helmet again, and in such quick succession, was enough to prove that the opponent was a genuine expert Sniper who could succeed without the help of skills—even in endeavors that other people could not achieve even with the help of skills!

If the distance between them had been over 400 meters, and if he had not had two other teammates behind him, I Love Loli would have immediately turned around without any hesitation. In a situation where there were no trees or bushes in the surrounding area, the attack damage of an expert Sniper was frightening. Even if I Love Loli had a Fine-grade helmet, he would not be able to hold out. As soon as the defense was broken, it was highly likely that he would be killed off immediately by a headshot.

However, at that moment, he was only around 30 meters away, and with the speed of his advanced charge skill, the opponent only had one more chance to fire. Considering the damage amounts of the two previous attacks, and his 6,000-plus remaining HP, even if he was hit by a lethal attack, there was no chance the hit would take him out.

Plus, I am not fighting alone! I Love Loli thought.

As expected, he immediately saw a row of white numbers of around 600 flash overtop of the head of the opponent. This was the damage dealt by the wind blade of his teammate. However, his other teammate’s armor-piercing bullet did not hit; instead, it struck the boulder in front of the opponent, creating a deep hole in the rock. The gap between the target and the point of impact actually reached half a meter.

Sh*t! thought I Love Loli. I’ve heard it said that a bullsh*t buddy sucks more than a godlike enemy. The statement certainly rings true, considering their difference in levels of marksmanship!

His expression was a bit distorted, but I Love Loli was still very calm. That was because, by now, he was only around ten meters away from the opponent. He only needed to move two steps forward to initiate his warrior skill known as “Thunder Leap Slash” and directly engage the gunman.

A Sniper who allowed a Light Armor Warrior—who still had more than half his HP—to get close was as good as dead, even if the opponent was an expert Sniper! The odd thing was that the opponent did not seem to panic. He still held his sniper rifle and did not switch to a close-quarters weapon like most people would have.

“I don’t care! Thunder Leap…!”

The moment he entered skill range, I Love Loli immediately cast the Level-30 Warrior skill Thunder Leap Slash. He raised his alloy longsword as his body leaped into the air. With a gust of strong wind, he slashed toward the gunman ten meters away.

Pang!

−6582!

Overtop of his forehead, which now wore a helmet with a hole drilled straight through it, a row of red damage numbers appeared. It was a frightening number that was around ten times the amount of the previous two shots. I Love Loli’s HP fell to nothing in an instant.

I Love Loli’s body was still in the air, but a white light had already flashed by. I Love Loli’s eyes still showed a look of disbelief.

Fu*ck…! What kind of damage is this? This must be a bug!

It was his last thought as he received the headshot.