[Bonus chapter for 600 powerstones... On another, completely unrelated note, I can see the names of everyone who votes and recently ordered a death note from the dark web. I'm not mentioning this for any particular reason, just an interesting tidbit about my life. :) ]
Xinghai had always been a proud man.
When he was three years old, he was designated as a Five Star Arms Professional. In the history of the Ascension Empire, barely a thousand people had ever earned such an evaluation.
From that day onward, he was placed under the intensive care of the government with the consent of his parents. He began playing with swiss army knives before his fourth birthday and was already handling guns by the time he was seven.
When he began school, he entered the Royal Blue Education program, starting from Royal Blue Elementary School, entering Royal Blue Middle School, and eventually venturing to Royal Blue Academy.
He received the best education, the best nutrition plans, and the best care and attention one could ask for. He boasted a position in the top 1000 of the Most Eligible Minors list before his 18th birthday, and even after he became 18, he was within the top 10 000 Eligible Bachelors list.
However, after graduating from Royal Blue Academy five years ago, life became boring to him.
His family background wasn't as great as his peers, so he found moving up ranks in the army difficult. The rebels who spent their time trying to take down the Ascension Empire were nothing more than a clown show who could only cause skirmishes once in a while. And, without a high enough rank, he wouldn't be trusted enough to become a part of missions to quell rebellions on the Moon and Mars.
His life stagnated.
Sure, with his potential, all he had to do was wait a few decades for those old fogies to die and he would eventually get his shot. But… he didn't have such patience.
Before the Metamorphosis began, he had actually been approached by a member of the rebel army. Instead of reporting the incident like he should have, he actually kept it to himself.
What he wanted the most was the thrill. He loved battle and those damned virtual reality pods weren't worth shit to him. How was it the same if his life wasn't on the line? If he couldn't feel his blood boil? If he couldn't feel his opponent's life slipping between his fingers?
He needed more.
If it wasn't for the Descent of the Metamorphosis, he really would have joined the rebel army and stuck it to those bastards who tried to bury his talent like that.
But, it seemed there was a God smiling down at him. Just when he was about to, his ability awakened, then Invalids appeared, and then Zones began to open one after another.
Just like that, his boring life revved back up. He suddenly felt thrill again.
The longer he spent in a world like this, the more he felt that this was the way it should be. When things were too peaceful, things would be too boring. He wasn't one of those hypocrites who thought one needed to struggle to evolve. No…
He just wanted to kill.
Just a bit over an hour ago, Xinghai learned of what was going on here. After he was told that Leonel was all alone and was actually carrying a girl on his back, he disdained to participate. This kind of boring hunt, what the hell did it have to do with him?
He could have never imagined that this prey would be so interesting. It made him a bit curious, almost like a cat who found an adorable mouse.
After finding himself a nice tall tower, he picked out his favorite sniper rifle and settled in.
If one knew his personality and saw him now, they would find the scene to be completely out of their expectations. How a man who lived for battle and blood could remain motionless for so long, to the point of not even seeming to breathe, no one would be able to tell.
Yet, this was exactly what Xinghai had done. His right eye remained trained on his scope, the barrel of his rifle as steady as the surface of a calm lake. Even after he saw his prey, his heart beat remained smooth and unhurried. One would never guess that this was a man he had waited over an hour for.
As though his sniper rifle was a part of his body, he pulled the trigger in unison with a deep breath. As he exhaled, the bullet exited the barrel as though on a line and pierced the shoulder of his prey.
BANG!
That was when something completely out of Xinghai's expectations happened. The sound of the second bullet didn't come from his gun… but his prey's!
It was impossible. Sniper rifles of the 21st century had a range of about a kilometer at best. However, those of the 25th could shoot from ten kilometers away. Not only were they equipped with far stronger bullets, but they also came with an on board AI capable of executing the calculations a sniper needed with much more ease than a human.
Due to the size of the inner city and the situation, Xinghai hadn't found it necessary to be so far away. So, he picked a tower just a kilometer and a half away from where he guessed Leonel would appear.
With the power of his sniper rifle and at such a short distance, Leonel could have died on his first shot. But, wanting to play around a bit, Xinghai aimed for Leonel's shoulder first. He wanted to see his prey squirm and struggle for life, maybe even beg for mercy.
But, who knew that his prey would actually be able to react to a small extent. Like that, the bullet that should have been powerful enough to blow his arm off was actually obstructed by the tactical armor, causing it to lose some momentum and only pierce into his arm instead.
And, as if that wasn't shocking enough, without the slightest hesitation, his prey turned toward his direction as though their gazes could meet across the impossibly long distance and fired a single bullet.
Xinghai could feel it. That bullet radiated and dripped with confidence. He didn't fire a second and didn't even wait for it to land. His prey turned and sprinted into the park, disappearing into the depths of the small forest.
Danger overwhelmed Xinghai's senses. It was impossible, but he knew what would happen. This bullet would hit him. He was as good as dead.
What a funny joke this was. If someone told him that someone could aim an ordinary rifle with a single arm and accurately shoot down a target over a kilometer away, with how sadistic Xinghai was, he might just cut the person to pieces with his favorite swiss army knife.
But here it was, happening before him now.
The bullet tore through the air, invisible in the night sky. Sometimes, it would catch the moonlight's rays and glisten a beautiful silver before disappearing once more as though entering the void.
SSSHHHUUUUUU
The bullet tore into the tower.
In the last moment, Xinghai blinked away, disappearing and appearing one meter to his left.
BANG!
Silence fell. The only thing that could be heard in the high tower now were Xinghai's ragged breaths. He didn't even react when he felt violent bits of shrapnel, coming from his sniper rifle, assaulting him and tearing into his flesh.
After a long while, Xinghai stood, completely naked. If others were here, they would see his military uniform and gear laid on the floor where he had been lying just a moment ago, burnt to a crisp. As for his sniper rifle… it was in pieces.
Slowly, Xinghai made his way to the remains of the barrel. It had split apart as though an explosion had gone off inside of it.
It took a while, but Xinghai finally understood. The instant he shot his prey, he had given him everything he needed to know about his location. In the blink of an eye, his prey took that information and fired back. The shot was so precise that the bullet even entered the very nozzle the original bullet came from, almost taking Xinghai's life.
At this moment, Xinghai was in a sorry state. Bits of shrapnel had torn into the right side of his body. Luckily, he had timed his blink just right so that the brunt of the explosion passed him by. But, he was still a bit injured.
Xinghai grinned.
The sight of a man smiling with an entire side of his face dripping in blood was enough to send cold shivers down one's spine. But, it only became more obscene when Xinghai licked his lips like a rabid dog.
This prey. He wanted it.