Chapter 21: The Overwatch Sniper Rifle

The trio successfully converged at the base of the watchtower.

“Master, hostile signals are approaching this location; there are twelve of them,” Lidoa immediately reported upon seeing Cheng Lan.

“Twelve units, huh…” Cheng Lan shook his head. “Lidoa, would you mind dealing with them all? We’ll rendezvous at the warehouse entrance.”

“Understood!” Two mantis blades immediately sprang from Lidoa’s arms, and she dashed towards the nearest target’s direction.

“So, are we heading straight to the warehouse next?” Qin Jinxuan asked, looking at Cheng Lan.

“No rush,” Cheng Lan said, pointing towards the top of the watchtower. “There’s something good up there; let me have some fun with it first.”

No sooner had he spoken than Cheng Lan seemed to dissolve into the shadows like ink.

Witnessing Cheng Lan activate his ability, Qin Jinxuan closed her eyes, pondering for a moment before realizing something significant.

‘Just now… had he not used any of his abilities even once?’

Meanwhile, Cheng Lan teleported to the top of the watchtower.

His gaze immediately fell upon the wreckage of a dark steel humanoid robot, its form resembling a human skeleton, with a black arrow piercing its head and sparks intermittently flying from its damaged parts.

Clutched in its hand was a sniper rifle.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk!” Cheng Lan couldn’t help but shake his head, surveying the pitiful state of the robot’s remains.

“May your machine spirit rest in peace,” he murmured to himself, slowly approaching the wreckage.

Next, Cheng Lan pulled out a newly purchased cleaver and meticulously severed each exposed wire. Only after confirming that the robot was beyond repair, with no possibility of ‘playing dead’ (TL Note: A common Chinese phrase meaning to feign death or revive unexpectedly), did Cheng Lan nod in satisfaction.

‘Now, it was his turn for some fun.’

Cheng Lan carefully pried open the robotic finger clamped on the trigger, tossing it aside. Then, he slowly uncurled the fingers gripping the handle, extracting the sniper rifle.

With a slight exertion of force, he lifted the sniper rifle, inspecting it thoroughly from all angles.

This was a sniper rifle named ‘Overwatch’, entirely black and strikingly similar in appearance to Blue Star’s AWM. It fired 15.2mm rounds, capable of effortlessly piercing 25mm thick steel plates within a 1000-meter range. The trade-off, however, was its immense recoil; an ordinary person attempting to use it rashly would likely shatter their shoulder blade.

Cheng Lan raised the sniper rifle, his eye aligning with the scope as he casually scanned the surroundings.

“Fire control system, advanced,” he murmured in admiration.

More than a mere scope, it was a display screen designed to resemble one. It offered not only three freely switchable imaging modes—optical, thermal, and night vision—but also integrated various auxiliary functions. These included wind speed calculation, distance measurement, magazine capacity, and target trajectory prediction. Mastering this device was akin to receiving a built-in aimbot.

As luck would have it, Cheng Lan knew precisely how to use it.

He swiftly calibrated the parameters, then deactivated the fire control system’s integrated infrared assist.

“You’re a robot sniping and you still need infrared? I’m genuinely embarrassed for you.”

Cheng Lan began scouting for suitable targets in the vicinity to practice his shooting.

‘With five rounds remaining, he decided to practice on the five unfortunates furthest from Lidoa, saving her tiny legs from unnecessary running.’

Target locked, Cheng Lan directly squeezed the trigger—

Bang!

The immense recoil pushed against Cheng Lan, yet he maintained his standing firing posture, unmoving.

Concurrently, a robot dog rapidly rushing towards the watchtower suddenly gained a gaping hole in its body, instantly collapsing to the ground.

Bolt pulled, casing ejected.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Cheng Lan fired four more shots in quick succession, emptying the magazine, before reluctantly lowering the sniper rifle.

“What a superb rifle!” Cheng Lan nodded in satisfaction. “You’re the one.”

He immediately disassembled the Overwatch sniper rifle, carefully stowing each component into his backpack.

Having confirmed the retrieval of all parts, Cheng Lan once again used shadow teleportation to return to the base of the watchtower.

There, Qin Jinxuan still stood rooted to the spot, her gaze drifting aimlessly. Her right hand, gripping an ice sword, swayed unconsciously, its tip tracing back and forth across the sand, emitting a soft ‘shush’ sound.

Cheng Lan tiptoed behind the momentarily dazed young woman and gently patted her shoulder.

The young woman’s body jolted in fright, and she instinctively thrust her sword backward.

Cheng Lan sidestepped, easily evading the attack.

“Did you really have to scare me?!” Qin Jinxuan glared at him with extreme displeasure, as if poised to pounce the next second.

“We’re not safe yet,” Cheng Lan said earnestly. “I’m just reminding you to always be vigilant for danger.”

“Yes, yes, yes, you always have an excuse!” Qin Jinxuan shot him another fierce glare. “So, are you done with your business?”

“I’m done. Let’s meet at the warehouse entrance.”

Cheng Lan took the lead, with Qin Jinxuan silently trailing behind him. Free from the threat of the mechs, they walked at a leisurely pace.

Qin Jinxuan observed the series of footprints Cheng Lan left in the sand. For some inexplicable reason, she tried to step perfectly into each of his tracks.

“Cheng Lan,” she suddenly spoke.

“Speak,” Cheng Lan replied without turning his head.

“Just how vast is the gap between us?” The young woman’s question sounded as much like a query as it did a soliloquy.

Cheng Lan offered no reply, merely continuing to walk forward in silence.

“Blades, swords, bows, guns—you’ve already demonstrated four types of weapons before me. Just… how many more do you know how to use?”

“If you’re asking me what other weapons I can use, I can only say that I’m somewhat proficient with most of them.”

“Is that so…” Qin Jinxuan first glanced up at Cheng Lan, then lowered her head again, resuming her observation of his footprints.

As she came to understand Cheng Lan more deeply, she found the distance between them steadily widening.

Just as now, no matter how carefully she stepped into his footprints, she could never truly match his stride.

“Were you doing that on purpose just now?” Qin Jinxuan asked again.

“Doing what on purpose?” Cheng Lan asked, puzzled.

“You know… earlier, when that scorpion ambushed you, you deliberately didn’t dodge, letting me come to your rescue.”

“Heh, so you noticed.”

‘It was true then…’ Qin Jinxuan bit her lower lip.

‘She had thought she genuinely helped, only to realize he had deliberately given her a sense of participation.’

This sudden drop in realization brought a bitter pang to her heart.

“Cheng Lan… do I really… deserve to be your ‘arch-nemesis’?” Qin Jinxuan looked up at Cheng Lan.

Hearing these words, Cheng Lan’s steps faltered.

‘From her tone, it sounded as if he had truly disheartened her.’

‘If that were truly the case…’

‘Then that would be absolutely perfect!’

‘No! He needed to intensify his efforts! He should seize this chance to completely extinguish her ambition to grow stronger, thereby reducing his number of arch-nemeses by one!’

Without further ado, he acted.

“Precisely!” Cheng Lan stated sharply. “The current you is utterly unworthy of being my ‘arch-nemesis’! For a young girl who’s only just begun to dabble in abilities for less than two weeks to fantasize about catching up to me—isn’t that simply showing me too little respect?!”

Cheng Lan’s words echoed in the young woman’s heart like a resounding bell struck with fierce force.

‘Indeed… her current self truly didn’t merit the title of ‘arch-nemesis’.’

The disparity between herself and Cheng Lan had always existed, and to presume she could catch up to the fruits of his previous life’s efforts with merely half a month of cultivation was undeniably too presumptuous.

‘Moreover…’

Though Cheng Lan constantly belittled her and called her his ‘arch-nemesis,’ he had never been ambiguous about nurturing her growth.

‘If she were to simply give up on herself like this, wouldn’t she be letting him down too much?’

With this realization, Qin Jinxuan’s spirits lifted; she was no longer disheartened.

She deliberately stepped out of Cheng Lan’s footprints and, with a few quick steps, jogged to his side.

“Cheng Lan, you’re right,” Qin Jinxuan began slowly. “I was indeed a bit presumptuous just now. However…”

She paused, her tone suddenly firm: “You said the ‘current’ me isn’t worthy, didn’t you? Just you wait; in the future, I will definitely become your ‘number one arch-nemesis’!”

“Heh,” Cheng Lan scoffed. “I’ll look forward to it, assuming you can actually achieve it.”

‘Wait a minute, wasn’t his harshness supposed to make her despondent? Why did she get fired up instead?’

Cheng Lan mused silently to himself.