Chapter 11: A Formidable Foe

Luo Yan glanced at Lu Xiaona.
The latter immediately understood, struggling to her feet and retreating behind a thick tree trunk, keeping her back to the direction the throwing knife had come from.

The enemy was cautious.
After the failed sneak attack, they didn’t rush to appear. Instead, they lay in ambush like a venomous snake, patiently waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

Luo Yan took a deep breath, moved a few steps forward, and took cover behind another large tree.
He kept his distance from Lu Xiaona, never more than ten meters apart, careful not to be drawn too far away.

Swoosh!
The sharp sound of air being sliced pierced the silence.
At the same time, the system’s deep red warning indicator lit up.

Luo Yan instantly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding another incoming dagger—this one pierced clean through the tree he’d just used for cover.
Its power was comparable to that of a large-caliber sniper rifle.

To throw a cold weapon with such force, the attacker had to possess inhuman strength.
Luo Yan could now be certain—the opponent was at least on par with him: an Awakening-level ability user.

“Mr. Z… is that you?”
Luo Yan narrowed his eyes and ducked behind another tree, still as a shadow.

At the same time, he gripped tightly the dagger he’d taken from Kane’s corpse.

The opponent was using a cold weapon—no muzzle flash, no smoke, nothing to give away their location.
It was clear they intended to mentally wear him down while stalling for reinforcements.

He figured their backup was probably already on the way.

Anyone else in this position—trying to protect a barely-mobile hostage in the forest, with no reinforcements and an unknown enemy hunting them—would be trapped in a hopeless deadlock.

But he wasn’t just anyone.

He was Luo Yan.
A woman blessed with… a cheat system.

The reason he’d been able to deal with Kane’s squad so decisively wasn’t just his physical abilities.
The system’s multiple support functions had played a crucial role.

The two most critical were: Aim Assist and Danger Warning.

Aim Assist automatically locked onto enemies, calculating optimal firing angles based on terrain and enemy movement.
This allowed him to land pinpoint shots in the middle of a running firefight—something no beginner could hope to do.

Danger Warning identified threats in real time by analyzing movement, sound, and environmental changes.
It then issued alerts and suggested the best evasion paths.

These two core systems—offense and defense—worked in tandem, allowing him to perform at superhuman levels despite being a rookie.

Without them, he would’ve long since been overwhelmed.

With the system active, he was essentially cheating.

Paired with his Awakening-level physical enhancements and quick thinking, his survival rate had skyrocketed.
It was this confidence that had allowed him to step into such a dangerous situation.

But that wasn’t all.
Her system had a locking function too—now quietly activated.

Earlier, while dodging the second attack, his Danger Warning system had already pinpointed the attacker’s exact location.

Though the enemy likely thought they were still hidden, their position was fully exposed in his view.

He just needed one more attack to confirm their location—
And then, it would be his turn to snipe.

Rustling.
The enemy was on the move, closing in, trying to find a better angle.

Luo Yan remained still, waiting.

Suddenly, the danger indicator flared again.

He dashed out from behind the tree and hurled his dagger with full force.

A pained grunt echoed from the shadows.

Looks like it hit. Players with cheats can really do whatever they want…

If only this were a game—he could check the enemy’s health bar to see if it was a critical hit.

He quickly ducked behind another tree.
Unfortunately, that had been the only dagger he’d taken off Kane.

If the enemy kept hiding, he’d have to take the initiative soon.

Still, after a few rounds of indirect skirmishes, he was sure the opponent was alone.
Pushing forward now might be his best chance to break the stalemate.

But… he doubted they would sit still after taking a hit.

As expected—

Rustle!
A black-clad figure suddenly burst from the shadows, rushing toward him with lightning speed.

Finally.

In the blink of an eye, the figure was upon him.

He only needed one glance to recognize him: Mr. Z.

Watching from behind the tree, Lu Xiaona’s expression froze.

She covered her mouth tightly, her eyes filling with sorrow.

If Mr. Z had the leisure to hunt them down now…
Then Atlanta, who had stayed behind to delay him, must have—

Must have already fallen…

Atlanta wasn’t just a bodyguard to her.
She’d protected her for three years.
Though always strict and stoic, she’d had a warm heart.
Lu Xiaona had long come to see her as an older sister…

While grief overtook the young heiress, Luo Yan was cursing her own bad luck.

It really was Mr. Z.
Speak of the devil…

He really had jinxed it with that stray thought earlier.

A whirlwind of thoughts raced through his mind.

He retreated a step just as the cold flash of a blade swept past his throat, the gust of wind brushing against his pale skin.

Warning marker—red.

He instantly dodged left.

Bang!

A bullet whizzed past him, so close that the air pressure made his heart seize.

So that blade had just been a feint—
The real attack was the bullet right after.

Without the system’s help, that would’ve been the end.

This was the Awakening stage.

Just a few seconds of engagement, and the pressure was already immense.

But he wasn’t going to back down.

She pulled the trigger in return.

A clean, crisp recoil.
A bullet whistled through the air and struck Mr. Z squarely in the right shoulder.

Blood sprayed.