Chapter 12: The Sniper’s Judgment

No one had registered what transpired, for Yujian Lin, unable to utter even a single word, had already been decisively dispatched back to the resurrection point.

“What in the world was that thing? The damage was outrageously high!”

Yujian Lin roared skyward, seemingly to unleash the fury born of his inexplicable demise.

Once his outburst subsided, a chilling realization struck him: due to his excessively high hostility value, every single piece of his equipment had dropped, leaving him utterly bare!

His furious roar drew the complete attention of every other player lingering around the resurrection point, who immediately began to point and whisper incessantly.

“Look! There’s a streaking pervert over there!”

“Indeed! Not only is he naked, but he’s also screaming his head off!”

“Thankfully there’s a mosaic, but isn’t this practically public indecency? Should we report him?”

“Report him! Absolutely report him!”

“Tsk, tsk, what a disgusting individual.”

[System Notification: You have been reported by a player for “indecent conduct.” We will verify the veracity of this report shortly. Please play civilly and contribute to a healthy and positive game environment.]

This, on top of his existing humiliation, caused an instantaneous surge of uncontainable fury within Yujian Lin, with nowhere to direct it.

“Argh, what kind of bug is this?! Who was it?! Did someone use a special item to conceal their name?”

My green-tier equipment!

That entire set of green gear, painstakingly assembled by dozens of people through sheer toil!

It was the very cornerstone of his guild’s dominance on the server!

Not only had he lost everything, but he had been reported by a swarm of rookie noobs!

In his towering rage, he didn’t hesitate for a second, immediately sending a message to his companions: “Kill that woman at once! After she’s dead, conduct a wide-ranging search for suspicious individuals in the vicinity! Engage them on sight!”

The incident had unfolded with such shocking speed.

Yujian Lin’s sword had been less than half a *fen* (TL Note: A traditional Chinese unit of length, approximately 3.3 millimeters) from Su Yingning’s neck, yet that minuscule distance had become an insurmountable chasm.

The surrounding players, anticipating Su Yingning’s demise, were poised to dance atop her corpse in mockery, just as they had done on previous occasions.

Alas, the expected scene never materialized; instead, Yujian Lin was struck twice and summarily dispatched, turning into a lifeless body himself.

The sudden turn of events was so disorienting that no one had a chance to react.

Consequently, even as Yujian Lin’s equipment lay scattered across the ground, not a single one of his guild subordinates had recovered their wits enough to strike down Su Yingning and reclaim the fallen gear.

Yet, while his subordinates remained stunned, one person, at least, managed to collect their thoughts.

Su Yingning.

She had initially kept her eyes shut, likely making her the slowest to react, but Yujian Lin’s piercing scream had jolted her eyes open.

As her eyes fluttered open, there was no Yujian Lin before her, only a shimmering pile of green-tier equipment.

For a veteran player, one who had immersed themselves in large-scale online games for years, rushing forward to frantically scoop up loot upon seeing it was nothing short of primal instinct!

Thus, she gave no thought whatsoever to what had become of that ‘beast,’ nor where he might be.

Her sole focus was to swiftly snatch up a few pieces of equipment, determined to grab them even if it meant her own death, for anything in her inventory was safe from dropping!

This was a tenacious thought, a terrifying instinct, and, indeed, the foremost shared instinct among all players!

Upon spotting dropped items, regardless of ownership, to pick them up and try them on… wasn’t that simply common sense, a universal truth of gaming?

This was the instinctive reaction of any player confronted with in-game riches.

Indeed, this peculiar cycle wasn’t limited to RPGs; even competitive games couldn’t escape it.

Otherwise, how could there be so many “kill-stealing dogs” (TL Note: A slang term for players who focus on securing the last hit on an enemy to get the kill credit, often at the expense of team strategy, even when already fully equipped) who, despite being fully equipped with six legendary items, still scrambled to steal kills?

Since Su Yingning hadn’t witnessed Yujian Lin’s death, she hadn’t experienced the profound shock or stark contrast of the event.

This meant that by the time Yujian Lin’s subordinates finally realized their boss’s entire inventory was being mindlessly plundered by their opponent, Su Yingning had already snatched up the vast majority of his equipment.

They hastily crouched down, scrambling to seize the gear, but the instant their hands brushed against the items, they were mercilessly repelled.

[System Notification: This item does not belong to you. You do not have permission to pick it up.]

Precisely.

They hadn’t delivered the killing blow, so they couldn’t pick up the loot.

But why could this young woman pick them up?!

He clearly hadn’t done anything, so how had their boss died?

And why was it counted as her kill?

This was utterly preposterous!

“No matter what! Kill her first! We absolutely cannot let her pick up anything else!”

The group quickly reached a consensus, and an assassin, drawing his dagger, was the first to strike!

[Hamstring]

This forced knockdown skill targeted the opponent’s leg muscles.

Though its damage was minimal, it could effectively interrupt their current actions and impose a fleeting moment of crowd control.

The dagger was almost upon her; Su Yingning could even discern the malevolent smirk twisting the assassin’s face.

“You have no right to touch what isn’t yours! Die once and cool your head!”

“Clang—”

A prolonged, heart-stopping clang of metal resonated across the entire area.

The assassin felt as though his right hand had been struck by a train, a colossal force nearly wrenching the dagger from his grasp.

The sharp dagger swept past Su Yingning’s calf, yet the blade missed her by mere millimeters, resulting in a large, vivid red [MISS] appearing above her.

The assassin, aghast and enraged, had no time to ponder the reason for his failure.

He could only grit his teeth and charge forward once more.

He was the closest to Su Yingning, and in the brief interval following his failed attack, she had already scooped up another green-tier accessory.

He absolutely had to interrupt her looting action with utmost speed!

[Throat Slit]

“No matter what sorcery you’re employing, it’s impossible for anything truly game-breaking to appear this early!

You must be using some incredibly costly defensive item… but such items are exceedingly rare.

Let’s see how long you can hold out! Prepare to die!”

The assassin was frantic, teetering on the edge of madness.

His frantic monologue wasn’t meant for Su Yingning’s ears; it was a desperate attempt to bolster his own courage, and that of his teammates!

After all, the events unfolding were far too bizarre!

No one could clearly explain them, nor did anyone know what hidden trump card their opponent possessed, or just how potent it truly was!

The gleaming dagger transformed into a streak of light, akin to a brilliant rainbow piercing the sun, hurtling directly towards Su Yingning’s throat!

This particular strike would be incredibly difficult to evade, even if the opponent were consciously attempting to dodge it!

As he watched the dagger steadily close in on Su Yingning’s throat, its keen edge even brushing against her fair, delicate skin, the assassin finally exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“Clang—”

[System Notification: You have been disarmed.]

“What the hell—”

Before he could complete his expletive, two emerald points of light, enveloped in a fierce, sacred white glow, silently descended from the heavens as though a divine punishment.

“Thwack!” “Thwack!”

[Precise Strike -79]

Left cheek.

[Precise Strike -79]

Right cheek.

[System Notification: You have been killed by player Ning Beibei in an act of self-defense. Due to your excessively high hostility value, your opponent will gain 1% of your total experience, along with 5 reputation points and 5 chivalry points.]

The assassin died with his mouth agape, not merely from the sheer terror that had left him wide-eyed.

Rather, it was because two small, verdant pellets were embedded deeply in his left and right cheeks, leaving them profoundly indented and forcing his mouth into a grotesque figure-eight shape.

“What the hell was that… what…”

The assassin, deceased.

‘Playing assassin in front of me?’

Concealed on the edge of a hill two hundred meters away, my body draped in a makeshift camouflage of foxtail grass and shrubs, I murmured to myself.

This scene evoked a profound sense of déjà vu within me, as though I had been transported back to a bygone era, to that monochromatic life woven from blood and fire.

‘No, I won’t dwell on it.’

‘Sector C, deep zone.’

‘Thirteen remaining targets.

No long-range offensive capabilities.

No counter-sniping skills.

No awareness for evasion.’

‘Distance: 210 yards.’

‘Wind direction: 3 km/h.’

‘Bullet… no, rather, Holy Light Pea estimated flight time: 0.3 seconds.’

‘Correction for error: 0.5 degrees.’

‘Target: The second assassin to Su Yingning’s left… Tsk, these days, anyone who picks up a dagger seems to fancy themselves an assassin.’

I sighed, shaking my head, lamenting for several long seconds the lamentably low bar for entry into the assassin profession.

Concurrently, I mused on how this game’s realistic physics engine truly lived up to its reputation; Su Yingning had not exaggerated in the slightest when she had enticed me to play.

‘Hamstring? Throat Slit? Backstab? Shadow Strike? Stealth? Please, give it a rest, you lot… Have you even graduated from Sniping 101, you rookies?’

****