Chapter 9: A Stunning Strike

With the fall of one soldier, the rest immediately went on high alert.

They split into two groups: one moved to search for the assailant, while the other cautiously closed in on Lu Xiaona.

Although they didn’t know the identity of the sniper, the fact that he had fired on them meant only one thing—he was here to rescue her. If they could capture her quickly, the attacker would be forced to proceed with caution.

Lu Xiaona had also recovered her wits.

Forcing her near-exhausted body into motion, she mustered every last ounce of strength and staggered toward the direction the gunshot had come from.

“Stop!” one soldier barked.

When she ignored him, he sneered and raised his rifle, preparing to put another bullet in her leg.

Their mission only required her alive. As long as she was breathing, their task was complete.

Just as his scope aligned with her calf—

Bang!
Another shot rang out, and the soldier dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

This time, the bullet pierced clean through the center of his brow. Blood streamed from the hole as he collapsed.

The moment that shot was fired, the sniper’s position was finally revealed.

The group assigned to search for him immediately changed course, sprinting into the dense forest.

Two shots, two kills.

Kane, the squad captain, looked grim.

They were up against a real threat.

These soldiers were no rookies—they were veterans who had survived dozens of engagements. None of them had made it this far by being incompetent. Yet now, two of them were dead, and they hadn’t even seen their enemy.

“You two, circle wide. Be careful. The rest of you—go grab the girl. Don’t let her escape,” Kane growled. “Leave the sniper to me.”

Suppressing his fury, he dispatched two of his most capable men to flank the enemy.

Then he turned his gaze toward the darkened treeline.

If that sniper dared show himself again, Kane swore he’d blast his skull wide open.

He narrowed his eyes, lifted his rifle, and scanned every rustling leaf and shifting shadow, waiting for his prey to show.

Based on the last shot, the sniper had to be close—within a hundred meters.

That made sense. The intruder wasn’t here to play sniper from afar; they were here to rescue someone. Long-range shots were impractical for extraction—getting close was inevitable.

A hundred meters…

More than enough to kill someone—but a risky range for saving someone under live fire.

He cast a sideways glance at Lu Xiaona, who was still staggering forward.

Even at the Aberrant stage, she had better endurance than most people. Despite living a pampered life, she was running surprisingly well… but this was clearly the end of the road.

Her stamina was nearly gone. In just a few more seconds, she’d be caught.

And if his men got impatient and shot her again, that time would be even shorter.

The outcome was certain. There was no escape.

Time crawled forward in silence.

Three seconds passed.

Lu Xiaona dodged a bullet—only to trip over a log in her path and crash to the ground.

Still, no sign of the enemy.

Kane advanced carefully, alert to every sound.

Four seconds.

Lu Xiaona struggled to rise again, but it was too late—the soldiers were nearly on her.

And still, nothing from the sniper.

Had they given up?

A flash of doubt passed through Kane’s mind.

Had the sniper realized they couldn’t win and fled?

But if that were true, then what were the earlier shots for?

Showboating? A burst of rage from arriving too late?

No, that can’t be it…

As his thoughts churned, a figure flickered through the corner of his eye—so fast he couldn’t even raise his rifle in time.

Finally here!

There’s only one of them!

Luo Yan had arrived.

As soon as he heard the distant gunfire, he’d come running.

A sudden burst of gunfire erupted across the field.

But that graceful figure, swift as a cheetah, darted through the storm of bullets and dashed to Lu Xiaona’s side.

A woman?

The thought flashed through Kane’s mind as he saw the striking silhouette—but it didn’t stop him from reacting.

He bolted toward them, raising his rifle mid-stride.

Bang—

Several shots rang out at once, and blood sprayed into the air.

Every bullet aimed at Luo Yan missed.

Meanwhile, he had already dropped one soldier with a shot to the chest and sent another flying.

By now, Kane had arrived.

He fired a few rounds, forcing Luo Yan back before he could reach Lu Xiaona. Then, with a twisted grin, he pulled a dagger from his belt and flung it toward him.

The blade cut through the air with a sharp whistle, flying across dozens of meters to strike at an odd, downward angle aimed at Luo Yan’s lower abdomen.

“Watch out!” Lu Xiaona cried instinctively.

Luo Yan hadn’t anticipated a thrown blade, and it caught him off guard. His smooth momentum faltered for a split second.

Luckily, his reflexes and perception had been drastically enhanced after reaching the Awakening stage.

With two rapid spins, he barely managed to dodge Kane’s strike.

But at that moment, the two soldiers who had flanked him through the forest returned, joining Kane and his team to form a tight encirclement.

“Why did I have to pick such a high-difficulty fight for my tutorial mission…” Luo Yan muttered to himself.

Still, as long as they didn’t have any ridiculous trump cards, this was a situation he could manage—so long as he didn’t get reckless.

When he first heard the explosions and arrived on scene, he’d been unsure.

After all, in his previous life, the most chaotic event he’d ever witnessed was a scuffle at a kindergarten. This was actual combat. Life-or-death stuff.

It would be a disaster to get dragged into it carelessly.

His original plan was to observe from afar, and if it seemed too dangerous, just walk away.

His life came first.

Besides, simply confirming that this world had “people” and “cities” would have already made this trip worthwhile.

But as he observed both sides, a surprising conclusion emerged—the enemy wasn’t very strong.

With the system’s assistance, he stood a real chance at turning the tide.

Of course, the “I can do it too!” mindset was a dangerous one.

Still, he chose to take the risk.

From his observations, the world was clearly falling apart—but their level of technology was surprisingly advanced. This contradiction implied something troubling: cities here likely had much stricter controls than the ones back on Earth.

That would present a big problem.

After all, he had appeared “out of thin air,” with no proper identity or background.

Even if he made it to a city, getting in—let alone moving freely—would be a major challenge.

The simplest and most effective solution?

Find someone who could vouch for him.

The hardest part? Finding someone willing to do it.

And that person would need to have a certain level of influence.

Right now, that opportunity was right in front of him.

With this many people protecting the girl, he had to be someone important.

If he saved her, it might directly resolve his identity issue.

Even if it didn’t, it would still be helpful.

That was why he chose to act.

But if he couldn’t save this girl from another world, well, that would be unfortunate—but not the end of the world.

His goal had only ever been to find people he could talk to—to figure out what kind of world this was.

After dodging Kane’s dagger, Luo Yan broke into a run.

His fluid, agile form immediately became the center of attention.

With the system’s danger-prediction and warning functions and his enhanced physique, he could anticipate and dodge bullets in advance.

At the same time, he cranked the system’s assisted-aim feature to maximum.

He raised his pistol, aimed, and gently pulled the trigger.

Bang!
A soldier’s throat burst open, blood spurting as he fell—taken down even while he was moving at high speed.

With an aim assist system like an FPS aimbot, his precision didn’t drop at all.

He deliberately avoided Kane—the most dangerous one on the field.

His plan was to pick off the easier targets one by one while protecting Lu Xiaona.

On a modern battlefield filled with gunfire, trying to shield someone while fighting outnumbered was nearly unthinkable.

His past self would’ve called it impossible.

And yet, in this life, he was doing exactly that.

It felt strangely unreal.

So this is what it means to be an Awakened-level ability user…

It really is amazing.