"Damn it, this guy is really sneaky!"
Hiding behind a giant tree, Brandon's forehead veins throbbed.
It wasn't out of anger, but out of panic and fear.
Shinkai Katsuyuki slumped beside him, leaning against the tree root, his eyes rolled up, the whole person falling into a daze.
The single sniper bullet inflicted great damage on Shinkai Katsuyuki, nearly killing him despite his helmet's cushioning.
Brandon hadn't even caught a breath when a stun grenade exploded where they had stood, its ringing suddenly filling his ears.
The only consolation was that the Purple Fox Squad knew the importance of their lives and secretly replaced their armor with highly defensive exoskeletons, and the sharp wailing was filtered by ear protectors, so they weren't severely impacted.
Just then, a fireball rose from behind another tree, rushing toward the shadowy treetops, igniting the darkness within.
Yan Luo wore an invisibility cloak, which didn't have optical stealth but could make him vanish from the Purple Fox Squad's radar detection.
As the firelight lit the darkness in the treetops, Yan Luo's figure was revealed to Brandon.
The problem was, this observation was mutual; as Brandon saw Yan Luo, Yan Luo also saw Brandon.
"Damn!"
Brandon's eyes widened, and he hurriedly helped the still-dazed Shinkai Katsuyuki up to flee.
Bam!
Another gunshot sounded, the impact from Brandon's back pushing him to stagger.
Not attacking Shinkai Katsuyuki was because Yan Luo feared his next shot might kill him. Maintaining Shinkai Katsuyuki in an injured state was best, and Brandon and Qiao Lingzhi would worry that his reporting letter would go to the guild after his death, so they would protect him with all their might, dragging down Brandon and Qiao Lingzhi's actions.
The single sniper bullet pierced Brandon's backpack but didn't penetrate his exoskeleton, which surprised Yan Luo slightly.
Yan Luo knew a lot about Demons and the Abyss but not much about exoskeletons, after all, his enemies were the Abyss and Demons, not humans.
Brandon moved quickly, disappearing from Yan Luo's sight in the blink of an eye.
Having lost Brandon and Shinkai Katsuyuki's traces, Yan Luo glanced around, looking toward another tree.
The fireball just appeared and rose from behind that tree; Qiao Lingzhi was hiding there.
Taking out the grappling gun, Yan Luo aimed at the tree branch below and pulled the trigger, then jumped off the branch.
With his own weight drawing him down, the winch continually released the steel cable, allowing Yan Luo to descend quickly yet safely.
Yan Luo's feet touched the ground, retracting the grapple, he held the shotgun, slowly moving toward where the breathing noises sounded.
After drinking the blood of a silent hunting lizard, Yan Luo found not only his strength enhanced, but even his hearing seemed slightly improved.
— He's coming!
Qiao Lingzhi leaned against a big tree, holding a grenade in his left hand and a tan fruit in his right, sonar detection results turned into images reflected on his retinas, he could see Yan Luo slowly approaching.
The looming figure made Qiao Lingzhi nervous, his breath quickened.
When Yan Luo approached close enough, Qiao Lingzhi threw the grenade, simultaneously activating his Engraving [Guidance], releasing the 'symbol' from the tan fruit.
Unlike other Engravers, Qiao Lingzhi's Engraving formed at the back of his mind.
The tan fruit in Qiao Lingzhi's hand dissipated, and instantly a bowl-shaped barrier opened up around him.
The grenade flew straight toward Yan Luo, but as if he had anticipated it, Yan Luo swung his shotgun early, the grenade flew as the gun barrel struck it perfectly.
"Idiot," Yan Luo coldly remarked.
Upon being discovered, he had activated all the perception modules of his exoskeleton, not only keeping an eye on Qiao Lingzhi but also monitoring Shinkai Katsuyuki and Brandon hiding on the other side.
After deflecting the grenade, Yan Luo turned and dashed behind a tree.
The grenade returned and collided with the barrier, explosively breaking it apart.
The impact shattered the barrier, exposing Qiao Lingzhi.
His face pale, Qiao Lingzhi put one hand into his material bag, the other holding the shotgun hanging on his chest, and shouted: "Brandon, Shinkai, where the hell are you two?"
Seemingly responding to Qiao Lingzhi's call, Brandon, hidden nearby, raised his shotgun and fired at Yan Luo.
But based on the exoskeleton's combat support system prediction, Yan Luo determined the bullet's landing point and quickly crouched.
A single sniper bullet hit the tree trunk, right where Yan Luo's chest would have been if standing.
Brandon just wanted to shoot again when his lenses captured a thrown object coming his way; the combat support system analyzed it as a grenade, making him hurriedly dive toward Shinkai Katsuyuki, knocking him to the ground.
One, two, three... no explosion?
Brandon paused, then anger surged in his heart.
Yan Luo had tricked him; that grenade wasn't even armed!
Brandon got up, only to be met with a burst of bright light, the shockwave hit him hard.
Yan Luo had set the grenade's detonation time to five seconds, having anticipated Brandon's reaction.
"Brandon, hot-tempered; Qiao Lingzhi, timid; Shinkai Katsuyuki, seemingly calm and rational but actually arrogant and insecure."
Yan Luo taunted them with words, adding pressure to the three.
Shinkai Katsuyuki had recovered, his mind regaining control of his body, and upon waking, immediately heard Yan Luo's comments on the three, anger flaring in his heart.
"What right does a worthless non-Engraver like you have to judge us?!"
Previously knocked to the ground by Brandon, Shinkai Katsuyuki was less impacted by the grenade's explosion, almost unharmed.
Furious, he stood up, activating his own Engraving.
Sensations flowed into the exoskeleton armor enveloping his body, with every mechanism, every piece of armor, every circuit seemingly becoming a part of him — his bones, muscles, nerves.
The Engraving symbolizing [Connection] unfolded behind him, as Shinkai Katsuyuki swung his left arm, a shield unfurling from it.
Rifle propped on the shield, Shinkai Katsuyuki emerged from behind the tree, charging at Yan Luo.
"Watch out—"
Qiao Lingzhi's urgent cry reached his ears, but Shinkai Katsuyuki cared little; Yan Luo was already in his sight, with nothing but an exoskeleton for protection.
On their side, there were three of them; under the siege of three, how could an ordinary person like Yan Luo possibly react in time?
Moreover, Yan Luo had his back to him, with his shotgun aimed at Qiao Lingzhi.
A grim smile curled on Shinkai Katsuyuki's lips as he pulled the trigger.
A bullet fired out of the barrel, its aerodynamically perfect shape propelled beyond the speed of sound in an instant, trailing hot air toward Yan Luo's rear brain.
Simultaneously—
"—Mine!" Qiao Lingzhi screamed hysterically.
His sonar had long detected that Yan Luo had planted a mine on the ground, it happened after Yan Luo threw that grenade.
But planting the mine, Yan Luo immediately turned to deal with him, aiming to shoot despite the gun pointed at him.
Qiao Lingzhi wasn't willing to confront Yan Luo; he wasn't like Yan Luo, a lunatic with only one worthless life, he hadn't enjoyed life enough yet.
So Qiao Lingzhi took advantage of the forest's density, hiding behind trees, using the [Guidance] Engraving to channel Magic Power from symbolic materials, usually harvested from dead Demons, to construct magic and attack Yan Luo.
When he realized Shinkai Katsuyuki intended to attack Yan Luo, it was too late.
A massive impact surged from beneath Shinkai Katsuyuki's feet, the uncovered mine obliterating Shinkai Katsuyuki's left foot in an instant, the unmitigated force blasting him skyward, denying him the chance to shoot again.
Shinkai Katsuyuki crashed to the ground like a ragdoll, the sections below his thighs vanished entirely, muscle and bone exposed to the air, his major arteries spurting blood.
His body hit the ground, Shinkai Katsuyuki hadn't reacted yet, half a second later, excruciating pain pierced his brain and nerves, and he screamed.
"Ah! Ah! My legs... my legs!!!"
The breeze rustled through the forest, bringing Brandon a faint whiff of blood.
Shinkai Katsuyuki's screams filled his eardrums, his sight filled with Shinkai Katsuyuki holding his thigh and sobbing, mouth agape, Brandon's brain went blank.
At this moment, Brandon finally realized—
From the moment they followed Yan Luo's footsteps into the Abyss, they had become prey.
"""