Minutes earlier, atop a ten-story building, the wind whistled softly through the air.
Smith rested the barrel of his sniper rifle on the diamond-shaped gap in the wire fence. Tilting his head slightly, he peered through the scope at Zhou Tianming three miles away. "Good job, Bonnie. Target acquired. Patch me through to the car's intercom."
Bonnie's sarcastic voice came through his earpiece: "Is this really necessary? After all these attempts, only an idiot would agree to join."
"Worth a try. If it fails, it's not our problem anyway."
After a series of keyboard clicks, Bonnie spoke again: "Alright, you're connected."
While conversing with Zhou Tianming, Smith carefully adjusted his breathing and aim. Upon receiving the rejection, he prepared to fire.
"You're already aiming at me?"
The sudden question startled Smith, causing his heart to skip a beat and his breath to falter. At that moment, Zhou Tianming in the scope turned his head and looked directly at him: "Over there?"
A chill ran down Smith's spine, his hairs standing on end as one word flashed through his mind—monster.
He must not be allowed to live.
The thought crossed his mind instantly. Forcing himself to hold his breath, he steadied his aim.
Before he could pull the trigger, Zhou Tianming's calm voice came through the earpiece again: "About to shoot?"
Fear.
His heartbeat stuttered, his held breath escaped, and for a split second, his focus wavered.
But as an elite operative, Smith readjusted his aim in less than a second.
Yet Zhou Tianming had vanished from the car.
Shifting his body, he swept the scope left and right. Nothing—no sign of Zhou Tianming in front or behind the unmanned vehicle.
"Bonnie! Where is he?" Smith shouted urgently.
"He's still in the car! The vehicle's weight hasn't changed!"
Startled, Smith realigned his scope on the car. Though he couldn't see anyone, he immediately realized where Zhou Tianming was hiding.
The instant the crosshairs settled, Smith pulled the trigger.
Bang—!
A 12.7mm bullet erupted from the barrel with a fleeting spark, streaking toward the unmanned car three miles away.
...
Earlier, when Zhou Tianming had flipped out of the car, he hadn't jumped free. Instead, he'd gripped the door handle with one hand, curling his body to hang outside the vehicle.
He'd planned to let the car carry him away, but he hadn't anticipated Bonnie's skill in detecting the unchanged total weight within seconds.
At the sound of the gunshot, Zhou Tianming kicked off the door, launching himself backward.
The next instant, a deafening impact tore through the unmanned car, punching a fist-sized hole clean through the door.
Midair, Zhou Tianming executed a backflip, landing on his feet and skidding backward. Without pause, he rolled aside just as the asphalt beside him exploded, leaving a bowl-sized crater.
Zhou Tianming either pushed off with his arms to slide backward, kicked off the ground to lunge forward, or shifted his weight sideways to roll.
His entire body moved with irregular agility, causing the next two shots to miss entirely.
Meanwhile, during his rolls, Zhou Tianming calculated the intervals between each shot. The moment the second shot ended, he sprang up and charged straight toward the woods near the roadside.
After two steps forward, he began zigzagging as soon as his mental countdown reached zero.
But unexpectedly, no bullet came.
Zhou Tianming immediately realized his plan had been seen through.
Sure enough, a bullet came flying the next second—its tremendous sonic boom detected by Zhou Tianming's sharp hearing even from a hundred meters away.
The superhuman reflexes of an Ultimate Coordinator instantly took control of his body to evade.
Bang!
The ground beside his feet exploded.
After dodging the bullet, Zhou Tianming dashed forward again, now only 30 meters away from the roadside greenery.
However, the shooter had altered the firing rhythm, alternating between fast and slow. To ensure evasion, Zhou Tianming had to focus his senses entirely on hearing while constantly changing his path, drastically reducing his speed.
Just then, the sound of a car engine roared in the distance, rapidly approaching.
Distracted by the engine noise, Zhou Tianming momentarily lost track of the bullet's trajectory.
Without hesitation, he activated his Mindpower—[Unyielding 20].
The next second, a bullet struck his chest, the immense force sending him flying over ten meters backward.
...
Three miles away, Smith finally exhaled in relief upon hitting his target—only to freeze in shock.
"Impossible!"
He frantically adjusted his scope to observe.
Bonnie hurriedly asked, "What's wrong?"
"That kid was sent flying by a sniper round!"
"Isn't that—" Bonnie instinctively began, then caught herself. "No way."
Through the scope, they saw Zhou Tianming bounce up the moment he hit the ground, like a rubber ball, and vanish into the dense thicket within seconds.
Smith's eyes turned bloodshot as he snarled through gritted teeth, "How?! A 12.7mm sniper round—what kind of gear could block that without injury?!"
"This monster! Tris! Cover your face—we can't let him see us clearly."
"Understood."
"Bonnie, clean up the trail. Erase any surveillance that caught our faces."
"Got it."
With that, Smith rushed downstairs.
...
Once safely hidden in the dense roadside foliage, Zhou Tianming let out a sigh of relief.
His shirt had a gaping hole, revealing his pale chest—where a flattened bullet was embedded.
He pried it out with his fingers, leaving behind a bleeding wound.
Gently pressing the injury, Zhou Tianming winced in pain but relaxed after assessing it—no broken ribs, just superficial damage.
"Even [Unyielding] barely held up. Sniper rifles are terrifying."
Just then, the screech of brakes sounded as a car stopped nearby, and three tall figures stepped out.
Zhou Tianming tossed the bullet aside and sprinted deeper into the woods, swiftly scanning his surroundings as he ran.
At a glance, the area resembled a true jungle—towering trees, thick shrubs, and fallen leaves filled his vision. For him, this was an ideal battleground.
Picking up speed, his figure flickered and disappeared into the forest.
...
Not long after he fled, the trio arrived at the spot.
Tris noticed the glinting bullet casing on the ground. Picking it up, he gasped. "What the hell was that kid wearing?"
He then turned to the two men beside him and said, "Litt, Henry, be careful. Don't treat them like ordinary kids. They might be carrying special equipment."
"Roger!"
The three followed the tracks on the ground, pursuing Zhou Tianming.
But soon, the traces disappeared. Alert, the trio formed a triangular formation, rifles raised as they slowed their pace, carefully scanning their surroundings while advancing cautiously.
As they passed a large tree covered in dry leaves, a rustling sound came from the canopy above, and a few green leaves drifted down.
Litt and Henry immediately raised their rifles toward the treetops, while Tris remained vigilant, sweeping his gaze across the surroundings.
The two aiming at the canopy exchanged a glance. Henry, on the right, pulled the trigger. The gunshot echoed as bullets tore through branches and leaves, sending fragments raining down.
No response—no one was in the tree.
The two relaxed slightly.
In that instant, a pile of dry leaves on the ground exploded upward, and a small figure burst out from the foliage.
The two reacted swiftly, stepping back and lowering their muzzles.
But Zhou Tianming was faster. He closed the distance to Henry in a flash, not bothering to dodge as he swung his right hand forward. In the blink of an eye, a slender twig was precisely wedged into the gap behind the trigger.
Henry's finger squeezed—the trigger moved slightly but jammed.
Litt, on the left, turned and aimed at Zhou Tianming, ready to fire.
Zhou Tianming grabbed Henry's rifle with both hands, one in front and one behind, then threw himself backward while delivering a sharp kick to Henry's knee.
Henry staggered, his body yanked forward—directly into Litt's line of fire.
Litt gasped and jerked his muzzle aside.
In that split second, Zhou Tianming twisted the rifle in his grip, leveling the barrel to the left. His index finger flicked the jammed twig free while his thumb pressed hard on the trigger.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Flames spat from the muzzle as recoil sent it jerking upward. Bullets tore through flesh from the abdomen upward, riddling Litt's body with tremors before his head exploded.
"Litt!"
Henry roared, driving his knee toward Zhou Tianming.
Zhou Tianming yanked the rifle down to block—knee and metal collided with a heavy thud.
Henry cried out in pain.
Zhou Tianming was about to counter when Tris suddenly bellowed and slammed into Henry from behind.
The unexpected impact caught Zhou Tianming completely off guard. He was knocked down instantly, Henry's weight hurling him backward into the thick tree trunk behind them.