Casia carried the last box of bullets into the room, setting it down in the corner to the left of the door. Kara, meanwhile, had already taken out her sniper rifle. The weapon had been dismantled into a series of precise, intricate components, each one being meticulously cleaned and maintained. Not a single corner, no matter how tiny, escaped her attention. Even the smallest speck of dust was drawn to the magnetized cloth she used. For a sniper, the slightest deviation in these parts could prove fatal.
A sniper rifle with an effective range of three to four kilometers magnifies every minor change. To a sniper, a human body is not a large target, and the bullet's power decays along a precise curve after being fired. Wind direction, gravity, airspeed—all of these had to be calculated. Kara could not alter them at will. But the rifle itself, its precision, was entirely under her control.
Anything that could be controlled must be flawless at the critical moment. This was Kara's strict principle.
Dust in the desert, insidious and omnipresent, was her greatest enemy. On their travels, she had complained about it countless times. Finally, in such a clean and comfortable place, the first thing she did was care for her weapon.
"You really love sniper rifles, huh?" Casia shook his head, watching her expression of absolute focus. Their upcoming missions would take them through all kinds of environments, yet true opportunities for a sniper would be rare.
If they faced extreme weather directly, that climate would be a nightmare for any weapon. Complex situations made survival difficult, and in the end, the sword hanging at one's waist often became the most reliable companion.
"Of course. A sniper rifle can blow an enemy's head off from kilometers away—safe and efficient." Within ten seconds, Kara reassembled the parts laid out on the white cloth into a menacing rifle over a meter long. She leveled the muzzle at Casia and, almost playfully, mimicked the whistle of a bullet spiraling through air with its flame and smoke.
"And if danger arises, we're at least hundreds, maybe a thousand meters apart from the target. For us operatives, that's hundreds of moments to think, to plan," she said, carefully wrapping the rifle in its black cloth and placing it reverently. "The answer is… a lot of time."
"You wouldn't understand people who value their own lives," Kara continued, sitting opposite Casia, her pale blue and gold-flecked eyes fixed on his face. "I fear death too much, so I always choose the safest tools for myself. A sniper rifle is simply the best among them."
Casia recalled the image of Kara on the vehicle, silently clutching the black cast-iron rifle. She carried memories he would never know.
"Don't sit there with a stiff face. I'm not blaming you. Everyone values their life; no one treats it lightly, no matter who they are. I'm just… more cautious than most."
"Understand?" Kara waved her hand in front of Casia, who sat upright.
Casia blinked.
"It's like when you had a cold as a child, then developed a high fever. A normal cold is just a runny nose. But if your body reacts too strongly… the fever comes."
"I don't know if that's a good example," Kara added, flailing slightly with her hands. "It's just that I haven't experienced colds or fevers myself. I'm describing something I've only been told about—so it's all a little vague."
She saw Casia's indifferent expression and asked, "You… haven't experienced these either, have you?"
Her tone carried both delight and melancholy, the joy of seeing a kindred spirit, mixed with another, subtler emotion. Casia sensed it clearly.
"No. I had a fever as a child. I even went to the hospital and got several injections before my body calmed down. I still remember the fear of the needles," Casia said earnestly. "I envy your family's care. Falling ill was a luxury we couldn't afford. In the hospital, doctors in white coats and the smell of medicine were terrifying. Especially the needles, glaring under the lights."
The words had barely left his mouth before he regretted them. Kara's expression had shifted completely—sadness and fear, a silence as deep as the ocean. Her presence felt different than before.
Casia replayed his words in his mind, wondering what he had said wrong. But within a blink, Kara's expression softened, her eyes regaining their usual spark.
"That's one advantage of coming from a noble family," Kara said, blinking like Casia. "My father is a second-stage operative. I inherited some of his basic physical qualities. The post-surgery reactions are much smaller than for ordinary people. It's a benefit of my background. That's why I revealed my family identity when selecting a team leader in the vehicle with Li and Gustin. Even among operatives, our progress and growth can be slightly faster due to our foundations."
"Do you understand now?" Kara rested her face in her hands, adopting the look of a teacher explaining patiently to a slow student.
"I understand," Casia said, mouth slightly open, feeling anxious. He understood little, and the questions in his mind only multiplied. Yet Kara's smile was polite, and he felt that if she continued, the whistling sound she often mimicked for bullets might actually seem real.
"Let's eat first. I'm hungry too." Casia caught the aroma drifting in from the doorway—David's old chef had something worth anticipating.
"Brother, sister, Dad says come eat!" A small girl ran barefoot across the cool floor, her face innocent and confused.
Kara seemed infected by the child's energy. Even the usually composed woman removed her shoes, letting her soft, smooth feet touch the cold ground.
"Ah, the desert is truly my greatest enemy," she shouted to Casia, tilting her head back.
They followed the little girl, step by step, the corridor lit by dim insect-luring lamps. Through the small garden to their right, the deep blue sky stretched endlessly, and ahead, the Green Oasis glittered with various buildings.
A giant tower, illuminated by lights, rose at the center by the Moon Lake. Its searchlights guided lost travelers in the desert back to safety—this was the tallest building.
"Tomorrow, have David check that place out," Kara said, side-glancing at Casia as they walked shoulder to shoulder.
Their mission was only just beginning.