"3, 2, 1!" Seeing that he understood, she didn't waste words and directly pressed the red button.
At that very moment, the combat vehicle happened to be passing by the overturned off-road motorcycle. On its roof, the Gatling gun was already raised, the rocket launcher aimed at the rock pile, and the gunner hanging off the side was poised for action. Everyone's attention was fixed on the rocks. No one expected the explosion to come so suddenly, from so close.
Boom—
The earth-shattering blast sent the vehicle flying several meters through the air. It tumbled twice before landing upside down. Even though Li Juxu had been prepared, he was still shocked by the explosive power. He burst from cover, immediately locking onto the 11 o'clock position. Lucky for him, his exceptional eyesight paid off again. In an instant, he spotted the sniper crouched half-hidden behind a rock, only the top of his head visible. As he aimed, he saw the enemy sniper's gaze just shifting away from the explosion—the woman's two-birds-one-stone tactic had worked.
Their eyes met across the distance. The difference was, Li Juxu pulled the trigger. The enemy sniper, a moment too late, tried to fire. The bullet grazed his left temple by barely half a centimeter. But it was an NC-22 sniper round; the terrifying force behind it tore half his head apart.
Li Juxu didn't spare the sniper another glance. As he burst from the rocks, he took down one last enemy with a single shot. He reached the overturned vehicle just two or three seconds after the woman, but there was nothing left for him to do. Everyone from the vehicle—including those who hadn't even managed to get out—had been shot dead by her. Every shot was a headshot, without exception. And even the dead weren't spared; she put another bullet in each of their heads. The woman was ruthless and thorough.
Li Juxu suddenly felt uncertain. Would she suddenly turn her gun on him? With no more enemy threats, would she now see him as one?
"Give me a hand!" The woman holstered her pistol and called out to Li Juxu. He pried open the crushed door and found a jack in the trunk, using it to flip the vehicle back onto its wheels. The woman climbed into the driver's seat to test it. The vehicle could still start, though the weapon systems were dead.
"You drive!" She moved to the passenger seat.
"I don't have a license!" Li Juxu admitted quietly, a little embarrassed.
"… I'll teach you!" The corner of her mouth twitched. If her left arm weren't useless, she wouldn't be handing over the wheel.
"Wait a minute!" Li Juxu ran off into the distance. At first, the woman didn't get it. But soon, she felt the urge to curse. Li Juxu was scavenging weapons. He collected guns, ammunition, rocket launchers, knives, even body armor from the dead, hauling it all back. Strapped on his back, hanging from his limbs, clutched in his arms—he looked bloated as a bear. At a time like this, he was worried about looting guns. The woman was speechless.
"Where to?" Li Juxu stuffed all the weapons and ammo into the trunk and jumped excitedly into the driver's seat. He had always wanted to learn to drive, but combat vehicles were too expensive; he'd never had the chance.
"I'm going to… Wait, where are you going?" The woman suddenly realized they weren't headed the same way.
"Settlement 11." Li Juxu thought for a moment. Settlement 9 was out of the question. The client was probably waiting for him to walk right into a trap. The mission was a failure, so going back there was pointless. Besides, now the client wanted him dead. Forfeit his deposit? Forget it. Staying alive was the priority.
Right now, avoiding Settlement 9 was the best choice. Plus, his team was in Settlement 11; he could get some support there.
"Perfect. I need to pass by Settlement 11 anyway." The woman was cautious, not revealing her actual destination.
Li Juxu was smart enough not to pry. Under her guidance, he quickly grasped the basics of driving. Honestly, it wasn't hard. Ignoring traffic rules and just focusing on operation, it was simple. Soon, he was driving passably well.
The vehicle sped across the wilderness. The cabin was quiet; neither spoke. Li Juxu's mind was on the outcome of this trip. He had taken this side job without his team's knowledge. He'd figured with his shooting skills, there and back in two days, use one bullet, collect the money. A simple job. Who knew he'd get caught up in a conspiracy?
The client had used him as a pawn, a disposable one. Whether he succeeded or failed, he was meant to die. Two unexpected incidents during the mission had disrupted the client's plan.
He figured the original plan was this: after he killed the woman, the lookout would immediately kill him. A perfect, clean operation. But the Burning Copperhead interference made him miss the optimal sniping moment when the motorcycle slowed for the turn. The lookout didn't know how to proceed.
That was the first unexpected event. The second was that when the lookout thought he'd given up, he fired at the target—well beyond effective range—and incredibly, he hit. Right after firing, he bolted from his position. The sniper targeting him couldn't get a lock. The lookout thought he'd been discovered, but Li Juxu had actually been fleeing the snake.
Li Juxu hadn't known it was a setup from the start. Unprepared, he naturally hadn't watched his back. So he'd sensed nothing. He only pieced it together after talking to the woman. Suspicion aroused, coupled with a sniper's instincts, he quickly found clues in his surroundings. He was lucky he realized early. If he'd been slower, if the enemy had slipped into safe range, he'd have been trapped.
This mission had brushed death multiple times. Temporarily safe now, he knew it wasn't over. The client knew the woman was alive and would likely keep hunting her. The client knew he was alive and would likely silence him too. He still knew nothing, but the client wouldn't believe that.
To someone in power, he was probably just an ant. They wouldn't waste a thought on crushing him.
"You're a hunter?" The woman's sudden question broke the silence.
"… Yes."
"Desperate for money?" she asked again.
"Yeah."
"Interested in working for me? Whatever you made before, I'll double it." The woman was impressed by his sniping skills.
"No interest." Li Juxu refused flat out, without a second's thought.
"Triple!" She stared at him.
This time, Li Juxu didn't even bother replying, focusing on driving. The woman didn't increase the offer further. She seemed to understand his meaning and didn't ask why. Silence descended again in the cabin.
Boom—
An explosion blossomed from beneath the vehicle. The combat vehicle was hurled over three meters into the air, tumbling twice before slamming heavily onto the ground. Every window shattered instantly. Remarkably, the vehicle didn't break apart—its build quality was incredible. A man in camouflage, as burly as a brown bear, charged forward like a leopard descending a mountain, leaving only a blur against the landscape. In the blink of an eye, he was upon the vehicle, raising his gun and spraying the cabin with bullets.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat…