Chapter 64: Let Me Explain
Not a single living contractor was visible in the field of view, but if anyone tried to approach the Gunpowder Tavern, they would be instantly riddled with bullets.
1200 meters east of the Gunpowder Tavern, Su Xiao crouched by a window on the third floor of a three-story building. The Duke of Annihilation lay beside him.
Su Xiao naturally wouldn't charge straight toward the Gunpowder Tavern; that was the act of a brute. From his initial observations, there were at least 50 contractors near the tavern, and the actual number might be even higher.
These lone wolves had been deadlocked around the tavern for days. Some had tried to rush the tavern before, like the fourth-rank contractor Iron Tank.
After taking over a dozen bullets and numerous ranged attacks, Iron Tank backed down. Lanzo also gave it a shot, but the moment he appeared, other lurking contractors surfaced, making their intentions clear—they wanted to fish in troubled waters. Helpless, Lanzo had to retreat.
Some had attempted to clear out the lone wolves, but after exchanging blows with just two or three of them, they couldn't push further. None of those present had the ability to sweep the area.
Temporary teams, alliances, and other methods had all been tried, but to no avail. Everyone here refused to let anyone else get close to Roger's sidearm. For contractors with storage spaces, touching that item meant they could flee immediately.
Su Xiao pressed the high-tech invisible earpiece on his ear and spoke, "How is it?"
"What?"
Little Mantou, behind Su Xiao, looked puzzled.
"Then hold position for now. Don't act rashly."
"Got it. Been holding position."
Little Mantou nodded in response.
"I'll find a way to create an opportunity."
"What kind of opportunity?"
Little Mantou remained confused. As she wore a puzzled expression, Su Xiao pressed her to the ground with one hand, pulled out soft alloy tape from his storage space, and sealed her mouth shut.
"Mmph, mmph..."
Little Mantou looked innocent, as if to say, "You asked me first."
Inside the Gunpowder Tavern, Bubu Wang, crouched beside Roger's sidearm, twitched his dog face. Su Xiao asked Bubu Wang a question, and Little Mantou answered—hilariously absurd.
Bubu Wang yawned. He felt that this randomly captured "lucky" healer was just a scatterbrained chatterbox.
Bubu had already infiltrated the Gunpowder Tavern. Roger's sidearm was less than three meters away from him, but he didn't dare touch it. Countless eyes were fixed on that gun. If Roger's sidearm vanished, the Gunpowder Tavern would be leveled in an instant.
As for the contractors' perception and reconnaissance methods, they were useless against Bubu Wang. Days ago, he had wandered right under the noses of Garp, Kizaru, and Vice Admiral Tsuru, and none of them had ever detected his presence.
Bubu Wang yawned lazily beside Roger's sidearm, almost humming, "Lonely at the top."
Su Xiao's plan now was to create chaos. He needed to draw the attention of all the surrounding contractors to himself.
"Hide over there. When the fight starts, use buffs immediately. If someone tries to kill you, run. Understand?"
Su Xiao pointed to a shop a hundred meters away, an area with no contractors.
"Mmph, mmph..."
Little Mantou whimpered, still taped up.
Ssshh~
"Oh! That hurts... Slow down..."
After a moment, the chatterbox Little Mantou was freed.
"Got what I said?"
"Yeah, buffs, detection. If someone comes to kill me, my healing support for you won't stop. If someone closes in on me, I can still give you two or three more buffs, then I'll have to run. I don't have much combat ability."
"Good enough."
Though Little Mantou was a bit flighty and talkative, her healer instincts were solid. From what she said, even if someone got close, she could still support Su Xiao for a while, but not long.
Was Little Mantou cooperating because she was charmed by Su Xiao's personality? Of course not. If she assisted Su Xiao in battle, she would get at least 10% of the pirate reputation he earned from kills. Without such a combat mechanism, support-type contractors would have no room to grow in Reincarnation Paradise.
Su Xiao didn't force Little Mantou; he just borrowed her support abilities, albeit roughly. She didn't plan to stab him in the back. After her teammates died, she had firsthand experience of how hard survival was in Reincarnation Paradise.
Little Mantou quickly ducked into the civilian house. Su Xiao pulled out binoculars and began surveying the surroundings.
"One, two..."
Initial observations revealed six snipers near the Gunpowder Tavern. They had formed a hexagonal encirclement around the tavern, creating a sniper formation.
Putting away the binoculars, Su Xiao pulled the bolt of the Duke of Annihilation. The gun held five rounds. Even if he killed one with each shot, he couldn't take out all six snipers. Besides, snipers who had set up near the tavern for days wouldn't go down as easily as the short-haired woman's squad.
Su Xiao took a deep breath. After firing the first shot, he had to get off the next few quickly, or he'd be focused by those six snipers. And the number of snipers might not be limited to six.
Adjusting the scope, Su Xiao shifted the barrel, took a brief aim, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet left the chamber, flying straight toward a bell tower.
Inside the bell tower's middle floor, a man holding a sniper rifle suddenly looked up. His entire body rapidly turned metallic.
With a crack, the bullet pierced the wall and struck the man's chest, sending metal fragments flying.
"Command 7, reconstruct."
The man spoke. The scattered metal fragments in front of him reversed direction.
"Command 7 failed. Damage exceeds reconstruction limits. Initializing..."
A mechanical voice came from within the man. Ripples flickered in his pupils. Moments later, he clattered to the ground with a crisp sound. He wasn't dead, but he was incapacitated for a short time.
The Duke of Annihilation's loud gunshot shattered the surrounding silence. The next moment, dozens of eyes locked onto Su Xiao's position.
Then, the Duke of Annihilation fired again.
Bang, bang, bang...
Cracks spread across the building Su Xiao was in. Two bullets pierced the wall, heading straight for his chest and head.
Su Xiao's body vanished, reappearing at another window. He quickly loaded three more rounds into the Duke of Annihilation.
Three more shots rang out. Su Xiao emptied the Duke of Annihilation's magazine. The ground around him was littered with energy shield fragments.
Drip, drip...
Blood flowed from Su Xiao's shoulder. He had been hit. These lone wolves were no pushovers. He had fired eight shots, but only two of the six snipers were killed.
The sniper duel was fierce but brief. The contractors lurking around the Gunpowder Tavern knew this was an opportunity. The six—no, seven—snipers seemed to be having internal conflict.
Figures darted out. This scene had played out multiple times in recent days, but no one had ever succeeded in taking Roger's sidearm. Even if someone grabbed it, they were killed on the spot. Roger's sidearm was a key item for a hidden quest; it would drop upon death.
With a crackle, arcs of electricity flashed through the air.
"It's Lanzo! Block him!"
The electric charge surged into the Gunpowder Tavern. The light coalesced, and a white-haired man appeared.
The white-haired man's expression was cold. He scanned the tavern's interior. Moments later, his pupils contracted, and his mouth fell open.
The moment the white-haired man entered, a masked figure also rushed in, wearing a tight black shiny suit with a curvaceous figure.
"Lanzo, how did you do it?"
The masked woman stared at Lanzo in surprise.
"..."
Lanzo already sensed something was wrong.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Dozens of figures charged into the Gunpowder Tavern. Seeing this, the masked woman pointed at Lanzo and said, "He came in first."
Everyone's gaze focused on Lanzo.
"What if... I said I didn't take it? Would you believe me?"
Lanzo's mouth twitched. From those dozens of murderous eyes, he seemed to see the word "No."
"That meddling sniper bastard, I'll ****."
Lanzo wasn't stupid. He immediately figured out who had taken Roger's sidearm.
Had Su Xiao actually obtained Roger's sidearm? Of course not. First, he had to survive the pursuit of dozens of lone wolves.