Chapter 15: The Blood Gate's Counterattack
Since Su Xiao first sniped the Blood Gate Adventurers from the clock tower, he attempted long-range kills every 20 to 30 minutes on average.
The initial results were significant. Not only did Stan himself take a shot, but his subordinates suffered over 20 casualties. However, after 8 AM, the Blood Gate members withdrew from Winterwood City, abandoning Su Xiao as a target that seemed within reach but could never be surrounded.
Everyone in Blood Gate was puzzled. How could there be a sniper like this in the world? They had encountered countless snipers stronger than Su Xiao, but never had so many died while dealing with one. The reason was simple: Su Xiao seemed to have locked onto their positions. Blood Gate's detection-type contractors were at their wits' end. No matter how they searched, they couldn't figure out what method Su Xiao used to locate them.
To address this, Stan gathered all his members and interrogated them one by one. Those members were practically stripped down to their underwear, yet no tracking devices or positioning coordinates could be found.
As for sending people to surround and kill Su Xiao, that was even more impossible. Su Xiao seemed to know exactly how many they sent and always managed to escape their encirclement. That night, Winterwood City suffered greatly.
Based on the deductions of Stan, Neloy, and Old Smoker, there must be a traitor among them. As for who the traitor was, Stan temporarily refrained from investigating. At the moment, Blood Gate's members were panicked from the sniping. One unlucky guy even got shot while using the toilet. Stan still clearly remembered that member holding toilet paper with a terrified look in his eyes. That helpless expression made Stan mutter a curse under his breath.
After 8 AM, Winterwood City gradually became bustling. Blood Gate's members had withdrawn from the city and returned to the unfinished buildings in the suburbs.
Now, in the area of unfinished buildings, layers of large-scale barriers protected one such building. Blood Gate's people had been driven back here.
"Tell me, what countermeasures do you have?"
Stan maintained his usual calm demeanor. Beside him were Neloy and Old Smoker. Although Stan and Neloy's relationship had started to sour, Neloy would absolutely be present for important team matters.
"Spread out. At least extend the encirclement to a 3-kilometer radius. Next time that bastard ambushes us, we'll tighten the net immediately."
Old Smoker had bandages wrapped around his hand. His left arm was clearly dislocated. In the latter half of the night, Old Smoker had clashed with Su Xiao but failed to hold him back.
"Doesn't that put us back in the same situation? The enemy is hidden while we're exposed. That's the worst-case scenario. Besides, the 'traitor' among us is too deadly. Once we deal with the traitor, he actually can't do much to us. Using sniping ambushes ultimately means his frontal combat power can't match ours. Actually, that's good news. He's gambling that we can't surround him. Once we succeed, this major threat will be eliminated."
Neloy held a piece of bloody fresh meat while several colorful spiders gnawed on it.
"So, you two don't have any good ideas either?"
Stan could tell that Old Smoker and Neloy were just stalling.
"If Yuan were still here, he would definitely have a solution."
Neloy glanced at Stan, her implication clear.
"Neloy, what do you mean by that?"
Old Smoker stared intently at Neloy. In the past, he would never have confronted her with this tone.
"A mistake is a mistake. Yuan's departure can't be blamed on just you, me, or Stan alone."
Neloy didn't care about Old Smoker's attitude. She seemed to be merely stating a fact.
"Hmph."
Old Smoker snorted coldly and said nothing more. He had always known the team's fatal problem: a lack of unity. It was held together solely by Stan's deterrence. Below Stan was Yuan, a bald man of exceptional intelligence.
"Both of you, shut up."
Stan spoke, and Old Smoker and Neloy fell silent. On important decisions, Stan still had the final say.
"How stupid is it to have internal strife at a time like this? You should know better than I do. Besides, it's not like there's no way to deal with Bai Ye. What Neloy said isn't entirely without merit. From now on, we..."
Stan's words stopped there. He then temporarily set permissions on the team channel, and the three began a private discussion within it.
Hearing Stan stop mid-sentence, Bubu Wang, crouching nearby, moved closer. Unfortunately, it couldn't continue to gather intelligence from Stan. Stan had vaguely sensed Bubu Wang's existence—not through perception, but through deduction. This was their "traitor."
The three's conversation quickly ended, and the barrier outside the unfinished building opened.
At the edge of Winterwood City, the blazing sun shone down. Su Xiao lay on a rooftop, waiting for an opportunity to snipe Blood Gate members.
Soon, Bubu Wang sent a message. Su Xiao immediately rose from the ground, crouching as he set up the Duke of Annihilation.
Blood Gate's actions surprised Su Xiao, but bad news quickly followed. Stan, Neloy, and Old Smoker had separated from the main force. The rest of Blood Gate remained inside the barrier of the unfinished building, while only these three left the barrier.
Clearly, Stan had vaguely sensed Bubu Wang's presence. The current dilemma was whether Bubu Wang should follow Stan's trio or stay inside the barrier.
According to Bubu Wang's message, the situation there was urgent. The barrier was about to close, and it would be difficult for it to get out afterward.
'Follow Stan!'
Su Xiao immediately ordered Bubu Wang. Inside the unfinished building, Bubu Wang dashed out of the barrier in a few steps, closely following Stan and the others.
Stan's trio headed toward Winterwood City. They weren't afraid of Su Xiao sniping them. On the contrary, they wanted him to try.
On the high rooftop, Su Xiao frowned. He couldn't figure out what Stan was planning. Abandoning their numerical advantage and leaving the barrier with only three people was clearly not a wise choice.
After a moment of thought, Su Xiao contacted Beini through the adventure team channel. Although Beini was treasure hunting, she hadn't actually left Winterwood City. She arrived at Su Xiao's location in less than half an hour.
Beini leaped onto the rooftop in a few bounds and walked gracefully to Su Xiao.
"Meow?"
Beini tilted her head, asking what he wanted her for.
"Keep an eye on that barrier."
"Meow~"
Beini protested softly. As a freedom-loving cat, how could she be a lookout? Was that possible? Absolutely not!
"Based on recent accounts, you've been..."
"Meow meow meow~"
Beini flicked her tail, meaning: "I admit I was wrong, okay? Once they leave the barrier, I'll notify you immediately."
For now, Su Xiao really couldn't do anything about the contractors inside the barrier. The reason he had sniped so many Blood Gate contractors earlier was that they didn't know about Bubu Wang's existence, so they kept trying to surround him. Now these guys had clearly learned their lesson.
As for fighting Stan to the death right now, that was also unwise. If they clashed, and Blood Gate had a rapid team-assembly ability, Su Xiao would face Stan + Neloy + Old Smoker + 129 contractors simultaneously. He would be dead for sure. Who knew how many layers of barriers would appear? If there were space-blocking barriers, even with Demon Hunting Hour activated, Su Xiao would be overwhelmed and killed. Of course, Blood Gate wouldn't fare well either.
The situation suddenly stalemated. Su Xiao couldn't deal with Stan, and Stan couldn't deal with him. The good news was that Su Xiao could now move freely, giving him a chance to complete the hunting mission quickly. As for the violator's trail, he already had some leads.