Chapter 52: Bait
Kalifa frowned, instinctively stepping back.
"That was sexual harassment."
"That was at the Water Seven banquet."
Su Xiao studied Kalifa, then quickly averted his gaze.
"What exactly are you after?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't respond; he was observing the area around the Lift Bridge through his scope.
"Hey, I'm talking to you."
Kalifa looked at Su Xiao with displeasure, but he still ignored her.
"You bastard..."
Kalifa stopped mid-sentence as Su Xiao turned to her with a smile. Seeing that gentle expression, Kalifa's scalp tingled.
"I recently invented a new type of bomb. Want to try it? There's a strawberry flavor."
Kalifa backed away several steps, assuming a combat stance. She had a phobia of alchemy bombs.
"You can either guard the door or leave. Just don't bother me."
While Su Xiao observed the area near the Lift Bridge, on the rooftop of a tall building on the front island, a man in forest combat gear lay prone, clutching a sniper rifle, too afraid to even raise his head.
This sniper looked toward the Judicial Tower with lingering fear, having witnessed the previous scene.
"Two shots to take one down, at least a purple-quality sniper rifle."
Greed flickered in the sniper's eyes, but it quickly faded. He glanced at his own blue-quality sniper rifle; if it came to a shootout, he probably wouldn't last five minutes.
This thoroughly shaken sniper chose to hunker down and wait for an opportunity.
"Sigh, that's a true big shot. Sniping without even hiding his position, like a turret."
The sniper sighed, admiring Su Xiao's blatant sniping tactics—no concealment, just shooting until the enemy couldn't raise their heads.
Little did he know, Su Xiao never bothered to find a proper sniping spot. His logic was simple: find a high point, shoot when enemies came, and as for enemy fire, a few hits didn't matter to him.
On the rooftop of the Judicial Tower, Su Xiao observed for a while but saw no contractors approaching.
"Bubu, get ready to go down and collect."
Su Xiao wrapped the Realm Severing Thread around the small saddle on Bubu Wang's back. During combat, Bubu Wang needed to carry this so they could escape together if things went south.
Su Xiao prepared to lower Bubu Wang down. Once Bubu Wang had gathered all the Scarlet Cards, he would pull him back up with the thread.
Bubu Wang looked helpless, staring at the dozens of meters below. He whimpered, his gaze seeming to say: 'Master, I'm afraid of heights. Can I not go down?'
"Woof."
Bubu Wang made one last protest.
"Be good. When we get a chance, I'll take you to find a pretty little female dog."
Bubu Wang's eyes lit up, his head raised high, his fear of heights vanishing. Bubu Wang didn't want to be a lonely bachelor dog.
Just as Su Xiao was about to lower Bubu Wang, he suddenly spotted a dark figure moving in the distance.
He quickly picked up his sniper rifle and, through the scope, saw four sneaky contractors.
The four contractors were peeking out from behind a building, two men and two women.
A petite girl timidly said, "Let's just go. This is obviously a trap. Look how badly these people died."
The girl hugged her shoulders as she spoke.
"Yeah, this is too terrifying. Four Scarlet Cards and two Soul Crystals, and no one's picking them up."
A schoolgirl-like woman also wanted to leave, her gaze shifting to their leader. This was a small adventure group.
"We obviously can't go to the Judicial Tower. Leaving like this would be too costly. Our combined Paradise Coins are less than 60,000; we'll definitely get penalized."
The team leader was a middle-aged fat man clad in full iron armor, holding a shield.
"You two stay here. I'll go grab the loot and run."
The fat man grinned lecherously. Looting enemy spoils was exhilarating. He guessed there was a sniper on the Judicial Tower, but he had his shield and full green-to-blue quality defensive gear, plus high stamina.
"Maybe... maybe don't go."
The schoolgirl felt a sense of foreboding. It was too quiet around them.
"I have to go. The Divine Emperor Adventure Group and the Phantom Troupe are behind us. We can't fight them. Once I grab the stuff, we'll jump into the sea and escape. We're caught in a pincer here."
With that, the fat man raised his shield and stepped out of cover. His first target was the Soul Crystal (Small) on the grass.
Scarlet Cards might not yield good items, but Soul Crystals were in high demand—usable or sellable.
On the Judicial Tower's rooftop, Su Xiao rested his finger on the trigger. It didn't matter if the enemy came out with a shield; a few shots wouldn't work, so he'd use a dozen.
The fat man slowly advanced, getting closer to the Soul Crystal on the ground.
Six meters, four meters, three meters.
The closer he got, the tighter he gripped his shield.
Su Xiao gently squeezed the trigger. The Spider Empress let out a faint gunshot.
Bang.
The bullet left the chamber, hurtling at supersonic speed toward the shield in front of the fat man.
Clang!
The bullet was deflected, but the fat man was knocked back half a meter, landing on his rear.
"How can it have this much kinetic energy?"
The fat man's hands went numb as he looked at the shield, now dented inward. His first instinct was to retreat behind cover.
But it was too late. Greed was a sin.
Bang, bang, bang...
Su Xiao fired repeatedly. Finger-length bullets struck the shield, sparks flying, leaving craters in the metal. The fat man was pushed back several meters, plowing the ground.
When the gunfire stopped, the fat man's tiger's mouths were torn, and his left wrist was twisted and deformed.
"Captain!"
The schoolgirl shouted from behind the building.
Crack! Concrete splattered as she quickly ducked back, her cheek now bearing several bloody scratches.
"Can... can the captain come back?"
The petite girl's eyes glistened with tears. No one answered her; their captain might not return.
Bang, bang...
The gunfire continued. After taking over a dozen shots, the fat man could no longer hold his shield. It was knocked away, and the bones in both his arms were fractured multiple times.
With his body fully exposed to the enemy's gun, the fat man knew it was over.
Pop, pop. Blood mist sprayed as his leg and chest were pierced. The gunfire ceased.
The fat man crawled painfully across the ground, leaving a trail of blood. He tried to get back behind cover, but the schoolgirl rushed out to drag him back.
"Don't come! It's a trap! The enemy is baiting you. Many sicko snipers use wounded to lure others."
The fat man shouted, but the schoolgirl ignored him and kept running forward.
Su Xiao wasn't a sicko sniper. He had simply run out of bullets. Awkward.
He quickly ejected the magazine, loaded three bullets, slammed it back in, and cocked the lever with a flourish. His scope locked onto the schoolgirl.
The schoolgirl had already dragged the fat man far, nearly reaching cover.
Bang. A bullet pierced her shoulder, blowing off one arm. She collapsed onto the fat man.
Just as Su Xiao prepared to finish them off, two more people rushed out from behind the building.
Bang, bang. Two shots took down one, but one bullet missed, sparing a male contractor.
Su Xiao quickly reloaded, but the male contractor, seemingly against his own will, dragged the three wounded behind the building. His expression showed struggle, as if it wasn't his choice.
Su Xiao loaded one more bullet and aimed at the male contractor.
Bang. A headshot! Su Xiao frowned. That wasn't a contractor.
Silence fell behind the building. No doubt, the three were hiding there.
"Like the gourd brothers saving their grandpa, one by one. But their bond is deep."
Su Xiao leisurely ejected the magazine and began reloading.
Behind the building, the fat man gasped for breath. He had never imagined such a terrifying sniper. How powerful were those bullets?
"Captain, Soichiro is dead. I'll need to make a new summon. The forced control worked this time. Since it failed before, I had to rush out myself."
The schoolgirl, despite her severed arm, was smiling. Her teammates weren't dead, only a summon.
"Let's jump into the sea and escape. We're not worthy of the Judicial Tower. I was too greedy, not taking the front island's opportunities and dreaming of getting rich overnight here."
The three contractors helped each other leave, having learned a bloody lesson: don't be greedy.
After waiting a while and hearing nothing, Su Xiao knew the contractors had left. He lowered Bubu Teni down. Bubu Wang happily picked up four Scarlet Cards, two Soul Crystals, and a 6,000 Paradise Coin savings card.
When Su Xiao pulled Bubu Wang back up, his mouth was stuffed full, cheeks bulging like a greedy hamster.
Su Xiao stored the Scarlet Cards and Soul Crystals, then used the savings card directly.
"Robin! We're here to save you!"
A shout came from the rooftop of the building closest to the Judicial Tower on the main island.
Su Xiao looked closely. Wasn't that Monkey D. Luffy? He raised his sniper rifle and fired immediately.
Bang.
Luffy flew backward several meters, disappearing from the rooftop's edge. He tumbled a few times before stopping.
The Spider Empress's bullets were special ammunition, extremely fast. Su Xiao felt he couldn't dodge them, and it seemed even the protagonist Luffy couldn't.
Luffy's body wasn't pierced. As a Rubber Fruit user, his elasticity absorbed the bullet's kinetic energy, but blood appeared on his shoulder.
Luffy was stunned by the shot. Not just Luffy, but also Spandam, the CP9 leader inside the Judicial Tower, was baffled. He had heard someone shout but couldn't find anyone.
"What the hell?"
Spandam turned his head, and another shout came from outside.
"Who ambushed me!"
Luffy's voice again.
Bang! A faint gunshot.
Spandam looked out the window but still saw no one...
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