Chapter 53: Sniper Formation
Detecting piracy! Bang, bang!
Gunfire continued to ring out from atop the Judicial Tower. Luffy was hiding behind the edge of the rooftop across from the Judicial Tower.
On the edge of the rooftop where Luffy was, there were several pointed square cement pillars, and Luffy was currently taking cover behind one of them.
Crack! Cement fragments flew. Luffy pressed down on the straw hat atop his head. The enemy's firepower was too intense; he didn't dare show himself.
After firing several shots in succession, Su Xiao stopped shooting. The cement pillars on the opposite side were too thick; he couldn't penetrate them.
Although he couldn't hit Luffy, Luffy also couldn't risk exposing himself.
Just then, over a dozen contractors rushed onto the rooftop where Luffy was. These contractors were filled with excitement, as they were about to participate in a major event in the Pirate World. Taking part in certain major events could earn them a small amount of World Source.
Bang.
The gunfire made the contractors who had rushed onto the rooftop flinch.
Pfft.
One contractor was shot in the head. The other contractors felt a chill run down their spines, and a few instinctively dropped to the ground.
"There's a sniper on the Judicial Tower across the way. Suppress his fire."
One contractor shouted, but no one got up.
Bang!
A mist of blood exploded. The contractor who had shouted was shot in the head. The other dozen or so contractors quickly ran to the cover at the edge of the rooftop, pulled out their guns, and fired wildly at the Judicial Tower without even daring to show their heads.
This kind of blind shooting was unlikely to hit Su Xiao, so he simply didn't bother dodging. Whoever showed their head got shot.
A few minutes passed, and the contractors were all cowering behind cover. Just as they thought they were temporarily safe, a gunshot rang out from another direction—the position of the Front Island.
Bang. This gunshot was loud, with no silencer, and the sniper's position was immediately exposed.
Hearing this gunfire, the contractors were scared out of their wits. There was another sniper behind them! They were surrounded by two snipers, forming a sniper formation.
Bang. Another gunshot came from behind, but this time the target wasn't the contractors—it was Su Xiao. This filled the dozen or so contractors with great joy.
A special bullet flew toward Su Xiao, hitting the cement ground beside him.
The bullet was half-buried in the ground, emitting a puff of green smoke. Su Xiao's first reaction was poison.
Just as he was about to retreat, he noticed something was off. The tail end of the bullet had a small recording device.
"Big shot, let's cooperate and take them out. We split the spoils seventy-thirty, you get seventy, I get thirty."
Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. He had already noticed the sniper on the Front Island earlier, but because the distance was too great and the other party hadn't fired, he had ignored them. He hadn't expected this opponent to take the initiative to seek cooperation.
Su Xiao adjusted his scope to aim at the opposite rooftop, waiting for that sniper to make the first move.
Bang. A gunshot rang out, accompanied by a scream.
Bang, bang, bang...
The sniper on the Front Island began rapid-firing. The contractors on the central Main Island's rooftop were in agony. The cover they were behind could block Su Xiao's shots, but they couldn't defend against attacks from behind. These contractors scrambled to rush downstairs.
As the contractors ran out of cover, Su Xiao pulled the trigger.
Bang. One contractor fell.
Bang. A second contractor fell...
After leaving a few corpses behind, the contractors fled the rooftop. Two Scarlet Cards appeared on the opposite rooftop.
Luffy didn't flee. The sniper on the Front Island had tried to snipe Luffy, but his bullets were nothing more than a tickle to Luffy.
Urgent pistol fire came from the direction of the Front Island. Su Xiao adjusted his scope and saw a man in jungle combat gear crawling across a rooftop on the Front Island, covered in blood.
This was that sniper. Someone had closed in on him, breaking the sniper formation they had set up.
A muscular man wielding a scythe stood beside the sniper. He raised the scythe high, muttering something under his breath, as if praying.
Without hesitation, Su Xiao fired a shot. The muscular man with the scythe was hit in the chest, stumbling back a few steps before falling to the ground with a thud.
Bang, bang...
Su Xiao fired five more shots, sending the muscular man rolling across the ground. The injuries weren't severe; the black priest robe the man wore had strong defensive properties, comparable to heavy armor, at least Purple quality equipment.
With Su Xiao's cover, the sniper crawled to the edge of the rooftop. Before jumping off to escape, he nodded at Su Xiao, his mouth seeming to form the words: 'Life-saving grace...' Su Xiao couldn't make out the rest; he only had a basic understanding of lip-reading.
After taking several shots from Su Xiao, the man with the scythe took cover behind an obstacle, now glaring at Su Xiao with hostility.
Su Xiao stopped paying attention to that side and aimed his gun at the rooftop where Luffy was. Apart from Luffy hiding behind cover, the rooftop was empty.
The duration of the Optical Infrared Detection Scope 8x (Active) still had 9 minutes left. After 9 minutes, Su Xiao would transform from a terrifying sniper back into an even more terrifying melee fighter.
Su Xiao sighed inwardly. Why didn't anyone rush onto the rooftop to fight him in close combat?
Just then, movement came from the opposite rooftop.
The rooftop where Luffy was suddenly broke apart. A tornado-like force erupted from below, accompanied by a woman's scream.
Su Xiao squinted his eyes. This wasn't a tornado, but some kind of sword technique. He immediately judged that Zoro and the others had arrived.
Zoro's swordsmanship could produce such a tornado-like slash. Su Xiao couldn't do that; their development paths were different.
Zoro was a native swordsman of the Pirate World, with techniques leaning toward cutting and injuring. Su Xiao, on the other hand, only pursued cutting. He didn't need flashy moves; as long as he could kill the enemy, that was enough.
The tornado-like force blew Nami and Chopper onto the rooftop. Chopper landed headfirst, while Nami spread her arms and landed steadily.
Nami was quite satisfied with her landing posture—both stylish and ladylike.
Just as Nami stood on the rooftop with her hands on her hips, Su Xiao had already aimed his crosshairs at her.
"Nami, get down!"
Luffy shouted. Trusting Luffy's judgment, Nami immediately dropped to the ground.
Whoosh~ The bullet whistled past Nami's ear, lifting her orange-yellow hair and even snapping off a few strands.
The sudden attack made Nami's hair stand on end. She made an unexpected move.
Chopper was still upside down. She grabbed Chopper's leg and, with all her strength, threw him toward Luffy. She herself quickly ran toward Luffy.
Su Xiao pulled the trigger.
Click.
The gun didn't fire. He was out of ammo. Nami reached cover, pale-faced and gasping for breath. She had just brushed past death's door.
Su Xiao ejected the magazine and calmly reloaded.
Zoro climbed out of the hole in the rooftop. Seeing Luffy and the others hiding behind cover, Zoro's expression darkened. He quickly ran to Luffy's vicinity and took cover.
With a loud crash, rubble flew. Another hole appeared in the rooftop as Sanji kicked his way out, leaping high into the air.
"Rush! Pork Cutlet Bowl!"
Sanji shouted from midair. Su Xiao felt a bit of an itch—the opponent was now a sitting duck.
A pair of arms stretched out and grabbed Sanji, startling him.