Chapter 8: Turret
A train sped along the tracks, startling several antelopes nearby. One of them was unusual; instead of fleeing, it stared directly at the moving train. Two seconds later, the antelope lowered its head and charged at the train. With a bang, blood splattered, and the twisted carcass of the antelope crashed near the tracks.
...
Eleven hours into the train's journey, Su Xiao, who had been dozing in the carriage, suddenly opened his eyes. He sat up with a whoosh. For no apparent reason, a feeling of palpitation seized him, appearing without cause, as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart.
Thump, thump, thump...
His heartbeat accelerated rapidly. Su Xiao's pupils contracted. This was a warning from his Heart Eye ability plus instinct—danger was approaching. No, someone had aimed a ranged weapon at him; otherwise, the sensation wouldn't be so pronounced.
He immediately grabbed the sleeping Bubu Wang. Bubu Wang looked bewildered, but upon seeing Su Xiao's expression, it instantly entered combat mode, sniffing the air to search for suspicious scents. This was a tacit understanding they had developed over a long time.
"Let's go."
Dragon-Slaying Flash appeared in his hand. Su Xiao slashed open the side of the train carriage and leaped out from inside.
Emily stared blankly at this scene, frozen in fear.
Su Xiao's action of cutting open the carriage caused chaos inside. Howling wind rushed into the compartment.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked at Emily before jumping out of the carriage. Emily was somewhat surprised.
"This is...?"
Kenny's expression turned grim.
"Bro, that dog seems to want me to leave the train."
"You can understand it?"
"Yeah, it's very smart. It uses its eyes to convey meaning."
Hearing his sister's words, Kenny glanced at the hole in the carriage. After a moment's hesitation, he picked up his sister, ready to leave the carriage first.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out, and the entire train began to shake violently. Kenny had already thought of leaving; the moment the explosion sounded, he leaped out of the carriage.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fireballs from the explosions rose, thick smoke billowed into the sky, and the train was blown apart. The train shattered mid-air, and even the tracks were twisted by the blast, showing the explosion's power.
Large pieces of wreckage and corpses scattered near the tracks as fierce flames burned.
"Beautiful fireworks."
A man in a purple suit stood before the burning wreckage of the train, taking a deep breath. He savored the unique smell of burning flesh.
"Life, in full bloom."
The man in the purple suit raised his arms. In the air, phantom images of twisted faces appeared—the souls of the train passengers killed in the blast.
"Come on, if you hate me, try to seize my body. I'll give you a chance. If you fail, become my nourishment. It's a fair game."
Hundreds of faces rushed toward the suited man. The man and woman beside him instinctively stepped back.
"No matter how many times I see this, it gives me the creeps."
The woman spoke. Her face was heavily made up, and a sparrow perched on her shoulder.
"Shut up. Do you want to piss off the boss?"
The man interjected. He had a burly build, dark skin, and a single horn on his head, resembling a rhinoceros horn.
"Yanyao, Xi. It's very rude to discuss others casually."
The suited man turned his head. His facial expressions shifted constantly, as if multiple consciousnesses were vying for control of his body. After a few seconds, his expression calmed, and he let out a burp.
"A hearty meal."
The man in the suit was Red Jester. By some unknown method, he had tracked Su Xiao's whereabouts and set up an ambush.
"Boss, that guy got away."
Yanyao spoke. The sparrow on her shoulder chirped incessantly, apparently relaying information to her.
"Doesn't matter. For 60,000 Paradise Coins, if the Hunter lets the Hunter escape so easily, then the Traveling Group would be too disappointing. She's a top-tier turret in the second rank!"
As Red Jester finished speaking, a gunshot rang out.
This single shot seemed to trigger a chain reaction. Gunshots echoed one after another.
"Is that woman using an automatic rifle?"
Xi, hearing the continuous gunfire, looked surprised.
"No, she's using a sniper cannon—a 30mm caliber sniper cannon!"
Yanyao's expression also shifted. At this rate of fire, even an automatic rifle would be too fast, let alone a sniper cannon. Wasn't she afraid of a barrel burst?
"Let's go. Let's welcome our 'guest.'"
...
At this moment, on a barren patch of land half a kilometer from the train wreckage.
A piercing screech continued.
Clang! Sparks flew as blade met bullet.
Su Xiao cleaved a bullet aimed at his head. He clearly saw how exaggerated the volume of that bullet was after being split in two. This was no longer a bullet; one could easily mistake it for a small artillery shell.
Bang!
The two halves of the bullet disappeared into the dirt, sending up clumps of grass.
If it were just one or two bullets, it wouldn't matter. But several such bullets came every second, with an incredibly fast rate of fire. Fortunately, their flight speed wasn't absurd—much slower than the Spider Empress's bullet velocity.
Still, the sheer number of bullets was overwhelming.
After continuously deflecting dozens of bullets, Su Xiao's right arm began to go numb. This couldn't continue. Even if he could endure it, Dragon-Slashing Flash couldn't withstand such high-intensity strikes. The impact force of the bullets was too strong.
Su Xiao had already pinpointed the enemy's position—about a kilometer away. The dense gunfire gave away their location.
But he couldn't charge over there. It was as if dozens of turrets were set up, bombarding him relentlessly.
As for who was attacking him, it was obvious—who else but Red Jester?
Su Xiao used his superhuman physical abilities to dodge a bullet, which whistled past his ear.
The soreness in his right arm constantly warned him: no more deflecting bullets.
A energy shield appeared before him, with a strength of 300 points.
Bang, bang, bang...
Bullets struck the energy shield and bounced off. The shield emitted a faint blue light without any damage.
Although the shield blocked the bullets, the impact force didn't disappear. Su Xiao was forced back several steps.
After another dozen seconds of bombardment, the gunfire suddenly stopped. By then, Su Xiao's legs were buried in the dirt.
Su Xiao let out a long breath and signaled Bubu Wang behind him to hide and wait for his signal.
Bubu Wang vanished with a whoosh. Had it fled? Of course not. It was now crouching in a nearby bush, waiting for Su Xiao's command.
A few seconds after the gunfire ceased, a whistling sound came. A missile flew toward Su Xiao.
He spotted it from a distance—at least a meter long, with graffiti on its surface and a shark-mouth pattern at the front.
Before the missile landed, Su Xiao's arm muscles bulged, and he slashed out a blade aura.
Zheng.
The blade aura cut the missile in two. Unexpectedly, the missile began to split, transforming into dozens of smaller missiles.
Boom, boom, boom...
The explosions were deafening. Su Xiao held the energy shield in front of him as his legs sank into the dirt.
On a small hill a kilometer away, a sniper rifle over three meters long was mounted. The barrel alone was two meters long.
Behind the sniper rifle, a young girl crouched in a half-kneeling position, observing through the scope.
"Not bad. No wonder Jester was willing to pay 60,000 to hire me."
The girl chuckled softly. Her hair color was rare—blue. She tied her blue hair into two ponytails, which lay on the ground, each at least one and a half meters long.