Rain

The old building Lin Bobo lived in was actually empty. This was the real reason Yi Ting's call for help went unanswered. The observer commanded by 7-004 had been watching Lin Bobo from the roof of the opposite building for a long time.

Shi Shanyan smelled the scent of a Flashbang Grenade amidst the damp odor of the rain. He pulled Yan Junxun up and they ran upstairs. The iron-barred gate crashed with a clank as a Flashbang Grenade was thrown in.

Yi Ting heard Yan Junxun's shout of "Get down!" and dropped to the ground without a second thought. As she covered her head, she felt the fiery tongue of the Flashbang Grenade flicker past above her, the smell of singed hair instantly rushing into her nostrils.

The hallway window Shi Shanyan had jumped through was no longer usable. He and Yan Junxun headed up the stairs. Bullets shattered the windows they passed, the sound of breaking glass continuous.

“If you turn on the system surveillance,” the Main Management System said to 7-004 in his earpiece, “Yan Junxun will be able to see your entire deployment.”

7-004, looking through his scope, replied, “It doesn't matter. The chip's operation will interfere with Yan Junxun's normal functions.” He spat out his chewed gum, using it to steady his tripod. “Besides, I've brought an assistant. It will drive Yan Junxun mad first.”

Dust inside the stairwell was stirred up by the bullets, and rain beat wildly against the windows. Yan Junxun and Shi Shanyan climbed toward the roof. Raindrops splashed onto Yan Junxun's face from the narrow stairway. He blinked a few times, feeling the scene before his eyes begin to stutter. Not only that, but a cacophony of voices completely overwhelmed his ears.

“Target is climbing. The rooftop has a blind spot. Sniper Two, change position. Proceed to Point A immediately to complete your task!”

“Hello, good evening darling, I just got off work.”

“Is the bus late again?”

“Mom, why don't you listen! I already said it's not like that.”

“System, lock on Shi Shanyan!”

“Oh my, it's started to rain.”

The surveillance footage before Yan Junxun's eyes and the voices in his ears were in complete disarray. It was as if he had fallen into a complex world of images, where everyone was speaking to him, yet no one's lips synced with their words! All of this poured into his mind at once, shattering Yan Junxun's own world.

Shi Shanyan grabbed Yan Junxun's wrist and pulled him up.

An overcast sky pressed down on them. Cold rain beat rapidly on the tin roof, and Yan Junxun's cheeks were soaked. He wiped the rain from his face and tried to regulate his breathing, but the Docking Area's surveillance system was clearly malfunctioning. Its database seemed to be infected with a virus, causing the images of the entire area to be both overlapping and fragmented.

“The sniper is moving,” Yan Junxun said, gripping Shi Shanyan's hand back. He abruptly pointed to the other side with his free hand. “Point A's lookout is on a residential balcony 200 yards away.”

As he spoke, bullets were already strafing the concrete platform where they stood.

Shi Shanyan kicked over a metal water barrel at their side. Amidst the whoosh of pouring water, he saw the barrel get shot through. The enemy stopped firing rashly, but the armed action team from the stairwell was already in pursuit.

This building was eight stories high, right next to a five-story old-style residential building topped with barbed wire.

Shi Shanyan pulled Yan Junxun tight and said as they ran forward, “Jump!”

Rain splattered on Yan Junxun's cheeks as the handgun behind them fired in their direction. He leaped out, rolling on the ground after clearing a gap the width of a person. The roof of this five-story old residential building was covered in trash. When Yan Junxun got up, the images before his eyes were still a chaotic mess.

But the next second, Yan Junxun suddenly dropped to the ground again, shouting, “Point C's lookout is right below us!”

The roof of the old residential building's balcony had long been dismantled. Someone was climbing up bare-handed, holding onto the edge. The scout from Point C had no gun, but he carried a KCB-77 bayonet, which could be used as a baton when combined with its sheath.

Shi Shanyan was the first to react, grabbing the man's elbow and pulling him closer. As he stepped forward, he pressed his chest against the man's back—the preparatory move for a rear-naked choke. The man was well-versed in combat techniques and tried to interrupt Shi Shanyan's movement as he stepped in. But Shi Shanyan kicked out viciously, forcing the chokehold around the man's neck.

“Garden Babies is starting...”

“Next up is the third test. I'm handing out the papers now.”

“Ah... my Communicator is broken.”

The chaotic information was scrambling Yan Junxun's mind. He had to quickly sift through this sea of information to find what he needed!

“You can see a lot of details from 300 yards.” 7-004 slowly adjusted his scope, slowed his breathing, and did his best not to let the rain interfere with his shot. He aimed at Shi Shanyan, squeezed the trigger, and only after the bullet was on its way did he finish his sentence: “Like 01AE86's fighting form, for example.”

“Shi Shanyan,” Yan Junxun yelled in the rain, covering one eye with his hand, “Forward roll!”

But the bullet was faster. The scout from Point C, whose throat had been crushed by Shi Shanyan, hadn't even hit the ground when Shi Shanyan's bent right arm was shot.

“Fuck,” 7-004 flexed his fingers. “So close.”

Snipers rarely aim for the heart, because even after being shot in the heart, a person still has 8 to 13 seconds of subconscious activity. Therefore, they usually aim for one of three spots on the head. 7-004 had been aiming for the spot between Shi Shanyan's eyebrows, but god knows how Shi Shanyan reacted so fast.

7-004 said into his earpiece, “His reaction time is monstrous.”

Shi Shanyan and Yan Junxun were running again.

“Sniper One is 300 yards away from us,” Yan Junxun said, his steps faltering for a moment. “Point B is at—”

The clear picture in Yan Junxun's vision began to flicker. The system surveillance was being jammed, like a channel being switched erratically. The voices in his ears grew fainter and fainter, until they vanished completely. Yan Junxun let go of his hand and looked back in the rain. He could no longer hear his own voice; even if a bomb went off next to him, he wouldn't hear it.

7-004 admired Yan Junxun's backward glance. “7-001 thinks you're Artemis.”

Finally, a voice different from all the previous ones sounded in the earpiece.

“I'm sorry,” the person said. “Please tell him I am Hephaestus.”

Author has something to say:

Sniper-related information is still referenced from "The Sniper's Combat Manual."

Hephaestus: The ancestor of craftsmen, patron god of forging, and also the god of fire and sculpture. The husband of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

The next volume is "The Flame of Hephaestus."

Volume 03: The Flame of Hephaestus