Chapter Forty-One: Is It Her?

Listening to the busy signal in his earphones, followed by the abrupt disconnection, Fang Mu, his back pressed against the small hill, finally allowed himself a satisfied smile.

The last call, of course, had been to Chang Le. As for Chang Le’s communication number—that was one Fang Mu had memorized when the other man had called the person who later turned into a dried corpse.

Blasting the man away with a single shot certainly counted as revenge, but Fang Mu still felt a lingering dissatisfaction.

Because, for the other party, it had been far too swift a death.

Yet, he couldn’t deliberately wound without killing; given the shooting angles, if he had only gravely injured the man, it was possible his target could have evaded the next shot.

Besides, the man still had three marksman companions.

He had only one chance to shoot.

So, what could he do?

Letting the man die so abruptly was deeply unsatisfying. After much thought, all he could do was give him a call.

Even if it was only a fleeting moment of terror in the other’s mind—that was enough.

Like now: the confusion in the man’s voice in his final moments, paired with the look of utter horror on his face—Fang Mu relished it.

That’s what you get for showing off, for loving sneak attacks. Satisfied now?

Indeed, nothing was more exquisite than the taste of vengeance... Fang Mu mused to himself.

But he quickly reined in his emotions, glancing sideways toward the crevice.

After firing that shot, he’d decisively drawn back, but he knew perfectly well that by now, the muzzles of the other three marksmen’s rifles were almost certainly trained on this little hilltop.

If those three could move with Chang Le, they must be every bit as formidable as he was.

They could likely pinpoint his approximate location just from the sound.

Moreover, aside from this hill, there were no other vantage points nearby. He was easy to find.

Still, the odds of them pursuing him weren’t high.

After all, his own pursuit had been an accident—Chang Le himself hadn’t realized he was being tailed, so how could the others know?

Instead, having lost a man in such a baffling way, they would only suspect their own operation had been compromised.

If that was their conclusion, then those people were about to make their move...

“They can’t be allowed to launch a surprise attack so easily...”

Fang Mu narrowed his eyes. With this thought, he ignored the crevice and turned his gaze toward the direction of the main battle. He took out the G-785, and through its scope, instantly spotted Tanlang’s group still advancing cautiously.

Had they not noticed yet?

His eyes narrowed further.

Then, he shifted the scope, training it on the people battling the golden beast...

...

“Damn it, he won’t show himself! ...Check on Chang Le!”

The sudden blaze startled the three marksmen, who reacted instantly, taking cover. When the shot rang out, all three rifles aimed at the hilltop.

But the scope revealed nothing but emptiness. After searching for just over ten seconds, one of them cursed softly and spoke quickly.

A marksman nearby put away his rifle and hurried to Chang Le’s side.

There was a hole in Chang Le’s forehead, his eyes wide open in death, his body scorched beyond recognition by the raging fire.

One of Tanlang’s ace marksmen, dead without any clear explanation.

“He’s dead. The bullet went straight through his head,” the marksman reported in a low, rapid voice.

“How can this be? Have we been exposed? Has someone from the Celestial Palace found us?” the third marksman asked, voice trembling in disbelief.

“Impossible. If the Celestial Palace had discovered us, would they still be fighting the golden beast right now? They’d have already dealt with the captain and the others!” the first speaker cut in sharply.

That silenced the other.

Indeed, if they had been discovered, their enemies would never have let the captain’s group approach so freely.

“Then what’s going on? If not the Celestial Palace, then who?” he demanded, turning to the first speaker.

“I don’t know. But in any case...we need to inform the captain at once.”

The first man responded with remarkable quickness, speaking in a low, steady tone. “They targeted Chang Le directly, not any of us. I believe the assailant’s grudge is with Chang Le himself. From his position, he can clearly observe the captain’s group. If we don’t act quickly, he’ll surely try to alert the Celestial Palace...and then the captain’s group will be in danger.”

The captain’s group was now four or five kilometers away—far too distant to hear a gunshot.

In truth, the range at which a sniper rifle’s shot could be heard depended on one’s level of evolution.

For instance, those at the Black Iron level could barely hear a shot past a thousand meters. Bronze level senses were a bit keener—twelve or thirteen hundred meters at most. Silver level could just make out a shot at fifteen to eighteen hundred meters. Gold level were better still, able to hear a shot from two kilometers away.

But beyond three kilometers, even a Gold level couldn’t hear a thing.

The farther the distance, the more secretive the sniper’s kill. Without even the sound of a shot, it was nearly impossible to pinpoint the source; only the bullet’s trajectory might give a clue.

But that required careful, systematic post-battle analysis. In the heat of battle, few could manage it.

Even if they could, the margin of error was too great.

So at this moment, the captain’s group was certainly unaware of what had just occurred.

With that in mind, the first man promptly pulled out his communicator and dialed a number.

The communicator had a built-in group call function, but it failed past three kilometers, so he had no choice but to call the captain’s device directly.

“Shen Tian? What’s going on? Why are you calling me now?”

The communicator connected, and before he could speak, a low, cautious voice emerged.

Shen Tian’s expression did not change as he answered swiftly, “Captain, something’s happened. Our position may be compromised. Chang Le has been taken out with a single shot...”

He hadn’t finished before the captain’s stunned voice interrupted, “Compromised? What happened?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t think it’s the Celestial Palace. If it were, you’d already have been discovered. More likely, Chang Le brought this on himself... But none of that matters now. Clearly, someone has had their eye on Chang Le for some time, and likely has been watching all of us. From his vantage, he can see your every move. I suspect he’ll try to warn the Celestial Palace next and ruin our operation. Captain, we have to move faster.”

Shen Tian’s analysis was calm and precise.

After a brief silence, the captain replied, “Understood. You’ve earned yourself a commendation. We’ll move at once.”

“What about us? Should we go after him?” Shen Tian asked.

The captain considered for a moment. “What are the odds you can take him out?”

Shen Tian thought it over, then admitted, “Honestly, slim. He’s at least eight hundred meters away. We’re all marksmen, so we’re slow. He has the high ground, and our positions are exposed. If we try to rush him, he could pick us off one by one. If we try to circle around...we won’t make it in time.”

Hearing this, the captain was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth. “Then leave him for now—the mission comes first. Change positions immediately. Once the mission is done...then we’ll hunt him down! How dare he cross Tanlang—he must have a death wish!”

For the first time, anger colored the captain’s voice. Clearly, this mysterious marksman’s audacity had infuriated him.

“No need to relocate. His shooting angles are limited. If we shift just a bit, we’ll be in his blind spot,” Shen Tian replied.

“Very well, do as you see fit,” the captain said, then hung up, intent on reissuing orders.

Shen Tian drew a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Move into his blind spot. For now, leave him be—the captain wants us to focus on the mission.”

The other two reacted instantly, nodding in agreement.

The man who had been keeping his rifle trained on the hill exhaled and lowered his weapon, and the three quickly relocated to the far right, where the hilltop was out of the sniper’s line of sight.

...

As Shen Tian and Tanlang’s men moved swiftly, on Fang Mu’s side, a new discovery was unfolding.

When he shifted his scope to the golden beast’s position, and the most striking figure at the forefront of the beast came into view, his expression changed to one of surprise.

“It’s her?...” he murmured.

[Thank you to ‘SanMmao’ for the generous reward of a thousand coins. If you’ve enjoyed the writing, please don’t hesitate to add this to your favorites or give a free recommendation. This little seedling can only thrive under your care!]