Chapter Forty-Five: Speculation and Response

After spending half a day adjusting the angle, he finally caught sight of the glacier crevice in the mirror. Then he slowed his pace...

The distance exceeded eight hundred meters, and the world reflected in the mirror was so small that even with his eyesight, he could not see clearly. He could only slowly adjust the mirror’s angle, carefully observing...

After more than half a day, Fang Mu’s brow furrowed slightly.

Within the glacier crevice, he could still see Chang Le’s corpse lying silently where it had fallen, but the other three gunfighters had vanished without a trace...

Had they come after him? Or relocated?

Fang Mu’s expression grew tense. After confirming once more that there wasn’t a shadow of an enemy on the glacier crevice, he leaned out to look directly with his own eyes.

But eight hundred meters was still too far; the view remained unclear. He set up the D-785, peering through its thirty-two times scope.

He swept the area slowly, and then his lens froze, his brows knitting together.

In the scope, a dark gun muzzle appeared at the far right edge of the glacier crevice’s ice wall...

If not for the thirty-two times scope, he wouldn’t have spotted it at all!

Fang Mu’s expression darkened.

“They’ve hidden in my firing blind spot... As expected, these gunfighters do have the ability to support the battlefield.”

Otherwise, knowing there was an enemy like himself in the area, shouldn’t their first move have been to root out hidden threats?

But these people hadn’t done so.

Not only that, they hadn’t even changed their firing positions... nor had anyone bothered to keep him, concealed on this small iceberg, under lock.

It was as if he’d been completely disregarded!

The only possible explanation for their actions, after thinking it through, was just one...

Their mission was of critical importance.

So important that even if their positions were exposed, they couldn’t abandon them!

Which meant Fang Mu’s initial guess was correct: these gunfighters, though of low rank, possessed the power to turn the tide at a crucial moment!

What kind of power could that be?

Gunfighting techniques?

Impossible!

These gunfighters were likely only at the Bronze level. Even if a Bronze-level gunfighter used their techniques, it would barely affect a Gold-level Evolver—certainly not enough to sway the entire battle.

Then, could there be a Silver-level among them?

Fang Mu’s expression shifted, but after thinking it through, he shook his head.

It seemed unlikely.

Even if there was a Silver-level fighter, there couldn’t be three of them, could there? A Silver-level gunfighter could threaten a Gold Evolver with a powerful technique, but if one of those three was Silver, the situation shouldn’t look like this.

The Silver would manage the battlefield, but the two Bronze-level, who couldn’t contribute much to the main fight, should at least have one keep him—the hidden threat—pinned down!

After all, he had shot and killed one of their companions!

Knowing that such a threat lurked nearby... the Bronzes, unable to help in the main fight, should make it their first priority to secure the Silver gunfighter’s firing environment!

But they hadn’t.

Instead, all three had retreated into the firing blind spot...

This meant that it wasn’t just one among them who possessed the power to decide the outcome—

They all did!

Which meant the chance that any of them was Silver-level actually decreased.

Everyone knew how hard it was for gunfighters to evolve. On a one-star battlefield, Silver gunfighters were rarer even than Gold Evolvers. If there were truly three Silver gunfighters here, things wouldn’t be so complicated: as soon as the Greed Wolf’s people got close, they’d open fire and cripple Lin Chuyin’s three Gold Evolvers.

But they hadn’t...

“They can decide the outcome, but unlike true Silver gunfighters, they can’t provide continuous support? In other words... their ability is one-shot only? Once they fire, they lose their power to support the battlefield? So they have to be careful, seize the most critical moment?”

Fang Mu muttered, then suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

“Could it be... gene rounds?”

“This group—have they been equipped with gene rounds?”

Fang Mu’s eyes widened.

Gene rounds—a term Fang Mu, who aspired to be a gunfighter, was naturally familiar with.

They were terrifying bullets made from the genetic material of battlefield beasts at Gold level or higher, containing immense primal energy, like a solidified gunfighting technique.

Anyone could use a gene round. Even the weakest of these could lethally threaten a Gold-level beast!

The destructive power of gene rounds was beyond question, but their price was so exorbitant it left most people discouraged.

The cheapest gene round cost more than fifty or sixty million star coins.

And more importantly, they were not readily available. On a one-star battlefield, you simply couldn’t buy them!

Even on Feiluo Star, you needed the right connections to get one!

Had all these people been equipped with gene rounds?

Fang Mu could hardly believe it.

He reconsidered the group’s prior actions in light of this possibility...

His breath caught in his chest...

Only gene rounds!

Only if each of these gunfighters was armed with a gene round would they respond this way!

What a lavish investment!

Four gunfighters, four gene rounds—that’s more than two hundred million star coins spent outright!

A gene round could only be fired once—sixty million star coins per shot...

They weren’t firing bullets, they were shooting money!

“If that’s the case, then the target of their assault on Lin Chuyin’s group can’t be a Gold-level beast. They must be after something even more valuable!”

Shocked, Fang Mu’s mind raced.

Gold-level beasts were, of course, incredibly precious. The flesh and blood of one were worth at least a hundred million!

But the enemy had spent over two hundred million just on gene rounds!

To spend two hundred million for a potential return of only one hundred million—no one would do something so foolish.

So what was Greed Wolf’s group after?

What could be more valuable than a Gold-level beast?

For a moment, Fang Mu was at a loss.

But soon he shook his head and took a deep breath.

He didn’t know their objective... but if he let them proceed unhindered, Lin Chuyin would be in grave danger.

He’d never witnessed a gene round’s power, but he’d heard enough: a Gold-level battlefield beast hit by one could die instantly—let alone a Gold-level Evolver.

Though both were Gold-level, the primal energy of a battlefield beast far surpassed that of an Evolver.

If a beast could be slain, then a human Evolver, if hit, was almost certainly doomed!

Fang Mu’s mind whirred furiously. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath: “If I’d known I’d have to risk my life for her, I should’ve kept the gear she gave me that day! Damn it...”

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

“Gene rounds are extremely lethal—anyone hit, even at Gold-level, is dead for sure. And me? One shot and I’m as good as dead.”

“But on the other hand... maybe this is my chance?”

Fang Mu’s eyes narrowed.

Thinking carefully, the battle over there had already erupted; the gunfighters had all retreated into his blind spot, not even leaving anyone to keep him pinned...

Clearly, they intended to finish their mission first.

Given the situation, their gene rounds must already be loaded!

They had to seize that fleeting moment...

Which meant, right now, they couldn’t afford to fire recklessly!

Even if they discovered Fang Mu, they might hesitate!

Because their guns... were loaded with gene rounds!

And that...

That gave Fang Mu a window of opportunity...

Thinking this through, Fang Mu took a deep breath.

“Once this is over, I’ll have to make that girl compensate me! Damn it!”

He cursed under his breath, but ultimately, he couldn’t just walk away.

His gaze swept the distance, mapping the terrain in his mind; within moments, a plan had formed.

There was no time for careful deliberation—he gritted his teeth, hesitated no more, and, clutching his gun, charged down the mountain...

Now, every second counted.

No matter what, he couldn’t let those gunfighters fire their gene rounds with impunity!