Wis'adel clicked her tongue. It really was a useful support function, but that didn't mean she wanted to listen to him showing off about it.
She ignored him.
Peeking half her head out from the other side of the rock, she aimed at a mercenary who had just exposed his head from behind cover and fired a third shot.
The man screamed. His shoulder burst open, and he ducked back, but he didn't die.
You Yi's voice promptly sounded in her mind.
"See? Missed again. Can you even do this? Want me to take over?"
"I said shut up."
She took a deep breath and leaned out again—
Only to be met by a whistling arrow.
The enemy had all targeted her position at that exact moment. Even with You Yi's warning, she was too rushed to avoid everything, and one arrow still struck her shoulder.
Her body jolted. She instinctively clutched the wound, then froze.
There was no searing pain like she had expected.
No blood came pouring out.
Most of the arrow's force had been absorbed by the outer layer of the symbiotic suit. By the time it hit her body, all that remained was a dull ache. It hadn't even pierced the black layer.
The enemy archers weren't perfect shots, and with You Yi assisting her, Wis'adel managed to seize openings and fire back. The exchange grew fierce.
But after more than a dozen shots, only two had hit, and one of those was just a graze. The results were pathetic.
Worse, after another man on the other side went down, the survivors became even more cautious, and her effectiveness only dropped further.
And all the while, You Yi kept yammering in her head.
"Left side. Watch the guy on the left."
"His foot's sticking out—shoot his foot!"
"One on the right is peeking! Shoot him already!"
"Ugh, missed again. How are you this bad?"
"Move! They threw a grenade!"
"Hey, don't just tank hits! You might not care, but I do!"
"I can't carry this. I seriously can't carry this!"
…
Wis'adel inhaled slowly and said nothing.
You Yi asked, puzzled, "What are you thinking about?"
She lifted her head and looked toward the direction where the mercenaries were hiding.
"I'm thinking that if I stick the barrel right in their faces before firing, I probably won't miss."
You Yi paused. "You're serious?"
"Of course I am."
His voice changed instantly. "Hey, hey, don't do something stupid on a fresh build! No matter how good your defenses are, you can't fight like that! Aren't you scared of pain at all?!"
But Wis'adel was already on her feet.
She charged out from behind cover.
—
You Yi never wanted to remember what happened next.
All he remembered was Wis'adel going completely insane. Tactics, range, spacing—straight to hell with all of it. She was hell-bent on running people down and blasting them point-blank.
One mercenary had barely leaned half his body out from behind a crate when she was already in his face, the cannon pressed directly against his forehead.
Bang.
His head burst apart. Even as he fell, his face still wore a look of utter disbelief.
"See that?" Wis'adel shouted excitedly. "That one hit!"
You Yi was dumbfounded, his entire worldview cracking.
"No, no, no! Why are you firing point-blank?! That's not how guns work! You're supposed to keep your distance, find cover, set up your shot! Either suppress the enemy so they don't dare peek, or keep moving, weave around, and pick them off! But you just popped sprint and ran straight into their faces! The muzzle was practically in his mouth! That is not how shooting works! I refuse to accept this!"
Wis'adel had no idea what he was rambling about. She noticed a Sarkaz mercenary rushing her from the side with a blade, twisted past his slash, and jammed the cannon straight into his mouth.
Bang.
The beam punched straight through the back of his skull.
Third. Fourth…
Wis'adel didn't give them any time to react.
Using the agility boost from the symbiotic suit, she darted between pieces of cover like a shadow weaving through water. Every time she stopped, it was followed by a muffled blast and another corpse hitting the ground.
One of the mercenaries completely lost his nerve and tried to run. She chased him down, kicked him flat, and aimed the cannon at the back of his head.
"Wait!" the man shouted.
Bang.
She didn't wait.
Her killing blows were clean and decisive.
Before long, only one enemy was left standing.
The one-eyed Sarkaz mercenary captain was slumped behind an abandoned mine cart. There was a bloody hole in his abdomen, and blood was still pouring out.
When he saw Wis'adel approach, he tried to raise his hand, but it shook so badly he couldn't even keep hold of his weapon.
Wis'adel crouched down in front of him.
"If you tell me who hired you, I can make it quick."
The one-eyed Sarkaz stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.
He coughed, blood frothing at the corner of his mouth. "Never thought… after more than thirty years alive, after being a mercenary this long, after crawling out of who knows how many corpse pits… I'd end up dying at the hands of some little brat."
Wis'adel said nothing.
He coughed again. "In Kazdel… don't take things you shouldn't take. Sooner or later… it'll bring you even bigger trouble."
"That's my problem."
"Fine." The one-eyed man fell silent for a moment.
"I lost. I'll get you the letter from the client."
Then his hand slowly moved toward his waist.
The next instant, a dark-red beam punched straight through his skull.
Wis'adel rose to her feet and lightly nudged the corpse with her toe.
His hand had been less than three inches from the grenade at his waist.
If she'd been any slower, what she'd have gotten was a grenade exploding at point-blank range.
There was genuine surprise in You Yi's voice. "How did you spot that?"
"I guessed."
You Yi was speechless. "And what if you guessed wrong?"
Wis'adel replied flatly, "Then I guessed wrong."
You Yi: …
He had nothing more to say to Sarkaz people.
Wis'adel turned and swept her gaze across the wrecked shack camp.
Bodies lay scattered everywhere. The air was thick with the smell of blood and smoke.
She stood there under the sunlight, specks of blood staining a face that already hinted at the charm she would one day possess. From the jaw down, her body merged seamlessly with the black symbiotic form, as if this had always been what she was meant to look like.
"Time to go."
"Yeah."
"How was it?"
Wis'adel thought for a moment.
"It was fine. It'd be even better if you kept your mouth shut."
You Yi protested at once. "That was tactical guidance! I'm an FPS expert! No one understands gunplay better than me!"
The corner of Wis'adel's mouth lifted slightly, but she said nothing.
She collected the valuable supplies and weapons, then left behind the corpses and the worthless junk.
A few hours later—
The shack camp had fallen silent again.
The bodies still lay where they had fallen, the blood now dark and clotted.
A small figure cautiously peeked out from behind the ruins.
It was that Sarkaz boy.
He had been hiding in a corner, watching for a long time. Only after confirming there was no movement did he stand up and carefully approach.
He showed no fear or disgust toward the corpses on the ground, as if such sights were already a normal part of life.
He simply went into the shack and began looting what was left.
Every time he found something he thought had value, he let out a low cry of delight and hurriedly tucked it away.
Until, at last, he stopped in front of a few skewers of meat charred black over the coals.
He picked them up—
And began devouring them.
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