130 The Further Upgraded Targeting System
Every second counted on the battlefield. The situation and the tide of battle could change in countless ways, and at any moment they might slip beyond the limits of human control.
Li Changjiang had no experience commanding troops, but his instinct in the field was extraordinarily sharp. The situation unfolding before him in Misrata had already given him a faint sense of foreboding. The Englishman’s words, in particular, had made him realize that continuing to argue with the British would only waste precious time.
So after parting ways with the Batla mercenary group, Li Changjiang led the mercenaries straight toward Misrata Prison.
Although none of them knew what this seemingly mysterious Chinese man was really planning, Tank, Angel, and the others asked no questions. They simply followed him in, killing their way forward. After all, they had already been paid.
“Go! Go! Go!”
“Nicholas, cover me!”
With a low shout, Li Changjiang followed the rhythm of the gunfire in the distance and charged down the corridor ahead.
He raised his rifle.
His finger squeezed the trigger with lightning speed.
The suppressed SVD sniper rifle became a blade. With a dull thump, the Libyan directly ahead crumpled to the ground.
Killer and Angel slipped behind the fallen man, caught his body, and silently lowered it against the base of the wall.
“You move up. I’ll cover you!”
Li Changjiang flashed a rapid hand signal.
As the patrolling Libyan soldiers turned around, Nicholas, Tank, and the others surged toward the guard post across the corridor.
He clamped down hard on the enemy’s neck.
Li Changjiang’s heart suddenly began to pound.
Thump!
Thump!
Driving a dagger into an enemy’s heart with his bare hands was far more terrifying than shooting him. If he had not practiced the motion hundreds of times before, Li Changjiang feared he might have missed.
“Hey, buddy, are you all right?”
Seeing that Li Changjiang’s expression had changed, Doc hurried over and slapped him lightly on the cheek.
“I’m fine. Thanks!”
“Go! Go!”
They were less than a hundred meters from the prison. Looking at the wall ahead, Li Changjiang could not help recalling the last time the Russian had climbed over it. While the others stood frozen for a moment, Li Changjiang swiftly crossed the street and rushed into the building opposite.
“I’ll cover you. Nicholas, get inside and rescue the prisoners!”
Li Changjiang once again chose the same position from which he had sniped the Americans before. He even found the shell casings he had left behind in the same spot. With an almost nervous intensity, he gathered them all up and stuffed them into his pocket.
A moment later, Li Changjiang settled into his firing position.
“I’m in position. You can move!”
“Charge in!”
This time, the Russian went straight through the main gate instead of climbing over the wall. He moved extremely fast, but Li Changjiang was faster.
Crack!
Crack-crack!
The guards were given no chance to raise the alarm. Before the Russian and the others could even make their move, Li Changjiang had already shot them dead. Through his scope, he methodically searched for every target within his line of fire that might obstruct the rescue operation and eliminated them one by one.
The building where he had taken position faced the prison directly. It offered a wide field of view, and its height gave him an excellent vantage point. The memory of the Americans suffering a humiliating defeat here was still fresh in his mind.
Just as the figures of the Russian and the others disappeared into the prison entrance, Li Changjiang’s taut nerves suddenly stretched to the breaking point. His chest tightened with a violent palpitation. Before he could understand what was happening, fierce pain exploded across his back.
Hiss—
Ah—
Fuck!
“Damn it, Nicholas! I’m under attack!”
Li Changjiang sucked in a breath and shouted into the communications channel. The Russian, Angel, and the others were instantly alarmed.
“Damn it, Boss! What happened?”
“Fuck! Angel, go find the Boss. We’ll keep moving in and rescue the prisoners.”
Nicholas made the best decision possible in an instant. Angel immediately turned and ran back.
“No, Abela! Keep moving. I’m fine now!”
Abela hesitated in confusion. Li Changjiang’s contradictory orders had left her bewildered.
“Boss, are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yes, Abela. Keep going in and rescue the prisoners. I’m fine here.”
Li Changjiang truly was fine.
Except for the astonishment that suddenly appeared in his eyes.
What the hell?
How had this thing appeared again?
He looked as if he had seen a ghost, staring fixedly into the empty space before him. The targeting system that had vanished for so long had appeared in his field of vision once more.
But this time, it was different. It seemed to have changed even more dramatically.
Previously, the targeting system had appeared only when he was aiming. Now, however, it had transformed into something resembling a three-dimensional virtual-reality display.
What the hell?
But Li Changjiang had no time to think about it.
“Shut it off!”
“I said, shut it off!”
He repeatedly issued the command within his mind, but the thing remained motionless.
Damn it! Why was this happening?
The system had completely replaced his normal vision. Under ordinary circumstances, Li Changjiang would have had enough patience and time to figure out how to use it, but this was hardly the moment.
“Please proceed to the next step!”
“Please proceed to the next step!”
A voice seemed to echo inside his mind. Li Changjiang was not unfamiliar with it; he had heard it during the previous upgrade.
He swiftly pulled the sniper rifle back inside the building. He had no choice. Until he dealt with this thing, he could not see what was happening outside.
“Next step!”
After issuing the command mentally, the scene before his eyes changed with incredible speed. Just as before, countless images flashed through his mind like frames from a film, rapidly and precisely forming a series of combat stances and human anatomical models.
The process lasted for more than a minute before finally stopping. Then a completely new interface appeared.
“Congratulations, User One. The Hunting System has been upgraded to Advanced Status. Please click Next to confirm the rules of use.”
“Next step!”
Having experienced two previous upgrades, Li Changjiang was already familiar with the procedure. Yet after he issued the command, he froze.
He spent several minutes rapidly reading through the rules of use. By the time he finished, he was anything but calm.
What the hell?
The changes were enormous!
“Rule One: The system will automatically capture all targets within a maximum of ten individuals and provide the optimal firing path. Effective range: eight hundred meters.
“Rule Two: The system will continuously provide the user’s physical data and recommend the optimal training regimen.
“Rule Three: Congratulations on becoming a Novice Hunter. One system skill has been added: perfect accuracy within two hundred meters. Duration: thirty minutes. After the user activates this skill, the entire system will enter a cooldown period of three days.”
Terrifying!
It was unbelievably terrifying!
Li Changjiang barely read the first two rules. The first merely increased his effective firing range, while the second was likely a function unlocked when the system had evolved into the Talent System during the previous upgrade.
What caught his attention was the system skill in the third rule: perfect accuracy within two hundred meters.
It was unbelievably powerful—far too powerful!
Although it lasted only thirty minutes, it was an absolute divine ability in close-range combat. Thirty minutes of perfect accuracy would be enough for him to dominate an entire localized battle, especially in urban warfare.
Terrifying.
There was no doubt about it. It was truly terrifying.
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