Planet Myriad Beasts, 50.78 Light-Years from the Home Planet, Nameless Wasteland, High Noon.
The blazing sun was like fire, baking the earth.
It was the hottest time of the day. The ground temperature soared to 56.8 degrees. Li Juxu lay motionless among the rocks, his clothes long since soaked through, yet his heart felt like it was in an icy abyss, every hair on his body standing on end. Less than three centimeters from his eyes, a yellowish-brown snake was slowly slithering past, its forked tongue flicking in and out, emitting a faint sound.
Hiss—hiss—
Its head was triangular, the tip of its tail a pale white. Its body was covered in fine, intricate patterns with rust-colored markings. Part of its dorsal scales were yellowish-green, clustered together forming lichen-like patches. These left and right patches met at the center of its back, creating a continuous vertical stripe.
A Wasteland Burning Copperhead, a highly venomous species under the viper family. Deadly poison; a single drop could kill 12 adult men. Upon being bitten, the body stiffens instantly, foaming at the mouth within 3 seconds, consciousness fades within 5 seconds. No matter how formidable, no one lasts more than 10 seconds. A Wasteland Burning Copperhead can reach up to 4.5 meters in length and is highly aggressive. The one before him was nearly 3.8 meters long.
The venomous snake slithered right over his NC-22 sniper rifle. Li Juxu dared not even breathe. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his forehead, the salt stinging his eyes, but he remained oblivious, not blinking. The moment the Burning Copperhead's belly touched his cheek, a wave of coldness transferred to him. At that instant, Li Juxu clearly saw goosebumps rise on his arms. After a momentary pause, his heart thumped like thunder. The Burning Copperhead seemed to sense something and suddenly stopped. In that instant, every muscle in Li Juxu's body tensed. He exerted immense willpower to force his body to remain perfectly still, not even letting an eyebrow twitch. Those few seconds felt like centuries to him. And it was at this very moment that the target appeared in his scope.
A roaring sound grew from the distance. It was a 295 off-road motorcycle, blue in color, speeding at over 85 km/h, kicking up a trail of dust across the wilderness.
The rider wore a helmet, so their face was hidden. However, that wasn't important. Li Juxu's mission was to kill the rider and steal their backpack. What was inside the backpack, who the rider was—he didn't need to know. He just needed to hand over the backpack as instructed. That was the rule.
There were many routes back to the settlement, but this one was the flattest. Li Juxu's eyes were on the motorcycle, but his focus was on the Burning Copperhead. At the motorcycle's speed, it would reach the turn in about 10 seconds. Given the wilderness road conditions, the rider would have to slow down—that would be his prime sniping opportunity.
Eight seconds later, the motorcycle began to decelerate. The rider took the turn at 50 km/h. Everything was unfolding exactly as he had envisioned. The only thing he hadn't accounted for was the Burning Copperhead.
Angle, light, wind speed, air pressure… everything was under control. If he fired now, success was nearly certain. He could even picture the off-road motorcycle tumbling. But it all came to a halt because of the Burning Copperhead.
His right index finger was already resting on the trigger. One squeeze, and the mission would be complete. 500,000 credits would be his. But he didn't dare.
Li Juxu was frantic but utterly helpless. In this position, at this distance, he stood no chance against the Burning Copperhead. The motorcycle had already cleared the turn and was accelerating. The rider must have been a maniac; the speed shot up past 100 km/h instantly, the engine's roar echoing far into the distance. Startled by the noise, the Burning Copperhead grew agitated, its hissing becoming sharp and piercing. Li Juxu's heart pounded with terror, his eyes locked on the snake, ready to fight for his life at any moment. Fortunately, the Burning Copperhead didn't seem to detect him. Its triangular head slowly lowered, and it resumed its slithering, passing through the crevices in the rocks before stopping under a massive boulder several dozen meters away. Where it had passed, the weeds were pressed down, leaving a faint trail. The boulder, over two meters high and irregular in shape, blocked the scorching sun. The temperature at its base was relatively lower. The Burning Copperhead coiled up there to rest.
Li Juxu slowly exhaled a breath. As he relaxed, he felt his muscles go weak, an almost dizzying sensation of exhaustion washing over him. But he had no time to rest; he was still thinking about the mission. If the mission failed, not only would he forfeit the commission and damage his reputation, but his 20,000-credit deposit would also be confiscated. That was his entire life savings.
The motorcycle was now just a black dot the size of a fist, about 2100 meters away. Li Juxu took a deep breath. In an instant, his gaze became piercingly sharp. His whole being radiated the fighting spirit of a leopard that had spotted its prey. He had no other choice; he had to take a gamble.
The NC-22 sniper rifle, also known as the Red Guard Individual Sniper Rifle, weighed 13.10 kg, had an overall length of 155.87 mm, a barrel length of 748.7 mm, a barrel twist rate of 392 mm, an overall height of 244 mm, and a trigger pull of 1.8 kg (adjustable). Caliber: 12.7 mm. Magazine capacity: 11 rounds. Disassembled length: 966.1 mm. Sighting device: K2 optical scope. Effective range: 1500 meters.
The target was beyond effective range, but not beyond maximum range. There was still a chance. For an ordinary sniper, it would be pure luck. Li Juxu was different; he was born with exceptional vision, as if destined to be a sniper. His concentration peaked. His gaze seemed to stretch infinitely, the black dot gradually coming into focus. The rider was wearing leather pants—bright red, how flashy.
The opportunity was fleeting. His mind entered its calmest state, like the moon reflecting in an ancient well, the image as clear as a mirror. Just as Li Juxu was about to pull the trigger, a flicker of reluctance flashed through him. He adjusted his aim, moving the barrel down by an imperceptible margin.
BANG—
The deafening gunshot echoed across the wilderness. Li Juxu leaped up and sprinted at full speed, clutching his NC-22. He didn't even have time to grab the two chocolate bars in the oil-paper bag beside him—something unthinkable for someone as frugal as him. Almost as soon as he darted away, he caught a blur of motion streaking out from the rocks in his peripheral vision. The speed was incredible.
The Wasteland Burning Copperhead, startled by the gunshot, had launched itself directly at him. Dozens of meters closed in the blink of an eye. If he had been even a second slower, he would never have gotten up again. The snake landed exactly where he had been lying, coiled itself to its limit, and launched itself again, like a bow drawn to its fullest, its tension terrifying.
Li Juxu executed a quick roll, dodging the snake's lightning-fast strike. But in the next second, his eyes widened in shock. The Burning Copperhead twisted in mid-air, seemingly defying the planet's gravity, and shot straight for his neck. At this close range, he could clearly see the snake's open mouth, large enough to swallow an adult's fist, its curved fangs gleaming pure white.
Facing life or death, Li Juxu's mind grew eerily calm instead. With a flick of his right hand, he unleashed his years-honed card-throwing skill. A playing card shot out like a bolt of lightning. Blood flashed. The card had actually sliced off one of the forked tips of the Burning Copperhead's tongue. Whether from pain or surprise, the snake's triangular head recoiled sharply.
Li Juxu rolled again. As he rose, he pushed off the ground with both feet, his body shooting out like a cannonball, clearing over six meters. Ahead lay a drop of over three meters. He planted his right hand on the ground, using the momentum to execute a forward somersault, landing gracefully. He then accelerated fiercely, his feet churning like wheels, faster than a galloping horse. In the midst of his flight, he glanced back and cursed inwardly.
"Damn it!"
The Burning Copperhead had already slithered down the three-meter drop and was quickly pursuing him, giving no sign of stopping.
"I never heard Burning Copperheads were this vengeful, did I? I just disturbed its sleep, is that a reason to go this far?" Li Juxu thought, speechless. But he wasn't as worried now. In a short burst, he couldn't outrun the Burning Copperhead. But once he hit his top speed in a straight line, he believed he could outpace a snake. The distance was already opening up. Even if the Burning Copperhead grew four legs, he wouldn't fear it. Besides, after the sprint came the marathon; a snake's endurance couldn't possibly match a human's. Well, hibernation didn't count.
Knowing the Burning Copperhead couldn't catch him, he finally had time to focus on the off-road motorcycle.