His hard-trained marksmanship did not fail him, and coupled with that touch of elusive, invisible luck, he precisely hit a target over 2100 meters away—a moving target, no less. At such an extreme distance, even the most elite sniper couldn't guarantee a hundred percent hit. Beyond skill, it all came down to luck.
The off-road motorcycle lay toppled in the sandy soil. The skid marks on the ground showed it had taken a serious spill. The bike hadn't exploded or caught fire; its build quality was impressive.
The rider lay approximately 17 meters from the motorcycle. A flicker of reluctance passed through Li Juxu's heart. Thrown this far, survival was basically impossible. He had no grudge against this rider; he was just doing a job for money. He didn't even know who the target was or what they looked like.
He quickly reached the scene. The skid and slide marks from the motorcycle stretched over fifty meters across the sand, littered with scattered parts. It was a brutal scene. There was a bullet hole in the engine of the off-road bike. However, the real reason for the violent tumble was the sheer kinetic force of the sniper round. At speeds exceeding 100 km/h, let alone 60 km/h, being hit by a sniper round made it impossible for anyone to control the vehicle; a crash was inevitable.
The front end was severely twisted. Two of the three instrument gauges were shattered, the headlight was completely smashed, the turn signal casing was broken—though the right signal still blinked stubbornly. The rear wheel seemed okay, but the front wheel was bent. A puddle of engine oil stained the ground.
Li Juxu barely glanced at the motorcycle. He walked up behind the rider. That's when he realized the rider was a woman. She had a striking figure; even curled up, her perfect curves were evident. Extensive abrasions covered her buttocks, thighs, and back. The blood created a stark, shocking contrast against her fair skin.
Her left arm was twisted into an unnatural angle, her right hand pinned beneath her. The visor of her helmet had a hole punched through it. Peering through the opening, Li Juxu saw a face of breathtaking beauty. Her delicate features seemed sculpted by the greatest of artists—her eyes, nose, lips all perfect, flawless. In that instant, a powerful wave of guilt washed over him.
Firing at a woman this beautiful—was he even human? Then, a feeling of relief, joy, and washed over him, mixed with lingering fear. The woman's long eyelashes trembled slightly, pain creasing her brow. She wasn't dead! She was alive!
He quickly crouched down, intending to check her condition, to see if she could be helped. Just as his fingers touched her helmet, a sudden alarm bell rang in his mind. It felt like a venomous snake crawling up his back; he sensed the thick presence of death. Without a moment's hesitation, he moved like lightning.
He grabbed her broken left arm and twisted it violently. The woman shuddered. The gun hidden beneath her wavered, the bullet grazing past his thigh. The intense heat raised goosebumps all over his body. He threw his weight onto her, using his mass to suppress her struggles, while simultaneously grabbing her right hand, causing her second shot to go wild.
Li Juxu tried to disarm her, but in the instant they wrestled for the gun, he realized something unbelievable. The woman's strength far exceeded his own. Not only did he fail to take the pistol, but she also managed to clamp down on his left hand. He was a man, in perfect condition; she was weak and injured. Disarming her should have been a sure thing, yet he was countered. Shockwaves ran through him. He knew he was in deep trouble. This woman was no ordinary person.
Judging by the strength disparity, she had likely taken a Grade-2 strength serum. Someone who could afford Grade-2 serum was undoubtedly wealthy or powerful. No wonder the client who posted the mission, despite having top-tier snipers of their own, hired an outsider like him. They clearly knew how formidable this woman was and gave him no warning whatsoever. Perhaps the client never expected him to succeed from the start. He was just a pawn. In that split second, many thoughts flashed through his mind, but his actions didn't pause for an instant. A ruthless glint appeared in his eyes.
He yanked hard with his right hand. The sound of snapping bones echoed. The woman's already deformed arm twisted completely. Her whole body trembled; she couldn't suppress a pained groan and went limp. The moment her right hand relaxed, Li Juxu snatched the gun away. He tossed it over a dozen meters away, then, in one fluid motion, reached down and came up with a dagger and a row of silvery needles. Not taking any chances while she was incapacitated, he frisked her thoroughly. Confirming she had no other weapons, he removed her backpack, picked up the pistol, and prepared to leave.
"Wait—" The woman's voice trembled with pain, yet it remained melodious and incredibly pleasing to the ear. Li Juxu ignored her. He wasn't sure if what he was doing was right, but he couldn't bring himself to kill her. He admitted he was swayed by that face. If it had been an ugly person, he would have put a bullet in them long ago.
"You've become someone else's expendable pawn. Going back like this means certain death!" Sweat beaded on the woman's forehead, but her tone was eerily calm, for she possessed information Li Juxu lacked.
Li Juxu still didn't respond. He acknowledged the truth in her first statement, but he didn't believe he would die. He had started navigating the dangers of Planet Myriad Beasts at fifteen, working as a hunter for nearly three years. He had experience in self-preservation.
"You're not a professional killer. You took this job for money, right? Whatever they're paying you, I'll double it!" The woman was getting anxious, speaking without thinking.
"How will you pay me?" Li Juxu spun around abruptly, his gaze burning into her.
"…" The woman endured the pain to sit up. She was momentarily stunned by the question, then quickly recovered. "How can I trust you to keep your word?"
"Do you have a choice?" Li Juxu's face was expressionless. Hesitation flickered in the woman's eyes.
"Your time is running out!" Li Juxu reminded her.
Gritting her teeth, the woman stood up and limped over to the motorcycle. She pressed somewhere, revealing a hidden compartment. The fuel tank actually had two sections, and one of them was crammed full of gold coins.
"We're partners now!" Li Juxu tossed the pistol back to her. He retrieved a bag and scooped all the gold coins into it—over two hundred of them. Rich people were something else, carrying this many gold coins around.
"Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" The woman stared at his back, raising the pistol several times before finally lowering it.
"If I die, you'll die even faster. If we work together, you might just have a chance to survive. My life isn't worth much. Yours... is very valuable." Li Juxu stuffed the bag of coins into his jacket, zipped it up, and then extended his right hand.
He opened his palm to reveal a handful of gleaming bullets. He had already unloaded the magazine without her noticing.
"First, tell me what you know?" The woman took all the bullets as if nothing had happened.
"No time, run!" Li Juxu shouted and took off at a sprint. The woman initially thought he was just taking the money and running, but she immediately realized she was wrong.
Thud—
A bullet hole appeared in the ground right by her foot, emitting a wisp of hot steam. Without a word, she followed Li Juxu in a frantic dash.
Within a two-hundred-meter radius, it was completely flat with no cover whatsoever, except for a pile of rocks two hundred meters away. The enemy was 2500 meters out. Li Juxu knew that since the client sent someone to silence them, it would be a top-tier sniper, not some weakling. But at this distance, a hit relied heavily on luck. The sniper was gambling on luck, and so was he.
Two consecutive shots missed. He felt no joy, only mounting anxiety. Two snipers? The client really thought highly of him. He was about to check on the woman when a shadow flashed past him. That bright red leather was unmistakable, perfectly outlining her graceful curves.
Her waist was incredibly slender. It was hard to believe such a delicate waist could generate such explosive power. During their struggle for the pistol, when he had pinned her down, the contest wasn't just in their arms. His legs had been locked around hers, his body pressed against hers, and he had felt her strength vividly. If he hadn't been gripping her broken left arm, she might have thrown him off.
Twenty meters from the rock pile, the woman vanished behind a meter-high boulder. A bullet skimmed its edge, spraying chips of stone. Then, Li Juxu heard bullets snapping at his heels. The two snipers, having lost the woman, had focused entirely on him.
Despite her injuries and late start, the woman's speed still surpassed his. Li Juxu was both shocked and awed. He had truly messed with the wrong person this time. Taking this side job had been far too reckless. If the woman hadn't been injured, in a fair fight, she could probably have killed him in three seconds.
His luck held. As a bullet whizzed past his head, he dove behind the rocks. The cover was only half a meter high but thick enough to shield them from the snipers for now.
"Eight enemies identified so far. Two snipers, positions unknown. Two machine gunners, one rocket launcher, and three with other weapons. They're advancing on us fast. If we don't take out that rocket launcher first, we're in big trouble." The woman held a shard of glass—probably from the motorcycle's rearview mirror—and had assessed the enemy situation in seconds. Her combat skills were top-notch.
"Rocket's effective range is 400 meters, max range 1000. I'll take him out at 1000." Leaning against the rock, Li Juxu silently regulated his breathing, cradling his NC-2