The snipers were nearly wiped out. Wang Zhenhu's expression couldn't have been uglier.
He never expected the enemy to have someone else lurking in the shadows.
He'd already guessed who it was - their team had an Invisibility user.
But so what if he guessed? The bastard stayed invisible the entire time. There was nothing he could do.
Forget the invisible one - he couldn't even handle the ones he could see.
These people were like cockroaches that refused to die. Surrounded by thousands, and still unkillable.
What galled him most was that they could use their abilities endlessly, as if their reserves were bottomless.
He'd encountered two ability users before. Both burned through their power after a handful of uses.
These freaks just kept going. Was it really just because they were Tier 6?
Wang Zhenhu's expression shifted between dark and darker. Finally, he gritted his teeth.
"Get A Wang."
"Yes, sir."
The steward nodded and left quickly.
Before long, he returned with a pale-faced young man in tow.
"Third Master."
"A Wang. If I advance you to Tier 6, can you ambush and kill them?"
The moment he heard "Tier 6," A Wang's eyes lit up.
"Third Master, once I hit Tier 6, forget ambushes - I'll take them head-on!"
"I don't need you fighting them head-on. I just need you to kill them from the shadows."
"No problem!" A Wang thumped his chest. "Consider it done."
"Good. Follow me."
Wang Zhenhu turned and walked into the building behind him. The steward and A Wang hurried after.
Up on the rooftop, Chen Hao had been tracking Wang Zhenhu through his scope for a while now, but couldn't find a clean shot.
He was new to sniping. Stationary targets were fine, but Wang Zhenhu kept moving around, never giving him a clear window.
"Fuck. Can't snipe you, guess I'll just slit your throat instead." Chen Hao clicked his tongue in annoyance.
He'd already figured it out - this guy was the base's boss.
Kill him, and the whole base falls apart.
Chen Hao abandoned the rifle, headed downstairs, and crept toward the room Wang Zhenhu had entered.
Inside, Wang Zhenhu hesitated. Then he reached into his coat and pulled out a crystal.
This was the Tier-6 crystal harvested from the Tier-6 zombie they'd cultivated last night.
It was meant for Big Brother. But the situation left no choice - use it now, or lose the base entirely.
"Take it. Don't disappoint me." Wang Zhenhu held the crystal out to A Wang.
A Wang accepted it with trembling hands, barely able to contain his excitement.
"Tier 6... The entire base doesn't have a single Tier-6 Evolver, and I'm going to be the first."
"Third Master, rest assured - once I reach Tier 6, every last one of them dies."
"Good. Eat it. Now."
"Thank you, Third Master!"
A Wang nodded eagerly, raised the crystal, and tossed it toward his mouth.
Then - searing pain in his hand.
The crystal was gone. So was his entire palm.
"Heh. Giving something like this to you? What a waste that'd be."
A gleeful voice rang out from nowhere.
A figure materialized in the room, the stolen crystal sitting in his palm, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face.
Now this - this was an unexpected windfall.
"You-!"
All three men in the room stared wide-eyed at the figure that had appeared from thin air.
It never occurred to them that someone had followed them inside.
"You... you're dead!"
The promotion he'd been about to swallow, ripped away at the last second. Rage consumed A Wang whole.
He whipped his hand forward. A transparent Wind Blade tore through the air toward Chen Hao.
"Holy shit-!"
Chen Hao wasn't Yang Bin. He had no idea this guy was an ability user. His reaction came half a beat too late.
The Wind Blade was fast. By the time Chen Hao moved to dodge, it had already arrived.
It carved across his chest with a wet rip, opening a gash from shoulder to ribs.
"Sss- Son of a bitch, that hurts!"
Chen Hao sucked air through his teeth. He hadn't expected to take a hit here of all places.
Lucky the guy was only peak Tier 5. Tier 6, and that slash would've been a different conversation entirely.
Note to self: stop underestimating people.
He activated Invisibility instantly.
But the blood dripping steadily from his wound betrayed his position.
A Wang launched another Wind Blade at the trail of red.
Chen Hao threw himself sideways. The blade kissed past his body and struck the wall behind him - splitting a crack clean through to the other side.
"Decent power. No wonder it stung like a bitch."
One muttered complaint, then Chen Hao closed the distance toward A Wang.
"Someone get in here! NOW!"
Wang Zhenhu bellowed, then charged at Chen Hao alongside the steward.
He knew the math. Stand still and die.
Two peak Tier-5 fighters plus a peak Tier-5 ability user - they should be able to stall, at least. The enemy's ability was just Invisibility, and with the blood trail rendering it useless, the odds weren't terrible.
Right?
They underestimated Brother Hao.
Say what you will - he was Yang Bin's number one. The Way of Assassination wasn't something he'd studied. It was something he'd perfected.
Even bleeding, Chen Hao in Invisibility was blindingly fast. Both attacks whiffed. The steward felt a sting at his throat, and then his head was rolling across the floor.
Chen Hao had brought only a dagger this time. Short blade. Didn't matter. Short was all you needed when you knew where to cut.
He moved like a shadow with a knife - still until the moment he wasn't, and by then someone was already dead.
Wang Zhenhu and A Wang watched the steward's head hit the ground separately from his body. Terror seized them both. They bolted for the door.
Chen Hao moved to pursue - another Wind Blade forced him to sidestep.
"This goddamn bleeding."
He ripped a strip from his shirt and wrapped the wound tight. Enough to stop the dripping for now.
Hu Wenliang wasn't here. This was the best he could do.
Then he gave chase.
"If you two actually get away from me today, I'll eat my fucking boots."
Getting tagged by a Tier-5 ability user - Brother Bin was never going to let him hear the end of it.
Invisible Chen Hao was fast. A Wang and Wang Zhenhu barely made it outside before he caught up.
But their reinforcements had arrived. Over a hundred men formed a wall around the two.
"He's inside! Rifles - suppress the doorway, flush him out!" Wang Zhenhu ordered.
A volley of automatic fire tore into the building entrance.
They kept shooting. And shooting. No one emerged.
"Nothing? Did he already leave?" Wang Zhenhu frowned.
"Leave?" A voice whispered directly into his ear. "Haven't killed you yet. Why would I leave?"
"You-!"
Shock flooded Wang Zhenhu's face. His mouth opened to shout.
Pain at his neck. Then nothing.
"Third Master!"
Wang Zhenhu's body crumpled to the ground. Every soldier nearby went pale.
A Wang's face drained of whatever color it had left. He dove into the crowd, trying to disappear among the bodies.
Two steps. Pain at the back of his neck. Vision gone.
"I told you. Except for Brother Bin, I kill whoever I want. You hit me and thought you could run? Keep dreaming."