William cautiously checked back and forth along the passage twice and returned to the N11 base after confirming that there was no problem. This rigorous style made him very popular with large organizations such as Penn & Co., and it also allowed him to obtain two licenses of Penn & Co. very smoothly.
The process of handing over the task went smoothly. As Tony had said before, the old Anthony was still a very good person. After confirming William's achievements, at least he was very straightforward in paying the remuneration and had no intention of regretting it. Although he couldn't hide his surprise that William completed the task so quickly.
Old Anthony didn't mention a word about the whole nest of living corpses led by intelligent leaders, which certainly didn't mean he didn't know about it. However, compared to what William had encountered in other settlements, Old Anthony could be said to have a good reputation. From this point of view, Tony was not wrong. As for the small information asymmetry, in this era, it is really a trivial thing.
A 10 cm test tube filled with dark green liquid was the main part of William's reward this time, the primary genetic evolution potion. In fact, the gold content of the medicine produced by the N11 base laboratory was not high because this kind of formula tends to improve the ability of the psionic domain, and the effect in other ability domains is much worse. Although the psionic domain can be said to be the most widely used ability domain, the improved potions that are biased towards a certain ability domain are far lower in value compared to the general-purpose potions with stable effects.
As soon as he bought the potion, William already had a vague feeling that it was a semi-universal potion that tended towards the psionic domain. If he found a suitable buyer, this potion with reduced effect could be sold for around 4,000 yuan. Although it was still 20% lower than the expected 5,000 yuan remuneration, William did not intend to continue entangled in this detail. Old Anthony may have done so only out of the shrewdness of a businessman. Negotiations require strength, and William doesn't think he has the strength to make concessions to the N11 base with 20 first-tier fighters.
After taking a preliminary inventory of his equipment and the remaining money, William bought three boxes of rifle ammunition for pistols from Tony and added a pot of high-purity water. Then, William quietly left the N11 base.
The rewards of this mission were quite rich. After deducting consumption and living expenses, the estimated net income was around 3500, not including most of the evolution points brought by clearing a nest of living corpses. Since William's ability had reached the third level, a living corpse that could provide ordinary people with one and a half evolution points would not bring William even one evolution point. Of course, it would also be difficult for ordinary people to survive a battle of this intensity.
Another sunny day. The sun with strong ultraviolet rays scorched the earth mercilessly, but the thick cloak on William's body blocked all the sun's rays. He wasn't walking fast, but his speed was constant, and he didn't stop in front of the ruins of a lonely house until noon. During the day when the sun was strong, most of the mutated creatures would inhabit their lairs, so William chose to hurry at this time, even though he could use his abilities better at night.
William carefully inspected the villa that lost half of its roof, and relaxed after confirming that there were no deadly creatures hidden, nor was it a lair of some kind of large carnivore like the Iron Armored Bear.
He took out the bullets used in the pistol and used an alloy file less than 10 centimeters in length to engrave strange patterns on each bullet. The bullets treated in this way would explode shortly after firing or when they entered the target body, thereby multiplying their power. As for the loss of accuracy, it was out of his consideration. When William used the pistol, he was never more than 30 meters away from the target.
William handled the bullets calmly, one after another, never seeming to get bored or tired. In the blink of an eye, a box of bullets was processed, and the pattern engraved on each bullet was exactly the same. Even if it was engraved with a precision machine tool, it seemed that it was nothing more than that.
William carefully put away the bullets, took out the second box, and opened it. It seemed that the two hours of repetitive work did not tire him. The experience of wandering alone in the wilderness told him that enough patience is necessary for survival.
William frowned suddenly and caught a very weak but unusual vibration on the ground. He put away the bullets and tools at an incredible speed, and took the rifle in his hand. With a flash of his right hand, he had pushed a modified bullet into the chamber. Then he took a few steps to the wall and looked out through a gap in the wall. While doing all this, William made no sound at all except for the metal clang of his rifle being loaded.
At this time, William had no sights on his rifle at all. That old-fashioned optical sight was useless to William, whose eyesight had been enhanced to the third level. The reason why he kept this thing was just to confuse the people in the settlement or the base.
William narrowed his eyes slightly to block the reflection of his eyes and looked out carefully. He was good at long-distance shooting himself, and of course, he knew what would give away his whereabouts.
A few kilometers away, billowing smoke and dust could be seen, which seemed to be a convoy. And judging from the vibrations from the ground, there should be at least one chariot in the convoy. Looking at the speed of the smoke and dust from a distance, the convoy did not travel fast, only about 20 kilometers. Looking at the direction the convoy was heading, it was the N11 base. William's heart moved. He sat quietly for a few minutes, finally stood up slowly, bent his body, and ran to the N11 base at a constant speed of 25 kilometers.
Although he is not friends with the residents of the N11 base, William decided to go and have a look. At least the N11 base gave him a warm feeling, somewhat similar to "home". This had never happened before, so although William knew from the moment he entered the base that N11's independence would not last long, he still wanted to go and have a look.
With the ability to process water, and possibly even a hidden water source, the N11 base has become the biggest piece of fat in this area. No one will not be tempted by the N11 base. The N11 base must either be wiped out or be attached to a more powerful force like the Penn Corporation in order to continue to survive. After all, Turner's team alone, consisting of only twenty people, cannot defend the independence of a base that can provide clean water.
William arrived at the periphery of the N11 base almost at the same time as the team. Along the way, he already knew the composition of the team.
The convoys, one behind the other, each have an old-fashioned chariot from the old era. In the middle are three heavy-duty trucks filled with soldiers, and the most striking one is a wheeled armored command vehicle.
The convoy had a clear goal. As soon as they arrived at the destination, the two chariots drove to the front and blocked the exit of the N11 base. More than a hundred soldiers on three trucks set up a second line of defense behind the tanks. Although this group of soldiers didn't have first-level abilities like Turner's team, and their equipment wasn't as sophisticated as Turner's team, having five times the number of soldiers and two tanks could completely overwhelm the armed forces of the N11 base.
Several soldiers jumped out of the armored command vehicle. They were dressed in dark camouflage uniforms, carried new-age automatic rifles, and moved with vigor and sturdiness that set them apart from ordinary soldiers.
William, who was hiding one kilometer away, narrowed his pupils slightly. These fighters all possess second-level abilities, and there are two third-level fighters among them! Seeing the sophisticated sniper rifle in the hands of one of the Tier 3 fighters, William became more cautious about revealing his position.
The soldiers in front had already started shouting with loudspeakers to persuade the people inside to surrender, while several special forces members cautiously entered the cave. At this time, the roof of the command vehicle was opened, and two people in commander's attire stood up from the vehicle, looking at the hill in front of them where the N11 base was hidden.
"Listen, people inside! This is the guard directly under the Roxelland Corporation! Now this base will be taken over by the Roxelland Corporation. You have three minutes to open the gate of the base and come out to surrender. The base facilities must remain intact! Otherwise, you will be held responsible for the consequences!"
While the repetitive, monotonous but real and effective threat was still echoing in the air from the loudspeakers, dense and dull gunshots suddenly sounded in the cave. Although far away, William immediately recognized the gunshots from the base's automatic defense platform. Then several special forces members withdrew from the cave in a rather embarrassed manner. When they came out, two fewer people emerged, but the packages they were carrying were gone.
After a while, there was a sudden loud bang, and thick smoke with countless broken stones spewed out from the cave. Subsequently, cracks appeared all over the mountain, and the explosions continued. In the end, almost half of the hillside was blown away by a powerful explosion!
The scattered rubble kept falling, hitting the tank's shell and the soldiers who had been lying on the ground for a long time. The Roxelland fighters, equipped with steel helmets and bulletproof vests, suffered few injuries. In the swirling stone rain, although the command vehicle was shaken to a height of half a meter, the two commanders on the vehicle stood up straight, seemingly glued to the vehicle.
After the entire hillside was lifted off, the gate of the N11 base was revealed, and the automatic defense weapon hanger outside the gate had long since disappeared. The gear-shaped gate was overturned inward, and the tractor was also exposed. With another blast or a few direct-hit bombs from the tank, the gate of the base would be opened. Despite the firmness and structure of the base gate, such an explosion was powerful enough to cause damage, but for some reason, the gate was completely broken.
At that moment, an accident occurred. The violent vibration traveled one kilometer away, causing a row of abandoned two-story buildings to collapse. William, who was lying on the roof, had to jump down and landed lightly on the ground.
As soon as he made his presence known, the two commanders on the command vehicle immediately noticed him! They both raised their binoculars almost simultaneously and looked in his direction. The elite fighters around the command vehicle also spotted William and raised their guns, taking aim. Of course, at a distance of nearly 1,200 meters, only the RF1000 sniper rifle in the hands of the third-tier sniper posed a real deadly threat.
When William landed, he immediately half-kneeled on the ground, set up his long rifle, and aimed at the third-tier sniper. The ground tremors continued, and the strong wind brought by the blast wave blew past, lifting William's cloak. However, the rifle in his hand didn't waver in the slightest. When the follow-up shockwave hit, William noticed that the muzzle of the sniper's gun seemed to move slightly. William's pupils immediately contracted into crosshairs, but he didn't pull the trigger. At this distance, without any optical sights, William recognized that one of the commanders on the command vehicle was Sophia, the woman who broke into his room that night!
The woman wore a high-ranking officer's uniform, complete with a dazzling gold star on her epaulets. Her short hair was tied under a beret, and her face seemed cold as ice, with a gaze that exuded a deadly aura. Even in this state, Sophia appeared as a formidable soldier, dominating the battlefield. It was hard to believe that she could still retain any trace of the drunken infatuation from that night.
Beside her, the commander pointed at William and shouted, "Kill that man!"
Responding swiftly, the third-tier sniper tightened his finger on the trigger, getting ready to take the final aim. William remained motionless, resembling a statue. His green eyes closely observed the sniper's movements, even capturing the slightest twitch of his facial muscles. William chose not to shoot first. At this distance, if the sniper made any indication of firing, William could shoot first and dodge. It was an instinctive feeling that shooting first would not be in his best interest.
"Stop!" Sophia immediately shouted, restraining the commander's hand.
The sniper clearly recognized who held the real authority and immediately released the trigger on his cell phone upon hearing the order. The moment he let go, the heavy weight pressing on his heart disappeared.
"Sir, that person seems suspicious. He has been following us all this while and appears to be a sniper. It would be better to eliminate him..." The commander didn't seem to agree with Sophia's order.
Sophia interrupted him coldly: "I told him to leave! Don't provoke him!"
"But..." The commander was not easily persuaded.
Sophia's face grew even darker: "Are you questioning my orders for the third time? Answer me, Lieutenant Colonel!"
The commander snapped to attention and replied loudly: "I completely obey your orders, General!"
Despite her youth, bravery, and evident military talent, the commander did not dare challenge her authority for a third time. Though he couldn't help but notice the seemingly ambiguous connection between Sophia and the distant sniper, a burning jealousy within him urged him to eliminate the man immediately. However, he did not let his emotions cloud his judgment, especially when Sophia reiterated her order for the third time. In Roxelland Corporation, apart from her exceptional military skills, everyone knew of Sophia's decisiveness, cruelty, and ruthlessness on the battlefield. She allowed her subordinates to question her orders, but only twice. Those who dared try for a third chance never left the battlefield alive.
Annexing the N11 base with brute force was typical of Sophia. The plan involved denying the base any opportunity for peaceful negotiations and instead using a substantial amount of explosives to blow open the gate, followed by what she called "negotiations." In Sophia's eyes, a turtle without its shell lacked bargaining power. Once the gate was blown open, the remaining individuals in the N11 base had only two choices: unconditional surrender, becoming either slaves or free people, depending on her whim, or facing execution if they dared to resist.
Sophia glanced at the elite fighters surrounding the command vehicle and spoke coldly: "Lower your weapons! Do I need to repeat myself?"
The elite fighters immediately complied, setting down their guns. They understood that there was no room for hesitation when carrying out her orders, nor were unnecessary actions or words that could misconstrue her intentions acceptable. On the battlefield, Sophia was a merciless slaughterer, both to enemies and her own troops.
After asserting her control over her subordinates, she looked at William in the distance. Despite the distance and the absence of optics, she had an intuition that he could discern every expression on her face.
Raising her hand, she pointed at William from afar, a mischievous smile playing on her lips, while her eyes gleamed as if they were about to ignite. She believed that William could understand her intentions.
"Sooner or later, you will be mine," her left eye declared.
"I will capture you," her right eye proclaimed.
William remained silent, not contemplating the hypothetical scenario that would follow. He simply holstered his modified rifle, turned, and vanished into the wilderness ruins. Sophia turned her gaze toward the adjutant by her side, her face still adorned with that ambiguous and desire-filled smile—the sort of smile that nearly set the adjutant's eyes ablaze. She gently tapped her adjutant's forehead with her left hand and said, "I know you're not convinced. But at this distance, he can easily blow your head apart!"
The adjutant's face turned pale, unwilling to believe that a person could hit a target 1,200 meters away without relying on a scope. However, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the Tier 3 sniper who he considered his trump card. The sniper was half-kneeling on the ground, his face drained of color, and his military uniform soaked in sweat. Only the support of his sniper rifle prevented him from collapsing completely.
It was at this moment that the adjutant became genuinely surprised. He knew how many battles this sniper had fought in, and he understood the sniper's incredible and unyielding record. Yet, at a distance where snipers excelled, facing an old-fashioned modified rifle without a scope, the veteran abruptly crumbled after just one minute of confrontation. It was completely inexplicable.
In the new era, there were numerous occurrences defying explanation, and this was merely one of them. The adjutant's face remained ashen. Though he didn't dare challenge Sophia's authority on the battlefield, it didn't mean he feared her. Within their company, his influential backer held a higher status than Sophia. The scorching sun finally vanished behind the clouds, casting a veil of darkness over the sky. Darkness enveloped the ruins in all directions, marking the arrival of another starless and moonless night.