"Hey, hey! This is Raymond! This is Raymond! Do you read? Over!"
"Meow, meow, meow! Meow, meow! Meow, meow, meow!"
"I don't understand, over!"
"Meow, meow, meow! Meow, meow, meow!"
Raymond put down the military walkie-talkie, ending his conversation with a cat.
At that moment, he was lying prone on the rooftop of a building, trying his best to conceal himself. In front of him was a nearly 1.5-meter-long, entirely black, cold and formidable heavy sniper rifle.
A Barrett M82A1.
Raymond had found the M82 in the armory. There was no mistaking it—it was too famous, dominating the 12.7mm sniper rifle market. Domestic forces might not use it, but they couldn't be unaware of it.
An M99, a Barrett M82, and an 88-type sniper rifle—these were the three sniper rifles Raymond had brought from the military. Apart from the 88-type's 5.8mm small-caliber sniper rifle, the other two were large-caliber anti-materiel sniper rifles.
Lowering his head, Raymond brought his eye close to the scope for a careful observation, then picked up the walkie-talkie again: "Ben Mao, Ben Mao, the target is two hundred meters ahead, to your left. I'll take the first shot, and you act when you hear the gunfire. Over!"
"Meow, meow, meow!"
After giving these instructions, Raymond placed the walkie-talkie aside, tilted his head slightly, and pressed his eye to the scope.
Through the scope, he could see a large gray-white bird on the distant, empty street. It was walking leisurely, looking around with curiosity at its surroundings. This was understandable. Except for the special individuals, other evolved creatures had only awakened their intelligence in the past few days. As animals, their thoughts had been muddled; they neither explored their surroundings nor themselves, acting mostly on instinct. With their newfound intelligence, everything in their world now seemed entirely different to them.
Curiosity about oneself and one's surroundings was inevitable. The indifferent demeanor of the long-eared rabbit next door was the true anomaly, but given it was a special individual, it made sense.
Comparing the target with the surrounding buildings, Raymond judged its height to be between 1.5 and 2 meters when standing, though it was hard to be precise without a closer look. Not being very familiar with birds, he couldn't determine which species it had evolved from. Given its size, he decided to call it Eagle Brother, though the color was a bit off.
After flexing his fingers and exhaling lightly, Raymond closed one eye and aimed with the other, slowing his breathing. Gradually, his previously anxious heartbeat steadied.
In his right palm, a light gray cat paw print began to warm up.
At the same time, Raymond suddenly noticed that the world around him had changed.
The wind was clearer now. Unlike before, when he could only feel the breeze on his face but not hear it, he now heard it—a pleasant sound of fluctuating tones, nature's own melody. Although the image in the scope hadn't changed, Raymond felt as if everything had become magnified several times. Everything became incredibly clear, and his previously uneasy heart relaxed, giving him more confidence in the shot.
People often said cats were nearsighted, but it was obvious that applying common cat knowledge to Ben Mao was a huge mistake. This was Raymond's first time fully borrowing Ben Mao's power, and he felt all his senses had been greatly enhanced. It was indeed a novel experience.
Quickly, though, he refocused on the prey before him, placing his finger lightly on the trigger, patiently waiting for the right moment. However, just then, Eagle Brother, who had been leisurely looking around, suddenly turned its head and looked directly in Raymond's direction.
"Damn! It spotted me!" Raymond's pupils contracted slightly as he saw this through the scope. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger. "Bang--!"
A deafening noise erupted! The massive bullet flew out instantly, roaring as it tore through the air at an unimaginable speed. In the next moment, a fierce wave grazed Eagle Brother's wing, hitting a nearby utility pole and creating a bowl-sized hole, then continued its path of destruction into the ground before finally stopping.
Debris flew everywhere, and dust filled the air!
The terrifying power left Eagle Brother utterly stunned!
Having noticed a glint from that direction, it had looked over and, with its evolved, incredible vision, identified the object as a gun. Though different from the human firearms it had seen in its animal days, it still recognized it as a gun.
Despite its disdain, perhaps due to instincts ingrained during its animal days, it had reflexively dodged a little. Unexpectedly, this deeply ingrained fear had just saved its life.
The burning pain in its wing was a reminder of the dreadful power of that shot. Eagle Brother instantly snapped to alertness, let out a shriek, and without sparing a thought for its wounded wing, flapped desperately to take off.
Almost simultaneously, another "Bang" rang out, and the spot where it had stood shattered into fragments!
The gray-white bird evolved being screeched in terror, frantically trying to flee.
"Bang--!"
The third shot!
A nearby building's air conditioner unit was pierced, and the wall behind it blasted open with a massive hole!
The dreadful penetration power meant even its evolved body wouldn't withstand a direct hit. If struck, the sheer force would tear it apart!
The primal fear of being hunted surged back, overwhelming it. It flapped its wings in a mad frenzy, pushing its flight speed to the limit and escaping to the far side of a building, vanishing from Raymond's sight.
"Missed."
Watching Eagle Brother flee and disappear, Raymond released his finger from the trigger, feeling a twinge of regret. However, this outcome wasn't entirely unexpected. Among all firearms, sniper rifles are undoubtedly the hardest to master. Due to the long distance, even a slight tremor of the hand could result in a miss by several meters. Raymond, after all, wasn't a professionally trained sniper. His performance just now was largely due to Ben Mao's power.
Besides, this wasn't a movie. In reality, even professional snipers find it extremely difficult to hit a fast-moving target from a long distance.
"If the first shot misses, hitting the target later becomes incredibly difficult. I should have taken it by surprise and finished it in one shot," Raymond said, picking up the walkie-talkie to notify Ben Mao to meet at the predetermined location.
The fight had ended too quickly, leaving Ben Mao no chance to showcase his skills. He could only watch as Eagle Brother escaped. After all, Ben Mao couldn't fly.
This was also why Raymond wanted to capture Eagle Brother. He wondered if Ben Mao could grow wings and, if so, whether he could fly using Ben Mao's power. Flying had always been a dream of humankind!
After notifying Ben Mao, Raymond got up and was about to pick up the Barrett M82 when a shadow suddenly flashed before him. A gentle, sweet voice came from nearby, "Your gun packs quite a punch."
Raymond turned to see the sudden appearance of Miss Rabbit. She had been startling him like this for the past few days. Initially, she scared him, but after a few occurrences, he got used to it and even joked about her stealthy observations with Ben Mao.
Miss Rabbit's human observation diary?
Raymond walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down, astonished. "Did you jump up from below? This building, though not very tall, is still eight stories high, about 20 meters."
"Yes," Miss Rabbit responded casually, examining the M82 on the ground.
Raymond shrugged. "Can't compare, can't compare. No wonder she's a special individual with a meteorite shard." Since Miss Rabbit moved into the hotel a few days ago, several evolving creatures that Ben Mao vaguely sensed had disappeared, and no new ones had entered the hotel in the past few days.
The Hangzhou Hai Hotel had seemingly become Miss Rabbit's territory, which, of course, benefited Raymond.
"If this were the past, you'd be a shoo-in for an Olympic champion," Raymond said, provided the Olympics allowed rabbits to compete.
"Really?" Miss Rabbit replied dismissively, looking uninterested.
"Alright, stop gawking," Raymond said, bending down to pick up the sniper rifle. "I have other things to do."
Curious, Miss Rabbit asked, "Aren't you afraid I might kill you?"
At that moment, a terrifying aura emanated from her.
Raymond, who was about to leave, suddenly trembled, feeling as if his feet were glued to the ground. He felt like he was standing next to an ancient behemoth, not a rabbit!
However, a look of confusion suddenly flashed in Miss Rabbit's eyes.
Next, the dangerous aura around her intensified significantly. Despite it being midsummer with a scorching sun, the air turned chillingly oppressive, making it hard to breathe!
Raymond was shocked. How could this rabbit be so terrifying?
The nearly tangible killing intent continued to grow. The oppressive feeling surged like a tidal wave!
In an instant, Raymond felt as if the entire sky was covered by her killing intent. The world lost its color, leaving only black and white. Even the sun's rays seemed freezing!
The space around him seemed to freeze, and time slowed down, everything moving in slow motion!
His palm, where Ben Mao's paw print was, felt like it was burning!
This was ridiculous!
Besides the rabbit's mood swings, this aura was absurdly powerful! Compared to her, the Black Lion was nothing.
What a joke! Could the gap between ordinary evolvers and special individuals be this vast?!
Just as the dangerous aura was about to reach its peak and Raymond felt he might die again, the oppressive feeling suddenly eased and then completely disappeared.
The stifling summer heat returned, as if nothing had happened.
Miss Rabbit retracted her killing intent, looking thoughtful.
Raymond wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, realizing he had been wrong.
When they first met and greeted each other at the hotel, their conversation had been pleasant (compared to fighting on sight, it was a very pleasant conversation). Despite her frequent stealthy observations and occasional surprises, she hadn't harmed him. Raymond had even felt no hostility from her, gradually considering her a rare good person!
But today, he realized he was mistaken!
This rabbit had such erratic moods! She wanted to kill at the slightest pretext? Not even that—he hadn't even insulted her! She must be crazy! Psychotic!
Raymond strongly condemned Miss Rabbit's behavior in his heart.
Honestly, at this moment, he wanted to leave immediately. But after glancing at Miss Rabbit, he couldn't move.
Why did she look so thoughtful?
Shouldn't he, the innocent victim, be the one confused?
What was she pondering?
Curiosity killed the cat, as the saying goes.
After a struggle in his mind, Raymond finally convinced himself with "I'm not a cat." He was about to flirt with danger when Miss Rabbit relaxed her brows and said softly, "Such a bother."
"Huh? What's a bother?" Raymond asked, curious.
He asked out of habit, but Miss Rabbit looked at him and said, "I said you're such a bother."
Raymond was immediately baffled. "???"
Me? A bother?! How am I a bother? And you just tried to kill me, now I'm a bother?! Though he didn't understand why, he felt insulted.
Miss Rabbit waved dismissively. "Forget it, it's your business, not mine. Continue hunting, I'm leaving." With that, she jumped off the rooftop, leaving Raymond standing there, bewildered. "What does that mean?"