"Bang Bang!" "Bang Bang!" "Bang Bang!"
Bullets flew chaotically, kicking up dust from the decrepit rooftops.
The street was filled with the piercing screams of passersby and the sound of footsteps running in all directions.
Qiu Tu shielded a trembling Qin Shuman as they ran to a fragmented low wall by the roadside, pressing her head down to hide her while cautiously peering out to assess the situation.
The enemies were few, only seven or eight in number.
They wore uniform black knit balaclava hats and patched-up tactical vests, with a large red cross spray-painted on their chests.
That conspicuous attire allowed Qiu Tu to recognize them at a glance, 'Is this... the Innovative United Front?'
The Innovative United Front, also known as the United Front, was an extremist anti-government armed force opposing the rule of the Eight Great Shelters of this world.
Their objective was to liberate the Planning Area from the rule of the Eight Great Shelters, employing violent activities such as assassinations, kidnappings, and attacks as their main methods.
Qiu Tu had heard Yan Chen mention this organization before. At that time, Yan Chen was so angry that his eyes nearly split apart as he cursed the organization as vermin!
He hadn't expected to actually see them today.
If Qiu Tu could recognize the members of this organization, then Fang Ming and the other Special Service detectives certainly could as well.
Therefore, the detectives' shouts immediately filled the area,
"It's the vermin from the United Front!"
"Take cover!"
"On the rooftop, direction 30-70 degrees, 16 people, all armed!"
At this moment, Fang Ming, the highest-ranking detective on site, fully took over the command of the scene; while frantically gesturing to his subordinates to disperse, he also shouted towards Qiu Tu's side, "Ensure Miss Shuman's safety, wait for us to eliminate the enemy!"
Hearing Fang Ming's arrangement, Qiu Tu glanced at Qin Shuman out of the corner of his eye.
At the moment, Qin Shuman was still in a state of shock; cowering beneath him, she dared not move. Without any movement or unusual signs, but Qiu Tu felt something was amiss.
Old Alley Street was just the most unremarkable out of Xinjie City's seventy-nine streets. There were no military facilities, no government agencies, no United Banks—nothing. Why would it be attacked by the United Front without any reason?
Were they drawn here by those detectives from the Special Service Department?
But... wasn't that too coincidental?
Qiu Tu couldn't understand it and decided to observe a little longer.
He peered cautiously to take in the scene.
With one look, he was a bit startled.
The Special Service Department was the most powerful force of the Investigation Bureau, and the United Front was known as a ferocious extremist organization. Qiu Tu originally thought there would be exchanges of fire and fierce combat between the two sides.
But... the reality was that over thirty people from both sides, armed with over thirty guns, opened fire with a "bang, bang, bang." Though it was noisy, at best only some were injured, yet not a single person dropped out of the fight.
Witnessing this scene of novices pecking at each other, Qiu Tu was shocked.
What was this? An act?
Thinking this, Qiu Tu quickly rifled through his memory, trying to understand what was really happening.
Soon, he found the reason.
It turned out that in a world after a Cataclysm, resources were scarce. Gunpowder and firearms were rare resources. Hence the members of the extremist organizations had little training and were mediocre in skills.
While the Special Service Department was indeed a powerful branch of the Investigation Bureau with many perks and bullet quotas, the fact was that Xinjie City had only been established for less than a year, and the lower-ranking detectives were mostly newly recruited novices without much training, which also made their skills quite average.
This resulted in incapacitating the other party effectively when both sides engaged in combat.
This unexpected discovery shocked Qiu Tu, but it also gave him a bold idea...
Perhaps this was a good opportunity to break the deadlock?
Keep in mind, although those two groups were incompetent, Qiu Tu was not!
In his past life, to protect himself, he had played with guns every day, practiced shooting, and even had the opportunity to receive semi-militarized training. With his not-so-poor innate talent, his level was way above these rookies.
He had even participated in a few small-scale squabbles and shootouts between gangs, acquiring some actual combat experience.
If he could showcase his shooting skills in this gunfight, then operate a bit... perhaps tonight's difficulty could be easily overcome, and he might not even need to head to Street Crossing....
Slowly outlining a blueprint in his mind, before long, a plan gradually took shape in Qiu Tu's head.
A moment later, Qiu Tu's gaze became resolute.
He took another look at the two parties in the midst of battle, then took out his old-model communicator from his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and sent a message.
After the message was successfully sent, Qiu Tu reached toward his lower back and took the handgun that had once been pointed at Qin Shuman.
This was the standard equipment given to the regular detectives by the Investigation Bureau, used to ensure absolute suppression over civilians in the Planning Area....
He deftly ejected the magazine and checked the number of bullets: 12.
Then he recalled the memories of the previous owner using this handgun.
It had an effective range of about 40 meters, but since the guns of ordinary detectives were all old goods discarded by the Sanctuary, their precision might be somewhat off.
However, for the current distance of just over twenty meters between the two sides, it was already enough.
Thinking this, Qiu Tu adeptly reinserted the magazine, rack the slide, and with high alert posture, observed the battlefield, patiently waiting for an opportunity.
It was only a few seconds before Qiu Tu's peripheral vision caught an enemy expose a large part of their body from cover on the opposite rooftop.
In that instance, he didn't hesitate for a second, suddenly leaning out and adopting the Weaver stance, aligning the sight in a straight line, and aimed at the enemy with a "Pop pop pop!" firing three shots!
Gun smoke lingered, bullet shells flew, and three bullets like thunder tore through the air, striking towards that enemy with lightning speed.
The timing Qiu Tu chose was so impeccable that the enemy had no chance to dodge!
Thus, with a "crack!" "bang bang!" three sounds, a bullet whizzed past his body, and two bullets accurately penetrated his left abdomen and left leg!
In that instant, the enemy, as if struck by a hammer, staggered uncontrollably! The next second, two blooms of blood blossomed, quickly staining his clothes red!
"Thud!" He crumpled onto the rooftop, moaning and out of the fight!
This was the first casualty since the start of the battle, so the entire battlefield seemed to freeze for a second at that moment.
The detectives from the Special Service Department reflexively shifted their gaze towards Qiu Tu, as if seeing him for the first time.
Meanwhile, the thugs from the extremist organization were taken aback, scrambling for cover and counterattacking in Qiu Tu's direction.
But by that time, Qiu Tu had already withdrawn back to cover well in advance, stray bullets whizzing past, hitting the wall he was hiding behind with a "bang bang," but they couldn't harm him in the slightest.
And so, under the sudden surprise of Qiu Tu's intervention, the battlefield entered a brief period of calm. Neither side dared to shoot carelessly like before, becoming much more cautious instead.
But... novices are novices, and even with extreme caution, they could still easily reveal flaws.
Thus, it wasn't long before Qiu Tu spotted another enemy leaving their cover, and he decisively moved his gun muzzle, firing three shots once again!
"Pop pop pop!" "Bang!"
This time, luck was average, and only one of the three bullets hit the enemy's right chest, but it still succeeded in eliminating the opponent's combat capability.
But that was enough!
If wounding an enemy badly the first time could be coincidence, doing so again crisply and efficiently the second time was hardly likely to be another coincidence.
So...
"Retreat! Retreat!"
The opponents, who were just a bunch of disorganized soldiers, now saw that Qiu Tu was a "sharpshooter" and lost their will to fight, quickly carrying their wounded away in a frantic retreat.
The low slanted rooftops of the abandoned city provided perfect cover for retreating, so the detectives from the Special Service Department bluffed with a few more shots before letting the enemy flee without pursuing.
And as the anti-government army retreated, the detectives from the Special Service Department finally began to emerge from their various covers slowly.
They looked at Qiu Tu with complicated expressions, opening their mouths several times as if to speak, but not knowing quite what to say...