The cramped supermarket was a scene of utter hell.
A dozen or so survivors scrambled to escape. Some even ran into the flames, only to stagger out screaming.
Neither the shopkeeper nor his daughter managed to escape.
They never had a chance.
The two Bacatan soldiers had complete control of the situation. They were merely toying with their prey, giving the survivors a false sense of hope before cruelly snuffing it out. What they savored most was watching humans believe they could survive, only to have that hope brutally shattered.
Their first target was the daughter.
One Bacatan raised its weapon and, with a single shot, obliterated the upper half of her body. Blood gushed from the remains as her lower half collapsed to the floor.
Only then did the alien turn its attention to the shopkeeper. It seemed to relish the twisted expression on his face—an amalgam of shock, sorrow, and despair—as it slowly raised its gun again.
The shopkeeper, still reeling from his daughter's betrayal, seemed to have lost the will to struggle. His face remained blank, devoid of emotion.
But he didn't die.
Because the next headshot wasn't his—it was the Bacatan's.
Lin Qun had approached to within ten meters.
He couldn't bring himself to watch the shopkeeper die. As despicable as the man might have been, his last-minute efforts to save his daughter deserved some recognition. If not for his willingness to sell his remaining supplies at the last moment, others might not have been able to stock up at all.
A tragic figure, nothing more.
The Bacatan crumpled to the ground, its head blown apart. The shopkeeper, however, lay motionless on the floor, seemingly paralyzed by shock.
The other Bacatan soldier was stunned by its companion's sudden death. It instinctively retreated, seeking cover as it wildly scanned for the unseen attacker.
Lin Qun had already moved, shifting angles like a phantom.
Invisibility was his greatest weapon.
From behind cover, the Bacatan soldier began firing indiscriminately, desperate to locate its target. But a moment later, its gun arm exploded in a spray of gore.
A blood-curdling scream echoed from behind the barricade.
The remaining survivors, initially frozen in fear, erupted in joy. Some even cried out in relief.
Lin Qun pressed his advantage, circling to a new position and landing a perfect headshot.
The Bacatan was slumped behind cover, desperately fiddling with a communications device. It had no chance to defend itself and died instantly.
+2 Contribution Points.
+100 Experience Points.
Lin Qun's ranking climbed back to sixth place.
The gap between fourth and tenth place on the regional leaderboard was narrow, just a few contribution points separating each position.
The survivors, drawn by the commotion, began converging on the area.
Lin Qun quickly grabbed a discarded pig mask from the debris and slipped it over his face. He didn't want anyone to recognize him. If you're going to play it safe, you'd better commit to it.
The supermarket was a near-total loss. Most of the supplies had been consumed by the raging fire. But the survivors didn't care. They gathered around Lin Qun, some expressing gratitude, others hoping for his protection.
An elderly woman cradled the mangled body of her son, tears streaming down her face. "They killed my boy. Child, thank you… thank you… Please, you must live. Kill more of those monsters for us…"
Her trembling hands extended a few crushed packets of instant noodles toward Lin Qun. "Take these… they're all I have left. And my house key… use anything you can to help you kill them all."
Lin Qun hesitated, feeling a pang of guilt for suspecting she might try to cling to him for protection. Pushing her hands back gently, he replied, "Keep them. Live… and watch me kill those monsters."
He didn't know what else to say, but before he could dwell on it, a piercing roar filled the air behind him.
Lin Qun spun around and froze in terror.
A garish, battered airboat turned the corner, flying just ten meters above the ground. Four Bacatan soldiers aboard were screaming wildly as they sped toward him.
The airboat resembled a Blue Planet speedboat but was equipped with a rear-mounted rocket thruster for rapid acceleration and sharp turns. A 20mm autocannon was mounted at the front, spraying bullets indiscriminately.
The street outside the Dragon City Imperial Residence was already choked with abandoned vehicles, evidence of a failed mass evacuation. The cannonfire ripped through the derelict cars, setting off explosions that lit up the night with fiery blooms.
It's their reinforcements!
The remaining survivors scattered in panic, fleeing in all directions.
The elderly woman didn't move. She crouched low, wrapping her frail body around her son's remains. She had no desire to run anymore.
Lin Qun, however, bolted in the opposite direction, his instincts screaming at him to flee. There was nothing he could do for her now.
As far as Lin Qun was concerned, in a chaotic stampede like this, the odds of the airboat targeting him specifically were slim. Maybe one in ten.
But to his shock, the airboat ignored the other survivors entirely and locked onto him.
"What the hell?!"
Lin Qun was dumbfounded.
From beneath the airboat, a missile wobbled into view, careening straight toward him.
The eastern district, far from the main battle zones of Shanghai, was primarily occupied by ragtag Bacatan armed civilians. Their equipment was cobbled together, their skills wildly inconsistent. This airboat was clearly no match for the Bacatan regulars. But even a "junk" airboat was a deadly threat to Lin Qun.
Without hesitation, Lin Qun activated his Mario skill. With a powerful leap, he vaulted over ten meters, landing just outside the compound's gate.
The missile struck moments later, obliterating the gate in a fiery explosion.
Behind him, the Bacatan soldiers roared in fury, their airboat hurtling forward as its autocannon tore up the ground in its path.
Lin Qun glanced back, his heart pounding. There was no way he could take on that firepower.
If the airboat closed to within ten meters, he'd be dead before he could even react.
"Damn it!"
The compound was no longer an option. Lin Qun sprinted down the street, leaping frantically from cover to cover.
This must be what it felt like for Li Xinghe, he thought grimly, dodging and weaving like a cornered animal. One misstep and you're dead.
Onboard the airboat, the Bacatan soldiers howled with rage.
"It's him!"
"Our detector shows he just earned contribution points! Kill this human!"
"He killed our comrades! Don't finish him off too quickly—shoot his legs first! I want to break his bones one by one and make him die in agony!"