Chapter 22

The intense pain lasted for only a second, then Qin Ran felt that the left side of his body had completely lost sensation.

He lowered his head to look at where he had been shot—

It was near his lower abdomen, a bullet embedded in the bulletproof vest, blood seeping out from it!

Qin Ran clearly knew that if it weren't for the bulletproof vest to cushion the impact, his lower abdomen would have been torn open by now, a huge wound through and through.

However, even with the bulletproof vest as a buffer, he was still seriously injured.

[Shooting: The opponent deals 80 points of life damage to you. With armor, 40 points of damage are immune, actual damage caused is 40 points, entering a moderate injury state...]

[Moderate Injury: Strength, Agility, and Perception decrease by one level]

[Excessive attack power received, T1 bulletproof vest quality decreases!]

Obviously, the bullet fired by the assault rifle far exceeded that of a regular pistol, reducing the bulletproof vest's immunity effect by about 5 points.

Not only that, the quality of the [T1 bulletproof vest] had also dropped from normal to damaged.

More importantly, Qin Ran's health points had dropped from 95 to 55, losing nearly half, and he had entered the [Moderate Injury] special state.

Seeing his Strength, Agility, and Perception drop from F to F- and from F+ to F respectively, Qin Ran gritted his teeth.

Compared to the previous grazes, this attack truly made him suffer.

The only lucky thing was that his data-driven body clearly told him he was far from death, even though he was in excruciating pain and his attributes had decreased.

Biting his teeth, Qin Ran held his wound, picked up the fallen 'sniper rifle,' and entered the [Stealth] state again.

Once again, Qin Ran was grateful for this dense area of ruins, which gave him enough space to dodge bullets and enough time to escape.

When Mark and the remaining three subordinates arrived at Qin Ran's original position, Qin Ran had long vanished without a trace.

"Damn it, if we could use rocket launchers, grenade launchers, or even grenades, this guy would be dead by now!"

Hendel, who served as the 'bait,' looked at the empty place and couldn't help but vent his dissatisfaction.

"This is the order of the major!"

Hank replied to his subordinate.

His tone was firm, with no explanation.

Because Hank couldn't explain much more.

Although these soldiers were also Saluka's confidants, their status was still far below Hank's.

At least, Hank knew their true purpose!

It was to bring back the package of jewels, not to kill Qin Ran.

Even if Qin Ran were killed, but the package of jewels was lost, the mission would still be a failure!

And facing a mission failure, Hank knew very well what Saluka would do.

So, even though Qin Ran showed very agile dodging and didn't seem to be carrying extra items, Hank didn't dare to order the use of rocket launchers, grenade launchers, or grenades.

Because Hank didn't know how much of the package of jewels he was looking for—Saluka never told everything to others, even to confidants like Hank.

So, this put Hank in an absolutely passive position.

Could it be carried on the body?

Or could it not be carried on the body?

If it was the latter, it wouldn't matter; as long as they continued searching, they would eventually find it. But what if it was the former?

Could he explain to Saluka that the thing he was looking for was blown up in an explosion?

If he really dared to say that, Hank could guarantee that Saluka would shoot him!

Therefore, even in the face of the continuous losses of his subordinates, Hank didn't order the use of more powerful weapons.

"He's been shot!"

A rebel soldier searching the area discovered the blood on the ground.

Instantly, the rebel soldiers, including Hank, were enlightened.

"Follow him!"

Hank gave the order directly.

...

Qin Ran hid under a pile of ruins made of cement walls and collapsed wood. If it weren't for the sunlight seeping through the cracks, it would have been a completely dark cave.

Entering this place, Qin Ran quickened his pace, knowing he didn't have much time left.

Even though he had used the inner lining to plug the wound, blood still kept flowing, dripping onto the ground.

Perhaps ordinary people would overlook it.

But these rebel soldiers wouldn't.

They had an unimaginable sensitivity to blood.

Following these bloodstains, these rebel soldiers would catch up to him in no time.

During this period, Qin Ran had to restore his condition to a normal level.

At least, he had to eliminate the [Moderate Injury] special state.

Otherwise, this fight would be impossible.

The decrease in strength made Qin Ran feel the weight of the 'sniper rifle' and the magazines on his body suddenly become heavier, and the decrease in agility made him feel sluggish and awkward in the [Stealth] state.

No need to ask, the skill [Dodge], closely related to agility, was also affected.

As for the decrease in perception?

Qin Ran could clearly feel the impact on his vision and hearing.

In short, the decrease in the three attributes almost put Qin Ran in a semi-disabled state.

This far exceeded the decrease in health points.

"Hope it works!"

Qin Ran took out a can hidden in the depths of the ruins—after a rare celebration at the orphanage, when a few older kids stole all his candies and snacks, Qin Ran learned the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket. To ensure his agility wasn't affected, before the battle, Qin Ran had hidden the cans and water in his backpack throughout the ruins.

And now, he hoped the rules of the underground game were the same as the other games he had encountered: when health is restored, injuries can be healed!

The can restores 25% of health and 50 points of stamina in one minute.

For Qin Ran, who had 100 health points, this meant 25 health points.

Enough to restore his health from 55 to 80.

[Consuming can...]

[Exempt from hunger attribute...]

[Increase 25 health points in one minute...]

Opening the can, Qin Ran began to wolf it down, then waited quietly.

Then, Qin Ran's health points slowly increased. When they reached 60, a prompt appeared.

[Health exceeds 60%, moderate injury disappears...]

[Current health is 80 points, minor injury state...]

[Minor injury state: As long as you don't touch your wound, you won't be affected!]

Although the wound hadn't truly healed and blood was still seeping, after observing, the wound had significantly improved, not looking as severe as before.

And the pain had greatly diminished.

Of course, the most important thing was the disappearance of the [Moderate Injury] state.

This made Qin Ran breathe a sigh of relief.

If this special state didn't disappear, he could say he was waiting to die!

But now?

Qin Ran picked up the assembled 'sniper rifle' again. With the special state eliminated, the familiar feeling returned to him.

...

Hank led three subordinates to track the bloodstains to the ruins.

Looking at the ruins made of cement walls and collapsed wood, Hank raised his hand, and immediately, Hendel stepped forward, leaning against a cement wall, shouting without even peeking his head out.

"Come out!"

"You're surrounded!"

"If you surrender, we'll spare your life!"

Despite his hatred for Qin Ran, the gun skills Qin Ran had shown left a deep impression on Hendel.

He didn't want to lose his life due to carelessness.

Hendel's voice was loud; not only could it be heard clearly in the ruins, but also from dozens of meters away.

However, there was no response from inside the ruins.

Seeing the blood on the ground, the four confirmed that Qin Ran was inside, and his silence now clearly indicated he was preparing to resist.

"Machine gunner, if you don't want to be shot by me after the fact, get here within two minutes!"

Hank said over the radio.

The machine gunner was naturally dead.

But according to the battlefield rules, if the machine gunner died, the assistant gunner automatically took over.

And the assistant gunner who had taken over had not performed well.

After his superior died in battle, he had completely cowered and hidden.

Such behavior could be considered desertion!

If brought to a military court, it would be enough to be shot, and sometimes, the captain of this small team could make the decision without a military court.

Hank was naturally prepared to shoot him.

But he just hadn't had the chance!

Now, Hank thought he could give him a chance!

If he met his requirements, he wouldn't shoot him personally, but would send him to a military court!

And after that, it would be none of his business.

He had fulfilled his promise to him: not to shoot him personally.

"Okay, okay, Captain!"

A young voice came from the radio.

Slightly stuttering, showing the fear of the other party.

"Why did such a person join Major Saluka's ranks? Is he a new recruit?"

The other party made Hank very dissatisfied, his brows furrowing, but then Hank thought of a possibility.

Major Saluka was strong and brutal, but brave in battle, and it was precisely because of the latter that Saluka could become a major and command the most advanced battalion in the rebel army.

Naturally, such a battalion faced the main force of the government army.

Casualties were inevitable!

To maintain the integrity of the unit, recruiting and supplementing troops from other units became necessary.

The quality of soldiers from other units varied, especially new recruits, who were even more worrying.

In fact, the other party had joined his team just before this mission, serving as the assistant gunner.

But even so, with such courage, how could he enter Major Saluka's sight?

And join his team?

Confused, Hank shook his head, unable to understand why Major Saluka did this.

But as a soldier, Hank wouldn't think too deeply.

He only knew to obey orders.

But at the next moment, a sense of danger suddenly rose in Hank's heart!

Without thinking, Hank suddenly threw himself to the side.

Bang!

The sound of gunfire rang out again.