Volume 3, Chapter 47 – What’s Wrong with Kill-Stealing?

“These noodles smell amazing—”

“And this yolk is nice and yellow too—”

“City life really is better.”

“That backwoods countryside is seriously short on supplies. Sure, this place is dangerous, but the resources are plentiful.”

“Finish this bowl and then let’s go do the job. We need to hand over the current situation to Sandy’s side first.”

“Quit dragging your feet. If we don’t bring back any results, we’re done for when we get back.”

“A section-chief-level official is worth 3,000 Bilu. I’m going to kill ten of them! Then when I get back, I’ll marry Linda!”

“Slurp—”

The man eating noodles gulped down over half the soup in his cup in one go, then finished off the rest.

He set the instant noodle cup on the ground with a smack. Just as he was about to pick his teeth, a flash of light suddenly streaked across his field of vision.

It was reflected light off a mirror-like surface.

Was there a mirror in that direction?

His heart suddenly trembled. He immediately shouted, “Get down!” and instinctively rolled to the side.

But his reaction was still half a beat too slow. Although he managed to get himself to safety, the buddy who had been eating eggs beside him got his head blown off by a single shot, collapsed to the ground, and died on the spot.

“Nice shooting.”

Anna looked at Anran as she said it.

Anran silently put away her sniper rifle.

Game notification: “You killed a Morningstar Resistance agent and gained 600 Free EXP.”

With a sniper rifle, kill-stealing really was as easy as doing whatever you wanted.

But now the remaining three had all gone into hiding, so from here on out it was time for a straight firefight.

“Be careful. Don’t let these poor little quails peck your eyes out at the last second,” Feilian warned.

“No problem.” Anran patted her chest.

She was not flustered at all, because her position was excellent. Li Zhuying’s body just happened to block the enemy’s line of sight for her.

When it came to creatures like players, you absolutely could not afford to be polite when it was time to use them as human shields. After all, they could revive.

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Li Zhuying had not realized that at all. She still wanted to perform well and secure her footing in the squad as soon as possible.

As for why Li Zhuying wanted to join Nine Songs—

It was because after reading Zhou Jieyu’s livestream post, she had subconsciously assumed her idol was one of Nine Songs’ people.

Or perhaps a member of a special unit under the Security Department.

Either way, once she had secured her position here, she would be able to go looking for her idol.

She had not recognized Anran at all.

All that could be said was that the video Zhou Jieyu had taken was too dimly lit. On top of that, Anran had been wearing a hat, and throughout the footage only her hazy side profile was visible, making it impossible for Li Zhuying to identify her.

But she believed that as long as she saw that figure again, she would recognize her instantly.

Although Feilian and Anna looked pretty unreliable, Anran quickly discovered that their professional skills were extremely solid.

A few well-timed shots were enough to keep the enemy from daring to show their heads.

Their aim was just too accurate.

This was a problem. These kills would be hard to steal.

Anran frowned.

Sure enough, the moment she let her attention slip, one of the targets got taken out by Feilian.

Bang!

Bullets struck the wall and threw off sparks. Leaning behind a pillar, Anran shifted her gaze between Feilian and the places where the enemy was hiding.

“Should we leave one alive?” Anna asked.

“We’ll see,” Feilian said after a pause.

At that moment, a shout suddenly came from inside. “Sirs, have you made some kind of mistake? We’re just resting here for a bit.”

Could they at least make the act a little more convincing? Anran could not help mocking them inwardly. Even their tone of voice was off. Their acting was terrible, not even as good as Leading the Escape.

“We’re here to rob you!” Anran shouted back with wicked delight.

“…”

The people on the other side were speechless.

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Then another survivor hurriedly picked up the thread. “Big brother, big sister, we’re just poor travelers passing through. We don’t even have much money on us. Please spare our lives!”

“Put all your money on the ground.” Anran raised her gun.

No response came from the other side.

Hah, so they were not that stupid after all.

Anran picked up a rock and threw it over.

The clattering sound of it rolling across the floor immediately rang through the room.

At the same time, Anna and Feilian had already moved in from other directions to surround them.

There was no way the enemy could escape now.

Smack!

The rock was mistaken for a grenade, so it was quickly kicked back.

So the other guy really was hiding behind that pillar.

The two sides had set themselves up in mutual support positions, and even in danger they remained calm.

It really did not do to underestimate Morningstar’s strength.

But the people they were facing were stronger.

“I can use Mental Shock to stun them briefly. After that, it’s up to you,” Li Zhuying said with a serious expression.

She still did not seem to understand the importance of kill-stealing.

One fewer competitor. A truly delightful thing.

“Then we’ll look forward to your performance.”

Keeping close to the wall, Anran advanced step by step.

Mental Shock.

An active skill for mental-type ability users. It consumed mental force to launch an attack against the enemy. If the mental suppression check succeeded, there was a certain chance of putting the target into a stunned state.

That probability increased as the gap in mental strength widened.

“Chi—” Li Zhuying’s eyes flew open.

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Mental Shock activated.

“Go!”

The moment they got the signal, Anran, Feilian, and Anna rushed in at once.

The crucial moment for stealing kills had arrived.

“Oh no, over there—”

Anran shouted, then pulled the trigger in quick succession.

Bang bang!

The two unlucky bastards were dropped on the spot.

Feilian and Anna, who had instinctively ducked, spun around the moment they heard the gunshots.

They saw Anran already crouching there happily looting the bodies.

Stealing kills?

Emmm…

But what was the point of that?

Within Nine Songs, contributions on missions were not determined by kill count.

“You killed a Morningstar Resistance agent and gained 600 Free EXP.”

“You killed the captain of a Morningstar Resistance agent team and gained 1000 Free EXP.”

She had even looted over a thousand Bilu. What a massive profit…

Anran grinned.

“This money goes into the common pool!”

With one casual snatch, Feilian took the money right out of Anran’s hand.

“This month’s cigarette money is covered again. Looks like I won’t have to shamelessly ask the higher-ups for reimbursement,” Anna said excitedly.

“…”

Holy crap, they took the money!

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Anran was furious.

She jumped up, ready to start a “mutiny.”

Feilian put the money away. “We haven’t had a mission in almost two months. We’re so broke we can barely afford food. Morningstar’s people are pretty rich, though. We need to hurry up and take a few more missions and earn some money back.”

So this was a squad custom. Although having the money she had just gotten taken away made Anran feel awful, there was not much she could say.

She could only think bitterly, Just wait until I squeeze all your money out of you!

Still, at least the mission rewards were pretty good.

That counted as some consolation.

From this one mission, Anran gained 5200 EXP, and the progress on her Morningstar Slayer title had risen to 17/25.

In at most another two days, she would be able to advance to [Basic Mechanic].

That would be a dividing line in her profession, and perhaps also a dividing line in her fate.

…

“That fast?” Daogu said in surprise to Feilian as he approached from afar.

Feilian was in excellent spirits. “The two newcomers are unexpectedly strong.”

In reality, it had taken them less than ten minutes to deal with the enemy.

Daogu’s gaze lingered on Anran and Li Zhuying for a long while.

Perhaps these two specially recruited girls could help them recover their former glory?

The same thought flashed through Feilian’s mind as well.

But they still needed to build coordination and chemistry with one another.

Only Anna kept her attention fixed on Li Zhuying the whole time.

An ability user?

How would she compare to someone like Anna, who was known for close-quarters combat?

After leaving Nine Songs, Anran threw herself back into the embrace of the Research Center. She could hardly wait to pull out her knowledge books.