Volume 3, Chapter 65 – Let Me Treat You to Hotpot

Anran actually had a strong sense of reliving the feeling of playing an FPS game and teaming up with NPCs for a counter-terrorism mission.

But…

She glanced at Li Zhuying, who was now wearing a mask.

Since she herself was also an NPC now, then for Li Zhuying, this really was an immersive experience.

The reason Li Zhuying was wearing a mask was to keep the people from Morningstar from recognizing her.

Once they stepped through the gate of the abandoned factory district, the first thing they saw was a dried-up little fountain standing in the middle of the road, surrounded by overgrown weeds and vines.

It had been neglected for so long that even the ground had started to crack.

The buildings not far away were not in any better shape.

Trees, weeds, green vines, fallen leaves, ruined buildings, and debris scattered all over the ground.

Just imagine the scenery from NieR: Automata.

The only real difference was that there were no towering buildings, and no giant robots would appear either.

But the Morningstar Resistance hidden in the shadows was even more dangerous than “android robots.”

“There’s smoke rising.”

Standing at the entrance, Anran looked up and spotted a thin wisp of smoke rising from somewhere in the factory complex.

“I didn’t hear any gunfire. Looks like Morningstar released it on purpose.” Feilian saw the smoke too.

Under the blood-red sunset, it was not especially obvious, so faint it was almost merging into the deepening dusk.

“If we didn’t know this was a trap, we’d definitely all be charging straight toward that place right now,” Chu Yuan said with a sigh.

“How many Morningstar people are hiding here exactly?”

“Let me check the map first.”

Feilian pulled out a blueprint from his backpack.

The smoke was coming from…

Feilian checked the factory layout diagram they had been given. “That direction should be either the conference center or the warehouse.”

According to the layout blueprint, there were six relatively large buildings in the complex.

They were the warehouse, production building, cafeteria, conference center, dormitory building, and test center.

Anna spoke up at the right moment. “Zhuying saw them in the conference center yesterday, so that’s probably where it is.”

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“Shichou’s group came in from the back gate, near the production building. What we’re facing from the front is the test center,” Feilian said as he walked. “The distance between those two buildings is 630 meters, and there’s also a corridor in between. The conference center is in the middle of the complex. It’s 724 meters from the test center and 387 meters from the production building.”

In a place like this, whoever grasped the terrain grasped the advantage.

Even though Nine Songs had the upper hand in terms of raw strength, they were not so strong that they could stop bullets with their bodies.

Feilian said, “Given Yajin’s personality, even if he knows it’s a trap, he’ll probably still head straight for the conference center at the first opportunity. If nothing unexpected happens, Yajin’s assault should get some results, but right after that, Morningstar’s snipers stationed at a distance will make their move. In that case, all we have to do is find those snipers.”

“It’s not just about whoever kills more people getting more points.” A faintly mocking smile appeared at the corner of Anna’s mouth.

In her eyes, Yajin was just an idiot who had far too much faith in himself.

“…”

Uh, Anran did not interrupt. She did not actually care much about points. She cared more about how many people she could kill, but right now she could not exactly sing a different tune from everyone else.

And charging straight at the conference center really was a stupid move. Anran had no intention of putting herself in danger.

“Let’s start with the test center.”

Keeping close to the wall, they suddenly smashed open the test center’s main door with a rifle butt.

The rusty lock offered no resistance at all.

Anran walked inside, and just then, a somewhat sharp burst of gunfire suddenly rang out behind them. Had the fighting started?

Feilian immediately pressed his radio. “Shichou, how’s it going over there?”

Shichou replied, “I’m in the production building right now. Haven’t found any Morningstar people for the moment.”

“Then that gunfire?”

“Probably Yajin. He’s already headed toward the conference center first.”

“Just as I thought. Looks like we’ll have to move faster on our side too.”

Feilian cut off the radio. “Let’s go.”

Anran raised her rifle and walked cautiously behind Li Zhuying.

Room clearing.

Their goal was to search the test center as quickly as possible.

With tactical goggles on, Anran could see very clearly even though the lighting inside the test center was poor.

No one on the first floor.

No one on the second floor either.

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Then the third floor, which was also the top floor…

Seeing the closed doors, Anran did not dare just walk up and open them.

Bombs rigged behind doors that exploded the moment you opened them was something she had already seen plenty of in Nine Songs’ dungeons.

So Anran stood near the doorway and, without another word, emptied a burst of bullets into it.

Bang bang bang…

The wooden door was instantly shredded to pieces.

“No one?”

Then on to the next one.

Bang bang bang…

With this kind of utterly merciless suppressive fire, if anyone was hiding inside, they would be forced out sooner or later.

But the ammo consumption rate…

“Don’t waste it!” Feilian hurriedly advised.

“It’s fine. I’ve got tons of ammo.”

Anran had half a backpack full of bullets.

She had made too many before and had not sold that many, to the point where she had even used bullets as raffle prizes.

And besides, she could always replenish from the battlefield, so she was not worried at all.

“Ah!”

A scream suddenly came from one of the rooms.

Immediately after that, Anran heard the game’s kill notification.

Morningstar Resistance count -1.

Anran fired a few more shots, then shoved the broken wooden door open, revealing the whole room.

Near the window lay a blood-soaked body, and beside the window was a sniper rifle already set up in position.

“That’s underhanded enough.” Anna walked straight in.

The direction that window faced was the conference center.

“There should be more than one. Let’s keep looking,” Anran said.

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Feilian nodded.

The way he looked at Anran had already changed.

Hey, was this how rich people played? Did bullets really cost them nothing?

…

At the same time, somewhere inside the test center, several people were crouching together.

“Damn it, are these Nine Songs people insane? If this keeps up, we’re going to get shot to death too,” one of them said.

The place they were hiding was a small office. Aside from a few rotten wooden desks, there was no cover at all.

If someone simply started spraying from outside the door without a care in the world…

“Screw it. Killing one means we break even, killing two means we profit!”

Even after being exposed, these Morningstar people did not retreat. Instead, they grabbed their weapons and suddenly rushed out of the office.

Bang!

A bullet shot out from the side.

Anna, who was in front, dodged to the side the instant the gunfire rang out, but the bullet still grazed her arm.

In one swipe, it scraped out a chunk of her health bar.

“Hiss…”

Pressed against the wall, Anna immediately returned fire.

“Find cover!” Feilian ducked behind a doorway.

The enemy’s firepower was fierce. For a moment, it pinned Anran down so hard that she did not dare stick her head out at all. She could only fire a few blind shots, but got no results.

At that moment, she was standing behind a corner near the stairs.

The Morningstar Resistance had been caught off guard. What they were doing now was really just a desperate last stand.

Feilian knew that too, so he was not in a hurry.

But Anran was. She could not just let these kills go so easily.

Anran looked around to both sides. After confirming there was nothing else unusual, she quietly climbed up the stairs to the roof of the test center.

Judging by the sound of the gunfire…

Moving forward in a crouch, Anran quickly pinpointed where the shots were coming from. She moved to a position directly above those Morningstar Resistance members.

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“Don’t you have two grenades over there? Hurry up and bring them over.”

“Okay.”

She could still hear voices downstairs.

Tsk tsk.

Anran blinked, and before that…

Let me treat you to hotpot!

Don’t be shy!

She pulled out a High-Energy Explosive from her backpack, yanked out the pin, stood up, and with a swing of her arm hurled the High-Energy Explosive in through the broken window below.

“Fuck!”

“Quick, quick, throw it back out!”

“Too late, get outside…”

Boom!

Before the sentence was even finished, the explosion instantly cut off the gunfire.

The effect was outstanding!

The violent shockwave alone was enough to leave those three reeling, not to mention the flammable liquid splashing out afterward.

At the moment of death, the thought that flashed through their minds was:

What the hell, why wasn’t that bastard upstairs playing by the rules, and why were all the windows in this crappy building broken?!

The brilliant flames looked especially dazzling in the abandoned factory complex.

To avoid turning herself into a target, Anran quickly ran down from the rooftop.

“Hey, hey, hey…”

Feilian unconsciously picked up the radio, his eyes still full of the blinding flames.

“Feilian, what happened over there? I heard an explosion!” It was Shichou’s voice.

“That…”

“We killed four Morningstar Resistance members.”