Volume 4, Chapter 5 – Peerless Stealth

Anran had several advantages: height, speed, and the advantage of hiding in the shadows, among others.

So by the time those people had just finished digging up the soil, she had already quietly slipped in behind them.

There had only been three people in the vehicle, and all three were now standing outside it.

Curious, Anran listened to what they were saying.

“Found it. It’s a tigerdog.”

“There’s blood all around its head. Did something bite its neck off?”

The man digging through the dirt turned it over, and his expression immediately darkened. “Its throat was slit with a blade. Clean cut. Killed in one strike.”

“Killed a tigerdog in one strike?”

The woman was startled.

That was not something an ordinary person could do.

“Was it done by nomads, or…” one of the men muttered, sinking into thought.

“We should leave first and report this to the captain. What if the Empire’s running dogs have already tracked us down?”

“You hardly ever see nomads around here. I think it was…”

“That’s right! I did it!”

A voice suddenly rang out from behind them.

Hm?

Who was that? Who just spoke?

A girl’s voice?

“Kate, was that you just…” The man digging turned his head, about to look at his female teammate.

A sharp pain suddenly exploded through his back as a blade drove straight into the center of it.

I…

Then he was kicked, and his whole body slammed face-first into the ground.

I’m such an idiot. I only noticed that it was a female voice. I never thought it sounded way too young. Since when would an old woman like Kate have a voice that soft? Ugh.

The digging man’s death happened in a flash. Before his body had even fully fallen, before the other two had completely reacted, Anran was already moving in a rapid chain of steps, fast as the wind.

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The mechanical switchblade in her hand had already sunk into the other man’s body.

Pfft—

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Massive Bleeding plus a Heavy Injury debuff.

He went down on the spot.

“Ah—”

Kate was just about to scream when Anran was already in front of her, driving a punch into her abdomen.

“Hk—”

She collapsed to the ground in pain.

If Anran had not wanted to keep a live prisoner for questioning, what went in just now would have been the blade.

Only 600 Free EXP.

After leveling up, even killing trash mobs like these gave very little EXP.

With Anran’s current strength, she did not even need to use her mechanical footgear. Once she got close and launched a surprise attack, it was one stab for each “little friend.”

The human body was far too fragile. Before someone could tank bullets with their flesh, a blade fight was always over very quickly.

Anran patted Kate down, then slid her hand in near her chest and finally pulled out a communication device.

A smile touched her lips. “Just as expected. There really was something, and it was still on. Good thing I used Mechanical Interference.”

She briskly tied Kate up with strips of clothing, then found communication devices in the vehicle and on the two corpses as well. She crushed them all underfoot, leaving only the one that had been powered off.

“I want to ask you something.” Anran pulled the strip of cloth out of Kate’s mouth.

“…”

The woman’s eyes were full of fear.

This girl was terrifying.

She was probably going to die here.

And because of that, Kate became even less willing to speak.

“Sigh…”

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Anran let out a sigh, turned around, and took an incendiary round out of her backpack.

“Let me show you a magic trick.”

After saying that, she carefully dismantled the round.

She poured the contents onto one of the corpses, clicked the lighter, and ignited it.

Flames immediately started burning on the arm.

It burned for nearly a full minute.

The smell of scorched flesh was already in the air.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk.” Kate surrendered without any backbone at all.

“#@&%*#”

“Pfft—”

After taking a small shovel from the vehicle and digging a shallow pit, Anran buried the body, then sat in the vehicle and fell into thought.

Morningstar’s outpost was in a canyon. Most of its people had already headed for Wutong City, but there were still several hundred who had not withdrawn yet.

There were documents, and there were people, but there was no detailed map. Kate had only drawn a very rough sketch.

Also, there were two hidden sentry posts in the abandoned town.

Anran passed the information to Feilian.

“You can’t trust all of this, but it can still serve as a reference.”

Anran ended the radio call.

Now that she suddenly had a vehicle, along with some extra weapons, Anran hesitated for a moment before driving forward in a crooked, wobbly fashion.

When she got close to the abandoned town, she parked the vehicle somewhere concealed and only then slipped into the stretch of ruins.

She had stolen the vehicle for free anyway. It might turn out to be very useful.

Nomads.

That was the term those people had mentioned earlier while talking.

Because of the war, many people had been displaced. On top of that, vast sections of the cities had been destroyed, and wilderness and jungle were everywhere. Many people with nowhere to live could only drift about outside.

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Those people were nomads.

Like nomadic tribes, they migrated in search of food and shelter.

The eastern coastal region of Canyon Continent was still somewhat better off, but by the time you got to the central region, there were many more such settlements.

Anran deliberately slashed her clothes in a few places and moved along the rugged road like a “frightened” little rabbit.

She also held a pistol in her hand.

Rather than sneak around, it was better to pose as a wary, cautious nomad.

Anran was slowly approaching one of the sentry posts Kate had mentioned.

One hundred meters ahead, then turn right, and then…

“Who are you?”

A sudden shout came from overhead.

Looking up, Anran saw two gun barrels sticking out of the window of a two-story building nearby, aimed at her.

She took a few steps back, “accidentally” stepped on a rock, and “frightened,” dropped straight to the ground.

“Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I just came out looking for food!”

She shouted in a somewhat agitated tone, but in reality her right hand gripped the pistol, ready to return fire at any time, while her left hand braced against the ground, ready to dodge at any moment.

“Huh, it’s a woman?” said the tall one behind the window.

“A nomad?”

“She’s filthy, but if you look closely, she’s actually pretty damn good-looking!” The tall one’s eyes lit up.

The short one agreed completely. “She’s a bit small, but with looks like that, I haven’t seen anyone besides the minister who can compare.”

“A nomad. How about we drag her back…”

“I’ve heard plenty of nomads will do anything to survive…”

“Heh heh heh…”

“Heh heh heh…”

Anran “trembled” and kept repeating, Don’t kill me, but her eyes never stopped observing the two men’s movements.

Their gazes were full of disgusting intent.

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Aside from Li Zhuying, this was the first time she had seen someone so openly wearing the words “I want to screw you” in their eyes.

I haven’t even done myself yet!

╰_╯╬

Disgusted as she was, Anran knew her opportunity had come.

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to use a gun. Using one made it far too easy to expose herself.

“Should we call the others inside too?” the short one asked.

“Are you stupid?” The tall one smacked him on the head. “Even if we do get found out, we should at least have our fun first!”

“You go down and bring her up. I’ll watch from here in case she tries to run.”

“Got it!” The short one turned away from the window with a lewd grin.

There were more people inside?

Anran was slightly startled. Could this place also be a sentry post?

No matter what, Kate really had given her false information. That woman!

Either way, she had to deal with these people first.

Anran scrambled to her feet in feigned panic and ran “stumbling” straight toward the building the tall one was in.

Hm?

The tall one was startled.

He had not even said anything yet, so why was this foolish little girl delivering herself right to his doorstep?

Meanwhile, on the other side, the short one hurried downstairs, practically floating on air. Just imagining what was coming was enough to make him swell with excitement.

A pretty and adorable nomad.

Should he start from the front or from the back?

Ah!

Squelch!

The short one’s body suddenly jerked as a knife stabbed into him from the side.