Volume 4, Chapter 11 – Drive, damn it, drive!

Whether it was strength or speed, Anran ranked at the very top in this stronghold.

Strength: 43 points.

Speed: 40 points.

Her only real disadvantage was probably stamina.

Compared with those elite monsters, without any coefficient bonus, her HP was probably only half of theirs, maybe not even that much.

So trading blows with them head-on was obviously not a rational choice.

If she was going to fight, then she had to send them flying with one relentless combo.

A bullet slid into the chamber.

Anran fired directly at Roentgen.

She had realized that Roentgen possessed sensitivity far beyond the ordinary.

So when he dodged the bullet, Anran was not discouraged at all. Instead, she fired several more shots.

These were not ordinary bullets.

Incendiary rounds.

A miniaturized version of the High-Energy Explosive.

They would not explode, but after impacting at high speed, the bullets would still splash out flammable liquid.

That was undoubtedly a nasty surprise.

They avoided the first round of shots, but they could not avoid the splatter from the second round.

“What the hell is this?”

“Ah, it’s so hot! Ah!”

“It’s on fire! My stomach’s on fire!”

They had sensed something was wrong, but their bodies simply could not react in time.

Even Roentgen himself caught fire.

Burn those calories!

Let me add a little more fuel to the fire!

Anran fired a few more shots.

By then, the other side had already ducked back.

One unlucky bastard took two hits. He did not last long before providing Anran with 450 EXP.

The little mission counter showed that, after her ferocious chain of attacks, Anran had already killed 36 people from Morningstar.

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After a brief lull, Roentgen’s counterattack began.

Dense bullets rattled against the wall, and the bouncing shell casings forced Anran to retreat again and again.

They were both using rifles, but no matter how fierce her firepower was, one person could not outgun the other side.

When she was forced all the way back to near the doorway, Anran casually threw out a High-Energy Explosive.

The world outside was wide open. She was not worried about anyone kicking it back.

“Boom—”

Flames burst outward.

Screams rose again from the tunnel.

“You have killed…”

“You have killed…”

Anran was just about to pull back when, at that moment, the wall beside her was suddenly smashed in.

Bricks came crashing straight at her, followed immediately by the protruding barrel of a gun.

Bang!

Taking a brick to the head head-on, Anran managed to knock the muzzle off target at the last second, and the bullets punched a string of holes into the sandy ground.

Only then did Anran see clearly that it was Roentgen, his face scorched, looking vicious. Instead of retreating, he had charged straight out of the tunnel.

Bang!

With a single punch from her right hand clad in the mechanical armguard, Anran knocked Roentgen’s submachine gun flying away. Her left hand immediately moved to pull the trigger.

Roentgen’s reactions were fast as well. With a cheng, the long blade at his waist flashed from its sheath in an instant. He slashed upward diagonally, and because of the height difference, the strike went straight for Anran’s face.

Even if she could deal massive damage to Roentgen with one shot, her own head would be finished.

Anran retreated at once.

But Roentgen had already anticipated that move. His blade came slashing down.

Bang!

Anran’s hand loosened, and the rifle dropped.

So, you want close combat. You want to kill me with your blade.

You really are still too young.

Anran threw a punch.

Roentgen paused for just a moment.

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Even so, he did not let the opportunity pass. Arc Slash!

One strike, cut in two!

Clang!

But suddenly, a sharp serrated blade sprang out from Anran’s right arm.

Not only did the armguard block Roentgen’s vicious slash, it also pierced his arm.

Heh.

Anran jerked hard and forced Roentgen back. She was just about to close in and continue the pursuit when terrified shouts suddenly burst from the radio she had just switched on.

“Morningstar’s branch chief is back! I f***—why the f*** is she this strong?! Damn it! I f***—”

“Mom!”

“Pupupupupupu—”

Panicked cries immediately filled the radio. The very first line had come from Berg.

“I f***—”

Anran cursed under her breath as well.

She had been wondering: if Heloise was no longer here, why would the game still issue a mission to kill Heloise? So that was why. She was going to come back after all.

Good grief.

She could not afford to drag this out any longer.

Anran’s gaze changed instantly.

The moment she looked up, she saw Roentgen slash down at her again.

She raised her fist to block.

The serrated blade forced Roentgen to retreat slightly. Just as he tried to take advantage of both his longer reach and longer blade to skewer her clean through, Anran advanced instead of retreating. She twisted her waist violently, and with the slight cushioning from her bulletproof vest—

At the very instant her abdomen was split open by a bloody gash, she activated the improved mechanical armguard’s [Charged Impact].

It was a ridiculously overpowered skill Roentgen had never expected.

She had charged a full 43 points of energy. When that punch came crashing down, the terrifying burst of 2.5 times her Strength made Anran feel as though her hand was about to break. Fine beads of blood seeped from her wrist, while the pain in her waist and abdomen kept stabbing through her nerves.

Anran’s face turned white in an instant.

But the serrated blade and gauntlet punched into Roentgen’s body almost at once. In less than half a second, the immense air-pressure shock effect shredded the wound apart, and his whole body was blasted away.

“Ahhhhhh—”

He let out a shrill scream, blood spraying from him like water from a hose.

Critical hit on a heavily wounded target.

Rеαԁ οո KаtRеаdiոɡСаfе

Ignoring the pain in her body and the game notifications, Anran snatched up the rifle from the ground and pulled the trigger repeatedly into Roentgen’s body.

She did not leave him even the slightest chance.

Anran walked to her backpack. After taking out the mechanical armguard, that original backpack had already become nearly empty.

She pulled out the last two remaining High-Energy Explosives, tied them directly to Roentgen’s body, pulled the pins, and hurled him toward the entrance tunnel.

She had already heard footsteps coming from inside.

She immediately emptied the rest of the rifle’s magazine, slung her other backpack over her shoulders, and started running for her life.

If Heloise caught her, getting hauled off for questioning would be the best-case scenario. The worst case was that Heloise, in a rage, would just shoot her dead on the spot.

“You have killed Roentgen of the Morningstar Resistance and gained 6000 Free EXP.”

“Faction Mission [Duel II] completed. Contribution: 100%. Gained 20000 Free EXP. Obtained jetpack [Blue].”

“Claim jetpack [Blue] now?”

“No!”

She was still running for her life. Where was she supposed to find the time to burden herself with more gear?

The game notifications still were not finished.

“You have killed a soldier of the Morningstar Resistance and gained…”

That was from the explosion.

Ten times in total!

Experience gained: 4800.

“Faction Mission [Hunt II] completed. Gained 25000 Free EXP. Obtained Enhanced Recovery Set [Blue].”

“Claim Enhanced Recovery Set [Blue] now?”

“No!”

Same reason as before. Escaping came first. She had to get in the car before worrying about anything else.

“Objective achieved. Title [Morningstar Slayer] upgraded to Lv.3. Click for details.”

Click my ass. Anran ran even faster.

She did not know exactly how her attributes had changed, but her HP cap had definitely increased, along with her Strength and Agility. She found that her injuries had eased slightly, and even her running had become smoother.

What perfect timing.

It was only two kilometers from the hidden passage entrance to the place where Anran had stashed the vehicle she had stolen.

Even though she was injured, Anran endured the pain and still ran fast.

Rеаd оn КаtRеaⅾiոɡCаfe

In no time, she was out of the town.

She switched on the radio again. It was full of anxious voices asking about Berg’s situation, but there was no response at all from his side.

Could it be… he was really dead?

Anran’s face darkened.

What a damn shame!

If he had died by my hand, he could have given me several thousand EXP.

A grudge was a grudge. Of course it had to be repaid.

Right then, Anran suddenly heard a wuuu-wuuu sound.

She was almost at the off-road vehicle now. That sound—

Anran turned her head, and immediately jumped in fright.

A majestic motorcycle was chasing after her from behind the abandoned town.

And the woman riding it—Anran had sharp eyes. With one glance, she recognized her as the beautiful older-sister type she had seen several times before.

No need to ask. It had to be Heloise.

Dear god!

Anran spun around and immediately squeezed out every last ounce of strength she had.

So what if her body hurt? She could endure it and it would pass. Anything was better than being caught.

Besides, once she got into the car, things would feel great.

She was like a gust of wind, absurdly fast, as though her short legs had turned into spinning wheels, kicking up a long trail of dust.

One leap—she cleared a huge rock.

Another leap—and she landed crookedly beside the off-road vehicle.

Then she tumbled straight into the driver’s seat.

Drive already!

Anran twisted the key.

Damn it, you piece of junk, start already!

Drive!

Vroom vroom vroom!

Wuuu!