Volume 4, Chapter 61 – Bilu Tactics

Patter, patter.

Raindrops struck the shattered windows.

Although the cracked glass was still barely holding together, the relentless bombardment of rain had soaked half of Anran’s body. A considerable amount of water had already accumulated inside the car.

“Just my freaking luck.”

Anran helplessly slapped the steering wheel. Water getting into the car and soaking her clothes was tolerable. She already looked like a walking wet-shirt fantasy anyway, with her clothes turning semi-transparent and revealing her pale yellow underwear.

The real problem was that the driver’s seat had been split in two. Even after she tied it back together, sitting on it was still extremely uncomfortable.

“Anran…”

Aila looked at Anran. She desperately wanted to do something, only to realize that there was nothing she could do. That made her feel even worse.

There were still nearly a hundred kilometers left before they returned. After rattling along for what felt like forever, they finally reached Lunga Town. Fortunately, the car had not gone GG halfway there. Otherwise, they would have had to run back through the torrential rain.

“Whoa. Did you drive into a ditch? How did your car end up like this?”

Liang Minyao was startled the moment she saw Anran.

The car was in tatters, and both occupants looked like drowned rats.

“Does this look like damage from rolling into a ditch?” Anran glared at Liang Minyao irritably.

Bullet holes and a destroyed seat. No matter how she looked at it, this resembled…

“Someone attacked you?” Liang Minyao asked in surprise.

Anran nodded. “Someone from Morningstar. I already killed him, but his abilities were very strange.”

Anran described Z03’s abilities to Liang Minyao.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that.” Liang Minyao shook her head. “But I don’t know much about these things either. I can ask Commander Rodney for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Then I’ll be leaving.”

“Wait!” Anran called out to Liang Minyao.

“What is it?”

“Lend me your jacket,” Anran said.

“Huh?”

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to walk outside like this.”

The corner of Liang Minyao’s mouth immediately twitched. The pale yellow fabric underneath was completely visible.

The real question was, how could a perverted woman who had done that sort of thing to her possess any sense of shame?

Hmm…

Fine. No matter how dissatisfied she was, Liang Minyao decided to swallow her complaints for now.

She could not beat Anran.

Afterward, Anran returned to her residence, washed up, and changed her clothes. The wounds on her body were already healing, so she did not even need to use a recovery kit.

As for Aila, Anran left her inside the room with a ring of Lig Alloy piled around her.

Time to eat first and ask questions later.

The compulsory emergency mission [Assassination] had been completed. The mission reward was 30,000 Free EXP and a one-use skill card:

[Sword Energy Barrage]

Effect: Instantly releases eight arcs of sword energy within a ten-meter radius, dealing 240–680 base damage. Penetration +10.

When she took it out, it appeared as a physical card slightly smaller than an ordinary playing card.

The activation method was to shout “Sword Energy Barrage” at the top of her lungs.

As if.

She only had to invoke it silently and confirm its use.

Its destructive power was comparable to that of a relatively powerful bomb, but it was much more discreet.

“A phantom clone that can release sword energy?” Lü Changming froze. “Why does this person sound so mystical?”

“I’ll look into it. Why are there more and more freaking bizarre incidents lately?”

“Hopefully, you’ll find something. Those rats are really annoying.”

Anran hung up the call.

She temporarily had nothing else to do. After thinking about it, she decided to modify the blueprints she currently possessed.

It would not be appropriate to hammer and clang away inside someone else’s inn, so Anran decisively occupied Rodney’s office instead.

“You barely have any subordinates left right now, and everyone except Liang Minyao has been sent out. I’ll borrow this office for a while.”

“…”

The corner of Rodney’s mouth twitched.

What kind of freak had Feilian introduced to him?

“Make yourself at home.”

“You’re far too polite.” Anran smiled.

Her car had been left at a nearby repair shop. She dragged over a huge pile of toolboxes, carrying so much equipment that she looked like a young woman fleeing town after falling on hard times.

Before long, Rodney’s office was filled with the noises of all kinds of mechanical tools.

[Self-Destruct Reconnaissance Spider Robot], equipped with one small High-Energy Explosive.

[Armed Quadcopter Drone], equipped with an auto-aim machine gun and a High-Energy Explosive. Reconnaissance, surprise attacks, and self-destruction, all in one.

The Machine Gun Warrior and Butler No. 1 were also fitted with several High-Energy Explosives.

Anything could be made to explode.

Even after losing the ability to move, they could still awaken fear in the enemy’s heart with the sound of an explosion.

Apart from modifying her old equipment, Anran also spent more than 7,000 EXP synthesizing three new blueprints based on the books she had read at the Research Center:

[Signal Detector], [Floating Basin], and an absurd blueprint called [Blind Your Titanium-Alloy Dog Eyes].

There was not much to say about the [Signal Detector]. Its performance was average.

The [Floating Basin] was technically a boat, except it was extremely small and had just enough room for one Anran to sit inside.

In a swimming pool battered by the loud patter of rain, Anran sat beneath an umbrella in an electric “bathtub,” drifting around with a blank expression.

She felt exceptionally ridiculous.

As for [Blind Your Titanium-Alloy Dog Eyes], despite its impressive name, it was really just an intense-light emitter. If the beam shone directly into someone’s eyes, it would cause temporary blindness.

“…”

She had synthesized an entire pile of ridiculous junk!

After testing the emitter against a wall, Anran noticed that her basin was about to collide with the side of the swimming pool and hurriedly adjusted the direction of its thrusters.

Perhaps she had been focusing too much on ridiculous technology recently.

Still…

The emitter was useful.

For example, it could be mounted on a firearm.

It could also be attached to the Crimson Blade after the weapon had been reinforced with Lig Alloy.

Wow!

A “lightsaber”!

[Crimson Blade (Blind Your Titanium-Alloy Dog Eyes Edition) (Purple)]

“…”

It… It was actually purple-grade equipment!

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Anran returned to the swimming pool to reflect on herself.

Could it be that the game favored ridiculous technology?

…

“Anran?”

“Anran?”

At that moment, someone called out from inside the building. Anran, who was floating in the center of the swimming pool, immediately steered the Floating Basin toward the shore.

Unfortunately, she was still one step too slow.

Liang Minyao and Rodney walked through the back door and immediately saw Anran sitting inside the “bathtub.”

They froze.

“…”

“How did you make that basin float?” Liang Minyao’s eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me you poured a pile of salt into the water.” Rodney recalled the experiment where salt was used to make an egg float.

“Tch.”

Without changing her expression, Anran climbed out of the basin and stepped ashore.

“Never casually question a girl Mechanic’s technology. I installed specially designed thrusters beneath this Floating Basin. It is simple and convenient to control, has a maximum payload of one hundred kilograms, and can reach a top speed of forty kilometers per hour. This kind of…”

“All right, enough. I came to tell you that some outsiders found the target.”

Liang Minyao interrupted Anran’s attempt to drown her embarrassment in technical jargon with shocking news.

“Really?”

Anran immediately abandoned her strategy of using professional terminology to erase the awkwardness.

“The two outsiders are waiting outside,” Rodney added.

“Come on. Take me to them.”

The mission could finally continue!

Anran eagerly walked outside.

The two players standing at the entrance were a man and a woman.

Their IDs were [Guang-chan Loves Xiaohei] and [Xiaohei Loves Guang-chan].

It was over. They were the sort of couple who showered everyone around them with public displays of affection.

Anran rolled her eyes.

Going into the wilderness to complete a mission while flaunting their relationship the entire time…

These two were truly ruthless.

Tch.

Anran was actually unaffected.

After all, Aila accompanied her wherever she went.

Aila had 9 Charm.

Aila could be raised.

Aila only listened to her.

Aila was a loli.

…

“The location is…”

The two players began reporting their findings.

The position they submitted was automatically converted into coordinates on Anran’s map.

Unfortunately, Anran had never visited that area, so the map showed nothing but gray fog. Judging by the scale, the location was two hundred kilometers from Lunga Town in a straight line and nearly two hundred kilometers from Trade Station No. 1 by road.

However, two hundred kilometers…

“So close!”

It was far too close to Trade Station No. 1.

Suppose this really was a Morningstar base. In that case, they had perfectly exploited the principle that the darkest place was directly beneath the lamp.

Trade Station No. 1 was surrounded by a defensive perimeter, and troops from the Security Department were stationed there.

Under normal circumstances, it should have been impossible for Morningstar personnel to remain nearby.

However…

“Precisely because this is Trade Station No. 1’s defensive perimeter, the troops stationed inside can’t possibly leave their posts to patrol elsewhere. And precisely because it is Trade Station No. 1’s defensive perimeter, no other units would bother coming here either.”

Liang Minyao slapped the steering wheel as realization dawned on her.

“Minyao, the steering wheel! Turn the steering wheel! We’re about to drive into a ditch!”

“Sister Yao, stop hitting it! The steering wheel!”

“You should let me drive instead.”

Rodney’s and the others’ alarmed cries immediately sounded through her earpiece.

A moment later, their car really did plunge into a ditch.

“Mm.”

Anran pressed the accelerator and immediately sped away.

They had already agreed that Anran would go alone, but Liang Minyao caught her just as she was preparing to slip away, and the others followed afterward.

That was not much of a problem.

Anran had tampered with their vehicle beforehand.

They could stay peacefully in the ditch. Otherwise, she would not have enough energy to look after them later.

…

“There’s a faint electromagnetic signal nearby.”

Anran frowned slightly as she watched the fluctuating values on the Signal Detector.

The surrounding area looked like nothing more than abandoned land.

She and Aila had already arrived near the target location.

After parking behind a small earthen slope, they could see the cluster of buildings in the distance.

Anran put on her Exoskeleton Armor and took out the two modified spider robots and a drone.

“Aila, use this drone to monitor the area behind us. I’ll control these two robots and investigate the buildings over there.”

“Mm!”

Aila nodded vigorously.

Anran smiled and took out two computers.

At this distance, the spider robots’ signals remained relatively stable.

The area enclosed by the iron fence ahead resembled an abandoned school. Three large buildings were crowded together inside.

The rain continued falling beneath the gloomy sky.

Combined with the fact that this place was a “school,” as well as the blood-covered walls and claw marks from the previous video, the entire scene resembled something out of a horror movie.

So what kind of “ghost” was hiding inside?

Skitter, skitter.

The two “spiders” rapidly crawled down the slope.

They split up, entering two separate buildings from the left and right. The building on the left was the one shown in the video.

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The moment the spider robot entered, the familiar horrific scene appeared on the screen.

Compared with the previously uploaded video, the footage transmitted by the spider robot was much clearer.

Anran was certain that some of the marks on the walls had been scratched out by human hands.

After crawling forward for a while, she discovered that all the windows had once been sealed with metal plates fastened by thick screws.

Some of the metal plates had since fallen off.

“Daily Schedule.”

After entering a room, Anran’s attention fell on a board hanging from the wall.

Those words were somewhat blurred.

Below them was written:

5:30  Get uX

5:40  PatroX

5:50  BreXkfast

6X  Free ActiviX

7X  TrainX

And that was all she could read.

The writing had been badly eroded by time and was almost impossible to decipher.

“This place has been abandoned for quite a few years.”

The spider robot searched the room but found nothing useful.

The room was empty except for some dark-red bloodstains in a corner.

After backing out, Anran controlled the “spider” and continued forward.

Although she had not discovered anything, she had memorized the building’s layout. When she entered later, she would not become disoriented.

Crawl, crawl, crawl.

When the robot reached a dark staircase, Anran suddenly noticed a relatively fresh pool of blood on the ground.

The small trail ran down the stairs and into the basement.

Did this blood belong to the people who had disappeared a few days ago?

Just as she was about to direct the “spider” after it, a shadow suddenly appeared on the wall ahead.

“A little bug? Hehe.”

A foot stomped down with tremendous force.

At the final moment, Anran heard a sudden boom erupt beneath the woman’s chuckle, though the explosion was not especially loud.

Crack!

The woman’s expression instantly froze.

She felt the sensation of machinery breaking beneath her foot, but she also felt the impact of a small High-Energy Explosive detonating.

Her thin shoe was torn apart instantly.

Her other supporting foot did not fare much better, and the flammable liquid that sprayed outward immediately caught fire.

Pain, scorching heat, and all kinds of unpleasant sensations caused her to scream uncontrollably.

“Ah! My foot!”

Her right foot was reduced to a bloody mess and scorched by the flames.

The ankle of her left foot had also been shredded by fragments.

Even though she was a Level 20 elite enemy, an explosion at such close range still inflicted severe injuries.

Her HP had not dropped by that much, but both feet temporarily lost the ability to move.

She collapsed onto the ground and frantically slapped at the flames.

Who was it?

Who the hell had done this?

“What happened?”

Someone rapidly climbed the stairs from below.

The moment he saw the woman’s miserable condition, he froze in complete confusion.

What the hell was this?

…

“There really are people inside.”

Although Anran knew that the enemy had discovered her presence, they had not yet completely exposed her location.

Therefore, she did not rush out. Instead, she continued controlling the other spider robot as it explored the second building.

Less than two minutes later, however, Anran suddenly lost contact with the spider.

The video feed went black.

“Anran, Anran, I’ve lost contact with the drone. Ah! The drone is flying away!”

Aila’s voice sounded at exactly the right moment.

“Signal interference.”

The readings on the Signal Detector surged.

It seemed there were quite a few secrets hidden inside this complex.

Anran did not know where the source of the interference was located. Moreover, it was too far away for her to carry out any countermeasures.

The mission [Born in the Rain] was a unique mission.

Therefore, Anran could not ask players to scout ahead. If a player somehow completed the mission before she did, she would suffer an enormous loss.

She had no choice but to test the danger with her own body.

Since she was wearing Exoskeleton Armor, her Agility could reach 87 when she used her full power.

Anran felt that she was relatively safe.

“Aila, I’ll walk in front. You and those two lumps of iron provide long-range cover from behind.”

Anran climbed out of the car.

“Anran, Anran, why don’t I go in front? I’m not afraid of getting hurt,” Aila said.

Anran always charged at the very front.

Although Anran was powerful and possessed strong recovery abilities, what would Aila do if something happened to her?

Aila believed it would be better for her to serve as the shield.

Her defense was already extremely high. As long as her core region was not completely destroyed, she could recover by eating enough food.

Even if the recovery took a little longer, it would still be better than losing Anran.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to charge inside like an idiot.” Anran stroked Aila’s head.

She took out a Flat-Type Self-Destruct Robot, another bomb-equipped spider robot, High-Energy Explosives, Flashbangs, tactical goggles, a grappling launcher, a certain purple-grade Crimson Blade, a double-barreled scattergun…

Equipment hung all over her body.

At this moment, Anran looked like an incredibly wealthy woman buried in debt!

A heavily burdened wealthy woman.

Terrifyingly powerful.

Behind her stood Aila with a gun in her hands.

The other two robots were already in position, ready to identify any enemies at a moment’s notice and turn them into sieves.

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Anran reached the entrance.

She encountered no resistance along the way.

The floor plan of the building appeared in her mind. Relying on her memory, she programmed an advance route into the Flat-Type Self-Destruct Robots.

Her Flashbang and double-barreled scattergun were ready to be deployed at any moment.

Whirr, whirr.

One Flat-Type Robot Vacuum Cleaner moved forward.

Whirr, whirr.

Two Flat-Type Robot Vacuum Cleaners moved forward.

Whirr, whirr.

Aila quietly walked up and hid a short distance behind Anran.

Boom!

Boom!

“Ah! My eyes! Aaaah!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

(?? ??)▄︻┻┳━ ·.`.`.`. Biubiubiu

“Bang!”

Boom!

“You have killed Morningstar Resistance Z05 and gained 30,000 Free EXP.”

Hmm…

…

For the moment, let us shift the perspective to the other side, five minutes earlier.

Z05, whose feet had been severely injured, slapped away Z14’s outstretched hand.

Gritting her teeth, she furiously pulled out a syringe and stabbed it into her foot.

“I’m going to kill that bitch outside!”

“Hehe. I’m rooting for you.” Z14 leaned against the wall with a smile.

After using the painkiller, she could temporarily forget the pain, but her feet would be completely ruined afterward.

A moment later, Z05 stood up.

A voice sounded through her earpiece.

“Someone is coming from outside.”

A cruel smile appeared on Z05’s face.

She repeatedly waved both hands, and the corridor was instantly filled with invisible threads.

They were her unique weapons and were incomparably sharp.

Anyone who touched them would be lucky to escape with nothing worse than sliced skin.

Whirr, whirr.

Soon, Z05 saw a robot vacuum cleaner enter.

Then two robot vacuum cleaners entered.

“…”

Boom! Boom!

Her threads were gone!

A figure burst out of the smoke, and Z05 immediately raised her gun.

Boom!

Blinding light.

A deafening shockwave.

“Ah! My eyes!”

Z05 fell over.

Z14, who had been enjoying the show, freaking fell over as well.

He had only come to watch.

After a round of biubiubiu, bullets passed through the smoke and continuously exploded against Z05 and Z14.

Z05 went down.

She died with her eyes wide open.

She had clearly used a painkiller, so why had it made absolutely no difference?

Z14 rolled down the stairs.

Fortunately, he rolled away quickly enough. The two bombs flying toward him only cost him one arm.

…

“-234”

“-257”

“-421”

“-158”

A large cluster of damage numbers floated up from behind the smoke.

Anran was extremely satisfied with the result.

Although she had thrown away more than two thousand Bilu in an instant, the feeling of crushing an enemy to death with money was unbelievably satisfying.

Moreover, she had gained 30,000 EXP.

A huge profit!

As the smoke dispersed, Anran saw Z05’s mutilated body lying on the ground.

They all had Z designations, and the experience rewards for killing them were extremely high.

It seemed these people were a hidden force belonging to Morningstar.

Anran walked around Z05’s corpse and approached the staircase.

Then she threw another High-Energy Explosive downstairs.

“…”

Holy shit!

Z14, who had been hiding below and preparing to counterattack, scrambled and rolled away.

He finally managed to avoid a fatal blow, but this time, he lost a leg as well.

He could no longer laugh.

Fuck!

“If you people don’t come soon, there’ll be fewer and fewer of us left. When that happens, none of you will survive either.”

“…”

Heh.

A severed arm.

A severed leg.

Wearing her tactical goggles, Anran looked at the limbs scattered across the staircase.

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Then she checked the equipment still hanging from her body.

She had plenty left.

Anran charged down the stairs.

Character Sheets [Anran] + [Aila] as of Chapter 61

[Name]: Anran (Weight: 43 kg; Height: 158 cm)

[Age]: 16

[Race]: Human

[Gender]: Female

[Level]: Level 20

[HP]: 1675/1675 (Exoskeleton Armor protection zone: 50 Armor, 500 HP)

[Stamina]: 1360/1450

[Main Professions]:

Apprentice Engineer Lv1 (0/300)

Basic Mechanic Lv20 (0/260,000)

Apprentice Scout Lv1 (0/300)

[Secondary Profession]: Pastry Maker Lv3 (301/5000)

[Six Attributes]: Strength 48, Agility 57, Endurance 65, Intelligence 83, Spirit 30, Charm 10 (Morningstar -2, Government +2)

[Free Attribute Points]: 3

[Skill Points]: 9

[Talents]:

Dexterous Hands: Increases the efficiency of manual work by 10%.

Exclusive Craftsmanship: Increases crafting efficiency by 10%.

Low-Level Recovery Resilience: Increases recovery ability by 30%.

[Skills]:

Basic Circuit Theory Lv5

Basic Repair Lv3

Basic Mechanical Theory Lv4

Basic Assembly Lv5

Basic Analysis Lv5

Basic Mechanical Enhancement Lv3

Basic Mechanical Proficiency Lv3

Basic Reading Comprehension Lv4

Basic Reconnaissance Lv4

Backstab Lv3

Stealth Lv1

Precision Shooting Lv3: Increases aiming speed by 10%.

Mechanical Interference Lv4

Lockpicking Lv1

Basic Programming Lv6: Able to write basic programs.

Basic Load Charging Lv3

Rapid Repair Lv2

[Reputation]: 179

[Equipment]: Omitted

[Mechanic Blueprints]: Newly added blueprints: [Crimson Blade (Blind Your Titanium-Alloy Dog Eyes Edition) (Purple)], Blind Your Titanium-Alloy Dog Eyes, Floating Basin, Signal Detector, Self-Destruct + Reconnaissance Spider Robot, Armed Quadcopter Drone

[Knowledge Reserve]: Omitted

[Pastry Maker Recipes]: Mung Bean Cake, Osmanthus Cake, Fruit Osmanthus Cake, Fruit Mung Bean Cake

[Faction Favorability]:

Morningstar Resistance: -990

Nine Songs: 210

[Inventory]: Omitted

[Personal Favorability]: Omitted

[Titles]:

Morningstar Hunter Lv3 (4/200): HP +400, Strength +9, Agility +7, Endurance +5, Spirit +1, Charm toward the Morningstar faction -2, Charm toward the No. 1886 government forces +2

Illusory Pursuer Lv1 (79/100): Strength +3, Agility +3, Spirit +2

NPC-Exclusive Title [The Most Evil Person] Lv3 (2/100): HP +300, Stamina +150, Strength +5, Agility +5, Endurance +5, Intelligence +5, Spirit +5, Charm +3

(Note: Killing the same player within 24 hours grants no bonus.)

[Medal]: Nine Songs Bronze Medal: Strength +3, Endurance +3, Spirit +3.

[Recipes]:

Ordinary Mung Bean Cake: Stamina +3

Ordinary Osmanthus Cake: Stamina +5

Fruit Mung Bean Cake: Stamina -5/minute

[Assets]: 77,000

[No. 1886 Faction Contribution]: 1.06%

——

——

[Name]: Aila

[Age]: 0

[Race]: Machina (Autonomous Evolution)

[Gender]: Female

[Level]: Level 20

[HP]: 1300 (+1500)/1300 (+1500)

[Stamina]: 1437/- (Dependent on reserves)

[Main Profession]: Mechanic Lv11 (Aila’s level is not determined by her profession)

[Secondary Profession]: None

[Six Attributes]: Strength 92, Agility 40, Endurance 65 (Armor 150/150), Intelligence 46, Spirit X, Charm 9

[Favorability]: Colin (100), Anran (86), Eudora (60)

[Weight]: 256 kg

[Core]: Ancient Essence

Note: Ordinary NPCs cannot independently allocate attribute points.