Volume 3, Chapter 35 – In the End, I Was Still the More Skilled One!

There was still half an hour left before the mission would be completed.

Yet there was only one Morningstar Resistance member in the final wave of the invasion!

By normal logic, there was no way this person was ordinary.

Anran did not believe for a second that the final wave of this instance was just a freebie.

So she was extremely cautious, so cautious that she directly withdrew from the retired official’s estate and went to a small single-story house nearby.

Standing behind the window, Anran set up her sniper rifle.

Since she could not figure out the enemy’s background, she might as well ambush them directly.

As long as she could defeat her opponent, Anran did not particularly care what method she used.

Of course, she still had her bottom line.

In Anran’s view, people without any bottom line could not even be called human.

Sniping was only a perfectly normal tactic.

5:40 a.m.

Anran narrowed her eyes and did not move.

5:45 a.m.

Anran still narrowed her eyes and did not move.

5:48 a.m.

Anran let out a sigh and lowered her sniper rifle.

There were less than twelve minutes left on the countdown. After waiting for quite some time, Anran realized that the other side was even more patient than she was.

She seemed to understand a little why there was only one person in the final wave.

It was a trap set by Nine Songs.

Most likely:

In this instance, the first five waves tested combat ability or ways of thinking.

And the final wave tested combat ability and decision-making.

Anran was very patient, but Morningstar’s invader was even more patient.

Right now, Anran had two choices.

One was to keep stalling here with the other side until 6:00, complete the mission, and walk away with 28 points.

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The other was to step out and engage in a battle of wits and courage. If she died unfortunately, then she would start over from the beginning. If she went over the time limit, she would still only get 28 points. But if she killed the enemy within the time limit, then it would be 79 points!

What an interesting setup.

Anran smiled.

From the very beginning, the final wave that Nine Songs had set up was a temptation aimed at examinees who were on the verge of victory.

Risk and opportunity coexisted.

Take a step back, and there was a broad sunlit road.

Take a step forward, and it could very well be a bottomless abyss.

The examinee did not know where that Morningstar person was, and had to expose their own position first.

That already carried considerable risk. Since Nine Songs believed the examinee could clear it, that also meant the Morningstar Resistance fighter was probably not especially strong, though of course not too weak either.

If this were outside the instance, Anran would absolutely not take such a risk.

She was just a frail NPC. Staying alive was what mattered.

But inside the instance, Anran could revive just like an ordinary player.

Only those who dared to fight could win.

Be a coward when it was time to be a coward, and fight when it was time to fight. That was the principle Anran now followed.

Seek advantage and avoid harm.

5:50 a.m.

Ten minutes left.

Anran took a deep breath and adjusted her condition to its peak.

She suddenly stood out from beside the window, then quickly crouched down.

No reaction.

Anran repeated the move once more. Still no reaction.

The enemy is not here?

Anran switched to another window.

When she repeated it for the third time, a bullet flew over and blasted a deep crater into the wall.

Found you!

Anran checked the time again.

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5:53 a.m. Seven minutes left.

She cast off all her other burdens and took out only her own rifle.

Effective range: 500 meters, with a red dot sight.

That was more than enough for a direct gunfight.

It would be decided in a single bullet. Either you die or I do!

But Anran was very cautious. She worried the other side might change positions.

She waited until 5:57, then finally flashed out one last time.

Bang!

A hole had been torn in her clothes, making cold sweat pour down Anran’s back.

But from the bullet’s trajectory, it was clear that the other side had been confident enough not to change positions.

That was enough.

It was impossible to calculate everything perfectly, especially when facing something that could think.

HP: 143/200.

The enemy was not using a sniper rifle, nor any kind of special ammunition. As long as she was not hit in a vital spot, she probably would not die instantly. The last two minutes could be endured.

Then let’s gamble on skill and luck!

For some reason, I feel surprisingly strong today.

Anran took aim, then suddenly burst out.

In the view through the red dot sight, at the position she had guessed, there really was a black silhouette holding a gun.

She adjusted the center point, targeting the chest, which was easier to hit.

Then Anran pulled the trigger without the slightest hesitation.

She saw the other side pull the trigger too.

But at that moment, she could not dodge. If her hand shook, this shot would definitely miss.

Bang!

“Countdown: 60 seconds!”

Rustle!

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“59 seconds!”

Whish!

Two bullets shot out one after the other.

Aside from the narrator’s countdown, Anran seemed to hear the explosive crack of bullets tearing through the air.

She did her best to dodge to the side, but her reaction was still too slow.

“Ugh…”

Anran gave a muffled grunt, then collapsed stiffly to the ground.

Although it was slightly off, the bullet still landed near her heart.

With a thud, the floor rang under the impact.

“-76.”

Somewhere Anran could not see, her HP instantly dropped by 76 points, and she entered a bleeding state. Her stamina was falling, and her HP was falling too.

“32 seconds!”

“31 seconds!”

But inside the instance, Anran did not feel especially much pain. It was just that the process of her strength being drained from her body left her with a feeling of emptiness.

Anran kept her eyes fixed on the panel she had just called up.

1/1.

Did I miss, or what?

Anran blinked once.

When she looked again, the first 1 had already quietly turned into 0.

“Points +1.”

It worked!

A delighted smile appeared on Anran’s pale face.

All that remained now was to stay alive until the countdown ended.

Even if she could not stop the blood from flowing out, she at least had to make it flow more slowly.

Anran pressed both hands against her chest.

Having dulled pain wasn’t bad sometimes.

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“17 seconds!”

Anran’s consciousness began to grow blurry.

Pull yourself together!

She told herself that if she died with only 17 seconds left and had to start over, that would be far too much of a loss.

But she was still so sleepy.

Anran’s thoughts began to wander.

With my hands pressed against my chest, I still can’t really feel much of a curve.

Sure enough, my chest really is just as small as it looks.

But it is not anything too outrageous. At least it is not flat as a steel plate or anything that extreme.

Being an A-cup is not that big a deal.

It is one less burden to carry around.

Even if I like letters farther back in the alphabet, there is still hope.

And even if there is no hope, advanced science can force hope into existence.

Hey, hey, hey. What am I even thinking about?

Anran began to grumble to herself inwardly.

She had been transported into this game for a while now. Was there something wrong with the way she was thinking?

“1 second!”

“0 seconds!”

Huh?

The countdown suddenly ended. Anran froze for a moment, then heard several notification sounds ring out one after another by her ear.

“Congratulations. You have completed the mission objective and kept the retired senior official alive until daybreak!”

“You killed 29 Morningstar Resistance members and obtained 29 points.”

“You successfully eliminated all invading Morningstar Resistance members. Points +50.”

“Your total points have exceeded 50. You have obtained the title: Phantasmal Hunter Lv1.”

“Mission [Nine Songs’ Assessment] complete. You have obtained 3,000 base EXP. Total points: 79. Additional reward: 7,900 EXP!”