Pan Kuang was closing fast. Xiao Han kept pulling the trigger, sniper rounds screaming from the barrel, tearing through the air toward his target. But Pan Kuang moved like he had a sixth sense for danger, swerving a split second before every shot. Thirteen rounds were fired. Nine dodged, punching holes in the dirt. Four found their mark, but they spent their force piercing his blade whirlwind, only to be deflected by the protective inner force swirling around him. Total damage? Maybe eighty points.
The higher a Superpower's rank, the tougher its body became. Ordinary firearms started to feel useless. Weapon tech reflected a civilisation's level. As the game world expanded and new patches dropped, standard gear would get upgrades. They weren't there yet.
Hundreds of metres shrank to nothing. Pan Kuang's face, twisted with killing intent, came into sharp focus.
"This guy's jukes are insane."
Xiao Han cursed under his breath. He ditched the sniper rifle, yanked the tripwire, and triggered every delayed explosive. Then he ran, playing the coward.
Pan Kuang was faster. He crested the ridge in seconds and planted a foot right in the middle of the minefield. He sensed it instantly. His face changed. He launched himself into the air, blade spinning beneath him like a cyclone, almost seeming to hover.
"BOOM——"
All ten explosives went up at once.
Fire swallowed Pan Kuang.
[Your Delayed High-Explosive Mine deals 34 damage to Pan Kuang!] (Damage reduction applied)
[Your Delayed High-Explosive Mine deals 37 damage to Pan Kuang!]
[Pan Kuang has been inflicted with Mild Burn!]
A dozen damage notifications scrolled across his interface. Xiao Han scanned them. The barrage had stripped over four hundred HP from Pan Kuang.
[Based on your level, you have obtained partial information on the enemy!]
---
**Pan Kuang:**
Total Level: 38
Classes: [Agent] Lv10, [Martial Arts Beginner] Lv10, [Storm Blade Master] Lv10, ??
Attributes: Strength 65, Agility ??, Endurance ??, Intelligence ??, Mysticism ??, Charisma 8, Luck 7
HP: ??
Qi: ??
Energy Rating: 687
Rank: E+
Perks: Beginner Blade Mastery – Increases attack power by 10 points when using blade-type weapons.
Wind Blade Essence – "The blade is an extension of the limb, listening to the breath of the wind."
??, ??...
Skills: Wind Guard Blade Lv6, Gliding Wind Step Lv4, ??, ??...
Equipment:
[Windreaver: Quality – Green, Attack 44~47, Length 0.87m, Weight 10.2lbs. An alloy war blade meticulously forged by a master smith. Extremely tough.]
[Bonus Effect: Wind's Breath – Smooth handling, Attack Speed +3%.]
[Bonus Effect: Keen Edge – Exceptionally sharp blade. Deals an additional 7% damage to metallic targets.]
---
The level gap was significant. A lot of question marks. But Xiao Han didn't need the full sheet. Pan Kuang's fighting style screamed high attack, high agility. His HP would be limited. The mine blast had probably carved off at least twenty per cent of his HP. Plus, Pan Kuang had already fought through the breakout and run flat out for an hour. He wasn't fresh.
"The edge is mine."
Xiao Han checked his XP: five hundred and twenty thousand. All of it. Into levels. He rocketed up four straight levels.
Total level: twenty-eight.
HP: nine hundred and eighty-five. Almost a thousand.
His Qi Forging had hit forty-eight sessions. Qi hovered around three ninety. One step short. Four levels pushed it past five hundred and fourteen, clearing the Lv5 threshold of four hundred. New attribute bonus unlocked. Strength, Endurance, Agility, and Intelligence all jumped by ten per cent.
Leftover XP went into [Sliding shot]. Levelled it to two. Slight boost.
"Ha!"
Pan Kuang burst from the flames, body charred, expression feral. His eyes locked onto Xiao Han like a wolf on its prey. With a guttural cry, he shifted his stance and flowed forward like wind on water, closing the distance in a blink. His blade arced down in a vertical slash, aiming to split this insolent bug in two.
The blade fell. Xiao Han slid back three metres in an instant. The burst of speed caught even Pan Kuang off guard. He barely evaded the edge, hands snapping to the Twin Eagles at his hips. Riding the boosted fire rate, he hammered several armour-piercing rounds at Pan Kuang's chest.
Pan Kuang's blade wove a shield. Bullets shredded, fragments pinging away. One stray round struck his chest, but his dense Qi sapped its force. It lodged in his muscle and stopped.
Xiao Han saw that standard rounds were useless. He swapped magazines in a flash—high-explosive incendiary.
Pan Kuang closed the gap in that instant.
"Reloading in front of me? You've got a death wish!"
Swapping mags right in a martial artist's face. Rookie mistake. Pan Kuang's expression twisted. Windreaver lunged for Xiao Han's throat—a skewer through flesh.
He knew. Xiao Han couldn't dodge this.
"Ting——"
The tip found its mark. But it met metal—a layer of scales that materialised from nowhere.
Pan Kuang's pupils shrank.
When did that armour appear?!
Xiao Han's throat went tight. The magnetic armour absorbed the worst, but some force bled through. He raised both guns and fired. Pan Kuang moved to deflect, the same as before. But these rounds detonated on contact. Serpents of fire crawled up his frame, blazing.
"What the hell are these bullets?!" Pan Kuang's mind raced. He pulsed his Qi, trying to shake the flames. It failed. The viscous orange fire clung. Skin burned. He had to pull Qi back to protect himself. The drain was intense.
High-explosive incendiary rounds burned sticky and persistent. Damage over time. Pan Kuang's resistances were high, so the ticks were slow—but better than standard rounds. At least it was something.
The Twin Eagles emptied. One round left—trigger for Sliding Shot's magazine extension. By now, Pan Kuang's clothes were ash. Every hair on his body is gone. The cost? Xiao Han tanked Pan Kuang's relentless slashes with the magnetic armour. Durability bled away.
Xiao Han's gaze stayed cold. He holstered the Twin Eagles—and took another hit for it—then drew the folding Titanium-Platinum blade from his back. Right hand, sword. Left hand, power arm. Ancestral warrior mode engaged. A beast with no fear of death. Close-quarters carnage. Blood sprayed.
He cuts me. I punch him. Three pieces of gear—magnetic armour, power arm, war blade—all doubled as shields. Pan Kuang, tanking hits with raw flesh, seemed to have the worst deal.
Complete illusion. Pan Kuang owned this fight. Seven, eight of his strikes landed for every one Xiao Han managed. Their skill levels weren't even close. Pan Kuang was a genuine martial artist. His combat technique dwarfed Xiao Han's. Xiao Han's brawling looked like flailing kindergarten nonsense to him. Without the gear enabling mutual destruction, he wouldn't land a single blow.
"Choosing close combat? Eager to die?" Pan Kuang didn't get it. Challenging a martial artist on their ground? That was poking a lion with a twig. Suicidal arrogance.
Blade flickered. Xiao Han's cheek split open, flesh curling. Blood ran.
He'd ditched the mimic mask before the fight—couldn't risk it getting wrecked. Real face exposed. Pan Kuang recognised him instantly. Zero. The deserter. The betrayal the organisation couldn't shut up about.
Why was Zero here, jumping him? Pan Kuang didn't know. Didn't care. Enemy. That's all that mattered. Kill.
Each strike hammered through the armour, shaking Xiao Han's core. HP bled. But his eyes stayed ice-cold.
He'd picked this fight for a reason. Sniper rounds. Mines. Trading blows. He'd carved off seven, eight hundred of Pan Kuang's HP.
And the magnetic armour? It had cost him three hundred. Let me put that in perspective... That armour had saved him fifteen hundred points of damage.
Magnetic extension armour. Gear Xiao Han had no business owning at this level. Defence rating: seventy-five. Insane. Even at levels forty or fifty, it would hold strong. His ace card.
With this armour, he could bulldoze anyone in his tier.
Xiao Han twisted, trying to lock Pan Kuang's blade arm. Pan Kuang's lip curled. His arm went limp, slipping the hold like water, and carved another gash into Xiao Han's lightweight power arm. Deep. Without the Titanium-Platinum alloy, the arm would've collapsed.
Then. Xiao Han caught it. A flicker. Pan Kuang's movements slowed, just for an instant. Unconscious conservation of energy.
"He's tired. Qi's running dry. Attribute bonuses are fading. He's slipping."
Xiao Han's eyes blazed. Combat instincts are sharp. This was the gap he'd been waiting for. He reached into his interface and claimed the item parked there.
Character Summon Card — Nosa Kono.
[Character Summon Card activated. Uses remaining: 1/1. Charges depleted. The card will now disappear.]
Pan Kuang saw it—a phantom looming behind Xiao Han. Eyes swirling with coloured mist, most distinct. Something flickered in his memory.
Who?
"That's... Nosa. He's dead!"
"What's happening?!" Pan Kuang's instincts screamed retreat. Too late. One look. The illusion swallowed him. He froze.
[Checking... Target's Intelligence is below 50. Check passed. Illusion successfully activated.]