Dark Ruins Dawn

Chapter 106 Sniper
The crow stood in front of the light screen, its back ramrod straight.

On the other side of the screen was a dignified-looking middle-aged man dressed in a black uniform.

Crow's superior is the head of intelligence at the Nuclear Group.

“Minister, we’ve searched residential areas, industrial areas, agricultural areas, and underground pipe networks—everywhere we could find a hiding place—three times, but we haven’t found any trace of Zhang Dafan.”

The crow's voice was clear: "Currently, our search area has been narrowed down to the administrative district and the core area. Tomorrow, we will begin searching the administrative district."

After listening patiently, the minister, with a hint of weariness, spoke slowly:
"Crow, due to the excessive expenditure on compensating citizens, only one-fifth of the operating funds remain."

The raven's expected fury did not materialize; the minister simply stated the facts calmly.

“Minister, the scale of the citizens’ riots is too large, and it is clear that someone is instigating them.”

He continued his analysis: "I suspect that the Apocalypse Cult, or some shady criminal organization, is obstructing our investigation."

The minister's tone began to harden.

“Crow, I understand your sense of urgency regarding the deadline, but you were too reckless and shouldn’t have canceled the search of the outer city.”

The crow's lips moved, as if trying to explain that the outer city had just experienced a massive zombie horde, and that the nuclear soldiers would have the same outcome no matter when they withdrew.

He swallowed his words and lowered his head slightly:

"I'm sorry, I was too hasty."

The minister added a word of caution: "You should know who lives in the core area and the administrative area."

"The senior employees of the top ten conglomerates, local officials and councilors, are all prominent figures."

"I hope you'll tone it down and stop causing any more trouble. I've already dealt with enough problems for you lately."

"Minister, thank you for your understanding and support." The crow bowed slightly, its posture humble.

After a brief silence, the minister brought up another matter.

"I see that Grey Goose has terminated its cooperation with Nuclear Power. Why is that?"

"Minister, since we have sufficient troops, and in order to save money, I have cancelled all cooperation agreements with mercenary groups."

"But it turns out that these soldiers were useless."

The minister's tone was tinged with sarcasm, "We haven't saved much on expenses, and we still haven't found the person."

The crow lowered its head and remained silent.

"The reason I had you cooperate with Grey Goose was because I valued her tracking ability and hoped it would help you make judgments."

The minister became earnest, like an elder instructing a younger generation: "And yet you sent her to the red-line zone to perform the least technically demanding screening task."

"minister……"

"You're wary of her, on guard against her, afraid she'll steal your credit, or even take your position, right?"

The minister's words were sharp and precise, each sentence like a hammer blow.

"I……"

The crow's face paled slightly, unable to refute.

The minister was slightly disappointed and shook his head: "Having jealousy is not a bad thing, but if you don't know what's important, it can ruin your future."

“Crow, you probably have a long way to go before you become a qualified leader.”

“You have already failed this performance evaluation, but don’t let it drop to the ‘poor’ level, or you know what the consequences will be.”

The crow knew the consequences: punitive dismissal.

1. Cancel all compensation and benefits, and return the weapons, equipment, airships, and villas;
2. Return the prosthetic body and limbs, and pay off any costs incurred.

3. Pay off the cost of the enhancement and modification surgery;

4. Eliminate medical insurance and medical treatment discounts;

……

There are a total of twenty punishments, enough to send a high-ranking combat commander plummeting into the abyss of the slums in an instant.

The crow snapped out of its reverie and continued, head bowed, "..."

"Minister, I understand."

"Ah."

Communication was cut off, and the light curtain went out.

The crow remained motionless, like a stone sculpture.

A few minutes later, he turned around and punched the alloy wall behind him.

"Boom--!"

A shallow fist mark was left on the wall, and blood seeped from his finger bones.

The adjutant stood in the corner, not daring to breathe.

The crow's gaze was fixed on the holographic map; every time the red circle shrank, it made him feel suffocated.

The minister's words still echoed in his ears, and those punitive termination clauses burned in his mind one by one.

Feeling powerless, frustrated, and deeply fearful.

The crow composed itself, its dejected expression vanishing, and was about to give instructions on new matters.

At that moment, he received an unfamiliar voice message on the panel on his wrist.

Unfamiliar message?

The crow frowned.

Only someone within the group could bypass his firewall and accurately access the encrypted channel.

Moreover, it's high-level management.

He clicked on it and heard a familiar voice.

"Crow, you must have had a hard time finding me. I want to discuss a collaboration with you. I'm at the headquarters of Sharp Edge."

He was stunned at first, and in that instant, his heart felt as if it had been suddenly clenched and then suddenly released.

Zhang Dafan!
Blood rushed to his brain, and he felt a brief dizziness and tinnitus.

The prey... has finally shown its tail.

The gloom on his face vanished, a fervent light ignited in his eyes, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"adjutant!"

"exist!"

"Immediately mobilize all heavy armored units to surround the headquarters of the Sharp Edge Mercenary Group! Remember, all of them! Also, monitor the entire underground pipe network; not even a single fly should escape!"

The adjutant was startled by the madness in his eyes and, without the slightest hesitation, stood at attention and saluted.

"Yes!"

Watching his adjutant hurriedly leave, Crow took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

First of all, this is definitely Zhang Dafan, there's no mistake.

Since he could steal the company's confidential documents, he could naturally obtain the group's exclusive communication code...

He tapped the panel lightly with his fingertip and replied with a message.

"Sure, what kind of collaboration?"

The other end replied almost instantly, again with a voice message.

“Come to the rooftop, and we’ll stage a self-inflicted injury ruse, each of us getting what we want.”

A bitter plot?
This is a direct translation of an ancient Esperanto word, and the crow certainly knows what it means.

But he found it incomprehensible. Why did Zhang Dafan think that he would cooperate with him in acting?

Where does his confidence and leverage come from?
Do not overestimate your own capabilities.

The crow's face darkened, and without replying, it strode out of the command center.

Some things are better said face to face.

In a matter of moments, the area outside the tarmac was filled with a somber atmosphere, and emergency sirens blared throughout the night.

Squads of armored soldiers poured out of the barracks, their alloy boots stomping on the ground with a uniform, muffled thud.

A row of black combat airships, their turbines humming downwards, whipped up gusts of wind.

Ground crew moved around under the hull, conducting final takeoff checks.

Subsequently, a large number of ships slowly rose into the air and flew towards the headquarters of the Vanguard.

The crow got into a special hovercar.

"Set off."

"Yes, sir!"

The airship took off smoothly and accelerated instantly.

Without the interference of the mysterious fog, the hovercar's top speed can easily exceed 200 kilometers per hour.

It only took a few minutes to arrive at the headquarters of Fengmang.

As the crow watched the receding night view outside the window, the flesh pump inside its chest was pounding wildly out of control.

Each heartbeat was like an accusation, a reminder that he was overwhelmed.

He thought expressionlessly that once this mission was over, he would have to replace it with a more powerful hydraulic heart.

Purely natural products are ultimately inferior.

At the same time, ground armed forces poured out from various strongholds in dense formation.

Armored vehicles crashed through roadblocks, their tracks crushing the road surface and forming a blockade.

Soldiers wearing exoskeleton armor jumped off the vehicle and forcibly stopped all vehicles within the cordon.

The driver was roughly dragged out of the cab and forced to kneel on the ground at gunpoint along with the pedestrians.

"Hands behind your head! Crouch down!"

For any hesitation or resistance, their response is only twofold: electric shock or bullets.

More combat teams, all wearing night vision goggles, infiltrated the nearby underground pipe network and sealed off all exits.

Drones and robotic dogs then swarmed in, moving rapidly through the pipes and searching for any hidden corners.

"Sector D-7 is fully deployed!"

"No target found in the Eastern Sixth District!"

Reports echoed through the communication channel.

An underground bar facing the street, with loud music and dim lighting.

A black market dealer selling prosthetic bodies was about to go to the bar for a drink when he felt a slight tremor beneath his feet.

Almost simultaneously, everyone's communication devices failed, and the screens displayed no signal.

The businessman and the bartender both looked out the window.

On the street, a steel behemoth slowly rolled across the street, its tracks wider than a bar counter, its armor obscuring the neon lights across the street.

Immediately afterwards, three more cars, all in the same shadow, drove out from the end of the street.

The four swarm fortresses stopped outside the warning circle and slowly opened their rear hatches.

Dense black dots emerged from it, like a swarm of disturbed bees, shooting straight into the night sky.

"Buzz-buzz-"

In just over ten seconds, thousands of combat drones blanketed the night sky.

The scanning beams crisscross the ground, weaving a net that monitors every inch of the land.

The airship carrying the crow arrived above the headquarters of the Sharp Edge, where the ground was already completely surrounded.

The airships formed a pincer movement, and the huge searchlights illuminated the headquarters building as bright as day, leaving no shadows untouched.

Looking at the scene before him, the crow felt a little relieved; Zhang Dafan was definitely doomed this time.

"The forces within the encirclement are sufficient."

He issued a new order: "The remaining troops should disperse outwards and seize any suspicious persons and vehicles, ignoring the security forces."

"Yes!"

Inside the headquarters of the Vanguard, alarms and the shouts of nuclear soldiers mingled together.

Before the mercenary group's leaders could react, they were forced back into a corner by the soldiers who rushed in and used their guns.

A captain from the Vanguard unit stepped forward to negotiate, but was knocked to the ground by an armored soldier with the butt of his rifle.

A high-ranking officer roared, "I demand to see your superior!"

His response was a resounding slap across the face: "Who do you think you are? Stay put!"

Qiu Shan forced himself to remain calm and spoke in a deep voice: "We have no intention of being enemies with the Nuclear Group. May I ask what has happened?"

The nuclear officer stepped out from among the soldiers, his eyes cold, as if scrutinizing a group of inanimate objects.

"You have no right to ask questions."

He ordered in an unquestionable tone, "Stand by your post, no communication allowed, violators will be executed."

The crow's lieutenant finally appeared.

He projected a holographic image of "Zhang Dafan" in front of them, his voice devoid of any warmth:
"The person we're looking for is hiding here with you."

The entire hall fell into a deathly silence, with only heavy breathing remaining.

Inside the hovercar, the crow listened to the technician's report:
"After multiple tracking and location checks, the source of the information was found on the rooftop of the Fengmang headquarters."

The crow was very satisfied with the result.

Too lazy to deal with those "useless" people downstairs, he directly ordered the airship to fly over the building and stop on the rooftop.

……

Four kilometers away, on the top of an abandoned high-rise building.

Xiong Er lay prone on the edge of the rooftop, his body blending into the concrete ground.

The Gauss sniper rifle placed in front of him had a slender and simple barrel with a matte black finish, and its acceleration track consisted of hundreds of electromagnetic coils.

His eyes were pressed against the holographic sight.

The field of view is not simply optical magnification, but integrates thermal imaging, electromagnetic spectrum analysis, and environmental sensing.

"This gun... is better than the bolt-action version."

In view, the rooftop of the Fengmang headquarters was covered with various data tags.

A bright heat source signal enters the field of view, and the system automatically marks and amplifies it.

It was a crow. "Target spotted, location confirmed." He synchronized the information with Zhuang Fan via an encrypted channel.

"receive."

Zhuang Fan's voice came from deep underground, the signal intermittent, "I have met up with the ratmen and are evacuating through the underground passage. Find the right moment to shoot."

"clear."

"Note: Target information updated."

Zhuang Fan quickly reminded him: "Crow had brain surgery three years ago, so the core might not be inside the skull. Abandon the headshot and shoot directly at the chest to ensure maximum damage area."

He thought for a moment and then added, "It would be best if he died on the spot, but if he doesn't, I have a backup plan."

"it is good."

Xiong Er agreed in a deep voice, but did not mention the biggest trouble he was facing at the moment.

Through the holographic sight, the heat source of a "swarm" of thousands of drones almost burned the night sky white, severely interfering with his vision.

In addition, their patrol routes are not fixed, but dynamically adjusted and then intersecting and overlapping.

This results in a very short and fleeting shooting window for Xiong Er, testing not only his observation skills but also his calculation ability and instantaneous decision-making ability.

Crow was accompanied by his adjutant and several technicians, which undoubtedly increased the difficulty of the sniper kill.

Xiong Er significantly reduced his breathing rate, patiently waiting for an opportunity.

A breeze picked up on the rooftop.

……

The nuclear soldier found a perfectly intact wasteland traveler in an inconspicuous crack in the brickwork.

The crow took the device, tapped the screen with his fingertip, and when he tried to turn it on, he found there was no response.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the outer casing of the equipment had begun to brittle, and wisps of mist were seeping out from the gaps.

It is decaying mist.

Crow's face darkened, and he handed the equipment to the technician beside him.

"Hurry up and repair it, salvage the data inside."

The technician inspected the items and looked utterly helpless.

"Sir, this is black-brown decay mist. It must have been placed in the black mist before... We can't handle it."

"Can't it be handled?"

"Yes, with our current technology, we can only handle dark brown decay fog, but blackish brown... not."

The crow stared intently at him. "What about the fog lights? Can't we just keep things as they are?"

The technician shook his head.

Everyone present could only watch helplessly as the panel rotted and turned into a pile of powder.

A nameless anger surged within the crow. "He can't have gone far. Keep searching."

……

Xiong Er concentrated intently, trying to observe the drone's movement trajectory.

He calculated rapidly in his mind and finally locked onto a fleeting window of opportunity.

In a mere 1.8 seconds.

He was four kilometers from the target, and the bullet's velocity remained at 2744 meters per second throughout the entire trajectory.

This means that it takes 1.5 seconds for a bullet to travel from the moment it leaves the barrel to the moment it hits the target.

He had less than 0.3 seconds to react.

In addition, he also gambles.

The gamble is that this bullet, traveling at Mach 8, won't develop a "crack" and disintegrate midway through its flight.

Even in the absence of the mysterious fog, when an object's speed exceeds Mach 6, there is still a certain chance of triggering a rift, and the longer the movement time, the greater the chance of triggering it.

"Xiong Er, the nuclear pursuers are spreading out. They're following the pipeline network. Keep an eye on the time."

Jetta's voice came through the communicator, cautiously reminding him.

"it is good."

Xiong Er's breathing was not disordered at all, and his heartbeat became even more steady.

His finger rested steadily on the trigger.

Through the scope, Crow walked step by step to the edge of the rooftop, finding himself in an excellent sniping position.

Xiong Er is waiting.

Waiting for the drone swarm to disperse, that fleeting window of opportunity.

……

The crow looked down at the dark street scene in the distance, pondering Zhang Dafan's intentions.

They've already arrived, so what about the self-inflicted injury ruse?
His request for a large-scale troop mobilization was to seal off the scene as soon as possible.

He was quite certain that Zhang Dafan had no time to escape.

Unless... those voice messages were pre-programmed and sent automatically.

The moment that thought crossed my mind, a more certain judgment took its place.

Hmm, the other party has probably escaped.

Zhang Dafan must have escaped.

They escaped again!

"This beast..."

The crow's breathing became heavy, and its knuckles turned white from gripping too tightly.

He's walking me!

The adjutant whispered a report from the side: "Sir, one-third of the headquarters of the Sharp Edge has been searched, and it is expected to be completed within half an hour."

"No need to rush."

The crow calmed itself down. "Search carefully, inch by inch. He must be hiding here. We can keep him occupied for a few days."

The adjutant nodded, but dared not speak his mind.

……

After enduring for a long time, Xiong Er finally seized an excellent shooting window.

His index finger was already halfway down the track.

Firing is about to be completed.

But in that instant, the crow moved, and the adjutant happened to be in its way.

stop!
The force applied to his fingertips vanished instantly, and Xiong Er reflexively released the trigger.

He abruptly moved the scope away, only to find that his back was soaked with cold sweat.

He was breathing heavily, his heart pounding.

A bead of sweat slid down his forehead and disappeared into the raccoon fur.

Jetta's voice came through the communicator again, more urgent than before.

"The pursuers have already followed the pipeline, and our passage is about to be exposed!"

"How long until it arrives?"

"Less than three minutes! And you still need to escape from the rooftop, which will delay you by another minute!"

Xiong Er closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

"Jetta, if I haven't come down in two minutes, blow up the passageway. Don't wait for me."

"No, you..."

Jetta wanted to say something more, but the communication had already been unilaterally cut off.

Jetta stood there dumbfounded, staring at Santana beside it with wide eyes.

Jetta took a deep breath and immediately contacted Zhuang Fan:
"Boss, something's not right with Xiong Er..."

After listening, Zhuang Fan roughly guessed what problem Xiong Er had encountered, so he proposed another solution:
"You guys stay here and provide support for Xiong Er. If he hasn't come down by the time it's time, I'll make a commotion to attract the nuclear attention."

"...Okay, Jetta understands."

After Jetta hung up the call, he and Santana exchanged a glance and fell silent.

Boss, this is the boss.

Here, no one is easily abandoned.

……

A night breeze swept across the rooftop.

With his eyes closed, Xiong Er could only hear the sound of the wind.

He thought of his father, a master fisherman who could sit quietly by the river all day.

"One day, just for that one grab."

My father's words echoed in my ears: "All the waiting, all the patience, is for that one moment when the fish bites your finger."

Xiong Er opened his eyes again, his gaze now free of any distracting thoughts.

Through the scope, the heat source composed of drones appeared as a swaying water surface.

And the crow is the fattest fish.

Tonight, it's all for this one shot.

He was determined to perish together with his opponent.

……

On the rooftop, the crow threw the Wasteland Traveler to the ground, smashing it to pieces.

He walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down at the city below.

The night breeze stirred the hem of his clothes.

"Any new discoveries outside the warning zone?"

The adjutant whispered, "Sir, the search area has now expanded to..."

The crow didn't move; it just listened quietly.

……

Xiong Er seized the critical opportunity.

Between patrols by several drones, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

There was no smoke of gunpowder, no firelight.

There was only a dull electromagnetic impact sound, and a brief purple arc of electricity burst from the muzzle of the gun.

The air ahead distorted for a moment.

【0.07 seconds】

The bullet flew two hundred meters in the air.

Below was an open-air tavern, where several stylishly dressed men and women were chatting and laughing, sipping wine from tall glasses, completely unaware of the death looming overhead.

【0.3 seconds】

A sudden, unexpected loud bang, like an invisible giant whip, lashed hard against everyone's eardrums.

The tavern's glass windows buzzed, and a waiter screamed as his tray fell to the ground.

The loud noise did not stop.

It swept through the long night at Mach 8, leaving a long, terrifying corridor in the sky above the streets it passed through.

【0.74 seconds】

The bullet traveled two kilometers.

Below, armored vehicles patrolled slowly, with soldiers mounted on machine guns, vigilantly scanning the surrounding area.

【0.97 seconds】

The delayed sonic boom crashed down like an invisible giant wall.

The alarm inside the armored vehicle was triggered instantly.

The soldiers' eardrums throbbed from the shockwave, and they instinctively raised their guns, only to find an empty night sky.

【1.48 seconds】

On the rooftop, the crow listened patiently to the adjutant's report; everything seemed normal.

The fatal blow has arrived.

The adjutant only saw a streak of eerie blue lightning that instantly pierced the crow's chest.

Immediately afterwards, the crow's body expanded outwards like a water-filled balloon, and then...

"boom--!"

With a deafening sonic boom, the crow's body shattered outwards and was completely destroyed.

Flesh, bones, internal organs... everything turned into a cloud of blood mist in that instant, scattering in all directions.

The adjutant was closest to him; his body was covered in warm liquid, his vision was blood red, and his ears were ringing.

He didn't even have time to react; his mind went blank, bloodshot and buzzing filled his entire world.

The crows... are gone.

It can't be said that it's completely gone.

He still had his two lower legs, attached to his tactical boots, standing quietly in place, wisps of heat rising from the severed ends.

Everything was so sudden.

Be caught off guard.

The nuclear soldier beside him stared wide-eyed at everything before him.

Five seconds later, the adjutant let out a hysterical roar.

"Immediately...capture that sniper!"

(End of this chapter)