Volume 4 Chapter 16: Intense Battle (Part 1)

A man and a woman stood calmly in front of Qin Lun and Grant, looking as if they had prepared in advance. These superpowered beings recruited by the Allied governments came from all over. Most of them had rich combat and adventure experience, and were exceptionally good at adapting to sudden changes.

When the Gneisenau began its bombardment, most ordinary soldiers were still confused and did not know what to do. But these superhumans had already reacted. They protected the Allied leaders and the scientists from the research institute, leading them into the underground shelter. They also placed guards at key passages to prevent sudden attacks from the German “Gentlemen Alliance.”

After capturing Little Lian and Lili, these Allied superhumans immediately received the codename “Task Force.” In response to the enemy’s codename “Gentlemen Alliance,” the Allied higher-ups called their own superhumans the “Justice League.”

It was just a bit strange. Aside from the superpowered beings from the military, like Captain America… most other civilian superpowered beings did not really like the nickname “Justice League.”

To many of them, there was no such thing as justice in war. It was just that, relatively speaking, Nazi Germany started the war and caused greater harm to civilians in European countries. If it was to end the war faster, they were willing to join the Allied Forces and contribute their own strength.

The man and woman standing in front of the two serial killers were not as inexperienced as Little Red Riding Hood whom they met last night. These were two more mature superpowered beings.

Among the man and woman, the man was tall and handsome, visually over six feet three, about one meter ninety. He wore a white shirt and a black leather coat, with a cowboy hat on his head and a refined calfskin whip at his waist.

The beauty called Kathleen by her companion appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a tall figure, nearly six feet. Her outfit was black and white. She only wore a black bustier on top, and a simple midi skirt with a front slit below. Her style somewhat resembled a flamboyant Gypsy woman.

But this “Gypsy woman” now had two ammunition belts wrapped around her waist, and she held a Webley VI revolver in each hand, looking heroic and spirited. It really did not match the charming and attractive image of a Gypsy woman.

“Huh, these two seem to match the description Little Liv gave last night… Hmph, Doctor Jones, be careful. Looks like we hit the jackpot…” Kathleen looked at the two in front of her, her bright eyes flashing as she slightly frowned.

“Qin Lun, the female shooter is yours!” Grant suddenly spoke.

From the sudden encounter to recognizing each other, only a few seconds had passed. But while Qin Lun was still observing the two opposite them, the Joker Grant beside him had already fixed his gaze on one person, his eyes shining. The one he paid attention to was not the beautiful and mature Kathleen, but the tall, handsome, and charming cowboy man.

After the Joker spoke, without waiting for Qin Lun’s response, he roared like a tiger and lunged toward the man. Qin Lun felt a bit surprised. When Joker Grant was in the Earth Federation, there were male victims too, but they were all men with very good skin, more feminine types.

The man in front of them, although handsome and charming, was the heroic type, not effeminate at all. His skin was extremely rough. If not for his elegant demeanor, he would seem more like a laborer exposed to wind and sun.

Of course, Qin Lun did not actually know that Grant, who came from the North American region of the Federation, had recognized the identity of the man before them. Although the history of the Earth Federation and this timeline’s world were different, this man’s life story had not changed much. He was still the world’s leading archaeology doctor and adventure expert.

For Joker Grant, this man was a legend he had heard about since childhood. The moment he saw this man, his desire to fight soared to the maximum, even making him ignore Kathleen, a top-level mask prey.

Although he did not know why the Joker changed his usual hunting habits, Qin Lun reacted quickly. He pushed off with his toes and swiftly retreated into the branching path on the right side of the corridor.

The place where Kathleen and Jones were guarding was a crossroads. Here, they could better intercept attackers from multiple directions. Seeing Qin Lun retreat into the right corridor, Kathleen’s eyes flashed, and she immediately chased after him rapidly.

This was not because her combat desire was high and she abandoned her post. Rather, in the intelligence given to her by Little Red Riding Hood Liv, Grant was a superhuman with powerful recovery abilities, and this German soldier carrying a Kar98k sniper rifle was a super marksman.

These two, one for close combat and one for long range, cooperated very well. Letting the super marksman move away from the battle and hide in the shadows was definitely not a good idea. Besides, Kathleen herself was also very skilled in marksmanship, quite famous in their small circle. She was also very interested in the renowned German sniper on the battlefield.

“You wear the Edelweiss and Iron Cross Medal on your chest. It seems you come from the German mountain ranger troops. Are you Matthias Hetzenauer, Sepp Allerberger, or Helmut Wirnsberger!” Just as Kathleen rounded the corner of the branching path, she found that Qin Lun had disappeared. She only saw the fleeting figure of a man at another intersection ahead.

While speaking, Kathleen’s movements were not slow. While chasing, she suddenly swung her arm in a half-circle in front of her, simultaneously twisting and flicking her gun-wrist. The Webley VI revolver in her right hand fired.

“Bang!” In the bright corridor, a fiery red bullet shot forward like lightning. But the bullet’s trajectory was very strange. It drew an arc in the air, actually curving around the corner, chasing after the man’s figure.

The pores on Qin Lun’s back stood up, his scalp tingled, and his body moved before his consciousness could react. He dove forward in a diving-like posture and rolled. He felt a scorching heat flow graze the back of his head, and it seemed he even smelled the scent of burnt hair in his nostrils.

“Matthias Hetzenauer, Sepp Allerberger, and Helmut Wirnsberger all belonged to the 3rd Mountain Division. They were just the top three snipers in the newspapers. The strength of German snipers is beyond your imagination.”

Qin Lun flipped over and sat up, transferring the Kar98k modified sniper rifle from his right hand to his left. He gripped it strangely, like holding a baseball bat. “My total record is nearly double that of Matthias, but in the mountain ranger troops, I only ranked thirteenth, currently fifth in active service!”

“Time to test the practical effect of that shooting skill!” After transferring the sniper rifle to his left hand, a light like the morning star shone in Qin Lun’s eyes. While muttering to himself, he swung the sniper rifle behind him with his left hand. At the same time, his right hand reached behind his back, took the rifle back again, then forcefully twisted his arm, swinging it forward from behind in a nunchaku-like arm-switching striking motion.

“Bang!” A stream of fire shot from the muzzle of the Kar98k modified sniper rifle. In the spreading gunsmoke, a slender armor-piercing bullet burst forth. The rear part of the armor-piercing bullet quickly disintegrated, instantly leaving only a silver conical bullet head with spiral patterns.

The silver bullet head spun rapidly, emitting a sharp whistling sound in the air. Several explosion-proof lights in the corridor suddenly shattered. The bullet head also curved around the intersection in front of Qin Lun, shooting explosively toward Kathleen. This was another special shooting technique Qin Lun created using the combat model ability of the Death Notice, besides the Weakness Crosshair—the Spiral Shooting Technique.

The Kar98k modified sniper rifle was a long-barreled firearm. Using Qin Lun’s Spiral Shooting Technique with a long-barreled gun was not easy. For this, Qin Lun had modified the original rifle’s barrel rifling, sacrificing some bullet muzzle velocity in exchange for stronger bullet spin. But Qin Lun’s arm strength was insufficient; he could not directly curve the bullet trajectory. So he had to use this ridiculous nunchaku-like motion.

This time, it was the beauty Kathleen whose hairs stood on end. But she was clearly more prepared than Qin Lun. She stepped back crossing her feet, her twin guns dancing.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” Continuous gunshots rang out in the corridor. For a rifle bullet breaking twice the speed of sound, it was already too late to defend after hearing the gunshot.

Kathleen’s wild shooting with both guns was not after Qin Lun fired, but before that, due to an inexplicable sense of danger. The two Webley VI revolvers instantly fired all the remaining 11 bullets. The bullets did not form a net in the air to intercept Qin Lun’s armor-piercing bullet. Instead, they collided and scattered chaotically. After the 11 bullets shattered, tiny fragments almost filled the entire cross-section of the corridor.

The armor-piercing bullet shot from the Kar98k passed through the “curtain of rain” made of bullet fragments like a sharp sword. It touched several small fragments, and its trajectory was inevitably affected. At the same time, feeling the power of the Spiral Shot, Kathleen advanced instead of retreating, quickly lunging toward the branching path corner.

“Thud!” Even though the armor-piercing bullet slightly changed its strange trajectory, Kathleen’s actions still made her pay a price. A stream of blood shot from her left shoulder. The armor-piercing bullet did not stay in her body; it shot out from her back, deeply embedding into the stone wall of the corridor.

A cold light shone in Kathleen’s eyes. Her opponent’s marksmanship was even better than Little Red Riding Hood Liv described. She could have retreated to avoid it, which would have prevented injury, but then she definitely could not get close to Qin Lun. It might have led to a stalemate here, or even letting the opponent escape.

Kathleen obviously did not want to see such a situation. This German shooter was too terrifying. If they could not defeat him here, the leaders of the three major Allied nations would still not be safe. This summit meeting aimed at ending the war would still face great risks.

Moreover, as an associate professor at Grimm Academy, it was she who brought Little Red Riding Hood Liv here. She felt greatly responsible for the red-haired girl’s danger. Perhaps capturing Qin Lun would ease her guilt a little.

“With your marksmanship, how could you only be fifth in active service? It must be because you were in prison recently and wasted a lot of time, right?” Kathleen giggled as she slipped around the corner, her gaze meeting Qin Lun’s cold, numb, light gray eyes.

Qin Lun’s face was calm and expressionless, but his mind was churning.

After all, the Kar98k was just a rifle; its firing rate could not compare to a revolver at all. The “Gentlemen Alliance” assault time was limited. The opponent could have just stalled with him here, waiting for reinforcements. Why did she have to come over and engage in close combat with him? Unless…

A spark of insight flashed in Qin Lun’s mind!