"Damn it, why did they suddenly move?"
A few minutes earlier, at a location two streets away from Dragon City Imperial Scenery Residential Area.
A squad's worth of Military Strength was lying in ambush here, watching over this group of Bakatan people piloting an Airship.
Their anti-tank gun was already prepared, just waiting for the right opportunity to open fire.
But right at that moment, the Bakatan people's Airship suddenly accelerated, letting out barbarian-like howls as it flew off at high speed.
The Squad Leader of this squad, a square-jawed man named Jiang Bin, shot to his feet, clenching his teeth, his face full of frustration.
The deputy squad leader, Wang Desheng, said in a low voice, "Squad Leader, what do we do now?"
"Get in the vehicle, we're pursuing. This group of Bakatan armed personnel has an Airship, which is a huge danger to the survivors and allied Troops in the surrounding area. Now that we've spotted them, we have to keep them locked down! We must bring them down today!"
Jiang Bin gave the Order in a deep voice.
Wang Desheng said in a low voice, "But Squad Leader, our surprise attack just now was fine, but if we openly chase them, once that group of Bakatan people notices us, given the number of people and the Airship's Firepower we've observed, if we face them head-on, I'm afraid we..."
Hearing this, Jiang Bin glanced behind him.
Their squad wasn't even at full strength anymore.
Now there were only nine people left.
They still had Conventional weapons, but their heavy firepower was nearly gone.
As for vehicles, all that was left was one regular Military Off-road Vehicle mounted with a 12.7mm Caliber machine gun, and the other vehicle was just a civilian commercial van they'd found on short notice.
"Send a request for reinforcements to the nearby Troops..." Jiang Bin said. "We'll slow down first, don't expose ourselves, and see what they're up to. If they threaten civilian lives, regardless of the cost, we have to stop them!"
Wang Desheng's face showed worry. "It's very possible that these Bakatan people are out looking for civilians to massacre for Contribution Points. Their sudden movement, rushing off in a hurry, might mean they've spotted innocent Survivors!"
……
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Lin Qun was being chased around by a Bakatan Airship, leaping up and down in a panic.
He was in quite a sorry state, but fortunately, he had Mario's Skill of jumping, which could defy the Laws of physics to some extent. A single leap could carry him more than ten meters, and by bouncing back and forth erratically, near and far, he made it impossible to predict a pattern, forcing the Bakatan people to keep adjusting their aim. This kept Lin Qun perpetually in a state of "death always one step behind."
Those Bakatan people even had some kind of translation Equipment, and they were shouting taunts behind him in stiff Human language.
"Bastard, lowly species, is running all you know how to do?"
"Did your mother only ever teach you how to run like a dog since you were little?"
Being chased and strafed and cursed at like this, Lin Qun's fury burned hot, and he wished he could turn around and fight it out with this group of Bakatan people.
But he knew that acting on impulse wasn't wise.
Right now he was being overwhelmed, and from his position, he could almost never see the Bakatan people on the Airship more than ten meters up. How was he supposed to fight back?
His brain was racing through thoughts at top speed.
His flesh and blood Body was at a disadvantage, and his abilities leaned toward stealthy sneak attacks.
This was also why he'd always kept himself hidden, choosing underhanded Tactics.
But he also understood.
Even if he didn't run into a situation like this today, he'd sooner or later run into one anyway.
Facing the Bakatan people head-on directly was a required lesson!
Lin Qun was hiding at a street corner to one side.
Under the powerful Firepower, the wall behind him was punched through, the wall's structure shattering, with the broken fragments of brick and stone flying like blades, tearing through his clothes and skin.
If it weren't for Mario's jumping ability, letting him swiftly cross large distances again and again, he would have already been shot to death in the crossfire!
But at this moment, he suddenly came to a halt in the middle of the alley.
He'd thought of a way to fight...
Extremely risky, but perhaps workable...
No...
There was no other choice now. If he kept being chased like this, even with Mario's ability, his stamina would eventually run out, and he'd be shot dead where he stood!
While he still had enough stamina, he'd go all out.
Lin Qun was a man of action—once he thought of something, he did it. Steeling his heart, he turned around directly.
He raised his head and saw, in a building to one side, a pair of terrified human eyes watching him being hunted down by the Bakatan people!
There were Survivors on both of these streets, but no one dared to step forward.
Whoever stepped forward and got targeted would die.
A 20mm Caliber Autocannon round could tear a person apart.
A deafening roar rapidly drew closer.
That Airship was quickly rounding the street corner.
The four Bakatan people aboard were incredibly excited and arrogant. They weren't part of the Bakatan Regular Army, and they enjoyed the thrill of the massacre even more. This kind of hunt made their blood boil.
But just as they rounded the corner, they all froze for a moment.
Because the target hadn't run at all—instead, at that very moment, he stood his ground, turned around, and faced them directly.
Then, the next moment...
Mario Skill activated.
Lin Qun leapt up high, reaching a jump height no human should be capable of, arcing through the air straight toward the Bakatan people's Airship!
The countermeasure he'd thought of was simple: a Mid-air Sniper Shot!
Attacking from low to high, he could almost never see the four Bakatan people aboard the Airship, which meant he couldn't use the Headshot Girl Skill to snipe them down. On top of that, while running he'd always had his back to them as he moved, which was why he'd just been stuck taking hits passively, unable to fight back.
But he could combine this with Mario's jump.
With a maximum jump distance of seven point two meters, if he leapt facing the Bakatan people's Airship head-on, he'd be able to see their bodies inside the Airship!
And then, while moving through the jump, he could "snipe"!
Just like playing a shooting game, a mid-air sniper shot while jumping—except the height he jumped to was extremely high, and what he "sniped" with was his gaze!
He wasn't after a kill, nor was he after precision—whatever he saw, he'd blow it up!
The Headshot Girl Skill wasn't purely about headshots. Anything visible to the naked eye, any carbon-based Living Being—he could choose to blow up whatever part he wanted; a headshot just happened to be the most Energy-efficient and safest option.
His opponents were also flesh and blood bodies. With the power of his Headshot Girl Skill, blowing up any part of them at all would deal significant Injuries to these Bakatan people.
The idea of combining Mario's high mobility with the Headshot Girl Skill to snipe while moving was something Lin Qun had considered back when he first drew this Skill Card. He hadn't practiced it in private yet, but now he was putting it directly into Actual Combat.
And from running around just now, he'd gotten a rough sense of this Airship's performance.
It looked flashy, but in reality its maximum flight altitude was only around eleven or twelve meters. Moving through a cluster of city buildings, its speed couldn't be too fast. With the extreme jump height his jumping ability gave him, there was a chance... there was a chance...
Lin Qun's first attempt succeeded.
He leapt forward, passing directly face-to-face with the Airship, and landed behind it!
In the midst of his high-altitude jump, his eyes swept across, and he activated his ability in an instant, directly blasting apart the gun-holding hand of the Bakatan person at the very front who was aiming a gun at him!
The Bakatan people saw that Lin Qun wasn't running anymore but was instead charging at them, and assumed he'd given up in despair. The Bakatan person at the very front had raised his gun precisely to shoot Lin Qun dead outright—but he never expected that before he could even fire, he'd lose all feeling in his arm.
Blood sprayed and screams rang out, and all these Bakatan people's faces showed shock—they hadn't expected this human to have the ability to fight back.
But they were also vicious brutes, and they immediately forced the Airship to turn around, continuing their relentless pursuit.
The remaining few Bakatan people swung their guns around too, chasing after Lin Qun and opening fire wildly!
But Lin Qun had already sailed through the air, tracing an unscientific arc, and dropped toward another position!
He didn't have the ability to hover or double-jump—once he sailed past, activating the "fleeting glance" Skill once, he'd land according to inertia!
But this one success let him see hope—the hope of turning the tables and killing these Bakatan people!
This move, the "Mid-air Sniper Shot," could work!
……
……