Rock studied the surroundings through his binoculars.
Thick grass and layers of accumulated trash surrounded the irregular cluster of buildings, which meant he might still be able to get closer.
The buildings directly across from the bar were out of the question.
Ricardo’s men were almost certainly stationed inside them.
That left Rock with two choices.
He could tackle the problem head-on and risk exposing himself early by eliminating the men in the buildings opposite the bar, or he could hide on a rooftop diagonally across from it.
However, once the shooting started, he could end up caught in crossfire from two directions.
Rock knew this was not a game.
He could not gamble on the system giving him another chance.
If he died, he might disappear from this world for good.
Then again, even if he refused to take this risk, he could not spend the rest of his life hiding on Slope 21.
With a cheat like his, he could be considered one of the chosen.
Fighting would only make him stronger.
He could not spend his life hiding in his shell.
After psyching himself up, Rock slung the FN FAL across his back and quietly slid down the hillside toward the Stone River favela.
He had already decided that the next time he obtained an experience card, he would immediately upgrade Kung Fu to intermediate level.
As he descended the slope, he noticed that crossing obstacles felt much easier than before.
Advancing Kung Fu from introductory to beginner level had improved his coordination and control over his movements.
That proved stronger combat skills would help him deal with complicated terrain.
After all, even the finest gun still depended on the person using it.
A shut-in carrying a Gatling gun might not beat a special forces veteran armed with a Hanyang 88 rifle.
Physical conditioning and training made all the difference.
Rock pulled his face covering over his nose and crept along the foul-smelling mountain of garbage behind the favela, approaching the outermost building.
Holding his breath, he slowly climbed over a wall more than two meters high and dropped into a narrow alley.
After checking his direction, he quietly ran toward the buildings across from the bar.
He would find a way to take out a few of Ricardo’s men first.
Even if the attempt failed, he could always come back another day.
As the old saying went, a thief could keep trying forever, but no one could stay on guard forever.
He could gradually eliminate Ricardo’s men and use them to level up.
Sooner or later, the right opportunity would come.
He wondered what reward killing Ricardo would bring.
Maybe the experience cards would be worth more than usual.
His thoughts wandered, but his movements remained quick and precise as he slipped beneath the buildings across from the bar.
Just as he was about to climb the staircase along the side, two BMW sedans pulled up in front of the Nightingale Bar.
A middle-aged man with a small mustache stepped out of the rear car.
A group of gunmen immediately jumped out and closed ranks around him, forming a tight protective circle.
Rock had seen the photograph and recognized the man at once.
It was Ricardo himself, exactly as shown in Elena’s intelligence.
Rock had come here to kill the drug lord, and now Ricardo was only thirty meters away.
This was an opportunity he could not afford to miss.
Five men surrounded Ricardo so closely that their bodies seemed to block every possible firing angle.
Another seven or eight gunmen stood watch around the perimeter with weapons in hand.
Ricardo’s men had the entire entrance to the Nightingale Bar heavily guarded.
Ricardo was about to enter the bar.
Rock stopped hesitating.
Ignoring the fact that he had not put on his bulletproof vest, he raised the AKS-74U and opened fire.
The 75-round drum allowed the AKS-74U to maintain a continuous stream of fire.
Its red dot sight gave the rifle excellent accuracy within two hundred meters.
The instant the gunfire erupted, two men beside Ricardo dropped without a sound.
Almost simultaneously, bursts of blood appeared across Ricardo’s body.
At this range, Rock clearly saw one bullet tear away the top of Ricardo’s skull.
Although he had already accomplished his primary objective, Rock did not release the trigger.
In that moment, the AKS-74U in his hands became an instrument of death.
The bullets swept past Ricardo’s fallen body and tore into the other gunmen.
In less than a minute, Ricardo and all five men protecting him had been riddled with bullets.
Gang members in Brazil could not wear bulletproof vests at all times.
In that heat, anyone stubborn enough to try would soon be seeing dead relatives waving them over.
The stream of bullets continued into the cars blocking Rock’s line of fire, punching hole after hole through their bodies.
Several gunmen on the perimeter wisely dropped to the ground and curled up behind the wheels.
Under the relentless barrage, Rock’s AKS-74U finally began clicking.
The 75-round drum was empty.
Rock did not stop to reload.
He swung the rifle behind his back and immediately brought the FN FAL into his hands.
He fired several rapid shots, forcing the remaining gunmen at the bar’s entrance to stay pinned to the ground.
Then he raised the barrel and fired two shots at one of Ricardo’s men coming down from the rooftop.
Two more shots struck a gunman leaning out of a window to fire.
The man’s heavy body immediately toppled from the windowsill.
The system’s chimes were now ringing nonstop in Rock’s mind.
To make sure the job was finished, he pulled out an offensive grenade, removed the safety, and threw it toward Ricardo’s body.
“Boom!”
“Crash!”
Smoke and dust erupted in front of the bar, and every pane of glass around the entrance shattered.
Rock did not have time to examine his rewards.
He selected two 50-point experience cards and immediately applied them to Kung Fu.
Using the smoke from the explosion as cover, Rock lunged forward and grabbed the top of the wall.
He quickly vaulted over the nearly two-meter barrier, circled around the garbage heap, and disappeared into the dense bushes.
By the time several of Ricardo’s men scrambled onto the rooftop, covered in dust and grime, all they could see was the deserted garbage heap and plastic bags drifting through the air.
Unwilling to give up, they unleashed several bursts of gunfire into the garbage and the bushes on the hillside.
Behind the bar, several cars and motorcycles had already started and sped away.
The gang members reacted quickly, splitting up to search the nearby roads.
By then, Rock had recovered the cardboard wrapping he had discarded earlier.
He shoved the rifles back inside and ran out of the bushes clutching the package.
Camilla was waiting nervously by the roadside on the motorcycle, repeatedly glancing back toward the bushes.
“Camilla, move!”
Panting heavily, Rock burst from the vegetation with the guns over his shoulder.
When he saw her motorcycle parked beside the road, he sprinted over and dropped onto the rear seat.
The moment Rock’s large hand wrapped tightly around her waist, Camilla twisted the throttle.
The motorcycle roared onto the road.
At the same time, an American Jeep and two motorcycles came racing from the direction of the Stone River favela.
The gunmen inside appeared to have spotted the taillight of Camilla’s motorcycle speeding away.
One of them had already opened the sunroof and risen with a gun in his hands.
Whether Rock and Camilla were the right targets did not matter to them.
They would shoot first and figure it out later.
Camilla saw the car and motorcycles gaining on them in the rearview mirror.
“They’re coming!
Hold on tight!”
Rock immediately tightened his grip around her waist.
Camilla cranked the throttle, sending the motorcycle racing down the road even faster.
Her riding skills were genuinely impressive.
Even at more than a hundred kilometers per hour, she kept the handlebars perfectly steady.
Before their pursuers could close the distance, Rock quickly checked the system display.
In a street brawl, you have an extremely small chance of hitting an important enemy figure.
50-Point Experience Card ×5
Excellent.
He could keep upgrading.