Umbrella Corporation, New York Manhattan branch, 25th underground floor.
Today, Hunk arrived at the training ground fully armed, right on time as agreed.
The payment he had received not long ago allowed him to take some time after work yesterday to visit the company’s equipment department and purchase a brand-new set of gear.
Of course, while it was called brand-new, it was actually identical to the set he had previously worn; the only difference was the degree of wear and tear.
Especially that gas mask, which looked just like a fly’s; he bought three sets at once!
This really showed that Hunk truly liked this style of gas mask; otherwise, he wouldn’t keep them stocked at home all year round.
Just after stepping out of the elevator, Hunk heard the continuous sound of gunfire from the training ground, which surprised him greatly.
You see, usually it was he who waited for Matthew, and there had never been an instance where Matthew arrived ahead of time.
What he didn’t know was that because of the T-Virus injection, Matthew’s energy had become exceptionally abundant.
Sleeping was now optional for him; most of the time, sleep felt more like a “habit” rather than a necessity.
During the long nights, unlike Tony Stark who changed the women by his side every day, Matthew had nothing to do, so naturally, he looked for something to occupy himself, making training his choice.
“You’re here,” Matthew said without turning his head while conducting shooting practice.
Upon hearing this, Hunk simply gave a grunt in response, then silently raised the submachine gun slung across his waist and began shooting to warm up.
The sound of gunfire filled the entire space.
Amidst the dense gunfire, Hunk’s eyes, hidden beneath his mask, would—whether intentionally or unintentionally—pause for two seconds on Matthew whenever he glanced at him, before looking away again…
‘I keep feeling like the boss is a bit different today compared to yesterday…’ Hunk muttered inwardly.
As a mercenary who had executed countless dangerous missions, he was extremely sensitive to changes in his surroundings and the people around him.
Precisely because of this, he was able to detect Matthew’s difference right away.
But…
exactly where was the difference?
With this question in mind, Hunk tried to quietly approach Matthew while reloading, as closing the distance would allow for closer observation.
Just as he moved his feet!
Hum—
The hair on his arms stood on end without warning.
A thick aura of danger instinctively made him stop in his tracks, his palm unconsciously reaching for the dagger at his waist.
His eyes locked onto Matthew’s back, which appeared completely unguarded.
Upon closer inspection, the source of this danger, which even he could feel, was none other than Matthew, who was still practicing shooting.
“…What’s wrong, Hunk?” Matthew turned his head in confusion.
Hunk, hearing this, pretended nothing was amiss and sheathed his dagger, shaking his head at Matthew: “It’s nothing.”
Click.
His rifle made a bolt-hold-open sound, and Matthew lowered his gun and glanced at his watch.
Hmm…
it’s still early.
There were still thirteen hours until the meeting time; even with some exercise, there would be time to prepare.
“Hmm, that’s fine. Let’s move around a bit more.”
“However… Hunk, this time you can try using your full strength.” Matthew turned to look at Hunk.
Hunk nodded upon hearing this, saying nothing more, simply silently swapping the magazine in his submachine gun for a full one and retrieving two flashbangs from the prop cabinet nearby.
Prop Master · Hunk, no need for words.
Seeing Hunk fully prepared, Matthew casually picked up an M4 and stepped back two paces.
He pulled a remote control from his pocket.
—Pressed it.
Accompanied by a ‘beep,’ the training ground, which had been bright and devoid of shadows, instantly plunged into darkness.
At the same time, Matthew quietly lowered the night vision goggles on his tactical helmet, his figure moving like a nimble Black Panther, silently slipping away into the darkness.
On the other side, Hunk’s gas mask wasn’t some cheap store-bought item, but special equipment developed by the Umbrella Corporation military weapons department.
It not only had oxygen circulation and harmful gas filtration capabilities but also provided bulletproof and night vision functions.
However, compared to high-end night vision devices, its night vision clarity was significantly worse.
“Simulating night combat?”
“Or does he want to use the darkness to weaken me?” Hunk thought to himself, while also finding a defensive cover.
The darkness was like thick ink, swallowing the entire training ground.
Hunk hid behind cover, the low-light night vision integrated into his gas mask glowing green.
However, the field of view was slightly narrow and filled with fuzzy noise, far inferior to high-end four-tube devices that could provide observation efficiency close to the naked eye.
Moreover, as long as he looked into the distance, he could only see the blurry outlines of the scenery and endless patches of deep, bottomless shadows.
In other words, he had a clear disadvantage when fighting in a dark environment.
Inside the space, it was deathly silent.
It was so quiet that even his heartbeat was amplified countless times.
In this situation, no one would voluntarily use illumination devices to scout the surrounding environment, because that would actively expose their own position, subsequently being covered by a storm of gunfire.
Hunk pressed his body against a concrete pillar, his ears like radar, capturing every slight sound.
In the darkness, time ticked away second by second.
Suddenly, an extremely faint “click” sound came from the darkness ahead!
Was it the sound of shoe soles rubbing against debris on the floor?
Or the slight noise of a firearm being handled carelessly?
Hunk did not hesitate; adhering to the principle of “surprise, speed, and violence,” he lunged out halfway, raised his gun, and fired in the direction the sound came from.
—Bang, bang, bang!!
The muzzle spat tongues of fire, illuminating the darkness before him.
But when he saw clearly what had made the sound, he realized something was wrong!
“A… shell casing?”
Realizing he had been exposed, Hunk quickly detached a flashbang from his waist with his other hand and threw it outside the cover.
“Clang—hum!!!”
The deafening roar and blinding light of the flashbang made Hunk’s senses reel, even with the mask’s filtration.
But the moment the intense light vanished, before his night vision goggles had fully recovered, a burst of gunfire came from a completely different direction!
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The bullets flew right past Hunk’s body.
Matthew, hiding in the darkness, clicked his tongue in slight frustration upon seeing he hadn’t hit Hunk.
The explosion and bright light from the flashbang had interfered with his shooting accuracy; otherwise, those bullets should have hit Hunk in the chest.
The moment the bullets grazed him, Hunk immediately laid down suppressive fire in the direction of Matthew, while moving his body in a violent zigzag pattern to make it difficult for his opponent to aim.
Shell casings hit the ground with a crisp clinking sound.
He emptied the magazine in his hand.
The instant Hunk’s gunfire ceased, an extremely swift set of footsteps rapidly approached from his left!
Matthew was trying to use the gap while he reloaded to close the distance.
However, Hunk didn’t reload as per standard procedure.
Instead, he let go, allowing the submachine gun to hang from his tactical sling, backhanded his dagger out, and coiled his body like a spring compressed to its limit, pressing against the edge of the cover.
He was gambling—gambling that Matthew would follow the enemy engagement procedures he had taught him to check this “misfiring” target point.
As it turned out, he won the bet.
The moment Matthew appeared, Hunk, who was pressed against the wall, immediately sprang into action!
One palm shot upward, blocking the muzzle Matthew had extended.
The other hand, following muscle memory, ejected the magazine at lightning speed, even ejecting the remaining bullet in the chamber…
Seeing this, Matthew couldn’t help but exclaim, ‘Experience is still king!’
Although Hunk’s physical stats were currently inferior to his own, those years of combat experience hadn’t been for nothing.
Seeing this, Matthew simply discarded his gun.
The battle between the two also shifted from ‘urban warfare’ to close-quarters combat…