Bang!
A white parachute bloomed high in the sky.
The wind tore at the lines, carrying Keran slowly down toward the endless forest and abandoned farmland below.
Keran landed steadily on a haystack at the edge of the farm.
He quickly cut the parachute lines, crumpled the canopy into a ball, and stuffed it deep inside the nearby barn.
The long-missed sunlight broke through the clouds and fell on him, warm and gentle, chasing away the chill of the high altitude.
He looked up at the sky.
It was around six in the afternoon.
The sun hung high overhead, and between the white clouds and blue sky, several massive celestial bodies floated deep in the firmament, their outlines faint and ghostly.
These were the moons of the Star Abyss.
When night fell, they would reflect the sun’s light and bathe the world in a soft, silvery glow.
Keran took a deep breath.
The fresh air filled his lungs, and the scent of freedom finally relaxed the nerves he’d held tight for six months.
At no point had he ever planned to fight the remaining thirty Operatives head-on.
Even if he could kill every last one of them, Zevran could just hit the self-destruct button in the cockpit or disable all escape systems.
He’d still end up dead.
Sneaking into the group and jumping was the only way out.
After killing Squad B’s rearguard, he hadn’t followed Squad A directly.
Instead, he’d circled back to the middle deck armory.
Besides restocking on ammo and grenades, the most important thing he’d grabbed was the personal parachute, which he’d stuffed into his tactical backpack.
Then he’d stripped a uniform off a dead Squad B member and hidden in the stairwell corner between the second and upper decks.
It was a perfect blind spot.
No one would have noticed him unless they were specifically looking.
These Operatives had gotten soft from too much time in safe environments.
All of Squad A had been focused on holding the door and waiting for reinforcements.
As they hurried past the corner, Keran had slipped silently into the back of the group, pulling his cap low over his eyes.
Who counts their teammates anyway?
Thirty men and thirty-one look the same in the middle of chaos.
So he’d followed Squad A safely to the main cargo hatch.
When everyone’s attention was fixed on the dark corridor ahead, he’d quietly slipped over to the door and swiped the A-class white access card he’d taken off the Squad B captain’s corpse.
It had been an incredibly risky move.
If even one person had turned around and looked at him closely, he would have been caught instantly.
“Reinforcements could be here any minute. I can’t stay long.”
Keran had chosen to jump here for a reason.
He’d seen the location of this waypoint on the transport’s flight data earlier.
On the surface, it was just an abandoned farm that had been deserted for years.
In reality, it was a secret Undercurrent supply depot.
The transport had been scheduled to refuel and resupply here after completing its mission.
Keran hurried through the abandoned farm and found the garage.
Three black wilderness patrol vehicles were parked inside.
The A-class access card he’d taken from the Squad B captain didn’t just open the transport’s doors.
It also gave him full access to the depot’s resources.
Just as I thought.
He tossed his bulging tactical backpack onto the passenger seat and started the engine.
The powerful engine roared to life.
The patrol car crashed through the farm’s fence and tore down the dirt road into the forest.
He knew nothing about the local terrain, so he just drove as fast as he could in the opposite direction of where the transport would make its emergency landing.
…
Back on the transport, Zevran watched the shrinking parachute dot disappear into the distance.
His smile faded slowly.
He turned around, his voice cold as ice.
“Contact the cockpit. Drop altitude immediately and make an emergency landing at the abandoned airfield thirty kilometers southeast. Everyone, gear up for pursuit. He’s got bullet wounds. That parachute won’t take him far.”
“And notify the nearest outpost to send additional support.”
“Yes, sir!”
Squad A captain looked up.
“Should we inform Azure City?”
Zevran glanced at him.
“Of course,” he said calmly.
“Tell them the Otherworld Lifeform went berserk during transport, killed several of our Operatives, and escaped. Request their assistance in locking down the area.”
The captain understood what he meant and nodded.
The communications operator ran quickly to the cockpit.
Zevran walked to the hatch and looked down at the endless forest below, tapping his fingers lightly on the frame.
“Interesting.”
Ten minutes later, the transport bounced down the runway of the abandoned airfield.
Zevran was the first one off, carrying a black case in his hand.
“Split into three teams. Search along the road, the forest, and the farm. Report immediately if you find any trace of him. No unsanctioned actions.”
He’d barely finished speaking when his radio crackled to life.
“Inspector Zevran, headquarters copies. Black Hound Squad Three, which was operating in the area, has diverted course. ETA twenty minutes to target zone.”
“Understood.” Zevran hung up the radio, his eyes cold and vicious.
“The Black Hounds are here. This time, there’s nowhere for you to run.”
…
In Frederick’s office, Rufina stood in front of the desk.
She listened to what he had to say in silence for several seconds.
“Keran escaped?” There was disbelief in her voice.
“Test subject Keran went berserk and escaped. He killed Squad B’s captain and destroyed all the experimental data.”
He paused.
“Twenty minutes ago, he jumped from the transport. Zevran is pursuing him on the ground.”
Rufina said nothing.
She just stared at the floor, her fingers tightening slightly at her side.
She thought back to those six months in the training room every single day.
That dull, unresponsive look on his face.
He never cried out when he was hit and never answered when he was spoken to.
Like a stone sunk deep underwater.
She’d thought she knew him.
But he’d been hiding far more than she’d ever imagined.
Frederick looked at her.
“Undercurrent just sent an official request. They want Azure City to assist in locking down the surrounding area and send teams to help with the search.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Send a few outer perimeter patrols,” Frederick leaned back in his chair, his expression neutral.
“We’ll search the outer edges and give Undercurrent their token response. This is their mess, not ours.”
Rufina looked at him for a long moment.
“Understood.”
…
Night fell.
Through the gaps in the trees, Keran saw the night sky of the Star Abyss.
Several massive, glowing blue stars hung high above, joining the countless smaller stars to form a brilliant galaxy stretching across the entire horizon.
They floated silently in the depths of the night, like ancient beings watching over the land below.
Beautiful.
Mysterious.
And instinctively awe-inspiring.
But Keran had no time to admire the view.
The sound of an engine was far too loud in the silent forest.
It wouldn’t be long before the pursuers followed his tire tracks.
He killed the engine and pulled the key.
There were a few bottles of water and military ration bars in the trunk.
Keran stuffed them all into his pack, then turned and walked alone into the trees.
He deliberately walked in the opposite direction of the tire tracks for a few hundred meters, then circled in a wide arc before heading deeper into the forest.
Without cars or buildings, the darkness became his perfect camouflage.
His body was exhausted.
His stamina had dropped to critical levels.
But he dared not rest.
He knew exactly how Undercurrent operated.
They would never let him get away.
Vroom vroom.
He hadn’t walked far when the sound of engines echoed from behind him.
Keran’s heart skipped a beat.
He ducked behind a thick tree and peeked out cautiously.
The headlights of three scout vehicles flickered through the trees, speeding along the dirt road he’d just left.
Black Hound Squad.
Keran’s face darkened.
He’d seen the name in Undercurrent’s experimental files.
They were Undercurrent’s most elite ground combat unit.
Every member was a veteran Operative, specialized in tracking, assassination, and night warfare.
Zevran had already contacted headquarters.
Suddenly, a gunshot shattered the silence of the night!
Alarm bells screamed in Keran’s head.
He threw himself flat on the ground.
A searing pain lanced through his right shoulder.
A bullet grazed him and punched a deep hole in the tree behind him.
Three hundred meters away, one of the scout vehicles stopped on the dirt road.
Six Operatives in black combat uniforms stood beside it, wearing flat thermal goggles.
The man at the front held an electromagnetic sniper rifle.
Shit.
Keran gritted his teeth and rolled behind another tree.
He glanced down.
There was a blackened dent in the right shoulder of his power-reinforced armor, the edges still glowing faintly red hot.
If the armor hadn’t absorbed most of the impact, that shot would have done far more than graze him.
[You have been grazed in the right shoulder by an electromagnetic sniper rifle! Taken 20 damage!]
[You have entered combat! Based on your level, you have obtained detailed enemy information!]
Black Hound Squad Operative:
Level: 15
Class: Operative Lv10
Attributes: Strength 23, Agility 17, Endurance 29, Intelligence 12, Mystic 4, Charisma 7, Luck 1
Power Level: 40
Skills: Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv4, Basic Marksmanship Lv5, Precision Shooting Lv2, Sniping Lv1 (Captain Only)
Equipment:
[EMR-7 Electromagnetic Sniper Rifle (Captain Only). Quality: Gray. Attack 68~86. Rate of Fire 0.6 rounds/s. Magazine Capacity 5. Power Output 35. Requirement: Sniping Lv1]
[Thermal Energy Goggles. Quality: Gray. Essential for night/fog combat. Can penetrate light obstacles.]
[Stinger Energy Pistol. Quality: Gray. Compact hybrid ballistic-energy weapon. Attack 26~33. Rate of Fire 1.2 rounds/s. Energy Magazine Capacity: 12. Power Output: 14]
[Shockwave Fragmentation Grenade (x3). Deals 48~82 area explosive damage within 20 meters. Chance to inflict Concussion status. Power Output: 46]
[Stinger Submachine Gun. Quality: Gray. Attack 34~43. Semi-auto 1.6 rounds/s. Full-auto 3.8 rounds/s. Theoretical max 11 rounds/s (overheats in 2.8 seconds). Energy Magazine Capacity 32. Power Output 34]
[Light Alloy Combat Suit. Quality: Gray. Ranged Defense 9~13. Durability 52]
[Alloy Tactical Knife. Quality: Gray. Attack 7~13. Length: 0.3 meters]
Keran scanned the information, his eyes narrowing.
These six Black Hound Operatives were elite enemies.
Their overall level was lower than his, but they were pure combat specialists with high stats and full gear.
This is bad…
Keran’s expression was grim.
His power-reinforced armor had 162 points of durability left.
One pistol.
One captured SMG.
Thirteen full magazines.
That was everything he had.
Compared to the fully equipped Black Hound Squad, he was pitifully underequipped by comparison.
Bang!
The electromagnetic sniper rifle fired again.
A bullet wreathed in faint blue electricity punched straight through the tree Keran was hiding behind, grazed his ear, and exploded into a shower of sparks against the rock behind him.
Keran pressed himself flat against the tree trunk, his heart pounding.
The enemy had thermal goggles.
They could see his body heat clearly in the dark.
All he could do was guess their positions from muzzle flashes and footsteps.
The electromagnetic sniper rifle was too powerful.
His armor would stop at most two shots before being penetrated.
Keran didn’t hesitate for a second.
He dumped all 15 of his unspent free attribute points.
Ten into Endurance.
The last five into Strength.
Endurance would keep him alive.
Strength would give him the absolute advantage in close combat.
He’d already figured it out.
Trading shots at long range with these elite Operatives was suicide.
Close-quarters combat was dangerous, but it was the only way to neutralize their sniper and SMG advantages.
Running would just leave him exposed.
Unless he killed all six of these men, he would never escape this forest.
His Strength jumped to 37.
Combined with the +12 Strength bonus from his power-reinforced armor, it gave him an overwhelming advantage over the Black Hound Squad.
His Endurance rose to 44, pushing his maximum health to 600.
Including the slow regeneration from earlier, his current health was back up to 490.
His condition had improved drastically.
Keran glanced at his experience panel.
Between killing all of Squads B and C and his earlier stockpile, he had 123,000 experience points left.
This was life or death.
There was no point holding anything back.
He dumped every last point into his combat skill tree.
[Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat upgraded to Lv10. Increases unarmed attack damage by 10%. Increases damage resistance by 7%.]
[Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat has reached Level 10. Advancement requirements met! Please choose one of the following advanced class skills: Assassination Combat, Tactical Grappling, Heavy Armor Combat!]
Assassination Combat focused on instant burst damage, stealth kills, and precision with bladed weapons.
Tactical Grappling specialized in close-quarters brawling and subduing opponents.
Heavy Armor Combat boosted punching power and frontal damage resistance.
The three paths were clearly defined.
Right now, what Keran needed more than anything was the explosive power to kill a single target in seconds.
[Advanced skill obtained: Assassination Combat Lv1! Increases close quarters critical hit chance by 6%. Increases unarmed attack damage by 4%. Unlocks basic assassination techniques!]
His experience dropped to zero.
But a whole new set of combat instincts flooded into his mind.
He could feel his body remembering a thousand different ways to kill a man.
Every muscle in his body tingled with anticipation.
“Shame I don’t have any energy-based skills,” Keran clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking.
Armor Engineer relied mostly on their armor, after all.
But with his current stats and skills, it was more than enough.
He slowly poked his head out, studying the Black Hound Squad’s formation in the moonlight.
To prevent him from escaping, the six men were advancing in a loose fan formation, spaced seven or eight meters apart.
In the dense forest, that distance meant it would take the others at least five to seven seconds to reach any one of them if he attacked.
Five to seven seconds.
More than enough time to kill a man.
Keran took a deep breath.
The hydraulic lines in his power-reinforced armor hissed almost silently.
He tightened his grip on his knife, his cold eyes locking onto the Operative closest to him.