Just Like My Outlined Teammate

The twin machine guns spewed red laser fire like two venomous serpents tearing through the ruins.

They clung to Su Lixiao’s heels like festering poison, deadly and relentless.

Luckily, the street was littered with abandoned vehicles, perfect cover for her to weave through.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

The lasers shredded the wrecks with ease, blowing them apart and filling the air with smoke.

But not a single shot touched Su Lixiao.

The squad leader’s blood pressure spiked.

“Can’t you two aim straight?” he barked at the gunners.

“We’re really trying,” the machine gunners protested, aggrieved.

Dodging light itself was impossible, even for an ability user.

But aiming and pulling the trigger weren’t the same.

Their eyes couldn’t keep up with Su Lixiao’s speed.

“ Tsk—”

The leader clicked his tongue.

His shield arm still tingled from numbness.

Her ambush had been blocked, but even with exoskeleton assistance, her raw strength had shaken him.

Another strike or two and he’d be done for.

The shield would fly from his hand.

From the shadows, Ye Lan silently marveled at Su Lixiao’s agility.

Still, the battle had stalled.

She lacked killing power and was stuck on the defensive.

The turning point had to come from Ye Lan.

He was already on the move, using the smoke and wrecks as cover.

“Zap-zap-zap!”

Three laser blasts scorched the car ahead of him, leaving charred holes.

He realized cover was running thin.

He had to move faster.

His energy shield would absorb a few hits anyway.

Ye Lan sprinted, taking two steps as three, and rushed into the swaying building.

The staircases were gone.

He had to rely on the emblem map to find alternate paths upward.

Finally, at the end of a second-floor corridor, he saw it—his supply crate.

He tread carefully across the cracked and hollow floor, reaching the military-green chest.

But as his hand touched it, a chill shot up his spine.

Enemy!

“Bang-bang-bang—”

Bullets smacked into the crate with dull thuds.

None hit their mark.

“Eh? Where’d he go?”

The attacker shimmered into view—an upperclassman with optical camouflage.

He was the squad’s vice-captain.

Smoke blocked optics but not infrared.

Ye Lan’s desperate dash had exposed him.

The vice-captain had peeled off from the squad to intercept.

But now he stared at the bullet-riddled crate in shock.

Unwilling to believe he missed, he kicked it over.

The lid popped open.

Empty.

Too late.

“Damn it!”

Frustration filled him—when suddenly, a strange sound echoed.

“Beep—beep-beep—beep-beep-beep!”

It came from behind the crate.

“Not good!”

The vice-captain realized—bomb!

He launched himself back with exoskeleton strength.

At the same moment, a blue light flared from the crate.

An EMP pulse, not an explosion.

In the narrow corridor, it spread even faster.

The wave overtook him and slammed into his body.

“Bzzzt—”

Instantly, his weapons and exoskeleton shut down.

The powered suit became dead weight, leaving him unable to break his fall or soften the impact.

“Crash!”

He slammed into rubble, trapped.

The exoskeleton wasn’t coming back online any time soon.

Ye Lan hadn’t expected his little booby trap to work so well.

But it had saved him precious time.

This vice-captain was vicious, even using stealth gear against freshmen.

If not for his killing intent leaking early, Ye Lan would’ve been in real trouble.

Sensing killing intent wasn’t something ordinary soldiers could do.

Ye Lan had only gained it through too many brushes with death.

In that sense, he was fighting on another level entirely.

The EMP fried all electronics.

Ye Lan was spared only because he’d already moved off that floor.

Now, bolstered by his exoskeleton, he ran faster, jumped farther, carried heavier weapons.

But first—he had to support Su Lixiao.

The street fight remained locked in stalemate.

Pinned by laser fire, she had little chance to counterattack.

“Rattle-rattle—hiss—”

Suddenly, one machine gun vented white steam and went silent.

Its cooling system had kicked in, overheated.

“Rattle-rattle-rattle—”

The other immediately opened up, maintaining suppression.

Energy weapons, powered by batteries, killed with concentrated heat.

No ammo limits, but overheating was their flaw.

Even with reinforced cooling, they couldn’t fire forever.

That was why squads fielded two gunners or used bursts.

Alternating fire wasn’t clever—it was standard.

But it worked.

Under cover of fire, the leader crept closer to Su Lixiao’s cover.

He figured she was tiring after all that dodging.

He, meanwhile, was fully rested.

And back when she first struck, he hadn’t pushed his exoskeleton to max.

Now he was confident he could match her strength.

He couldn’t afford humiliation at the hands of a freshman.

Losing here would be a laughingstock.

His gunners were useless at aiming—good only for suppression.

But he never planned to rely on them anyway.

Mercy wasn’t an option.

Without hesitation, he flashed a secret hand signal.