The Unseen Threat

However, like the other thieves, it carried a black sack on its back, creating a comically incongruous sight.

To other survivors, such a terrifying enemy might signal the beginning of despair.

But for Lin Ran, this behemoth was nothing more than a mere damage test dummy.

“Can it be instantly killed with a single shot?”

Lin Ran asked Anmeng Yue, who stood beside him.

He held absolute confidence in her products above all else.

“As long as you provide enough core crystals, forget about this giant; even… even… even a grand boss would be instantly annihilated!”

Struggling to find a suitable comparison, she finally blurted out the words with immense force, after pondering for quite a while.

The fact that she could only come up with such a clumsy analogy was rather amusing.

Lin Ran nodded, his finger gently resting on the trigger.

The moment the one-eyed giant stepped into range, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

“Bang!”

A muffled gunshot echoed.

The next second, the one-eyed giant’s massive head exploded entirely, turning into a sky-full of blood mist and fragments.

This time, Lin Ran hadn’t even clearly seen the bullet’s trajectory; its speed was simply too fast.

The colossal headless body, propelled by inertia, stumbled forward two more steps before crashing to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

A clean, swift instant kill!

Just as Lin Ran prepared to seek his next target, an announcement boomed from the sky above him.

[Congratulations to Lin Ran for completing the first large enemy kill of this wave!]

[To encourage team cooperation in eliminating enemies, this offensive will activate a wide-ranging real-time battle report announcement!]

[#18029# Team Battle Arena, White Snow Academy Warzone, Lin Ran killed a one-eyed giant, earning 100 points! Current ranking: First!]

[Special Note: The point rewards for this round are extremely unique; please strive for the highest possible ranking!]

The sudden broadcast momentarily stunned Lin Ran.

“Holy hell! Big bro is incredible!”

Despite the distance separating them, Wang Pangzi’s booming voice still carried over.

But…

Battle reports? Point rankings?

This was practically making sure everyone else in the school knew he was possessing a cheat (TL Note: ‘Guà,’ a Chinese slang term referring to a player using hacks or cheats in a game)…

Lin Ran curled his lips into a grin.

Since things had come to this, he might as well stop hiding!

He pulled the bolt, and magic power surged in once more, loading a new energy bullet.

The scope shifted, locking onto a troll thief preparing to hurl a massive boulder.

“Bang!”

Another shot rang out.

The troll thief’s lower body remained in its throwing stance, while its upper body was directly blown apart from the middle, splitting into two halves.

[Lin Ran killed a troll thief, earning 80 points! Current total points: 180 points! Ranking: First!]

The announcement refreshed again.

“Bang!”

A rock golem thief, having just emerged from underground, its body not yet fully formed, was pierced through its core by a single shot, instantly shattering into a pile of rubble on the spot.

[Lin Ran killed a rock golem thief, earning 120 points! Current total points: 300 points! Ranking: First!]

“Bang!”

[Lin Ran killed a giant insect thief (Giant), earning 50 points! Current total points: 350 points! Ranking: First!]

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

Subsequently, his side of the battlefield became Lin Ran’s solo performance.

“Brother Lin Ran! Here’s a bottle of advanced slowing potion I just brewed! Pour it on them to delay the enemy’s advance!”

Qi Xiaoyu, proving to be a reliable support, tossed a bottle of slowing potion onto the ground near Lin Ran’s distant doorway, creating a purple swamp.

The thieves who stepped into it were immediately stuck, unable to move.

Golem-type creatures, especially those without intelligence, might even shatter upon falling into it.

[Qi Xiaoyu (used slowing potion on) rock golem thief, earning 120 points! Current total points: 120 points! Ranking: Seventy-ninth!]

Other houses also had Qi Xiaoyu’s slowing potions in front of them, and against such cumbersome opponents, he had made a great contribution.

Lin Ran nodded, continuing his massacre.

Each gunshot inevitably heralded the collapse of a giant creature.

The immensely oppressive legion of behemoths proved as fragile as paper under his gun barrel.

And Lin Ran was absolutely thrilled.

He was immersed in the exhilaration of shooting.

It felt incredibly satisfying!

In the face of absolute caliber, range, and power, what man wouldn’t be hyped up?

Seven hundred thousand core crystals for such a divine gun was an absolute bargain!

Anmeng Yue’s image in Lin Ran’s eyes had now transformed into that of a living deity.

In less than ten minutes, the previously dense swarm of giant thieves had been thoroughly cleaned out by him alone.

Hardly a single moving behemoth remained, with only a few treasure chest monsters left to be cleared.

Lin Ran set down his scorching sniper rifle and let out a long sigh of contentment.

He had shot to his heart’s content!

Anmeng Yue truly was amazing!

He was contemplating whether he should go to Anmeng Yue to borrow (TL Note: ‘shē,’ meaning to buy on credit or borrow) some other good items.

Perhaps an energy armor, for instance.

However, for now, checking on his teammates was more important.

After all, this was a team battle, and if a teammate got into trouble, he wasn’t sure if it would affect him.

Wang Pangzi was still defending three areas alone, as previously agreed.

Then Qi Xiaoyu and Lin Ran would support each other, and after resolving their own situations, they would go to support Wang Pangzi.

Since his side had already finished early, it would be good to check on the situation.

However, just as this thought emerged, the broadcast sounded again.

But this time, the content was an announcement.

[Notification: Survivor ‘Shen Qing’ has been eliminated.]

[Reason for elimination: Wooden house disappeared]

Eliminated?

Lin Ran’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked through the window in the direction of Shen Qing’s wooden house.

In front of Shen Qing’s wooden house, there wasn’t a single monster. Wang Pangzi stood bewildered in front of her house, completely unaware of what had happened.

Although Wang Pangzi faced formidable enemies and had a difficult time, he had, for the most part, prevented any monsters from approaching her.

However, her wooden house had indeed disappeared.

‘The wooden house was stolen?’

Lin Ran’s first guess came to mind.

[Failure condition: Any wooden house is stolen]

This had been the failure condition for the first wave.

This meant that the thieves were capable of stealing an entire wooden house.

It wasn’t surprising that the second wave, being more difficult, didn’t result in failure even if a wooden house was stolen.

But it was highly likely that a stolen wooden house would directly lead to a person’s elimination.

But… how was her wooden house stolen?

He recalled the hint given before the offensive began.

[This wave will also feature unexpected enemies; please analyze the battle situation and respond promptly.]

It wasn’t those seemingly mighty giants or trolls.

Unexpected enemies…? What could they be?

Why couldn’t he see them?

Invisibility? Rule-based elimination? Mechanic-driven monsters?

Lin Ran didn’t know; a myriad of possibilities flashed through his mind, but until he saw the true enemy, he couldn’t be certain what it was.

He only knew…

A wooden board was missing from his own roof.