Chapter 407: One Man, One Gun

Chapter 407: One Man, One Gun

Zhang Yi, alone with his sniper rifle, forced the entire Chaoyu Base to retreat.

Gunfire echoed across the snowfield, each shot sending a chill of terror through the Chaoyu soldiers. Even their modified vehicles couldn’t withstand the destructive power of Zhang Yi’s rifle.

Chen Jingguan couldn’t take it any longer. “If this keeps up, who knows how many more he’ll kill? I’m going out there!”

He opened the car door, leaping into the icy storm. Agile as a monkey, he climbed onto a vehicle before vaulting into position at the rear of the convoy.

In the blink of an eye, his body expanded and stretched, transforming into a massive, leathery shield covering the last two vehicles.

“Bang!”

A bullet from Zhang Yi’s rifle slammed into Chen Jingguan’s barrier-like body. Though it didn’t penetrate, the sheer force left a deep dent in the steel plating behind him, the bullet falling harmlessly to the snow.

Pain twisted Chen Jingguan’s expression. The bullet’s power was immense. Even with his ability to resist most physical attacks, the impact caused significant discomfort.

“This sniper… his power is terrifying,” Chen Jingguan muttered grimly.

Unaware that a superhuman was now shielding the convoy, Zhang Yi continued firing methodically. If one rifle overheated, he calmly switched to another. Having raided West Hill Base’s arsenal, he had five heavy sniper rifles at his disposal.

After five or six minutes, the Chaoyu convoy finally vanished from Zhang Yi’s sight, disappearing over the horizon.

“They’ve fled?” Zhang Yi smirked. “Looks like they’re waiting for reinforcements before making another attempt. No matter who comes, though, they’d better be ready for my sniper fire.”

Through the comms, Zhang Yi’s teammates, hearing the sudden silence, quickly inquired about the situation.

“Zhang Yi, what happened? Did they retreat?”

“Yeah,” he replied nonchalantly. “I killed a few dozen of them, and they pulled back. I think they’re waiting for the other factions to arrive before launching a coordinated attack.”

His words left everyone stunned.

“You killed dozens of them already? Damn, boss, you’re insane!” Fatty Xu exclaimed, his voice filled with awe.

From the first gunshot to now, less than ten minutes had passed.

With just a sniper rifle and his unmatched skill, Zhang Yi had routed the entire Chaoyu convoy, inflicting heavy casualties without suffering any losses.

It dawned on everyone that Zhang Yi himself was the true first line of defense for the Shelter. His sniper range alone had rendered the initial defensive line almost unnecessary.

“This is just basic,” Zhang Yi replied calmly.

To him, it wasn’t anything extraordinary. If he couldn’t achieve this level of efficiency, then all the superhuman power he had absorbed would have been wasted.

In terms of sheer capability, Zhang Yi might already be the most formidable superhuman in Tianhai City. After all, one of his victims, Ling Feng, had been a top-tier superhuman before Zhang Yi devoured his abilities.

“Long-range sniping and defense are my strengths,” Zhang Yi explained. “If they manage to breach my range and reach the defensive line, it’ll be up to you to hold them off.”

“And if necessary, I can use Divine Power to take down a few key superhumans.”

The combination of Divine Power and precision shooting was devastating. Within 300 meters, it was even deadlier than his sniper rifle, offering unparalleled lethality against all but the most heavily fortified superhumans.

Fatty Xu chuckled nervously. “Let’s see if they even have the guts to survive your sniper fire first!”

Zhang Yi remained composed. This was routine for him. True mastery would be when he could snipe someone like Ling Feng from five kilometers away—that would be a true testament to his power.

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Back at a safe distance, Wei Dinghai ordered his men to assess the damage.

The report was grim:

“One vehicle is completely totaled, three more are severely damaged and may not make it back. We’ve got two squad leaders lightly injured, and 35 soldiers are confirmed dead.”

Wei Dinghai’s expression darkened.

They had brought 300 elite soldiers—Chaoyu’s finest. And now, before even reaching Zhang Yi’s Shelter, they had already lost a tenth of their forces.

“This… this is a disaster. Zhang Yi’s team has a superhuman this powerful? It doesn’t make sense!”

As a top-tier superhuman himself, Wei Dinghai had a deep understanding of what superhumans were capable of. But he couldn’t fathom anyone being able to snipe from 3.5 kilometers away, penetrate 3mm steel plating, and decimate soldiers so effortlessly.

“Could Tianhai City have produced an Epsilon-level superhuman?” he wondered aloud.

“No, it’s not that extreme,” he reasoned after a moment. “This sniper is just incredibly specialized in long-range combat. That means his close-range abilities must be weak.”

Wei Dinghai quickly formulated a plan.

“To achieve such excellence in one area, there must be a glaring weakness elsewhere. If we can close the distance, we can exploit his blind spots.”

He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“Once we breach the Shelter, that so-called ‘death sniper’ will no longer pose a threat.”

At that moment, Chen Jingguan climbed back into the vehicle, his face pale from the strain of blocking Zhang Yi’s bullets.

“Boss, that sniper is too dangerous. We can’t keep advancing head-on. I suggest we take a detour, even if it’s longer, to avoid him.”

Wei Dinghai stroked his beard, contemplating. “A detour?”

Based on Zhang Yi’s effective range of 3.5 kilometers, a detour would require a significant reroute.

Chen Jingguan pulled out a satellite phone, opening a map.

“Here,” he said, pointing to Xu Family Town. “We can launch our attack from this direction. The terrain has plenty of cover, which will make it harder for him to target us.”

Wei Dinghai nodded. “Not a bad idea, but let’s hold off on any action for now. Find a place to hide.”

“Hide?” Chen Jingguan asked, puzzled. “But he already knows we’re here. What’s the point?”

Wei Dinghai’s lips curled into a cold smile, his eyes flashing with cruelty.

“That sniper’s wrath shouldn’t just be our burden. Let the others feel what it’s like to be hunted like animals.”

Chen Jingguan’s eyes widened in realization.

The Western factions were only temporarily united. Once this battle was over, they would inevitably turn on each other in their scramble for territory.

If Wei Dinghai could maneuver the other factions into suffering similar losses to that sniper, it would make them easier to deal with later—and Chaoyu would benefit from their weakened state.

Author's Note