Chapter 16: Equality Among All Beings

Rat-a-tat-tat!
Dududududu...

As Yang Hao ascended the stairs, the sound of gunfire erupted all around him, clearly signaling a firefight had broken out.

Before long.

Two notifications of knockdowns appeared on the left side of his screen.

"Azure Robe knocked down Cabbage with an M16A4!"
"Snow Ling knocked down Restless Youth with a SCAR-L!"

Beautiful!

Seeing these messages flash by, Yang Hao couldn’t help but let out a quiet exclamation.

He continued up the stairs and soon spotted Lin Ziqin crouched in a corner, bandaging herself, and not far off, two figures crawling on the ground, clutching their stomachs.

Evidently, these two were the ones just knocked down by Lin Ziqin and Lu Ziqi.

"Be careful, someone's got a gun trained on us from across the way!" Lin Ziqin warned, then, after a moment's thought, tossed her M16A4 over to Yang Hao.

Picking up the M16A4 and over seventy rounds of 5.56 ammunition, Yang Hao quickly figured out where the enemy was camping and volunteered, "I’ll draw them out."

"Don’t go, there’s more than one squad!" Lin Ziqin tried to stop him.

"It’s fine!" Yang Hao smiled, unconcerned.

Immediately after, Lin Ziqin watched as Yang Hao tossed a smoke grenade downstairs, then leapt down from the upper floor.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Yang Hao’s sudden appearance clearly drew the enemy’s attention; someone fired twice at him right away. But with the cover of the smoke, their shots went wide. Instead, they revealed their own positions and got hit twice by Lin Ziqin and Lu Ziqi.

Yang Hao had another smoke grenade on him. With its cover, plus the suppressive fire from Lin Ziqin and her team, he managed to dash a good distance unscathed.

The two who’d been knocked down earlier were now hiding behind cover, receiving aid from a teammate.

As soon as the gunner upstairs warned them that someone was charging their position, the rescuer immediately abandoned the revive and grabbed his weapon.

But he didn’t dare expose himself to return fire—he knew Lin Ziqin’s group was just waiting for such an opportunity.

Rat-a-tat-tat...

Yang Hao drew closer. When he was within range, he raised his M16A4 and unleashed a barrage while running.

The fierce gunfire forced the armed enemy to duck back.

At this point, Yang Hao’s position was highly exposed. Anyone lurking nearby could easily take him out.

But truth be told, Yang Hao wasn’t worried.

Before he’d dashed out, he’d already marked the enemy’s firing positions. Unless someone hidden could drop him in one shot, they’d risk being wiped out by Lin Ziqin’s team as soon as they fired.

After all, his role was to be a decoy.

Wasn’t his appearance meant to bait the enemy into revealing themselves?

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Just as this thought crossed Yang Hao’s mind, a silenced shot cracked out, and a burst of blood mist blossomed from his body.

Damn, who’s this savage?

They’re actually shooting?

Yang Hao jumped in fright and twisted away, sprinting even harder.

The shot hadn’t come from the group in front of him—it must’ve been from the other squad Lin Ziqin mentioned.

Because Lin Ziqin and her group were facing off with the enemy, those enemies didn’t dare expose themselves to shoot, but the hidden assailant was different. Confident in their concealed position and equipped with a suppressor, they dared to take the shot.

However.

The moment the enemy fired, exposure was inevitable.

There!

As the enemy fired again, Yang Hao darted into a nearby house and quickly pinpointed the shooter’s general location.

"Azure Robe knocked down Handsome Old Iron with an SKS!"

Just as Yang Hao identified the enemy's position, this message flashed on his screen—clearly, Lin Ziqin had struck.

Seeing Lin Ziqin take out the enemy, Yang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, found a safe spot inside the house, and began healing himself.

While running, he’d taken two hits—his health was already in the red.

If one of those shots had hit his head, he might have died on the spot.

The longer you’re exposed out there, the greater the danger—even if unscathed, Yang Hao needed to find temporary shelter.

He used a medkit, chugged a painkiller, and gradually restored his health.

Finding a bottle of soda upstairs, he gulped it down, then jumped out in another direction.

Circling quickly around two buildings, Yang Hao reappeared from an unexpected angle and soon spotted three figures taking cover.

Of the three, two were the ones previously knocked down by Lin Ziqin and Ling Xue’er; the last was their teammate.

While Yang Hao had been flanking, the enemy had managed to revive one fallen comrade and was now reviving the other, with the last holding a rifle, keeping watch.

Yang Hao remembered—they still had one teammate upstairs in the building behind them.

Because of the angle, that person hadn’t noticed him yet. Yang Hao darted into view and raised his M16A4, firing a quick burst at the lookout.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

The guard hadn’t expected Yang Hao to appear there and reacted too slowly. All three shots landed, with one to the head.

Even with a Level 2 helmet, three hits from Yang Hao were too much.

Seeing their teammate go down, the player who was reviving acted quickly—abandoning the revive, he raised his rifle and sprayed in Yang Hao’s direction.

But Yang Hao had already ducked back into cover; the bullets hit nothing but air.

Yang Hao’s sudden appearance was nothing short of disastrous for the enemy.

Now, the cover in front of them had lost all value.

Lin Ziqin’s group lay in wait ahead, and now Yang Hao had appeared to their flank—they were no longer safe.

Watching two teammates bleeding out, the enemy was helpless.

Trying to revive now would be suicide—offering themselves up.

Gritting his teeth, the only player still able to fight quietly moved forward.

To save his teammates, aggression was his only option.

Otherwise, with Lin Ziqin and Yang Hao pinning them from both sides, they couldn’t even attempt a rescue. And even if Lin Ziqin and Yang Hao didn’t fire, time would finish off the two downed allies.

At this point, only by eliminating Yang Hao did they have any hope.

Hearing footsteps, Yang Hao sensed the enemy’s intent but didn’t act rashly. He knew that besides the one sneaking toward him, there was still someone upstairs watching.

If he showed himself, he might face fire from both.

The footsteps grew louder.

He’s here!

As the enemy’s foot hit the ground again, Yang Hao sprang into action.

The two met head-on, clicking their mice almost simultaneously.

Both fired!

Rat...

Bang!

But in just that instant, the outcome was decided.

"Melancholy Heart knocked down Cabbage with an S686!"

With that notification, the enemy felt only despair.

That’s right—just as he leapt out, Yang Hao switched to his S686, and with a single shot put him down.

Before the shotgun, all are equal.

That saying is no exaggeration!