Chapter 118: Operation Begins!

"Sniper Ten in position," Zhou Shu reported over the communication channel, lying prone on a rooftop.

"Stand by for further orders."

"Understood."

After receiving the reply, Zhou Shu turned his head to glance at the four special forces soldiers sharing the rooftop before turning his gaze back toward the Changsheng Club.

It was another sniping mission, yet his team configuration was different from the others. Compared to his last mission, he had been assigned two additional special forces soldiers. Typically, sniper teams consisted of two people: a sniper and a spotter. Because snipers need to focus on long-term observation and surveillance, they cannot spare the energy to monitor the surrounding environment, which is why a spotter is needed for assistance.

Zhou Shu was different. As a superpowered sniper, he possessed "well-known" abilities like "Slow-Motion Vision" and "Alert," which granted him an uncanny, almost abnormal perception of his surroundings. He didn't need a spotter. However, as a superpowered sniper with a terrifying kill efficiency, he was inevitably a high-priority target for the enemy.

If any hostiles attempted to sneak up on him, the two soldiers at the stairwell would serve as his first line of defense, while the two soldiers standing with collapsible shields beside him would form the second. To be blunt, these defenses weren't meant to repel the enemy—if an actual monster came for Zhou Shu, these four men wouldn't be able to stop it. Their true purpose was to buy him time to escape using his personal flight device. Although the "flight board" placed beside him could only fly for a few minutes, it was enough to get him off the building.

Thinking back to his brutal thrashing by the Freak Queen last night, Zhou Shu allowed himself a slight smile. It wasn't that he had developed some strange new kink; it was that despite the beating, his attributes had risen once again. If anyone dared to come for him, he wouldn't just be able to protect these four soldiers; he would give those monsters a surprise. He would show them what a real monster was.

Furthermore, last night's harvest had been substantial, far exceeding the essence energy he had previously saved. He checked his latest data panel:

[Hunter System]
[User: Zhou Shu (Recruit)]
[Spirit: 4.36 (Cap)]
[Strength: 2.98 (+0.35)]
[Agility: 3.00 (+0.51)]
[Endurance: 2.22 (+0.42)]
[Constitution: 2.61 (+0.78)]
[Special Abilities: Bullet Time, Anomaly Detection, Psychokinesis (Weak, 31%)]
[Weapon Proficiency: Firearms (Mastery 61%), Powered Exoskeleton Operation (Mastery 45%)]
[Auxiliary Equipment: Elite Powered Exoskeleton Armor (Good Condition)]
[Essence: 0]

Due to the increase in his spirit attribute, he had experienced more "reincarnations"—78 cycles in total. The harvest this time was decent. Since he had seen the Freak Queen so often and his strength had been steadily increasing, the psychological trauma was less severe, leading to a slower growth in spirit, which had only increased by 0.64. He had spent it all immediately.

With the growth of his spirit, his psychokinesis had also improved, jumping 19% to reach 31%. Because he had "virtually practiced" in the simulation, his control precision had increased accordingly, with no loss of stability. Of course, this might also be related to the "weak" stage of the ability. He still couldn't make a coin float, but he could "nudge" it. He had swiped a 10mm steel ball weighing about 4 grams from a vehicle maintenance warehouse, and his psychokinesis could now make that object levitate.

Additionally, because his essence energy was limited, he had prioritized strength and agility—attributes directly related to close-quarters combat. Unfortunately, he ran out of essence; after resetting, his agility reached 3.0, but his strength was 0.02 shy of 3. This was only because he wasn't using his powered exoskeleton; otherwise, he would have needed to reserve at least 0.1 units of essence.

With his current stats, anyone below a Level 3 or Grade A ability user was just sending him free energy. Not to mention that these were just his base stats; the heavy sniper rifle in his hands was the real weapon of mass destruction. Combined with "Bullet Time," it was basically one shot, one kill. Even a Level 3 or Grade A ability user would fall to a single bullet.

And since ability users of that caliber were considered high-level combatants, it was unlikely they would be specifically dispatched to deal with him. At most, a few Level 1 or 2 users would come. After all, in everyone's eyes, he was just a novice superpowered user. It was true—he had only registered less than two months ago; he was a pure, authentic rookie!

With this thought, he peered through his scope at the Changsheng Club, waiting for targets to emerge so he could pick them off one by one. Once he drew their attention and they came to kill him, he would gain even more energy for upgrades. Perfect.

"Come on, come on, let me take a shot~"

His position was to the west of the Changsheng Club. It was afternoon, and as the best sniper in the operation, he wouldn't be blinded by the sun, whereas the monsters rushing toward him would be facing the glare. From his vantage point, he could cover the south, west, and north sides of the club. If anything extraordinary that he didn't recognize jumped out, he could snipe it instantly. While he couldn't see the east side, several ace sniper teams were watching it; if anything came out, they would open fire, and someone was bound to hit the target. Plus, there were the "Super Vanguards"—the missiles they carried were no joke.

In broad daylight, they waited in box trucks, ready for the order. This morning, the authorities had finally confirmed through various channels that the Changsheng Club was the headquarters of the Ascension Society. By the afternoon, they had deployed their formation according to plan. The time was set for the afternoon rather than the night or early morning because it was difficult to evacuate residents at night. Everyone would be asleep, and it would be impossible to move them while they were in pajamas or worse. It was cold at night here. During the day, people were at least dressed; as long as the operation was swift, casualties could be kept to a minimum.

The designated time was approaching. On the surface, the small town seemed unchanged, save for a slightly higher volume of pedestrians and vehicles than usual—something the average person would never notice.

Suddenly, several vehicles accelerated, forming a perimeter around the Changsheng Club. People in plain clothes jumped out of vans, while soldiers and "Super Vanguard" armor units emerged from civilian box trucks. Many "pedestrians" also rushed over, some drawing weapons to aim at the club, while others charged straight inside.

Outside the inner perimeter, even more personnel were in action. They poured out of civilian trucks in crisp military uniforms, quickly entering surrounding buildings to begin evacuating civilians. Compared to government officials in plain clothes or suits, soldiers were easier for the public to trust.

The sudden turn of events startled the people on the street. Some bold individuals pulled out their phones to film, but they were all promptly escorted away by the soldiers. Such close proximity was no place for spectators.