Chapter Forty-One: If I Miss, I’m a Fool!

Because Zhou Shu was sitting directly behind the driver’s seat, he couldn’t see the information on Zhuang Yong’an’s watch. But he possessed the formidable Hunter System. He and the system were perfectly attuned to each other; the system instantly understood and highlighted two red circles in his field of vision—one from the front windshield near Zhuang Yong’an and another from the side window.

Within those red circles was the reflection of what the watch displayed. The system enhanced the contrast, filtered out noise, inverted the image, and presented the most accurate information to Zhou Shu’s eyes.

“Amazing!”

The system’s capabilities impressed Zhou Shu, but the information on Zhuang Yong’an’s watch surprised him even more. The display showed a series of succinct tactical phrases, which translated to: teammates nearby were engaged in combat with a mutant and had been injured; the situation was dire, and because they were close, immediate assistance was needed. The use of firearms had been authorized.

No sooner had Zhou Shu finished reading than he heard Zhuang Yong’an say, “A-Liang, pull over and let Zhou Shu out. There’s an urgent mission.”

He quickly turned around and said, “Sorry, Zhou Shu, we can’t take you for testing this afternoon. You’ll have to get a ride home from here—we’ll reimburse your fare later and reschedule your next appointment.”

This was likely a prime opportunity to gain some primordial energy, and Zhou Shu had no intention of letting it slip by. He quickly blurted out, “Is there a monster to fight? I can help!”

“Sorry, we have to follow protocol. You’re still a civilian, and we can’t let you into such a dangerous situation!” Zhuang Yong’an spoke rapidly and with grave seriousness. Zhou Shu didn’t insist; after all, he had seen the emergency information himself.

Besides, he had only admitted to possessing unstable “superpowers” and hadn’t claimed the feat of single-handedly defeating a “monster.” Under those circumstances, any further protest would lack credibility. After a quick analysis, he decisively got out of the car.

As soon as he was out, Sun Congliang switched on the siren and hidden flashing LEDs, charged through a red light at the corner, and disappeared.

“So it was an unmarked police car after all.”

Even though he was out of the car, the primordial energy was close at hand—there was no way he would just let it go. He was desperate for energy—so many plans hinged on it.

He glanced around and said, “Xiao Shou, map out a route!”

[Understood, map location confirmed, plotting route...]
[Route plotted, recommending a solo path...]

The Hunter wasn’t just a stat-boosting cheat; it was a highly sophisticated intelligent support system. If it could simulate entire worlds, plotting a route was child’s play.

After taking down the ogre last night, Zhou Shu had already been thinking about “hunting,” but hunting wasn’t just about running around blindly. He needed information on monsters and a detailed knowledge of the city’s layout.

Only by knowing every twist and shortcut could he reach the scene in the shortest possible time. So, during his research, he’d studied the map of Dongyuan City and had the Hunter memorize it.

Most importantly, route planning was one of the Hunter’s support functions, so—it required no extra primordial energy!

Perfect.

As soon as the route appeared, Zhou Shu dashed off.

He quickly scanned and unlocked a shared bike, hopped on, and darted into a narrow alley. The solo route included cycling—after all, running all the way would be exhausting. The bike weaved left and right through the alleys, fast and nimble, soon bursting onto a pedestrian path.

Adapting on the fly, he saw there were only a couple of people around and ignored the Hunter’s prompt to “dismount and run,” charging ahead on the bike.

When cycling became impossible—or rather, when his skills weren’t enough for the terrain—he got off and began leaping fences and “parkouring” over obstacles.

These were places a car could never go.

Urban combat was nothing like fighting in the wild; the mobility of a single operative simply couldn’t be matched by a vehicle. If a solo combatant was strong enough in an urban environment and wanted to minimize damage to the city, they’d be nearly unbeatable.

The target coordinates were in a remote area, a demolition zone—this time, an abandoned industrial site.

As Zhou Shu drew near, he immediately heard a familiar sound—the crash of a beast slamming into a wall. He knew it well, having heard it up close just last night.

Exhilarating!

After scaling a broken wall, he spotted a heavy electric motorcycle lying on its side, and not far away, a man in plain clothes sprawled on the ground.

The man was covered in blood, the exact injury unclear. But since he was close, the system’s scan immediately confirmed he was still alive.

“Hey, are you all right?” Zhou Shu crouched down and patted his face.

The man was indeed alive; after being patted, he opened his eyes and said weakly, “Reinforcements… Oh, a civilian. It’s dangerous here, get out quickly.”

Zhou Shu wasn’t moved. Noticing the Hunter’s prompt, he saw the torn hem of the man’s T-shirt and heavy blood on one leg. “Leg wound, needs a tourniquet, right?”

“Leave… quickly…”

With a rip, Zhou Shu tore off the bottom of the man’s T-shirt. “Save your strength and wait for rescue. I’ll go help your teammate.”

He followed the Hunter’s instructions, wrapping the torn cloth around the wounded leg and tying it off—tight.

“Ah!” The injured man cried out in pain but suddenly seemed more alert.

Zhou Shu immediately shifted into his familiar, easygoing mode.

“You’ll be all right for now. Where’s your teammate? What’s the situation?”

The man hissed, “You should… leave…”

“Where’s your weapon? I came too fast and forgot to bring mine.”

The man tried to protest, “Weapons aren’t—”

“Zhuang Yong’an, Qiu Ling, and Sun Congliang are on their way, and others are following. We’ll have the situation under control soon.”

The man replied, “Is that… so? That’s good…”

“Enough talk. Where’s your weapon? I could still hear the fight as I came. Your teammate must still be holding on, but there’s no telling how long.”

“Are you from another team?”

“Is that really important now?”

The injured man fell silent. Hearing those names steadied him, and the urgency of the situation left him no choice. Blood loss was making his mind sluggish, so he finally told this unfamiliar “teammate” where the weapon was.

The weapon case was under the motorcycle seat. Zhou Shu opened it to find two guns: a new domestic assault rifle and, to his surprise, a foreign UTS-15 shotgun.

He wasn’t a hardcore weapons enthusiast, but someone in his dorm was, and all their military news came from that guy. So, he recognized the shotgun at a glance.

Seeing Zhou Shu open the case, the wounded man mustered his strength to remind him, “Use the shotgun. This mutant is extremely agile—the rifle won’t hit it.”

“Got it,” Zhou Shu answered casually, taking both the rifle and the shotgun.

The man fell silent.

Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, Zhou Shu thought to himself, “It’s not my problem if others can’t hit it. Missing isn’t an option for me.”

With “slow-motion vision” engaged, it would be downright foolish to miss.

As Zhou Shu slung on the rifle and charged ahead with the shotgun, the injured man tried his best to remind him, “Be careful. Your best bet is to hold it off and wait for Captain Zhuang’s backup…”

“Don’t worry!”

Zhou Shu agreed cheerfully, but inwardly scoffed, “Wait for reinforcements? Not a chance. I still need to loot the body for energy.”

As he ran forward, he examined the UTS-15 in his hands.

It was a bullpup pump-action shotgun with dual tube magazines. Both magazines could be loaded with lethal rounds, or one with a different type for dual effects—lethal and non-lethal, switching at the press of a button. Perfect for combat or riot control.

The magazines were on top, and through the gap, he could see both the number and type of rounds inside.

Both magazines were full—one loaded with red shells, the other with blue.

Judging by the color, the red ones had to be lethal rounds. But the blue ones… could they be non-lethal?

“Seriously? Were they hoping to take it alive?”