Silenced

Kelly had managed to take cover in time, but he did not escape unscathed. A few bullets had grazed past his face, leaving him all bloody.

He had been so close to perishing with his squad mates.

"What the hell was that monster‽"

The long-haired man had also survived, but his condition was far worse. He had been shot in the abdomen and was bleeding profusely. Kelly could hear him groaning in pain.

Suddenly, two red lights began to glimmer in the darkness, terrifying the duo who thought that some kind of savage beast was approaching. Paralyzed with fear, they could only watch on as… Rover 1 appeared!

"A robot‽"

Kelly stared at Rover 1 in disbelief. He regretted not trusting his instinct.

What should I do now? Kelly's immediate thought was to retreat, but the long-haired man suddenly went berserk and opened fire on the rover.

"Die! Die! Die!"

Clink! Clink! Clank! Clank!

Rover 1's thin armor was slowly dented by the barrage. Seeing that his attacks were effective, Kelly and his other remaining teammate began to join the counterattack.

_____________________

[Rover One (Tank-style)] has lost 14 points of armor…

[Rover One (Tank-style)] has lost 17 points of armor…

——————————————————————

As Rover One's armor was made with inferior materials, it was not tanky at all, and its armor integrity plummeted under the trio's assault. In just a few seconds of barrage, the poor rover was reduced to a useless hunk of metal.

It couldn't be helped! As Han Xiao had to work with limited funds, all he had equipped the rover with were the finger guns.

"Damn it! Where is Division 13?"

Suddenly, as if in answer to his prayers, the sound of a marching troop began to fill up the night.

"Disarm yourselves!" someone roared out.

"Quickly retreat!" ordered Kelly immediately.

The long-haired man emptied a final magazine onto the rover furiously before he relented.

"Okay. Let's go."

However, right as they were about to flee, the rover suddenly started to charge towards them as it began to glow!

Self-destruction!

The deafening explosion set the night ablaze, engulfing the trio.

About 50 meters away, Li Hui and his agents were shocked by the massive explosion.

"Damn it," cursed Feng Jun, "this was supposed to be a covert operation!"

He could already imagine tomorrow's headlines.

From the moment that the battle between Han Xiao and Raccoon had begun, the situation had already gone out of control; the gunshots alone had already caught the attention of many civilians. However, as they were ordered to act only after the Bee Sting Squad appeared, they could only continue waiting in anguish, and it was now too late.

Han Xiao got to his feet and brushed the sand off his hair. Things were not over yet.

Although the other two mercenaries were not as fortunate, Kelly had managed to escape the blast in time. He hastily scrambled to his feet to make a run for it when, suddenly, someone other than Han Xiao begun to open fire on him! The shooter was none other than Li Hui!

"Want to steal my kill?" Han Xiao frowned. He had to be the one to finish Kelly off for the bonus reward!

Han Xiao began to give chase, and he managed to intercept him effortlessly from the side.

Kelly looked at the man who appeared before him with trepidation. The current Han Xiao felt like a completely different person than before.

"Die!"

Kelly gritted his teeth and raised his gun to fire. However, before he could pull the trigger, Han Xiao suddenly began to sway from side to side as he closed in on him like a veteran boxer!

Flustered, Kelly fired multiple shots, but they were all either evaded or blocked by the mechanical arm.

"Not even a single one hit‽"

Kelly was completely overwhelmed. By his estimations, no matter how strong Han Xiao was, he would at best be at the level of an elite mercenary. Only a superhuman could possibly move faster than a bullet! However, what Han Xiao was doing was equally frightening and hard to believe; he was predicting the trajectory of his shots from just the angle of the gun! It was a feat that only the most experienced of veterans could perform, and even throughout the entire mercenary world, there were only two he knew of that were capable of it.

The look of disbelief on Kelly's face amused Han Xiao. Compared to that time he piloted a mobile suit through the crossfire of entire fleets, this was just a piece of cake.

Click!

Kelly inevitably ran out of bullets and he fumbled to reload. However, it was too late as Han Xiao had closed the gap, suddenly appearing in front of him.

Paralyzed with fear, Kelly could only watch on in horror. He could hear Han Xiao's muscles bulge as he stretched his left arm back to prepare for a mighty swing.

Han Xiao twisted powerfully, transferring all the force and momentum in his body into his left arm as he unleashed a devastating hook, simultaneously shouting, "Overload!"

Black smoked billowed out as the engine of the Lightweight Mechanical Arm blared loudly, sending its gears and piston into overdrive. Its power was boosted by 30%.

And Han Xiao smashed it directly into Kelly's face.

Critical Hit!

Crushing Blow!

Blood splattered everywhere.

Kelly may have survived a number of close calls, but he never stood a chance against this one.

When Li Hui and his team arrived, they were greeted by a blood-curdling scene.

Kelly's corpse lay limp on the ground beside a blood-soaked, expressionless Han Xiao, whose mechanical arm was covered in pieces of flesh. Half of his face was illuminated by the fire while the other half was grimly enshrouded in darkness.

As experienced as these agents were, they were unable to remain calm.

_____________________

You have completed the E-Class Quest [Hunted!], gaining 10,000 experience.

You have completed the bonus condition: Kill all 6 Assailants.

You have gained a Skill Level-up Card (Basic). Accept Reward: Y/N

——————————————————————

No, selected Han Xiao. He could accept it later on.

"Don't move!" shouted Li Hui after taking a moment to regain his senses from the initial shock. He raised his gun and pointed it at Han Xiao.

Han Xiao calmly took off the Lightweight Mechanical Arm before raising his arms in the air. Two agents slung a black bag over his head to block his vision before leading him away, presumably to bring him to Division 13.

About time! thought Han Xiao to himself.

Feng Jun gasped when he looked around to see aftermath of the battle.

"6 mercenaries taken out so easily. Is that the power of his machines?"

"Go gather whatever parts he's left behind and notify the police to follow up," ordered Li Hui sternly, after which they escorted Han Xiao to a car.

Han Xiao sat in the backseat sandwiched by two agents. Although he couldn't see, he could sense that they were on their toes.

Although one or two things didn't go exactly as planned, everything was still within Han Xiao's expectations.

It was a quiet ride. The atmosphere amongst the agents was extremely tense, and only the sound of driving could be heard. They had been ordered not to converse with Han Xiao. On the contrary, Han Xiao had looked calm from the very moment that they appeared, which bewildered them. It almost seemed like he had expected them.

…

Raccoon's face darkened as he looked at the aftermath of the battle.

"Bring me a laptop!" he barked.

As soon as he logged in to the underground network and clicked on bounties, he was greeted by Han Xiao's face.

"Zero, 1 million bounty. He's wanted by the Germinal Organization‽"

Raccoon's face instantly paled and he slammed the laptop onto the ground in frustration.

Damn it, he really did have a bounty on him! And it was issued by the king of the underworld no less, the Germinal Organization!

Sometimes, ignorance isn't bliss.

Now that the dust had cleared, Ma Jie and Huang Mao finally emerged too. Just the sight of the aftermath alone caused them to shake uncontrollably.

Raccoon erupted with anger when they came to him. He kicked Ma Jie to the ground, screaming, "Damn you! It's all your fault! I will make you pay for this!"

Ma Jie clutched his stomach in pain as he shivered helplessly on the ground. What did I do now?

Suddenly, Raccoon heard the blaring of sirens and he turned to see seven or eight police cars arriving at the entrance.

"Hmph, the ever late police."

Raccoon tidied himself a little bit before going up to receive them. He was not the least bit flustered by their appearance as, from his perspective, he was a victim and he also had connections with them.

But before he could say a word, the fully-armed officer pressed him to the ground to handcuff him.

Raccoon panicked, and as he struggled to break free he shouted, "What are you guys doing to me! I am the victim here, okay? I know your commander's secretary…"

"Stop wasting your strength," replied the officer plainly. "This is Division 13's order."

Hearing 'Division 13' caused Raccoon's eyes to widen with disbelief.

Division 13 was involved with important matters relating to the country's security, why would they come after me? It must have something to do with that damned Han Xiao!

Division 13 is helping him? Why‽

Germinal traitor… Division 13… Stardragon… Intel…

The truth dawned on him.

They want to silence me!

From the moment that Han Xiao had shown him his face, Raccoon's fate was sealed.

He set me up!

Realizing his impending outcome, Raccoon began to tremble in fear and rage.

"Han Xiao! I curse your ancestors!"

Meanwhile, Ma Jie, shocked badly by the sudden turn of events, fainted and dropped to the ground.