Dragons begin with courage

It's too late.

The female sniper felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. A brutal, chilling sense of death, as if she were being targeted by an ancient beast, exploded from her side and behind without warning! Her combat instincts were extremely strong. In the nick of time, she abandoned the attempt to finish off the enemy. Her muscles tensed, and she twisted her body, bent her arms, and blocked. All the movements were completed in less than 0.3 seconds, forming a perfect defensive posture. At the same time, she tried to retreat quickly by touching the ground with her toes to absorb the impact.

She saw the attacker—the Asian boy in the ridiculous (mide in China) T-shirt that Nono had pushed away. He was delivering a powerful, clumsy, yet incredibly fast roundhouse kick to her waist!

"Thump!!!"

The dull thud of flesh hitting flesh didn't sound like a kick to a person, but rather like a kick to a sandbag. The female sniper's perfect parrying stance was shattered the instant of contact by a brutal and unreasonable force! She felt as if she had been hit by the side of a speeding motorcycle; a sharp pain and numbness shot through her arm, and her entire body was thrown uncontrollably off the ground!

"So heavy! What...monster?!" Her eyes were filled with horror.

However, the attack did not end there. In the brief moment she was kicked away, lost her balance, and her vision blurred—

"Bang!"

Another gunshot rang out, crisp, decisive, and right at point-blank range.

The female sniper felt a chill on her brow, her vision completely obscured by a splash of crimson. The powerful simulated impact sent her still-on-the-ground body lurching backward before crashing heavily to the ground. Her "consciousness" rapidly faded. Her last thought was: "Who...who is this?"

From the sudden kick to the mid-air follow-up shot, the entire process took no more than two seconds. Fast, ruthless, and accurate, it possessed an almost instinctive, concise, and brutally efficient killing power.

The entire room fell silent.

Caesar's icy blue pupils contracted sharply, fixed on the figure slowly lowering the smoking gun barrel. Chu Zihang's hand, gripping the knife, tensed slightly. They both saw it clearly—the instant the boy kicked Susie away, his left hand had already steadily gripped the gun, delivering a precise headshot from the opponent's unbalanced, blind spot. This wasn't luck; it was calculation, a beast-like combat instinct!

"Who goes there? Anyone not involved is out!" Caesar's voice carried suppressed anger and a hint of barely perceptible gravity. This guy who suddenly appeared had taken care of Susie, but he clearly didn't belong to either side, and... his methods were excessively ruthless.

Lu Mingfei seemed oblivious to Caesar's questioning. His gaze swept over the "dead" Nuonuo on the ground, over Susie who had been "shot in the head," and finally settled on Caesar. That look sent a chill down Caesar's spine—cold, hollow, yet deep inside, it felt like molten lava was flowing.

The next second, Lu Mingfei made a move that surprised everyone. He gripped the still slightly hot barrel of the pistol with his right hand, twisted his body like a fully drawn bow, and hurled the entire pistol like a hammer at Caesar's face!

The pistol sliced ​​through the air with a chilling, low whistle, moving so fast that it left afterimages! This was no ordinary throw; the heavy metal gun had become a deadly hammer.

Caesar's expression changed slightly. This was not at all the level of a "day of freedom" game! This was iron! If someone were to get hit on the head, it would be a disaster! A golden glint flashed in his eyes as his dynamic vision caught the flight trajectory, and his hunting knife flashed upwards like lightning!

"clang--!!"

A piercing clang of metal rang out. The hunting knife precisely deflected the pistol, but the heavy force from the blade sent a shiver down Caesar's wrist. It was in that brief moment of stunned silence, his vision obscured by the blade and the stray sparks—

Lu Mingfei moved. He threw the pistol not to hit anything, but to provide cover! In the instant he threw it, he pounced like a cheetah, his target—the Barrett sniper rifle on the ground!

When Caesar deflected the pistol and his vision cleared, the sight he saw almost froze his blood: the black-haired boy in the T-shirt was kneeling on one knee, steadily holding up the nearly 1.5-meter-long, incredibly heavy "King of Snipers," the muzzle of which was locked onto him in a dark, menacing position!

Picking up the gun, bracing it, aiming… his movements, though clumsy like a beginner's, exuded a chilling focus and steadiness. Especially his eyes; even from dozens of meters away, Caesar could almost feel the icy coldness within them, as if they were locked onto their prey.

"Damn it!" Caesar only had time to hold his hunting knife across his chest in a symbolic defensive stance. He knew that at this distance, with Barrett's direct aim locked on, he was already "dead" within the rules.

"boom--!!"

Barrett's characteristic deep, furious roar once again shook the parking lot.

Caesar felt an overwhelming, irresistible force slam into him, as if a giant hammer had struck his chest. He was thrown backward uncontrollably, the world swirling and fading in an instant. In his final moments, only a huge question mark remained: Who... is this guy?!

Chu Zihang walked forward step by step, stepping over the wreckage of vehicles that obstructed his view. The Murasame rifle in his hand was still hanging low, but his golden eyes, which never went out, now clearly reflected the figure standing in a pile of "corpses" carrying a thick sniper rifle.

As the smoke dissipated, the sunlight outlined the other person's somewhat thin silhouette and the ordinary T-shirt that seemed out of place in the environment.

When that familiar yet unfamiliar face, bearing a hint of bewilderment after its resolute expression, came into view, even Chu Zihang's perpetually icy face showed clear, unmistakable cracks.

"...Lu Mingfei?"

His voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through the post-war silence.

Lu Mingfei's body trembled slightly. The cold, sharp light in his eyes, like a drawn blade, receded like a tide, quickly replaced by a familiar, slightly timid, bewilderment. He looked at Chu Zihang, subconsciously putting down the heavy Barrett rifle, the butt hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"Senior...Senior Brother?" He seemed to just realize what he had done, his voice a little hoarse.

Chu Zihang's gaze swept over the "fallen" Caesar, Susie, and Nono, before landing on Hui Lumingfei. On his icy face, the corners of his mouth twitched up very slightly, barely a smile, yet enough to astonish those who knew him.

"I was planning to pick you up." He paused, his tone returning to its usual calm, yet seemingly tinged with something else. "It's alright this way."

He looked at Lu Mingfei and said clearly and slowly, "The prize for the winner of 'A Day of Freedom' will be your...entrance gift."

After speaking, before Lu Mingfei could fully comprehend the meaning of his words, Chu Zihang calmly raised his pistol and, with a "bang," also became a "corpse," slowly leaning against the car, closing his eyes, leaving only his last words fading into the air:

"Come find me at the Lionheart Club after this is over."

Chu Zihang was initially hesitant, but seeing Lu Mingfei bravely fire the gun, he made up his mind to pass on the "Bloodlust" technique to Lu Mingfei.