Chapter 2 Star Disaster Sniper War
The first star disaster night after arriving in the capital of Latia began.
The Southern Square, where the Star Disaster was being fought, was bustling with the Spiritual Martial Division. The national army, which had always been present on time, was stationed in front of the residential area in the rear.
This time, fighting against the Star Disaster is the rematch of the martial arts competition. Until the Disaster King is defeated and the Star Disaster ends, the top 50 contestants who gain points by hunting Star Spirit Cores will be eligible to enter the next round. There are hundreds of contestants, so you can imagine how harsh the elimination rate is.
As for the calculation method of points, it is very simple - the level of the possessed Moon Messenger is proportional to the corresponding Protoss Core points. However, the Protoss Core of the Disaster Emperor can get 50 points as an exception, which is a big advantage that can widen the score gap.
In addition, in order to prevent contestants from using Protoss Cores obtained from previous hunts to fill the gaps, the recovery crystals are uniformly distributed by the Kingdom of Latia. The use of the storage space function of the weapons is strictly prohibited during the process. More than one hundred referees have also infiltrated the contestants in the square to supervise. Once the storage space is found to be used, regardless of whether the Protoss Cores are taken from it, the contestant will be notified of disqualification.
The competition environment is extremely harsh, so the pre-match preparations are also very solemn.
"Little Loach, are you really okay?"
Black Disaster looked at Beichen worriedly, gently pinching her cheek. Su Jie, standing nearby, also seemed uneasy. Without Xiangying, not only Beichen but even his accustomed cooperators, Gemini Hook Claw, felt uneasy. Furthermore, with only their one weapon on hand, it would be dangerous to confront the Star Disaster in this state.
"It's okay. Black Disaster, White Robbery. I'm the Phantom Spirit Martial Division now, after all. Even if it's just one of you, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Idiot, that's a huge problem," Su Jie rolled his eyes. "Our sharpness isn't a problem, but our attack range is a huge issue. We're typical short-range weapons, and we don't have medium- or long-range weapons. You're missing out on a lot of ways to contain them. Do you want to find one temporarily?"
Beichen's expression darkened, he lowered his eyes and shook his head.
"I don't want anyone else's sword except Xiang Ying."
"You don't have to have a longsword... Even a bow or crossbow or something like that, as long as it has a wide attack range, is fine. Right now, you have to run up to every enemy before you can attack them. That's too much of a disadvantage. Haven't you been thwarted many times by those with bows before?"
"this……"
Black Disaster's words made sense, and Beichen couldn't refute them. However, Yagad had just left with Xiangying not long ago, and she really didn't have the mood to look for a new weapon.
"The Black Plague is right."
Just when Beichen was in distress, a familiar voice sounded from the side - when he looked up, it was Gu Yinyue and his group, plus Xifeng.
"Yinyue, Longyun, Naraka... and Xifeng... do you all know?"
Xifeng frowned slightly and nodded, "It was that Xiaoping who informed us. I don't care what you feel bad about. In the current situation, saving your own life is the most important thing. Make a contract with me."
"Ah?!" Beichen cried out in surprise, "But I'm not the Martial Emperor yet?"
"With your current growth rate, you will get there soon. I didn't want to make concessions, but you are in a special case now." Xifeng said, regardless of whether Beichen agreed or not. A photon flashed in his hand, and the palm of his hand was cut, and golden blood flowed out of it.
"Hurry, don't waste my blood."
Seeing that Beichen was still hesitant, Gu Yinyue spoke from the side.
"Sign it, Beichen."
"……good."
Perhaps it was because Gu Yinyue's words were particularly convincing in Beichen's mind, so Beichen also cut his hand with the blade of Heihuo and faced Xifeng's palm.
“Ugh…!!”
At the moment the contract was concluded, a photon totem full of electronic flavor appeared in the middle of Beichen's neck - it was the contract mark of Xifeng. At the same time, a large number of contract words flooded into Beichen's mind.
It was as if he was hit by a flood of information. Even though Beichen tried his best to receive this information, he still felt dizzy and staggered a few steps.
How to hold a gun, how to aim, the meaning of various data on a topographic map, the functions and operation of various accessories, common sense in finding high ground and cover, evasive maneuvers and distance strategies when facing close-range attacks, the uses and specialties of various ammunition, trajectory estimation, effective attack range, the upper limit on the number of consecutive shots and the cooldown, advanced sniping techniques, jumping sniping, flicking sniping—
Her brain was like an overheated processor, and she swallowed all the inscriptions in one breath, feeling somewhat overwhelmed, without caring how much Beichen could digest. She lay exhausted in Su Jie's arms for several minutes before she slowly breathed a sigh of relief and came to her senses.
"Has the contract been received?"
Xifeng had a blank expression on his face, but a hint of admiration flashed in his eyes.
"Not bad, I didn't pass out. From now on, I'll practice those inscriptions in actual combat."
"Okay, thank you, Zephyr."
She smiled weakly at Xifeng, who was stunned for a moment, then walked away silently in a daze - while Gu Yinyue and his weapons took a few steps forward.
"Don't look at me like that."
Beichen smiled bitterly and waved his hands.
"I'm sad, yes... but not this fragile. Don't worry, I'm fine."
Gu Yinyue was silent for a few seconds and then sighed softly.
"Okay, we'll talk after the game. Try not to stay too far away from us for a while."
"Um."
Heihuo and Sujie seemed obviously relieved by Xifeng's joining, and the tense expressions on their faces gradually relaxed.
"Okay, let's treat this battle as a test match between Little Loach and West Wind."
"That's right. My brother and I will be the vanguard and collect the Protoss Cores for you. You guys just need to fight back."
"How can this be possible!"
Unexpectedly, Beichen's voice suddenly became louder, and he stepped forward and grabbed the sleeves of both of them.
"You can't get too far away from me! What if something happens?!"
The twins were stunned, then exchanged glances.
Xiang Ying's incident had made her very sensitive to the thought of Zhan Qi leaving her side. The most important person still alive to her was Gemini, and she was terrified that even Gemini would leave her.
"What are you worried about, little loach?"
Black Fate reached out and touched the top of her head.
"Don't worry, my brother and I won't get into trouble so easily."
"But—"
"Don't be afraid. Can't you summon us? If anything unexpected happens, just call us back to you."
Su Jie said this to reassure Beichen, but he didn't expect that Beichen's face turned pale as soon as he said this.
"...Summon. ...Yes, summon. ...Why didn't I summon Xiang Ying at that time? If I had summoned him...maybe things would have been different!!!"
"Beichen!" Black Fire thought to himself, "It's normal that you didn't think of it in that situation. We don't use this trick very often. Besides, summoning also requires the other party to respond. It's hard to say whether Stupid Ying will respond to your summons at that time!"
Su Jie cursed himself for being careless while turning Beichen's body towards him, pressing him into his arms and patting him gently like coaxing a child.
"Hey, little loach, I know it's not nice to say this now, but you've been venting for three whole days. Even if my brother and I can't compare to the status of that stupid Kage, you should think about us occasionally. This is a battlefield now. If you make such a mess on the battlefield, you know how worried we will be!"
"No...it's not like that!"
Beichen made an unclear sound in Su Jie's arms, then tightly grasped Su Jie who was holding him.
"Sorry... I won't let my thoughts wander. Anyway, let's just give our all and finish this match."
Time passed slowly in the oppressive and solemn atmosphere. When night fell and the roars of the possessed moon messengers were heard from the direction of the mountains, everyone felt a sense of relief.
Yes, let's fight. Fighting can make people forget everything temporarily. The desire for survival and the desire for victory can temporarily isolate people from all the things they don't want to think about or face.
When the entire mountain lit up with blue and purple, Beichen nodded to Xifeng beside him. A white light flashed, and an exquisite and gorgeous sniper rifle with flowing lines appeared in Beichen's hand. The moment he got the gun, Beichen's whole body was surrounded by the same photons - when the photons dissipated, the original white combat light armor and helmet wrapped around Beichen's body disappeared, replaced by a set of military uniforms with a slightly sci-fi color, covered with a layer of photon film that glowed with a faint light.
"What's going on, little loach, you...?!"
The Black Disaster on the opposite side showed a look of surprise.
"What's wrong with me?"
"You've become translucent!!" Su Jie was also horrified and quickly stepped forward and touched Beichen's arm. Fortunately, he was able to touch it.
"This is photon camouflage. You can't see people from a distance."
Xifeng in Beichen's hand explained in a cold voice.
"But I don't think now is the time to explain. Now that you know, let's get into combat mode."
Beichen and Gemini immediately nodded and looked at the group of star disasters rushing towards them.
Gu Yinyue and Longyun had already rushed out. Beichen found a temporary earth wall for long-range combat weapons, squatted down, and aimed the gun barrel at the blue-purple light in front.
A large amount of jumping data appeared in the field of vision, as well as a 3D topographic map displayed by the optical network. Red dots of different sizes represented different levels of possessed Moon Messengers. Beichen glanced at the data with his peripheral vision while aiming the scope at the head of a huge leopard.
"Launch!"
Xifeng reminded Beichen on the mental communication channel. He was startled and pulled the trigger. A beam of white light shot straight towards the leopard, but because he was too nervous, his hand shook and it only brushed past its shoulder.
roar!
The leopard immediately discovered the direction of the white light attacking it. Its ferocious eyes looked particularly terrifying in the scope that was magnified countless times. Beichen was startled again, and the barrel of the gun in his hand shook.
"Calm down! This is just the pressure, don't waver! Once you've taken aim, don't hesitate. The longer you aim, the harder it is to hit!"
The leopard was running towards him. Although it was still far away, the sight made Beichen confused about the distance. His scalp felt numb and his heart beat very fast. He pulled the trigger several times randomly, but missed.
"Take your time. One hit and it'll be dead. There's still time. Aim and fire decisively!"
Xifeng's cold yet soothing voice sounded again, and Beichen finally calmed down with a start. He readjusted the barrel of the gun with his sweaty hands and aimed the crosshairs at the head of the rushing leopard again.
Then he didn't dare to think too much, and with a snap of his index finger, the gun body emitted a buzzing sound of photons, and white light was emitted again!
Swish—bang!
This time, it finally hit the target successfully. The leopard's head exploded suddenly, and blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. Hei Huo and Su Jie rushed out like lightning. After a while, a voice of "Successfully recovered the Protoss Core" came from the mental communication channel.
"Don't stop, keep going."
Xifeng still spoke in an emotionless voice.
"Black Disaster, White Robbery, move towards the Nine O'clock direction, watch out ahead."
Because it was Beichen's first time using Xifeng in actual combat, he had no energy to pay attention to the terrain map, so Xifeng observed the terrain on his behalf and asked Heihuo and Sujie to move to a safer area. At the same time, Beichen aimed at the possessed Moon Messenger near them and fired to clear the way for them.
After firing more times, Beichen was no longer nervous. He tried to stay calm and composed, pulling the trigger slowly and steadily, and his hit rate gradually increased.
"Hold on. I just used the default laser bullet. Try changing the ammunition."
"Huh?! Ah, okay."
Trying to find a way to change bullets from the inscription, Beichen's eyes flashed with a menu of options composed of photons. After hesitating for a few seconds, she moved the cursor over the "Continuous Fire Incendiary Bomb" column.
"This one? It's very powerful, be careful of the recoil."
Beichen nodded, then aimed at a huge rhino, pulled the trigger, and there were several bangs. The gun suddenly rushed backwards, and Beichen was unable to resist for a moment and was knocked back to the ground. The rhino in the distance was successfully turned into a roasted rhino, but Beichen on this side also felt pain in his shoulder from the recoil.
"I told you to pay attention, but are your ears just for show?"
"S-Sorry!"
At this moment, the voices of Heihuo and Sujie suddenly interrupted the mental communication channel.
"The Protoss core has been successfully recovered—Hey, brother Xifeng, don't bully Little Loach while we're away!"
"That's right, my brother and I are the only ones who can bully Little Loach!"
"Although I don't know why you call Xiang Beichen a little loach, I have no interest in such childish and boring acts as bullying. I am training her as an instructor."
Xifeng's voice paused.
"But it's true. Although I don't know why, I admit that when I see her look of defeat, I feel a perverse sense of satisfaction. Don't worry, I won't do anything extreme because of it. I have strong self-control. Xiang Beichen, don't stop, keep aiming. The goal is the head. We've only defeated 6 heads so far."
"...You're just bullying me, aren't you, Xifeng-kun?"
"And don't you think your words are inconsistent?!"
"Stop spitting insults at each other in the telepathic communication channel! I failed to aim again!"
Beichen shouted in frustration: They will seriously distract his attention by doing this!
"That's because you lack concentration and the ability to withstand pressure. When you can successfully fire snipers repeatedly while listening to a read-aloud e-book, you'll be a master."
"You think I'm some special forces soldier?"
Beichen complained while trying to use a freezing bullet to freeze a giant tiger - then he remembered that there was no way to recover the Protoss core, so he hurriedly continued to change bullets.
"By the way, the accessory menu does have a read-aloud e-book function, as well as 150 casual electronic games. Do you want to use them as well?"
"Wait, wait! Let's not talk about video games for now, what is a read-aloud e-book?! Who's going to read it, you?!"
"Nonsense, I don't have a voice changing system."
Beichen imagined Xifeng reciting a youthful fantasy campus romance novel in his flat, unremarkable voice, and a chill ran through his body. He pulled the trigger hard, and four level five bull-shaped possessed moon envoys fell to the ground unjustly.
"Oh, good. I can hit the enemy while talking. How about trying visual interference next?"
『…』
Afterward, Xifeng and Heihuo Sujie kept chatting meaninglessly on the telepathic channel to distract Beichen. Beichen, however, tried to concentrate amidst the noise, using the various large corpses as cover and moving carefully, repeating the cycle of lock on target—aim—fire—lock on target—aim—fire. Eventually, he was actually able to eliminate environmental obstacles and launch calm and precise attacks.
At the same time, her sensitivity to the environment has also increased a lot. That is, with the improvement of concentration, her ability to see and hear in all directions has also been enhanced.
At first, Beichen was a little worried about what to do if the monster broke through her firepower and reached close to them. As a result, apart from dodging the incoming Star Spirit cannons, basically no possessed Moon Messenger could rush near her.
It was unknown how long it had been, but the number of Star Spirit Cores mentioned by Hei Huo and Su Jie had exceeded 60. In the distance, a desperate cry that sounded like that of the Disaster Emperor was heard. Not long after, the remaining possessed Moon Messengers' arrogance immediately decreased a lot, and some even began to retreat and flee. The participating Spiritual Martial Divisions roared and began to chase them. Within a few minutes, there was no living possessed Moon Messenger left in the entire square.
After the star disaster ended, Beichen ranked 7th in the star core points statistics with 402 points, successfully qualifying for the next round of competition. After obtaining the engraved spirit crystal representing the qualification, she walked towards the dormitory with a tired sigh - although using Xifeng did not consume physical strength, the mental fatigue was particularly great.
"Xiao Chen!!"
Halfway through, Gu Yinyue, Longyun and Naraka caught up with them. Seeing that Beichen seemed not to be injured, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Longyun came up first and patted her shoulder vigorously.
"That's impressive! You actually scored 400 points! Our dead monk was outshined by you. He only scored over 380 points."
Beichen laughed dryly: "This is all thanks to Xifeng. His lethality is too great. It has nothing to do with me personally."
"Anyway, you have worked very hard to adapt to the Star Vein Seed so quickly." Gu Yinyue said softly, then carefully observed Beichen's expression.
"Feeling a little relieved?"
“—Huh?”
"Killing without guilt is a good way to vent the sadness and anger in my heart."
“…”
Beichen lowered his head when he heard this.
Indeed, the lethality of the West Wind was truly exhilarating. Every time I pulled the trigger, as the bullet fired, it felt like something pent up in my chest was released.
Now that I think about it, Xifeng was much more talkative on the battlefield than before, and even collaborated with Heihuo and Sujie in talking nonsense. The reason was probably to distract her attention and make her feel...more relaxed, right?
"I won't let you forget the ones who are gone."
Gu Yinyue slowly placed his big hand on Beichen's head.
"It doesn't matter that you have the avenger's aggression in you."
As he spoke, he shook her head gently.
"But don't forget your loved ones because of this. Don't ignore the important people and things that are still alive. Okay?"
Beichen's eyes became moist in an instant because of these words. She held back for a few seconds, raised her head and stared at Gu Yinyue.
"Yin Yue...how did you know..."
"Whether it's Xiang Zhiyan or Xiang Ying, they are your closest relatives. They certainly wouldn't want you to go astray because of them. If you love them, then live an upright life, outperforming everyone else. Then one day, you can tell everyone in the world how dazzling and brilliant the Xiang Beichen they loved and chose is, and how... he makes them proud."
Gu Yinyue's voice was deep and rich, with incredible magic, which cleared up Beichen's confused mind bit by bit.
"So, you can be angry, you can be cruel to anyone—in this world, it's necessary. It's a good thing that you can escape the lukewarmness of the people of Torphienheim, because it will hurt you sooner or later. But..."
As he spoke, a resolute yet warm look appeared in his black eyes.
"But never forget how to laugh. Always remember to love other people's feelings. If you don't want Xiang Ying to die with regrets, you must do this."
Then he used both hands to pull Beichen's cheeks to the sides gently.
"Now, have a good laugh. When you can truly laugh, I will accompany you to seek revenge."
“…Hmm…Okay,…Okay!!”
Sometimes, gentle words can be more damaging than harsh insults.
No matter how much Beichen endured, when he faced Gu Yinyue's reassuring face, the tears that he thought had dried up began to flow again - but this time they were not tears of despair and sorrow.
"I'll remember your words. Otherwise, how will I greet Xiang Ying with a smile when he comes back?"
She wiped the liquid off her cheeks with force. Gu Yinyue had already let go of her hands, but the corners of her mouth were still grinning, revealing a big smile.
But after laughing, she became stern again and looked up at the sky.
"But the Jafa God Group—it's just them. ... Only them!"
"Yeah, I know."
Gu Yinyue nodded.
"The next game will be in a week. During this week, we will work together to find a way to take down their stronghold."
"Um!"
"Are you done being sad? Just right."
At this moment, the silent Xifeng suddenly spoke and pointed to the opposite intersection. Beichen looked over in confusion, only to see Xiaoqing walking towards them quickly with an anxious look on his face.
"Xiao Ping, what happened?"
"It's not good." Xiao Ping tidied his messy black hair in annoyance.
"You haven't forgotten Atlas's race, have you? He's a possessed Moon Envoy, and today is the Night of the Star Scourge. Something's not right with him, and I don't think I can keep an eye on him alone."
“──!!”
Beichen said no more and went straight to the dormitory area.
──Atlas, please hold on and don't do anything terrible! !
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