Fatal Shot - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Hidden Mission 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

On the mission data interface, there was a grayish-black 3D picture of a gun barrel that had silverish-white electric current coursing across its surface from time to time. 1
Eye of the Thunder (Rare-grade Sniper Rifle) Barrel 5
Increases effective attack range by 250 meters. Bullets have a 1 percent probability of additional electric effects. 3
Rare gun barrel with an increase of 250 meters in effective attack range!
These two attributes immediately made Feng Luo’s eyes shine. In War, large guns like sniper rifles or machine guns were categorized as assembly-type equipment. Most of the time, players only received parts of a gun. After that, they had to collect and assemble all the parts before obtaining a complete gun. The parts of different gun models could not be used interchangeably; however, they could be modified and then assembled by a gun manufacturer.
This “Eye of the Thunder” gun barrel could be used on the M110 after some slight modification, which would allow the M110 to have the attribute “increase effective attack range by 250 meters.” The importance of adding over 200 meters to the attack distance of a sniper rifle was obvious.
It was important to note that the effective attack range of mainstream Sniper players was approximately 800 to 1,000 meters. Feng Luo’s M110 originally had a 1,000-meter attack range, and it was already at the maximum limit of an Excellent-grade sniper rifle under Level 40. To exceed 1,000 meters, one would likely need to own a Rare-grade sniper rifle.
The catch was that it wasn’t easy to obtain a piece of Rare-grade equipment. As an assembly-type weapon, a Rare grade sniper rifle was, without a doubt, several times more difficult to obtain than the Rare Desert Eagle in his possession.
I never would have thought that the Town of Exiles would actually have a mission that had the manufacturing blueprint for a sniper rifle part! thought Feng Luo. 1
He was a little excited. The reward for the mission was only the manufacturing blueprint of the Eye of the Thunder gun barrel and not the barrel itself, but for Feng Luo, the value of the blueprint was much higher! That was because his Gun Manufacturer level was already at “Expert.” Theoretically, he could manufacture Rare-grade equipment. As soon as he got the blueprint, manufacturing the gun barrel wouldn’t be a problem at all!
“If there are extra rewards for completing these red-name-clearing missions, why didn’t you mention it during your introduction?” Feng Luo asked the yellow-toothed guy behind him.
If not for his lack of credits, Feng Luo might have chosen to spend credits to clear his red name and, in that case, would have missed his chance at this mission.
“Extra reward?” Yellow-tooth, still smoking his cigarette, looked dumbfounded at Feng Luo’s words. Soon, his expression turned into genuine shock. “Brother, it looks like you really are an expert to even be able to trigger a hidden mission like this!”
“Hidden mission? You mean this extra reward is because of a hidden mission?” Feng Luo understood a little bit more.
“Of course, normal mission rewards only have one objective, which is to clear off the PK values. However, when the system’s evaluation of the player is higher, there is a certain probability for a hidden mission like this with extra rewards to appear. This is a specialty of the missions in a Red City, man.” Yellow-tooth said this in admiration, then added, “However, the difficulty for hidden missions like these are also quite high. The system would never allow players to have so many advantages so easily.” 2
“The mission needs me to kill a medium-sized squad captain in the rebel army,” said Feng Luo. “Is this difficult?” 1
“How should I say this…?” Yellow-tooth pondered aloud. “The underground rebel army is made up of humanoid-type monsters. More precisely, they are considered humanoid NPCs. You’ve heard about them, right?”
“The official briefing is that they are an armed force that rebel against the federal government,” Feng Luo said.
War was meant to be set in modern times, and the current federal government was the by-product of a war that had occurred in the human world around 30 years prior. However, humans had not achieved true peace, as there were still various forces disassociated with the leaders of the government. Among them, the underground rebel army was one example. They controlled a large expanse of land outside the jurisdiction of the federal government. They could be considered the second-strongest armed force, just behind the federal government in War.
This information could all be found in the background information published by the official game company. Feng Luo was quite meticulous when doing his homework on the game, so he knew this much.
“Deep in the forest of exiles,” said Yellow-tooth, “west of town, there is a base established by the rebel army. The people inside are planning something in regard to Red City, and they often kidnap yellow- and white-name players who enter the forest.”
This piqued Feng Luo’s curiosity. “Monsters are kidnapping players?”
“That’s right,” said Yellow-tooth. “Don’t think of the rebel army as normal monsters. In truth, they are more like humanoid NPCs. They are familiar with the use of weapons and equipment, and they can even learn skills, use strategies, and make plans. They are completely different from normal monsters.”
Suddenly, Feng Luo was interested in this rebel army. “Why are they kidnapping players? To get them to join them? Or to blackmail them for valuables?”
“The main thing is to blackmail them for money and valuables,” said Yellow-tooth. “They hardly lack manpower. Since red-name players are regarded by the Federation as convicts and criminals, the rebel army isn’t all that interested in them. They mainly target white- and yellow-name players. If the players are captured, they will be used as hostages to get the federal government to pay a ransom. And if, by the end of the time limit, they don’t receive the ransom, they will kill the hostages.”
“And the federal government doesn’t pay the ransoms, right?” said Feng Luo with a smile. “After all, the players aren’t actually going to die.” The idea of players actually being kidnapped and killed by monsters was a bit funny.
“Whether or not they pay the ransom depends on the player,” replied Yellow-tooth. “The ransom amount is actually directly deducted from the kidnapped players’ account. The player can choose not to pay. Of course, in that case, he or she drops one level of experience and maybe even drops a piece of equipment.”
“Since they target white- and yellow-name players, then red-name players should be safer, right?” Feng Luo asked.
“Of course not. When they encounter red-name players, most of the time, they will just kill them.” Yellow-tooth puffed some smoke out of his mouth and wiped his neck. “You say your mission is to kill a medium-sized squad captain of the rebel army? This will be really difficult to do solo. If the bonus reward isn’t very good, my suggestion is not to try.” As Yellow-tooth said this, he stared directly at Feng Luo’s face as if trying to detect something.
“Why? Are medium-sized squad captains of the rebel army very strong?” Feng Luo asked, changing the subject. He had no intention of revealing the existence of the Rare-grade gun barrel manufacturing blueprint.
“A small-sized squad captain in the rebel army is a Level-40 Elite-grade monster,” said Yellow-tooth. “A medium-sized squad captain normally will be a Level-45 Elite-grade monster.”
“A Level-45 Elite-grade monster?” said Feng Luo. “The difficulty isn’t that high. Is it?”
A Level-45 Elite-grade monster was six levels higher than he was, and it would definitely be much harder to deal with compared to a Level-40 Elite Mutant Dog. However, if he had enough time to prepare and went in armed with the several kinds of unique bullets and ammunition in his arsenal, killing a Level-45 Elite-grade monster wouldn’t be too strenuous.
“Perhaps killing the captain won’t be too difficult,” said Yellow-tooth. “The most difficult part is escaping pursuit. Although a medium-sized squad captain in the rebel army is only an Elite-grade monster, it usually has several rebel army soldiers protecting it, so its true strength is perhaps equivalent to a weakened Commander-grade monster.”
Yellow-tooth had revealed the factor that would prove most troublesome. In War, a monster above the Commander grade would normally have subordinates alongside it, which were normally referred to as “mobs.” Although a medium-sized squad captain was only an Elite-grade monster, if it had around 30 rebel army soldiers on its side, it would be almost equal to half a Commander-grade monster. And a Commander-grade monster was definitely not something a solo player could deal with!
“Moreover, a unique trait about the rebel army is that they are not afraid of death,” Yellow-tooth added. “Even if you kill their captain, the remaining rebel army soldiers will not falter and run away. Instead, they will pursue you to the ends of the earth. Many players have been killed during the pursuit after completing their missions.”
“If that’s the case, then this really is a problem!” Feng Luo frowned. “Forget it. I’ll go take a look first. If I really can’t complete it, then I’ll give up.”
He understood the situation, but the temptation for the Rare-grade gun barrel blueprint was too much. He decided to check it out first.
“Since you’ve already decided, then 300 credits as a token of gratitude,” said Yellow-tooth. “Oh, that’s right—I’ll give you a free map of the forest of exiles. It should prove useful!”
Seeing as Feng Luo had decided, Yellow-tooth smiled brightly. He had merely wagged his tongue a little, and he had made 300 credits. The transaction had certainly been worth it. As for the map, he only needed to make a copy using his personal terminal, so there wasn’t even any cost involved.
Feng Luo took three white crystals (equal in value to 300 credits) and handed them to Yellow-tooth. After that, he asked him for the location of the shops and equipment store. He still needed to get some supplies, and there was a damaged area on his combat uniform that needed some repair.
After Feng Luo left, Yellow-tooth spun the three crystals in his hands as he walked casually into a bar beside the mission center.
He was clearly a regular in the bar. The moment he entered the bar, someone greeted him, saying, “Hey! Yellow-tooth just completed another deal.”
“Just earning some small change!” Yellow-tooth said and threw one white crystal to the boss, a man with big ears who stood behind the bar. Then Yellow-tooth extended his hand to grab a glass of whiskey.
The boss accepted the white crystal while his other hand was busy searching for information using the computer on top of the bar. He then raised his head and spoke loudly, using his booming voice to drown out the noise in the bar.
“Hold on!” he said. “Quiet, everyone. I want to announce a bounty. Silvermoon City’s Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group wants to offer a reward for a red-name player with the name ‘Feng Zhi Luoye.’ Killing him once, with video footage confirmation, will earn a reward of 5,000 credits. Unlimited kill counts allowed. If anyone sees him in Red City, you can earn some quick cash.” 1
Bars in War featured an eclectic mix of people, and it was the best channel for players to announce missions and bounties.
“Yo! Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group? They’re really breaking the bank! 5,000 for one kill!” a player shouted to create a ruckus.
Other players were unimpressed. “Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group ain’t good people…”
“Feng Zhi Luoye…?” Yellow-Tooth, who had just grabbed his whiskey, first looked stunned. Then a smirk flashed across his face. “Brother, I’m sorry,” he muttered under his breath. “But I’m a businessman. I can’t resist a payday. Moreover, I’m also quite curious… Just what is your reward for the hidden mission?”