Garrick stepped forward, his entire body encased in thick Earthen Armor. He planted himself in front of the others like a living wall.

"I'll block. You two, kill."

"Got it!" The three of them dove back into the fight without hesitation.

It was only now that they truly understood why Ethan had warned them not to split up.

In a situation like this, separating would've been suicide.

Up on the rooftop, Chris had already locked onto the sniper who'd fired at Sean. The guy was perched in a window across the way, still lining up his next shot.

Chris set up the second Barrett M82 and took aim.

Moving targets were tough, but a stationary one? That he could handle.

The distance wasn't too far, and through the scope, the sniper's head was crystal clear.

He exhaled, steadied his aim, and pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

The shot echoed across the compound. The sniper's head exploded like a watermelon, the armor-piercing round turning it into a red mist.

"Hell yeah! Headshot!" Chris grinned. "Maybe I've got a future as a sniper after all."

But his excitement faded fast.

He realized… he didn't actually know how to reload.

Thankfully, while he'd never used a sniper rifle before, he'd seen enough movies to fake it. After fumbling around for a bit, he finally figured it out.

Down below, the other snipers were fuming.

"Who the hell keeps firing without a signal?!"

They were all stationed in different buildings, unaware that three of their own were already dead. The whole point of spreading out was to cover more angles and avoid being taken out all at once.

Which, ironically, was the only reason Chris hadn't wiped them all yet.

Since they hadn't fired, he couldn't pinpoint their locations. He had to wait for them to make a move before he could strike.

That meant Ethan and the others were still in danger.

On the ground, Ethan's team kept fighting while constantly scanning the rooftops. They stayed close to the outer wall, so at least they didn't have to worry about attacks from behind—just the front and above.

The Barrett M82 was loud as hell, but by the time you heard the shot, it was already too late. The bullet traveled faster than sound.

So the only real defense was to keep your eyes peeled. The moment you saw a muzzle flash or a glint of light, you had to react instantly.

Ethan was in the middle of cutting down another Enhanced when something flickered in the corner of his eye.

He instantly activated [True Sight]—and saw it.

A massive round, screaming through the air straight for his head.

Without thinking, he grabbed his barbell bar and swung.

CLANG!

A sharp, metallic ring echoed as the bullet slammed into the bar and ricocheted off.

"…"

Even Ethan paused for a second.

That was way too close.

From a fifth-floor window, a sniper stared in disbelief, eyes wide, body frozen.

Are you kidding me? He just deflected a sniper round?!

Before he could even process what he'd seen, another gunshot rang out.

His head exploded a second later.

Chris's rule was simple: if you fire, you die.

The remaining snipers were starting to realize something was seriously wrong.

One or two stray shots was one thing. But three? All going silent right after? That wasn't normal.

"Could there be a mole?" one of them muttered, unease creeping in.

Still, orders were orders. They had a job to do.

BOOM!

Another shot echoed. This one hit Garrick square in the head.

To be fair, these snipers weren't amateurs. They were aiming for headshots, and even with Garrick constantly moving, one of them managed to land a clean hit.

The bullet shattered the Earthen Armor around his skull, but its power was mostly absorbed. It left a shallow gash, nothing more.

Henry immediately waved a hand, casting a healing ability to patch him up.

"Damn, that round hit hard," Garrick muttered, still shaken.

"Yeah. If we knew where the shots were coming from, we could dodge them," Sean said grimly.

"Just stay behind me. I can still take a few hits," Garrick replied, reforming the armor over his head.

But the sniper who'd just landed that shot didn't get to enjoy his success.

BOOM!

His head burst open before he even realized he'd been spotted.

Chris, perched on the highest rooftop in the compound, had a perfect view. As long as a sniper fired, he could track the muzzle flash and return fire instantly.

"Another one down," Chris muttered. "No idea how many are left, but this rifle's starting to feel real nice."

The remaining snipers were now officially panicking.

They'd just watched one of their own get headshotted right after firing. When they looked toward the source of the shot, all they saw were two sniper rifles propped up on the rooftop—no shooter in sight.

That invisible threat sent a chill down their spines.

No one dared to fire again.

For a moment, the battlefield fell into an eerie silence.

Down below, Frank was fuming.

"What the hell are those snipers doing?! They've fired how many rounds and haven't killed a single one?!"

"Uh… not sure, sir. Maybe they missed? I mean, they're Tier 6 Awakened. Not exactly easy targets."

"Tell them to pick up the pace! At this rate, we're gonna lose everyone!" Frank snapped.

"Sir… should we let Gale step in?" someone nearby suggested.

Frank frowned. "Gale's ability is strong, but he's only peak Tier 5. Those people are all Tier 6. Sending him out is just throwing him to the wolves."

"What about that Tier 6 zombie we cultivated last night? The one we haven't used the crystal core on yet. Maybe—"

Frank's eyes went cold. "That core is reserved for Victor. Even I haven't touched it. And you want to use it now?"

"I wouldn't dare, sir. It's just… this situation's spiraling. If we don't do something, this compound's going down."

"Hmph. Let's see if they're really capable of that. We've got over ten thousand Enhanced here. We'll wear them down if we have to."

"Understood." The man backed off, clearly not convinced.

"Send someone to check on the snipers. Tell them to get back to work!" Frank barked.

"Yes, sir!"

A few minutes later, the gunfire resumed.

Orders had come down. The snipers had no choice.

But this time, Ethan, Sean, and the others were ready.

They stayed sharp, eyes constantly scanning the rooftops. The moment a shot was fired, they reacted instantly.

Only Sean took a hit—one round clipped his thigh—but Garrick blocked the rest with his armor.

As for Ethan? He was a walking radar.

Unless someone shot him from directly behind, he could spot the bullet mid-flight and swat it away with his barbell bar like a baseball bat.

Every time a sniper fired, they gave away their position.

And Chris was waiting.

One by one, he picked them off. Headshots, every time.

The remaining snipers finally got the message. They packed up their rifles and bolted.

Too late.

Chris had already locked onto them.

He went invisible and hunted them down, one by one.

None of them made it out alive.

By the time he was done, Chris had collected every Barrett M82 and dragged them all back to the rooftop.

Then he lay down, lined up his scope, and started scanning for new targets.

He was starting to really enjoy this sniping thing.

...

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