Kingdom of Corrosion
Chapter 635 - 305 The Three Musketeers_2

Chapter 635: Chapter 305 The Three Musketeers_2

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"The painting is really good." After bringing the train to a stop nearby, everyone got off to admire the artwork. They had often seen videos of experts drawing disappearing roads on the web, but this was their first time experiencing it firsthand, and they were all impressed with Lin’s painting skills.

Maya only glanced at it before taking the satellite phone Lin Wu had given her and going back aboard the train to dial Nightmare’s number, "It looks like this event is a collaborative effort by your team."

Nightmare did not deny it, "Killing each other doesn’t earn any points."

Maya said, "Moreover, your points are far beyond theirs. Aren’t you worried they’ll betray and kill you?"

Nightmare replied, "No, no, my death wouldn’t be a big loss, unless..."

"Unless you’re pickpocketed?"

"Heh." Nightmare did not deny it and said, "This satellite phone costs eight hundred points, and I can buy an assault rifle for just one hundred and fifty points. How serious do you think the consequences of being pickpocketed are? Maya, why don’t you consider handing Sasha over to us?"

Maya responded, "A third of the points means nothing to me."

Nightmare said, "As a bargaining chip, when the event is over, I could help you and Lin Wu buy two Fortress plane tickets. Once you have the tickets, you can take a flight from the designated location to the Future City Left County."

Maya asked, "Shuixi Middle School?"

Nightmare was somewhat surprised, "You know quite a bit."

Maya did not answer, "Forget it." When she decided to do something, she would not easily change her mind.

Nightmare continued, "Currently, three trains have passenger cars, and two of them will leave with Sasha in the morning. Since your train has the most resources and the strongest force, killing the Sasha on your train would yield very high points."

Maya inquired, "Are you saying that you plan to use wolf pack tactics to besiege the Orient Express?"

Nightmare neither confirmed nor denied, "Consider my proposal seriously and give me a call."

Nightmare was right; the Orient Express was a juicy target. Still, after Lin and his people had been drained dry, the temporary special agent Alliance became wary of the Orient Express. Although nobody objected to hitting the Orient Express, nobody came forward with suggestions on how to do it.

After hanging up on Maya, Nightmare pondered for a while before sending a mass message from his phone: Whoever kills Sasha from the Orient Express gets an extra two thousand points. Whoever kills Lin Wu gets five thousand points.

As long as I don’t die, it’s a guaranteed profit. No matter who dies, I won’t be at a loss.

Maya tapped on the carriage door, "Let’s get on."

The train set off again, and the third night’s mission appeared: Line 1, Sharpshooter. Line 2: Quick Gunner. Line 3: Sharpshooter.

A meeting was then called to choose one of the three puzzles.

Hong Yi threw out a leading question, "I know the difference between the Quick Gunner and the other two, but what’s the distinction between the Sharpshooter and the Sharpshooter?"

Maya answered, "The difference exists not only in the guard troops, but also in ancient cold weapons and even firearms. The Sharpshooter is similar to a long-distance sniper, corresponding to the longbowman in cold weapons. Let’s talk about the era of firearms. The Sharpshooter tends to shoot less frequently, usually using semi-automatic rifles. They prioritize accuracy and have a single target. The Sharpshooter is similar to the Sharpshooter, but the difference lies in that Sharpshooters often engage in rapid sniping within two hundred meters, proficient in killing multiple targets consecutively at distances under fifty meters."

Maya continued, "A Sharpshooter lies in wait for three days just for one shot, while a Sharpshooter fires frequently, capable of both suppressing and killing the enemy. In addition, Sharpshooters also protect armored teams, quickly spotting and eliminating soldiers carrying anti-armor weapons. After World War II, as anti-armor weapon ranges increased, the role of Sharpshooters gradually diminished, whereas the significance of Sharpshooters rose to a strategic level."

Maya’s exhaustive introduction left everyone uncertain about how to choose. In truth, Maya also couldn’t discern the intricacies of the three options. Without waiting for Maya to look at herself, Lin Wu confessed, "I have the abilities of Quick Gunner and Sharpshooter."

"What’s the difference?"

Lin Wu replied, "One is for close range, the other for long range." The effective range for Quick Gunner was 15 meters, including a derived skill called Lock Head with an effective distance of 3 meters. Sharpshooter allowed the marksman to ignore temperature and wind interference, hitting whatever they aimed at, as long as the firearm’s range was sufficient. Of course, the traditional sighting aids equipped with repeater guns did not match the skills, and the best to use was the crosshair.

No one had a consensus, and no one could confidently propose a better choice, so the decision-making power was passed to Maya. Maya asked, "Can we go with Quick Gunner?"

In Maya’s view, being quick was only a physical demand, while Sharpshooter and Sharpshooter required technical skills. In Maya’s opinion, any problem solvable with physical prowess wasn’t really a problem at all. For example, between the jobs of computer repair and moving, a computer technician could not only fix computers but also help move. However, a mover probably wouldn’t know how to repair computers. If Maya had to choose a job, even if she were a computer genius, she would opt for moving, because she wasn’t sure if she possessed sufficient skills to fix a faulty computer, but she was certain she could handle moving.

No one voiced any objections, as they viewed Quick Gunner as a suboptimal choice for the reason it included the word "quick." The night was for sleeping; people’s reactions would certainly be slower.

Shuihua counted down, "A decision must be made within two minutes."

"Sharpshooter?" Lin Wu immediately extended an olive branch after realizing Maya’s decision was not accepted by the group.

Everyone nodded their approval, not bad at all. Maya was not autocratic and declared, "Let’s choose Sharpshooter."

Task: Night Watch.

Sharpshooter of the Night Watch: The task lasts for 10 hours. The goal is to use the provided firearms and 10 bullets to pop 10 balloons. During the 10 hours, 10 shiny balloons will randomly rise around the train, ranging from 50 to 300 meters away, each balloon remaining for 15 seconds.

For every failure of the task, the coal supply is reduced by 10%. For every success, the coal supply is increased by 5%.

Lin Wu wasn’t pleased at all when he saw this, "If all 10 attempts fail, won’t the train stop?"

Maya looked at Lin Wu with an expression of no hope and explained, "Suppose there are ten thousand kilograms of coal, after one failure, nine thousand kilograms remain. After another failure, that leaves eight thousand one hundred kilograms."

Lin Wu nodded, "So it’s a decremental system." He admitted his own lack of thoroughness in analyzing the task.

Maya said, "Lin Wu, you’ll be in charge of the night watch."

"Me?" Lin Wu pointed to himself, thought for a moment and said, "It seems there’s no one more suitable than me." He had the Sharpshooter skill, and with no need to calculate wind speed and temperature, could hit wherever he aimed. The gun the system provided was the Forest Wolf, with which Lin Wu was extremely familiar, a strengthened version with a range of up to 800 meters.

Feeling the pressure after being assigned as the responsible person, Lin Wu felt he might have made the wrong choice, but after looking at the other two options, he changed his mind.

Sharpshooter of the Night Watch, the target is thirty balloons, with each balloon staying aloft for 10 seconds at a distance of 10 to 30 meters.

Quick Gunner of the Night Watch, the target is two hundred balloons, with each balloon staying aloft for only 5 seconds at a distance of 1 to 5 meters.

Picking up the Forest Wolf, Lin Wu headed to the flatbed carriage. Hong Yi and Qinglang followed, bringing bedding and blankets. A small area of the flatbed near the passenger cars was almost windless. After setting up the warm bedding, they chatted with Lin Wu by the back door of the passenger cars for a while before leaving. About 20 minutes later, Hong Yi brought Lin Wu lamb soup in a thermos. From everyone’s actions and glances, it was clear they were still concerned for Lin Wu; they felt uneasy leaving him out there alone and were apologetic for leaving him to keep watch by himself.

For Lin Wu, it was nothing to worry about. Not only was he the right person for the task, but he was also more than willing to help and protect his companions. Later on, he even dismissed his companions who took turns visiting him so as not to disturb his focus on honing his Heart Gun, and they stopped coming.

At that moment, a bright balloon appeared about a hundred meters away, about ten meters above the ground, rising steadily into the air. Due to sparse trees continually obstructing his shooting range, Lin Wu aimed and waited quietly.

In the ninth second, Lin Wu shot the balloon, completing 1/10 of the task. After the shot, Lin Wu habitually caught the hot cartridge case in his palm. That shot not only helped Lin Wu hit his stride but also brought forth a wave of homesickness, as he dearly missed his companion, the Silencer.

Wai seemed to sense his master’s thoughts; poking its head out from under the bedding, it rubbed against Lin Wu’s chest. Lin Wu caressed the dog’s head, grateful for Wai’s companionship at this moment. What if Maya were here instead? That couldn’t work, could it? Touching Maya’s head would probably get him killed.