Chapter 60: Direct Strike on the Manor

The quiet night sky, a sea gull sweeps past; its direction—the lights of East Rising City are bright.

Boom!

The sudden explosion echoed faintly, the sea gull fluttered its wings and flew into the distance.

A flash of red light flickered in the air.

Inner city.

On the quiet street, after confirming the shadow had successfully fired the signal flare, Lu Ming withdrew his consciousness.

Fully under control, the shadow acts on its own; Lu Ming observes the shadow's perspective via shared vision—this skill will be of no further use.

"S Player, let the shadow fire the signal gun?" Yan Cheng looked at the red light in the night sky; it was like a morning star.

Lu Ming glanced behind him.

The Sixth Route's true offensive line must also be the strongest in combat power; aside from a few players, the rest are low‑combat‑power NPCs of the Rebel Army.

"Everyone, tonight's final battle will surely change the current state of East Rising City; having already chosen, there is no reason to retreat—if we fail, the only thing awaiting us is a dead end!" Lu Ming picked up his gun: "If a miserable life can only have one glorious moment, then let it be now."

Attack!

The sound of gun chambers rang out; in an instant, the Rebel Army flooded the streets.

The patrolling military police noticed something amiss, but before they could raise their guns, they were struck down first and fell in a pool of blood.

Immediately after, both sides' firepower began to clash, gunfire echoing continuously across the district.

Because of the curfew, no ordinary residents were seen on the street; those ordinary residents, knowing the two sides had fought, didn't even dare open their windows, let alone go out to watch the excitement.

The shadow's purpose limited to three, Lu Ming drank the prepared P potion and summoned the final shadow.

Shadow Lu Ming grabbed a knife, eyes flashing cold light, took a healthy step into the crossfire zone, bearing the dense assault, and charged at the military police.

After several military police spotted him, they immediately opened fire, but discovered that even headshots could not stop him.

"Huh?!"

The nearby military police trembled as they spoke, retreated a few steps in consciousness, and the cold blade had already sliced their face.

Swish!

Blood spurted out.

Shadow Lu Ming seized the enemy's gun and began frantic sweeping fire!

In an instant, cries of misery echoed through the district; the shadow's slaughter continued, and the Rebel Army behind soon gained the upper hand, the first batch of military police guarding the district were quickly wiped out.

Everyone, without hesitation, continued after simply replenishing ammunition.

Lu Ming deliberately had the shadow run ahead, so that if danger arose he could get forewarning.

"S Player, was that just now the shadow?" Yan Cheng noticed the figure rushing forward and held back his question.

Having played shooting games, whose favorite livestreams are also CSGO‑like titles, being able to experience real gunfire made him quite excited.

"." Lu Ming answered.

"Awesome…" Yan Cheng looked at the shadow and said: "S Player, your skill is incredibly strong—it's just like a stand‑in from some anime; compared to that, your skill is far more ordinary."

After a brief silence, Lu Ming turned and said: "The research on Earth's game balance is excellent; no matter the rating, the skills obtained are limitless—it all depends on the user."

"Understood, is it just that the skill feels strong, or is the user strong?"

"If one is an S Player, would they still feel the skill is strong?"

"Thinking that because an S Player is strong, everything must be strong—that's a misconception."

"Only the title of S Player matters."

Lu Ming's words left Yan Cheng speechless, like a child whose diary has been read.

"S Player, if we later enable team mode, can we still follow along?" Yan Cheng asked, feeling embarrassed.

"Yes." Lu Ming replied bluntly.

"As expected, you still feel inexperienced…" Yan Cheng wore a listless expression.

But compared to that, I feel more relaxed—like that; the S Player's bearing is very restrained.

Lu Ming swept through a street block.

Through the shadow's returned vision, Lu Ming saw the military police again.

This time it's obviously more than the first wave; fortunately, fewer military police were sent to suppress the other five routes, so the military police remaining in the inner city will be relatively fewer.

Just as Lu Ming had in mind, suddenly his vision blurred and the shadow's perspective was lost entirely.

Lu Ming heard the sound of an explosion.

"Is the shadow dead?" Lu Ming frowned.

Then, seeing fewer military police, both sides upon meeting began to attack.

Ah!

A player collapsed, a bullet piercing his neck.

"S Player, casualties…" Yan Cheng immediately wanted to help, but Lu Ming restrained him; such a situation simply cannot be acted on rashly.

From the shadow's returned image, perhaps the military police side also has players, and moreover an area‑of‑effect damage skill.

The shadow died in an instant; Lu Ming could only think of an explosion—such indiscriminate attack could directly endanger the shadow.

"Enough." Lu Ming said.

All that could be seen was the fallen player, his eyes completely dimmed.

Yan Cheng then realized that the Rebel Army also suffered few losses; even though they attacked the six locations together, after dispersal the military police were still numerous.

The fervor in his heart felt like cold water splashed on it, and it cooled.

A genuine battlefield—people die; although they return to the Main God Space after death, that feeling of life slipping away is not something one would want to experience.

"S Player, what should we do now? Retreat first?" Yan Cheng asked.

We can withdraw.

Lu Ming knows, once an attack starts, it can then be stopped again; first retreat, it's extremely easy to be surrounded by the gendarmerie drawn by its five routes.

Lu Ming found the player on the gendarmerie's side; if he rashly sends out a shadow again, he will probably also be in the same battle.

Area-of-effect attacks also inflict lethal damage on shadows.

Lu Ming needs to wait for the opponent to again hand, then he can find that player; that only, he can only try to reduce casualties.

Lu Ming ordered him to find cover.

Just as everyone had just found cover, an attack came again, the street exploded without warning.

【HP-9】

A string of red numbers floated up in the vision; even though the cover blocked it, Lu Ming still received some damage.

The smoke and dust cleared, but Lu Ming still couldn't find that player's position.

But likewise, Lu Ming also understood the skill's drawback; such area-of-effect attacks should require charging time, yet the opponent had already carpet-bombed.

Seize the opening, find that player!

Boom!

A blast sounded, and the shockwave made the whole street tremble.

Amid the explosion's ash, a figure rushed forth.

His lazy eyes were full of killing intent.

Yan Cheng was stunned; the person rushing opposite, the second leader of the rebel army, still thinks Li An of Jes!