It was an instinctive intuition honed through countless brushes with death.
Danger was approaching!
And it wasn't weak!
He immediately activated his ability, and 【Trace Resonance Perception】 extended outward like invisible tentacles.
A few seconds later, his expression shifted slightly—at least a dozen people were approaching from the southeast. They were well-equipped and accompanied by Ability Users, one of whose auras made even his heart skip a beat.
Level 3!
He was just about to report this discovery when Su Wan’s emergency instruction suddenly echoed in his mind.
Lei Lie froze for a moment.
He looked up at the tenants in the corridor quickly returning to their rooms, then glanced out the window at the vagrants already huddling against the base of the wall, and suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“Of course... if even I could find them, how could the Landlord not have noticed? She probably knew long ago.”
He shook his head, stopped overthinking, and hurried upstairs.
According to the skill specialties he had listed during registration, his room had been assigned to the top floor.
A room on the twelfth floor was perfect for him to utilize his long-range advantage.
Pushing the door open, Lei Lie quickly scanned the room: a simple single unit with a bed, a desk, and a chair. The window faced directly toward the Ruin Zone in the southeast.
It was enough.
He took down the modified sniper rifle from his back, which was nearly as tall as he was.
This was his lifeblood, an old partner that had followed him across the lands for many years.
The barrel was thick, the magazine was loaded with his precious armor-piercing rounds, and the scope was a high-end piece he had scavenged from the ruins of the Old Era, capable of automatically adjusting parameters based on distance.
Lei Lie propped the gun on the windowsill, the muzzle poking slightly out the window, and aligned the scope with the gray ruins in the southeast.
His movements were practiced and calm, as if he had done this thousands of times.
Every Official Tenant’s room was now equipped with simple communication equipment used for receiving notifications.
Lei Lie used this device to report the intelligence he had perceived to the C4 robot:
“C4, this is the new tenant Lei Lie. Unidentified armed personnel detected approaching from the southeast. Count is approximately fifteen to twenty, well-equipped with armored vehicles and Ability Users.”
“The strongest among them is Level 3.”
Almost at the same time he reported it, Su Wan received the message forwarded by the system.
She was slightly taken aback, immediately gaining a more direct understanding of Lei Lie’s capabilities.
The system relied on a monitoring network and energy detection covering the entire Ruin Zone to find this group.
Yet Lei Lie, relying solely on his own sensory ability, had managed to figure out the enemy’s general composition in such a short time and even accurately judged the presence of a Level 3 expert.
This perception ability was indeed rare and powerful.
“Not bad,” Su Wan thought with a silent nod. “Recruiting him was worth it.”
She turned her attention back to the approaching enemies.
Liu Sen’s forces were drawing closer, the roar of the armored vehicles faintly audible.
Through the system monitoring, Su Wan clearly saw the route the team was taking.
They had a clear objective, heading straight for the “Terminal Station.”
Clearly, they did not come with good intentions.
“Trying to silence witnesses? Or trying to catch the Shadow-Stalker Beast? Or... both?” Su Wan sneered.
Regardless of their goal, since they had delivered themselves to her door, they shouldn't expect to leave easily.
Her mind raced as she quickly pulled up the System Mall and browsed through the 【Weapon】 category.
With her current system level, the weapons she could exchange for were limited, mostly comparable to the technological level of this wasteland era.
Conventional firearms, explosives, and simple protective gear.
The truly era-transcending sci-fi weapons were still grayed out and locked.
But this was enough.
Su Wan’s gaze fell on a particular weapon system:
【“Sentry” Type Automated Defensive Machine Gun Turret (Basic Version)】
Description: An automated weapon unit that can be deployed on the exterior walls or roof of a bound building.
Equipped with a triple infrared/thermal/motion sensing system and a 7.62mm rotary machine gun with a 1,000-round ammunition supply.
A conventional kinetic weapon with limited lethality against Level 1 and higher Ability Users, but possesses absolute suppression power against unarmored or lightly armored targets.
Deployment Limits: Must be connected to the bound building’s power system. Each unit consumes 5 Points per hour (additional ammunition consumed during combat).
Each unit occupies 1 deployment slot (Current available slots: 4/4).
Price: 8,000 Points per unit.
Stock: Plentiful.
Su Wan quickly scanned the weapon’s description and already had a plan in mind.
The enemy team had 18 people, 6 of whom were Ability Users.
The only truly troublesome ones were that Level 3 and the two Level 2s.
The remaining ordinary soldiers could be handled with automated weapons.
“System, exchange for four ‘Sentry’ Type Automated Defensive Machine Gun Turrets and deploy them all!” Su Wan ordered.
【Exchange Successful: Sentry Type Automated Defensive Machine Gun Turret ×4. Points Consumed: 32,000. Current Points Balance...】
【Allocating deployment slots... Deploying... Estimated completion time: 30 seconds.】
In Su Wan’s vision, a 3D model of the “Terminal Station” building appeared on the system interface.
Four points of light representing the machine gun turrets quickly landed on the four corners of the model—one each for the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest corners of the roof.
In reality, an extremely faint mechanical hum came from the roof.
Four sleekly designed, industrial-looking automated machine gun turrets rose quietly from the edges of the roof, firmly securing themselves in their preset positions.
Their casings were a matte gray, blending seamlessly with the building’s exterior. Without careful observation, it was almost impossible to spot them from a distance.
The ammunition belts beneath the turrets connected to the system space. The sensors began a self-check, their red indicator lights flashing a few times before turning into a standby blue.
【Deployment Complete! All “Sentry” units have been integrated into the system network and are awaiting instructions.】
A cold smile curled on Su Wan’s lips.
While these automated weapons might not be able to kill high-level Ability Users, they were more than enough to keep those twelve ordinary soldiers and the non-ability members of the mercenary squad pinned down.
As for that Level 3—
A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she turned and walked toward the door.
That was her prey.
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something and sent a private message to Lei Lie through the system:
“Lei Lie, I received the information you reported. Well done. Stay in your room for now and keep your eyes on that team with your sniper rifle.”
“Your primary task is to keep a close watch on the officer leading them. If he tries to escape, help me stop him.”
“I want him alive.”
On the twelfth floor, Lei Lie stared at the message that popped up on his communicator, momentarily stunned.
Then, he grinned.
The Landlord’s meaning was... she was using him as her “eyes”?
Or was it that this unfathomable existence actually needed a Level 3 like him to deal with a Level 2 officer?
No.
Lei Lie quickly dismissed that thought.
With the Landlord’s strength, she couldn't possibly need his help.
The only explanation was—
She was giving him a chance to prove his worth.
“Fine, then I’ll be the best pair of eyes I can be,” Lei Lie muttered to himself, aligning his scope with the ruins to the southeast, his finger lightly resting on the trigger.
Rate on N.U.
