Chapter 144: 143 The mainstay of the middle stream
The Blood Crows' defensive capabilities weren't formidable, and each bullet that hit its mark could achieve sufficient lethality. This was simply a standoff between firepower and numbers.
Would they be overwhelmed by the Blood Crows, or would they exhaust the creatures' stamina to the point where they couldn't maintain the chase... If everything went without a hitch, it should be the latter.
The tactical planning beforehand took these foreseeable dangers into account, and if nobody messed up, it was unlikely that problems would occur.
Dense black clouds enveloped the sky, and beneath the shadows, the three off-road vehicles raced wildly. The outdoor terrain was complicated, and even with a co-driver to navigate the path, the speed of the vehicles still couldn't increase significantly.
All four passengers within the vehicle commenced firing. The two close-combat experts weren't completely ignorant about firearms; military training ensured their soldiers didn't become too specialized. When strength reached a certain level, the differentiation between ranged and melee combatants wasn't that apparent.
In daylight, the flames from the gun's muzzles weren't blinding, but their roar was relentless.
"Ammo! Ammo!" a testy voice called out within the vehicle. The hotheaded hand-to-hand combat specialist reached for a magazine but found all of them empty.
Each soldier was only equipped with a maximum of five magazines, and after depleting them, they'd have to manually load each bullet into the magazines.
However, in the heat of battle, the soldier felt his absence would be detrimental, and his gaze involuntarily swept the interior of the vehicle, looking for any fully loaded magazines.
An abnormal rhythm of gunfire immediately caught his attention—
"Dada Dada! Dada Dada!"
The steady burst-fire rhythm was starkly distinct from the others. As he glared at the magazines attached to the other's waist, the irate soldier felt fury boiling within him.
Damn it! I knew I didn't like this kid from the start! Shooting like he's tiptoeing, like a damn woman! And he claimed to be a gunner who passed the advanced shooting test?
I burned through six magazines already, and he's not even through three. Even if my hit rate is only half of his, my contribution is definitely more substantial!
Useless!
"Give me the magazine!"
Bai E glanced at him, frowned slightly, but still drew a magazine from his waist and slapped it into his hand.
"Another one!"
...
Without a word, Bai E quickly handed over another and turned back to continue shooting and reaping.
A brand-new monster represented a prime opportunity to earn experience—wasting it was out of the question.
[Successfully hit multiple long-distance fast-moving targets, experience with light firearms mastery +53.] (stacked) (Extremely low chance to awaken special attributes.)
[Struck a crital hit on the target, inflicting 51 points of critical damage!]
[Struck the target's vital, causing 21 points of piercing damage!]
[Having completely defeated the target, you've gained 305 points of combat experience.] (stacked)
Indeed, battles were the quickest way to improve oneself; the experience gained from new monsters was fierce. Each one worth 5 points, the individual experience wasn't much, but the quantity was substantial, and after killing over 60, there was no sign of experience points diminishing... Maybe each type of monster had different requirements for experience reduction?
Bai E had no time to ponder further.
Amid continuous firing, his understanding of awakening special attributes under heavy firepower was deepening. The brief epiphany he had during the advanced shooting test resurfaced in his mind.
Minimizing the rate of ineffective shots was also a key element to maintaining firepower for extended durations.
Cold firearms equally needed gentle care.
During moments of lesser pressure, Bai E would even brace the machine gun with his chest, freeing both hands to quickly load bullets into an emptied magazine.
In fact, he had already depleted four magazines, which meant that one of the three magazines he had attached around his waist had been refilled during the battle.
He needed to scavenge as much as possible, get in on the kills and experience, while also maintaining his own condition to ensure he could be the last line of defense for the team in the event of any unexpected changes.
Moreover, the supplies carried on the three vehicles were limited; blind and arbitrary consumption could easily lead to a shortage of supplies later on, and he was not in a position to demand anything from others, only to control himself.
When not trusted by others, one must silently take on more.
The truth always makes it easier to silence doubters. The journey ahead is long, and Bai E did not want his teammates to always hold a grudge against him.
So do more… and then even more…
Following closely behind the temperamental warrior, who had just emptied his entire magazine, the stoic Asian warrior began to reload. From time to time, he looked over at his teammates to check on everyone's status, but his gaze was inadvertently drawn to a certain direction, captivated by the fluid motions that resembled a butterfly skimming through flowers.
"So... fast..."
Such fast hands, such steady rhythm...
Loading and shooting at the same time, without delaying either task.
That soldier who was maligned for getting in through the back door... seemed very skilled.
"Click!"
He pressed the last row of bullets, reinserted the loaded magazine into the slot on his belt, and continued shooting steadily.
"Dada dada! Dada dada!"
The rhythm of the three-shot burst was steady and efficient.
With every burst, one or even two of the Blood Crows' bodies would fall.
"Good job up front," the squad commander, who was always coordinating the overall situation, quietly praised him through the earpiece. It was a long-drawn-out tug-of-war, and occasionally there was a need for some encouragement to lift everyone's spirits.
"Of course!" The short-tempered warrior slapped his heating gun without reservation and spoke up in the squad's channel.
"It's the good work of the 95B27," the battle-scarred Caucasian warrior managing the heavy machine gun on the roof suddenly spoke up to set the record straight.
From atop the vehicle, he had an even better view of the overall situation. The number of sporadic Blood Crows that had managed to launch assaults from the left and right sides, missed by him and the old one, were roughly the same. However, the right side where 95B27 was positioned was noticeably more stable—almost none of the Blood Crows could breach the danger zone near the vehicles.
Whose merit it was needed no discussion.
"Bullshit! I shot those down!" The temperamental warrior was not convinced; could that kid's shooting speed even compare with his own?
"Just don't bother him for bullets all the time," the usually taciturn AB suddenly added his voice.
Inside the vehicle compartment, there wasn't time to deal with everything, but they were not oblivious to what was happening.
If it weren't for the need for an extra magazine of bullets, nearly all the spot-checking and supplementing on the right side would have been handled by 95B27 alone.
Moreover, his shooting and reloading rhythms did not interfere with each other—he had almost no impact on the proper defensive rhythm, and overall, he seemed more skilled than himself.
Such a solid shooter, with such skills, why would he need to get in through the back door to join this military operation?
"...I!"
"Enough!" the Caucasian warrior operating the heavy machine gun interrupted the still unconvinced, argumentative hot-headed warrior, "Morton, 95B27 is an expert in shooting. Not disturbing his aim is the only contribution you can make to this team."
"..."
In an instant, he felt as if he had become the isolated one in the team. The agitated desire to prove himself and earn distinctions was abruptly quenched by a bucket of cold water. Realizing he may have been too rash, the warrior fell silent, continuing to shoot while quietly observing...