Infinity, The Arcade Age

Hearing the low growl in front of him, Lei Dian raised his pale face.

Staring at the monster engulfed in white flames who had shrugged off his full-strength attack and effortlessly crippled his arm, Lei Dian knew all too well—he wasn't this man's match at all.

It wasn't a matter of techniques; he was simply being crushed by raw stats!

No matter how powerful a move was, if the user's attribute values were too low, it couldn't unleash its full potential.

Lei Dian's Thunder Fist was a prime example—despite sustaining it for several seconds, it caused far less damage than a single casual twist of his opponent's hand.

Realizing he was completely outclassed, Lei Dian gritted his teeth and let out a furious roar.

With a swift motion, he chopped down on his own crippled arm, severing it cleanly.

Blood splattered everywhere as he spun around and bolted.

Seeing him flee, Qin Ming hurled the severed arm aside and gave chase.

Despite Qin Ming's speed, Lei Dian had invested heavily in agility, far surpassing Qin Ming in that attribute. On foot, Qin Ming had no chance of catching up.

Lei Dian evaded a supersonic hand blade hurled by Qin Ming with a nimble roll, then dashed straight into a horse stable.

When Qin Ming charged in after him, he immediately had to retreat.

With a loud whoosh, Lei Dian hurled a Molotov cocktail, setting the entire stable ablaze.

Terrified horses and cattle stampeded out through the exits.

One or two rampaging cattle were nothing to Qin Ming.

But this was a farm — they had plenty of cattle.

Dozens, even hundreds, of frenzied animals charged together, forcing Qin Ming to retreat.

Leaping into the air, he grabbed onto an overhead power line, hanging there as the stampede thundered past beneath him.

Frowning as he watched Lei Dian knock down a wooden fence and gallop away on a stolen horse, Qin Ming let out a cold snort.

The next second, he released his grip.

Landing squarely on the back of a bull, Qin Ming sprinted atop the herd.

With his A-rank combat mastery, his balance and reflexes were second to none.

Leaping from back to back, he broke free of the stampede and landed smoothly on the ground.

Pulling out a bronze gong, he struck it forcefully.

From the distant forest, his black warhorse — armed to the teeth — thundered into view.

Mounting the Black Rabbit in one fluid motion, Qin Ming urged the steed forward, charging after Lei Dian at full speed.

Lei Dian may have gotten a head start, but his ordinary stolen horse was no match for Qin Ming's dim gold-rank warhorse, especially one with a doubled speed bonus.

In full gallop, it could outrun even trains, perhaps even race cars.

Hearing the rapidly approaching hoofbeats, Lei Dian's expression turned frantic as he repeatedly glanced back.

Realizing he couldn't shake off his pursuer, he gritted his teeth and pulled out a revolver, firing wildly at Qin Ming.

Five bullets were effortlessly dodged by Qin Ming; the sixth, unavoidable, was deflected with a swift butt of his rifle.

In response, Qin Ming fired a single shot without even aiming.

Bang!

Lei Dian's horse let out a shrill neigh as a bullet struck its front leg.

The horse collapsed, tossing Lei Dian high into the air.

He tumbled across the ground for several meters before coming to a halt.

Before he could get up, the thundering hooves of Qin Ming's Black Rabbit drew near.

Stopping right before Lei Dian, Qin Ming rested his rifle on his shoulder, gazing down at him with a cold, emotionless expression.

"So, is this all you've got after daring to stay behind and face me one-on-one?"

Lei Dian's eye twitched at the mocking words.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly surged forward at full speed, thrusting his remaining right arm toward Qin Ming on horseback.

Sparks of lightning flickered along his arm — B-rank ultimate skill, Thunder Fist, unleashed once again!

But this ambush was even less effective than the first time.

Having already anticipated it, Qin Ming swiftly extended his hand, intercepting Lei Dian's punch mid-air.

Completely ignoring the crackling lightning, Qin Ming tightened his grip and hoisted Lei Dian into the air by his arm.

At the same time, he pressed his rifle barrel against Lei Dian's chest and pulled the trigger mercilessly.

Bang!

A single slug pierced through Lei Dian's torso, sending him flying backward.

However, since Qin Ming was still holding onto his arm, Lei Dian's body swung back like a pendulum.

As he was flung back, Qin Ming fired a second shot...

The short-barreled lever-action rifle spun elegantly in Qin Ming's hand as he repeatedly chambered rounds and fired.

Lei Dian, still suspended in mid-air, was riddled with six consecutive shots.

By the time the rifle was finally empty, Lei Dian's limp body swayed lifelessly in the air.

Without a second glance, Qin Ming released his grip, letting the blood-soaked corpse fall heavily to the ground.

"Playing with lightning? Looks flashy, but you're just pathetic."

Qin Ming slung the rifle over his shoulder, seized the reins, and galloped back toward Green Town.

Behind him, only a lifeless, bullet-ridden corpse remained, eyes wide in disbelief.

Even in death, Lei Dian couldn't understand how they had provoked such a terrifying monster, one who had relentlessly hunted them using a rare tracking tool.

Back in Green Town, Qin Ming dismounted swiftly, only to find the battle already over.

Facing a highly trained and experienced warrior like Kasamoto Eri, the so-called Western cowboys simply lacked the skills to match.

After witnessing their leader get gunned down by the fierce woman, the remaining cowboys scattered in all directions and disappeared in mere moments.

When Qin Ming returned, Kasamoto Eri was rummaging through the corpses, searching for loot.

Hearing the sound of hooves, she instinctively raised her head.

Upon seeing it was Qin Ming, she showed no surprise.

If anything, it would've been surprising if it wasn't him returning.

Straightening up, Kasamoto Eri grinned mischievously as Qin Ming approached.

"Boss, I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you wanna hear first?"

"Huh? You're playing that game too? Alright, give me the good news first."

"The good news is that I've killed BOSS Simon."

"No need to say that — his corpse is lying right there, I saw it. What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that Simon already died once before. He was revived using a special item, so killing him this time doesn't count toward completing our main mission."

Seeing Qin Ming's eyes widen in disbelief, Kasamoto Eri shrugged lightly.

"Looks like we won't complete the main mission this time. We're gonna lose points."

"Damn it! I knew it!"

Even though Qin Ming had mentally prepared himself for this outcome before the chase, he couldn't help but rage when it actually happened.

This was the first time since entering Nightmare Space that he'd encountered a mission where not only did he earn nothing but actually stood to lose points!

But there was no helping it — if he hadn't hunted them down, they would've used tracking tools to hunt him instead.

The enmity between them was already set in stone; there was no chance for a truce.

Since a confrontation was inevitable, Qin Ming would rather suffer losses than let them off scot-free.

He refused to be prey — he would be the hunter.

He'd see just how many key operatives the KOF squad could afford to lose before they broke!

Bullies never feel guilt until the tables are turned — only then do they suddenly want to talk about reason.

(End of Chapter)