Counterfeit Hero

Tian Xingjian was not someone who relished killing.

In everyone’s eyes, it was really impossible for him, who needed to stealthily cross the frontlines, to attack a patrol team. The reason was simple: there wasn’t any justifiable reason, and it would be a loss with no gain.

But the sight of the Garand had locked onto the closest patrol soldier. In the panoramic view of SkyNet, the soldier silently fell to the ground. If it weren’t for the fact that his head developed a large hole from the mixed bullet, everyone would have thought he had simply fallen ill.

Everybody’s hearts started pounding violently. In broad daylight, amidst everyone’s gazes, Fatty swiftly claimed a life with one shot! Such clean work!

The patrol team continued to advance; everything had happened so quickly. Several trees and thick bushes perfectly blocked their view, and they hadn’t noticed that the soldier on the far left, in charge of vigilance, had already been killed.

The first shot determined that this would be a massacre. In the silent SkyNet footage, a cruel yet vibrant scene dominated by green and red hues appeared.

The second to fall was the soldier at the end of the patrol team. He had just finished his routine communication with SkyNet, and had taken a moment to scrape the thick mud off his boot soles. Leaning against a large tree with one hand, he never managed to lift his head again. A mixed energy bullet pierced his skull, and blood and brain matter sprayed across the tree. Without uttering a sound, the soldier toppled over.

As he fell, the third soldier, who had paused a few seconds to wait for him, had his head blown apart by another bullet. The cigarette he had been holding in his mouth yet not lit, flew out in circles as an inertial reaction to his head jerking violently. His body collapsed into the shrubbery, the thick foliage immediately concealing him.

The fourth soldier to be killed was the one in front of the third soldier. He too was waiting for the last soldier. However, his steps hadn’t halted entirely. After briefly pausing and glancing back at his frozen companion, he turned around to move forward.

Little did he know, just as he turned to continue his advance, his companion had fallen into the bushes. The soldier shrugged his shoulder to adjust his rifle strap and had taken only two steps before silently collapsing, a bullet having pierced his head as well.

Watching from several different angles on the SkyNet footage as four soldiers were practically killed simultaneously, everyone was struck speechless. The slight spacing of the patrol team and a few sight-blocking trees were utilized perfectly by Fatty. Until now, no one had noticed that within these one or two seconds, their four comrades had silently fallen.

Especially for the few combat staff in the command headquarters, their hearts were almost leaping out of their chests. Lacking frontline combat experience, they had never witnessed this kind of textbook-style sniper assassination. The feeling of a hidden demon silently and swiftly claiming lives made them shudder. Fatty’s precise and composed sequential elimination methods left them astounded.

The two warriors at the central front of the patrol team climbed a small mound about two or three meters high. A tree slanted by the mound’s side, with thorns beneath, forced their attention on following the path taken by the foremost vanguard.

The third to climb the mound was apparently the squad leader of this standard Gazalin infantry squad. After he reached the top, he extended a hand to pull up the warrior carrying the electronic communications equipment behind him. Deterred by the tree, he had to take a step back, release the almost climbing warrior, and bend over to get around the tree. Just as he straightened, he became the fifth sniper target. A bullet tore a hole in his throat.

The soldier with communications equipment, his head down for the final steps up the mound, heard the sound of the squad leader’s body hitting the tree and bouncing back into the thorns. On all fours, he barely had time to lift his head before a bloody hole suddenly appeared at his temple. The bullet passed through one temple and out the other, accompanied by a plume of blood mist. His eyes immediately lost all light. The heavy communications gear toppled his body sideways, and he slumped onto the rain-etched slopes of the mound.

Seemingly realizing something was wrong, the two warriors in the middle halted in the thorn bushes. They noticed their rear companions hadn’t caught up, while at the moment, the vanguard soldier ahead continued advancing cautiously, and the spearhead soldier on the right side of the team, due to the terrain, had circled back and was now exchanging glances with the two in the center.

In that moment of hesitation and waiting, a threadlike beam of light suddenly flashed in the dark jungle. The vanguard soldier on the dense forest’s right side felt a violent impact on his chest. His weary legs could no longer support his body weight, so he knelt down limply, then toppled over.

”Enemy attack!” The two middle soldiers saw their comrade fall and had no time to shout a warning. Reactively, one to the left and one to the right, they rolled into the bushes. The foremost soldier was torn in mid-air by a muffled thud; his chest ripped open, he crashed straight to the ground. The soldier behind him, who had just leaped into the bush, managed only half a cry before a bullet plunged into his half-opened mouth.