Chapter Forty-Six: Taking the Bait

“What the hell happened here?”

Staring at the armored vehicle overturned by the roadside, the Federation soldiers were dumbfounded. Just moments ago, they had located members of the Iron Bull Assault Battalion who had lost contact. After a thorough search to make sure no enemies were lurking nearby, the reconnaissance squad finally mustered the courage to approach for a closer look.

But when they opened the vehicle's door, the scene that greeted them left them utterly shocked.

Whether it was the driver up front or the soldiers in the back, each of their heads had been reduced to a bloody pulp. The stench of blood and gore was overwhelming, and the infernal scene inside the vehicle was so horrific that even these battle-hardened veterans turned pale and trembled uncontrollably. Their squad leader, though somewhat steadier, was clearly not immune; his pallor betrayed his own unease. For a moment, a heavy silence hung over the scene, broken only when Michael’s voice crackled through, shattering the quiet.

“What’s going on? What’s the situation?”

Michael himself was seething with frustration. Reports from elsewhere were equally grim, and though he had considered recalling the reconnaissance squad, he’d ultimately abandoned the idea. After all, as the frontline commander appointed by headquarters, he at least needed to find out how the Iron Bull Assault Battalion had died. If headquarters began asking questions and he was completely in the dark, things would only get worse. Being caught off guard by inexplicable setbacks was headache enough—if he couldn’t even explain what had happened at the review board, Michael was certain his fate would be far from pleasant.

“It’s... very bad, sir,” the squad leader stammered, swallowing nervously at Michael’s ominous tone. Michael was not known for his patience. Though discipline in the Federation army was strict, it was nothing like the pre-catastrophe era. In these times, fear was the best enforcer of discipline, and nowhere was this truer than in the Federation military.

“What exactly happened?!”

Hearing the squad leader’s halting account, Michael’s impatience only grew.

“Well, sir... they’re all dead…”

“I know that. How did they die?”

“I… I’m not sure how to describe it. It looks like someone shot them all in the head—every single one of them. I didn’t see any signs of resistance…”

“Every single one? In a moving armored personnel carrier? Are you taking me for a fool?”

At that, Michael was nearly apoplectic with rage. He slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone around him. His anger was understandable: an armored personnel carrier was, after all, armored. Ordinary bullets couldn’t possibly penetrate it. Anti-materiel weapons, maybe—blasting the vehicle apart with a single hit, that he could believe. But someone shooting every soldier in the head, inside a moving armored carrier?

Are you kidding me?

If that squad leader were in front of him, Michael wouldn’t have hesitated to draw his pistol and shoot him right then and there. As it was, he could only suppress his frustration and issue a cold order.

“Send me live footage of the scene—now!”

The squad leader understood well enough that seeing is believing, so he quickly enabled the live video feed and projected the images back to Michael. Even the irascible Michael fell silent at the gruesome sight. He wasn’t a fool; even a cursory glance told him something was deeply wrong. The victims’ heads had all been blown apart, yet the armored carrier itself showed no sign of damage—apart from dents and scrapes likely caused by tumbling off the road. That certainly didn’t explain how soldiers, hidden safely inside their armored “shell,” could be executed with such precision and without the slightest resistance.

No one noticed that, at that moment, a pair of eyes watched them calmly from the ruins not far away.

“Sister Narcissus… there are six of them in total. I’ve scouted them all…”

“I understand.”

Hearing Corona’s report, Chris nodded, narrowing her eyes and peering through the scope at the fully armed soldiers. Judging by their reactions, these men were clearly seasoned veterans. Even under these circumstances, they kept their bodies concealed behind ruined walls and rubble, ever wary of ambush. But unfortunately for them, all their precautions were futile against Corona’s abilities.

Compared to Corona and Chris, Eluca seemed rather bored. She leaned idly against a crumbling wall, toying with her laser rifle. Eluca specialized in mid-to-close range combat and was of little use against such distant targets; she was here to guard Corona and Chris. Her abilities rivaled the firepower of an entire platoon, making her the perfect choice for holding their position.

Chris watched the glowing figures through her sniper scope in silence. She saw one of them stand and say something to his companions. Then, the group turned and began walking toward another vehicle, while the soldiers standing guard around them shouldered their weapons and prepared to leave.

Now.

Chris lined up her shot and squeezed the trigger without hesitation.

The rifle’s massive recoil slammed into her shoulder, making her body jolt. At that instant, a bullet flew silently from the muzzle, cloaked by darkness, and hurtled toward its target.

“Pop!”

Just as the squad leader reached the side of the vehicle, preparing to climb in, he heard a faint sound. Looking up, he saw the driver’s head explode like a melon. Almost simultaneously, a primal surge of terror overwhelmed him, and he instinctively flung himself backward. He heard a whooshing sound as something seared past his head, and before he could get back on his feet, he saw the guard who had been standing behind him lose half his head to a tremendous impact. Shreds of flesh, bone fragments, and sticky brain matter burst into the air in a grotesque shower.

“Pop! Pop!”

At the same moment, the squad leader saw out of the corner of his eye that the soldiers on both sides had immediately dropped flat, trying to avoid the sudden attack. But to his horror, even though they were completely concealed, their heads still exploded one after another, so quickly that there seemed to be no interval at all.

What on earth was happening? Why was this happening?

Without hesitation, the squad leader rolled behind the armored vehicle and immediately opened a communications channel.

“Sir Michael, we’re under attack—long-range snipers—we can’t—”

He never finished his sentence. At that moment, a bullet spiraled upward from beneath, entering his jaw with the force of a shot fresh from the chamber. His head exploded, and the impact sent his body leaping upward before it slumped heavily against the side of the vehicle and slid to the ground.

“Whew…”

Only then did Chris finally exhale, wiping sweat from her brow and blinking her eyes. The “Absolute Lock” ability guaranteed her shots would hit, but attacking multiple targets in quick succession required her to guide and maintain the power herself. If she lacked the strength, the bullets would lose control. This was why Chris had waited until the enemy was about to regroup before striking.

But now…

Chris quickly scanned her surroundings through the scope, then closed her eyes.

Mission accomplished… according to the commander’s orders, this should suffice.