Chapter 106: Patient Waiting

The noodle stall was a makeshift structure, fully equipped with pots, pans, and utensils. Several chefs in professional attire were busy boiling noodles, and the savory aroma made Wu Hua involuntarily swallow his saliva.

"Excuse me, are you fighting a boss or having a picnic?" Wu Hua walked in and asked, sensing intuitively that these people were not part of the Longcheng family.

"Who are you? You're not with the Longcheng family, are you?" The lead chef, a plump man, noticed that Wu Hua and his companions lacked any family insignia.

"We're just passing through," Wu Hua replied.

The plump chef gave an "oh" and went back to boiling noodles.

Curious, Wu Hua asked, "Are you from that 'Soul-Snatching Noodles' shop on B1 Street in the Service Port?"

"That’s right. Why? Want a taste?" the chef asked.

Wu Hua chuckled to himself. "Your business is quite expansive. I’m impressed you even have a branch out here in the wilderness."

Knowing he was being mocked, the chef didn't take offense and laughed. "Do you see the intense battle going on down there?"

"I see it," Wu Hua said. "What? Does it have something to do with your noodles?"

"Of course," the chef replied. "Whenever they get tired from fighting, they come up here to eat. Each bowl of our Soul-Snatching Noodles restores 1,000 points of stamina."

"What?" Wu Hua’s eyes widened. Even the soothing tea from the Qimen Company didn't have such an effect. This really was "soul-snatching."

He quickly understood the situation. The Longcheng family had many members, and while their attrition-based tactics didn't cause many casualties, the drain on stamina was staggering. No wonder they had invited their partners to set up a branch here. Still, a bowl of noodles restoring 1,000 stamina points was a rare commodity indeed.

"Give us five bowls," Wu Hua said.

The plump chef held out his hand. "If you're not with the Longcheng family, it’s not free. 10 credits per bowl."

"Damn it, why don't you just become a highwayman?" Tu Tiao exclaimed indignantly.

Wu Hua waved his hand. "Forget it. 10 credits is 10 credits. If you can't endure small annoyances, you'll spoil the big plans."

Down on the grassy plains, Murong Longcheng looked up at the scorching sun and wiped away sweat. The air was filled with the deafening sound of gunfire, and a sea of people surged around him. This damn boss had been fighting since the morning, and now at 1:00 PM, it still hadn't gone down. Yet, Murong Longcheng was convinced that his side would eventually wear it out.

He had spent a fortune to command this operation, securing sponsorships from several companies and digging into his own pockets for over 100,000 credits. He had mobilized a third of his family’s forces to take down this mutated super-boss.

Murong Longcheng possessed intelligence that even experts like Wu Hua didn't have: once a super-boss mutated or evolved, it became a true elite-tier boss. The rewards for killing an elite-tier boss were obvious; once successful, his family could recruit mechanics to build up the area, and with a legitimate source of income, they could transition into a real, registered corporation.

Thinking of this, his spirits lifted. He grabbed a megaphone and shouted to the crowd, "Keep pushing, brothers! Once we take this boss down, we'll all be getting high monthly salaries!"

The new recruits, energized by the prospect, unleashed a hail of gunfire. Suddenly, a "-150" damage value popped up over the Queen Bee, which had been showing only "-1" hits.

Murong Longcheng paused, realizing this was a sign that the boss was near death. He roared again, "Brothers! The boss's defense is dropping, its HP must be low! Keep at it, victory is right in front of us!"

The recruits, even more excited than him, fired with reckless abandon.

Murong Longcheng would likely never realize that the "-150" damage hit had been dealt by Wu Hua, who had quietly slipped into the crowd and fired a single shot from his AUG.

Since arriving at the Mulin Grasslands, Wu Hua had been determined to steal the kill. He decided against using his sniper rifle initially, fearing he would alert the Longcheng family. The rookies, seeing a major boss for the first time, were so focused on the fight that they never noticed a stranger in their midst.

Wu Hua’s shot had no other purpose than to trigger his "Precise Calculation" skill. Once used, he turned and sprinted back toward the mountain peak.

"How much HP does it have?" Yu Jialing asked.

Wu Hua put down his rifle and held up one finger.

"100,000?" Yu Jialing asked, surprised.

"No," Wu Hua said. "One million!"

Yu Jialing was stunned, and Qianqian and Ri Wan were equally speechless.

Wu Hua exhaled. "But it's already been whittled down by 700,000 HP. I estimate the Longcheng family will need to keep at it for a while longer to finish it off."

"So what do we do now? Wait?" Yu Jialing asked.

"What else can we do? You want to charge down there?" Tu Tiao, squatting on the ground, enjoyed a steaming bowl of noodles. "I have to say, these Soul-Snatching Noodles are pretty good. I've already had eight bowls. Excellent, truly excellent."

The group considered this and agreed that Tu Tiao had a point. Using Murong Longcheng as a cannon-fodder vanguard wasn't a new tactic for them.

Wu Hua took off his backpack, pulled out the rifle case, and slowly assembled his "Star of Finland." He laid out several types of ammunition on the ground.

The sun beat down, reflecting off the metallic surface of the rifle with a sharpness that made it hard to look at. Wu Hua looked up at the sky; it seemed different than usual. The blue wasn't pure, and a hazy mist appeared to be drifting through the air.

He activated the Black Eagle sniper scope, and lines of auxiliary data began to appear:

Distance: 1,688 meters
Slope: 21 degrees
Wind: South-southwest, 0.3 speed
Temperature: 26 degrees
Heat: +42

Liquid Level: 2%
Air Sensitivity: 54%
Vacuum: 0.7%
Gravity: 72 km
Correction Angle: 1.67 degrees southeast
Estimated Time to Target: 4.314 seconds
Shot Effectiveness: Normal

...

The conditions were relatively good, though the bullet flight time was long, requiring him to time his shot perfectly. This was another test for Wu Hua, as the Queen Bee’s HP was still dropping rapidly. With hundreds of guns firing every second below, even the boss's impressive regeneration couldn't keep up with the consumption.

Wu Hua lay in the grass and took a deep breath, needing to calm his nerves.

A green-grade AUG with purple-grade ammo only dealt about 150 damage to the Queen Bee—the raw power was reduced by a factor of four. By that ratio, the blue-grade Star of Finland with red-grade bullets should theoretically suffer the same reduction, meaning an explosive round would only deal about 800 damage.

As "Precise Calculation" updated, the Queen Bee’s HP was dropping by about 200 points per second. He would have to fire precisely when the boss hit its final 1,000 HP, accounting for the 4.3-second flight time.

This shot was more difficult than his sniping missions in the Fenglin Huoshan region. It required precision not just in distance and power, but in time—down to the millisecond. That tiny margin was the difference between success and failure.

This was the eternal dilemma for snipers and the inherent weakness of all sniper rifles: one could not have everything. No rifle in the world could combine perfect precision, heavy firepower, high performance, and extreme range.

The Star of Finland was no exception. Its strength was its immense firepower and excellent manufacturing, but it lacked in performance and range. Its trigger assembly was single-action, and while its advertised range was 2,000 meters, its effective accuracy of over 95% was within 1,000 meters. The 1,500 to 2,000-meter range was a gamble where accuracy dropped significantly. Coupled with environmental factors, even a target as large as the Queen Bee might be missed.

But there was no reason not to take the risk. "Only those who strive can win" had always been Wu Hua’s motto.

"Click!" Wu Hua adjusted the zoom. His field of vision was now 75 meters, and the Queen Bee was clearly visible.

He triggered the skill once more. The Queen Bee’s HP read: 149,877 / 1,000,000!