At Star Brilliance Plaza, several parked police cars exploded one after another. Panicked civilians fled in all directions.
The terrorists had extremely precise aim. They shot down the security guards and police officers but deliberately avoided killing civilians. It was clear they were highly trained, a group of extremely ruthless mercenaries.
Lucy and Thomas hid in the distance, not knowing what to do. They had originally planned to celebrate with a big meal after the summit, but they never expected a terrorist attack to break out right as it ended. Even the police force was clearly insufficient.
The Bowen Hall was blown into ruins. Cromwell was scared pale and said in a trembling voice, "Follow me, there's a secret passage here."
With that, he immediately headed toward the passage on the left.
Ronin glanced at the wounded on the ground but didn't bother with them. He followed into the hidden passage as well. When disaster strikes, everyone looks out for themselves — that was reality.
The moment they entered the passage, a group of heavily armed terrorists burst into the hall behind them. They gunned down all the remaining security guards and took the terrified filmmakers hostage.
"Thank goodness I was smart enough to keep this secret passage," Cromwell said as he walked.
"What about the others?" Shirley Hill, president of another famous film company, asked worriedly about the safety of the people outside.
"Who has time to care about them?"
Cromwell walked extremely fast, terrified that the criminals would find the entrance and force the hidden door open.
However, right after he finished speaking, several black gun barrels were pointed at them. In the narrow, dimly lit passage, three fierce terrorists slowly approached with guns raised.
Ronin curled his lips. "This secret passage sure is 'secret'."
"How is this possible?!" Cromwell's eyes widened. This situation should have been impossible.
"Hands up. Our mission isn't to kill you, but if you make any sudden moves, I might pull the trigger out of precaution," said the tallest terrorist.
Cromwell quickly raised the hand that had been reaching for his holster. In front of these desperate men, it was best to behave.
Ronin had initially suspected Cromwell was behind this, but now it didn't seem so. His expression and behavior didn't look fake — he appeared genuinely confused about why the terrorists were waiting in the secret passage, as if they had anticipated it.
There must be a traitor!
Cromwell puffed out his cheeks, making a "gulp gulp" sound in his throat from pure anger.
"Who sent you?" Cromwell asked furiously.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that. You'll find out once you come with us."
As the terrorists got closer and closer, Ronin engaged in intense internal struggle. Transform or not?
Transforming would likely allow him to take down these three, but there was still a chance he could get shot. They had their guns pointed at him the whole time. He wasn't McCree — he didn't have lightning-fast draw skills. He couldn't count on everyone freezing for a few seconds upon seeing Soldier: 76.
Not transforming meant he had no idea where they would be taken, and whether he could even come back alive was unknown.
After thinking it over, transforming and fighting for survival seemed better, but not right now. He had to wait until they lowered their guard.
"Fine, we'll go with you."
Ronin walked toward the dark gun barrels. After reaching the terrorists, he turned around and looked at Cromwell and the other big shots who had already lost their ability to think.
"Come on, everyone. This is our only path."
One of the terrorists sneered, "At least someone knows what's good for him."
Seeing this, Cromwell and the others had no choice but to walk over.
Once they had willingly walked into the trap, the terrorists lowered their guns, preparing to escort them to the rendezvous point. As long as they delivered the hostages, the mission would be complete.
"Take your filthy hand off me!"
The moment one terrorist tried to grab Ronin's shoulder, Ronin suddenly crouched and spun around, raising both hands into a shooting stance.
The terrorists instinctively raised their guns, but seeing his hands were empty, they lowered them and laughed. "Kid, can we stop playing pretend?"
Then he reached out to grab Ronin's shoulder again.
"I said, take your filthy hand off!"
His voice was ice-cold and filled with killing intent. The transformation into Soldier: 76 happened almost instantly. A heavy pulse rifle materialized in his previously empty hands.
His finger pulled the trigger. Three miniature rockets shot out, trailing brilliant blue flames in a spiraling trajectory like a whirlwind.
The three terrorists had no time to react.
Boom!
The miniature rockets exploded among them, knocking all three to the ground with varying degrees of injury.
Because of the close range, Ronin and the stunned others were also pushed back by the blast, but Ronin quickly stabilized himself. The dark muzzle of his rifle pointed downward.
Ratatatatata—!
Blue flames burst from the barrel. One full burst later, the three terrorists were riddled with holes, dead beyond any doubt.
Ronin pulled an energy crystal from his tactical vest and reloaded the pulse rifle.
He could have killed them with three bullets, but he chose this brutal method on purpose — to charge the tactical visor.
He had figured out the principle after the bar incident. When energy bullets hit enemies, they produced an invisible energy. This special energy was absorbed by the suit and converted into power for the tactical visor.
Last time at the bar, he had accumulated 20% charge. This time, the wild shooting added another 30%. The tactical visor was now at 50% charge.
The terrorists seemed to have heard the commotion. Several shadowy figures appeared from the lit end of the passage, and faint footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor.
Cromwell and the others hid behind Ronin with faces full of shock, as if they were personally experiencing a scene from the movie. Soldier: 76 always appeared at the most critical moments to protect the weak.
They were now more than willing to call him Soldier: 76. He was the real deal, yet it still felt like a dream.
Ronin raised his pulse rifle, aiming toward the other end, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.
Then he frowned slightly. This scene felt strangely familiar.
Suddenly, he remembered!
That's right! It was the gunfight dream of 300 million elementary school students!
The narrow, low iron corridor inside the CF transport ship cabin!
Newbies always loved camping there to ambush people. Whenever someone came down, they would spray wildly. It worked every time when everyone was new. He had killed many people that way, but as players got smarter, they started throwing grenades in first to test.
Thud!
???
A very familiar sound…
He looked down. A very familiar object had appeared at his feet. Ronin's pupils shrank. He spread his arms and lunged forward, tackling Cromwell and the others to the ground, using his own body to shield them from the grenade's blast.
Soldier: 76's physical quality was extremely high — not inferior to Captain America. The residual shockwave only made his back feel slightly itchy.
The grenade exploded. A burst of rapid footsteps suddenly rang out.
Ronin stood up instantly. Carrying the gunfight dreams of 300 million elementary school students, he used his pulse rifle to gun down all the naive terrorists!
Tactical Visor: 100% charged!
Don't compete with him in speed. Don't compete with him in marksmanship. Because competing with Soldier: 76 in these things usually ends very badly.
"I am an army of one!"
Ronin turned around handsomely, only to be met with faces full of horror, staring at him like a monster.