Chapter 64: The skill finally strikes
The burning bodies of the aliens blasted apart, sending dozens of sharp shrapnel fragments shooting through the air. The metal shards sliced deep into their flesh, causing their bodies to burst into pieces.
Within the swirling smoke and dust, their remains dissolved into a cloud of golden light particles. Moments later, ten cards radiating dazzling colors floated silently in the air before slowly dropping onto the concrete street.
Rose rubbed her aching head, her vision still spinning from the force of the explosion.
She grumbled to herself,
"Damn... Is today some kind of Explosion Festival? Why do I keep getting blown around by explosions?"
She dragged her gaze toward the direction of the blast. Searching the area for the aliens or their corpses, her eyes eventually locked onto the gleaming cards. Fascinated, she unsteadily climbed to her feet and stumbled toward them.
Before she could get close, a dark shadow dropped from the roof above and landed firmly on the ground.
The very moment the figure’s boots hit the asphalt, the cards lying on the street vanished without a trace.
Rose’s eyes shifted toward the hooded man who had appeared from nowhere. She strained to make out his features, but the hood completely concealed his face, leaving nothing but pure darkness beneath the rim.
The man calmly unstrapped the rifle from his back and brought it into his hands. He raised the barrel, aiming it straight at her direction and pulled the trigger .
Bang!
30 minutes earlier...
Holding the heavy wooden crate, Leo ventured deeper into the abandoned building. He pried it open to find twenty hand grenades neatly packed inside. One by one, he carefully slid each grenade into the tactical pouches on his chest.
Next, he pulled out the Parkour Skill Card.
"Let’s see how useful you are."
The card dissolved into a flurry of light particles, flowing directly into Leo’s body. Countless memories, angles, and movement techniques flooded his mind.
Instinctively, his feet began to move, and he found himself performing various jumps, vaults, and flips across the room. After nearly five minutes, the muscle memory had fully settled into his brain.
"Well... although I already knew some of these movements, this has opened up a lot of new possibilities I can use in battle."
With a nod, he left the room and slipped into another one with a balcony. Crouching low in a dark corner to avoid being spotted by the military helicopters patrolling overhead, he raised his binoculars and began scouting the battlefield.
He witnessed Tony’s water techniques, Bear’s massive transformation, and John’s metal manipulation.
Seeing all of it made him tighten his grip on the binoculars.
"I can’t underestimate anyone."
"Who knows what other abilities someone might be hiding?"
"Any one of the superhuman battling could be troublesome to deal with. Especially that Bear and the metal manipulator... they could give me a run for my money."
After watching the spectacle for a while, he shifted his attention away from the main clash to scan the surrounding area. Soon, he spotted several narrow, quiet and suspicious alleyways. They looked completely empty, with neither soldiers nor zombies lingering nearby.
A moment later, a loud howl echoed through the air as a grotesque wolf emerged.
Looking at the wolf’s appearance gave Leo chills .
Then the creature’s howl swept across the entire area and Leo could see the troops struggling .
He concluded that this must be some kind of mental attack .
Leo’s cloak had completely blocked the mental attack, keeping his head clear. He watched from the shadows as the military countered the beast, the scale of the battle escalating by the second.
Shaking his head he muttered ,
"I can’t join that battle."
"I’d die ninety-nine times out of a hundred."
"Well... I can only pray that I’ll be lucky."
Without drawing any attention, Leo slipped out of the room and began moving between the buildings, utilizing his newly acquired parkour skills to leap from ledge to ledge.
Before long, he arrived at the quiet alleyways he had noticed earlier.
Pulling out several thin, nearly invisible wires, he carefully rigged tripwires connected directly to the grenades. He repeated the same tedious process in three other alleys.
After finishing his traps, he hid inside a nearby building and quietly observed the chaos unfold.
He studied every superhuman ability on display, finding himself genuinely enjoying the battle—the constant twists, the unpredictable turns, and the overwhelming display of power.
Because he was so focused on the spectacle, he also failed to notice the Runners’ sneaking around and their true objective .
The sudden destruction of the wave colliders and the sudden entrance of a new group made him once again realise that anything could happen in a battlefield.
You can never predict or prepare everything for a battle of this scale .
When the military cannon finally fired, a dozen questions surfaced in his mind.
’ What was this weapon ? Who made it ?
Has the technology of the military progressed so far ? Why not use this from the start ?
But before he could think about them any further, he saw the cannon explode .
When he saw the two large aliens sprinting straight toward the very alley where he had planted his traps.
"Fuck... talk about bad luck."
Not even in his wildest dreams had Leo imagined he could take the large aliens down. He had originally planted the explosives in hopes of catching the smaller, weaker Runners. So when the grenade shrapnel actually managed to kill the two giants, he was truly baffled ,
Then, a familiar skill description flashed across his vision.
Skill – Cheap Tricks Lv. 0
Grade – Uncommon
Effect: When using cheap tricks to attack enemies, damage dealt increases by 120%.
Description: Why work hard when I can kill you using cheap tricks?
"...Fuck , this works too"
The next moment, he saw the glowing cards materialize over the alien remains. His expression turned deadly serious. The cards were his greatest secret, and the moment he saw the woman walking toward them, he knew he couldn’t sit still.
Without a second thought, he leaped from his hiding spot on the fire escape and dropped hard onto the street below.
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