Chapter 14: 0012 Isn't this style of painting incorrect? _1
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When something went awry at the Red Brick Road Hospital and it began to swallow patients bit by bit, Leon, who was already nearby, just felt a sharp pain in his eyes and discovered that the entire world before him had darkened.
"Wait! Don't go in yet!"
"Why?"
The bandage-wrapped woman he grabbed by the arm turned her head back in confusion, only to be surprised as if dazzled by a strong light. Both Leon and the Black Goat in his arms were tightly shutting their eyes, with tears streaming down Leon's eyes profusely.
"This hospital is alive!"
Gazing up at the black flames soaring in his soul vision, Leon, whose "eyes" were burned by the flames, endured the searing pain akin to burning, and explained to the bandaged woman while clutching her arm,
"Just now, at the moment you were about to walk in, it's as if it received some kind of signal. It suddenly gained its own soul, and... it's probably as strong as a few hundred ordinary souls!"
The entire hospital?
After hearing Leon's words, the bandaged woman nodded to show her understanding. Her eyes behind the mask squinted slightly, and she began to quickly analyze the situation.
If a hospital suddenly gained a soul, the most likely scenarios would be an anomalous object directly attached to the building, an Uncontrollable Afflicted's ability to manipulate the building, or the entire hospital being temporarily peeled away from the world, thus not following the rules of reality.
In the first scenario, it should not have been controlled so precisely, activated just at the moment I was about to enter; the third scenario would not only require enough power but also require breaking through the world's hierarchy. If the strength only equals a few hundred souls, it shouldn't be able to achieve this.
So... it's most likely related to an Uncontrollable Afflicted's ability connected to the building, or may even simply require a reliance on the building to be manifested.
"You don't need to go inside; staying outside to help me is enough!"
Standing at the hospital entrance and pondering for a moment, the bandaged woman bent down to open her suitcase, retrieving several sets of matte metal parts from its bottom and quickly assembling them with nimble hands and feet.
As the item she was assembling gradually took form, Leon was quite surprised to realize it looked somewhat familiar.
A long brass tube inscribed with spirals internally, a trigger assembly composed of a machine chamber, a damper spring, a locking device, and a trigger mechanism, a stand clipped under the long tube, a shoulder rest conforming to the curve of the shoulder, and a monocular scope mounted atop the long tube...
No... this doesn't fit the image, right?
I thought you'd storm in left hand wielding a Bible, right hand wielding a war hammer, chanting incantations, and using a mystical prop to purify the strange; instead, you hand me a giant sniper rifle in return?!
In Leon's bewildered gaze, the bandaged woman, who had completed the assembly of the gun, first retrieved three small silvery cans from the bottom of the suitcase, clicked one onto the side of the brass barrel, then opened what seemed to be the "magazine" below, showing Leon the bright white metal long nails inside.
"This is a portable nail gun the director got for me from the military department, powered by a single-use gas canister; its range and power are much less than the normal version, only about five hundred meters, but it's enough to penetrate the hospital's outer walls and directly kill the target."
While speaking, the bandaged woman handed the other two gas canisters to Leon, seriously instructing,
"I'll go in later to look for the Uncontrollable Afflicted, see if I can directly resolve it; if I can't do it, I'll try my best to bind it close range. If that happens, don't hesitate, just shoot!
Moreover, even though there are quite a few nails left in the gun, there are only three gas canisters, so you only have three chances. If you miss three times, you must evacuate immediately, run back to the Purification Bureau and wait for the director to return, remember?"
"..."
Got it, I've got it... but you trust me too much, don't you?
Looking at the ground at that oddly shaped brass "sniper rifle," Leon was a bit at a loss.
Though I had no shortage of chicken dinners in my past life, I always used a keyboard and mouse. Never once have I handled this thing with my hands; it'd be a blessing just to successfully fire a bullet, let alone hit the target while you're engaged in a close-range fight.
*Honestly, I'm really afraid that with this one shot, not only will I fail to kill the Uncontrollable Afflicted, but I might also accidentally hit you instead...*
"You don't need to worry about hitting me."
Seeing Leon's hesitation, the bandaged woman gently reassured him,
"Since I'm letting you shoot, I obviously have confidence that you won't accidentally hit me. I just adjusted the scope and sight for you; as for the specific operation method, I'll explain it to you in detail next..."
"Regarding operation, I might know a little bit..."
After recalling the film and TV works he'd watched in his past life, Leon uncertainly said,
"Find a high point with a good view, spread your legs and lie on the ground, keep your body in a position close to the ground, then shoulder the gun stock, the scope, muzzle, and target, three points in a line?"
"Hmm?"
Hearing Leon's words, the bandaged woman exclaimed with surprise,
"Lying shooting manual? Do you have a military background?"
"Uh, barely... kind of?"
Leon's eyes flickered slightly, and he responded evasively,
"Before my parents passed, they were Mechanics under the military's supervision. They taught me a bit about this... well, just a little."
I see...
Upon hearing this, the bandaged woman nodded knowingly, not doubting the origins of this knowledge, but quickly shook her head and said,
"Your answer isn't incorrect, but that's for medium-range rapid-fire firearms' aiming method, where such firearms have a shorter shooting distance, with the scope at a level with the gun body, so using three points in a line to confirm the target is possible.
But mine is different, as you can see, the scope is higher than the gun body. If you shoot using the three-point line's rule, the nail will fall below the target."
Pointing at the scope mounted atop the barrel, she drew a slanting line between the scope and muzzle in the air; the bandaged woman explained to a suddenly enlightened Leon,
"After the nail is fired, its trajectory isn't in a straight line, but will slightly drop. To use this medium-long-range precision rifle, you must understand the nail's flight trajectory, then calculate the drop point location and rely on a mil table to calibrate your scope and muzzle..."
"Sizzle!"
[Through Emma Alman's thorough and simple explanation, you successfully activated the Black Iron Level Badge "Shooting Newbie."]
[Shooting Newbie: A shooter with only basic training, whose skill level is extremely poor, raising concern about shooting accuracy.]
[Equipped Effect: Though only simply trained, it's still much better than a completely unfamiliar ordinary person; when consciously aiming the muzzle, your shooting precision gains a slight boost.]
[Advancement Route: Complete 200 live-fire shots, or complete 1000 simulations, and this badge will automatically advance to a bronze badge "Shooter," current progress 0/200, 0/1000.]
[Hidden Traits: None]
"Sizzle"
R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.
[Through self-learning and reflection, you've acquired low-level gun shooting ability, activating the Abnormal Badge "Materialist Soul (Crimson)."
Your gun shooting understanding is "low," yet due to your adeptness in reasoning, summarizing, and self-adjustment, each time you fail at aiming at the same target, the chance of hitting it the next time slightly increases.]
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