Vol2 Chapter 15: Free Day(2)

Bai Ci crouched low, minimizing her exposure, her AWM trained on a hidden Student Union member.

The target was concealed in a thicket, lying in wait for a while. Estimating their position, Bai Ci was confident one shot into the canopy would take out the gunman.

What a foolish spot.

The canopy offered no mobility. Once they fired, their position was exposed, the tree becoming a cage they couldn’t escape.

Her hearing was sharp. From the first volley’s gunfire, she’d pinpointed the combatant’s location in the woods.

“That’s the fourth.”

Bai Ci chewed her gum, eyeing the figure in her scope. “If you’re ambushing, be professional. Your position’s blown.”

Up in the canopy, Erickson was anxious. When Caesar assigned him this area during the strategy meeting, he’d scouted the terrain at top speed, made his team memorize it, prepared for every scenario, and hid in the woods early.

But after eliminating a few Lionheart members, he’d lost sight of them entirely.

He regretted not asking Caesar for thermal imagers. Now, all he could do was wait for Lionheart to come to him.

After the initial successful ambush, Lionheart seemed to vanish. Yet, his earpiece kept reporting teammates dropping, reminding him the enemy was still in the woods. He just couldn’t find the hidden shooter.

“Damn it! Who’s the ambusher here?” Erickson gripped his sniper rifle tightly. He’d glimpsed a fleeting shadow in the woods several times, but it vanished the moment he fired, too fast to even aim.

A gunshot rang out. Erickson’s head was instantly splattered red, the powerful tranquilizer in the Frigga bullet knocking out the Student Union gunman with ease.

For a sniper, exposing your position was taboo. With a heavy rifle like Bai Ci’s AWM, you had to relocate immediately after firing. Getting spotted meant you were a sitting duck.

After moving to a safer spot, Bai Ci set up again, popped another piece of minty Green Arrow gum into her mouth, relaxing her nerves, and began scanning for targets.

Her new position was high, her scope even catching Susie, another sniper, in hiding.

Suddenly, a green figure slowly emerged from behind a bench, peeking out bit by bit, then quickly ducking back, cautious as could be.

Soon, the figure crawled out fully. The familiar sight made Bai Ci pause.

Susie was confident she’d win—she had to. Free Day was long-awaited by all of Lionheart. As Cassell’s oldest society, led by multiple S-rank bloodlines since the school’s founding, Lionheart held an unrivaled position. Its leaders were destined to be legendary dragon slayers.

But lately, the Student Union had stolen their thunder. President Caesar Gattuso, born to Italian nobility, was a natural leader, like Alexander the Great. A few words from him could ignite every freshman’s passion—a true idol.

Chu Zihang, by contrast, was all about action, not words. He’d rather do than talk. If a fangirl asked for an autograph, she’d likely get a curt “thanks,” unlike Caesar, who’d charm her with a dance. This put Chu Zihang at a disadvantage. Lionheart needed this Free Day victory to prove they were still Cassell’s undisputed champions, not some pushover.

Not even Caesar could stop them!

Sure, Lu Mingfei won last year, but now he was in Susie’s crosshairs.

His sluggish movements were like a turtle crawling to her. She was certain one shot would take him out.

Then a Frigga bullet exploded on her forehead.

Honestly, Susie was stunned.

Her position was perfectly hidden—only a Lionheart member could’ve found her, or maybe Nono with her profiling skills.

Damn it, when did she spot me?

Bai Ci had just worked the bolt to eject the casing when she heard a sneeze and whipped around.

“Yo… Junior Sister, long time no see.”

Their eyes locked, guns pointed at each other. Nono stuck out her tongue in greeting, inwardly cursing. She’d used her profiling to track the culprit behind multiple Student Union eliminations, planning to knife Bai Ci from behind, only to sneeze. Why? I’m not even sick! If Bai Ci took her out now, it was over—she hadn’t even found Susie’s position!

But this cunning little witch was shameless. Seizing Bai Ci’s momentary distraction, Nono fired first. In that split second, Bai Ci was doomed—no one could dodge at this range.

Every Cassell student had a unique Word Spirit, but if unleashed, they’d level the campus. So the entire academy was blanketed by the Word Spirit Discipline, suppressing all bloodlines weaker than its caster, preventing cheating on Free Day.

But Bai Ci was different.

S-rank bloodlines—only three in the academy.

Only they could use Word Spirits.

She could cheat.

The bullet froze midair. Nono’s sly grin froze too. She saw the shot meant for Bai Ci halt a few steps away, as if hitting an invisible wall, and fall to the ground.

“Not smiling anymore, Senior Sister?”

Bai Ci gave Nono a faint smile.

Nono’s mouth twitched as Bai Ci raised the AWM’s dark barrel. Now I get why she picked that bulky gun! And Lu Mingfei… Forget it, that loser… The Student Union’s doomed!

“Junior Sister, that’s cheating! Got a conscience?” Nono made a last-ditch plea.

“Weren’t you just trying to sneak-attack me, Senior Sister?”

Nono went quiet for a few seconds, then muttered, “Ugh, can we call a truce?”

“No.”

Bai Ci pulled the trigger, expressionless.

—

Lu Mingfei could hear the gunfire growing sparse—both sides were running low on fighters.

Hiding in the grass, he glanced at two girls battling behind cover. Zero and Xia Mi were in a heated shootout. Xia Mi wielded an AK47 in her left hand, an M4 in her right, and had two boxes of ammo tucked in her arms, laughing maniacally as she unloaded, radiating badass energy. Add a cigarette and sunglasses, and she’d be the ultimate Cassell lunatic. Zero, simpler, crouched behind cover with a Gatling gun, sweeping calmly, her face as still as a pond.

Xia Mi’s chaos didn’t surprise him—he’d pegged her as a nutcase. But Zero? Quiet, reserved Zero picking such a beastly weapon was unexpected.

Zero knelt behind a granite barrier, golden hair whipping in the gun’s storm. Her slender arms steadied the six-barreled rotary gun, its 6,000-rounds-per-minute rate plowing the ground five meters ahead into a lunar landscape. Lu Mingfei even saw ricochet bullets turn a vending machine 30 meters away into a rainbow candy cascade.

“Haha! Senior Sister, your firepower’s nowhere near enough!” Xia Mi’s voice rang out. Dual-wielding rifles, she pulled off tactical rolls, her guns’ firelines weaving a dazzling death cross in the air. “Check my Swallow Return Double Shot!”

“That defies physics! Totally defies physics!” Lu Mingfei gaped as Xia Mi twisted midair with impossible arcs, her AK47 and M4 bullets tracing a heart-shaped pattern. What is this? Gun-fu? The physics teacher’s crying!

Soon, Zero’s gunfire stopped. She silently raised her right hand, holding a white handkerchief.

“Senior Sister, what’s that?” Xia Mi seemed confused by the gesture.

“White flag,” Zero said calmly. “Hoping you won’t shoot if you see it. I don’t want those bullets staining my uniform.”

She stepped out from cover, retreating.

“Woo-hoo, I won!” Xia Mi darted out, only for Zero to grab a gun from the ground and fire.

“Despicable!” Xia Mi clutched her chest, feigning agony, then collapsed, “asleep.”

“Deception is fair in war.” Zero tossed the gun, walking over to Lu Mingfei, who she’d spotted long ago.

“General Zero, your orders?”

“You…”

Before Zero could ask why he’d been hiding instead of helping, a sniper bullet hit her arm. She glanced at the red paint on her wrist, frowning at the sticky, blood-like liquid.

Gross.

Before collapsing, she grabbed Lu Mingfei, gasping her last words: “I’ll treat you to a feast… take out that sniper…”

Then Zero “died,” her head smacking Lu Mingfei’s, knocking him hard.

Lu Mingfei mourned as General Zero fell heroically, her head hitting his helmet—ouch, that had to hurt. Yup, nosebleed. Definitely hurts!

He rummaged through his pocket, pulled out tissues, wiped Zero’s nosebleed, and tucked her jacket under her head for comfort.

Sighing in relief, he checked his gun.

Rest in peace, General Zero. I’ll carry your will and take out that sniper.

He clasped his hands, prayed briefly for Zero, took a deep breath, recalled the gunfire’s direction, raised his gun, and fired—smooth and natural.

Bai Ci watched him, smiling, and pulled her trigger.

She didn’t want to lose this game.

Sorry, Vice President, but Lu Mingfei—she’d take him out herself.

Predicting the bullet’s path, she dodged swiftly, aimed, and fired.

Lu Mingfei heard the AWM’s deafening shot, realizing the sniper had fired.

He hadn’t expected much of himself, despite his resolve to win. Who sweeps the battlefield as a rookie and beats veterans?

Still, he wanted to go further, yet his heart ached with reluctance.

Zero told me to take out the sniper…

I haven’t proved myself to Bai Ci…

I just want her to praise me…

The world seemed to freeze. Rising smoke stilled, the bullet halted midair, slowly spinning before him.

“Brother, wanna win?” Lu Mingze’s voice startled him. He turned to see the boy in a suit. “If you want to win… you can cheat.”

Xia Mi, playing dead, shivered suddenly. Her dragon instincts sent chills through her. Curling up behind a “corpse,” her uniform was soaked with cold sweat. Far off, Lu Mingfei’s gun wavered, replaced by an overwhelming pressure only she could sense—a fear carved into dragon genes, like an antelope hearing a lion’s roar or a bird spotting a circling shadow.

Heart pounding, she glanced at Lu Mingfei. What the hell is this loser Senior?