https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-11-The-Plague-and-the-True-Scent-Two-in-One-/12969505/
Chapter 12: An Unexpected Turn
Chapter 12: An Unexpected Turn
As they approached Red Brick Road Hospital, Leon felt a sudden pain in his eyes, and the world around him went dark.
"Wait! Don't go in yet!"
"What's wrong?" asked the Bandage Woman, who had grabbed his arm.
She turned back, puzzled, only to find that Leon and the Black Sheep in his arms were tightly closing their eyes, as if blinded by a powerful light. Tears even streamed down Leon's cheeks.
"This hospital... it's alive!" Leon exclaimed, gazing at the towering black flames rising in his soul vision.
"The moment you were about to enter, it's as if it received some signal and gained its own soul. And... it's probably as powerful as several hundred regular souls!" Leon explained, his eyes stinging from the scorching flame.
The Bandage Woman nodded in understanding. She briefly closed her eyes, hidden behind the mask, as she quickly analyzed the situation.
If the hospital had suddenly gained a soul, the most likely explanations were: an anomaly directly attached to the building, the ability of an out-of-control Infector to manipulate architecture, or the hospital temporarily detaching from the world, no longer bound by its rules.
The first scenario wouldn't explain the precise timing of activation, just as Leon was about to enter. The third scenario required not only immense power but also the ability to break the world's persona, which seemed unlikely with a strength equivalent to only a few hundred souls.
So, it was most likely that the out-of-control Inceptor's ability was architecture-related and might even require the building's support to function.
"You don't need to go in. Stay outside and assist me!" The Bandage Woman instructed Leon after a moment of contemplation at the hospital entrance. She then bent down, opened her suitcase, and skillfully assembled several matte metal parts from the bottom.
As the object took shape, Leon was astonished to find it oddly familiar.
A brass barrel etched with threads, a mechanism chamber, shock absorbers, a bolt catch, and a trigger mechanism formed the firing group. A bracket supported the barrel, and a shoulder stock conformed to the shooter's shoulder. Mounted on top was a single-scope sight.
Leon was bewildered. "I thought you'd charge in with a Bible in one hand and a warhammer in the other, reciting incantations and using mystical artifacts to purify the anomaly. But instead, you hand me a sniper rifle?"
The Bandage Woman, having assembled the gun, retrieved three silver-white canisters from the bottom of her suitcase. She attached one to the side of the brass barrel with a click and opened a compartment below, likely the magazine, revealing bright white metal nails inside to Leon.
"This is a portable nail gun the Director helped me acquire from the Military Department. It's powered by disposable air cylinders, which makes it weaker in range and power compared to the standard version. But it's still enough to pierce the hospital's outer wall and take down the target directly."
The Bandage Woman handed Leon the other two canisters and spoke earnestly. "I'll go in and try to locate and neutralize the out-of-control Inceptor. If I can't, I'll do my best to engage it directly. If that happens, don't hesitate to shoot! Also, remember, although there are plenty of nails in this gun, we only have three canisters, so you have three chances. If you miss all three, we must retreat immediately, return to the Cleanup Bureau, and wait for the Director."
Leon was silent. He had memorized the instructions, but he couldn't help but feel that the Bandage Woman was placing a lot of trust in him.
Looking at the oddly-shaped brass sniper rifle on the ground, Leon couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
In my past life, I had played plenty of battle royale games, but I had only ever used a keyboard and mouse. I had never touched an actual gun, so being able to fire a bullet was already a stroke of luck, let alone shooting while you were entangled with the Out-of-Control Infector.
To be honest, I was afraid that not only would I fail to take down the Infector, but I might even take you with me...
"You don't have to worry about hitting me."
Noticing Leon's hesitation, Bandage Woman reassured him, "Since I let you come here, I'm confident you won't hurt me by mistake. I just adjusted the sights and scales on this gun for you. As for the specific operation method, I'll explain it to you in detail..."
"I might know a little about the operation..."
After recalling the movies and TV shows from his past life, Leon hesitated and said, "Find a high place with good visibility, lie prone with your legs spread, keep your body close to the ground, then rest your shoulder on the stock, align the sights, muzzle, and target in a straight line?"
"Hmm?"
Hearing Leon's words, Bandage Woman looked surprised and said, "Prone Shooting Manual? Do you have a military background?"
"Well... sort of?"
Leon's eyes flickered, and he said, "My parents were mechanics under the military before they sacrificed themselves. They taught me a little about this... just a tiny bit."
So that's how it is...
Bandage Woman nodded in understanding, not questioning the source of this knowledge. However, she soon shook her head and said,
"Your answer isn't wrong, but that's a mid-range rapid-fire aiming method. Those guns have a shorter shooting distance, and the sights are level with the barrel. So you can confirm the target with a straight line.
But my gun is different. If you look closely, you'll see that the scope is higher than the barrel. If you follow the three-point-line rule, the nails will hit below the target."
Pointing to the scope mounted above the barrel, Bandage Woman drew an imaginary line between the scope and the muzzle and explained to Leon, who now understood, "After the nails are fired, the trajectory isn't actually a straight line; it will slightly drop. To use this mid-to-long-range precision rifle, you must know the nail's flight path, calculate the impact point, and use the mil-dot reticle to align your sights and muzzle..."
"Zzzz!"
[Through Emma Alman's detailed explanation, you successfully activated the Black Iron Badge "Shooting Novice."]
[Shooting Novice: With only basic training, a novice shooter with a very low level of proficiency. Their shooting accuracy is a cause for concern.]
[Equipment Effect: Although only trained briefly, it is still far superior to a complete novice. When consciously correcting your aim, your shooting accuracy will receive a slight boost.]
[Advancement Path: Complete 200 live-fire shooting sessions or 1000 virtual shooting sessions, and this badge will automatically advance to the Bronze Badge "Shooter." Current progress: 0/200, 0/1000]
[Hidden Trait: None]
"Zzzz!"
[Through your own learning and thinking, you have mastered a low level of firearms shooting ability. The abnormal-colored badge "Materialistic Soul (Crimson)" is activated.
Your understanding of firearms shooting is "Low," but due to your ability to think, summarize, and self-adjust, each time you fail to hit the same target, the probability of hitting it the next time will slightly increase when aiming at the same target.]
(End of Chapter)
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