Qin Fen's usually placid eyes suddenly flashed with light. Could there be a reward for striking against terrorists, too?

"You don't know?" Xue Tian looked surprised. "Though the Federation barely managed to unify over the years, terrorist activities and presence have become increasingly rampant. To combat them, every planet has established a Terrorist Bounty List. It contains data on at least eighty percent of the planet's terrorist leaders, categorized and priced according to different threat levels. Soldiers executing kills on the job only receive half the bounty because they use military intelligence and weaponry. Mercenaries or bounty hunters, however, receive the full amount."

Qin Fen's bright eyes now danced with sheer excitement. So there was a path to making money this way.

"For instance, Zajjad," Xue Tian adopted the air of a seasoned informant. "There's one price for capturing him alive, and another for killing him. Naturally, the price for the living target is higher, as the Federation might still want to extract some information from his mouth."

Capture alive? Qin Fen shook his head. That complexity factor was too high. Rather than risking the chance of him escaping and netting zero credits by attempting a live capture, it was better to just shoot him dead.

"The price for a corpse varies too," Xue Tian enumerated on his fingers. "For instance, if you blow his head off with one shot, you'll have to pay a gene identification fee when turning in the body to confirm the person is indeed Federally wanted. If you deliver a complete head, you skip the identification fee and naturally earn a bit more..."

"Ahem..." Phoenix coughed lightly. "We'll begin assigning the mission now. We can discuss other matters after the assignments are complete."

Butcher sat down, and Phoenix, as the squad commander, stood up. A massive, three-dimensional electronic projection of a concert appeared near her hand. "This time, our target won't just be Zajjad, but also the Scimitar terrorist organization. Currently, we lack intel on their hiding spot. If we still haven't found them before the concert starts, we'll have to implement the most stringent defense protocols during the performance."

The 3D electronic image rotated slightly. Phoenix pointed toward the temporary dressing room behind the stage. "This is where the Feixin Girls' Band will be resting. To prevent any assassination attempts from this location, we need close personal bodyguards. This duty will be handled by myself, Butcher, and a few others."

This arrangement was hardly surprising to Qin Fen. Serving as a close bodyguard required not only exceptional skills but also extensive combat experience. Compared to Butcher and Phoenix, both Qin Fen and Xue Tian indeed lacked the battlefield exposure and close-quarters prowess of these seasoned veterans.

"Qin Fen, you're on sniper duty," Phoenix snapped her fingers. The entire, perfectly coordinated 3D electronic projection appeared before Qin Fen. "Select your position, mark it on the map, and report back to me."

Qin Fen nodded. Although he had already made preliminary selections on the 2D blueprint, having the 3D model allowed him to reassess. Perhaps he could discover an even better vantage point through this perspective.

Phoenix turned to brief Xue Tian on his assignment. As an outstanding talent in tactical command, she was confident she could maximize everyone's strength through mutual cooperation.

"Ugh, another mission," Xue Tian grumbled continuously. "I really wanted to enjoy a Feixin concert. I heard they haven't released any nude photos yet. Maybe I'll be the lucky one to capture the first photograph of the Feixin Girls' Band without their clothes!"

The series of assignments was quickly concluded, followed by a brief period of free time allocated for everyone to prepare.

Qin Fen approached the pile of firearms and components, selecting the parts he had already envisioned. He then picked up the M82A1 heavy-caliber sniper rifle and moved to a deserted corner to begin a rapid modification.

Iron Hand, a veteran who had previously given Qin Fen trouble, was utterly stunned watching the speed and skill with which Qin Fen modified the weapon. The M82A1 was once known as the "King of Heavy Snipers," a precision instrument meticulously engineered over years by genuine firearms experts. Even a sniper with years of experience would struggle to fully exploit all its capabilities. Modification? Forget a recruit whose rookie aura hadn't even fully faded; even seasoned snipers dared not tinker with such a weapon lightly.

Gunsmiths usually pondered for a long, long time before carefully altering a firearm, with higher-precision weapons demanding even greater caution. Iron Hand had witnessed weapon modifications before, but never one like Qin Fen's. Others worked meticulously; Qin Fen worked with the seeming carelessness of a moving crew, yet somehow managed not to damage a single component.

The other veterans who had also challenged Qin Fen earlier fared no better than Iron Hand, collectively forgetting their own preparations as they stared at Qin Fen, eager to see what kind of weapon he was forging.

Butcher and Phoenix exchanged knowing, satisfied smiles. Their 'Gun King' hadn't held anything back, and Qin Fen's relentless training over the past few days was finally showing tangible results.

After a sequence of adjustments, Qin Fen moved to the M82A1 ammunition crate, carefully selecting various rounds best suited for the upcoming mission.

The M8 depleted uranium rounds—never mind that Zajjad possessed expensive bio-beasts, or that he was at the concrete fusion stage of Level Two integration! Even if he wore a specialized police bulletproof vest, one shot would penetrate it. Aiming for a complete head for a higher reward, Qin Fen shifted his goal from 'blowing the head off' to 'keeping the head intact.'

If the Scimitar organization deployed their PP89 100mm caliber mortar, its position would not be amidst the crowd but in a less populated area offering good firing angles. Intelligence suggested that the mortar, weighing only seventy-three kilograms in firing condition, could potentially be operated by one person, yet they used two—the second likely serving as a backup in case of unforeseen circumstances that might halt the attack.

The M82A1 lacked a full-auto function. Killing two enemies with a single shot required ammunition beyond standard rounds. The specialized High Explosive Cluster Sabot (HECS) round was designed precisely for eliminating such targets. Qin Fen also selected a Super Kinetic round, whose velocity far outstripped standard ammunition, intended for the enemy sniper.

Having finalized his choices, Qin Fen looked up and noticed the five veterans staring at him with expressions akin to seeing a marvel.

Clap, clap, clap.

Xue Tian applauded enthusiastically from the side. "Brilliant, truly brilliant! While this is merely modifying existing parts, far from creating a weapon wholly his own, for a rookie, this is several levels above exceptional." The five veterans nodded in agreement with Xue Tian's praise; the more knowledgeable they were, the more they understood the sheer difficulty of the modifications Qin Fen had just performed. Otherwise, professionals like them wouldn't be so transfixed. This was truly seeing the craft for what it was.

Qin Fen felt no particular pride. In the eyes of the Gun King, this performance was merely passing grade.

By this time, Xue Tian had hoisted a massive military-grade backpack onto his shoulders. No one knew what specialized contents filled that bag.

The veterans resumed their preparations. Qin Fen disassembled his modified rifle into several components and packed them into the specialized anti-sniper equipment case, which he then placed inside the large backpack.

With his weapon ready, Qin Fen paused, then suddenly grabbed a clean notebook from the table, stuffing it, along with a stack of pure white T-shirts, into the same anti-sniper case backpack.

This action drew looks of curiosity from Phoenix and Butcher. What was this? The cheapest pure white T-shirts? Were these souvenirs he bought in Han Province? Such items, it seemed, could easily be purchased in any region within the Federation where terrorist activity was rife.

The five veterans, already awestruck by Qin Fen's earlier display, now felt a surge of competitive spirit, completing their preparations much faster than usual.

Finally, everyone collected a large, civilian-looking suitcase from Phoenix and applied basic camouflage to them.

"Alright! Let's move out!"

Phoenix was dressed in a strikingly elegant, fitted red ladies' suit, carrying a high-end L-bag. Her seductive figure concealed most of the inherent martial rigor, projecting the image of a fashionable corporate executive. The iron-blooded aura of a soldier had transformed into the proud demeanor of a white-collar professional. Men watching her would instinctively feel a powerful urge to conquer her, to tear away her clothes and utterly dominate her until she gasped 'Master.'

Xue Tian, walking shoulder-to-shoulder with Qin Fen, looked visibly depressed. "Bad luck. If only I had been more diligent and earnest normally. Maybe I would qualify for the close protection detail now. That’s the Feixin Girls' Band, after all."

Qin Fen could only manage a wry smile. He truly wondered who Xue Tian’s master was; if that master heard such sentiments, their nose would likely be bent out of shape from rage.

"Do you know where one can look up the reward amounts and files for terrorists?"

Qin Fen quietly asked the question that had been building up inside him for a while.