As Ling Dian ran forward relentlessly, a sudden hiss pierced the air. Instinctively, he rolled along the ground, and indeed, a silver flash pierced the thick stalk of a massive fungal plant, continuing directly toward the spot where Ling Dian had just been standing. Fortunately, Ling Diao’s reaction was swift; as he twisted aside, he rolled clear, thus avoiding being struck by the silver flash. The flash, having missed its target, did not slow in the slightest, continuing to bore through distant fungal plants. For a time, Ling Dian could only hear the continuous crashing sound of fungal plants collapsing.

“Stop dodging, you can’t escape forever. If you let me pierce you with one arrow, the damage you take will be much less. But if you make me lose this round, then I’ll use silver fire to burn you slowly, inch by inch, from your feet to your head. Choose for yourself: instant death, or being tortured to death by me. Tell me, pig!” A man’s voice echoed from beyond the fungal plants. Accompanying his words came another silver flash, but this time the trajectory was slightly off Ling Dian’s position, flying past about a meter away from him.

Ling Dian committed this arrow’s trajectory to memory. This was something he had already understood: long-range sniping wasn't solely reliant on scanning to aim at the opponent.

While one might know the target's location through scanning, without seeing the direct line of sight—or even gauging the exact distance of that line—an arrow fired would inevitably possess some deviation. This was precisely why Ling Dian had chosen this environment, which was unfavorable for both sniping and shooting.

Despite his thoughts, Ling Dian immediately raised his rifle and fired toward the direction from which the silver flash had originated. With a deafening "Bang!"

The Gauss sniper rifle bullet finally launched. Following the crack of the rifle shot, another sound like a stone striking an ancient bell rang out. In the underground world, this noise was startlingly abrupt. After firing this shot, Ling Dian immediately retreated deeper into the thicket of fungal plants.

As expected, only two or three seconds after Ling Dian moved away, another silver flash sliced through the spot where he had been standing, accompanied by a man’s enraged roar, sounding like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

The narrow-mindedness of this Caucasian man drove him into a frenzy of continuous firing. After several rapid silver flashes, the Caucasian man slowly emerged from the ruins of the fungal plants. He walked to the spot where Ling Dian had just stood, then sneered, saying, “Very well. I will truly burn you away piece by piece, until even your bones are completely incinerated!” Then, "Bang!" "Dang!" Another violent gunshot rang out. The bullet, invisible to the naked eye yet carrying immense power, slammed toward the Caucasian man. When it was about a meter away from him, a layer of brass-colored light ignited, engulfing the man within a massive, ancient brass bell.

The bullet managed only to produce a faint chime against the brass bell before falling silent without further effect.

“Are you an idiot? How many times must I tell you, this is a Double-B grade defensive item. No matter how you bombard me with high-tech weaponry, it won't harm me in the slightest. This will only expose your position!” The Caucasian man sneered. He pulled back the silver metal bow and fired toward the distant fungal jungle. The silver metal bow seemed to suddenly surge with energy. Silver streams of light energy constantly concentrated on the bowstring. By the time the Caucasian man had fully drawn the string, the silver streams had gathered there. As the man released the string, a silver flash shot out, piercing through several fungal plants toward Ling Dian.

However, this shot, like the previous ones, proved almost entirely useless. Ling Dian deftly evaded the silver flash before impact, which sent the Caucasian man into a fit of rage, cursing incessantly. As time ticked by, the five minutes quickly approached, and the Caucasian man grew increasingly agitated.

“I get it! Pig, you forced my hand! I intended to grant you a quick death, but it seems I must tear you limb from limb!” the Caucasian man roared. He suddenly pulled a strange, silver-white coin from his robe, attached it to the bowstring, and began drawing back the string much further. This silver-white coin slowly merged with the silver stream of light on the string. When the Caucasian man yelled and released the string, countless lines of flowing light shot out. What was previously a single silver flash now transformed into thousands of fine, silver, flashing arrows—a dense spray of perhaps ten thousand silver lines of light, instantly engulfing the cluster of fungal plants before him.

Ling Dian was still running, but as the nature of the Caucasian man’s shot changed, he instinctively sensed extreme danger. When he glanced briefly behind him, he saw it—countless silver lines hurtling toward him. The sheer number of these silver lines created an instantaneous illusion for Ling Dian: nowhere to hide. But he was, after all, an assassin; in this moment of crisis, he remained remarkably calm. These silver lines enveloped the area around him and even covered the path ahead where he was about to run. Without a second thought, he abruptly turned and ran back the way he came.

This cluster of silver lines was practically an Area-of-Effect sniping skill, capable of covering an area within a hundred meters. Its only drawback was that it slightly slowed the speed of the flashing arrows. It wasn't until Ling Dian had bolted four or five steps that the leading silver lines finally struck near him. Ling Dian’s current position was still within the coverage of the silver light cluster. Time seemed to freeze in this instant. Ling Dian felt the surrounding environment slow down, and simultaneously, his own movements became sluggish. Watching the silver lines about to pierce him, he found himself completely helpless.

Just as the silver lines were mere tens of centimeters away, Ling Dian’s eyes suddenly glazed over with bewilderment. It was too late to change any action now. So, he kicked his foot against the stalk of a fungal plant along the path, using that force to lunge forward and fall down. The silver light lines grazed past his back and the back of his head, shooting straight by. The searing heat they generated was vividly perceptible. Time seemed to stretch out in this razor-thin moment. Only after Ling Dian was fully sprawled on the ground and the silver light cluster had flown past did he violently spring back up.

(Is this... unlocking the Gene Lock?) This sensation was entirely new to Ling Dian: the feeling of omniscience and omnipotence that accompanied the unlocking of the Gene Lock. Countless pieces of information flooded his mind—his physical condition, strength, stamina, the movement patterns around him, the speed at which he could move, the destructive power and might of the silver light cluster, and even precisely how he should retaliate with his next shot. All this information poured into Ling Dian’s mind like running water. Without hesitation, he pulled a Gauss Explosive Slug from his robe—a projectile capable of annihilating everything within several hundred meters.

The Caucasian man was still several hundred meters away from Ling Dian. Although the man was steadily closing the distance, it was quite safe for Ling Dian to fire this bullet now. Thus, Ling Dian didn't hesitate; he fired back toward the direction the silver lines had come from. This bullet made the familiar sharp "Bang!" sound, and from the extreme distance came the clang of metal striking metal. After firing, Ling Dian slammed flat onto the ground. Immediately, billowing heat rose from afar.

The Caucasian man had been waiting quietly for the "Main God" to notify him of the demise of a member of the Central Continent team. But to his annoyance, no sound from the "Main God" arrived, no matter how long he waited. Instead, what greeted him was the 'greeting' of a Gauss bullet. This infuriated him, and he muttered to himself, wondering if this Central Continent team member also possessed a defensive item—and one sophisticated enough to ward off legendary magical weapons? Before he could react, the Gauss bullet that struck the brass bell didn't just fall away; instead, it flashed violently, and an intensely brilliant light erupted before his eyes. Simultaneously came a deafening explosion, coupled with violent vibrations shaking the bell surrounding him. Although the bell could protect him from physical harm, the ground he stood on could not withstand such a violent detonation. He was blasted airborne, soaring tens of meters into the sky along with the explosion’s firelight, and was then flung outward by the swirling heat wave. This Caucasian man flew like a cannonball, smashing fiercely into the thick stalks of several fungal plants, where he vanished—sinking at least several meters beneath the ground...

After firing this shot, Ling Dian rapidly fled into the densest area of the fungal plants. He had heard his teammates speak of the agony following the first time one unlocked the Gene Lock. If this strike still failed to kill the Caucasian man, he would have to endure the first bout of this Gene Lock-induced pain in hiding... and continue fighting until the opponent was eliminated!