BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Chapter 944: To the rally point

Amber's heart pounded in her chest as she continued firing at Volkov's soldiers.

The crack of her rifle echoed through the area. Not all her shots found the mark, and that was why she had to change her position often.

The weight of the rifle in her hands was unfamiliar, but at least she wasn't having trouble carrying it because of her strength. The last thing she needed was to be slowed down because of the weight of the weapon.

All of this was already bad as it was.

"Fuck... Another missed shot."

Amber gritted her teeth and dove back behind a crumbling wall. She didn't know what made the wall in such a state, but based on the size, this must have the wall of a building. The weird part of it was that the rest of the building was nowhere to be found.

The most likely explanation was that this place had been a construction site, and the workers removed most of the building already, but when the rebels appeared, they had to stop their work there.

Amber was focused, but tired. She basically got the toughest role.

With a practiced flick of her thumb, Amber activated the rifle's cooling system. A soft whirring sound filled the air as the heat bar on the weapons side shrank, its fiery red hue gradually fading to a cool blue.

As the heat dissipated, another bar on the opposite side of the rifle filled, its glow intensifying as it replenished the weapon's energy reserves. The bar went from red to green.

It was fast, because the energy cells within the weapon were imbued with mana from the brain crystal inserted within the rifle's chassis.

In mere seconds, the rifle was ready for another sustained barrage.

But that took some time, and the woman couldn't move while the weapon recharged because she got no cover.

Truth be told, Amber wasn't alone. There were a couple of other rebels scattered here and there, but this was a covert operation. Amber's task was to distract the enemy with a small group, while another took care of a target.

***

As she was hiding, unable to see it, a group of enemy soldiers searched for her.

One of the soldiers held up a hand, signaling for the others to stop. They crouched behind a toppled crate, peering through a shattered window.

"The last thermal ping was there." The man pointed to the other side of the window. Behind it was a half crumbled wall, riddled with what appeared to be bullet and laser holes.

Hearts hammered in their chests as they crept forward. The group didn't know who the person creating so many problems for them was, but he or she decimated hundreds of soldiers, including the rest of their squad.

What was puzzling, though, was that the higher-ups couldn't understand what the rebels' target was this time.

It made little sense. Why attack with less than fifty people an area so heavily guarded? There was no suitable target around these parts, no deposit from which to steal supplies, no officer worthy of being killed or captured. Nothing.

After rounding up a stack of rusted barrels, they saw the dreaded killer. A woman.

Their eyes widened in astonishment. She was young, barely more than a girl, with long, flowing red hair that cascaded over her shoulders like molten fire.

Her icy blue eyes, framed by delicate glasses, surveyed the area with a cool, unwavering gaze. Her figure, clad in worn combat fatigues, was slender yet athletic, every movement radiating a dangerous grace.

For a moment, they were stunned, captivated by the unexpected beauty, her regal bearing. Surprise flickered across the man's face, replaced by a steely glint as he recognized who the woman was.

This was the enemy, the elusive fighter who had been picking them off one by one.

A soldier raised his weapon, safety off. His finger hovered over the trigger, but before he could shoot, the woman turned to look at them.

The man wasn't sure, but he heard a scream coming from the woman. She didn't utter a sound, meaning the scream came from her communication device.

The man dreaded, because the woman likely had a sniper monitoring them.

***

Amber turned after receiving a warning and found three people on her right side, behind a window. She didn't see them coming.

<Fuck...>

Time seemed to slow as her mind raced, searching for a way out of this dire situation. She knew she couldn't outrun them or avoid those weapons. These guys had their weapons pointed at her.

Just as the soldiers' fingers tightened on their triggers, a sudden crack echoed through the alley.

Amber watched in stunned silence as the soldiers collapsed, their bodies crumpling to the ground with bullets inside their heads.

The shock of seeing those guys basically behind her, the shock of not having been able to spot them before they got close, and the shock of not having reacted properly and on time, left her confused as these guys died.

But then she remembered who was covering her back, and relief warred within her as she scanned the rooftops.

She went to her comm. "Thanks, Emily, and sorry for having forced you to lend me a hand."

Yeah... Emily was among those undergoing this mission. She basically had the job of covering the back of the soldiers who were taking part in this mission.

But as the sniper of the group, she couldn't only protect Amber. She had to do the same for all

those joining.

"Don't worry. But be sure not to mess up like this again."

By now, Emily was more or less used to killing. Amber and Mira decided to place her in the heart of a battle to make her learn that if she wanted to save her father, she had to dirty her

hands.

This was a harsh world, and such a world required tough people. Emily had the capability to be devastating on the battlefield thanks to her powers, but the sheltered life she lived made

her hesitant.

Emily didn't lack training, and her power allowed her to get an advantage over her opponents. She had to use it. However, her brain crystal power was not what really made her terrifying.

Strangely enough, for a woman her age and as beautiful and pampered as her, she liked video games, and she was insanely good at it.

Since most games were VR ones, they didn't differ that much from reality. In years, Emily became a deadly sniper.

Few knew about this, but Amber did, and of course, she told the rebels, who immediately gave her a sniper rifle, powered by a brain crystal, and sent her to fight.

However, they had to accept one condition: that she had to be sent with Amber and Mira

fighting.

Amber knew Emily liked to play video games, and that she was good at it. But she didn't know how good she was or how that turned out to be utterly deadly with a gun in her hands.

For people like Emily, brain crystal rifles had been godsent.

In a fraction of a second, Emily neutralized three targets. Based on the sound of the gunshots

she heard, she never left a single fighter outside of her scope, including Mira and Amber.

"Are you going to change your position?" Amber asked.

"Yes. So do nothing rush, because I can't help you right now."

There was a static silence for a second. Emily likely told the others that she had to change

position.

Amber's grip on her rifle tightened, her knuckles turning white. She messed up.

Volkov's forces were still pressing in from the front.

However, it was Amber's comm's turn to crack to life. "Amber, the target is down." Mira's

voice came through. "We did it."

Amber felt a surge of pride and relief, because they could finally leave that god forsaken area.

Van Dyke had tasked them with taking out an officer in Volkov's army.

The man wasn't really a high-ranking officer, but he was closely tied to the blackguards, and killing people related to them was paramount to disrupt the blackguards within New

Alexandria.

With Mira's skills and Emily's sniper support, they had succeeded.

The strategy was simple. Amber and some others attracted enemy fire while Mira and a small

group took care of the target.

Her power and her arrows were going to be a good combination for a stealthy kill.

As this happened, Emily was going to provide cover. And she did brilliantly at that.

"Great work, you two," Amber said. "Now we need to get out of here. The entire area is crawling with Volkov's men."

Amber peered around the wall, assessing the situation. Volkov's forces were still pressing in, and she knew they couldn't hold out much longer. They needed to retreat before they were

overwhelmed.

"Mira and I will fall back to the rally point," Amber said. "Emily, please provide cover fire."

Without waiting for a response, Emily started taking out the enemy soldiers, leaving her spot

had to wait.

Gunfire hammered into Amber's ears. Adrenaline surged, a white-hot jolt that banished fatigue and sharpened her senses.

She sprinted through a haze of dust and smoke, dodging fallen debris and the wild sprays of bullets that stitched the air. Reaching a corner, she skidded to a halt, gasping for breath. There, tucked into a narrow alleyway, was Mira. Her face was etched with grim focus as she peered around the corner, her rifle held steady.

Streaks of grime smeared her otherwise flawless skin, and a dark stain bloomed across her sleeve. Both of them reached the rally point, but there were still many people that had to

come.

"Emily, we're clear. What about the others?."

"They are retreating. Do not shoot and stay safe. I will make sure they'll be able to reach the

rally point safely."

The mission had been a success, but far from easy, and what the group found out was unsettling. The team had a lot to report to their superiors.

Erik had predicted this situation for a while, and his warnings finally came true. Volkov's soldiers finally got them. During this battle, some of them used more than one brain

crystal power.

This development was concerning and required immediate attention from higher command.

Erik's brain crystal rifles were going to level the playing field, but to what degree, Amber

didn't know.

At the same time, if more enemies with more than one brain crystal power appeared, the help

Erik was going to give was going to be less effective considering these people also had the same weapons.