Cyberpunk: 2075.

Chapter 723, Section 137: The Sniper and the Obstacle
"Take cover! Arakawa's reinforcements have arrived!"

Li De's warning had barely left his lips when the roar of the sniper rifle tore through the air again. The bullets were not aimed at the military technology personnel who were still outside their cover and were quickly searching for cover, but rather at Li De like venomous snakes, biting him one after another—Arasaka's sniper had clearly locked onto the real threat.

The second bullet grazed Li De's cheek, leaving a burning afterimage on his retina. Li De's Krenchikov activated instantly, and the synthetic muscle fibers composed of prosthetic nanofibers taut like springs. The moment the third bullet left the barrel, his body was already violently pushed to the side.

The sniper bullet shattered the concrete ground where he had been standing, sending debris flying, but Li De's movements did not falter—he was all too familiar with this rhythm of combat.

Everything he had fought for as a special agent was returning to his body, and the more the battle progressed, the more Li De felt he was getting closer to his former peak condition.

The fourth and fifth bullets followed in quick succession, blocking his escape route.

In an instant, Li De calculated the trajectory of the bullets. The reinforced prosthetic body on his ankle suddenly compressed, and he was launched into the air like a cannonball. Sniper bullets intertwined at his feet, forming a deadly fire net. But Li De forcibly twisted his body in mid-air, slightly raised his hand, and a smoke grenade exploded in his hand.

The sixth bullet deflected subtly as it pierced the smoke. The fatal shot, originally aimed at his heart, only tore a scorch mark on his side. Li De used the impact of landing to tumble into a concrete bunker, and his prosthetic blood pump immediately worked in conjunction with his synthetic lungs to pump oxygen into his overworked muscle groups.

In Li Deyi's eyes, the sniper whose location he had already deduced was adjusting his position, preparing for the next round of hunting.

This targeted sniping suppression is undoubtedly a sign of 'importance'.

The people of Arasaka have realized that it was Li De's presence that completely turned the tide of the battle. They accurately judged that as long as this variable on the battlefield was eliminated, the remaining military technology personnel would be insignificant.

Similarly, as long as Li De's tactical vision can be restricted by firepower, preventing him from analyzing the battlefield situation and issuing orders in real time, the military technology squad without command will be vulnerable to the siege of Arasaka agents.

Li De leaned against the cover, panting heavily. Through ballistic analysis, he confirmed that there should only be one sniper on the other side. During his dodge, he had been keeping his strength ready to deal with possible sudden shots and potential snipers.

Even though he deliberately exposed the ideal high-altitude, unsupported conditions for shooting, only one bullet was fired, and the firing intervals could not form a perfect firepower. The fact that he let such a good opportunity slip by can only mean that the other side only had one sniper.

However, the tricky part was that the sniper was obviously very experienced. After realizing that the smoke grenade he was using was a specially developed harmless thermal smoke grenade, he didn't even try to switch to thermal imaging, but left decisively and abandoned his original sniping position. This kind of experience is definitely not something that an ordinary sniper can have.

On the other side of the battlefield, the three Arasaka agents who had previously fled have regrouped and are now coordinating their sniper fire to put pressure on the military technology defenses.
Li De knew that every second he was suppressed brought the military technology personnel's defenses one step closer to collapse. He had to break through this deadly blockade, and he had to do it quickly.

He pressed himself tightly against the cover, his breathing extremely low.

The cover he found was a building ruin, once part of a high-rise building. The broken concrete and twisted steel bars barely formed a barrier, but against a sniper rifle, these remnants were nothing more than fragile cardboard.

However, Li De gambled that the other side would not fire rashly—snipers need to remain concealed, and blind firing would only expose the newly set up sniping position. That guy wanted a one-shot kill, and if that wasn't possible, he would at least pin him down in this death zone.

Gravel slipped through his fingers. Suddenly, Li De gripped a concrete block embedded with a broken steel bar. Three hundred meters away, a corner of the canvas disguised as trash on the top layer of the ruins was lifted by the gale. His pupils contracted sharply—a cold metallic glint flashed beneath the canvas.

It's now!

The concrete block whistled through the air, and at the same instant, Li De leaped into the air. The sniper bullet whistled past him as it tore through the air, eventually piercing the swirling obstacle. The concrete block exploded in mid-air, and the flying fragments swept across the sniper point like shotgun pellets, forcing the enemy to duck briefly.

That gap of less than a second was enough to be fatal.

Li De rolled repeatedly, shell casings scattering around him. The assault rifle bullets of the Arasaka agent chased after him, but were always a step too late. As he crashed into the next cover, chaotic shouts rang out over the channel. In the previous operation, thanks to Li De drawing attention, the military technology personnel had opened fire and suppressed the Arasaka agent.

Catching his breath, Li De pulled an electromagnetic pulse grenade from his side. He was now less than 200 meters from the sniper position, but three Arasaka agents were blocking his way in a fan shape. The guy on the far left was changing a magazine, the one in the middle was suppressing the remaining resistance fighters with military technology, and the agent on the right, the one with the special prosthetic eye, suddenly turned his head to look in Li De's direction.

There's no time to hesitate.

The moment Li De unleashed the pulse grenade, he leaped towards a tilting steel beam. The blue-white pulse exploded among the Arasaka agents, their optical equipment sparking. An agent with a special prosthetic eye groaned, only to hear the crisp sound of steel bars snapping above him—

Using the rebound force of the steel beam, Li De leaped into the air, directly over them. As he flew, the pistol in his sleeve slid out and accurately pointed three shots at them.

Temporarily rendered defenseless by the electromagnetic pulse, the three men faced three bullets hurtling towards them. They barely had time to dodge, and the blind man, sensing the danger too late, was struck in the face and fell instantly. Li De paid no further attention to them.

The biggest threat to him now is the sniper, and that's what he needs to deal with.

There was another person standing in front of Li De as he approached the path. However, the moment Li De landed, that person had already drawn a dagger from his body. The sound of the shotgun trigger being pulled and the sound of the dagger piercing the body rang out at the same time. After being stabbed in the heart, the soldier collapsed to the ground.

Li De's strike was both powerful and precise, hitting the soldier who was wearing a bulletproof vest and had subcutaneous armor.

Sweat dripped down his palms as Li De looked up at the final thirty meters—the sniper's gun barrel was slowly retracting from the gap in the building.

Then, he saw his final obstacle.

A young man with a knife at his waist, positioned below the sniper's floor.

(End of this chapter)