Chapter 249: Total Fallout

As the skill update and upgrade completed, Qin Ming's previous military firearm techniques faded away, replaced by extensive knowledge of heavy weapons.

Artillery operation, rocket launcher firing, machine gun control...

A flood of firearms knowledge surged into Qin Ming's mind, granting him a deeper understanding of firearm use and indirectly improving his vehicle operation skills—though this wasn't listed as a separate skill.

Picking up Kasamoto Eri's light machine gun, he skillfully disassembled and reassembled it in moments.

Qin Ming then aimed at the wall and unleashed a storm of gunfire.

Despite using a machine gun, his precise recoil control created a tight cluster of bullet holes, as if he were using a sniper rifle.

Satisfied with the result, Qin Ming put down the machine gun and casually picked up the two revolvers on the table.

He activated his fusion ability, merging the two into one. After upgrading the revolver to standard silver-grade storyline quality, he handed it to Kasamoto Eri for temporary use.

As a summoned entity, Kasamoto Eri could wield offensive equipment and even use consumables—but unfortunately couldn't equip any defensive gear.

If she could, given her already impressive attributes, her combat prowess might rival Qin Ming's.

After sorting through all the loot and allocating his attribute points to physique, Qin Ming looked at his dwindling points balance with a grim expression.

He exited his room and headed toward the trading area.

The next task was his advancement mission, notorious for its difficulty. He needed to make thorough preparations.

Qin Ming had no idea how the King of Fighters squad would react when they learned that one of their top recruits had been taken out.

Worse, he couldn't rule out the possibility that they had a special item capable of breaching Nightmare Space's protection to forcibly track him into his advancement mission.

Either way, the feud had already escalated beyond reconciliation long ago.

One side would have to emerge victorious—or surrender completely, offering apologies and compensation.

Peace? There was no such thing in Nightmare Space.

Even if they did break into his advancement mission to kill him, it would just mean another deadly battle.

Having already taken out so many, Qin Ming didn't care about adding a few more to the count.

In fact, provoking them into chasing him into the advancement mission was Qin Ming's deliberate plan.

After all, breaking through Nightmare Space's protection wasn't easy and would require a hefty cost.

Ordinary small-fry teams? The King of Fighters squad wouldn't even blink if a few got wiped out; they had no shortage of points or manpower.

But killing key recruits, wasting precious items, and incurring immense costs to break space protection? That was a whole different story.

If Qin Ming was going to strike, he'd strike hard—enough to make them bleed.

Driven by this determination, Qin Ming threw himself into preparations, stocking up on gear and consumables.

He kept his gold coins in reserve as backup funds, ready to cover any penalties if the mission failed.

When everything was ready, Qin Ming stood alone in the bustling trade hall a month later, silently waiting for the mission to start.

Just as the time approached, footsteps sounded beside him.

In the next instant, several adventurers closed in on him.

Glancing sideways at the King of Fighters squad emblems on their chests, Qin Ming remained expressionless.

Neither did they look at him. Instead, they stared straight ahead, equally silent.

The two sides stood in a line, unmoving, until a burly man with a cigarette finally spoke.

"Our leader said, if you join us, all past debts are cleared. From now on, you'll be one of the Eight Executives, commanding over ten thousand squad members."

Qin Ming, hands in his pockets, stared ahead without turning.

"And I say, if your squad joins me, your debts will also be wiped clean. I might even give your leader a position—he can be one of my Eight Executives. How about that?"

"Brother, we're all adventurers. Why push this to the bitter end? It's tough enough surviving in Nightmare Space—do we really have to fight until we're both ruined?"

Hearing those words, Qin Ming, who had been gazing straight ahead, finally shifted his gaze, turning to look at the burly man.

"What? Are you afraid now?"

"We had eight promising recruits this batch! You've already killed five! What more do you want?"

"I want to kill five more."

"... This is your last chance! Join us, and we'll all be friends, part of the same group! The benefits we offer will absolutely not disappoint you!"

"Sorry, I don't make friends with enemies, and I definitely don't make friends with the dead."

Retracting his gaze, Qin Ming pressed down on the brim of his pirate hat, turned around, and strode away, disappearing into the crowd.

The King of Fighters squad members watched him leave with darkened expressions, saying nothing. After a long silence, one of them raised his hand and pressed an earpiece.

"Sir, he still refuses to cooperate."

There was a moment of silence from the other end, followed by a cold voice.

"Follow him. Kill."

"Yes!"

Qin Ming standing motionless in the trading zone, quietly waiting, was blatant provocation—he might as well have written "Come at me if you dare" on his face.

Faced with this challenge, the King of Fighters squad naturally couldn't remain silent.

Their eight key recruits in the lower-tier zone were almost wiped out by one person—who could tolerate that?

The points spent on training those eight were already a staggering amount.

Now that negotiations had failed and Qin Ming was determined to see it through to the end, the King of Fighters squad could no longer care about the cost.

They finally decided to use their ultimate move: dispatching their elite hunting squad, burning precious resources to forcefully breach realms and hunt their target.

Leading this hunting group was none other than Ghost Flame, one of the top adventurers in the squad, a contender for the Eight Executives, and the older brother of Feng.

And if even Ghost Flame's group failed?

If Qin Ming could take them down, what else could the King of Fighters squad do? They wouldn't even have anyone left to send.

What, have their leader King of Fighters himself come out?

Someone of his level would require an astronomical cost just to descend for combat, a price the squad couldn't bear.

As a flash of light enveloped them, the hunting group disappeared from Nightmare Space along with Qin Ming, heading into the advancement mission.

Compared to the King of Fighters squad, who had paid a heavy price to pursue him, Qin Ming was in surprisingly high spirits.

After all, with the opponent having spent so much just to enter the advancement mission, they had to kill him at all costs.

But all he had to do was focus on completing the task.

Even if he failed, he could just wait four worlds and try again with no real loss.

But could the King of Fighters squad afford another tracking item for an advancement mission?

Even if they could, the price would be astronomical.

Moreover, Qin Ming still had a trump card.

Flicking his finger, a silver coin spun through the air before he caught it smoothly.

This coin was called the Nightmare Revival Coin.

Send experts in to kill him? What a joke. Even if they did kill him, this wouldn't be over.

(End of Chapter)