Chapter 0005 A Night of Terror

Watching Chen Liuge approach gradually, Qin Ruohan remained calm and composed. She truly didn't believe this country bumpkin who clearly hadn't seen much of the world would dare do anything to her.

Just look at the guy's outfit - a sweat-stained undershirt, liberation shoes, and suit pants that probably didn't cost fifty yuan altogether. What kind of courage could someone like that possibly have?

Yet she was mistaken. Just as she sat there like Mount Tai, suddenly Chen Liuge's figure accelerated violently. In almost the blink of an eye, he appeared before her.

Under Qin Ruohan's terrified gaze, Chen Liuge wordlessly grabbed her arm and dragged her to the side. Simultaneously, a "boom" sounded - the window glass shattered into pieces. The wooden coffee table where she had been standing moments ago exploded in splinters, a smoking bullet hole now visible.

"Don't make a sound! Shut up if you want to live! Sniper!" Chen Liuge's low growl at the trembling Qin Ruohan made her entire body shake. She saw the still-smoking bullet hole, her face instantly turning deathly pale, struggling to believe she'd just brushed shoulders with death.

Chen Liuge wanted to curse his rotten luck. To think he'd encounter such a situation here! If not for his battle-honed sixth sense for danger developed through countless life-and-death situations, this woman would already be a corpse.

Boom! Another gunshot. More window glass shattered. Now completely disregarding propriety, Chen Liuge rolled across the floor with Qin Ruohan in his arms as a sniper round punched through the floorboards.

Not pausing, he carried Qin Ruohan in a swift dash to turn off all the living room lights. Instantly, darkness enveloped the space.

Huddled behind the wine cabinet in the entryway's blind spot, Chen Liuge's steady breathing revealed extraordinary composure. Through narrow gaps, he scanned the apartment building's rooftop across the street. Though his vision couldn't pierce the several hundred meter distance, he pinpointed the sniper's location with three-meter accuracy.

"Domestic KUB-88 5.88mm small-caliber sniper rifle. Maximum range 1000 meters." Chen Liuge rattled off the weapon specs with precision. "Tsk tsk, using this specific penetration-optimized rifle... a veteran operator."

Boom! Another shot tore through the wine cabinet's wooden panel, the bullet grazing Chen Liuge's neck. The terrified Qin Ruohan screamed, clinging to his muscular frame. Chen Liuge himself remained motionless, not even a twitch in his facial muscles.

After several silent seconds, Chen Liuge glanced down at the shivering woman. "Alright, stop wailing. The sniper's gone."

"H-how do you know?" Qin Ruohan stammered, still trembling. She'd never experienced anything like this - scenes that should only exist in action movies.

"For any professional sniper, after failing a kill shot, their first instinct isn't to keep lying in wait but to retreat immediately. Otherwise they become sitting ducks. Basic sniper protocol." Chen Liuge's tone was casual.

Of course, this applied to normal circumstances. As for snipers of Chen Liuge's caliber... he'd often smoke a cigarette at the nest after taking out targets, waiting for pursuers to arrive so he could eliminate them all...

"Heh, beautiful, getting targeted by snipers means you're no ordinary person either." Chen Liuge stood up casually, unconcerned about potential follow-up shots. Even if exposed, a sniper of this level couldn't harm a hair on his head.

An experienced sniper needed 2.3 seconds from aiming to firing. Unfortunately, Chen Liuge's reflexes far surpassed this standard. He could literally dodge bullets by judging the exact moment of firing.

"You've brought me terrible luck. Clean up your own mess. Now pay up - 800 yuan, non-negotiable. Consider it bargain basement pricing for saving your life." Chen Liuge's calm demeanor was unbelievable for someone who'd just survived an assassination attempt.

"I'll pay anything! Just don't leave! I'm scared!" Qin Ruohan clutched his shirt. To her, he was now a lifeline. Even a fool could see this wasn't an ordinary man.

"Scared? Don't play the innocent. Anyone attracting snipers can't be simple." Chen Liuge sneered, flipping the lights back on. "Call the police if you're scared. But whoever's behind this won't care about police. Good luck."

"You won't help me? I know you're capable!" Her misty eyes held a plea.

"Sorry, you're mistaken. I'm just a civilian." Chen Liuge shook his head. "Not getting involved in lethal drama."

Qin Ruohan's face fell. "You're right. We're strangers. I shouldn't drag you into this." She pulled a wad of cash from her purse. "For saving my life."

Chen Liuge smiled, taking only eight bills. "Principles matter. I take what's owed, nothing more." The bastard spoke righteously, though every fiber ached to pocket it all. But fearing entanglement, he resisted temptation.

"One last tip - that sniper wasn't really trying to kill you. More like intimidation. Keep that in mind." Chen Liuge's parting words came as he left. The first shot, he realized, would've merely grazed her cheek if he hadn't tackled her.

From downstairs, Chen Liuge heard Qin Ruohan's enraged scream at a phone caller: "Give up! I'll never let you win!" He chuckled. The woman had fire.

Though no saint, Chen Liuge wasn't heartless. He knew her life wasn't truly in danger - the attackers wanted something else. Having seen too much bloodshed, he sought to avoid new complications.

Pedaling his rusty tricycle, he glanced up at her window. "Turns out being a handyman's high-risk. Need new career plans."

At dawn, Chen Liuge prepared congee with pickles. After breakfast, he pedaled his sister Shen Qingwu to school as usual.

The day found him job-hunting across the city with his laughable resume:

Name: Chen Liuge

Age: 25

Gender: Look for yourself

Education: Infinite

Skills: Everything

Work History: Military service, bullet-dodging, "deep reform" in southwest China (prison time).

Interviewers universally dismissed him. Who'd hire an ex-con claiming infinite education? Especially when applying for managerial roles?

As another rejection letter burned in his pocket, Chen Liuge squatted by his tricycle smoking. "What's wrong with this resume?" he mused aloud. "Are they all blind to my brilliance?"

Passersby would've spat at his delusion. The document was a joke - filled with arrogance and criminal history. No wonder failure followed.

Still, Chen Liuge remained undeterred. After all, surviving sniper fire made job-hunting seem... trivial.