Infinity, The Arcade Age

With a loud bang, the bullet pierced through the left temple and exited through the right, sending a spray of blood into the air. Rambo, whose head was already half destroyed with a gaping hole, collapsed onto Qin Ming, his eyes wide open in disbelief.

As soon as Rambo's body hit the ground, Qin Ming didn't waste a second. He pressed the gun against Rambo's neck and fired again!

Bang!

Another blood spray erupted from Rambo's neck, and the once-mighty enemy lay motionless. Qin Ming struggled to push his body off and scrambled backward, creating some distance.

Gasping for breath, he hurriedly reloaded his revolver, his hands trembling from the near-death experience. After quickly reloading, he fired a full round into Rambo's lifeless body, making sure the hulking figure wouldn't rise again.

Panting heavily and clutching his sore neck, Qin Ming couldn't stop coughing.

He had been so close. Just a little more, and he would've been dead at Rambo's hands.

He had landed a surprise attack with six point-blank shots and still hadn't managed to kill him. Was this what it meant to face a true boss? What a joke!

The fight with the first boss, Teshun, had lulled Qin Ming into a false sense of security, as he'd easily won with the help of the protagonist team. But this second-stage hidden mini-boss had given him a brutal lesson on what it meant to face a real boss.

After ensuring his revolver was fully loaded and securely holstered, Qin Ming approached Rambo's body. He flipped the giant corpse over, resisting the urge to shoot him again, and quickly retrieved the silver key that had dropped.

Satisfied with the ordinary-grade silver key in his hand, Qin Ming nodded to himself and hurriedly left the scene.

The lives of his three summoned lackeys had been exchanged for a silver key, which wasn't a bad haul, not to mention the several white keys he had also collected. However, with his lackeys all dead, continuing to act alone would be too risky.

Deciding it was time to cut his losses, Qin Ming set off to reunite with the protagonist team. If he hurried, he might even make it in time for the final boss fight and score some additional loot.

As Qin Ming made his way back, deep within the dinosaur forest, at the secret poachers' base, the protagonist team had already encountered the second-stage boss—The Butcher.

The Butcher, flanked by several underlings, had engaged the protagonist team in a fierce battle.

As the final boss of the second stage, The Butcher—a massive, bloodthirsty brute—boasted extraordinary combat strength. Wielding two enormous machetes, he had also been injected with dinosaur genes, giving him overwhelming attack and defense capabilities.

Even though the protagonist team's stats were already impressive, The Butcher's stats far surpassed theirs.

Name: The Butcher (Dinosaur Hunter: Stage Two Boss)

Strength: 50

Constitution: 50

Agility: 10

Spirit: 10

Skills: Thrusting Punch (D-rank), Leaping Butt Slam (C-rank), Frenzied Slash (B-rank)

Description: The Butcher is one of the most loyal subordinates of the final boss, Dr. Calamity. Bloodthirsty and insane, The Butcher loves to slaughter dinosaurs and won't hesitate to kill other creatures if given the chance.

In the open courtyard, littered with dinosaur corpses, figures darted and weaved, the protagonist team locked in an even battle with The Butcher. Wielding his twin machetes, The Butcher rampaged across the battlefield, frequently using a sliding thrust attack to spear his enemies like a harpoon.

Occasionally, he would leap into the air and attempt a devastating butt slam. Given his massive, mutated body weight, anyone caught underneath would likely suffer catastrophic internal injuries.

But the most terrifying attack in his arsenal was his Frenzied Slash.

Brandishing both machetes, The Butcher would unleash a blinding flurry of strikes, capable of landing four to five hits in an instant. Unfortunately, the burly Miles, one of the protagonist team members, got caught in this deadly combo and was knocked out of the fight, gravely injured.

If it hadn't been for the quick reactions of the remaining teammates, who managed to intercept and drag him to safety, The Butcher would have finished him off with a brutal butt slam, likely splattering Miles' head.

This powerful slashing combo was deadly, but the protagonist team wasn't to be underestimated. Once they realized the danger, they started to defend more cautiously. Whenever they saw The Butcher preparing to use his deadly combo, they would immediately respond by activating their ultimate moves—skills that required 1,000 favorability points to unlock.

These ultimate moves weren't especially strong in terms of raw power but were ranked B-tier for a good reason: they granted brief invincibility and had powerful knockback effects.

Invincibility trumped all outbursts of damage!

Boom!

With a thunderous impact, The Butcher sent Hannah flying with a brutal shoulder charge, knocking one of her machetes from her grip. Enraged, he leaped into the air, intending to land a devastating blow.

Hannah, however, quickly recovered with a nimble backflip, her athletic legs coiled as she prepared to unleash her own ultimate move, a Spinning Crush Kick.

But before she could execute her attack, a gunshot suddenly rang out.

Bang!

The Butcher, mid-air, let out a scream as a blood spray erupted from his body.

More shots followed in quick succession, and under the relentless barrage of six rapid-fire shots, The Butcher's attack was interrupted. He crashed to the ground, his second machete flying from his hand.

Hannah blinked in surprise before turning to the source of the gunfire. Her face lit up with joy.

"Qin Ming?!"

As she called out, a disheveled figure appeared at the entrance of the secret base, casually loading bullets into his revolver as he approached.

With a click, the revolver was fully loaded, and Qin Ming snapped the hammer into place. His face was expressionless as he raised the gun.

"Sorry, I ran into a tough guy on the way here. Took a bit longer than expected."

As he spoke, Qin Ming wasted no time pulling the trigger again.

The Butcher, just starting to stand, was riddled with more bullet wounds. But despite the brutal impact of the shots, his massive body only quivered, the bullets unable to halt his advance.

His beady eyes fixed on Qin Ming, The Butcher let out a furious roar and charged.

Qin Ming could tell at a glance that this boss was even more dangerous than Rambo, with higher stats and three devastating skills. If The Butcher got close, it would mean certain death.

But Qin Ming didn't flinch or show any signs of fear. This time, he wasn't facing the boss alone.

"Hiyah!"

With a sharp cry, Hannah saw her opening and launched herself into the air, delivering a powerful Flying Kick (C-tier), sending The Butcher flying.

Without hesitation, she dove in to engage The Butcher in close combat, creating the perfect opening for Qin Ming to fire his shots.

The protagonist team had already witnessed the terrifying power of Qin Ming's gun, and with him providing support, they knew that the previously stalemated battle had swung decisively in their favor.

This was the power of a long-range shooter.

(End of Chapter)