As the group split up, the main protagonists and Qin Ming went their separate ways. Being a newly joined temporary partner, it was obvious that no one would choose to fight alongside him.
After all, the others didn't fully trust him. Bringing him along was simply in the hope that he might be able to help. If he could, great; if not, there wouldn't be any loss.
As a result, Qin Ming was left to fight alone, wielding his revolver like a wild-west cowboy, engaging in intense gunfights with the enemies.
In the first stage of the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs world, there were only a few types of enemies:
One type was the unarmed boxers, and the other type was the boxers who wore gloves. The only difference between them was their appearance, as both were the cannon fodder of the poaching gang. Then there were the knife-wielding guys, who seemed to have been injected with dinosaur gene serums, making them agile and deadly with their small knives.
These knife fighters were particularly annoying because they could also throw their knives for ranged attacks. Qin Ming had already been hit by one of these thrown knives, causing him to bleed. In a fit of rage, he emptied a full cylinder of bullets into the attacker, killing him on the spot.
Above these knife-wielders were the elite fighters—the Fat Men. They had a lot of health, high attack power, and could perform moves like a "Berserk Charge" and "Falling Bomb," which made them surprisingly agile for their size.
However, the "Berserk Charge" move was easily countered by Qin Ming's American-style quick draw. If even a fearsome head-on charge like Japan's Kamen Rider was defeated by this technique, a mere Fat Man had no chance.
Cautiously moving forward, Qin Ming shot into every room before entering, slowly making his way deeper into the building. He didn't care about moving too slowly or how the other four protagonists were faring against the boss. All that mattered was his safety. He had only one life, and there was no need to risk it by fighting alongside the main characters. Playing it safe was the best strategy.
If he could catch up with the battle, great—he could claim some of the spoils. If he couldn't, then he would just scavenge from the corpses. As for the fate of the protagonists? Who cared? If they died, so be it. He might even light some incense for them—except for Jack. Jack didn't deserve incense. He should be glad if Qin Ming didn't set off fireworks to celebrate.
Eventually, Qin Ming carefully made his way to the deepest part of the building. Standing at the foot of the stairs, he peeked cautiously up the staircase, only to find it eerily quiet. He glanced back at the heap of dead cannon-fodder behind him and fell silent. Why was it that, after fighting tooth and nail earlier, there was suddenly no one on the stairs? Did the poachers have manners, too, and knew not to make noise on the stairs?
After scanning the area and spotting a nearby window, Qin Ming shrugged and headed over to it.
Meanwhile, at the top of the staircase, a large group of poachers were lying in wait, ready for battle. Some had knives, some clenched their fists, and even a couple of Fat Men were poised to jump down and squash anyone who dared to come up.
But after waiting for a long time with no sign of Qin Ming, they exchanged confused glances. One of them muttered, "Do you think he figured it out?"
"Who cares!" snapped another. "We just need to make sure he doesn't come up here. If he does, we'll be ready!"
"What? Do you want to go down and see if you're faster than his bullets? That guy's gun took down the Fat Man. If we go down there, we'll be walking right into death. Just wait!"
And so, the underlings continued to wait, completely unaware that Qin Ming was clumsily climbing up the side of the building from outside.
Thanks to his double stats, after an exhausting effort, Qin Ming finally reached the third floor.
Panting heavily, he drew his revolver and confidently marched toward the staircase, but as he passed a window, he suddenly froze, dumbfounded by what he saw on the opposite rooftop.
There, a muscular man was fighting fiercely against three familiar faces—Jack, Mustafa, and Mess, the male members of the protagonist group. It was clear who this powerful opponent was: the boss.
The fact that the boss battle had already begun didn't surprise Qin Ming. After all, he had spent quite a while climbing the building, so it made sense that the others would be fighting by now.
But where was Hannah? That thought nagged at him. Where had the Western beauty run off to?
Approaching the window, Qin Ming judged the distance between himself and the rooftop battle below. He quickly abandoned the idea of smashing through the window and joining the fight directly—he didn't want his corpse to crash onto the battlefield while the others were engaged in a life-or-death struggle.
So, he turned and headed toward the rooftop exit, planning to sneak in from above and descend to join the battle.
But when Qin Ming reached the rooftop, revolver in hand, he was surprised to find not one but two familiar faces.
In the center of a group of thugs, Hannah was bound and hanging from a steel beam, her body covered in cuts and bruises, and blood streaming down her face. Nearby, sitting idly on a rock and swinging her legs, was a girl who immediately turned her head when she heard Qin Ming's footsteps.
Upon seeing him, her face lit up with a bright smile as she jumped to her feet. "I knew it would be you! I just knew you'd come! Long time no see, little brother! Did you miss me?"
She skipped over to Hannah, grabbed her by the chin, and playfully twisted her head from side to side while keeping her eyes on Qin Ming. Her smile was radiant, almost gleeful.
"Little brother, do you know this woman? You're here to save her, right? You'd better be, or else she's going to be in big trouble."
At these words, the surrounding underlings began to shout and jeer, while Hannah, weakly opening her eyes, glanced at Qin Ming with a pained expression.
Hearing Hannah speak his name, the girl's smile grew even more excited. She spread her arms wide, spun in a circle, and shouted joyfully, "Yes! This is perfect! Everything I've set up is finally coming together! Look at all these underlings! They're all part of my plan for you!"
Before she could finish her sentence, a gunshot rang out.
The girl's body jerked violently, and her smile froze. Slowly, she looked down at her chest, where blood was rapidly spreading. Shocked, she raised her head to stare at Qin Ming.
"You—you actually shot me?!"
From behind cover, Qin Ming nonchalantly cocked the revolver's hammer and nodded. "Yeah."
"Why? Why would you shoot me? Don't you care about favorability? If Hannah dies in front of you, everyone's favorability with you—especially Jack's—will drop to zero or even go negative! You—"
"What the hell are you talking about?! Jack's favorability is already in the negatives!"
Before she could finish, Qin Ming roared and fired another shot.