Vice-Terra grimaced in pain, clutching his wounded shoulder as he spun around. Watching his minions quickly fall, he fired back without hesitation.
His bullet hit Qin Ming in the chest, causing him to grunt in pain and roll behind cover. Wincing, Qin Ming quickly reloaded his revolver, then blindly fired over the top of his cover in Vice-Terra's direction.
Having already experienced Qin Ming's powerful bullets, Vice-Terra wasn't about to take any chances. He too ducked behind cover, and the two exchanged gunfire from behind their respective hiding spots, neither side able to gain the upper hand.
While their duel raged on, the battle around them was nearing its conclusion.
As a beginner-level mission, the difficulty of this first stage wasn't particularly high, and that remained true here. The fact that only two of the five adventurers had survived, and one of them was severely injured, wasn't because of the mission's difficulty—it was due to the adventurers killing each other. The actual mission difficulty was only rated at D-level.
With double attributes and the full force of the protagonist group, it wouldn't have been hard for Qin Ming to contribute to the defeat of Vice-Terra and complete the mission. Even if he had done nothing, he could have just followed the flow of the battle and secured the victory.
Though the presence of the protagonist group meant the quality of loot would decrease, the rewards would still provide ample starting resources for newcomers.
This first mission was clearly a welfare stage—an easy mode to give adventurers a chance to start strong. All they needed to do was show some guts, fight, and they'd walk away with plenty of rewards.
As for the focus on encouraging battle and bloodshed? Nightmare Space wasn't some cozy retreat for the weak. From the beginning, combat and killing were the only way to survive.
Back on the battlefield, as Qin Ming and Vice-Terra continued their shootout, footsteps echoed from behind the boss.
Realizing something was wrong, Vice-Terra turned to retaliate, but he was too slow. Mess charged forward and tackled him with a powerful slam, sending the boss flying.
Before Vice-Terra could recover, Mustafa leaped into the air and delivered a brutal kick to his chest.
With punches, slams, and powerful strikes, Vice-Terra was cornered and overwhelmed by the trio. Despite his strength, he couldn't withstand their relentless attacks.
Already worn down from the prolonged battle, Vice-Terra lost his ability to fight back. Even when he tried to raise his revolver, Mustafa quickly kicked it from his hand.
The gun flew through the air, only to be caught by Qin Ming, who had rushed over to pick it up. After inspecting the weapon and finding it to be a useless, ordinary item that couldn't be taken out of this world, Qin Ming tossed it aside in disgust.
Jack grabbed Vice-Terra by the collar, glaring at him as he shouted, "Who's behind this large-scale dinosaur poaching operation?"
Bruised and battered, with several teeth knocked out, Vice-Terra raised his hands in surrender and quickly spilled the truth.
"It's... it's Doctor Doom!"
"Doctor Doom? Who's that?"
"It's Dr. Fessenden! He's the one behind all of this! He's paying us to steal dinosaur corpses, and he's been experimenting on us with dinosaur genes to make us stronger!"
Vice-Terra had never been particularly loyal—he had only been recruited by Dr. Fessenden for his brutal methods. Now that he was on the losing end, he had no hesitation in betraying his employer, revealing everything he knew.
Before the protagonists could ask any more questions, Vice-Terra quickly added, "That's all I know! We were just hired to smuggle dinosaur parts and transport the bodies. But there's someone who knows more—the Butcher! He's a psychopath who loves eating raw dinosaur meat. He's been hunting dinosaurs up north in the dinosaur forest. I can take you to him!"
The trio exchanged glances, then nodded. But they weren't foolish enough to let Vice-Terra lead them into a trap. They planned to hand him over to the government for interrogation.
But first, they had one more thing to do.
Jack, still gripping Vice-Terra's collar, raised his massive fist and slammed it into the boss's face with a sickening thud.
"This is for the dinosaurs you've killed!"
Before Vice-Terra could even react, Mustafa stepped forward and landed his own punch.
"This one's for the innocent people who've been attacked by rampaging dinosaurs because of you!"
"This one's for ruining my new outfit!"
Finally, Qin Ming stepped in, revolver in hand.
"And this is for my gear!"
Without hesitation, Qin Ming fired three close-range shots into Vice-Terra's body.
Then, as if worried the boss might still have some life left in him, Qin Ming paused for a moment before firing three more bullets.
Already beaten to a pulp, Vice-Terra couldn't withstand the barrage of six high-caliber shots. His eyes bulged as he drew his last breath—Vice-Terra was dead.
As the boss's lifeless body slumped to the ground, the three protagonists, who had been so full of righteous fury, were left speechless, staring in disbelief.