"Keep him away, keep firing..." Xu Lin shouted, snapping everyone back to their senses as they began to shoot in unison.

At that instant, something was thrown through the window, flashing once before exploding, engulfing the room in a blinding light. It was a flashbang, expertly thrown into the building.

...

"Alright, begin, Hunter Fox!" The sniper known as "Hunter Fox," Span, was perched on the opposite building of the club. Calmly assembling his Barrett rifle and adjusting the scope, he crouched in a corner and muttered to himself, preparing to take aim.

Simultaneously, he glanced around with his left eye, noticing that a large team had already taken control of the Innsmouth police department, though the people inside were oblivious. It was likely a command from the headquarters; Span was well-acquainted with his boss's capabilities. They were part of the NRO Delta, a national reconnaissance unit with deep roots in the country's infrastructure.

Span was a typical soldier, uninterested in aligning with any big power but admired his commander, Adolph Lepus, for his ruthless efficiency and his willingness to use any means necessary to achieve operational goals.

"At least here, I won't be court-martialed for accidentally shooting a few prisoners..."

One night, slightly tipsy, Span whistled and shared this truth with a colleague who replied with a wry smile.

Hiding in a corner of the building, he saw the special operations team member rappel outside the window, tossing in a flashbang, which signaled that it was time for him to act.

"Alright, finally I can move..." he said, picking up his sniper rifle, whistling a tune from an old country ballad as he got into his sniper stance.

"Bang!"

The bullet fired without hesitation, but as it struck the window, Span's eye twitched—a miss.

—The figure that stood by the window was shot through the head but shattered into scattered glass.

"Damn, it’s a mirror. That bastard used mirrors to create a decoy..."

Realizing his mistake, Span stood up, his face pale with frustration.

Meanwhile, Alexander, positioned by a closed window, also turned pale upon hearing a gunshot.

"If I had entered that room or approached the window, that sniper might have killed me..."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

This was the script's design for his death flag. With the sniper's vantage point, most of the internal corners were covered. It meant that... even staying near that window could be fatal.

"But the script stated to approach a window. Then, it must mean finding another window..."

However, did the script specify that it had to be an open window? What about a window on the parallel wall?

In a split second, an idea struck him. He positioned himself by a sealed window and, using the principle of a periscope with two angled floor mirrors, projected his image, creating the illusion of standing under the window.

Thanks to the overcast weather and dim lighting inside, the sniper, Span, hadn't noticed the deception...

"This death flag is temporarily resolved. Put simply, as long as you know its source, there's nothing to fear."

As he pondered this, Pinocchio's voice echoed in his mind.

"Congratulations, newcomer Alexander. You've evaded a death flag and earned 300 survival points..."

With an additional 300 survival points, his luck seemed to be holding!

Just as Alexander allowed himself a moment of satisfaction, a loud explosion sounded from the adjacent room.

"What happened?"

He drew his Glock 18, his expression growing serious. Xu Lin had control of the situation, so why had an explosion occurred now?

"Impossible. This scene wasn’t in the script. Could it be a triggered task?"

Just as he approached the doorway, a loud crash sent the door flying open, and a swollen, monstrous mass surged out of the room.

It barely retained a human shape, with a massive, pockmarked belly, covered in bullet holes and abrasions. Foul, pus-like fluid seeped from within.

A pitch-black stag rammed the monster, forcing it out of the doorway.

The creature stumbled, rolling down the stairs.

Alexander stood there, bewildered—what in the world had just happened?

"Return, Shadow Familiar!!" Carmen's voice came from nearby. Dressed in a long coat, he waved his hand, and the ebony stag dissolved into shadows, blending back into the dark at his feet.

"This is a Shadow Familiar, another power bestowed by the dark realm..."

His brow furrowed as he watched the creature recede down the stairs. The situation had been incredibly perilous; had he not summoned his personal "Shadow Familiar" in time, everyone might have perished on the spot.

In such a confined space, even Xu Lin’s Sacrificial Blade would have been difficult to wield effectively, as striking others was a real concern. However, his "stag" was both robust and agile, capable of switching between shadow and corporeal forms, allowing it to move unimpeded even in tight conditions.

"How did military personnel infiltrate here? Thankfully, that creature dealt with them for us..."

Xu Lin emerged, looking disheveled, his clothes speckled with blood. In the chaos, he had reacted fastest, holding off two assailants, while the creature had brutally crushed two adult men.

Meanwhile, Carmen coaxed his Shadow Familiar, the shadows swirling into a powerful stag twice the size of a person, raising its head high to ram the monster, miraculously pushing it out the door. This was the scene Alexander had witnessed.

"We can't stay here. Those who attacked us will be here soon. Let's go..."

Xu Lin offered no explanations to Janet and the others, urging them to follow him out.

"What the hell is going on? If you're with the government, where did these military forces come from?" Roland, though brash, wasn't stupid and quickly raised this question.

"Where's Janet? Janet’s gone?" the young black man suddenly realized something significant—Janet, who had been with them, was now missing.

Gunfire erupted at the stairwell—the creature clashed with the advancing squad.

A cacophony of crashing glass echoed as the strike team launched their assault, bursting in through the windows.