"Thank you."
Though he had inexplicably ended up in debt, Logan still nodded to Darian, expressing his gratitude seriously.
This Logan was much more polite than the one Darian knew, and his temper wasn't nearly as explosive. According to the timeline, this Logan should have been much older, yet in terms of face and spirit, he appeared younger than the other one.
Darian could only attribute this to parallel universes.
But honestly, this more honest Logan was quite fun. Unlike the other Logan, who was always ready to slash people like a honey badger.
At the dinner table, everyone chatted freely.
However, it was clear that compared to the respectful distance they kept with Darian, the elderly couple was noticeably warmer toward Logan, perhaps seeing the shadow of their own son in him.
Of course, if one were to truly compare ages, they were more than old enough to be Logan's grandchildren.
Once the conversation opened up, Logan swallowed a mouthful of bread and asked Darian curiously, "Darian, what do you do for a living?"
"I used to be a lackey in a gang. After the gang disbanded, I started traveling around to clear my head."
Darian honestly stated the new identity the system had provided him.
"Why did the gang disband?"
"A rival gang reported us for tax evasion, and the next day we were raided by the IRS."
Logan: "..."
Is your gang warfare always so... unpretentious?
Since the elderly couple's house was small and only had two bedrooms, one of which was taken by Darian, Logan had to sleep in the barn tonight.
Logan didn't mind. When he fought in wars with Victor, he had even slept in mass graves; this was nothing.
The night passed without incident. The next morning, Darian brought a steaming breakfast to the barn, only to see Logan sitting on a motorcycle identical to the one in Terminator, looking deeply troubled—likely thinking about his dear older brother.
Darian placed the tray on a nearby workbench and asked curiously, "What exactly did Victor do to you?"
Sure enough, at the mention of Victor, Logan instantly gritted his teeth.
He remained silent for a few seconds before his voice squeezed through his clenched jaw: "That bastard... killed my wife!"
So it was a grudge over a murdered wife.
Darian suddenly understood why Logan hated Victor so much.
"Why did he kill your wife?"
Logan clenched his fists, his knuckles making a light cracking sound.
"We were part of a special ops team made entirely of Mutants, but I couldn't stand their style and chose to leave. That bastard thought I betrayed him, and to get revenge, he killed Keira."
This Old Wolf is really miserable, having such a yandere older brother.
Darian expressed his sympathy to Logan and was about to say something when a sharp sound of shattering glass exploded!
Crash!
A sniper bullet burst through the window without warning, flying straight toward the center of Darian's back!
In a flash, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Darian spun around and his right hand snatched at the bullet like lightning... but he missed, and with a cry, he tumbled straight to the ground.
Meanwhile, hundreds of meters away, an Asian man holding a sniper rifle looked on speechlessly.
He had thought Darian was so impressive that he could catch the bullet and was startled; he hadn't expected the guy was just purely posturing.
The Asian man picked up his walkie-talkie and reported, "Target Weapon X is in the barn. He just killed a civilian."
They were Military, and even for an elimination mission, they needed a legitimate excuse to intervene.
And Darian was that excuse.
A cold, low male voice came from the other end of the radio: "Blow him up with a missile. Test if he can still survive."
"Understood."
The Asian man responded briefly and then raised his hand in a gesture. A helicopter flew over his head, quickly heading toward the barn.
Inside the barn.
"Darian!!"
Logan's pupils shrank, and with a low roar, he lunged to Darian's side, propping him up to check his injuries.
Darian grabbed Logan's hand and said weakly, "Don't bother looking, I might not make it. Logan, before I die, can you promise me one... no, three requests?"
Logan was filled with grief and rage: "I promise! What are the requests?"
"I haven't thought of them yet. I'll tell you later when I do."
"???"
Under Logan's bewildered gaze, Darian performed a kip-up and stood firmly, showing no signs of injury whatsoever.
Logan looked astonished: "You... you're okay?"
Darian said cheerfully, "I told you I'm a Mutant. A mere bullet could never hurt my natural superpower."
Logan: "..."
You motherf—!
Just then, they suddenly heard the sound of helicopter rotors above the barn.
Darian and Logan didn't hesitate and decisively charged out of the barn.
BOOM!!
Accompanied by a massive explosion, soaring flames instantly engulfed the entire barn.
The helicopter pilot spotted the two figures and immediately called in: "Target is not dead! Repeat, target is not dead! There is another civilian with him!"
"What?"
The Asian man looked shocked.
He was certain his marksmanship hadn't failed; the man next to Logan had definitely been hit. How could he not be dead?
The Asian man didn't have time to overthink and immediately issued orders: "Fire! Don't let them escape!"
Receiving the command, the helicopter quickly adjusted its position, and the side-mounted autocannon instantly locked onto the two figures on the ground.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
Countless bullets swept across the ground, kicking up rows of dirt and grass as they strafed wildly toward the two!
"Run!"
Logan roared, immediately charging toward the woods on the edge of the farm.
They had to draw the gunfire away from the old house; the elderly couple inside couldn't withstand any collateral damage.
Darian followed closely behind, weaving through the rain of bullets, even finding the leisure to glance back at the helicopter in the sky.
He shouted to Logan ahead: "Logan, running like this will get us turned into Swiss cheese sooner or later. I have a solution!"
"What solution?"
"It's simple, just stand still."
Logan didn't understand, but he followed Darian's words and stopped in his tracks.
Darian rushed forward, grabbed one of Logan's arms, and then, using his waist, he actually used himself as an axis to swing the far-heavier-than-normal Logan like a hammer throw!
"There you go!"
Logan felt the ground vanish beneath him, the world flipped in his vision, and the wind howled in his ears!
Under Darian's inhuman arm strength, Logan was transformed into a human cannonball, flying straight toward the low-flying, strafing helicopter.
Logan: (╯°Д°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Helicopter Pilot: (OAQ!!)
Logan's body almost brushed past the helicopter, and the Adamantium Claws extending from between his fingers sliced through the high-speed rotating rotor blades as easily as tearing through paper.
The helicopter instantly lost balance, spinning and crashing into the ground, breaking in two as parts flew everywhere.
The momentum on Logan finally dissipated, and gravity pulled him down. He landed heavily on the ground in a classic superhero three-point landing, frozen in a pose as if intentionally posing for a camera.
Darian urged, "Logan, stop posturing, more people are coming."
Logan's mouth twitched.
Was he posturing? His legs were numb!
With the roar of engines, several Military SUVs burst from the edge of the woods, the machine guns mounted on their roofs spitting lethal tongues of fire!
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
A rain of bullets poured over, making the dirt around them jump and wood chips fly from tree trunks.
Logan was hit over a dozen times, his body full of holes, while Darian hid behind him, perfectly avoiding every bullet.
"Logan, hold the line!"
Darian peeked out from behind Logan, pulled out his golden desert eagle, and pulled the trigger at one of the Military SUVs.
An energy bullet instantly pierced the bulletproof window, precisely hitting the driver between the eyes. The vehicle immediately lost control, swerving and crashing violently into a large tree!
Darian followed suit, using Logan as a shield to take out the remaining Military SUVs one by one.
Logan, the human shield, was in a sorry state. His entire body was covered in dense bullet holes, his white tank top now dyed red. He hadn't even had time for breakfast, but his stomach was now filled with metal slugs; he felt heavy inside.
"Pui, pui, pui!"
Logan spat out a dozen bullets, his face as dark as Nick Fury's.
He asked Darian, "Weren't you not afraid of bullets?"
Darian retorted, "I'm a marksman. You're a tank; it's only natural for you to stand in front of the marksman to soak up damage, right?"
"Who the hell is a tank..."
"Watch out!"
Before Logan could finish, he heard Darian suddenly shout.
Then, Darian immediately shielded Logan behind him as several bullets fired from behind, sinking into Logan's body.
Logan: "???"
Darian turned to look, only to see an Asian man standing nearby, holding a modified pistol in each hand, staring at them with cold eyes.
[NPC: Christoph Nord]
[Codename: Agent Zero]
[Favorability: -30]
[Comment: A sharpshooter with great skills but a dislike for jumping out of planes. If his boss had just given him one Adamantium bullet, Wolverine would have had to lie back down the moment he hopped out of the nutrient tank.]
"Zero!"
Logan immediately recognized Agent Zero's identity, his gaze sharpening. "Damn it, it really is you guys! Stryker sent you, didn't he!"
Agent Zero didn't answer, his eyes fixed on Darian. "To be able to avoid my bullets... it seems you are also a Mutant?"
"Take a guess."
Agent Zero's face grew even colder. "Then I'll just take you back as well. Once you're on the lab table, everything will become clear."
He wasted no more words. The moment his voice fell, his arms snapped up, his movements devoid of any wasted motion as his twin pistols locked onto the target!
However, Darian was just as fast.
He quickly raised the golden desert eagle in his hand and pulled the trigger almost at the exact same instant Agent Zero did!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The gunshots rang out in near-perfect overlap!
Several bullets left the barrels and actually collided head-on in mid-air between them, instantly exploding!
"What!?"
A flash of shock and disbelief appeared on Agent Zero's face.
He hadn't expected his bullets to be blocked. This reminded him of a talkative idiot in that freak-filled special ops unit years ago who could block all bullets using just two long swords—it was ridiculous.
But this guy was even more excessive; he was using bullets to precisely intercept his bullets in mid-air!
This is too damn ridiculous!
Agent Zero cursed inwardly, forcing down his panic as he moved and fired rapidly, bullets flying at Darian from all sorts of tricky angles.
However, Darian didn't move; he simply kept pulling the trigger while standing in place.
Every pull of the trigger was accompanied by a crisp metallic clack as he intercepted Agent Zero's bullets one by one in mid-air. Not a single bullet could get close to him.
Seeing this, Agent Zero's heart sank to the bottom.
The marksmanship he took pride in seemed so weak and futile before this man, as childish as a kid waving a toy gun at a professional marksman.
Darian grew bored of this one-sided defensive game and grinned. "Let me teach you what a real marksman is!"
Then, he stopped choosing to defend and went on the offensive.
Turning his twin guns, he instantly fired four shots at the high-speed moving Agent Zero!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four bullets shot out from the barrels, heading straight for Agent Zero's next footfall!
Alarm bells rang in Agent Zero's mind, a chill rushing to the top of his head.
Relying on years of combat experience and superior physical stats, he forcibly twisted his body mid-run, letting the bullets graze his tactical suit by a hair's breadth!
He dodged them!
Just as this thought arose, before he could even catch his breath, an incredible scene occurred!
Those bullets that had seemingly missed suddenly made sharp turns in mid-air the moment they passed him, curving at nearly ninety-degree angles to bite hard into his body from behind!
"Aaaah!!!"
Agent Zero screamed as blood sprayed from multiple points on his body simultaneously.
Bullets can turn!?
Agent Zero endured the intense pain, his heart filled with shock!
He finally understood!
This wasn't some kind of marksmanship; it was clearly a superpower!
Before Agent Zero could recover, he saw Darian charging toward him like a tiger descending a mountain!
Idiot!
Agent Zero was first startled, but then a wave of almost ecstatic mockery surged within him.
Didn't he know that within seven paces, the gun is both fast and accurate?
For a marksman to dare abandon his advantage and actively close the distance for melee—how was that any different from seeking death?
"Die!"
Agent Zero raised his still-functioning arms and pulled the trigger at Darian's unprotected head!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Under Agent Zero's expectant gaze, several bullets successfully hit Darian's head, only to be nonchalantly deflected by a white light. Darian didn't even blink, his momentum increasing instead of slowing!
Agent Zero: "..."
If you could block bullets, why didn't you say so earlier? Why the hell did you use Logan to block them!?
Agent Zero finally realized he had been played, but it was too late.
Seeing Darian closing in, Agent Zero didn't have time to curse. He immediately raised his arms in a cross to guard his head and chest, a sliver of hope remaining in his heart.
His physical stats were far beyond a normal human's. Even if the opponent was a sharpshooter, his pure strength might not...
Before the thought could finish.
Agent Zero suddenly felt a terrifying force sweep over him, and then... there was no then.
Darian looked at Agent Zero, who had been knocked out with a single punch, and said disdainfully, "That's it? With such trash physical stats, you have the nerve to call yourself a marksman? You're a disgrace to us marksmen!"
Logan: "..."
He's a tank, not a marksman, so having weak physical stats isn't disgraceful.