Chapter 297: This Is a Real Sniper Battlefield—Su Ming Picks Up the Gun and Aims at the Priest

Jiahe City International Airport.

A transcontinental flight from New York, United States, was slowly being towed toward the terminal building.

As the cabin door opened, the flight attendants began thanking passengers for flying with them.

One by one, passengers disembarked, each wearing a different expression.

Most of them were citizens of the Dragon Country, though a few were clearly Americans based on their appearance. When more than half the passengers had exited, a Black man wearing noise-canceling headphones stepped out with a simple suitcase in hand, his face expressionless as he followed the crowd.

He seemed to have a clear purpose.

The man headed straight for the nearest restroom and entered the innermost stall without hesitation.

After locking the door behind him, he pulled out the latest model of iPhone from his pocket, found a contact labeled “Boss” in his address book, and immediately sent a message: “Arrived.”

Seconds later, a reply came from Boss.

There were only two simple lines.

The first, in English: “Proceed as planned. Head to Ghost’s current location.” The second was a Chinese address.

It was clear.

This man was the Gray Wolf sent by Q.

And that Chinese address was undoubtedly the one the Professor had uncovered through special means—Ghost’s current hideout.

Since the Priest’s location had already been confirmed, security at the checkpoints had noticeably relaxed. Carrying only a black suitcase, Gray Wolf passed through inspection by simply showing his visa.

Following the English signs in the airport, Gray Wolf easily made his way to the taxi pickup area.

With the help of airport staff, he got into a cab driven by a man who looked honest and unassuming.

Without any hesitation, Gray Wolf extended his right hand toward the seemingly honest driver and greeted him stiffly.

“Ni… Ni hao.” (Hello)

The taxi driver froze for a moment, then quickly reached out to shake Gray Wolf’s hand, responding politely.

“Hello, hello.”

After the greeting, Gray Wolf took out his phone and pointed to the address Boss had just sent, indicating to the driver.

“Go?”

The driver glanced at the message and nodded quickly.

“Lingling Circus, huh?”

“Can go, can go. Let’s go now.”

With that, he stepped on the gas and shifted gears, slowly driving out of the airport pickup area.

Then, once the car had left the airport zone and was out of sight of the staff, while waiting at a red light, the driver picked up the phone from the dashboard, glanced at the resting Gray Wolf beside him, and excitedly sent a voice message to a WeChat group for veteran drivers.

“Brothers, I just picked up a big fish.”

“Got a Black guy from the airport. He’s headed to Lingling Circus.”

“If I don’t take a few extra loops through the West Ring, I’d be wasting this golden opportunity. Just hope this guy’s got the cash to pay the fare, haha.”

…

Meanwhile, at Sanhe Square.

The once-bustling crowd of job seekers had already been evacuated to safety under the guidance of numerous plainclothes officers.

The Priest, still hidden on the rooftop, hadn’t bothered to check the situation below.

Instead, he sat casually on the ground, leaning against the railing with a cigar in his mouth, occasionally taking deep drags and exhaling thick smoke.

This method of adjustment had brought him into a state of increasing calm. His heartbeat slowed, returning him to the mindset he had during missions in the war-torn Middle East.

At that moment, a seven-seater civilian vehicle from the Yang Liu Criminal Investigation Brigade arrived at Sanhe Square.

As soon as the car stopped, everyone unbuckled their seatbelts, opened the doors, and stepped out.

Chen Sheng, the most familiar with Jiahe City’s police system, immediately walked up to a Squad Leader in SWAT uniform who had been waiting for some time. After saluting, he asked urgently:

“Captain Lei.”

“What’s the current situation?”

“Have all civilians been evacuated? Any movement from the Priest?”

The SWAT Squad Leader nodded solemnly and replied quickly:

“Everything’s under control.”

“The civilians have all been evacuated from Sanhe Square under various pretexts. The area is now clear.”

“The Priest hasn’t made any moves. Since he entered the rooftop, he hasn’t taken any significant action. It’s unclear what he’s waiting for.”

“Logically, with such a major change in the square, someone with his battlefield experience should’ve noticed something. But oddly, he hasn’t reacted.”

“Should we try calling out to him? Maybe he’ll surrender.”

Before he could finish, Su Ming narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully:

“It’s not that he hasn’t reacted.”

“He’s waiting. Waiting for the right moment to maximize his impact.”

“As for calling out to him, I don’t think it’s necessary. A mercenary like the Priest won’t buy into any talk about leniency for surrendering.”

“Maximize his impact?” Chen Sheng repeated, clearly puzzled.

Su Ming didn’t try to be mysterious. He explained seriously:

“Yes, maximize his impact.”

“At this point, the Priest, with all his battlefield experience, knows he has no chance of escape.”

“So naturally, he’s thinking about how to make his final stand count. How to inflict the greatest damage before he’s taken down.”

“That’s why he didn’t attack the civilians.”

“K’s drug trafficking organization gains nothing from killing civilians. It would only provoke the authorities.”

“So once the Priest confirmed that Ghost wasn’t here, his target became us—the police.”

At this, Lin Tian immediately understood and said gravely:

“Xiao Ming, if that’s the case, then once Ghost is confirmed to be elsewhere, the Priest’s primary target will be you.”

“If you show up, his sniper rifle will fire. He won’t surrender or give up resistance.”

“That’s a serious problem.”

“The Priest definitely has a sniper rifle, and that’s the biggest threat we face.”

“With the power of a sniper rifle, even a shot to the limbs could be catastrophic.”

At that moment, the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

A criminal armed with a sniper rifle and extensive combat experience posed an unprecedented threat to everyone present.

Even if they forced their way through the rooftop door, the moment it opened, no one could guarantee how many would be injured—or even killed—under the Priest’s fire.

But Su Ming seemed to have anticipated their concern. He spoke calmly and confidently.

“Chief Lin, there’s one thing you’ve overlooked.”

“Why should we let the Priest be the one doing the sniping? Can’t we turn the tables and snipe him from a distance, rendering him incapable of resistance?”

…

“Strike first and neutralize the Priest before he can act.”

Su Ming’s words stunned everyone. They frowned, considering the feasibility of the plan.

The Criminal Investigation Captain beside him hesitated for two seconds, then pointed to a nearby tall building.

“Team Leader Su.”

“You mean… occupy one of the surrounding high-rises and use it as a vantage point to snipe the Priest from afar?”

The SWAT Squad Leader furrowed his brow, rubbing his chin as he thought it through.

“Given the current situation, Team Leader Su’s idea is actually a solid option.”

“If we go in head-on, the Priest—with a sniper rifle in hand—could cause irreparable casualties.”

“Based on our analysis of his profile, we’ve determined one thing…”

“This mercenary, who came out of the Middle Eastern conflict zones, specializes in heavy sniper rifles—not the lighter, more portable ones with limited power.”

“And since he came through the Green Channel for cargo, he had ample opportunity to smuggle a heavy sniper rifle into Jiahe City.”

“Once he passed the highway checkpoint, he could’ve easily found a blind spot without Sky Eye Surveillance and assembled the weapon.”

“This plan might work, but I have to point something out…”

He gestured toward the building where the Priest was holed up.

“Team Leader Su.”

“The best sniper position in all of Sanhe Square is already occupied by the Priest.”

“We could try using a slightly inferior position, but let’s be honest… against someone like the Priest—who survived warzones and has real combat experience—we don’t stand a great chance at counter-sniping.”

“You might not be familiar with this, but in a sniper battle, having the better position is absolutely critical.”

“Right now, if we want to neutralize the Priest quickly, our only real option may be to storm the rooftop.”

“I’ll go myself. I don’t have much confidence in this sniper duel, but I’d rather risk that than see my brothers get gunned down the moment they breach the rooftop door…”

Before he could finish, Su Ming raised a hand and interrupted him with a calm but firm tone.

“Captain Lei, I think you’ve misunderstood.”

“I’m not asking you to go to a lesser vantage point and try to outmatch the Priest in some kind of sniper duel.”

“There’s no need for that—because this is something I have to do.”

“It’s simple. If the Priest wants to prove his worth to K—even posthumously—then once he knows Ghost isn’t here and he can’t escape, his only option is to target the officers coming to arrest him.”

“Especially… if he wants to make a final, spectacular contribution that outshines the rest of K’s organization.”

“He’ll be aiming to kill me, or someone else from the Special Task Force, to give K a chance to rise again.”

“In this situation, there’s no convincing him. We have to avoid his fire and find a viable counter-sniper position on the rooftop.”

“And I should mention—back during the criminal investigation assessments, I scored full marks in the sniper training as well.”

As soon as he said that, Lin Tian froze. He was about to urge Su Ming not to take such a dangerous risk, but then remembered that Su Ming had indeed scored full marks in the sniper portion of the exam.

In fact… Su Ming had aced nearly every subject. There was nothing to criticize.

After two seconds of silence, Lin Tian looked at the other Criminal Investigation leaders behind him, then turned to Su Ming, whose eyes were full of confidence, and nodded.

“Alright then, Xiao Ming.”

“Logically, as the Priest’s top target, you should be hiding right now—maybe even leaving Sanhe Square altogether.”

“But I believe in your usual miracles… and your knack for delivering the unexpected.”

Hearing that…

The SWAT captain clearly froze for a moment, unsure whether he was worried about something or simply didn’t understand why Lin Tian had agreed to let Su Ming take part in this so-called position-recording battle.

Just as he was about to say something, Su Ming calmly pointed to a building about fifty meters away—the second high-rise—and spoke in a low voice.

“That building should be the second-best sniper position. Compared to the rooftop where Ghost is currently hiding, the height difference isn’t significant.”

“But in terms of angle and line of sight, it’s clearly inferior to the one the Priest chose.”

“Still, that doesn’t mean we’re out of options. As long as the height is close enough, it’ll do.”

At that point, Su Ming paused for a couple of seconds, then looked at the SWAT captain beside him and said in a firm, quiet tone that left no room for doubt.

“Captain Lei.”

“Please help me prepare the Light Sniper Rifle. The Priest and I… have officially entered a real sniper battle.”