Small changes in immortal genes have been eliminated by billions of organisms more than 3 billion years ago...... However, can natural selection for small variations create a huge difference in complexity between life forms among the various complex forms of life?

- Sean. Carroll, "Making the fittest"

War is like a drug, its sense of urgency is addictive, intense, and deadly. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

-- New York Times war correspondent, Chris. Hedges

Prologue, Fire and Rain

The setting sun on the horizon ignited the thick clouds into a sea of fire, and the whirlwind that circulated everywhere carried not a trace of water vapor, cruel as the steaming soul of a flaming serpent.

All life, all living creatures shrouded in the oppression of this thick cloud and heat, can only lie on the hot sand, lingering in the shadows beyond the reach of the scorching sun...... Two desert iguanas fight for a small area of sea buckthorn, but are interrupted by a swift black shadow - one of them is reduced to food for the viper's mouth, and the other panics back into the shadows, watching coldly as its kind is dragged into a black hole under the sandstone by the slender and agile Grim Reaper.

This is the heart of the Sahara, a cruel world known as the "Sea of Death".

Lu Pingchuan leaned against the remnant wall behind him, licked his lips that had long been chapped and scabbed, poured the last few drops of water in the kettle into his throat that was about to smoke, and glanced at the scorching sun at the end of the desert, where only half of the afterglow remained—when it disappeared completely, it was the time when the war resumed.

Although he didn't know much about the opponent in the podium behind him - the legendary sniper "Sapphire" who had long occupied the first place in the mission list upgrade ranking - Jiang Lan, but at this moment, in such a fierce and humble battlefield, Lu Pingchuan had reason to believe that the other party had a tacit understanding similar to his own - only in the moment after dark was the best fighter to win!

swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty, but involuntarily recalled the past three months in my mind: Hu Beibei, the landlady, Elise, Xia Yan, Li Wenjie, Situ Nan, Zhu Yaoming, Jiang Lan...... Those faces that they did not subconsciously want to remember were involuntarily surging at this moment, like a marquee, automatically replaying in their minds.

Hu Beibei's disdainful eyes; the landlady's harsh words; Elise's mysterious smile; Xia Yan's tranquil sleeping face and resolute back; Wen Jie's honest smile; Situ Nan's lonely eyes and the faint smoke rings he spitted out; and Zhu Yaoming, the enthusiastic and capable open-minded man, but fell silently in a pool of blood in the next second; There is also Jiang Lan, the introverted young man who excels in the training camp, but he can hunt and kill people so calmly after being hunted by open players, and the gun is deadly......

I used to want to find Jiang Lan, hold him around the neck and ask what made him such a bloodthirsty and cruel executioner, but now, such a thought seems so weak and ridiculous - who can get here, whose hands are cleaner than whom? The opponent is just enlightened earlier than others, and the people who can get here are not accidental or inevitable, they are all beasts with hunter genes in their blood.

In just three months, so many people, so many faces and voices flashed into his life, completely turning his whole world upside down and then leaving in a hurry. Now, only he is left, and "Sapphire", who has not yet met in the podium, compete for the last king of the "game".

Heavy or? It's only three million dollars, which doesn't seem to be so necessary.

Not heavy either? The people who are still here seem to have forgotten their original purpose, and they are driven by only one goal - to complete all the tasks and become the only and final winner in the "game"!

Waving his hand to chase away the endless flies, Lu Pingchuan suddenly couldn't help laughing - if he hadn't followed the advice of the bar owner Henry, took a shortcut to the mayor's hall, and happened that his "puppet ranger" armored robot stepped on the mine planted by the opponent, making himself aware of the ambush, maybe his "game" would have ended a few hours ago. He may turn into a pale, cold corpse, with his head pierced or his body blown apart, or in short, lie unattended in this desert town until the sun and insects break him down into a skeleton......

How many times in the past three months, he has witnessed those living players fall silently in this bloodthirsty desert; How many chances did he have to quit the "game" just like that, but by instinct and luck, he passed death again and again, miraculously lived to the end, and arrived here?

The two, him and the sniper hidden behind him, are both seasoned hunters and prey, who know how to mirage their minions when necessary, wait for their opponents to make mistakes, and wait for the most suitable moment to act.

There were still a few rays of afterglow left in the burning clouds on the horizon, and Lu Pingchuan squatted up and moved his toes. There is no indication that the opponent has left the cordon on the system dial, indicating that he has been there all this time - the opponent's profession is a sniper-turned-demolitionist, and he is originally the type who is good at waiting and ambushing. Although there was some restlessness in his heart, Lu Pingchuan still bent down and continued to wait.

He couldn't afford to give up this encounter even more than his opponent: his "game" class was a fighter-turned-killer, an agile melee combat that had no advantage over a Demoman with a long-range ambush. If you let go of your opponent here, it's hard to say whether you will have such good luck in the next narrow road encounter.

Taking advantage of the last rays of sunlight, Lu Pingchuan once again visualized the location of his opponent's terrain through the observation glass: this was originally a part of the hotel located behind the bar, surrounded by three two-story wooden buildings in a "U" shape, with a covered bridge between the podium and the main building on both sides, and below the covered bridge is a passage connecting the central patio and the outer alley, and the two podiums and the main building each have four rows of windows at the front and back, and doors at the front and back. Opposite the main building is the long-abandoned stables. The position of the most recent red dot displayed on the system's dial can roughly determine the current opponent's position, which is still within the left podium of the main building that sniped him.

For the position of this stronghold chosen by the opponent, Lu Pingchuan sincerely admired in his heart: in this depressed town, in addition to the mayor's hall, bar and church, this is one of the rare positions in the entire main city with the dual advantages of commanding heights and concealment. Away from the main roads and ranger bots, and with the intricate alleys and buildings on the right side of the hotel, it's a good place to ambush.

If it weren't for the fact that Lu Pingchuan happened to carry three "puppet rangers" with him, and happened to collapse the covered bridge connecting the left podium and the main building in the first round of exchanges, then now, it would be impossible to be able to block the opponent so leisurely and wait for the opportunity to break through.

The sky was getting darker and faster, and Lu Pingchuan finally checked the equipment on his body, and made up the opponent's possible breakthrough route again: he still had a Colt revolver, an AUG automatic rifle, two "hermit crab" microrobots, three "puppet rangers" and grenades, flashbangs and other portable equipment. Compared to the opponent who swallowed the entire weapon reserve of the "Black Sheep Company", it is a drop in the bucket!

Lu Pingchuan is very clear that the upcoming confrontation can only be done quickly, and at present, his three "puppets" have blocked the left front, left rear and right center of the left podium respectively. After the first round of firefighting was blown up, the only possible escape routes for the opponent were the front and rear doors on the right and left, as well as four windows on the top and bottom. Given that the position where the first "puppet" stepped on a mine and was blown off the track was located on the left side, then the opponent is likely to have corresponding mine traps buried at the front and rear entrances and exits of the left side, and running away from the left side is tantamount to suicide. In this case, the most likely direction of breakthrough is the back door and two windows on the lower level of the right side.

The sky had darkened completely, and as far as the eye could see, the only glimmering was the sparse lights on the main road and the flaming red electronic eyes of the Rangers. Lu Pingchuan touched the string of rosewood Buddha beads given by Xia Yan on his left hand, looked down at the direction of the red dot on the dial of the system, and turned around to open the exclusive skill of the "killer" profession: actively eliminate the "sneak" that his system recognizes the target for 45 seconds.

At the same time, the "Sapphire", which had been hovering inside the podium, also began to act.

Due to the effect of the "Sneak" skill, "Sapphire" at this time could not detect Lu Pingchuan's movements, but his movement did not hesitate at all, and went straight to the right side that Lu Pingchuan originally occupied - as a sniper with full equipment suppression and geographical advantages, there was no need to avoid head-to-head confrontation with melee professional fighters. What's more, this is one of the strongholds he used to hoard the weapons reserves of the "Black Sheep Company", and he had made full preparations long before Lu Pingchuan's arrival, even if the opponent was a "killer" who was good at infiltration operations, he could not rely on the "Hermit Crab" to break through the heavy defenses of the pulse power grid and capture this temporary fortress.

"Sapphire" glanced around the colony in the dark, and while it would be a shame to give it up now, most of the Sniper's and Fighter's gear were not shared. At this moment, even if he gave up, Lu Pingchuan would not be able to activate and use the exclusive weapon of the sniper class, so as long as he broke through to the main building or alley with a more complex environment, it would not be difficult for a qualified demolitionist to disappear in such a dark night and find another opportunity to fight again.

No, it would be a shame for "him" to just escape! The reason why he didn't retreat for a long time was waiting for the moment when the other party made a move! He knows very well that the opponent who can come here is by no means an ordinary person, and only in the interval of the battle can it be possible to see a trace of the opponent's flaw, so as to complete the counterattack, and enjoy the satisfaction and glory of being the ultimate victor with steady and calm, and what he wants is such a perfect victory.

"Sapphire" quietly approached the back door of the lower level on the right, but before he could pull out his viewing glass, there was a sudden explosion next to him - the stable located opposite the main building and the podium was detonated, and the dry firewood and grass that had been piled there suddenly burst into flames, illuminating the entire podium and instantly destroying the hidden advantage of his "dark home".

"Sapphire" let out a low, disdainful grunt, and turned to hide behind a pillar, hiding his figure from the firelight. But the rear window, which was slapped by the heatwave, did not move for a long time, but from the right side, the familiar "clucking" sound of the rangers' tracks was heard.

"Heh, the sound is striking the west? Bring sand to the beach. The first time he saw his opponent control the Rangers crashing down the bridge, Sapphire was a little shocked. In the past three months, he has come into contact with many fighters, but this is the first time he has learned that the Ranger can also be used as equipment to be controlled by this class. The first wave of firefights was due to a lack of cognition, but this time, he could not make the same mistake again, having already touched the number of cards in the opponent's hand.

Faced with the rumbling of tracks on the right, "Sapphire" dropped the sniper rifle in his hand and replaced it with a Remington shotgun behind his back, calmly dismissing the sniper's exclusive skill "Annihilation" - forcibly eliminating his own target within 5 minutes, without being detected by robot NPCs, including the Rangers. When the opposing Ranger entered the attack range, the "Sapphire" cat sneaked under the window lattice, and suddenly stood up and threw the muzzle of the gun upward, and shot at the wall behind the Ranger mecha that had just entered the patio area.

Bricks and tiles crumble, debris scattered. However, the Rangers did not stop moving, and instead opened fire in the direction of the "Sapphire". "Sapphire" leaned back into the cover under the window and glanced at the system dial, but nothing changed except that his "Annihilation" effect was interrupted by the attack - he knew that the shot would not actually damage the Ranger's armor, but would instead trigger the NPC's attack reaction, which would automatically interrupt the "Annihilation" effect; But the shrapnel that bounced off the wall after the shotgun hit the wall was enough to kill the manipulator hiding behind the Ranger's armor!

Use the Ranger as a shield to create chaos in the rear, then force yourself into a small area from the right and then launch a melee attack; This is "Sapphire's" speculation on the opponent's tactics, but the sound of artillery fire has not stopped, and the system has not broadcast the opponent's injury, which means that his judgment is wrong at this moment, and the opponent's attention is not on the right side?

"Tsk, hide and seek?" Taking advantage of the Ranger's reload, "Sapphire" rolled sideways to avoid strafing, dodged back to the shooting dead spot behind the post, and activated the pulse grid pre-positioned at the rear door on the right: although this low-power electromagnetic pulse shielding weapon cannot cause much damage to the human body, it is the nemesis of the control electronic mecha equipment, even if the firepower is as strong as the ranger, once it touches the pulse grid, it will immediately short circuit. As long as the opponent can't enter the building, there is plenty of room for manoeuvre and a chance to win.

But at this moment, the system dial suddenly sounded an alarm: "There are red players within 50 meters, please prepare quickly." "Sapphire" was shocked when he heard this: the 45-second "sneaking" time had long passed, the mines on the left did not detonate, and there were no flaws in the right and back roads, how did they get in?

Shocked, "Sapphire's" tactical response was anything but human, and after flashing through all the possible routes of incursion, he knew his opponent's path of infiltration. The system dial shows that the opponent has entered the building, and "Sapphire" jumps into the shadows behind the stairs, waiting with bated breath for the opponent to come downstairs to attack.

There was a soft "crunch" on the stairs, and the gun in "Sapphire's" hand was loaded, but he heard a "thud" and threw a palm-sized object from the second floor. "Sapphire" subconsciously shrank back, and suddenly there was a blank blank in front of him, it was a flashbang!

The wide staircase of the steel-wood structure is enough to block shrapnel, but it cannot stop the instantaneous blinding effect of the flashbang. At this time, the sound of leather boots "knocking" was heard on the stairs, and "Sapphire" ignored the Venus flashing in front of him, and turned out of the back of the staircase in the direction of the ceiling on the second floor.

Before the "Sapphire", who was hiding behind the staircase, could take a closer look at the system dial, the sound of heavy leather boots sounded on the stairs again. I didn't think about the repetition of "Sapphire", but I saw a figure quickly retract the left foot that had just stepped on the stairs, and dodged the attack range of the scattered bullets.

Two successive attacks were dodged, calming "Sapphire" somewhat - several times with the intention of trying to deceive him, and the other side clearly did not intend to waste his ammo and wait for a chance to get close. According to the current equipment comparison, even if the opponent enters the building, he will not be able to take much advantage, delay the time and waste the attack, and the disadvantage will only be the opponent himself...... But why is his current tactic clearly procrastinating...... Oops!

"Sapphire", who had judged his opponent's intentions, did not care that the ghost in front of him had not disappeared, and a lunge jumped out of his hiding place, threatening to force a breakthrough through the window on the right side - the dense gunfire did not give him a chance, and the Ranger who had thought it was only used as a shield did not drive directly into the room, but stopped in front of the pulse grid, and at this moment blocked the way out of the right side with continuous artillery fire.

Before "Sapphire" could turn around, the Rangers on the left rear who had been guarding the perimeter also joined the battle at some point, and after a burst of strafing, all the windows in the rear direction were also shattered, forcing "Sapphire" back to the corner of the stairs again.

On the lower level of the podium, where crossfire had already formed, "Sapphire", who had once again been forced into a Jedi, had fully understood his opponent's intentions: he had already expected that he would choose to ambush the Rangers coming from the right on the lower level, and he also expected that he would inevitably have a considerable amount of equipment in reserve here for the stalemate. What he wants is not to subvert this disadvantage, but to use the ammunition that his opponent has hoarded to send his opponent to the western sky.

"Second annihilation!" In the dark hallway where bullets are flying, "Sapphire" doesn't hesitate to activate the life-saving skill of the Demoman class: gain 10 minutes of forced time to eliminate his target! The Rangers' strafing stopped abruptly because they lost their target, and "Sapphire" threw away his shotgun and picked up his sniper rifle, looking for a target by the still burning fire - in the corner of the ceiling above the ammunition box in the dead end of the shot, there was a "hermit crab" microrobot quietly approaching the target, and the opponent's bet was there!

"Sapphire" sneered, picked up the sniper rifle and bit the crosshairs in the scope tightly against the moving robot, and gently pulled the trigger with his fingers.

"Boom!" There were two more muffled sounds on the stairs behind him, and "Sapphire" jerked back and the muzzle shifted, and the bullet grazed the robot's shell and hit the beam, followed by the sound of explosions and the bright white light that completely deprived "Sapphire" of the sight and sound. Taking advantage of this stall, the "hermit crab" fell to the ceiling, fell steadily on the ammunition box, and automatically opened the lid of the box and got in. At this time, "Sapphire" no longer cared about any equipment, and while the effect of "secondary annihilation" had not disappeared, he threw down his gun and ran out in the direction of the nearest back door......

The huge roar instantly engulfed the entire podium, and Lu Pingchuan, who had just rushed out of the gap in the covered bridge on the second floor, was swept out by the violent shock wave, and rolled over on the flame-extinguishing ranger who stepped on the mine on the left side, and his abdomen directly collided with the metal mecha, and the sudden sharp pain instantly engulfed his consciousness...... I don't know how long it took for Lu Pingchuan to wake up from the severe pain in his internal organs, raise his faint eyes, and look at the battlefield behind him-

The flames are still burning, the left podium just a stone's throw away has been razed to the ground, the main building and the right building have also been affected, and the place that was once a patio has been flooded with rubble...... Because of the chain reaction caused by the explosion, there were seven or eight more craters left by mines on both sides of the otherwise leveled street. Thankfully, he fell behind the Ranger's mech, and most of the flying shrapnel was blocked by the Ranger's armor. The small gap between the mech and the wall stuck him in mid-air, so that he was not engushed by the serial explosions underground.

There was a dead silence in front of and behind him, only the intermittent whistling sound of the headphones and the "crackling" sound of the flames engulfing the wreckage caused a headache:

“…… Ji...... Congratulations...... You, you've done ...... Beep ...... [Wipe Out the Enemy] mission...... Ji...... Please go to ...... Mayor's Hall...... Collect your ...... Twitter......"

Did you win?

No one answered.

Lu Pingchuan helped the ranger to stand up, pulled out the headset with one hand, and looked blankly at this world that seemed to be as empty and dead as hell.

At this moment, a rare torrential rain in the desert, accompanied by a biting chill, fell, smashing the fire that was still struggling in the ruins.