"Bang!"

The eyeball that was floating mid-air burst apart like a balloon.

Instead of the blood and pieces of flesh falling to the ground, they turned into particles of light. The particles gathered in the air and materialized into five cards, which floated for a brief moment before falling to the ground.

From the direction where the gunshot had emerged, Leo could be seen lying on the truck’s roof with the sniper rifle in his hands, pointed toward the direction where the alien had been floating a moment ago.

Smoke could be seen rising from the sniper’s barrel.

Leo then fired another shot.

"Bang!"

A few moments earlier

Leo’s POV

Thank the heavens, I have finally managed to get inside my truck. I really thought I was going to get killed by William.

How is he so strong after awakening only a while ago? I have been increasing my stats rapidly for so many days, and he comes and beats me up like it’s nothing just after he awakens. I was literally in disbelief when the system sounded in my mind.

[Host, you are still a human. Your current stats only make you stronger than the average human, while William has already stepped into the realm of superhumans. So it’s natural that you are outclassed.]

"What the fuck? Why didn’t you explain such an important concept to me before? I nearly got killed because of this!"

[Host, don’t blame the system for your ignorance.]

I gritted my teeth but knew that whatever I said was not going to matter.

I just took a deep breath. "Leo, what the hell are you even doing, arguing with a stupid system?"

[Host, you should know that I have been collecting the nucleus crystals of the dead zombies since earlier. I would advise the host not to become cocky, or else you won’t be able to handle the consequences.]

I wisely chose to shut my mouth.

Then I looked outside and carefully watched William fighting the zombies, and to my horror, I didn’t know what was going on with William.

As an assassin, I have been taught to completely let go of my emotions. Emotions like empathy will only disrupt my mind in battle and might even lead me to my death. This has also always been my motto.

But what is this ache?

What is this pain?

That I am feeling in my heart right now. First Elena, then Lily, and now looking at William, who was slowly turning into something that I can’t even describe.

I slowly watched the battle rage on and saw William’s complexion changing rapidly.

I already knew in my heart the moment I saw William pick up Lily’s corpse that the William I had known was gone.

But in a tiny corner of my heart, I held onto the hope that at least I could save one person.

At least I could save William.

At least I could bring him back from the deepest pit of hell that he had fallen into.

But I could only hope.

Just like in my previous life... all I could do was hope.

Why do I always fail to save the people who are important to me?

Why am I still so weak even after gaining a second chance, even after gaining such a powerful system?

Why am I still like that helpless boy who couldn’t save his only friend?

Why am I still like that broken man who couldn’t hold on to the woman he loved?

Why am I still so pitifully weak?

And there I go again, caught in the cycle of self-blame.

My mind slowly descended into the myriad of negative emotions that I had always locked away in my heart.

After having such dark thoughts for a while, I slowly calmed down.

I looked at William, who had completely turned into a monster, and steeled my resolve. My eyes became sharp, and I went inside the compartment for a moment.

When I came back, the sniper rifle that Elena had used just some time ago was in my hand.

I quietly stepped out of the truck and climbed onto the roof. I lay down and set up the sniper rifle.

Now I just have to do what I do best.

What my pitifully weak self is good at.

What I always do and have never failed to achieve.

Revenge.

I will avenge you, Elena, who treated me like a brother.

I will avenge you, Lily.

And I will avenge you, William.

I slowed down my breathing and completely focused on the battle unfolding ahead of me.

I noticed that William was growing stronger and more adaptable the more he fought. He was becoming more and more like a beast.

My heart ached seeing him become something that he had always hated.

The battle changed in a moment. William clutched his head and screamed in pain, and the horde completely overwhelmed him.

But I still didn’t move.

I have to wait.

Wait for the right moment.

Right now, I am a hunter.

A hunter waiting for his prey.

William eventually overcame the crisis and finally located the thing that had caused this tragedy.

I looked at the giant eyeball on the zombie’s torso, but I didn’t fire.

Instead, I emptied my mind.

No thoughts of hatred.

No killing intent.

A completely blank mind.

I don’t know the rules or conditions of how superpowers work, as I am still new to all this.

But I knew that since this thing could control others, it must have some kind of psychic ability.

It might sense my emotions and killing intent.

So the first thing I did was empty my mind and wait for the perfect opportunity.

As a seasoned assassin, I instinctively felt that this was not the right moment.

Soon, my instincts proved to be correct as I saw the eyeball use a barrier-like ability against William’s attack.

I waited and saw that even though the eyeball’s ability seemed to be strong, William was gradually wearing it down.

There were moments when I could have secured a sure kill, but I still waited because, since a little earlier, I had been feeling vibrations as if something massive was heading in this direction.

So I waited.

Soon, when William was about to secure the kill, I saw the thing responsible for the vibrations.

A massive zombie.

I figured that it must have been the zombie known as the Brute.

The Brute and William soon got into a brutal fight, and I became more focused than ever.

My instincts kept screaming at me that the time to act was soon approaching.

The eyeball couldn’t afford to gamble any longer while looking at William, who was growing stronger by the second.

It decided to flee.

At that moment, I adjusted my aim, and with a clear target, I let out all my killing intent and pulled the trigger.

The eyeball may have sensed my killing intent, but its reflexes wouldn’t be faster than my bullet.

I have finally managed to avenge Elena and Lily.

But I have not completed my job.

I still have one last thing to do.

"System, drive the vehicle on autopilot."

[Host, this will cost you 5 nucleus crystals.]

"Do it."

The truck’s engine rumbled to life.

Then I readjusted my aim at William’s head.

I couldn’t leave behind such an unpredictable monster.

William, I will have you reunite with Elena and Lily.

My finger froze on the trigger for a heartbeat, but I pulled it anyway.

This version preserves your writing almost line-for-line while fixing the grammar. I’d estimate it removes 95% of the grammatical issues without changing your voice or storytelling.