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The rooftop of the Silver Wing Building.

A biting night wind howled past, making the yellow warning tape along the edge of the rooftop flutter loudly.

A huge metal logo stands like a wall on the south side of the rooftop.

Each high-brightness cool white LED bead is tightly embedded inside the stainless steel letter casing.

Without any diffuser to block the light, the emitted glow made the concrete floor appear a stark white.

Under this blinding light, a dozen or so members of the Flying Crane Gang, dressed in floral shirts, hunched over and clutched their automatic rifles.

They were scattered around the rooftop entrance and along the surrounding railings, vigilantly watching the movements below.

In the center of the rooftop, there is a bright yellow circular area with a diameter of tens of meters, and at the center of the circle is a bold black letter "H".

This is an internationally recognized sign for a helicopter landing pad.

Right next to the lightning rod base on the east side of the tarmac, there are four large, rusty iron cages placed side by side, seemingly holding some kind of prey.

Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be several young men and women in tattered clothes, and even a child who looked to be only ten years old.

They huddled in a corner, trembling, their bodies covered in wounds, clearly having suffered inhuman abuse.

In the outermost cage, there was an elderly man with gray hair, none other than Shen Wei, the president of the East City Society.

At this moment, his face was ashen, his breathing was weak, and his left leg was twisted at an angle, already fractured.

"Eat up! Give me some!"

A thin, dark-skinned man, as thin as a bamboo pole, tossed a few pieces of bread and a bottle of mineral water into the cage through the bars.

He kept shouting and his movements were as rough as if he were feeding livestock.

"Don't let the hell of you starve to death before the goods are delivered. You won't be worth much to the corpse collectors!"

The two young people were so hungry they were seeing stars. As soon as they saw food, they pounced on it like madmen, grabbing the dusty bread and wolfing it down. They choked and their eyes rolled back, but they didn't dare stop.

The child huddled in the corner, desperately stuffing food into his mouth while staring in terror at the demon outside the cage, tears streaming down his dirty face.

Shen Wei, however, kept his head down and ignored him completely, as if he were a clay or wooden sculpture.

Seeing his half-dead state, the dark-skinned man was instantly enraged and smashed an unopened bottle of mineral water into Shen Wei's face.

"You old geezer, don't push your luck!"

Shen Wei's head was knocked to the side by the blow, and blood instantly seeped from his temple. He remained silent, his mouth tightly shut.

"Hold!"

The dark-skinned man kicked the cage in frustration, making a loud bang that startled the "cargo" inside, causing it to scream.

"Damn it, if I had known this old bastard was so stubborn, I should have spared a few more people last night."

"It's all because we got too caught up in the killing and forgot about this. We ended up killing all those useless people, and now we can't even find anyone to guide us."

As he spoke, his gaze swept menacingly over the others in the cage, before he turned and glared at the giant man next to him who was feasting.

It was a mountain of flesh, over two and a half meters tall, sitting cross-legged on the ground, clutching a bloody thigh of some unknown animal, tearing at it with ravenous bites.

Upon hearing the complaints, the giant simply raised his head, revealing a blood-stained face with murky and vacant eyes.

He seemed not to understand what his companion was saying at all, just grunted twice, and continued to gnaw on his meat.

"Alright, Black Mamba."

A red-haired man sitting on the water tank jumped down.

He had a typical Eastern European face, with a high nose and deep-set eyes, and even his pupils had an eerie fiery red color.

This person, codenamed Fire Dragon, is the firepower specialist in the Bloodthorn Mercenary Group.

He lit a cigar, took a deep drag, and said in an awkward accent with a heavy trilled "r" sound:

"According to the intelligence provided by the mole in the East City Society, they stored the supplies they transported in a transit warehouse, and then the orphanage sent people to retrieve them."

"Without that old man sending a signal, they're very cautious and won't show themselves at all. Even if they kept those people around, they'd just be a waste of food."

"Hmph, it's all because that old man is too vigilant."

The skinny man, nicknamed Black Mamba, spat and glared again at Shen Wei, who remained seated motionless.

"They actually discovered our tracks ahead of time, forcing us to kill them prematurely. If we could have sneaked over quietly, none of this would have happened."

Listening to his companion's incessant complaints, the fire dragon exhaled a puff of smoke, glanced at his watch, and his expression became somewhat agitated:
"Why hasn't the person who was supposed to pick up the goods arrived yet? Weren't we supposed to meet at 11:30?"

"What's the rush? Those helicopter pilots get overtime pay even if they're a minute late. They're probably circling around in the air right now."

Black Mamba curled his lip indifferently.

"I'm afraid that if we drag this out, the special investigation team will discover something is wrong and track us down."

Fire Dragon frowned, then pointed at Shen Wei in the cage:
"Besides, although intelligence shows that this old man was kicked out of the Shen family decades ago, he is still a member of the Shen family by blood."

"If it really falls into our hands, the Shen family will definitely not let it go easily because of their pride, and it will be troublesome if they come knocking on our door."

"Afraid of a bird!"

Black Mamba sneered, his eyes filled with ferocity:

"So what if they come knocking? At worst, we can leave Dongdu and escape from Xia Kingdom. No matter how far the Shen family's influence extends, can it reach overseas?"

"You make it sound so easy!"

Fire Dragon flicked the ash from his cigar and retorted with dissatisfaction:

"Are we really going to abandon the foundation we've built up over the past two years just because of this? Are we really going to throw away the channels we've worked so hard to establish?"

"Tch, we're mercenaries, bandits, so what difference does it make where we are?"

Black Mamba curled his lip in disdain and suggested in a sinister tone:
"In my opinion, we should just sell this old man and those piglets as commodities to the Xiao family and the military."

"Although this old guy is a good-for-nothing, he still has some extraordinary bloodline in his body. They should be interested and can squeeze some money out of him."

"Are you stupid?"

Fire Dragon frowned and couldn't help but curse:
"How much would he be worth if we sold him? If we can't get those live specimens from the orphanage, the resources the Xiao family promised us won't be enough, and the eldest brother's plan to break through to the next level will fall through!"

Who are you calling an idiot?

Black Mamba's eyes turned cold, and he instantly pulled out a dagger, his whole body arching like a venomous snake ready to strike at any moment.

Not to be outdone, the fire dragon unleashed a burst of orange-red flames from its palm, distorting the surrounding air.

Just as the two were about to clash, the giant man was still foolishly gnawing on meat beside them, seemingly not caring at all whether they lived or died.

"enough."

At that moment, a soft, effeminate male voice suddenly broke in.

Like a bucket of ice water, it instantly extinguished the tension that was about to erupt between the two.

From the shadows beside the giant, the man who had been meditating with his eyes closed slowly raised his head.

He was wearing an ordinary gray trench coat and a clown mask with an exaggerated red smiley face painted on it, which looked particularly eerie under the cold lights.

This man is the leader of the Bloodthorn Mercenary Group, codenamed "Masked Man".

"There's no need to argue."

The masked man spoke in a deep voice, his eyes behind the mask as unfathomable as a still pool, his tone so calm it was chilling:

"I have decided to detain Shen Wei for another two days."

He stood up, walked to the cage, and looked down at Shen Wei, who was resting with his eyes closed, as if he were examining a lamb to the slaughter:

"My abilities are taking effect, and it won't be long before I can completely penetrate his subconscious and control his thoughts."

"When the time comes, we'll release him once we've extracted his exact memories of the orphanage from his mind."

The Masked Man paused here, then let out a soft chuckle:
"Anyway, we didn't hurt him at all from beginning to end. His broken leg was something he broke himself when he was running away. What does it have to do with us, Bloodthorn?"

"Even if the Shen family wants to cause trouble, they can't blame it on us."

Upon hearing this, Black Mamba and Fire Dragon exchanged a glance, a chill running down their spines as they silently cursed each other.

Not a single hair was harmed?
With the boss's torturous ability to penetrate the mind, by the time he's completely dug out the old man's memories, his brain will have long since turned into mush.

Even if you put it back, it will probably just turn into a drooling idiot.

This is crueler than killing him.

Just as the group was discussing this, a piercing electrical sound suddenly rang out in the air.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

That was the strange sound coming from the communicator hanging on the dragon's ear.

Immediately afterwards, a terrified voice, accompanied by a jumble of background noise, rang out:
"Boss... Boss, something's wrong! The East City Gang is attacking!" "These guys... they're too fierce! They've killed so many of our brothers... we can't hold them off at all! Ah!!!"

The screams abruptly stopped, replaced by the horrifying sound of bones cracking and the dull thud of heavy objects slamming onto the floor.

Fire Dragon's expression changed, and he immediately pressed his earpiece, shouting loudly:
"Hey, talk to me! How many people are there?"

There was no response, only the continuous gunshots, screams, and dull thuds like fists and feet striking flesh coming from the receiver.

Fire Dragon released the headset, his brow furrowed, and muttered to himself:

"Could it be an accomplice hired by the East City Gang? Wasn't that kid just on the phone negotiating with us? I didn't expect him to move so quickly, getting right to the Silver Wing Building."

"Damn it, these idiots actually came to our door on their own."

Black Mamba licked his lips, his eyes flashing with ferocity, and twirled the dagger in his hand:
"I've been sitting here in the wind for half a day, and I'm so bored that I'm killing time with them."

"hehe."

The masked man chuckled lightly and turned around unhurriedly.

The red smiling face on the mask was facing the heavy iron door leading to the rooftop, and the tone was playful:

"It seems the negotiations were just a pretext; we underestimated the rats' determination."

The bear that had been engrossed in eating nearby suddenly threw away the bone in its hand.

He was like a wild beast sensing danger, on all fours, his back muscles bulging, a low growl emanating from his throat, staring intently at the iron gate.

Boom, boom, boom...

Faintly, a series of heavy footsteps came from downstairs, causing the concrete ground beneath their feet to tremble slightly.

It was as if a giant was rapidly approaching the rooftop, step by step, along the stairwell.

The Flying Crane Gang members, who had been somewhat disorganized, immediately panicked and raised their guns.

A dozen or so dark gun barrels were pointed at the rooftop entrance, fingers tightened on the triggers.

Fire Dragon threw the half-smoked cigar on the ground, stomped it out, and his palms emitted a bright orange-red light.

Black Mamba gripped the dagger in his backhand, crouching slightly, his entire body like a fully drawn bow, ready to spring forth at any moment.

A fierce wind howled across the rooftop, emitting a mournful wail, attempting to mask the unusual noises coming from the stairwell.

At this moment, the exclamations and sounds of excitement had completely disappeared.

Only the approaching, increasingly clear footsteps remained.

Clearly, all the other gang members stationed downstairs had met with misfortune.

This situation made several members of the Bloodthorn Mercenary Group wary.

It should be noted that, in order to ensure the smooth running of this transaction and avoid the risk of being double-crossed, they specially dispatched all the elite members of the Flying Crane Gang to be stationed here armed and armed.

In addition to the dozen or so gunmen on the rooftop, dozens of people were also deployed downstairs to guard the elevator shaft and fire exits.

With such an impenetrable formation, even if a special police assault team were to force their way in, they could hold out for at least ten minutes.

Unexpectedly, they were overwhelmed by the East City Gang so quickly, unable to even hold them off for a moment, making them seem utterly vulnerable.

This is enough to show that the newcomer is definitely a ruthless person, and their strength should not be underestimated.

Fire Dragon's expression turned serious as he looked at the masked man standing behind him with his hands behind his back, as if seeking instructions.

The masked man glanced at him calmly through the mask and nodded slightly.

With the leader's permission, Fire Dragon immediately raised his hand and quietly made a tactical gesture to the panicked gang members around him.

That was a signal for everyone to disperse and form a fan-shaped cross around the entrance, creating a firing net with no blind spots.

Snapped.

Just as everyone had adjusted their positions, the footsteps stopped abruptly behind the door.

The air seemed to freeze for a second.

The next second—

"boom!"

The heavy security door looked as if it had been hit head-on by a cannonball.

With a deafening crash, the entire door panel twisted and deformed before slamming to the ground.

"Fire!"

The fire dragon let out a fierce roar.

Da da da da da da da—

More than a dozen automatic rifles roared simultaneously, spitting out long tongues of fire from their muzzles.

A hail of bullets rained down like a storm, relentlessly sweeping towards the breached entrance.

The bullets struck the twisted wreckage of the iron gate and the concrete ground, sending up a series of dazzling sparks.

In an instant, gravel flew everywhere and smoke billowed.

A pungent smell of gunpowder quickly filled the entire rooftop.

A few seconds later, the gunfire subsided.

The Flying Crane Gang gunmen nearly emptied their magazines before finally releasing their grip, panting heavily.

The gun barrels emitted wisps of smoke, and the scalding hot shell casings covered the ground.

Under the cool white LED light, it shimmered with a breathtaking metallic luster.

On the rooftop, everyone stared intently at the gap that had been created by brute force.

As the night wind swept by, the lingering smoke and dust gradually dissipated, revealing the devastated stairwell.

However, there were no corpses, no bloodstains, and not even a single person inside.

Only the twisted and deformed iron gate lay forlornly on the ground, as if mocking their earlier barrage of firepower, which they felt was nothing more than venting their anger on thin air.

The intruders previously reported by the communicator have vanished without a trace.

"no one?"

Black Mamba narrowed his eyes slightly, preparing to use his invisibility ability to step forward and check the situation.

Just then, a small light suddenly appeared in the dark and deep doorway.

As faint as a firefly, yet as dazzling as a star in an instant.

boom!
A crisp, short gunshot shattered the silence that had just begun.

A bullet, accompanied by a swirling current, shot out from the darkness, aiming straight for the Black Mamba standing in front of it, between the eyebrows.

"careful!"

The masked man's voice rang out almost simultaneously with the gunshot.

As a battle-hardened mercenary, Black Mamba naturally reacted extremely quickly.

Upon hearing the warning, I instinctively swerved to the right, tilting my neck back to its extreme angle.

"call out--"

That was the sharp sound of a bullet whizzing through the air at high speed.

The scorching bullet grazed Black Mamba's cheek, leaving a small bloodstain and even singeing a few strands of his hair.

Black Mamba broke out in a cold sweat. Before he could even feel relieved to have survived, he caught a glimpse of a scene out of the corner of his eye that made his pupils shrink.

The bullet that he had clearly dodged did not miss.

It drew a strange C-shaped arc in mid-air, as if it had eyes, and abruptly turned back to the left.

"Pfft!"

A dull thud was heard, like a sharp blade piercing flesh.

A gunman standing to the left rear of the Black Mamba didn't even realize what was happening before a burst of blood exploded in his chest.

This is not over yet.

The bullet had terrifying kinetic energy; even after piercing his chest cavity, its momentum did not diminish.

With a chilling whistling sound, it continued to fly backward, piercing the bodies of two other accomplices nearby.

"Thump," "Thump," "Thump."

Three gunmen fell to the ground one after another, as if strung together by a thread of blood. (End of Chapter)