Léon: The Cat Killer

Slowly pulling out her lab credentials from her suit's inner pocket, Nana was already quite adept at handling these kinds of checks... Her profession and credentials were genuine, as was her address; they could check as they pleased.

Seeing the girl's cooperation, Li Boli, who had been standing guard two steps away with one hand on his saber and the other holding his shield, stepped forward to take Nana's identification.

"CASA (Columbia Tobacco and Alcohol Spell Unit and Originium Products Administration) has reported that a large number of Originium crystals were lost near the Loken Water Tank. We have had to set up a checkpoint. I need to check your backpack now... Please understand that this is a legal procedure."

"Please take a good look at my documents before you inspect them..."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, even if the governor came today, we would still have to conduct a thorough inspection."

Despite saying that, Li Boli, dressed in the CAS uniform, still obediently glanced at Nana's ID. Then, the man immediately stopped his companion from reaching for the girl's bag, and he himself even took a step back.

"You...you are...from the national laboratory...that is, the DOD (Colombian Ministry of Defense) research project..."

"National Laboratory, omit the classified parts... My credentials should state that I can legally possess light semi-automatic firearms. Also, I have Originium explosives in my backpack as samples. Please handle with care during the inspection... Why are you backing away?"

Although it was an unconscious action, the police officers deliberately backed away after the girl's reminder... The CASA employee in charge, holding Nana's identification, was caught in a dilemma, but soon after, other plainclothes officers arrived, and Li Boli breathed a sigh of relief:

“…Stan…come look at this…”

"No need to look, this lady is indeed a resident of the apartment building ahead, and this isn't the first time we've met her."

Seeing the beige-suited man she had met once before pull the ID card from his subordinate's hand and then return it to Nana with a smile, the girl took it and was about to stuff it into her pocket, but she didn't expect him to hold it so tightly that her two hands holding the ID card froze together.

Under the neon lights and streetlights of the night market, Nana was forced to get so close to him that she could feel his breath. This man always seemed to have a mysterious smile on his lips. His stubble did not diminish his handsomeness. His hair and sideburns were meticulously combed with hair oil until they shone brightly. His voice was also very magnetic... If this man's eyes were not as cold as Nana's, he would definitely be very popular.

“We didn’t introduce ourselves last time. I work at CASA and was Andy’s former colleague.”

"Hello, you have already seen my identification."

"Yes, of course... back to you. As for the dangerous items... ah, the Originium isolation box is quite large, it probably won't fit in your backpack. Plus, it's legal for you to possess Originium products, so we won't waste the trust the department has placed in you and make things difficult... However, you're Andy's neighbor, perhaps I can offer you some advice?"

"You say."

"CASA has identified several suspects, with Andy being the prime suspect... You might not know this, but he's the only one in this neighborhood who suddenly became infected... Well, we'll probably arrest him and his family tomorrow..."

As he spoke, he observed the girl's emotional state, his smile seemingly etched on his face.

"Hmm, you seem... quite calm?"

“All the projects at the national laboratory are related to Originium. I come into contact with that stuff frequently, so I don’t have any strange aversion to Originium patients… But you, why did you specifically tell me this news? What do you want me to do?”

The man saw only cold madness, while the girl responded with mad indifference... Although there was a slight difference in height between them, both were suited thugs, and Nana's aura was not much less imposing than that of the man known as Stan.

The standoff between the two ended with Stan raising his hands and taking a step back, which was seen as an admission of defeat.

"Ah, I didn't mean to discriminate against people with Oripathy. I was just reminding you that your neighborhood might be quite lively tomorrow at noon..." Lin

"Then you'd better keep it down. This is an old apartment building; the soundproofing might not be as good as in the newer areas."

"We'll be careful."

As she walked back to her safe house, the girl heard her manager's indignant voice through her earpiece: i

What do you mean by 'only he became infected'? Wasn't it because that man was powerless to change his fate as an infected that he was forced to accept Loken's plan?!

'Public institutions always need a pretext for their actions... that box of pure Originium was one, and so is CASA...'

[Clearly, Loken Williams' actions are in line with our predictions. What's next?]

"Activate another safe house and unblock the backup identity. After today, 'Salesperson Nana' will probably have to disappear from this land. List the ICA's commission, and also call a moving service... I'll move the Bruce family out tonight."

[Understood!] Six orders, two two three private grudges.

After discussing and dividing the tasks with her manager, Nana quickly ran back to the fifth floor, stuffing her phone back into her pocket.

After spotting corrupt police officers watching her from the fifth floor, the girl had no choice but to pretend to return to her own home. However, before she could even take her potted plant with her, Nana, carrying her schoolbag, darted out from the balcony and slipped into the neighbor's house.

"Cole? Are you there?! I have something to tell you—!"

Even though she lowered her voice, she couldn't hide the anxiety in Nana's voice. But the girl searched for Mrs. Cole in the dark for a long time but couldn't find her... She couldn't even find Kate.

However, as the door to the next room opened, Matilda, carrying a pillow, and the two twins... boys, one holding a kitchen knife in one hand and a baseball bat in the other, entered the master bedroom.

"Nana-neechan?"

"...Not a bad person?"

The black-haired Film didn't have time to explain why she was there:

"Where are Cole and Kate?"

"Mom and sister, they went to see Dad...that man."

Hearing what the older twin said, Nana's heart skipped a beat, but she immediately pressed for an answer:

“Look at Andy…you know him…no, this isn’t the time to talk about that…when did they leave?”

"It was probably not long after lunch... I remember that my mother and sister only ate two bites of food before leaving."

"Cole...they left you 19-year-old kids at home?!"

Seeing Nana's incredulous expression, the twins puffed out their cheeks together:

"We're in our first year of high school now, and in three more years we'll be college students..."

"You're an adult now!"

Not in the mood to deal with the twins' back-and-forth, the assassin noticed something else... If Cole and Kate were called away at noon, Loken's ill intentions would be obvious.

Andy's death occurred after 6 PM, and the fact that he was called away before noon suggests it was premeditated...

Although Nana wanted to say that Cole wasn't the kind of person who would leave children at home, Kate... yes, they probably didn't know at the time that Andy's death was... what called them away might not have been a death notice, but a critical condition notice.

Cole is the kind of person who only looks for jobs near his home when it comes to finding work for his daughters; they certainly wouldn't leave their three children unattended.

Therefore, Kate would most likely have insisted on going with him... After all, who would have the heart to refuse their daughter's visit to see her father one last time? However, Loken never intended for Kate to come back to take care of the children from the beginning.

Now the Bruce family only has three little ones left, and the local law enforcement and judicial system are all Loken's men. The surrounding roads are blocked, and there are even their spies in the stairwells... No wonder Loken Williams looked so confident when he was 'celebrating' in the lab.

If that's the case... why didn't the ICA notice Cole and Kate leaving? Was it because they placed the order to target the rest of the Bruce family much later than the operation at Loken Tank yesterday at noon?

"Nana... what happened?"

Matilda's words reminded the assassin that now was not the time to think about these things.

"Yes, something has happened... Your home may not be safe now, I have to take you away."

Hearing Nana's tone, the twins, who hadn't even lowered their weapons yet and were blocking Matilda behind them, exchanged a suspicious glance.

"Um, do you know?"

"What you just said sounded..."

"Like a kidnapper."

Matilda joined in the吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to complain or criticize) this time, but just as Nana was about to forcibly take the three away, a muffled thud downstairs made the girl's fluffy cat ears perk up.

[Number 77, your headset picked up a lot of footsteps, at least five people... and they're heavily equipped.]

“…Matilda, you and your brothers hide first…I need to deal with those guys outside.”

As she spoke, she reached behind her back, and a silver pistol with a silencer appeared in her hand. After confirming once more that the three children were hiding in the master bedroom at the end of the corridor, Nana then turned her attention to the door…

A series of heavy footsteps is no small noise in an old-fashioned apartment building. Although it is already late at night, some sleepy office workers still want to open the door to find out what's going on.

Of course, these guys who opened the door to curse as soon as they were caught in the dream were all cursed back by the heavily armed SWAT officers carrying shields with the word CASA on them, under the pretext of 'police enforcement'. During this time, Nana heard a familiar voice... the name 'Stan' was not concealed at all.

The footsteps quickly reached the end of the corridor. With one hand behind her back, Nana silently pulled the safety on the hammer; the deadly magical weapon was ready to fire at any moment… But just as the footsteps stopped at the door, Nana heard Stan, who was standing outside Bruce's door, suddenly speak:

"Ah...right...never mind this for now, let's come here...Bruce's neighbor...Miss Nana, you must have just returned...I'm sorry, 'Salesperson,' for the enforcement being brought forward...Are you there? I think you're probably not here, after all—"

Oh, you're here!

The heavy, oppressive footsteps, like those returning from hell, returned to Bruce's door with an overwhelming sense of urgency. Then, without any warning, a series of gunshots blasted against the door.

Ordinary wooden apartment doors are no match for the bombardment of large-scale gun shrapnel. With the screams of the children inside, the wooden door, riddled with bullets, was suddenly smashed open!

"CASA enforcement officers, hands up..."

Before the heavily armed man leading the charge could finish speaking, a gun hole appeared in the half-open wooden door of the first corridor after entering the Yilin Saner ⊙ Qisi door... which was also the restroom.

Compared to the commotion caused by the previous CASA raid, the assassin's attack was so quiet it was as if it didn't exist.

But the attack was objective, and the bullet was material. The .45 caliber bullet, activated by magic, was like a guided missile. Without eyes, it avoided the helmet. The victim's heavy armor became a burden. The armored bullet, enveloped in 'black light,' pierced through the headphones and accurately entered the SWAT officer's brain.

The sudden collapse of the Plump Hoof, who was wearing over 40 kilograms of protective gear, greatly hindered the attacking team. Then, the smoke grenade that rolled out of the half-open bathroom door forced the CASA team to abandon their attempt to carry their comrade and retreat directly from Bruce's house.

"Calling headquarters, 22 or 30 people have fallen! Someone has fallen!"

"I saw it, shut up! Don't we all know nobody's going to bother with this?! All of you, shut up!!"

With Stan's roar as he organized the team, Nana began to confront the CASA members across the wall. For a moment, the sound of large gun bullets being loaded into the corridor was louder than the breathing of the people around her.

“Miss Nana, you really surprised me… or rather, when I suddenly saw your request on the ICA’s official website, I knew you were our ‘surprise’… but it seems the real truth is in an even more unexpected state.”

"Although both are government agencies, it seems a bit unreasonable that a finance department clerk has more combat capabilities than the CASA Operations Department... We initially thought you were only good at planting explosives, so we even had someone put on bomb disposal gear for you... But it seems he has to face an unexpected event in his life."

"But that doesn't matter. Williams' share was distributed a week ago, and his family will receive their due compensation."

"Of course, if you want to redistribute, that's fine too... After all, in terms of status, whether it's the salesman at the national laboratory or that assassin whose name and appearance are still unknown... they are as prestigious as this suit of mine."

As he spoke, he loaded the large gun in his hand with etched shot that could turn a person into a sieve. After the smoke gradually dissipated, Stan tilted his head and gestured to his subordinates, who were also holding rapid-fire large guns across the door, to go inside.

"So, what's your opinion?"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two men, one above the other, emptied the magazines inside the room.

The roar of gunfire was accompanied by a loud "GOGOGO!" command. The remaining two CASA Guard Operators, wielding longswords and short swords imbued with the glow of Originium Arts, filed in one after another. The one leading the charge deliberately stepped over a small yellow duck as she rushed onto the master bedroom balcony.

"Empty the restrooms!"

"Clear the living room."

"Empty the kitchen."

"Empty the bedroom!"

"No enemy detected..."

"A rope was found on the balcony!"

Hearing his subordinates' reports of smooth progress, Stan's face darkened.

Even while on a dangerous mission, the man, still dressed in a suit with only a soft vest over his shirt and light protective gear, ran angrily toward the balcony with bloodshot eyes. He first stared blankly for a second at the simple knotted rope tied to the balcony railing, just like his subordinates, then immediately grabbed the railing and leaned over to look down.

Even with his exceptional night vision, Li Boli saw nothing.

Seeing that the prize money in his mouth had vanished, the man became unusually furious:

"The killer of 'universal profanity', 'Victoria's profanity,' arrived swiftly!"

Just as the man turned around to give some instructions, suddenly everything went white before his eyes, and several people were forced to hastily face the impact, the loud noise, and the flames... It was as if the man's world had returned to silence, and Bruce's balcony had been completely blown apart.

However, the Originium Arts that had been continuously enhancing his body and the soft bulletproof vest saved Stan's life. Unlike his colleagues, he did not lose consciousness. Instead, in a daze, he grabbed onto a rope that was swaying in the blast wave on the carved steel railing of the balcony... and ultimately survived...

The rope was actually long enough to lower a person to the first floor... The man was standing on the ground, his mind buzzing as he pondered this completely unexpected question.

At this point, Mrs. Jackson, the building manager, could no longer tolerate it. The elderly woman, dressed only in her pajamas, carried an emergency light upstairs under the watchful eyes of numerous tenants. Facing a cloud of smoke, she angrily shouted:

"Why don't you leave that poor, struggling bar alone? It's another one of ours!"

After posing for a while, the old woman unexpectedly received no response... and when she followed Bruce's house step by step, the kind-hearted old woman only saw a mess where even the wall next door had been blown through.

Neither the Bruce family home, littered with corpses, nor the neighboring Nana family home was a soul in sight.

"Oh... my God..."

The old man's sentiments mingled with the sounds of police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances.

However, the elderly person who had never been to the room at the end of the fifth floor naturally couldn't see it either; a potted plant had disappeared from the windowsill next door at some point.

1st Rosemary Embrace: 011 Take a Step Forward

The long sirens ripped through the night sky, and red and blue police lights illuminated the darkness... The Leytonson Police Department cordoned off the scene with a response speed that even surpassed that of affluent neighborhoods, while the deputy chief of the police department was briefing the military personnel who had been dispatched to the scene.

Ahead of the vehicles with flashing police lights was a convoy of armored vehicles painted in sandy blue, with a huge humanoid machine partially obscured by a shawl-like dust cover at the rear of the convoy.

Veterans on the roof of the military vehicle pointed out the damage to the building while holding onto the vehicle-mounted firepower... As soldiers in sand-colored uniforms disembarked from subsequent trucks and crossed the blockade, the National Guard, which had been urgently deployed, began to confront the equally heavily armed CASA.

At this moment, Wu Yiqiba Lin Qiliu, caught in the middle by both sides, LTPD (Leightonson Police Department) deputy chief glared one last time at Stansfield, who was still being treated by the hospital's sorcerers... The only surviving CASA agent in this incident is at the center of this standoff.

“…Yes…no, it’s not a scourge. We don’t need tanks or armored guards here…The explosion on the fifth floor was probably an accident, maybe from a gas furnace or some other Originium artifact…Yes, the damage is still under investigation…No, you can’t take Stansfield away. He’s investigating the missing Originium from the Loken Water Tank, and he’s under pressure from above…”

"...But are you sure he can handle the case now?"

Unlike the deputy director, who subconsciously lowered his voice when speaking, the second lieutenant, a military officer, had a loud voice, and his gaze never fell on the hesitant guy in front of him.

"An explosion in the center of the city cannot be dismissed as just an accident. Although I don't know what your police system is up to with the Loken Water Tank, the fact that an explosive reaction occurred in a public area is something the mayor can't handle."