Léon: The Cat Killer

Stanfield wasn't worried at first. Could his elite laboratory troops be defeated by a mob wielding clubs? In terms of firepower, the number of guns, and combat experience... Stanfield had no reason to fear them.

But for some reason, looking at the priest whose halo and wings of light were becoming increasingly dazzling, Stan had a bad feeling.

"Destroying churches... harming nuns... disregarding the cries of children and forcibly taking them away... and finally attempting to use a single document to force those yearning for miracles to abandon justice and righteousness... You deserve to die!"

Seeing the priest's halo shining like the sun, and his wings spread wide as if flames were burning fiercely, the armed men who had been on guard beforehand also launched an attack on the priest as he raised his pistol.

But compared to the six bullets that pierced the battlefield like beams of light, the mercenaries' offensive was instantly suppressed to its limit.

A dazzling light, accompanied by flames, rose from the ground centered on the priest. As Lateran's 'Commandments' were unleashed to their full power, the believers, their morale greatly boosted, launched an attack on the armed personnel.

As Matilda dragged her brothers up from under the headless corpses, the children looked around helplessly, unsure how to escape the battlefield.

Matilda's gaze was fixed on the priest in the flames. After he declared judgment on the wicked, his upright figure never emerged from the flames again. The kitten could only remember the stranger's promise.

Although the girl didn't know how he did it, he did it...

He risked his life to defend the freedom of the three of them.

But... what should I do after this flame, lit with my life, goes out?

The kittens watched helplessly as the scene turned into a massacre of the cultists.

They...couldn't find their way home.

PS:

PS2: Let's talk about some more things regarding the Ark setting...

People usually think that firearms in Ark are generally just called guns, but when I was looking through the setting book yesterday... I stared at the entry for 'guns, also known as firearms' for a long time... Can't this be called a gun?

1st Rosemary Embrace: 018 Talk about your mom.

The information center of the Loken Water Tank is located on the upper floor of the test area building. It relies on the water supply system of the top-floor water tank for heat dissipation and provides comfortable warm water to the entire park around the clock.

Considering its crucial location storing all the experimental data and results from the entire test area, its security system is not very robust...

Although it was right next to the security room, the security of the test area had been taken over by the mercenaries, and the security guards who were supposed to protect the information center were now unattended... They had all been sent to the outer checkpoints by the mercenaries.

While the frontline mercenaries were still battling wits with the booby traps set by Nana, all the personnel in the rear were called to the test zone to establish a second line of defense. On the way, Nana encountered several squads of mercenary guards running forward. They were preparing to fully support the second line of defense, leaving only one 'battlefield control' personnel in the security room who couldn't possibly keep up with all the screens.

The assassin didn't make things too difficult for him. She used the paracord to invite him to take a good nap in the locker in the monitoring room. Then, she casually unplugged the monitoring hard drive and reset and restarted the monitoring system to ensure that no one would notice her trail.

Then it was time to seriously head to the data center to find news of Kate and Cole...

Just when Nana thought she was about to face all sorts of strange security measures and bizarre traps, things started to go surprisingly smoothly.

Aside from the rather heavy security door, Nana encountered no other obstacles in the server room. The entire information center was only occupied by two maintenance personnel watching television with their backs to the door, watching a pointless rock music channel.

Because the TV volume seemed to be turned up so loud it was making sonic booms, the two of them didn't hear anything. Nana simply let them go and went straight into the service room.

Amidst the hum of numerous water pumps, Nana stood in the center of the room, where a monitor and operating hardware were located... and began to gently tap on the keyboard.

Although access to administrator privileges requires an additional password, even guest privileges are sufficient for basic search tasks.

Nana first searched for 'Williams', but almost all the experiments involved Williams's intervention, and the search results, which were still climbing to over four digits even when sorted by time... Nana looked for a long time but couldn't figure it out. The girl scratched her head and decided to reset her search keywords.

"...Hmm, 'Bruce'...there's a...sensitive data warning?"

"I'm already in the information center, why would I care if you're sensitive or not..." The girl clicked "confirm" to continue accessing the site in frustration.

To Nana's great surprise, the documentation for the Originium Crystal Organ Project was simply stored in the Information Center.

Skipping over the evaluations of various Originium Arts and proprietary terminology that Nana didn't want to see, the girl quickly flipped to the 'sample status' of the information:

"Sample Zero 'Andy Bruce' Originium organ processing completed... deceased... Sample One 'Cole Bruce'... Originium organ adaptation failed, reprocessing complete?"

Although she didn't know what the file meant, the words "vital signs are stable after processing" still relieved Nana.

With this reasonably acceptable start, the subsequent information in the file of sample number two, 'Kate Bruce,' about the failure to adapt to the Originium organs and the successful rescue after being on the verge of death, didn't cause Nana any emotional fluctuation. In short, as long as she was safe, that was all that mattered.

But just as the assassin was searching for information about the location of the 'laboratory', the sound of the television behind her interrupted Nana's actions.

[…CBS is now broadcasting an emergency news report. It has been reported that around 3 PM today, a serious attack occurred at the DL-13 mobile city platform in Lexington, California.]

The incident occurred on National Highway 332, near the city's Lateran Church, where over 400 armed men attacked a company convoy. It is reported that more than three-quarters of the dead were patients with Oripathy…

Unbeknownst to her, Nana put down her work and stood behind the sofa... The girl stared blankly at the church engulfed in flames, captured by a news drone.

Scattered medical staff around the scene dodged the water hoses from the fire trucks, and everyone in the frame was wearing bio-origin protective gear... The water sprayed from the fire hoses first washed away the charcoal, turning it into black ash, and then spread along the road along with bright red blood.

The two rock music enthusiasts didn't seem interested in the news. One of them said, "It's another case of Orthopaedic patients, isn't it?" and picked up the remote control to change the channel... but a bullet that was fired almost to his ear pierced through the remote control and the table.

"Do not move……"

"Ah...ah?! We surrender, please don't hurt us!"

The technicians paused for two seconds before quickly raising their hands, but because their hands were blocking their view, Nana irritably slapped them away and continued to stare intently at the television.

"I said... don't move... just don't move..."

[...Another emergency broadcast: The battle between local believers and infected workers is being fought by the security forces of the local company 'Loken Tank'... Just now, the Crisis Contract publicly condemned Loken Tank for conducting inhumane and illegal human experiments. According to the testimonies of survivors from the church battlefield, they fought against the inhumane laboratory under the leadership of a priest from the Lateran Church to protect minors being illegally experimented on... But unfortunately, in the end, those three children were taken away by Loken Tank.]

[According to the warnings just issued by the Melland Humanitarian Organization, the Melland Children's Rights Foundation, and the Melland Science Organization regarding Loken Water Tank, the evidence released by the Crisis Contract is highly credible. The state government has ordered Loken Williams, the owner of Loken Water Tank, to cease his illegal research and has ordered the local garrison to ensure the safety of the three poor children… Next, we will broadcast a special interview with the governor by our reporter regarding this civilian armed conflict…]

……

"Um...you..."

Ignoring the network maintenance staff who sat motionless, trying to ask questions but whose voices were as soft as a mosquito's buzz... Nana stumbled and staggered to the dark, sealed glass window facing the church, smashed the window latch with a shot, and leaned out to look outside.

The embers of the flames, seemingly shooting straight into the sky, silenced the girl for a few seconds. Then, Nana glanced at the several vehicles that had appeared in the checkpoint parking lot at some unknown time, and her face turned pale.

Does this mean that the guys who captured the children have returned to the experimental zone?

Wanting to check the situation, Nana quickly headed to the server room, but halfway there she remembered that there were two other guys who had discovered her identity... so she dragged the two of them and threw them into the server room as well.

The two grown men, thrown inside and slammed against the server rack, looked like they were about to cry, which was indeed pitiful, but Nana's next words left them no time to even cry:

"...Enter the administrator password."

"Huh? What are you going to do? No, no, no... If you want to study the progress data, just download it. It has everything. The computer room administrator's password won't do anything... We'll just give you the password and our job will be done!"

"I need detailed data on the classified experiments, including the exact location of the lab... Or do you value your lives less than this job that could go bankrupt at any moment?"

Although Nana's mind is now filled with thoughts of 'how they found it' because of the church incident, as if by instinct, she quickly finds a way to get them to obey:

"Besides, the end of Loken Water Tank is just around the corner, as you've seen on the news... The government is going to hold them accountable, and the outside world is condemning them... What use do you think your secrecy is? All I know is that if I can't get what I want right now, I can only ask you to die."

Frustrated, he shoved the silencer of a pistol into one person's mouth. As he frantically tugged at another person's clothes, on the verge of tears, another server room worker, seeing the saliva-covered gun barrel about to be pressed against his face, quickly gave up and agreed to the assassin's request.

"Okay! Okay, okay, I'll help you log in! Just keep that gun barrel away from me!"

"Hey, what do you mean?" (whispering)

Not in the mood to deal with the infighting among the computer lab staff, and with no time to review the lab documents again, the girl even considered launching a direct assault on the lab from behind...

However, her killer instincts prevented her from acting rashly. The server room administrator unexpectedly had access to the highest level of control… namely, Williams's own arrangements for the lab's automated security system.

No wonder the server room staff only entered their passwords when they were on the verge of death. Although they couldn't interfere with the security system, the server room administrators had complete access to see exactly where the automated turrets were and where insufficient access cards could turn them into traps. (Angry)

Nana memorized all these settings, then looked at the two people who seemed to be crying or laughing... and punched them both a few times, knocking them unconscious on the spot.

They are not mission targets; there's no need to kill them.

Holding a bouquet and carrying a suitcase, Nana, dressed in a white lab coat, walked down the corridor, trying to get her somewhat sluggish brain working. (Five)

How can they stop the experiment and save Bruce's family?

Cut off the power?

This method, which was commonly used in the past, made Nana shake her head as she thought of the decentralized Originium engine power supply system in the Loken water tank test area... Nine

Cutting off individual power sources is pointless; besides setting up four main power systems, that lunatic Williams also has three backup Originium generators located underground.

Unless all four main systems lose power simultaneously, they won't affect the operation of the experimental area in the slightest. Even if all four power facilities in the four corners of the experimental area were destroyed simultaneously with explosives, the backup generators under the main building wouldn't be able to function... because those backup devices are housed in an equipment room located underground, within the second line of defense.

Nana didn't have enough explosives, nor did she have enough time.

The words from the file that Kate's life was in danger due to the experiment are still fresh in her mind. Instead of slowly forcing the experiment to stop as in the past, Nana can now directly interfere with the final decision-makers who pushed the experiment forward.

“...Loken Williams…”

But thinking about this crucial juncture, Nana remembered what her manager had told her before:

"...Our organization has no way to interfere with them..."

[Because the military is still looking forward to Williams' results.]

In other words, unlike the Bruce family, whose deaths would only elicit a slight moment of silence from everyone, Williams cannot afford to have anything happen to him... Otherwise, not only will the ICA not tolerate him... but even his agent's organization might not accept him.

Because his research has the potential to change the world... while the Bruce family... are just ordinary people whose deaths would have no impact on the world.

Unbeknownst to her, Nana went from walking to jogging... As the girl gritted her teeth, the assassin, carrying her weapons and equipment, gradually went from jogging to running.

This would undoubtedly greatly increase the chances of the assassin being exposed... Not only would running make the equipment noisy and attract other people's attention, but carrying flowers that could increase dust into the experimental area would also be subject to questioning.

Nana couldn't care less about any of that now. As if on instinct, she ran straight towards the experimental area where Cole and Kate were, scanning the crowds she encountered along the way... searching for someone named 'Loken Williams'.

“It’s not that nobody cares about them… those kids… and if Cole and Kate die… I’ll be devastated… Ultimately, it’s Loken and his group’s fault… they’re conducting illegal experiments and harming children… I can’t wait for the law to punish them, by then it will be too late.”

To convince myself to do this... something that already transcends the identity of an assassin and could potentially turn me into a true enemy of the ICA...

Logically speaking, I shouldn't continue. This job not only offers no profit and puts me in danger, but it might also cause my agent a lot of trouble...

But... does that mean we should do nothing?

Even Nana herself couldn't convince herself.

After all, the contract has already been signed.

Killer Seventy-Seven never intended to abandon the contract.

She would never betray any employer... especially not herself, who was bound to her own contract.

Suddenly... the gate to the test area at the end of the line of sight opened, and a middle-aged man etched in my mind appeared before me, surrounded by a strange security force.

All of Nana's previous unease, hesitation, worry, and confusion vanished at this moment.

She became number seventy-seven again.

Number 77 is an assassin... It seems that no matter how many things she learns to do, her ultimate actions are always just to kill that final target.

It seemed that even time had slowed down at this moment, and the Target's rambling and the 'assistant' beside him saying things like, "...just surrender to the military when the time comes..." were irrelevant to Number Seventy-Seven.

The girl's briefcase was casually tossed aside, and the assassin violently ripped open the rose box in his arms. As the bright red petals slowly scattered, the assassin mercilessly trampled on the fallen flowers—the girl then shifted to a standing position holding a gun.

The shotgun, which had been hidden all along, reappeared in the light of day. As the muzzle pointed at the target, amidst the terrified screams of the surrounding experimenters, Number Seventy-Seven pulled the trigger.

[The First Shot]

Black muzzle flashes shot out, and a dense barrage of bullets struck the monster who was selflessly protecting itself, its entire body clad in iron armor, its arms crossed in front of it for defense.

Even with the Sarkaz magic added to it, the graffiti bullets only tore open the armored monster's arm, revealing its modified metal skull. Bright red flesh and blood splattered everywhere, activating the corridor's automatic fire suppression system along with the smoke from the graffiti bullets.

[The Second Shot]

The shrapnel, like a rain of iron, pierced through the water curtain, and the sprayed mist outlined a crimson stain in the chaos... The red and black liquid flowed along the walls and walkways, staining the girl's white cloth shoes... She had seen this scene on television not long ago.

Number 77 had a calm expression, but his eyes burned with raging fire, and his heart was filled with a river of blood.

[The Third Shot]

With the combined blessing of discipline and witchcraft, the gun seemed to flow with magma, and the sound, as loud as a city cannon, swept back and forth... The cracked laboratory window was finally shattered... The armored monster that had been acting as a shield in front of it had its upper body cut into pieces, and now only its lower body remained intact as it slowly collapsed.

But there was another monster blocking the way behind them, in the same pose! Behind it lay the root of all this misfortune... their own target.

In the cold eyes of Number Seventy-Seven, the man with an expression almost identical to hers seemed unsurprised that things would develop this way.

His expression was equally indifferent... and after their eyes met, he simply turned away silently and disappeared behind the airtight gate.

Don't run!

Amid the girl's silent outburst, bright red blood began to flow backward on the floor, but this surging tide of blood was ultimately too slow and was kept outside the door.

Nana could only angrily smash the monster blocking her way with her arms formed from a sea of ​​blood.

With its legs 'held' in place, it now resembled a club, which the girl angrily used to pound on the door again and again... but the airlock seemed to be frozen in space, remaining completely still.

Seeing this, the assassin then used the [Fourth Shot] to kill the monster controlled by the sea of ​​blood, and then manipulated the sea of ​​blood to spread along her body to the shotgun... With a hissing sound as it cooled down instantly, the scorching heat, like a lava fissure, turned into red mist.

This gun isn't Nana's 'Guardian Gun'; the fact that Nana managed to fire four shots from it is already close to its limit.

The girl in the white coat, soaked to the bone and covered in bright red stains, fired her fifth shot at the end of the corridor, which had been completely locked down after the alarm was triggered, as the halo and wings formed by the black mist finally unfolded in the corridor.

Although the assassin never intended to judge anyone, she could still wield the power of the commandment 'judgment'.