Black Mamba sneered dismissively and sinisterly suggested:
"In my opinion, why not sell this old thing along with those piglets as goods to the Xiao Family."
"This old man is a waste, but he has some mutant blood in him, they might be interested and we can squeeze some profit out of him."
"Are you an idiot?"
Fire Dragonâs brow furrowed, unable to restrain from cursing:
"How much money can we get by selling him? If we canât get those living materials from the orphanage, the resources promised by the Xiao Family wouldnât be enough, and the plan for the bossâs Level breakthrough goes down the drain!"
"Who are you calling an idiot?"
Black Mambaâs eyes turned cold, instantly pulling out the Dagger, his whole body crouched like a venomous snake ready to strike.
Fire Dragon wasnât one to back down, a fiery orange flame suddenly rose from his palm, and the surrounding air seemed to warp because of it.
Just as the two were on the verge of conflict, a muscle-bound giant beside them continued gnawing on his meat obliviously, seemingly indifferent to their fate.
"Enough."
At that moment, a deep and sinister male voice suddenly intervened.
Like a basin of ice water, it instantly extinguished the explosive tension between the two.
From within the shadows beside the giant, a man previously meditating with closed eyes slowly raised his head.
He wore a plain grey trench coat and a clown mask painted with an exaggerated red smile, appearing particularly eerie under the cold lights.
This man was none other than the leader of the Bloodthorn Mercenary Corps, codenamed "Masked Guest."
"No need to argue."
Masked Guest spoke in a deep voice, his eyes beneath the mask as deep as an abyss, his tone unnervingly calm:
"Iâve decided to keep Shen Wei held for two more days."
He stood up, walked to the cage, and looked down at Shen Wei, who was resting with closed eyes, as if inspecting a lamb awaiting slaughter:
"My abilities are taking effect. It wonât be long before I can fully penetrate his subconscious and control his thoughts."
"By then, weâll extract the precise memories about the orphanage from his mind, and then weâll let him go."
Masked Guest paused here and let out a light laugh:
"After all, we havenât harmed a single hair on him. His broken leg was from a careless fall when he tried to escape, whatâs that got to do with us Bloodthorn?"
"Even if the Shen Family wants trouble, they canât pin it on us."
Upon hearing this, Black Mamba and Fire Dragon exchanged glances, a wave of chill rising unbidden in their hearts.
Not a single hair harmed?
With the bossâs tormenting Spirit penetration ability, when the memories are fully extracted, this old manâs brain will have turned to mush.
Even if he gets released, he might just become a drooling idiot.
This is more brutal than killing him.
As they were discussing, a sudden piercing electric sound erupted in the air.
"ZzzâZzzâ"
It was the odd noise coming from the communicator on Fire Dragonâs ear.
Soon after, a panic-stricken voice, accompanied by chaotic background noise, came through:
"Boss...boss, itâs bad, the East City Association is attacking!"
"These guys...too fierce, theyâve killed many of our brothers...canât be stopped! Ah!!!"
The screams abruptly stopped, replaced by the heart-stopping sound of bones shattering, and the dull thud of something heavy hitting the floor.
Fire Dragonâs face changed, he immediately pressed the earpiece and shouted:
"Hey, talk! How many of them?"
No response came, only gunfire, exclamations, and the muffled sounds akin to fists and feet pounding flesh echoed through the receiver.
Fire Dragon released the earpiece, his brows tightly furrowed, muttering to himself:
"Could it be that the East City Association called for help? That guy was negotiating over the phone with us just now, didnât expect their move so fast, directly finding their way to the Silver Wing Building."
"Damn it, these suicidal fools have come knocking."
Black Mamba licked his lips, a murderous gleam bloomed in his eyes, twisting the Dagger into an elegant Knife Flower:
"Perfect timing, Iâve been here blowing in the wind for half the day, bored to death, Iâll use them for entertainment."
"Heh, heh."
Masked Guest simply let out a soft chuckle, leisurely turning around.
The red smile on the mask faced the heavy iron door leading to the Roof Terrace, his tone playful:
"Seems the negotiation was just a ploy, we underestimated these ratsâ determination."
The giant, Big Bear, who was burying himself in eating suddenly threw down the bone in his hand.
He seemed like a beast sensing danger, stood on all fours, muscles on his back bulging, growling deeply from his throat, eyes fixed on the iron door.
Thud, thud, thud...
Distinctly, heavy footsteps gradually emerged from below, even the concrete flooring seemed to faintly tremble.
As if a giant was swiftly ascending via the staircase shaft, moving step by step towards the Roof Terrace.
The previously casual Flying Crane Gang members became panicked, immediately raising their firearms.
More than a dozen gun barrels pointed straight at the entrance to the Roof Terrace, fingers clenched around triggers.
Fire Dragon tossed the half-smoked cigar onto the ground, stomping it out, as his palms blazed with fiery orange brilliance.
Black Mamba held the Dagger in reverse grip, crouched slightly, his whole being akin to a taut bowstring ready to spring forth.
Whirling winds roared across the Roof Terrace, emitting a mournful wail trying to shroud the unsettling sounds emanating from the stairwell.
At that moment, the exclamations and clamor had completely vanished.
Only the ever-nearing, ever-clearer footsteps lingered.
Clearly, the other gang members stationed below all met misfortune.