"What are those guys outside doing? Are they tired of living?" Not long after Raiden left, Michelle was getting increasingly annoyed by the noisy commotion outside the tavern.
Michelle stepped out of her room to see what was going on outside. As soon as she entered the tavern's main hall, she noticed the bartender whispering conspiratorially with someone.
"Hey, what are you two doing over there?" Michelle barked at them sternly.
The person beside the bartender flinched at hearing Michelle voice, and both of them quickly turned to face her.
"What's wrong, sis?" the bartender replied calmly.
"What are you two up to? Are you deaf? Can't you hear all the noise outside? Go see what those guys are doing and tell them to quiet down!" Michelle scrutinized them with a sharp look.
"Right away, sis" the man beside the bartender said, nodding obsequiously.
Michelle gave them a suspicious glance before turning around and heading back to her room.
Once Michelle was out of sight, the two of them let out a sigh of relief.
"Go check it out already" the bartender said, kicking the guy beside him who was still standing there dumbly.
"Bro, are we really going out there? What do we say when we come back?" the man asked, looking worried.
"Go tell those idiots to hurry up! If they're not careful, they'll end up just collecting corpses! Let them know that if they don't pull this off, we're all dead. There's no turning back now" the bartender said, his tone harsh at first but softening as he spoke, almost as if he were delivering a final message.
Hearing this, the man nodded frantically and darted out the door.
However, it seemed that the guys outside, who had clearly had too much fake alcohol were fearless and continued to make a racket for another ten minutes or so.
The noise was clearly getting on Michelle nerves, and she stormed out of her room again.
"What the hell are those guys doing outside?" Michelle slammed her hand on the table in front of the bartender.
"Uh, they've got a big job… one of them took on a huge task, and they're packing up now. Should be done soon, right? Listen, the noise has died down a lot" the bartender said hesitantly, though thankfully the commotion outside did seem to have quieted down. It looked like the group had finally set off.
Michelle gave the bartender a sidelong glance, then pushed open the tavern door and stepped outside.
The street outside the tavern was eerily empty, with no trace of the earlier chaos. Only the chaotic wheel tracks on the ground bore witness to the crowd that had trampled over it earlier.
Looking at the numerous wheel tracks, Michelle seemed to realize something. She turned back into the tavern and headed straight upstairs.
"Sis, wait!" the bartender called out, hurrying after her.
On the tavern's rooftop, through a telescope, Michelle saw a convoy of vehicles that had just left the town—dozens of cars… and two tanks?
Michelle tossed the telescope aside, but the bartender, quick on his feet, caught it just in time.
"A big job? Is this a job or a war?" Michelle said irritably.
"It's a job! A huge one, really big!" the bartender replied calmly, his desperate will to survive giving his intelligence a temporary boost.
"Where did you get the job? Do you know the client's information?" Michelle asked the bartender, raising an eyebrow.
"Mr. Akatosh! Mr. Raiden Akatosh gave the job! He wants the Ten Rings taken care of!" the bartender blurted out in a moment of quick thinking.
"Oh? That's indeed a big job" Michelle nodded, and the bartender immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"How much can we make from this job?" Michelle suddenly asked.
"Uh…..." The bartender brain froze for two seconds, then he decisively said.
"Two million! Two million dollars."
"Wow" Michelle exclaimed, patted the bartender on the shoulder, and then turned to head downstairs.
The bartender heaved a deep sigh of relief, thinking to himself.
'Mr. Akatosh, if you come back and can afford those two million dollars, fine. If not… well, you'll just have to stay and become our "mountain bride." '
After this thought, the bartender seemed quite pleased with himself, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
…
Meanwhile, Raiden was driving alone through the desolate desert. Along the way, he passed through ruined and abandoned villages, saw corpses picked clean by vultures, and witnessed the devastation brought by war and ambition.
Looking at the unfamiliar yet eerily familiar scenes around him, Raiden heart stirred.
In this land, war was a constant—wars between governments, between organizations, between nations and terrorists. But no matter the war, it was always the innocent people who suffered.
As Raiden approached a village, he was stopped. He was now very close to the Ten Rings.
In the village, a group of terrorists was holding a group of people—whose identities were unclear. Judging by their attire, they didn't seem to be from the Middle East but rather from America or Mexico.
The terrorists, who were detaining the group, noticed Raiden car passing through the village and quickly moved to intercept him.
Raiden hadn't expected anyone to be in the village, as on Michelle map, it was marked as long abandoned.
Seeing the terrorists blocking his car, Raiden had no choice but to step out. He glanced around, already considering how to eliminate them.
Suddenly, the leader of the terrorists shouted something upon seeing Raiden. Since Raiden wasn't wearing an earpiece, he couldn't have Serana translate the man words.
Hearing the leader call, another terrorist hurried over, holding up a photo and comparing it to Raiden.
Curious, Raiden leaned over to look at the photo.
Hmm, who's this handsome, successful man? Oh my god, it's me? Raiden shook his head, feeling a bit smug.
The photo was of Raiden during a night out in New York. Who knew who had taken it?
After confirming that Raiden was indeed the man in the photo, the terrorists quickly stepped aside to let him pass.
Raiden gave them a suspicious look but didn't dwell on it. He got back into his car and prepared to leave.
Among the detained group, a woman suddenly stood up, seemingly trying to call out to Raiden for help, but she was immediately struck down with a rifle butt.
Watching the woman writhe in pain after the blow, Raiden mind flashed back to some unpleasant memories.
But in the end, Raiden chose not to intervene. He simply shook his head, started the car, and drove away.
After watching Raiden leave, the terrorists resumed their activities, searching for others hiding in the village.
However, not long after, four more vehicles entered the village. The terrorists quickly stopped the cars, and the people inside scrambled out in a panic.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the lead terrorist barked, glancing at the people who had just exited the vehicles.
"We're from Eden" a bearded man from one of the cars said with a fawning smile.
"Eden?" The lead terrorist looked them up and down, a mix of disdain and wariness in his eyes.
"What are you here for?" the terrorist asked impatiently.
"We've come to bring you a gift" the bearded man, Delan replied, his face wearing an ingratiating smile.
"A gift?" The terrorist looked at them suspiciously, wondering if these guys were here to deliver guns or money. With that thought, the terrorist let his guard down slightly.
Delan waved to the people behind him, who quickly turned and retrieved several watermelons from the car.
Delan said to the terrorist.
"Look at this watermelon… it's so round and big! We brought it especially for you."
"Are you… out of your mind? Are you joking with me right now?" The terrorist instantly felt insulted and angrily slapped the watermelon out of Delan hands.
The watermelon hit the ground and exploded, its bright red juice splattering everywhere.
At the same moment, the terrorist head also exploded! Blood gushed out like a geyser.
In a flash, the terrorists in the village fell like wheat being harvested, and those who weren't shot were quickly subdued by shadowy figures that emerged from the surroundings.
The people who had been tied up and detained nearby cried out.
"Help! Save us!"
Delan and his men naturally heard the cries, but they paid no attention. After a brief glance at the group, they simply drove away.
A few minutes after Delan and his group left, two tanks rolled in and flattened the village. Behind the tanks, more than a dozen vehicles roared past.
In the end, the already dilapidated and desolate village was reduced to rubble, with only broken walls and a group of dust-covered, wailing people remaining.
Around them, pools of blood flowed—the blood of the terrorists, seeping through the ruins.
-------------------------------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator