Facing the professional team before them, Murakami and Madame Gao immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
They knew their limits; even with some skills, they absolutely couldn't withstand an RPG blast!
"Everyone, stand down!"
Madame Gao glared at Murakami, instantly ordering the shadows to retreat, then turned to the masked man and forced a rigid smile.
"It's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. There's an ancient saying in the East, 'We welcome friends from afar'—"
"But we must kill enemies from afar?" Du Mu suddenly interjected.
Madame Gao: "..."
The masked man didn't wait for Madame Gao to speak again, urging, "Stop the nonsense, transfer the money quickly. We have another job to rush to; the client is already chasing the order."
Are you guys bounty hunters or delivery riders?
Seeing the situation, Madame Gao said no more, signaling with her eyes for Murakami to clean up the mess he created.
Murakami's face was ashen.
In principle, he shouldn't be afraid, but his principles were currently held hostage by the other side.
Finally, he pulled out his phone, murmured a few instructions, and said to the masked man, "The money has been transferred."
"Good, remember to leave a good review."
After confirming the payment, the masked man wasted no time, leading the dozen or so masked strong men in a rapid withdrawal from the abandoned factory.
The efficiency was astonishing—truly worthy of a professional team!
Only after the group of masked men completely vanished from sight did Murakami and Madame Gao dare to breathe a sigh of relief.
They could tell the combat professionalism of this crew was quite remarkable.
Each person's positioning was incredibly rational, ensuring they could launch an attack at any moment while also preventing sudden strikes from the shadowy figures. They were practically more professional than the NYPD!
An outsider might have thought they were a retired special forces unit operating as bounty hunters.
"You idiot!"
Murakami spat out a furious curse in his native tongue, feeling utterly humiliated.
Madame Gao also looked displeased, trying to justify herself: "It's alright, there's an ancient saying in the East: 'Patience for a moment brings calm seas'—"
"'Take a step back and you'll grow more furious'?" Du Mu coolly interrupted.
Madame Gao: "..."
Are you the only one who can chime in here?
"This is all your fault!"
Murakami turned his full fury on Du Mu, glaring at him viciously.
He stepped forward and sneered at Du Mu: "You'd better cooperate quietly, tell us who you are, and hand over the ledger you stole, or I will absolutely make you wish you were dead!"
"My identity?"
Du Mu mused for two seconds, then said earnestly: "I can only say those who know, know; those who don't know won't understand even if I tell them. The interests involved are too vast, and the water is too deep. It wouldn't benefit you if I told you. So, do you understand now?"
Murakami: "..."
Madame Gao: "..."
Understand what? That was just a load of meaningless rubbish!
"How dare you mess with us! Die!"
A flash of anger crossed Murakami's face, and he drew his katana, ready to unleash some serious pain on Du Mu.
"Good chance!"
Du Mu's eyes lit up. He suddenly broke free of the restraints on his feet and drove a kick straight between Murakami's legs.
Bang!
Murakami was holding his katana high, leaving his lower body completely exposed. Caught totally off guard, he was instantly left castrated and crippled!
"Aahhh!!"
A gut-wrenching scream tore through the factory.
Seizing the opportunity, Du Mu turned and bolted, laughing as he ran.
"Want to catch me? Not so easy!"
The shadowy figures started to chase, but found Du Mu's speed ridiculously fast.
In the blink of an eye, Du Mu burst out of the abandoned factory and vanished into the darkness of the night. The shadowy figures couldn't even catch a glimpse of him.
The shadows froze in place, exchanging confused looks, unsure what to do.
Madame Gao was also dumbfounded.
Was this guy part rabbit? He runs way too fast!
Murakami finally managed to catch his breath from the agonizing pain, and seeing Du Mu simply run off, his lungs nearly burst with rage!
He endured the throbbing pain in his lower body and hissed: "Immediately post another bounty for me on the dark web! Double the amount—no, triple it! You must capture that bastard and bring him back!"
Murakami's subordinates acted quickly, immediately posting a new, massive bounty for Du Mu on the dark web.
However, not long after the bounty was posted,
Murakami and Madame Gao heard familiar footsteps approaching the abandoned factory.
The dozen or so masked men had returned, reappearing at the entrance, and in their hands, they clearly held the recently escaped Du Mu.
"Hello, this is the order you just placed. The person you wanted has been delivered. Please confirm receipt."
Murakami: "..."
Madame Gao: "..."
"Thanks for your hard work, guys. Here's your reward."
In a secluded corner, Du Mu was happily splitting the spoils with the dozen masked men.
"Not at all, not at all, no hard work, it's our duty."
The masked men smiled and lifted their masks, revealing faces that were, without exception, all S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents!
Clearly, these were actors Du Mu had specially hired.
Several of them were familiar faces, the very same agents who had previously played the disgruntled stockholders who wanted to boil 'Little Tony' into soup. They were all seasoned veterans.
Du Mu figured, since the bounty was just sitting there, it might as well benefit him.
So, using his Level 6 Agent authority, he hired a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents to "capture" him so he could claim the bounty himself.
Then, using his outstanding skills, he would "escape," and after the new bounty was refreshed, he'd have them "capture" him again to claim the next reward.
In this way, he could repeat the process indefinitely—infinitely farming the bounty!
This wasn't exploiting a bug; this was clever utilization of the game mechanics!
Unfortunately, this mechanism was quickly patched.
After Du Mu's continuous "escapes" and subsequent captures by the masked men, Murakami seemed to finally realize he was being played and stopped posting bounties on the dark web.
After a few days of effort, Du Mu's total bounty amount was ultimately fixed at $13 million.
Considering the currency conversion, this bounty amount was definitely enough to make him a Great Pirate worth a billion Berries.
Du Mu was grudgingly satisfied with the result.
"Agent Du Mu, if you have this kind of good thing again, remember to call us," one of the veteran agents said to Du Mu.
The other veterans nodded eagerly, their eyes burning with zeal.
Seeing their reaction, Du Mu was curious: "What, are you guys really short on cash?"
The veteran agent scratched his head: "To be honest, we all heavily invested in Stark Industries stock a while back. Then that kid announced he was shutting down the weapons division, and the stock immediately plummeted. We almost had to take on side jobs to pay off our debt."
Du Mu: "..."
So you guys weren't just acting back then; those were genuine emotions!
After receiving their generous cut of the reward, the agents left, perfectly satisfied.
They weren't worried about S.H.I.E.L.D. holding them accountable for the night's actions.
Because all their actions were within the scope of Nick Fury's tacit permission. As long as they handed over a portion of the proceeds afterward to supplement S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funds, Nick Fury would choose to turn a blind eye.
Nick Fury: 😡