Iggwente Upper City, Knight Road.
At night, shadows enveloped the high-end residential area. Streetlights emitting an orange-yellow glow illuminated the scene along the street, and a profound silence reigned all around. Only the evening breeze gently swept through the deserted street, rustling softly through the tree crowns and flower bushes.
"Ugh…"
Inside the house opposite 26, Grego, leaning on the sofa, yawned widely. He then gazed at the house opposite, where all the lights were out and everyone seemed to be asleep, and let out a long sigh.
"Sigh… There's nothing happening tonight either. Is Mr. James being overly worried…?" Grego lamented, occasionally glancing at a ticking grandfather clock, calculating when dawn would break so he could finish his shift and go back.
Just then, Grego's eyes suddenly narrowed, fixing his gaze outside the window. He looked towards the end of the quiet, dark street, where a group of restless shadows seemed to be stirring.
"Heh… Looks like something is finally happening."
…
At one end of Knight Road, within the architectural shadows untouched by the light, more than a dozen figures were gathered. They were all men, dressed in various clothes, their garments stained with noticeable dirt and dust. Each of them wore a grim expression, and some had obvious scars on their bodies and hands.
These people held various weapons in their hands: clubs, machetes, steel rebar, hammers… They all looked casual and cheap. Only a few, two or three at most, held handguns, and they seemed to be homemade pipe guns.
These were local gang members from Igwinte. Today, they had gathered here because of a well-paying commission, preparing to carry out a big job.
"Listen, our plan is simple. We'll go to the entrance of 26 in a bit, smash open the door and windows, then go inside and kill everyone. From the ground floor up to the top floor, don't leave anyone alive, especially a girl around ten years old. She's the key; our mission is only complete if we kill her!
"Then, all of us will go to the Sunken Wharf overnight. The client will give us the reward there, and we'll take a boat down the Iron Mud River to leave Igwinte directly, living freely from then on. Understand?"
Among the crowd, a man in a tattered suit, holding a homemade pipe handgun, with a scar on his face, seriously instructed the people in front of him. His subordinates responded noisily.
"Understood, let's do it now!"
"Hurry up, hurry up, I don't want to stay in this damn city anymore!"
The gang members spoke one after another, all eager and ready to act. The leading man nodded upon seeing this situation and gave his final instructions.
"Okay, we'll start now. There might be a few bodyguards inside that house, they might have some skill, but don't be afraid. We have numbers and weapons, we can kill them all if we go in together!
"Remember, finish quickly, don't wait for the cops to arrive. Let's go!"
Saying this, the leading man waved his hand, signaling the group to step out of the shadows and onto the street.
Then, these dozen or so people quickly walked to the entrance of 26. After looking at the tightly shut door, the leading man spoke.
"Barry, do it!"
The man called out to Barry, the strongest member of the group who was holding a heavy hammer, to come and smash the door. However, after calling for two seconds, no one came. Seeing this, the man couldn't help but shout angrily.
"Barry! Stop dragging your feet! Do it!"
"Boss… be- behind…" Barry was answered by a slightly weak voice. Hearing this voice, the man impatiently turned his face around.
"Behind, behind, what could be behind… us?"
The leading man turned his head back, and what he saw was a line of five figures dressed in pitch-black uniforms standing about four or five meters behind them. Each held a rifle, aimed at the crowd at the entrance of 26, with cold eyes behind their iron masks.
'Wha- what's going on? Guns?! Five rifles? Are these all bodyguards from this house? Those employers didn't say they had this kind of firepower…'
Looking at the scene before him, the leading man thought in astonishment. At that moment, the door of 26, not far from them, also opened, and several black-clad figures holding firearms emerged from inside. Together with the previous five black-clad figures, they surrounded the gathered gang members. Seeing this, the gang thugs immediately shrank back.
Although the gang thugs still seemed to have the advantage in numbers, with about a dozen people compared to the seven or eight black-clad figures, this couldn't outweigh the black-clad figures' superior weapons. They were all armed, with standard rifles, which were incomparable to the pile of scrap metal in the thugs' hands. Facing the dark muzzles pointed at them, these thugs, who were used to close-quarters street fighting, had no choice but to back down.
'Damn it! Even the cops don't have equipment this good! Who the hell did we mess with?! Didn't they say there were only a few ordinary bodyguards?!'
Looking at the scene before him, the leading man thought with extreme anger. If the client who provided the information were in front of him, he would definitely stab him directly.
"Put down your weapons, raise your hands and squat down, and confess everything. If you resist, you will be killed without mercy."
Facing this group of gang thugs, the Hunters spoke sternly. Listening to the command-like tone and seeing the dark muzzles before them, the fighting spirit in the gang thugs' eyes quickly faded.
…
Meanwhile, on both sides of Knight Road, by a window on the fourth floor of a certain building, a figure was silently observing the confrontation below. When he saw the gang thugs losing their will to fight under the Hunters' encirclement, he spoke softly.
"Now is not the time for you to retreat… Chess pieces, let me give you some courage…"
While muttering, Geffrey began to rhythmically tap the hollow bone artifact in his hand, which was covered in mysterious patterns. Immediately, one invisible Ghost after another swam out of the bone artifact, appearing before Geffrey.
There were five of these Ghosts in total, male and female, young and old. Their eyes were vacant, their bodies thin and emaciated, their clothes ragged, their bodies transparent, and slightly cold.
Holding the bone artifact in his hand, Geffrey waved towards the confrontation site below, and then these Ghosts floated towards that direction one after another, completely disappearing into the air.
…
On Knight Road, at the scene of the confrontation, facing the intense pressure from the Hunters, the leading man finally couldn't bear it any longer.
"Wh- which road are you brothers on? There must be a misunderstanding between us, don't be impulsive, we'll put down our weapons now."
While smiling ingratiatingly, the leading man prepared to place the homemade pipe gun in his hand on the ground. His subordinates also prepared to follow suit. Seeing this scene, the surrounding Hunters slightly lowered their guard.
Just then, above the scene, an almost imperceptible cold wind swept through. Five invisible ghost spirits rode the wind, all rushing into the leading man who was about to put down his gun. The leading man's pupils shrank abruptly at this moment, and then he began to feel his body not listening to his commands.
"Thi- this is…"
With a look of astonishment, the man who was originally preparing to put down his gun, under the control of numerous invisible spirits within his body, gripped the handgun, then suddenly stood up and fired a shot at the Hunter directly in front of him. After a violent gunshot, that Hunter was shot in the abdomen and fell to the ground.
"Fire!"
Facing the sudden and shameless sneak attack, the Hunters immediately raised their guns, preparing to return fire at the stunned gang thugs before them. However, the invisible Ghosts that had gathered on the leading man all rushed out at this moment, quickly drilling into the bodies of five Hunters in all directions.
Then… these five Hunters felt their movements become somewhat sluggish, and the hands holding their guns inexplicably began to tremble, greatly affecting their aiming. After firing, they all surprisingly missed their shots.
"Bang bang bang!!"
After the Hunters' gunshots, due to most of them being interfered with by the Ghosts and missing their shots, only two of the gang thugs were hit by gunfire and fell to the ground. However, this act of aggression also ignited the anger of those who were originally preparing to surrender.
"They're not giving us a way out! Brothers! Let's fight these guys!"
After a leading roar, the gang thugs all picked up the weapons they were originally preparing to put down and charged towards the surrounding Hunters.