Chapter 66: A Fiery Welcome

Location: Marco's Gang's Secret Hideout - The Basement of the "Venosa" Café

The atmosphere was tense after the message they received from Valdiano. Everyone knew that a storm was coming, but this time it wasn't just an ordinary confrontation, it was a war against a demon in the dark.

Marco stood in the middle of the room, his hands in his pockets, while staring at the screen that was still displaying the message.

Marco (calmly): "Well... It seems that our guest has finally decided to introduce himself."

Salvo (tensely): "I hate to say it... But this message is very scary."

Franco (trying to joke to ease the tension): "I see it's cute, at least he didn't say he was going to kill us all tonight... Right?"

Colombo (rapidly tapping his fingers on the table): "Don't be optimistic... The message only means one thing, Valdiano knows our every move, and he's probably closer to us than we think."

Lucino (scratching his head): "Does that mean I should close the café and run?"

Rocco (laughing as he slaps his shoulder): "Oh, don't worry, if Valdiano destroys the café, I'll buy you a new one… maybe on the beach."

Lucino (looking at him seriously): "Make sure it has good coffee, or I'll kill you before Valdiano gets to us."

Preparing for the showdown

Marco turned to Luca Ferri, who was sitting in the corner, cleaning his massive weapon with a slight smile.

Marco: "Luca, I want reinforcements around the café, I don't want any surprises tonight."

Luca (getting up and cracking his fingers): "Consider it over. I'm going to make the café look like a military fortress."

Marco: "I don't want the customers to feel like there's a problem… Make the protection as invisible as possible."

Luca (laughing sarcastically): "Ah… You want them to enjoy their coffee while we wait for what could be the last attack? How romantic you are, Marco."

Marco (smiling): "I just don't want to give Valdiano a reason to think we're scared."

Colombo (pointing to the screen): "I'm working on tracking the signal he sent the message from, but don't get your hopes up... This guy's no amateur."

Valdiano's first strike

As they're getting ready, the lights suddenly go out in the place, and the café goes into complete darkness.

Franco (freaking out): "Well... This isn't good."

Salvo (loudly): "Lucino! Didn't you pay your electricity bill?!"

Lucino (distantly): "I swear I did! I don't want to die over electricity debt!"

Rocco (grabbing his gun): "This isn't a regular power outage... This is Valdiano."

Before anyone can say anything else, the café's front window explodes, and a smoke bomb enters!

Marco (screaming): "Take cover now!"

Luca Ferri (pulling out his submachine gun): "The party's on, you bastards!"

Ambush in the Darkness

The smoke began to spread quickly, and it was unlike any they'd seen before... it was the signature black smoke of Project Zeros!

Franco (coughing violently): "Damn it! This... this smoke isn't normal!"

Salvo (screaming): "Don't breathe it! Cover your faces!"

But it was too late... Some of the men began to lose their ability to breathe, while others gradually lost their vision.

Marco (putting a scarf over his face): "Colombo! Can you figure out where the attack is coming from?"

Colombo (running to the laptop): "I'm trying! But the systems are jammed!"

Lucino (in a trembling voice): "If we survive this, I'm going to raise the price of coffee!"

Franco (in a choked-up voice as he tries to open a window for ventilation): "Man, focus on staying alive first!"

The Unknown Appears

Amidst the chaos, the shadow of a man wearing a long black coat and a metal mask appeared, standing at the entrance to the café.

Mysterious Man (coldly): "You're playing on a bigger stage than you are... and now, you're going to pay the price."

Everyone stopped moving, even Marco, who was holding his gun with a clenched fist, looked at the man silently.

Marco (dangerously calm): "Who are you?"

Mysterious Man (smiling under his mask): "I'm sent by Valdiano... and this is just a small warning of what's to come."

Marco (readying his gun): "And I'm saying that you won't leave this place alive."

End of Chapter.