chapter 111

...Who is Afraid of Whom...

After the chaos subsided, silence blanketed the bar.

Thump.

The sound of a body hitting the ground broke the stillness, followed by another.

Thump. Thump.

The sound of bodies falling repeated eleven times, accompanied by the occasional crash of bottles and glasses breaking.

Oliver holstered his New Star revolver, mockingly blowing at the imaginary smoke rising from its barrel.

Oliver: "That's it. Eleven of them to take on three of us, and we still came out on top."

He smirked and glanced at Karl.

Oliver: "If it had been just you, Karl, you'd have barely managed to take out four of them."

As Oliver teased him, Jack stayed focused on the task. He walked past Maxim, who was slumped on the ground, knocked unconscious by an elbow strike during the fight. Jack headed for Hiromi Sato, who was writhing in pain and letting out low groans. Jack cast a glance at the civilians cowering in the bar, their heads still covered.

Jack: "Mercenaries doing their job. It's over. You're free to go."

Hearing Jack's words, the patrons slowly raised their heads, their ears still ringing from the intense gunfire. They blinked in disbelief at the scene before them.

The notorious Tiger Claw Gang had been wiped out in a matter of moments.

Who were these mercenaries?

Their gazes shifted to Jack, whose powerful arms and imposing physique stood out. They silently etched his image into their memories. This man was clearly the leader. If they ever crossed paths with him on the streets, they would know to steer clear. After all, it wasn't every day you saw someone annihilate an entire squad of Tiger Claws in their own bar.

Karl: "If you're going to leave, do it now. When reinforcements from the Tiger Claw Gang arrive, they won't bother sorting out who's innocent."

Karl's words snapped the patrons out of their stupor. They nodded gratefully, mumbling quick thanks before scrambling out of the bar. They knew he was right—gang members rarely cared about collateral damage.

Karl turned his attention to Hiromi Sato, who was still groaning on the floor. Without hesitation, he kicked Hiromi in the head, silencing him with a stomp.

Next, Karl crouched beside Maxim, pulling out a monomolecular wire from his wrist. Connecting it to Maxim's neural interface, he began extracting data.

All Karl needed were Maxim's communication and chat records. Within five seconds, he had decrypted the data and transferred it to his device.

Karl: "Got it. No need to wipe his memory—he's unconscious anyway."

He glanced at Maxim's limp form.

Karl: "Jack, do you think knocking him out with an elbow will raise any suspicion later?"

Jack: "Not really. Bar fights are messy. If he wakes up, he'll probably just assume he was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Jack chuckled as he walked over to Hiromi Sato and hoisted the gang member's unconscious body over his shoulder.

Jack: "The first fight I was in, someone broke a bottle over my head. That was a good time."

Karl: "Explains why your head's so thick now."

Karl's sarcasm was cut short as bartenders armed with pistols emerged from a back room. Before they could react, Oliver greeted them with precision shots.

Oliver: "One, two… six. That's six more for me, Karl. Guess I'm ahead of you now."

Karl rolled his eyes.

Karl: "Sure, but don't get cocky. A normal person sees three bodies piled up in front of them and knows to take the back door. Let's move. We've been here long enough. The Tiger Claw Gang will be swarming this place soon."

Oliver: "Fine, but give me a second. There's one last thing I need to do."

Karl: "What now?"

Oliver pulled out a twenty-euro bill, shaking it in front of Karl before slapping it on the counter.

Oliver: "Two drinks—mine and Jack's—cost fourteen euros. Here's twenty. Keep the change as a tip."

He glanced at the body slumped over the counter.

Oliver: "Don't bother looking for the bartender. Consider it paid."

Karl: "You're too honest for a merc."

Oliver: "The wine was good. Even if the bartender pulled a gun on me, I'd still feel the need to pay."

Karl: "For the wine, not the person, huh?"

With that, the trio left the bar, loading Hiromi Sato into the trunk of their vehicle. Despite being shot in the abdomen, his subdermal armor had absorbed most of the impact. According to Oliver, he had at least two hours to live, plenty of time to deliver him to their client.

As the Quartz roared to life, Karl, once again wedged between Jack and Oliver, let out a resigned sigh.

The group headed for Lijing District, a rundown area on the border of Heywood and Westbrook. It was a shared territory between the Valentino Gang and the Six Street Gang, making it one of the most violent parts of the city.

Once they reached the district, they would be safe—no gang wanted to risk provoking the Valentino or Six Street Gangs by chasing their enemies into their turf.

But first, they had to survive the journey through Japan Street, the heart of Tiger Claw territory.

Not long after they started driving, Oliver spotted four modified Tiger Claw motorcycles in the rearview mirror.

Oliver: "It's been less than a minute, and we've already got company. Four bikes. They don't waste time, do they?"

He sighed and prepared to floor the accelerator to outrun them when a car suddenly swerved in front of them. Judging by its trajectory, if Oliver didn't act fast, they'd crash.

Oliver: "Tch. Damn it."

Instead of slowing down, Oliver pressed the accelerator to the floor.

Oliver: "Let's see who blinks first. Come at me if you dare."