549: Chapter 549 Aren't the Dongcheng Gang members a bit too fierce?

Rooftop terrace, Silver Wing Building.

The bitter night wind howled past, snapping the yellow warning tape at the edge of the rooftop.

A massive metal logo stood across the south side of the rooftop like a wall.

High-brightness cool-white LED beads were densely embedded within the stainless-steel lettering shell.

Unshielded by any diffusers, the light they cast illuminated the concrete floor in a ghastly white.

Beneath this glaring curtain of light, a dozen or so Flying Crane Gang members wearing patterned shirts huddled with their necks drawn in, clutching automatic rifles.

They were scattered around the rooftop entrance and the perimeter guardrails, vigilantly monitoring the movements below.

At the center of the rooftop was a bright yellow circular area tens of meters in diameter, with a bold black letter "H" in the middle.

This was the international standard marking for a helipad.

Right beside the base of the lightning rod on the east side of the helipad, four rusty iron cages were lined up side by side, seemingly holding some kind of prey.

Upon closer inspection, they were several young men and women in tattered clothes, and even a child who looked only around ten years old.

They huddled shivering in the corners, covered in wounds, having clearly suffered inhumane abuse.

In the outermost cage was an old man with graying hair, none other than Shen Wei, the leader of the Dongcheng Association.

At this moment, his Face was ashen, his breathing faint, and his left leg twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken.

"Eat! Eat, damn you!"

A dark-skinned man as skinny as a bamboo pole tossed a few pieces of bread and bottles of mineral water into the cage through the bars.

He kept hollering continuously, his movements as crude as if he were feeding livestock.

"Don't fucking starve to death before delivery! If you do, selling you to the body collectors won't even be worth a few cents!"

The two young men and women were already seeing stars from hunger. Seeing the food, they pounced like madmen, grabbing the dusty bread and wolfing it down, choked to the point of rolling their eyes back yet not daring to stop.

The child cowered in the corner, stuffing food into their mouth frantically while staring in terror at the devil outside the cage, tears carving two clean tracks through the dirt on their Face.

Only Shen Wei kept his head lowered, ignoring everything like a wooden statue.

Seeing his half-dead state, rage flared within the dark-skinned man, and he slammed an unopened bottle of mineral water directly into Shen Wei's Face:

"Old bastard, don't refuse Face when it's given!"

Shen Wei's head jerked to the side as blood instantly seeped from his temple, but he still kept his mouth shut, saying nothing.

"Fuck!"

The dark-skinned man kicked the cage in frustration, producing a loud clang that frightened the "cargo" inside into screams.

"Damn bad luck. If I knew this old guy was so tight-lipped, I would've left a few more alive last night."

"It's all because I got carried away killing back then and forgot about this. I slaughtered all those useless fools, and now I can't even find someone to lead the way."

As he spoke, his gloomy gaze swept across the others in the cage, and finally he turned around, glaring at the giant man nearby who was gorging himself.

That was a mountain of flesh over 2.3 meters tall, sitting cross-legged on the ground at the moment, clutching a bloody leg of some unknown animal in his hand and tearing into it greedily.

Hearing the complaint, the giant man merely raised his head, revealing a blood-stained Face with dull, lifeless eyes.

It seemed he didn't understand what his companion was saying at all, merely grunting twice before lowering his head to continue gnawing on the meat.

"Enough, Black Mamba."

A red-haired man sitting on the water tank jumped down.

He had a typical Eastern European Face, with a high nose, deep-set eyes, and even pupil color that was an eerie fiery red.

Codenamed Fire Dragon, he was the gunner of the Blood Thorn Mercenary Group.

He lit a cigar, took a deep drag, and spoke in an awkward accent heavy with trills:

"According to the intel provided by the mole in the Dongcheng Association, the living supplies they transport are stored in a transit warehouse, and people from the orphanage are sent to retrieve them."

"Without a signal from this old bastard, they are very cautious over there and won't show their Face at all. Even if we kept those people alive, they'd just be useless mouths to feed."

"Hmph, it's all because this old guy was too vigilant."

The skinny man called Black Mamba spat on the ground and glared fiercely again at Shen Wei, who remained motionless:

"He actually spotted us ahead of time, forcing us to move early and kill people. If we could have snuck over quietly, we wouldn't have all these annoying hassles."

Listening to his companion's incessant complaints, Fire Dragon blew out a puff of smoke, raised his arm to check his wristwatch, and his expression grew somewhat anxious:

"Why hasn't the pickup arrived yet? Wasn't it agreed for 11:30?"

"What's the rush? Those guys flying the helicopter charge overtime even if they're a minute late. They're probably circling in the sky right now."

Black Mamba curled his lip indifferently.

"I'm afraid if this drags on, the Special Investigation Team will notice something wrong and track us down."

Fire Dragon frowned and pointed at Shen Wei in the cage:

"Besides, although intel shows this old guy was kicked out of the Shen Family decades ago, he still carries the Shen Family Bloodline after all."

"If he really dies in our hands, the Shen Family won't let it rest for the sake of Face. It'll be a hassle if they come knocking."

"Scared of a damn thing!"

Black Mamba sneered with a ferocious look in his eyes:

"So what if they come knocking? At worst, we leave Dongdu and flee Xia Country. No matter how long the Shen Family's arms are, can they reach overseas?"

"Easy for you to say!"

Fire Dragon flicked his cigar ash and refuted discontentedly:

"Are we supposed to give up the foundation we painstakingly built over the past two years just for this? Throw away the channels we finally set up?"

"Tch, we're mercenaries in the first place, wanderers—what difference does it make where we make a living?"

Black Mamba curled his lip with disdain and suggested darkly:

"If you ask me, we might as well sell this old guy and those piglets together as goods to the Xiao Family and the military."

"Although this old fellow is useless, he still has a bit of Aberrant Bloodline in him. They should be interested, and we can squeeze out some profit."

"Are you a fucking idiot?"

Fire Dragon raised an eyebrow and cursed:

"How much could selling him be worth? If we don't get that batch of living Materials from the orphanage, the resources promised by the Xiao Family won't be enough, and Boss's plan for a Rank Breakthrough will be ruined!"

"Who are you calling a fucking idiot?"

Black Mamba's eyes turned cold, and he drew a dagger instantly, arching his body like a venomous snake ready to strike.

Fire Dragon refused to back down; an orange-red flame blazed up from his palm in an instant, distorting the surrounding air.

While tensions flared between the two, the giant man nearby was still stupidly gnawing on meat, seemingly unconcerned about whether they lived or died.

"Enough."

At this moment, an effeminate male voice suddenly interjected.

Like a bucket of ice water, it instantly doused the explosive tension between them.

In the shadows beside the giant man, the man who had been silently in Meditation slowly raised his head.

He wore an ordinary gray trench coat and a clown mask on his Face painted with an exaggerated red smile, looking exceptionally eerie under the cool lights.

This person was the leader of the Blood Thorn Mercenary Group, codenamed Masked Man.

"No need to argue."

The Masked Man spoke in a deep voice. His eyes behind the mask were as deep as a pool, his tone chillingly calm:

"I have decided to hold Shen Wei for two more days."

He stood up, walked over to the cage, and looked down at Shen Wei, who was resting with his eyes closed, as if inspecting a lamb awaiting slaughter:

"My ability is taking effect. It won't take long to fully penetrate his subconscious mind and control his thoughts."

"When that time comes, once I extract the exact memories of the orphanage from his brain, we will let him go."

The Masked Man paused here and let out a light chuckle:

"Besides, we haven't harmed a single hair on his head from start to finish. That broken leg of his was accidentally broken when he tried to run away. What does it have to do with us, Blood Thorn?"

"Even if the Shen Family wants to cause trouble, they can't blame it on us."

Hearing this, Black Mamba and Fire Dragon exchanged glances, both feeling a chill in their hearts as they secretly scoffed.

Not harmed a single hair?

With Boss's tormenting mental penetration ability, by the time he scraped out all the memories, the old man's brain would have long turned into mush.

Even if released, he would likely only turn into a drooling idiot.

That was far more cruel than killing him.

As they discussed, a harsh static sound suddenly rang through the air.

"Zzz—zzz—"

That was the strange noise coming from the communicator hooked on Fire Dragon's ear.

Immediately after, a panicked voice accompanied by chaotic background noise came through:

"B-Boss, it's bad! The Dongcheng Association people are attacking!"

"These guys... are too fierce! They killed so many of our brothers... we can't hold them back at all! Ahhh!!!"

The scream cut off abruptly, replaced by terrifying sounds of bone crunching and the dull thud of heavy objects hitting the floor hard.

Fire Dragon's Face changed, and he immediately pressed his earpiece, shouting loudly:

"Hey, talk! How many people are there?"

No one responded, only the continuous sound of gunshots, cries of alarm, and heavy thuds of fists and feet striking flesh echoing from the receiver.

Fire Dragon released his earpiece, brow furrowed as he muttered to himself:

"Could it be helpers brought in by the Dongcheng Association? Didn't that kid just call us to negotiate? I didn't expect him to move so fast and come straight to the Silver Wing Building."

"Damn it, these reckless fools actually came looking for us on their own."

Black Mamba licked his lips, fierce light surging in his eyes as he twirled his dagger:

"Just as well. I've been standing here in the cold wind bored out of my mind. I'll use them to kill some time."

"Heh heh."

The Masked Man let out a soft laugh and turned around unhurriedly.

The painted red smile on his mask faced the heavy iron door leading to the rooftop, his tone playful:

"It seems the negotiation was just a cover. We underestimated the determination of these rats."

Beside them, Big Bear, who had been gorging himself with his head down, suddenly threw away the bone in his hand.

Like a beast sensing danger, he dropped onto all fours, muscles on his back bulging into mounds, a low growl rumbling from his throat as he glared fixedly at the iron door.

Thud, thud, thud...

Vaguely, a series of heavy footsteps echoed from below, causing even the concrete ground beneath their feet to tremble slightly.

It felt as if a giant were moving up the stairwell, approaching the rooftop step by step at a rapid pace.

The surrounding Flying Crane Gang members, who had been somewhat slack, panicked instantly and raised their firearms.

A dozen black muzzles pointed in unison at the rooftop entrance, fingers tightening around the triggers.

Fire Dragon tossed his half-smoked cigar onto the ground, stomped it out, and an orange-red glow of high heat burst forth from both of his palms.

Black Mamba held his dagger in a reverse grip and crouched slightly, his entire body like a drawn bow ready to spring into action.

Wild winds howled across the rooftop, letting out mournful wails as if trying to drown out the abnormal noises coming from the stairwell.

By now, those cries of terror and sounds of fighting had completely vanished.

Only the footsteps remained, growing closer and clearer by the second.

Clearly, the other gang members stationed downstairs had all met with disaster.

This situation couldn't help but raise the vigilance of the members of the Blood Thorn Mercenary Group.

One must know that to ensure this transaction went smoothly and avoid the risk of being double-crossed, they had deliberately dispatched all the elites of the Flying Crane Gang, armed and stationed here.

Besides the dozen or so gunners on the rooftop, dozens of men were stationed downstairs, firmly guarding the elevator lobby and emergency exits.

With such an ironclad defense, even if a SWAT assault team charged in, they would hold out for at least ten minutes or so.

Unexpectedly, they were breached so quickly by the Dongcheng Association's people, unable to delay them even for a moment, appearing completely fragile.

This was enough to prove that the intruders were ruthless figures with strength that could not be underestimated.

Fire Dragon showed a hint of gravity on his Face and looked inquiringly at the Masked Man, who stood behind with his hands behind his back.

The Masked Man swept an indifferent glance through his mask and nodded slightly to him.

Having received his leader's permission, Fire Dragon immediately raised his hand and silently made a tactical gesture to the surrounding panicked gang members.

It signaled everyone to spread out into a fan-shaped crossfire formation around the entrance, constructing a firing net with no dead angles.

Snap.

Just as everyone adjusted their positions, the footsteps stopped abruptly behind the door.

The air seemed to freeze for a second.

The next second—

"Boom!"

That heavy security iron door looked as if hit head-on by an artillery shell.

Accompanied by a deafening crash, the entire door panel buckled and deformed, slamming thunderously onto the floor.

"Fire!"

Fire Dragon roared sternly.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da—

Over a dozen automatic rifles roared simultaneously, their muzzles spewing long tongues of fire.

Dense torrents of bullets poured out like a torrential storm, spraying wildly toward the blasted entrance.

Bullets struck the mangled iron door wreckage and concrete ground, sparking a dazzling series of sparks.

In an instant, flying debris splattered and gunsmoke billowed everywhere.

A pungent odor of gunpowder quickly filled the entire rooftop.

A few seconds later, the gunfire gradually subsided.

The group of Flying Crane Gang shooters nearly emptied their magazines before releasing their fingers, panting heavily.

Wisps of blue smoke rose from the muzzles, and scorching bullet casings littered the floor.

Under the cool-white LED lights, they gleamed with a chilling metallic luster.

On the rooftop, everyone stared fixedly at the gap smashed open by brute force.

As the night wind swept past, the thick smoke and dust gradually dissipated, revealing a devastated stairwell.

However, there were no bodies inside, no bloodstains, not even a shadow of a person.

Only the twisted, deformed iron door lay lonely on the ground, as if mocking their intense barrage from moments ago as nothing more than venting at empty air.

The intruder reported earlier over the communicator was nowhere to be seen.

"No one?"

Black Mamba narrowed his eyes slightly, preparing to activate his stealth ability to go forward and check the situation.

Just then, a spark of light suddenly flared within the dark, deep doorway.

Weak as a firefly at first, it instantly turned as blinding as a star.

Bang!

A crisp, sharp gunshot tore through the quiet air.

A bullet enveloped in spiraling air currents shot out from the darkness, aiming straight for the space between Black Mamba's brows.

"Watch out!"

The Masked Man's voice rang out almost simultaneously with the gunshot.

As a battle-hardened mercenary, Black Mamba naturally reacted lightning-fast.

The moment he heard the warning, he instinctively dodged hard to the right, leaning his neck back to an extreme angle.

"Xiu—"

That was the sharp whistle of a bullet cutting through the air at high speed.

The searing warhead grazed past Black Mamba's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood and even singeing a few strands of hair.

Cold sweat broke out across Black Mamba's body. Before he could celebrate surviving the ordeal, out of the corner of his eye he caught a sight that made his pupils contract sharply.

The bullet he had clearly dodged had not missed its target.

In midair, it actually carved a bizarre C-shaped arc, as if it possessed eyes, abruptly veering back to the left.

"Pfft!"

A dull sound echoed, like a sharp blade plunging ruthlessly into flesh.

A gunman standing behind Black Mamba's left side hadn't even realized what had happened before a burst of blood exploded from his chest.

It wasn't over yet.

The bullet carried terrifying kinetic energy; after piercing his chest cavity, its momentum remained undiminished.

Carrying a horrifying screech, it continued flying backward, piercing through the bodies of two nearby accomplices one after another.

"Thud," "Thud," "Thud."

Three gunmen collapsed in succession, as if strung together by a single line of blood.