195 Mastermind

Hellfire, the second wave of attackers.

Their canon and magnetic field were still a fresh memory in Kieran’s mind.

When Lawless read him the message, Kieran was astonished.

"They want to meet me?" Kieran asked again to double check.

"Yes…" Lawless sounded doubtful himself. His eyes were on Kieran. "I asked people to investigate them, and now they want to meet… So are you in or not?"

He gave Kieran the right to choose. He was the one Hellfire wanted to meet after all.

Lawless would definitely go with him though.

"Sure, of course! Where and when?"

Even though doubts still lingered in his heart, Kieran had no problem making a decision.

He desperately needed more information about the Killer Organization.

"The time is now, and the place is Shameiken Square," Lawless said.

"So what are we waiting for?"

As soon as Kieran finished his sentence, he turned around and walked towards the train station.

Lawless hastened to catch up with him.

...

Shameiken Square.

Even though it was called a square, it was actually just another empty, half-abandoned space at the outskirts of the city.

One would never have found or ended up at this place unless they were an adventurous player.

As a newbie himself, Kieran was unfamiliar with it. Even Lawless, who was a veteran, had limited information about their meeting place.

Fortunately, Lawless’s friend knew a thing or two about it.

"Shameiken Square was supposed to be a car manufacturing factory according to the game description. There had been almost 10,000 workers at the factory during its prime, but it was eventually closed down before becoming an empty square. The place is huge, it’s the perfect hiding spot and ambushing point. I don’t think they’re coming for afternoon tea!" Lawless repeated his friend’s description of the square, voicing out his concerns.

"Me neither, but I think they’re worried that we have a hidden agenda too. We need to be careful either way," Kieran said.

"Relax! I’ve contacted enough reinforcements. If anything happens, I’ll give them a one-way trip home!" Lawless said with confidence.

Kieran did not comment any further. He knew very well that Lawless would not gamble with his or Kieran’s life.

After 45 minutes, the duo got off the train.

The scenery switched from a modern skyscraper view to an industrial area filled with factories.

The whole area gave off a ruined vibe. The filthy, rotten air assaulted Kieran’s senses. It was even worse than his old broken garage.

"One of a kind I guess…" Kieran commented.

"It gets better when you get used to it. The same thing happened to me when I moved from a middle-age castle to a modern apartment. It drove me crazy!" Lawless could not help but shrug. "I don’t even know what’s real anymore!" he added.

"It doesn’t matter, we only have one life," Kieran said under his breath.

"One life, huh?" Lawless said with a faint sigh.

He took a big drag on his cigar and blew out a smoke ring. Before it could dissipate naturally, he punched it and waved it away like a kid.

"Want one?" Lawless took out a brand new cigar and offered it to Kieran.

Before Kieran could say anything, Lawless took out a lighter from his pocket, spun it around and lit the cigar. Then he tossed the lit cigar at Kieran.

"This is the best kind of cigar there is. They’re handmade by the lasses of Morderei. They make them on their sweet, fair laps. They’re my favorite!"Lawless emphasized proudly as he looked at Kieran in anticipation.

Kieran had no choice but to put the cigar in his mouth. It was just for show though. He did not actually take a puff.

The smell of the smoke alone was enough to let him know that it was not for a newbie like him.

When the cigar was 1/4burned off, about eight more people arrived at the train station.

They were the reason Kieran and Lawless had been waiting there. Without reinforcements, even Lawless dared not enter Shameiken Square, let alone Kieran.

The veterans that had survived through the game were no idiots.

Lawless waved at them as a signal, and the group spread around Shameiken Square, everyone getting in position to do their job.

"Let’s go then!" Lawless said after two minutes. His men were in position.

Kieran did not object. He entered Shameiken Square, walking side by side with Lawless.

As the two of them walked along a short corridor though, they spotted a member of Hellfire.

It was the sniper from before!

Kieran recognized him with a single glance.

Even though his face was blurred by the system, his body was the same.

"Is it necessary to mobilize that much manpower when the famous Firearm Hunter meets up with a stray dog like me?" the sniper asked in a mocking tone.

"Of course! You are a stray dog after all. There are too many dogs eager to jump over a wall!"

Lawless said in a cheerful tone, emphasizing the word "dog".

"Never mind. Facts speak louder than words. I’m here to make a deal with Mr. 2567 here. You have no idea how deep you are in this sh*t hole, do you?" the sniper asked deliberately as he looked at Kieran.

Kieran knew that he did this to increase his leverage.

The deal the man had mentioned was nothing more than a trading of Points, Skill Points and some equipment. If one took into account the punishment he must have suffered because of the attack, they would be able to guess the sniper’s motives.

This still did not clear Kieran’s doubts though, as the deal the sniper had proposed did not include messaging security.

Kieran had been treating this as a trap right from the start. That was why he’d waited patiently for Lawless’s reinforcements.

However, nothing had happened until the moment they’d met. Obviously, the situation was different from what Kieran had expected.

"What if it’s not a trap, and the sniper really wanted to meet?"

His doubts grew deeper by the second. It was very unsettling. Ηe did not show it on his face though. He was trying to play strategically with the guy.

"Are you talking about the bounty your organization has placed on me or something else?" Kieran asked.

"Well, well, Mr. 2567. You are smarter than you look. The smart ones are always the first to die though, because they are often presumptuous. Pay me 200,000 Points and the respective Skill Points, and I’ll tell you everything!" the sniper demanded after mocking Kieran.

"200,000 Points?" Kieran laughed coldly.

He did not have such a huge amount of points, but even if he did, he would not have given it to someone with ill intentions.

The sniper’s actions had proved that he was nothing but an enemy.

"You think it’s too much? It’s nothing compared to what I want to tell you! Just know this, I… Ugh!"

He stopped abruptly before he could finish his sentence.

Suddenly, a sense of danger rose in Kieran’s heart.

"Back off!" he yelled, hurling himself backwards.

Lawless was not slow either. As soon as Kieran spoke, he jumped 10 meters away from the sniper.

Boom!

Just as the two of them backed off to widen the distance between them, the Hellfire sniper exploded.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere. Nothing was left behind, not even the man’s bones or body.

"He he he… 2567, Lawless, you will be next!"

A sinister laughter was heard as a black shadow flashed across the factory further away.

"Go!" Lawless shouted, sprinting off like an arrow let loose.

Kieran followed tightly behind him.

Lawless’ friends, who had been on the lookout, followed them as well.

...

A faint glowing crystal ball was projecting the scene taking place in Shameiken Square.

A shadowy figure was holding a glass of wine in its hand, sitting quietly on a couch and savoring the taste and fragrance in the glass.

After a while, the figure sighed.

"How disappointing… When did you became so slow, Lawless? You did not even notice the obvious clues in front of your eyes. I’ll give you another chance though… There are such boring days ahead!"

As the words faded away, the figure stood up and slowly disappeared in the shadows.

The crystal ball ended the projection and became dark within a breath.

Instantly, the room fell into darkness.