Chapter 79

Chapter Seventy-Nine: Betrayal

In the morning of Igewent, amidst the bustling streets, the basement of the Cedar Shirt Building.

Inside the An Yin Bureau, busy crowds came and went, and in a corner of the lobby, a heavy iron door stood silently, with no one occupying the workstation above it.

In the underground space of the An Yin Bureau, no one paid attention to the vacant workstation, and unnoticed, the once-closed heavy iron door slowly began to open, revealing a sneaky figure.

Carrying a briefcase and wearing glasses, the refined-looking Brandon emerged from behind the iron door. He first closed the door behind him and then scanned his surroundings.

‘Smooth sailing; for now, no one has noticed the anomaly. I’ve managed to take as much as I could from the Bureau’s vault. The next step is the most crucial moment.’

With the heavy briefcase in hand, Brandon thought to himself. At that moment, he had maximized what he could carry from the sealed vault of the An Yin Bureau, gathering all the precious items he could access: secret transmissions, spiritual storage items, and extraordinary items… These would become important achievements and capital in his future within the organization.

With the bureau chief and the Hunters’ team absent, the important task of extracting items from the Bureau’s sealed vault was entrusted to him by Buck. Now, this task was nearly halfway completed; the next step was to get out of the An Yin Bureau with the contents of the briefcase, which was the most critical part.

Every exit was illuminated by the Radiance Lamp, whose glow could penetrate objects to reveal any extraordinary traces. If unregistered traces were illuminated, the alarm connected to the Radiance Lamp would trigger, alerting the entire Bureau.

Due to the presence of the Radiance Lamp, external extraordinary powers found it difficult to infiltrate the An Yin Bureau, and extraordinary items within the Bureau were also hard to take out.

The “cup” medicine Brandon usually carried had such faint extraordinary traces, combined with a test tube that had a slight “shadow” implication as a barrier. As long as he didn’t get too close to the Radiance Lamp, it couldn’t be directly detected. Familiar with the locations of all the Radiance Lamps within the Bureau, he usually just needed to walk around them. However, things were different now; the extraordinary traces in this box of items were hundreds of times stronger than that little “cup” medicine. As soon as he stepped into the detection range of the Radiance Lamp, he would definitely be detected.

For this, Brandon had a strategy prepared.

Taking a deep breath, Brandon reached into his pocket and pulled out something; it was a small segment of a severed human finger, which he had found in the vault, previously confiscated from Burton’s hideout as a “cup” spiritual storage item. He had stolen it but did not put it in the briefcase; instead, he kept it on himself. This would be key to his successful escape shortly.

Taking another look at his former colleagues, Brandon seized an unnoticed opportunity to quickly throw the small severed finger into his mouth, chewing discreetly and swallowing, then picking up the briefcase and walking toward one of the exits.

This exit was the farthest from the Radiance Lamp, and while it was inevitable to step into the detection range while passing through, he could push this moment to the last second, buying himself more time.

Approaching the predetermined exit, Brandon quickened his pace, and just as he was about to step into the detection area, he took out a bl**d-Eating Sigil that he had obtained from the vault and previously seized by the Hunters, applying it directly to his forehead. As the sigil burned, the symbol of the “cup” appeared on his forehead.

“Please protect me, great bl**d Cup.”

As the low murmur escaped his lips, the “cup” spirituality on Brandon was suddenly activated. His figure became robust and strong, and he leaped forward with the briefcase, crossing into the detection area.

At that moment, the closest Radiance Lamp flickered, and then the entire An Yin Bureau erupted in alarm, causing everyone to instinctively look toward the flickering light.

What they saw was Brandon already dashing into the exit and disappearing.

“Someone is illegally taking controlled items! Immediately pursue!”

Seeing this, a few remaining team members shouted toward the exit Brandon had dashed through, and they too raced in that direction, followed by a group of others. Meanwhile, Brandon, empowered by the bl**d-Eating Sigil, had already bounded up the stairs in a few steps, opened a hidden door, and burst into the first floor of the Cedar Shirt Building, sprinting toward the exit of the lobby at an astonishing speed.

In the lobby of the Cedar Shirt Building, Miss Ada sat behind her reception desk, puzzled by a newly delivered bouquet. Just then, a small alarm bell above her desk suddenly rang loudly, the piercing sound startling Ada, who had been admiring the flowers.

“What on earth is happening now?”

Noticing the ringing bell, Ada furrowed her brows and said, but just then, she heard hurried footsteps coming from her side. Turning her head, she saw a panicked Brandon sprinting toward the front door with a briefcase in hand.

Seeing this scene, combined with the alarm bell, Ada began to assess the situation she had been working in for most of her life. She directly stood up, pulled out a revolver from beneath the counter, and held it with one hand, aiming it at the speeding Brandon.

“Where do you think you’re taking the Bureau’s stuff, you little brat?!”

Ada shouted in a sharp voice, then began firing continuously at the rapidly running Brandon, the thunderous gunshots causing nearby civilians to scream and scatter in all directions.

In the midst of his escape, Brandon never expected the normally gentle Miss Ada to suddenly act this way. However, at this moment, he had no choice but to run for his life, hoping that his speed would prevent Ada from aiming accurately.

From behind the reception desk, filled with anger, Ada fired five shots at Brandon as he dashed toward the front door. Every shot missed until the last one struck Brandon’s hand, which was holding the briefcase. As he reached the doorway, Brandon winced in pain, and the briefcase tumbled heavily to the ground, opening and spilling most of its contents everywhere.

“Ah…”

Enduring the pain from his torn hand, Brandon realized he couldn’t linger here for a moment longer. He quickly closed the briefcase and hugged it, sprinting out of the building toward the street across the way. By the time Ada raised her g*n and reached the entrance of the Cedar Shirt Building, Brandon was already nowhere to be seen.

…

In a dark and deserted alley of the upper city of Igewent.

Gasping for breath, Brandon stumbled through the alley, looking exhausted and nervous, constantly glancing back and forth. Once he confirmed that no pursuers were on his tail, he sighed with relief and leaned against a wall.

The effect of the bl**d-Eating Sigil had long worn off, and the continuous running had drained his energy. He needed a brief rest before heading to the meeting point with the organization.

Trembling, Brandon extended his right hand, which had lost two fingers, gazing at the bloody stump and softly murmuring.

“Ha… ha… that, that d*mn old hag; one day, I will personally cut you down…” While expressing his anger, Brandon locked the briefcase he was holding. After catching his breath for a moment, he stood tall and unsteadily walked to the center of the alley.

“Ha… ha… just wait; wait until I become an extraordinary being, I will settle this score.”

“You probably won’t live to see that day.”

At that moment, a cold male voice came from behind Brandon, causing him to startle and turn around, only to see a thin, hawk-nosed man in a gray trench coat and low-brimmed hat.

“Who are you… uh…”

Before Brandon could finish his sentence, the man lunged forward, plunging a small kn*fe into Brandon’s heart. Brandon’s face was filled with shock; his eyes widened in disbelief as he collapsed.

He fell into a filthy puddle in the alley.

Watching the young man lose his vitality, Edric took out a cigarette, lit it with a match, and brought it to his lips. After exhaling a couple of smoke rings, he continued calmly.

“Traitors deserve this end; don’t you agree, Mr. Brandon?”

Then, lying in the puddle, Brandon’s astonished expression gradually softened, and he slowly stood up from the puddle, pulling the kn*fe from his chest and handing it back to Edric.

“Of course, this is what I deserve.”

Seeing this scene before him, Edric smiled slightly. After putting away the kn*fe, he turned and left, with Brandon following closely behind.

In the blink of an eye, the deserted alley fell silent once more, leaving only a few traces of bl**d in the puddle.