Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Crossfire

In the study, upon seeing Buck and Colif walk in, Brandon stood up and spoke. However, after noticing their slightly disheveled appearance, his expression shifted to one of slight confusion.

“Mr. Buck, how’s the situation at the dock? Did those lackeys finally realize the danger?”

Listening to Brandon’s words, Buck furrowed his brows, then spoke in a calm voice.

“Did the Hunter team set out only after receiving the flowers we sent this morning? They didn’t hold any long discussions or meetings beforehand?” Instead of directly answering Brandon’s question, Buck spoke seriously. Hearing his words, Brandon was taken aback and then replied.

“Yes, Ms. Ada at the front desk confirmed that the Hunter team set out right after receiving the flowers. Just as we planned, it was rather sudden; many people had just arrived for work and had no time to prepare… Hmm, is there a problem, Mr. Buck?”

Brandon asked in confusion. As he processed Brandon’s words, Buck fell into deep thought, but seemed unable to grasp the reason at the moment. He initially suspected that Brandon’s betrayal led to their ambush; however, if Brandon had actually turned against them, another team of Hunters would have been waiting for him at home, rather than the butler and servants. He had cautiously confirmed that only their own members were present at the home when he returned.

Buck wanted to figure out how the information had been leaked to the An Yin Bureau but could not clarify it at the moment. So, he temporarily set this issue aside and said to Brandon slowly.

“There has been an unexpected situation at the dock; it’s urgent, not the time for explanations. We need to take everything from the secret room and withdraw from Igewent first. By the way… you took everything from the An Yin Bureau, right?” Buck asked Brandon, who nodded immediately, patting the briefcase he held.

“Yes, it’s all here. But I’m sorry, Mr. Buck, I faced a bit of an accident while escaping… lost a little something.”

As he spoke, Brandon’s tone grew weaker, and his gaze drifted. Seeing his condition, Colif hurriedly spoke up.

“Lost something… how much? No, I mean how much is left? You didn’t just bring back a tiny bit, did you?” Colif said urgently. They had suffered heavy losses at the flooded dock, with only the two of them, the Extraordinary Beings, managing to escape. At such a time, the only consolation was what Brandon had stolen from the An Yin Bureau. Now that Brandon mentioned losing a good portion of that consolation, it would surely make them anxious.

Upon hearing Colif’s anxious and stern words, Brandon showed a hint of difficulty. He placed the briefcase on a nearby table and spoke.

“I can’t really say. How about you both take a look directly…”

Saying this, Brandon turned the open side of the briefcase towards Buck and Colif and prepared to open it. Buck and Colif momentarily focused their attention on the briefcase.

Then, under their gaze, Brandon opened the briefcase.

“Bang!!”

The moment the briefcase opened, a crisp sound erupted from within, as a burst of white powder was forcefully ejected towards the opening of the briefcase, splattering Buck and Colif, severely obstructing their vision.

This briefcase had not been brought out by Brandon from the An Yin Bureau but was something Dorothy had prepared in advance. Inside was a cleverly made spring mechanism filled with lime. When opened, the spring would activate and eject the lime, creating a smoke screen for visual impairment.

Using Brandon to infiltrate, Dorothy anticipated the possibility of them needing to inspect the contents, so she specifically made this device. Such a prank-level mechanism was simple to create. Even though it was just a prank tool, it could be deadly when used correctly.

“Ugh! My eyes!”

“Cough… you brat dared to…”

Colif and Buck were caught off guard by the ejected lime. Colif, who was staring closest, was directly hit in the eyes, while Buck, positioned further back, managed to shield himself with his arm, yet his vision was still obstructed for the moment.

At that instant, as the briefcase opened, Brandon drew a handgun from within and aimed it at the pained, eye-clutching Colif, preparing to sh**t him in the head. However, the spreading lime not only obstructed Colif and Buck’s vision but also prevented Dorothy, observing the battlefield through Brandon’s eyes, from accurately aiming; she could only fire in a general direction.

“Bang!”

The b*llet roared from the g*n’s muzzle, the force of the blast breaking through the dispersing dust. In a panicked shot, Brandon hit Colif in the chest. At that moment, Colif had already shed his heavy armor during the escape, and the b*llet pierced through without obstruction, though it regrettably missed the heart. Nevertheless, it caused the already injured Colif to stagger and fall.

“Ah… it hurts…”

Just as Brandon prepared to pull the trigger for a second shot, a sharp sword lunged at him from within the swirling dust, moving at a speed far beyond what Brandon could physically evade. The sword pierced through his forehead as he held the g*n, and he fell heavily to the ground, eyes wide open.

With the sword in hand, Buck emerged from the white dust, looking at the clearly dead Brandon on the ground, his brow furrowed, his gaze heavy like still water.

“You really are an informant for the An Yin Bureau… No, wait, if you were truly an informant for the Bureau, it wouldn’t have come to this. Could it be that…” As he stared at Brandon’s corpse before him, Buck’s mind began to swirl with thoughts.

…

Upstairs, just as the gunfire erupted, the three servants downstairs immediately stopped their work, staring blankly at the upstairs. At that moment, the butler, who had been supervising them, shouted to the servants.

“Something’s happened upstairs! Grab your weapons and hurry up to protect Mr. Buck!”

“Understood!”

At the butler’s command, coupled with the unsettling gunfire from above, the servants hurriedly pulled handguns from among the items they were tidying and hurried up the stairs. The butler also drew a handgun, following closely behind all the servants until they arrived at the corridor in front of the study.

The servants, weapons in hand, rushed down the corridor toward the tightly closed door of the study. Meanwhile, the butler, who was right behind the servants, suddenly showed a glint of malice in his eyes. He raised his handgun and fired at the three servants ahead, who had their backs turned to him.

“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!…”

In one go, the butler emptied the magazine of his handgun, and in the close-range barrage, the surprised servants were taken down by the sudden gunfire.

Outside the mansion, in the carriage, Dorothy’s expression tightened as she expended 2 points of “Enlightenment,” raising the control limit of the Zombie Puppets’ rings to four.

Then, the three servants who had just been shot stood up immediately, their expressions mirroring the butler’s earlier grimness. Standing in the corridor, they moved in unison, raising their guns and continuously firing at the tightly closed wooden door of the study, filling the mansion’s upper floors with the sounds of gunfire.