Chapter 205: Action
“So, how much would an ordinary Radiance Lamp cost?”
“300 pounds. You’ll get a ‘lamp’ storage item as a consumable for free with your purchase,” Beverly said straightforwardly. Hearing this, Dorothy’s lips twitched slightly before she clenched her teeth and spoke.
“Alright, deal. Don’t give me my share of the money later; I’ll pay you extra afterward.”
“Sure thing~”
After making the deal, Beverly seemed more relaxed. She crossed her legs and smiled as she sipped her oil tea.
Having completed the first transaction, Dorothy immediately turned to Beverly for another favor.
“I have some more things I need help with. Can you act as a messenger again for me and deliver a message to the An Yin Bureau? It needs to be delivered within an hour.”
“Another delivery? Sure, as long as the postage is settled, everything else is fine.”
“The postage will be the same as before, paid upon delivery. Try to collect as much as possible; if you can’t collect enough, I’ll make up the difference later. If you collect too much, we’ll split the extra.” Dorothy added, and Beverly nodded after taking another sip of her oil tea.
“Still this arrangement? Alright, but how much we can collect depends on what important information you tell them.”
Beverly began, and Dorothy spoke earnestly.
“You tell them… around nine o’clock tonight, at North Song Woods, number 38 in the north part of King Campus at Crown University, a group of evil society members will gather there. This society is called the Eight Pinnacle Nest. They use cruel methods to accumulate spirituality by torturing innocent people. Their combat strength involves Black Tier fighters. We hope you can take action.
“If they ask who provided the information, just say it was from a ‘detective.'”
With that, Dorothy finished speaking, and Beverly had already memorized her words.
…
The setting sun cast its final rays over Green Shade Town’s streets. Dorothy, having just left Beverly’s house, walked under the sunset, opened her pocket watch, and checked the time.
“Six twenty-five… There are still two hours left. I hope both parties won’t be late and arrive on time.”
Dorothy murmured, having spent a considerable amount of time in the King Campus. The location of the ruins had been investigated, everything was ready, and now it was time to take a look inside.
“I hope those guys will keep the Hunters busy for a while.
“But I still need to set something up.”
…
Time passed quickly, and night fell.
Daylight faded, and darkness descended. The pale moon hung high in the dark sky, and a cool evening breeze rustled through the tall trees, creating a soft whispering sound.
This was a lumberyard located in the north of King Campus. Originally used for timber, it was converted into an ecological observation site when Crown University established a natural science department focusing on plants and animals. Over the years, small villages near the forest edges, which thrived due to logging, gradually declined. With only a few rangers remaining, most people moved away, leaving behind empty houses.
Number 38 of North Song Woods was one of these.
At the edge of the quiet village, in the dark woods, stood a two-story building with prominent lights shining through the windows. This scene of bright lights was vastly different from its usual silence.
In the distance, several figures stood in the darkness. There were about ten of them, dressed differently, wearing handguns, all male. Two led the group, both wearing wooden masks with slightly different patterns. One of them was Thistle.
“Chad… Are you sure it’s there?” The man next to Thistle asked, pointing ahead, and Thistle immediately replied.
“I’m sure, A Ming. I just sent someone to ask the villagers, and that’s definitely number 38. No one has lived there for years, and the sudden brightness of the lights makes it hard to believe it isn’t haunted.”
Looking at the distant light, A Ming, who seemed to be on par with Thistle, took out a lens and examined the light before putting it away.
“That’s the light of a Radiance Lamp. We can confirm that there are extraordinary individuals inside. To keep it secret, they’ve hung up the lamp.”
“Hmm… Quite cautious. These people, however, go to such lengths to avoid detection, yet they never thought their information had already been leaked.”
Looking at the distant house, Thistle chuckled. The feeling of being in control and looking down on his opponents amused him.
“If there’s a Radiance Lamp hanging in their house, it must illuminate the entire place. Spiders going in to scout would certainly be discovered.”
A Ming looked at the light and said, while Thistle responded directly.
“Sending spiders in would alert them and cause them to flee. So, it’s unnecessary. Based on the intelligence we have, there aren’t many combatants inside—just one Black Tier fighter and three apprentices at most, or two Black Tiers at most… no more than five people total. We have two Black Tiers here, five apprentices, and others. Under the element of surprise, we can take them all down in one go.”
Thistle said confidently. After hearing this, A Ming nodded and agreed.
“Yes… You’re right. But if we don’t know the situation inside, there’s still some risk. What if something unexpected happens?”
“Deal with it if we can; if not, we have our own trump cards. What’s there to fear?”
“That’s true… Then let’s not waste any more time. Let’s move now.”
“Alright.”
After nodding to each other, the two leaders of the Eight Pinnacle Nest began assigning plans to their subordinates, instructing them to sneak towards the distant number 38 and surround it.
Approaching number 38, Thistle and A Ming heard faint, indistinct voices inside and saw shadows moving behind the translucent curtains, as if many people were plotting quietly.
Seeing this, everyone believed that there were people inside number 38.
Once he saw his subordinates in position, Thistle looked toward number 38 a few meters ahead. The people inside didn’t seem to notice the outside disturbance, and the faint voices continued.
“This is the price you pay for provoking the wrong people, Rosy Cross…”
Muttering, Thistle fired his pistol at the windows of number 38, leading his subordinates, who had been positioned around the area, to suddenly stand up and fire at number 38.
For a moment, gunshots rang out, bullets flew everywhere. Under the barrage of gunfire, the doors and windows of number 38 were shot through, wood and glass shattered, and bullets flew into the house from every corner. The continuous gunfire echoed through the dark woods.
Finally, after everyone had emptied their magazines, Thistle and A Ming dropped their guns, drew short swords from their clothes, and charged into the house, determined to eliminate any survivors immediately.
However, when they broke through the door and entered number 38, they were stunned by what they saw.
Inside number 38, wood chips and glass shards littered the floor, and there were signs of damage everywhere. It was a chaotic scene.
But amidst the chaos and destruction, there wasn’t a single corpse. The entire house was empty, without a shred of flesh or a drop of bl**d.
There was no one inside number 38, only a broken phonograph damaged by gunfire, lying in a corner. There was also a human-shaped wooden board with countless holes, placed beside the table. The ceiling lamp swayed slightly in the wind from outside, casting numerous shadows.
Inside number 38, there was no one. However, outside number 38, many eyes were watching them.
…
I didn’t have time to write during the day, so I combined two chapters into one after returning. This chapter is 5k words.
