385: Chapter 385: Boardroom eting (Double-Length Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets) 385: Chapter 385: Boardroom eting (Double-Length Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets) “Hey, you there, move it, don’t stand there, didn’t you hear?”
The rcenary raised the gun in his hand and cocked it.
The figure standing at the edge lifted his head, staring at the rcenary; his hands were on his hips, as though pressing down on the hilts of two swords.
“Hahaha, you’ve watched too many knight novels.”
The rcenary revealed a scornful smile, lifted his gun to aim at the figure, and placed his finger on the trigger.
Bang——
Along with the sound of the gunshot.
The rcenary stared dumbfounded as his body fell forward, with blood spurting out like a fountain.
“Ambush!
Ambush!”
Panic-stricken shouts and chaotic gunfire reached his ears.
The scene in his field of vision spun rapidly, changing, before finally morphing into a blood-sared ground.
His sight was becoming hazed with a layer of obscurity, and his brain was gradually ceasing to function.
He watched as a foot stepped over the pool of blood in front of him and walked past him.
The last sound to echo in his ears was gunfire that was crisp and dense like a handful of beans being scattered.
In the mont before death arrived, he felt fear.
He Ao reversed his grip on his sword, moving through the crowd like a phantom.
His movents were extrely fast, radiating a red glow, and he took away life after life wielding guns.
When blood splashed like rain, the rcenaries eager to experience the thrill of slaughter felt fear well up from the depths of their hearts.
“Hold the line!
Hold the line!
Don’t be afraid, he’s just one man, shoot!
Shoot!”
The officers stood behind the rcenaries, bellowing through their gaphones.
A rcenary lifted his gun and aid it at He Ao, then he saw He Ao’s gaze sweep over him.
It was this re look that made his body tremble, and cloudy yellow liquid soaked his pants, trickling down the leg.
“Ahhhh!”
He lifted his gun, as if devoid of the ability to speak, his sharp cries the only way to ease his fear; he charged toward the rcenaries, yet to recover their formation, and dashed crazily out of the crowd.
“Don’t panic!
Don’t panic!”
The officer behind him raised a pistol and shot the escaping rcenary in the back.
The rcenary staggered and fell to the ground.
Blood gushed from his back.
However, the officer’s suppression had no effect; the sharp shout just now had awakened the fear within soldier after soldier.
Either they put down their weapons and huddled on the spot, or they ran away in panic.
An officer lifted an enhanced submachine gun aid at the rcenaries fleeing in front of him.
Just then, he saw a blood-stained figure approaching him.
He quickly turned the gun to aim at the figure.
However, as he turned the gun, a red sword light had already pierced his heart.
He Ao pulled out the short sword, looking at the rcenary forces that had collapsed after just a few waves of assault, put away his short sword, picked up the officer’s submachine gun from the ground, and walked toward the entrance of the Mining Consortium building.
A warrior’s ability is to greatly heighten the enemy’s fear within their hearts as the battle persists.
Several hundred rcenaries were guarding the building, among them professional rcenaries wielding heavy weapons like laser guns.
However, He Ao had only charged once, and the entire rcenary force had crumbled into defeat.
This was partly due to the poor quality of the Mining Consortium’s rcenary Corps, but it also showed that the ‘Warrior’ Talent Sequence was very suitable for one against many.
One against hundreds.
Although reckless, it was indeed strong.
As He Ao walked toward the entrance of the Consortium building, a man dressed in a rcenary Corps uniform lay at a window of a nearby building, his eye on the scope, slowly moving the muzzle.
“Sniper, sniper, take the shot now, you’re far enough away, he can’t hit you with a sword!
Kill him, kill him, don’t let him get close.”
Intense roars transmitted from the walkie-talkie on his chest.
The sniper was not distracted by the noisy sound; his hands were steady, moving the muzzle bit by bit.
Until the crosshair was on target’s head.
Accounting for wind speed, calculating the trajectory…
He slightly lifted the muzzle, a trace of an indifferent smile forming at the corner of his mouth.
This would be a perfect headshot.
His finger pressed on the trigger.
Bang—
His movents halted abruptly as a bright red bloom erupted from the back of his head, the trendous force flinging his body backward into a fall, his sniper rifle dangling limply from his grasp.
······
He Ao tossed the empty submachine gun to the ground, its hot barrel hissing as it touched the blood on the floor.
Not using guns didn’t an he couldn’t use them.
His hands moved to his sides, clenching the hilt of a short sword.
Entering the front desk hall, which was now deserted except for a plump man clad in rcenary Corps officer attire, frantically pressing the intercom,
“Sniper, sniper, where are you?
You eat my food, drink my drink all damn day, and when I need you, you’re nowhere to be found, useless, all of you are useless!”
“Excuse ,” a gentle voice arose beside his ear, “could you tell how to get to the boardroom?”
The man stiffened, raising his head to look at the youth before him—a quiet madness edged in his placid deanor, observing the bloodstains on the youth’s face, he swallowed hard.
He pointed shakily towards a hallway, “Go to the end, take the elevator to the top floor, the seventy-second floor.”
“Alright, thank you.”
The young man nodded politely and walked towards the corridor.
The man watched the youth’s retreating back and with trembling hands, he drew a small pistol from his pocket, aiming at the youth.
However, just as he took aim, the youth’s figure vanished abruptly, making him shudder.
“Sorry to bother you again,” the gentle voice sounded beside him, “Could you direct to the server room in this building?”
“Downstairs,” the man wiped the sweat from his face, put away the gun, and with a forced smile said, “Just a toy, just a toy,” then he pointed towards the corridor he had previously indicated, “take the elevator down to the basent floor, B104 is right there.”
“Thank you.”
The young man once again thanked him politely, then headed towards the corridor.
This ti, the man didn’t dare hesitate; he imdiately raised his pistol, aiming straight at the youth’s back.
Thud—
A flash of a sharp blade pierced his heart.
He Ao pulled out the short sword, the man behind him clutching his chest, his body going rigid for a mont before collapsing forward to the ground.
The youth’s figure advanced step by step down the corridor, disappearing into its depths.
The elevator was malfunctioning and refused to open, so He Ao entered the nearby fire escape and descended to the first basent level.
The first basent was deserted save for what looked like administrative staff hiding there, peeking through the office door windows at He Ao passing by in the corridor.
He Ao calmly crossed the hallway and entered the B104 server room.
Eve took two minutes to breach the server room.
The bad news was that the board had locked down the server room permissions, switching to manual only, aning He Ao couldn’t control the building’s electrical systems from there, nor restart the elevators.
The elevators were likely physically sabotaged.
The good news was that the Mining Consortium had stored most of their event files practically unencrypted in the server room—these even included records of driving miners to death, authorized by specific procedures, funded by specified budgets, and officially logged.
He Ao copied these files and had Eve compile a list of nas and their office locations.
Then he left the server room and began to ascend the fire escape stairwell.
···
The first person on the list was on the thirteenth floor, room 1303, a man in his fifties with a well-fed figure.
He Ao knocked on his office door.
This man had been a student of the Mayor back in his days with the Mining Consortium; the thod used to kill the old foreman’s son, Locke, was designed by the Mayor, and it was this man who had carried it out.
In the subsequent years, he had dedicated himself to the job of ‘cleaning’ insubordinate ’employees’ for the Mining Consortium; these plans involved not only miners but also workers from factories under the consortium, and even construction workers.
His sches were varied, besides learning from the Mayor how to drive people to ruin and death.
He had developed ways to trap miners’ children with usurious loans, lure workers into using prohibited drugs, deliberately cause workers to damage his luxury car, and then legally drive them to financial and personal ruin, among other thods.
So of these thods were so replicable that they beca textbook tactics within the Mining Consortium, emulated by many.
He Ao knocked thrice on the door, which then opened.
The stout man was initially surprised to see He Ao, glanced at the rcenaries laid out on the ground, then quickly regained his composure.
He invited He Ao into his office and took a seat at his desk.
He seed not to have expected He Ao to co looking for him.
The first thing He Ao noticed upon entering the office was a large plaque bearing ‘Top Ten Charitable Donors of Rock City,’ and surrounding it were various charity donation certificates, filling the cabinets of the office.
“I don’t know why you’re looking for , but I’ve always been a good person,”
said the kindly-faced, middle-aged man as he stood in front of his desk, pouring coffee beans into the coffee machine, “I’ve been devoted to charitable work over the years, as you can see from these plaques and certificates.
Each one has a specific issuer’s signature and cannot be faked.”
“I too am a good person who abides by the law.”
He Ao nodded slightly, turned, and seed ready to leave.
The man, while operating the coffee machine, stole a glance at He Ao and then retrieved a small pistol from behind it.
He didn’t turn his body; instead, he gripped the pistol, extending the barrel from his side waist toward the back, aiming directly at He Ao.
Bang—
His body fell, crashing onto the office desk; blood slowly trickling from the wound that pierced his chest.
He Ao pulled out his sword and walked out of the office.
Next, 1507.
······
As the killing continued, more and more people learned about the situation downstairs.
The executives gradually left their own offices and gathered together.
······
5709
He Ao walked out of yet another empty office; this was the third vacant one he had encountered.
The building had three fire escapes.
He Ao, upon reaching each floor, made sure to block the other two fire escapes.
Thus, he would encounter anyone trying to go downstairs.
In such a panicky environnt, it wasn’t that no one tried to go downstairs; He Ao didn’t actively seek to kill people, and sotis, when encountering a crowded group of people, he would walk the handrail to give them space.
But he wouldn’t miss those among the crowd who needed to be killed.
He generally gave such people a chance.
A chance to take action against He Ao.
So far, all the executives He Ao needed to kill had seized that opportunity.
He Ao continued upward through the fire escapes, now nearing the top floor, where there were hardly any ordinary people left fleeing in the stairwell.
The entire stairwell was eerily silent, echoing only He Ao’s footsteps.
······
69th floor
Not a soul in sight.
It had been thirteen floors since he last encountered anyone.
He Ao glanced upwards.
It seed as if sothing was waiting for him upstairs.
He didn’t take the stairs; he moved a few desks, removed the decorations, and touched the ceiling above him.
He gently tapped the ceiling.
The hollow echoes resonated in his ears.
There seed to be faint sounds coming from the floor above.
Soone was up there.
Without hesitation, he punched upwards.
With a thundering noise, countless fragnts of debris scattered.
He Ao clawed at the hole he had made, prying and bending the stout steel rebar apart as though peeling straw, penetrating the ceiling to reach the 70th floor.
The 70th floor was very spacious, seemingly designed as an entertainnt venue.
At a glance He Ao could see dozens of fully ard City Defense Army soldiers surrounding the fire escape entrance, ready to surprise anyone coming up.
And around He Ao were seated the executives who were listed in He Ao’s “nas-to-encounter” list.
Looking at them, He Ao greeted them with a smile.
So executives reflexively responded.
The City Defense Army soldiers guarding the fire escape turned their heads to look at He Ao, then twisted back around to continue watching the fire escape entrance.
Then the next second, everyone’s gaze converged on He Ao, who wore a gentle smile, in an instant.
The entire space fell into a mysterious silence at that mont.
“Ah!!!”
“It’s that lunatic!!!”
“He’s co up!!!”
“Help!
Help!”
“Shoot him!
Shoot him!”
The executives who had been near He Ao panicked and scattered, while the City Defense Army soldiers quickly surrounded him.
Hearing these words, He Ao frowned.
What do they an by ‘lunatic’?
Do I really look like one?
As he frowned, a few of the executives who were running slowly unexpectedly tripped and turned their run into a roll, tumbling forward awkwardly for several rounds before struggling to their feet.
“Damn it, this is not the place for you to run wild.”
A booming shout ca from behind.
He Ao turned his head and saw a military officer with a righteous face and a potbelly approaching him.
He Ao rembered this man, the forr deputy commander of the 107th Division, now the chief of staff of the City Defense Army.
His glorious history was recorded by the Mining Consortium.
He liked little girls, had caused the death of several innocent girls, and then the Mining Consortium helped him clean up the ss—by forcing the victims’ entire families to death.
Not all of them died though; the pretty ones were sold to Milani.
The records of the Mining Consortium had given He Ao a rare shock.
Compared to the Mining Consortium, the sweatshops of Wilderness Wanderers from Dawn City could almost be considered gentle and humble.
Once they tasted profit through dirty ans and went unpunished, they would grow accustod to such foul thods and believe it was their God-given right.
Watching He Ao’s calm deanor, Torre seed to think He Ao was intimidated by him.
“I thought you were sothing fierce, but you’re nothing but a timid chicken,” he laughed heartily and took a step forward, “Let take your life for all those who died unjustly.”
His body jolted, and a ferocious aura burst forth.
A familiar sensation—He Ao watched the current chief of staff; C-level, seed to be a Berserker.
“Hold on,” He Ao placed his hand on the hilt of his sword at his waist, calmly looking at Torre, “Which foot did you just step with?”
Torre halted; he glanced at his right foot that he had just stepped out with and chuckled, “Are you scared?
Even if you kneel and beg for rcy now, I won’t spare you, General.”
A Berserker, but cowardly at heart.
“I was just,” He Ao glanced at General Torre and gripped the hilt.
Like a whirlwind, a figure launched an assault, eting the red sword light.
He Ao’s body remained in place, motionless.
Torre’s eyes widened, fresh red blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.
He opened his mouth to speak, but could not, and fell listlessly.
He Ao sheathed his sword and finished the sentence he hadn’t completed earlier, “I don’t like people who attack with their right foot first.”
He turned and walked past Torre’s body.
He Ao hadn’t killed Torre but rely destroyed his internal organs and shattered his bones.
A C-level wouldn’t die so easily; he would lie there, slowly tornted by pain, feeling his death creep upon him.
He Ao looked up at the terrified faces of the City Defense Army and the remaining executives, speaking softly, “I only kill those who are guilty.”
“Ah!”
A young City Defense Army soldier looked at him in terror, dropped his gun, and stumbled out through the ergency exit.
He Ao did not go after him.
The remaining City Defense Army soldiers crumbled in an instant, dropping their guns and running downstairs.
After the City Defense Army fled, the remaining executives knew there was no way out.
Those who had stayed behind were tough; a burly man pulled out a Gauss Gun and aid it at He Ao.
The next second, a bright red flower blossod before him.
Gunshots, roars, and the noise of furniture being moved erupted in this short span of ti.
Bright red flowers blood in the confined space, like stepping into a rose garden in the dead of night.
Accompanied by the sound of bodies falling, He Ao approached a man who looked to be in his twenties.
The man made no attack; he wept bitterly, knelt on the ground, “I was wrong, I was wrong, I am willing to atone for my sins for the rest of my life, please forgive , please spare , please spare .”
He Ao looked at him, then turned and headed toward the ergency exit, completely exposing his back to the young man.
The young man watched He Ao’s back, slowly drew a Gauss Pistol from his embrace, his face twisted with malice.
The next second, a red short sword pressed against his chest and pierced his heart.
He Ao looked calmly at the young man’s astonished face.
This young man was the one who dealt with the families of Torre’s ‘victims.’
“I think, I probably don’t have the authority to forgive them on their behalf, so perhaps it’s better for you to go down and ask them yourself.”
He drew out the short sword, walked over to the box of tissues on a nearby desk, pulled out a tissue, wiped the dirty blood from the sword, then sheathed it.
He headed towards the ergency exit.
Blood stained the luxurious floor.
The 71st floor was empty.
The 72nd floor, the top floor, had only one room.
The boardroom.
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