The old man stood up, wanting to pat Xu Le on the shoulder, but suddenly realized he wasn't tall enough. However, if he stood on tiptoe, it would obviously lose his authority. He coughed awkwardly twice, pretending nothing had happened, took out a brass key, handed it to Xu Le, and then slowly walked out the door, leaving Xu Le alone in the room.
Seeing that his father didn't blame him but instead cared about him, Xu Le felt a warmth in his heart. His father was the first elder to take such good care of him since the director. In his father, he seemed to see the kind old director. Looking in the direction his father left, he bowed deeply, his lips slightly parted, and said in a voice only he could hear, "Thank you."
Xu Le gripped the brass key and scanned the study. In the corner, he saw a large wooden box painted red. The lock on the box was a peony lock, symbolizing blessings. The surface of the lock was engraved with exquisite floral and bird patterns, as well as words such as "fortune," "prosperity," "longevity," "happiness," "long life," and "good fortune."
Xu Le felt that this box must have some special meaning to his father. While thinking about it, Xu Le carefully inserted the key into the lock and turned it gently.
Click!
The Citibank lock was opened, and Xu Le placed him on the ground, slowly opening the box. The contents inside shocked him.
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In the alley, Valon and his men stood in front of an ordinary public phone booth. "Boss, my men have been following Jackie Chan all the way here. They saw him enter the phone booth and then disappear." A-Fen was extremely excited. This time, his men had successfully discovered a location suspected to be District 13. If it really was District 13, he would definitely get a lot of credit, and he'd get an extra bonus. He had already planned where to go and have fun after collecting his reward.
Valmont waved his hand, signaling them to quiet down. His sharp gaze swept over the group. Having been a mafia boss for so many years, Valmont still exuded a powerful aura, unlike some novel protagonists who, after being bosses for two or three decades in other worlds, immediately cower and fawn over any woman upon returning to the real world. Under Valmont's gaze, the mafia members immediately straightened their posture, trying to appear ready for battle.
Valon pointed at Rasu, signaling him to step forward. "You go into the phone booth and see how it works. The rest of you, get your weapons and equipment and attack."
Rasu looked bitter and resentful, but dared not disobey his boss's orders, and reluctantly walked into the phone booth.
Whoosh!
The passage opened, and Rasu, caught off guard, fell straight into it, leaving behind only his screams echoing incessantly.
Valon surveyed the passage, checked it several times to make sure it wasn't a trap, then took out his high-tech scepter, pressed a button to transform it into a lightning sword, and leaped forward, leading the charge. His men also drew their weapons and jumped in after him.
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Chapter 8: Infiltrating District 13
Gunn is an engineer in District 13. He usually spends his time developing small gadgets. Although his job requires secrecy, his salary and benefits are enough to cover the daily expenses of his family of three, and he can even travel occasionally. He is quite satisfied with his job.
He was different today; his smile almost reached his ears. When he came home for lunch, his adorable daughter had made him a glove. His wife told him that his daughter had pricked her hand and bled while making the glove, but his sweet little angel didn't cry. Instead, she bravely told her mother to keep it a secret from her father.
Thinking of this, Gunn took out a white glove from his pocket. Although the loose threads on it weren't finished, he felt it was the best glove in the world, even if it was a little small.
"This is such a wonderful thing, I must show it to Brooke and the others, let them know how amazing my little angel is." Gunn thought of his other friends in the lab, and couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Gripping his gloves, he strode towards the lab.
Bang!
Gunn was knocked back a few steps by a strong force. Being a kind person, he quickly apologized, "Sorry, I didn't see clearly, ah." Before he could finish speaking, the lightning-fast sword was less than a centimeter away from his throat. If it were just a little bit closer, his carotid artery would be severed.
Faced with a life-threatening situation, his body began to tremble uncontrollably. "Someone must be playing a joke on me again," Gunn thought, gritting his teeth and slowly raising his head, trying to appear harmless. Gunn saw a white-haired middle-aged man in a green suit holding a lightning sword to his throat.
Am I really that unlucky?
Hope dashed, Gunn began to despair, but then he thought of his wife at home, and his little angel waiting for him. He wouldn't die here. Gripping the glove tightly, as if an endless stream of strength was flowing from it into Gunn's heart, he took a deep breath and asked, "Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"
"You've calmed down so quickly? The people in Sector 13 are quite well-mannered. Then please take me to where the talismans are." Valon had just entered the base, wondering how to find the talismans, when a guy bumped into him. It seemed that one of them was a staff member of Sector 13, so he used him to find the talismans.
"Spells! Those magical Eastern artifacts? Then these people must be the Mafia." Upon hearing that their purpose was spells, Gunn immediately understood that these were the Mafia members he'd heard about from his colleagues who had been stealing spells. Although he knew their motives, Gunn was powerless to do anything about it. After weighing his professional ethics against his family, he chose his family and nodded in agreement to their demands.
Gunn tried to comfort himself with a bit of self-deception: the talisman can be found again if it's lost, but if I die, my wife and my children will suffer. There's nothing I can do about it.
After all, people are selfish. When it comes to interests, they will choose the side that benefits them. In the end, only a few are willing to sacrifice themselves.
Beep beep beep!
The alarm sounded, and hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor. Valon, on high alert, turned and told his men, "Follow me." Gunn, seeing Valon turn and temporarily sheathing his lightning sword, realized this was a good opportunity. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he turned to run. Hearing the footsteps behind him, Valon drew his pistol, aimed at Gunn, and pulled the trigger.
Gunn fell to the ground with a thud, a bullet wound slicing his face, tiny beads of blood seeping from the wound, his shirt under his white coat already soaked with cold sweat.
Valon strode forward, raised his foot, and stomped hard on Gunn's face: "My patience is limited. If you try to run away again, I'll kill you. I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't get up, I'll shoot you to meet your God." After saying that, he spat on Gunn's white work clothes, thinking that this guy was really a jerk. He wouldn't learn his lesson unless he was taught a lesson.
Kneeling on the floor, Gunn was breathing heavily from blood loss, and his vision was beginning to blur. But with his life in danger, he still mustered all his strength to grab the fallen glove with his left hand, stand up, cover his wound, and lead the way for Valon and his group.
Tap tap tap!
The well-equipped troops assembled directly in the base, confronting Valon and his group. A soldier who appeared to be a captain took out a megaphone, preparing to advise the bandits in front of him, but before he could speak, a bullet shattered the megaphone, sending plastic shards flying in all directions. A sharp shard grazed his bulletproof goggles, leaving a white horizontal scratch.
The soldier captain rolled to the side, his excellent training allowing him to immediately grab his submachine gun and begin to fight back, with the soldiers behind him following suit. The Mafia members were equally ruthless, drawing their weapons and retaliating. This shows how problematic the gun licensing regulations in the US are. Even ordinary households can own firearms as long as they have a gun license; these Mafia members are even more so, equipped with Thompson submachine guns. While their equipment is slightly inferior to the military's, their overwhelming firepower made the security personnel want to curse.
Valmont grabbed Gunn by the collar and nimbly moved across the battlefield. His martial arts skills were no less than Jackie Chan's; if Jackie Chan could dodge bullets, how much more so could he, a Mafia boss who had experienced years of gang warfare? Under the cover of the other Mafia members, Valmont followed Gunn's directions to the iron gate where the talisman was placed.
Looking at the door that required a password to unlock, he began to feel agitated. An invisible killing intent emanated from his body, making Gunn beside him feel as if he were in an ice cellar.
Seeing Valmont's increasingly dangerous gaze, Gunn didn't dare delay. He entered "007" (I think it was these three numbers; Jade used this code to open the door and get the talisman, please forgive me if I'm wrong). The door slowly opened, and Valmont laughed loudly, saying to Gunn beside him, "You can get lost now." Upon hearing this, Gunn immediately turned and ran. Staying by this demon's side was a matter of life and death; every second was torture. He was already prepared that after this incident, although he had been coerced, he would still be fired for betraying the organization's secrets. Fortunately, with his skills, he could find another job. Although the salary might be lower, at least it would be safer.
Bang!
Gunn's smile froze on his face, blood streaming from his chest. He collapsed to the ground, asking in a weak voice, "Didn't you say you'd let me go? Why, why did you kill me?" Valon didn't answer immediately, watching him with interest. Gunn smiled bitterly, "Lina, my love, goodbye. Patty, goodbye. I wasn't a good father." He laboriously pressed his glove to his chest. In his final moments, he saw Lina waiting for him with his favorite steak, Patty playing nearby. He smiled and walked towards her, towards his own paradise.
"You believe even bad people? You're more naive than a child." Valon looked at the dead Gunn and laughed, his laughter tinged with mockery.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
"What an interesting performance, Valon. You're ruthless enough." A synthesized electronic voice came from around the corner of the stairwell, startling Valon from his plan to hide the treasure.
A tall figure wearing a clown mask and a black robe appeared from the street corner and slowly walked up to Valon. "Sneaking around like a rat, what do you want?" Valon was wary of this sudden appearance and mocked him without any politeness.
The masked man pulled a crossbow from under his cloak and fired arrows at two hidden corners. With the sound of shattering glass, the two cameras were destroyed. As he passed Gunn, the masked man paused, glanced down, and seemed to sigh, but without hesitation, he stepped over him, strode up to Valon, and without a word, threw a powerful punch.
Valon was already on guard, and when he saw the masked man make his move, he immediately met the attack with a punch, going head-to-head with the masked man.
The masked man, whose martial arts skills were inferior to Valon's, took a few steps back and said, "Valon, you are indeed very strong. Now I know the difference between us. See you next time." After saying that, he disappeared into thin air as if he had teleported.
"Valon, if you don't surrender, I'm going to kill you."