Chapter 57: I will not wager my life with you, otherwise my bullets will vanish!

Snap————

A five-yen coin, the kind frequently found in donation boxes and offering trays at various shrines, flipped through the air.

A man in black, wearing sunglasses, stood in the middle of a commercial building's corridor.

Around him, peripheral members of the Black Organization lay scattered in all directions, their brains and blood spilling across the floor.

If an experienced veteran of the battlefield or a seasoned homicide detective were to examine the bullet holes on the corpses of these peripheral members, they would immediately recognize the cause of death: vital areas pierced by submachine gun fire, resulting in instant death.

To this, the peripheral member of the Black Organization standing not far ahead of the man in black had an even deeper and more personal understanding—

After receiving the messages sent by Gin and Rum, they had attempted to evacuate immediately, only to be blocked in the hallway by the man in black. Most of them had been wiped out by his submachine gun, while a small group...

Those individuals had hidden in an adjacent room, whereupon the man in black tossed a grenade inside, sending all of them straight to the Sanzu River!

"D-Don't come any closer! If you take another step, I'll shoot!"

"I have no use for your five-yen coin! And I certainly don't want to gamble my life with you! I know how this goes—the moment I make that bet with you, my gun will be empty of bullets, and then you'll blow a hole right through my forehead!"

The peripheral member of the Black Organization swallowed hard, speaking with nervous agitation.

He carefully kept his pistol pointed at the head of the man in black before him, retreating step by step, having zero intention of playing any life-or-death game of loaded or unloaded chambers with this man—

According to the organization's intelligence, the urban legend Yan Shuangying invariably took the opponent's bullets away in a manner defying all laws of physics after playing that game, and then directly killed the other player in a manner that defied the heavens themselves!

This was the personal testimony of the codenamed member Vermouth regarding the killing pattern of the "Ghost"!

At this, a hint of surprise crossed Nara Guang's eyes.

It was his first time encountering a gunman who had no intention of gambling his life against him, opting instead to flee outright.

It seemed that not all peripheral members of the Black Organization were fools blindly confident in their own strength; there were still those capable of recognizing the vast disparity in power between themselves and their opponent—

So what? Even if his opponent refused to play this life-or-death game, would he refrain from killing?

Since he had appeared here, and since he was a peripheral member of the Black Organization, he should have prepared himself mentally and resolved himself for killing and being killed. Without such preparation and resolve, he probably wouldn't even have passed the preliminary nerve-testing training for peripheral members.

Therefore—

A flying knife had already slid out from his sleeve.

Clang, clang, clang, clang————

Siren wails began approaching from the direction of the commercial building Nara Guang had previously visited.

Instantly, the peripheral member's ears twitched, and an inexplicable surge of excitement welled up in his heart.

Ever since he had become a peripheral member of the Black Organization and carried out various missions, this was the first time he had ever so desperately hoped for police officers to storm the organization's stronghold! These weren't sirens; these were clearly the rescue lights of an ambulance!

This Yan Shuangying was supposed to be a champion of justice, wasn't he? Surely he wouldn't commit murder right in front of the police!

With this thought in mind, the organization's peripheral member focused his attention back on Yan Shuangying and shouted aloud.

"Stop right there! Don't move! Move another inch and I'll shoot!"

"My marksmanship is exceptionally precise—whatever I aim at, I hit. Your speed definitely can't outrun a bullet! When the time comes, I'll aim straight for your torso, and you're bound to get hurt one way or another! Yan Shuangying, I am not joking with you!"

The peripheral member blustered menacingly. Then, he watched as the terrifying man in black with dual firearms on the opposite side replied with icy indifference.

"Very well, then let's see—am I faster, or are you?"

He froze, momentarily at a loss for what Yan Shuangying meant.

And in that split second of hesitation, the man in black advanced toward him step by leisurely step.

He seemed to take the threat completely unconcerned.

At that moment, no matter how good-natured the peripheral member might have been, his anger flared.

He had already heard footsteps echoing inside the stairwell. Though he didn't know who was coming, a moment's thought made it clear: it had to be either Public Security or the police; in any case, it certainly wasn't going to be ordinary civilians!

If they were civilians, they would have to be freaks of nature to keep walking upward after hearing explosions and gunshots upstairs.

Once he fired, he would simply dive and roll into the stairwell, seeking protection from the police or Public Security. Could this Yan Shuangying possibly commit murder right in front of law enforcement?

The peripheral member's finger tightened on the trigger.

The next instant, Furuya Rei and Kazami Yuya, along with a contingent of Public Security officers, appeared around the corner of the stairwell, looking up just in time to see the peripheral member poised to fire.

Instantly, Kazami Yuya reflexively drew his pistol from its holster at his waist.

He was all set to perform a standard American-style quick-draw—emptying his magazine in three seconds flat.

However, Furuya Rei did not move.

Because he knew that this peripheral member's life could not be saved.

Before Kazami Yuya could execute his quick-draw, the peripheral member in the corridor had already squeezed the trigger. Tongues of fire immediately erupted from the muzzle, hurtling toward Yan Shuangying's body. Following that, the man instantly discarded his pistol and lunged sideways toward the stairwell.

He had already spotted the Public Security officers here, a trace of joy flashing across his face.

Then that joy froze on his face. As his body tumbled down the stairs and finally came to a stop before Furuya Rei and Kazami Yuya, even the slightest trace of a smile had completely vanished.

Embedded deep in the peripheral member's neck was a newly added flying knife.

The knife had been far too fast; even though the peripheral member had abandoned his gun and attempted to flee the very second he fired, he still perished beneath the blade—likely unaware of the exact moment he had died.

Witnessing this scene, the Public Security officers trailing behind Kazami Yuya and Furuya Rei collectively gasped.

They hadn't caught when the flying knife had been thrown or how it embedded itself in the peripheral member's neck; they had only seen that his neck was clear when he turned around, yet a flying knife was protruding from it by the time he rolled to the bottom.

It was utterly absurd!

"Amuro-san..."

Kazami Yuya murmured softly, seemingly intending to ask for confirmation.

However, he watched as Furuya Rei drew his own pistol from inside his coat, handed it directly to Kazami Yuya, and strode toward the stairwell without looking back.

Although Kazami Yuya caught the weapon, a profound sense of unease gripped him.

Even though Amuro Rei was a member of Public Security Zero, there was no need to disarm oneself before facing an opponent one simply could not defeat—Amuro had previously been beaten unconscious and hospitalized in a hand-to-hand fight with Yan Shuangying.

To go looking for Yan Shuangying now without a weapon—wasn't that throwing one's life away?

No matter how he thought about it, Kazami Yuya ultimately chose to trust Furuya Rei. He signaled the other Public Security officers to stay put in the stairwell, keeping his eyes fixed on Furuya Rei's retreating back until the man vanished from sight.