Open Fire!

Meanwhile, on the fifth floor, in the office.

Q Dalang waited patiently for a while, keeping track of the time, but heard no screams from anyone caught in a trap.

"Oh... Still no sound? Did they go upstairs?"

"I was going to use a little trap to scare them first and have their screams as an appetizer, but it failed..."

"Are they heading for the rooftop? What a bunch of idiots!"

"That was the right choice... And the wrong one, because all that awaits you is a dead end..."

Q Dalang muttered to himself, immersed in the prelude to yet another massacre.

Seeing this, however, Yagyou, the "referee" beside him, opened one eye slightly wider and spoke up. "Lord Kokonoe, the rules of this gamble have already been confirmed. Although, as the 'referee,' I won't interfere too much, I must say..."

Yagyou changed tack and bowed. "But at this rate, you've made far too many concessions. This can hardly be called a gamble with an uncertain outcome."

"...Huh?"

Q Dalang whipped his head around and stared fixedly at Yagyou.

His enjoyment had been interrupted again and again, and by now he was furious. He snarled, "What the hell are you talking about? The gamble has already started. I won't let you disrupt it halfway through!"

"..."

Yagyou could do nothing but drop the argument. "My apologies."

Seemingly to further refute Yagyou, Q Dalang snapped his fingers. The office door was pushed open again, and four more masked men appeared outside.

In terms of the "malice" and "violence" they projected, they were nowhere near the man behind Q Dalang.

But every one of them was well equipped, wearing a tactical vest and carrying all manner of tactical gear. They even had a full complement of firearms—pistols and rifles!

"Oh?" Yagyou raised an eyebrow.

Seeing this, Q Dalang smiled grotesquely. "What do you think? They're all mercenaries who've fought wars overseas. They share my interests and hobbies, and they're all fond of 'hunting.'"

"Hahahaha! I never said there was only one person chasing them. All I have to do is stop them from leaving the building. I haven't broken any rules, Mr. Yagyou!"

"..."

Q Dalang spoke animatedly, but Yagyou merely nodded and said nothing more.

"What, won't you admit you were wrong?"

Q Dalang was dissatisfied that this was all the reaction he got from Yagyou. "It was the same with the wager earlier. I understand perfectly well that you think highly of those people, so is there a famous gambler among them?"

He speculated, "Or is that muscular brat among them a famous fighter? Could a mere fighter stand up to my 'military force'?"

"My 'pieces' are armed to the teeth. An unarmed fighter would be as good as dead!"

"Am I right, Mr. Yagyou?"

"..."

Yagyou's expression remained as calm and impassive as ever.

But he was a professional Kakerou referee, and it would not do to dodge a member's question, so he patiently corrected him. "Lord Kokonoe, the term 'mere fighter' is not quite accurate."

"A 'fighter' is simply a profession, a name for a type of athlete."

"But if a person's 'violence' can transcend a profession, even surpass everything else, then he cannot be considered a 'fighter.' He is instead a 'Strongman,' one who uses 'brute strength' to make all his wishes come true."

"..."

Q Dalang frowned deeply and shot back, "Then, Mr. Yagyou, as a referee—are you a Strongman?"

"I wouldn't presume to say so. A referee's martial prowess is indeed considerable, but we are still a long way from 'making all our wishes come true.' Otherwise, we wouldn't be doing this job."

Yagyou bowed. "I only mean to say that there exists in this world a kind of 'military force' beyond common sense that you do not know of, Lord Kokonoe. You must not take it lightly."

"Haha, speaking of 'force beyond common sense,' I've got some on my side too!"

Q Dalang glanced at the masked man behind him and scoffed at Yagyou's words. "Besides, even if there is some Strongman, what should the person who commands that kind of force—me, in other words—be called? The Strongman's boss?"

"..."

After all that mockery, Q Dalang remained dissatisfied with Yagyou's attitude. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, but there was nothing he could do about it, so he could only take it out on the "prey" on the roof.

"Hey, get moving!"

Q Dalang gave the order to the four mercenaries at the door, then glanced at Yagyou.

"Since the referee warned me, and there are quite a few prey this time, let's play it safe and coordinate our tactics."

"Split into pairs. One team attacks head-on, and the other uses ropes to climb onto the roof and ambush them from behind!"

"..."

The mercenaries agreed with smiles.

They were not Q Dalang's subordinates, but his partners. Q Dalang was in charge of directing them, while the mercenaries carried out the murderous hunt.

Several minutes later, on the building's rooftop.

Shiraki Uke, Akagi Shigeru, Baku Madarame, and Takaomi Kaji—the four of them had climbed the stairs to get here. They pushed open the heavy iron door and finally "saw the light of day" again.

Unfortunately, the place where they had "seen the light" was now suspended between heaven and earth, a veritable "isolated island"!

"Huff... Huff..."

Takaomi Kaji gasped for breath.

He was not unaccustomed to exercise, but he was drenched in sweat.

Mr. Baku's stamina was shockingly poor. He was out of breath after climbing just one floor, and to keep up with the other two, Kaji had been forced to carry Baku Madarame on his back and run all the way to the eighth floor!

"Give me a break, Mr. Baku. Even being out of shape has its limits..."

"Hehe, sorry. Physical labor is what I'm worst at."

Baku Madarame slumped against the rooftop's iron railing, the night breeze blowing over him, looking inexplicably carefree.

Takaomi Kaji, however, had no time for that. He wiped away the drops of blood that had run down to his chin and said urgently, "Mr. Baku, you must have some kind of plan, right? I'll do anything!"

Hearing this, Baku Madarame suddenly reached out and pointed to the neighboring building, more than fifty meters away. "In that case, climb over the railing and jump to the other side!"

Takaomi Kaji: "Huh?!"

He froze for a moment, feeling that Mr. Baku was joking, but his tone was clearly serious.

Baku Madarame smiled faintly and was about to explain his plan when he suddenly heard Akagi Shigeru and Shiraki Uke talking nearby.

"Flying through the air? Sorry, I can't pull that off. Let's just play this gamble normally."

"What a shame." Shiraki Uke shook his head helplessly. "I keep thinking that if we worked out a way, we could jump to the next building—or just jump off and land on a car—and probably be fine."

Baku Madarame: "..."

Baku Madarame: "Huh??"

After all, Baku Madarame was known as "Usogui," and his ability to detect lies was exceptional. So he could tell that Shiraki Uke wasn't exaggerating—his tone was completely serious!

What was that about jumping off a building and landing on a car? He couldn't really be Kenshiro, could he...

A moment later, silence returned to the rooftop.

Creak!

The heavy iron door slowly swung open, revealing two mercenaries behind it. One stood and the other crouched, each holding a pistol, covering the area with crossfire.

Beretta 92—also known as the "M9 pistol," fitted with a suppressor and made in America!

"No prey in sight ahead."

"Faced with hunters they know nothing about, of course the first thing they'd do is hide. They must be somewhere nearby..."

The two mercenaries traded remarks, seemingly analyzing the enemy's situation, but in truth they were deliberately letting their "prey" hear them, to make sure the prey were sufficiently frightened.

"There's nowhere to hide around here, so you can only be hiding on either side of the entrance or on top of it. But the sides are too obvious."

"So you must be hiding..."

"Up there!"

One mercenary suddenly looked up, aiming his gun at the concrete roof above the entrance.

But as he patiently searched for prey lying on top of it, the heavy iron door they had pushed open slowly swung shut. With a creak, it revealed Shiraki Uke standing in the doorway.

On a real battlefield, when mercenaries pushed through a door, they would check for enemies behind it. But when faced with unarmed prey, no one would be careful enough to go that far.

When unarmed people were being hunted, they would instinctively panic. How could they dare lie in wait behind the door? If they happened to come face-to-face with their pursuers, wouldn't they be as good as dead?

It was completely "counterintuitive"!

So when Shiraki Uke appeared from behind the door, one mercenary's gaze was still fixed on the roof, while the other visibly froze.

"Y—"

He had barely gotten half a word out when Shiraki Uke lunged forward, unleashed Fighting Spirit Burst, and drove a rising uppercut into his chin.

Bang!

The punch crushed the mercenary's chin, spraying blood and shattered teeth from his mouth through the breathing hole in his mask!

Chapter 21: Open Fire!

Fighting Spirit Burst!

Whoosh—!