Chapter 23
A steady, precise, vicious Rising Uppercut smashed into the mercenary's chin.
The lower half of his mask shattered, spraying out along with blood and broken teeth from his mouth.
Bang!
The blow lifted the mercenary half a meter off the ground. He fell backward and slammed heavily onto the floor.
"F-U-C-K-!"
The other mercenary snapped out of his daze and swore instinctively. He swung the M9 pistol in his hand toward Shiraki Uke and was about to pull the trigger.
But in the next instant—
Whoosh!
Shiraki Uke twisted around and delivered a spinning kick backward at mid-height. Before the mercenary could pull the trigger, the toe of his shoe struck the back of the man's hand.
Smack!
Shiraki Uke kicked the M9 pistol out of the mercenary's hand, sending it flying onto the ground several meters away.
"Huh?!"
The mercenary was stunned.
Equally shocked was Kaji—Takaomi Kaji—who was hiding to the left of the entrance.
There weren't many places to hide on the rooftop. Shiraki Uke had hidden behind the metal door, Baku Madarame had climbed onto the concrete roof, and Takaomi Kaji and Akagi Shigeru had hidden on opposite sides of the little structure.
And now, the M9 pistol Shiraki Uke had kicked away had landed right at Takaomi Kaji's feet!
He instinctively picked up the M9 pistol. Feeling its distinctive weight and coldness, his pupils abruptly contracted.
"It's... real?"
"They actually have guns. They're going to use real guns against us... They're going to kill us?!"
Takaomi Kaji had played plenty of FPS games and had even dreamed of getting a chance to try a real gun, but he had never imagined that one day he would actually come close to being shot dead!
"Ha... haha, well, this is a game where our lives are on the line, so I guess it's normal. Anyway, we've taken the pistol, so the tables have turned... right?"
Kaji laughed unnaturally, but no one would blame him for it. It was only human.
Things like this only happened on TV, in movies, or in foreign countries. No one could have expected to find themselves caught up in something like it...
When the reality before someone far exceeded what their mind could bear, they were bound to lose themselves.
Then they would feel lost about their lives and life itself. Once the mental pressure reached its limit, they would do something even more beyond their abilities—
Takaomi Kaji instinctively raised the gun and aimed at the mercenary a short distance ahead, holding it in an extremely awkward stance.
"Hey... you! Don't move, or I'll shoot!"
But when Takaomi Kaji lifted his head and met the mercenary's gaze, the savage eyes behind the mask suddenly frightened him.
"Kah!"
The mercenary suddenly let out a roar.
Seemingly crude tactics like screaming, scratching, and biting were actually quite practical battlefield techniques and were not uncommon in war-torn countries.
An ordinary person like Takaomi Kaji, who lived in a peaceful country, was so frightened by the roar that his limbs went weak. The M9 pistol fired into empty space, slipped from his hand, and fell to the side.
The "firearm" he had only just acquired had vanished like a bubble!
Hmph, useless. Even when I gave you a chance, you couldn't make use of it...
The mercenary's hands didn't stop moving as he thought this. He reached instead for the submachine gun slung over his shoulder. It could fire in bursts and offered far more ferocious firepower than the M9 pistol.
But in a flash, Shiraki Uke had already closed in directly in front of him.
At such close range, the mercenary had no opening—and no time—to draw his submachine gun. Fortunately, he was well equipped.
The hand reaching for the gun switched targets and gripped the military dagger on his chest in a reverse grip.
Aiming for Shiraki Uke's carotid artery, the mercenary slashed the tip of the dagger sideways.
Whoosh!
But halfway through the swing, the dagger suddenly froze in midair.
The mercenary's eyes shifted, and he discovered that Shiraki Uke had pressed down on his upper arm and shoulder first.
As a result, he could only move his forearm. Its reach was extremely limited, and he couldn't hit Shiraki Uke at all!
What... who the hell is this guy?!
The mercenary had reached a dead end. He watched Shiraki Uke clench his fist and aim at his face, about to strike with all his might.
At the critical moment, the mercenary suddenly shouted, "I surrender!"
Whoosh...
Shiraki Uke's fist stopped for the moment, but remained suspended in midair.
Afraid Shiraki Uke wouldn't believe him, the mercenary dropped the dagger outright. He even gave up the submachine gun slung over his shoulder, dropping it at his feet.
"See? I've thrown away all my weapons!"
The mercenary waved his hands repeatedly, gesturing to Shiraki Uke. "Your fist shattered my companion's jaw—that hurts too much. I don't want that to happen to me."
"I only worked with that old man Q Dalang for the money. There's no need to risk my life. Why don't you let me go? I'll tell you everything I know about the traps in the building!"
"..."
It certainly sounded like a good deal.
Seeing the other three gradually approach as well, the mercenary was delighted. Without waiting for Shiraki Uke to agree, he started talking on his own.
"This building has nine floors in total. There are wire traps on every floor, and in the stairwells from the first through the fifth floors too. Besides that, you need to watch out for the nails on the ground..."
The mercenary talked on and on, his eyes darting back and forth. He looked panicked and frightened, but he was actually observing his surroundings.
His companion—the other mercenary—had had his jaw shattered by Shiraki Uke. His life probably wasn't in danger, but he wouldn't recover anytime soon.
The key was the "other team"!
The other two mercenaries had set out from a fifth-floor window and were climbing the building's outer wall using cables that had been set up in advance. Their target was the rooftop.
In other words, as long as the mercenary stalled a little longer, the other two could climb up and launch a sneak attack from outside the rooftop, dealing a fatal blow to the four prey!
Just as expected—
After the mercenary rambled on about a few more things, the other two successfully climbed onto the rooftop. Each held a submachine gun, trained on the four people present—especially Shiraki Uke.
The two had already heard what was happening on the rooftop over the communications channel, so they were especially careful. They covered each other with crossfire while maintaining a safe distance from Shiraki Uke.
"It's over!"
The mercenary who had been threatened took half a step back and picked up the submachine gun from the ground. Pressing the muzzle against Shiraki Uke's forehead, he couldn't help exclaiming from the heart:
"You really are a monster who can fight, but what the hell are you acting so cocky for? Who the fuck do you think you are, Muhammad Ali?!"
"..."
In just over ten seconds, the tables had turned again.
The three—Shiraki Uke, Akagi Shigeru, Baku Madarame, and Takaomi Kaji—were forced to stand completely still under threat from the three mercenaries.
Seeing that both his companions had guns trained on them, providing double insurance, the third mercenary relaxed a little and went to check on the injured man with the shattered jaw.
Baku Madarame's eyes shifted, and he put on a panicked expression as he probed, "Wait, can we talk? We did give you a chance just now, didn't we?"
"..."
The three mercenaries exchanged glances and signaled for Baku Madarame to get on with it.
Baku Madarame hurriedly said, "Let's make a deal. Let us go and help us win the wager, and we'll give you everything we win. How about it?"
At those words, all three mercenaries felt like laughing.
They didn't work for Q Dalang for money. They simply wanted to kill for fun and satisfy their desire to hunt humans.
The mercenary who had stalled for time nearly laughed out loud.
"Working for money" was just a lie he had made up on the spot, yet those idiots had actually believed it. They were unbelievably stupid!
"..."
The three mercenaries wanted to toy with their prey a little longer, but the fourth mercenary—the one with the shattered jaw—had come around. He stood up trembling, furious from the intense pain.
How were the others all unharmed when he was the only one badly injured? It looked like he'd need surgery, too. What a fucking hassle!
"Ah'll kill oo!"
I'll kill you!
The mercenary with the shattered jaw slurred his words, drew the pistol at his waist, and aimed it at Shiraki Uke's head.
At the sight, Akagi Shigeru frowned slightly, while an unusual light flickered in Baku Madarame's eyes.
Both their minds raced as they considered ways out of the situation. They actually came up with several, but all of them first required dealing with the mercenary whose jaw had been shattered.
A person so angry he had lost his reason would no longer enjoy the game, and would therefore leave fewer openings.
Neither Akagi Shigeru nor Baku Madarame was worried about how to deal with that mercenary, since they had already seen what Shiraki Uke could do.
It might be troublesome, but there had to be a way to handle it!
What neither Akagi Shigeru nor Baku Madarame expected was for Shiraki Uke to put on a pained expression and start pleading with the mercenary in front of him.
"Don't shoot so soon..."
"...Huh?" The mercenary was confused. He covered his bleeding jaw with one hand, his eyes bloodshot, anger brewing in his heart.
Without the slightest hesitation, he aimed between Shiraki Uke's brows and pulled the trigger.
Bang—splurt!
The gunshot was immediately followed by the sound of a bullet tearing through flesh.
Takaomi Kaji was scared out of his wits. Akagi Shigeru and Baku Madarame's expressions hardened as they both looked over, only to feel surprised.
Shiraki Uke was completely unharmed. He even followed up with another uppercut, shattering the mercenary's jaw further.
Meanwhile, the mercenary's right hand, which had held the gun, had been shot to pieces. His entire palm had become a mangled mess.
Did the gun explode? No!