Combat Showdown!
The call ended, and Yagyou put away his phone.
In the referee's view, Q Dalang's words showed that he was overestimating himself. He had probably been blinded by rage.
If this continued, the gamble would be far too dull, and it would not even be fair. That did not fit Yagyou's "aesthetic," so he had no choice but to remind him once more.
"Lord Kokonoe, please calm down, or things may turn ugly."
"Ugly? You're saying I'll look ugly?!"
Q Dalang ground his teeth in anger, but after a few breaths, his face twisted back into a smile. "Whew, you're right, Mr. Yagyou. I should be enjoying the 'present.'"
"It's just one sniper. They may be rare in this country, but they're common on the battlefield. He won't be hard to deal with."
With that, Q Dalang picked up his Transceiver and ordered the four mercenaries, "The sniper is to the southwest. Stay away from the windows on that side, then 'calmly' kill the four people in the building!"
"Roger."
The mercenaries responded quietly.
The four mercenaries had backgrounds similar to Q Dalang's. All of them had seen real battle.
They had grown accustomed to killing on the battlefield and had even come to enjoy it. Ordinary life could not satisfy them at all, so they had accepted Q Dalang's invitation to help him kill for fun.
When it came to combat skills, the four mercenaries were highly professional.
Thus, after a brief moment of surprise, they quickly recovered and began considering how to deal with the "sniper support."
"Since those people have covering fire, they'll definitely stay near the windows to avoid entering the sniper's blind spots."
"And we need to avoid the sniper to the southwest," a tall mercenary reasoned. "That means the distance between us and them is bound to grow."
"—That's good!"
"They only have one M9 pistol, while we all have submachine guns. We have the advantage in firepower."
"Besides, there are no professional soldiers among them—and that fighter doesn't know how to use a gun either. If this turns into a gunfight, we're more familiar with the building, so we'll definitely win!"
"Heh heh, nothing's changed..."
After their analysis, the four mercenaries split into pairs and advanced silently, taking turns covering one another with crossing fields of fire as they gradually searched the building's sixth floor.
Suddenly—
Click!
The distinct sound of a footstep echoed through the sixth-floor corridor.
The slick-haired mercenary was delighted. "I heard a footstep, in the corridor! Let's go kill them!"
"Hey, hey, calm down," the tall mercenary said quietly, stopping him. "This prey is a little clever, and we still have the fighter and the pistol to consider. Let's not act rashly. Calm down and take our time enjoying the hunt."
The slick-haired mercenary shook his head. "You're a big guy, but you sure are cautious..."
Even so, the tall mercenary did have a point.
"They have nowhere to run now, and the nearby rooms are all locked. We'll close in slowly and corner them!"
The four mercenaries advanced cautiously.
After rounding a corner, they found the source of the footsteps—
It was that middle-aged guy with silver hair!
The mercenaries were delighted. "Found him! It's our prey!"
At that moment, Akagi Shigeru stood at the far end of the corridor, an M9 pistol in his hand, its muzzle aimed at the mercenaries directly ahead.
Bang! Bang!
Two bullets flew in quick succession, but the mercenaries ducked to either side of the corridor in time, giving him no chance at all.
"Heh heh, at the end of your rope?"
The mercenaries were secretly delighted. "He must have been driven into a corner and snatched his companions' pistol, planning to take us down with him, right?"
"Idiot, we're not giving you the chance!"
"An M9 pistol's magazine only holds fifteen rounds. He fired one earlier, and he doesn't have a spare magazine, so he has a dozen or so bullets at most..."
"Once he's out of bullets, you'll have nothing left to save you!"
Bang! Bang! Bang...
Akagi Shigeru kept firing.
After the tenth shot, the gunfire finally stopped, and everything fell silent.
"Hm? Is he out of bullets? Or did he notice the magazine was nearly empty and save one or two rounds as his last hope?"
The mercenaries did not care. They sneered. "It doesn't matter either way. Once this turned into a 'gunfight,' our victory was guaranteed!"
While dodging the gunfire, the four mercenaries had put on gas masks and thermal imagers, and taken two smoke grenades from their pockets.
These were all hard-to-obtain "prohibited items," unnecessary against ordinary prey. But their opponents were rare specimens who could hire a sniper, so of course they had to take them seriously.
Whether or not the man who had been shooting still had bullets, there was no way he could deal with tear gas smoke grenades in the building's enclosed corridor!
Click!
Two mercenaries pulled the safety pins from the smoke grenades and threw them toward the far end of the corridor.
A few seconds later, thick tear gas spread out, swallowing Akagi Shigeru's figure.
The four mercenaries moved at once, leaning out from behind the walls and aiming their pistols into the smoke. Their eyes moved behind their thermal imagers as they searched for Akagi Shigeru.
"Let's start the hunt. First, shoot him so he can't move, then walk over and slowly fill him with holes with a knife!"
But the next second—
There were three figures in the thermal imagers!
It turned out that Takaomi Kaji and Baku Madarame had hidden farther down the corridor, near a window, beforehand.
The moment the tear gas began to spread, the two swung a steel pipe and a brick at the window with all their strength, smashing the glass completely.
Crash!
Wind from outside blew the smoke back down the corridor, engulfing the four mercenaries in an instant.
"Wah?!"
The mercenaries were stunned for a moment, but they did not panic.
With gas masks and thermal imagers, the tear gas posed no threat at all. It was merely the prey's futile struggle before death.
"They only have that one gun. Just watch him and the window. We don't need to worry about anyone else shooting at us from a distance."
"The moment you see someone, open fire!"
"..."
As they spoke, the four mercenaries suddenly noticed that the three people at the far end of the corridor were standing still, paying no attention to them and their submachine guns.
Wait, one, two, three...
Where was the fourth person?
Where had the "fighter" who could shatter a man's jaw with one punch gone?!
"..."
As the four mercenaries stood stunned, they faintly felt warmth coming from beside them.
Their eyes moved, trying to glance sideways, but their gas masks and thermal imagers restricted their vision, keeping them from seeing the edges of their field of view.
Is... that him?
Yes, it's him!
Using the smoke and the cover provided by the "gas masks and thermal imagers," Shiraki Uke had made his way into the midst of the four mercenaries.
He stood in the tear gas with his eyes shut and his breath held, unaffected for the moment.
Strictly speaking, he could not last long like this, but settling the fight would not take much time either.
One second—was enough!
Chapter 25: Combat Showdown!
The Abandoned Building, sixth floor.
Tear gas filled the depths of the corridor.
The four mercenaries stood motionless in the billowing smoke, submachine guns in hand, gas masks and thermal imagers on their heads.
They were certain that someone had come up beside them!
But with their gas masks and thermal imagers restricting their vision, the mercenaries could not see that person unless they turned their heads.
And they were even more certain that the moment they turned to look would be the fatal moment when "that person" attacked!
It felt as though a wild beast had them in its sights...
Or rather, at this very moment, these executioners who delighted in killing were finally getting a taste of the hell of being treated as prey!
But... was it really possible?
Even for a physically strong fighter, could he really deliver a fatal blow while surrounded by tear gas, unable to breathe or even open his eyes?!
"..."
Shiraki Uke kept his eyes tightly shut, holding his breath and concentrating. There was only darkness before him.
The instant the thick smoke rolled in, he had used the blind spots as cover to rush up beside the four mercenaries, memorizing their positions as he did.
Shiraki Uke had only a few seconds.