Howard the Battle Maniac

The pistol's sights were firmly trained on Howard's exposed head through the gap in the sofa. With his finger resting on the trigger, a vicious smile appeared on the gunman's face. He was confident that, with his marksmanship, this shot would pierce the obstacle and kill Howard on the spot.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a bullet suddenly flew out from a corner of the hall downstairs. It entered directly through his eye, spraying a large mass of brain matter and blood from the back of his head.

There were not many Mafia men left to begin with, and several more fell in this wave of attacks. Their numerical advantage dwindled further, and their firepower became completely sparse.

Seeing this, the Martial Arts School group simply went from defense to offense. One after another, they rose from their hiding places and used dense, precise fire to suppress the Mafia across from them until they could not lift their heads. The situation was completely reversed.

What followed was a one-sided slaughter. After a sustained burst of gunfire, all the Mafia on the stairs were wiped out. Dozens of corpses packed the staircase from top to bottom, and crimson blood slowly flowed down the steps, pooling across the smooth marble floor of the hall like a vivid red carpet.

With all the enemies eliminated, everyone relaxed at once, and a powerful wave of exhaustion immediately washed over them. One by one, they slumped down against stone pillars and walls.

After the intense battle just now, their minds had remained highly focused. Coupled with fighting continuously while wearing Bulletproof Armor that weighed dozens of pounds, they were all utterly exhausted and nearly collapsed.

Chen Mo looked at the people sitting on the floor and was fairly satisfied with their performance just now. But relaxing the moment the enemies before them had been eliminated was fatal in battle.

"Get up, all of you!" Chen Mo shouted sternly.

"The battle isn't over yet! If another wave of enemies came now, how many of you were planning to let them take out?"

Startled, they hurriedly stood up, secretly reproaching themselves for letting down their guard so easily.

Chen Mo sighed inwardly. They were still a group of rookies who had never been on a battlefield, severely lacking in real combat experience. It seemed he would have to put them through proper training tonight.

"There shouldn't be many people left upstairs. Are you going to rest here, or come up with me?"

Chen Mo asked the exhausted group in a seemingly casual manner.

"We can still fight!" Huang Quan and the other four answered loudly. Although they had expended a great deal of stamina, the gleam in their eyes was brighter than ever, and their auras had become sharper, fiercer, and full of aggression.

Old Albert wiped the sweat from his forehead, drew his pistol again, and looked at Chen Mo with resolute eyes.

Chen Mo slowly nodded at the old butler, then turned to Howard. The kid had no idea he had just taken a trip to death's door. He still looked excited, though his face was flushed from exhaustion and his back was soaked with sweat.

Seeing Chen Mo look at him, he said excitedly, "What are you looking at me for? I haven't had enough yet. That was incredible!"

"Let's go! I can fight another hundred rounds!" As he spoke, he drew his pistol, his face brimming with fighting spirit. "We can rest after we take them out!"

Chen Mo felt that Howard was a little too excited. Before this, he had been timid and terrified of death, but once the fighting began, he fought as if his life meant nothing. He had the makings of a battle maniac, and showed no adverse reaction whatsoever after killing people.

As martial artists, Huang Quan, Wang Kun, and the other three had more or less taken a few lives during those chaotic times. Old Albert had experienced too much and had long since become indifferent to life and death, with exceptionally strong mental resilience.

Yet Howard, a scientist who spent all day shut away in a laboratory, had personally killed people and still showed no change in expression while facing a floor full of corpses. Chen Mo could only explain it by concluding that the kid was a born war maniac.

Seeing that they were all willing to continue fighting, Chen Mo nodded in satisfaction and led them upstairs.

The staircase was covered with the Mafia corpses they had taken down. The blood flowing from them had stained the steps red, making the entire staircase wet and slippery.

They carefully stepped over the bodies on the stairs and made their way up to the second floor. It was unusually quiet there, without a single person in sight. Chen Mo listened intently for a moment, then led the group onward upstairs.

Inside a luxurious office on the third floor, Flod Lucien, head of the Lucien Family and controller of more than half of Brooklyn's underworld forces, sat behind a broad solid-wood desk in a crisp suit. His graying hair was neatly combed back, and he held a thick Cuban cigar between his fingers, but had yet to light it.

The fierce gunfire downstairs had continued for quite some time without any sign of stopping, and Floyd could not help feeling uneasy.

Who would attack the Lucien Family headquarters at a time like this? And who had the ability to fight dozens of his elite gunmen without falling behind?

The Freely Family? Impossible. Brooklyn's two great families were evenly matched. If either side openly attacked the other's headquarters, the only result would be mutual destruction and an opportunity for other forces to profit.

Government agents? Also impossible. The family spent vast sums every year greasing palms at every level. Those in power had long since been fed their fill, so there was no way he would have received no warning. Besides, if the government truly intended to move against them, his men would never be able to withstand the crushing force of the state's violent machine.

Thinking of their recent actions, a mysterious and powerful figure surfaced in his mind. Could it be him? Yes, it had to be. He had returned!

Breaking directly into someone else's headquarters in the middle of the night was exactly like the time he had wiped out Mad Dog Tony and his group. The only difference was that last time, he had infiltrated alone for assassination, while this time, he had brought helpers for a frontal assault. As far as Floyd knew, the Boxing Masters at the Martial Arts School were all quite capable.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. A fine layer of sweat rose on Floyd's forehead. Why had he suddenly returned? And how had he learned of their secret actions?

They had been inciting and encouraging several smaller forces to attack the Martial Arts School so they could reap the rewards from behind the scenes. The entire operation had been carried out with extreme secrecy, and afterward, they had planned to eliminate every force that took action to silence them. Even if Chen Mo returned later, he would never be able to trace it back to them.

They thought Chen Mo would never learn of their little schemes. And indeed, if Chen Mo had merely been a wealthy man with formidable personal strength, he might truly have remained in the dark. When he returned and saw the Martial Arts School destroyed, he would not have been able to find the culprits even if he sought revenge. It was quite a clever plan.

Unfortunately, HYDRA's Intelligence Department under Chen Mo had kept a very clear grasp of their every move.

Chen Mo once again experienced the benefits of having power. No matter how strong an individual was, they could not attend to everything and would always have blind spots. The strength brought by a powerful organization undoubtedly made up for that.