Kill!

The killing intent in his heart made Qin Ran stop hesitating.

However, when he walked up to the warehouse door and pushed the creaking, groaning heavy panels open, Qin Ran's eyes instantly changed, and even a look of arrogance and overbearingness, similar to that of the armed thug, appeared on his face.

"What is it again? Damn it, why is it always me guarding this place today? While those guys get to drink, play cards, and sleep? This is already the third time this week!"

The harsh sound made an armed thug stationed at the warehouse entrance walk over from a side room, muttering non-stop under his breath.

When he clearly saw Qin Ran's unfamiliar face, he raised his muzzle alertly.

"Who are you?"

The armed thug asked.

"Hey, pal, I'm one of you! I was introduced by brother Delai, and boss Hook has already approved it!"

Qin Ran raised both hands to signal that he harbored no hostility.

At the same time, he rattled off the name of the armed thug he had previously captured, as well as the name of the leader.

Qin Ran's successive mention of the two names made the armed thug before him relax his vigilance by a fraction, though the muzzle still remained lowered.

"Introduced by Delai? Then why didn't he come in with you?"

The other man asked like this.

"Don't you know about the mission of brother Delai and boss Hook?"

Qin Ran looked at the armed thug before him with a puzzled expression.

"Of course I know! That fellow Delai followed boss Hook to go find that pair of man and woman who dared to offend us! If I weren't stationed here to keep watch, I would have joined this mission too!"

Seeming to feel that he had been looked down upon by Qin Ran, this fellow, who held a low status among the thugs, stuck out his neck and began to boast.

"Is that so?"

A hint of skepticism appeared on Qin Ran's face, which annoyed the armed thug in front of him slightly, but the man was completely drawn in by Qin Ran's words the very next moment.

"That's right! That pair of bastards really deserve to die! But the man is already dead, leaving only the woman... and now she has been brought back! Everyone is lining up!"

As he spoke, a knowing look that men understood appeared on Qin Ran's face.

"Really?!"

The armed thug's eyes lit up.

"Of course it's true! Boss Hook sent me down to find the Dart brothers to bring them up!"

Qin Ran spouted total nonsense.

Yet the armed thug before him believed it more and more firmly.

Because the Dart brothers were also confidants of Jackal Hook!

If it weren't for the fact that Jackal Hook believed the men he brought were enough to deal with Qin Ran and Colin, those two would definitely have been among the previous band of thugs.

"Hey, pal, can I go find the Dart brothers now?"

Qin Ran looked at the man whose expression was shifting and asked.

As for what the other's answer would be, he knew it in his heart.

According to the confession of that captive, although Vulture used plundered women to trade with the rebels, he placed quite a high "value" on these women.

Aside from Vulture himself and Jackal Hook, only a few capable subordinates could obtain rewards.

As for someone like this fellow before him, who held virtually no status among the numerous armed thugs, he naturally couldn't even dream of getting close.

Of course, there were exceptions!

That was women who did not belong to the "goods".

Clearly, Colin, who had participated in killing two of Vulture's subordinates, was one of them.

Therefore, everything went without saying.

"Go on! Go on!"

The armed thug before him waved his hands repeatedly, paying no more attention to Qin Ran as his eyes gleamed with desire toward the outside of the warehouse doors, his entire body even involuntarily beginning to walk outward.

The desire rising from the depths of his heart had long since made this armed thug forget everything.

He only realized something was wrong when a powerful palm clamped over his mouth!

However,

it was all too late!

The sharp blade of the dagger slit his throat!

Life drained away rapidly, leaving him unable to do a single thing.

[Thrust: Critical hit, deals 100 damage to the opponent (50 Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic) X2), target dies...]

Qin Ran quickly dragged the other man's corpse and entered the room the fellow had just walked out of.

Aside from a single chair, there was nothing else in this room.

In fact, the place that served as the final line of defense for the entire lair was this crude.

Throwing the corpse onto the chair, Qin Ran carefully inspected his clothes, confirming that they were not splattered with any blood, before walking deeper into the warehouse.

Qin Ran's pace was steady and unhurried, ignoring the commotion of the armed thugs coming from the side rooms and the roar of the diesel generator ahead, focusing all his attention on the end of the warehouse.

Vulture was in the room at the end of the warehouse.

The other man was the ultimate target of this trip!

As long as he eliminated the target, the followers would scatter like a fallen tree, and no matter how many armed thugs remained, without sufficient living supplies, they wouldn't amount to much.

As for the remaining armed thugs taking over Vulture's business?

Putting aside the fact that it was utterly impossible for Vulture to confide such a secret—one concerning his own status and very life—to his subordinates, the sheer greed among the armed thugs facing this "leapfrog" opportunity to become the boss was enough to trigger internal strife.

After interacting with the armed thugs, feeling their disregard for life, arrogance, and hollow bravado, Qin Ran firmly believed in his own conjecture.

Therefore, Vulture had to die!

Not only to permanently eliminate future trouble, but also because the man would affect his final evaluation and harvest.

The end of the warehouse.

Unlike the rooms originally located on both sides of the corridor, there was only a single room here, facing directly toward the warehouse entrance. From the outside, it looked no different from the rooms on either side of the corridor, but in reality, the interior area was several times larger than the surrounding rooms. After becoming Vulture's bedroom, it had even stockpiled over eighty percent of the supplies for the entire lair.

Moreover, according to the armed thug captured earlier, Vulture was an extremely paranoid and possessive fellow.

Because inside Vulture's room, not only were there abundant supplies, but it also contained firearms and special "cargo"!

Qin Ran stood before the door, holding his breath and listening intently with one ear pressed against it.

Yet the room's excellent soundproofing allowed him to hear nothing at all.

Knock, knock knock!

Confirming that he could gain no information from the outside, Qin Ran used his left hand to knock on the door with great rhythm, while his right hand tightly gripped the dagger.

"Who is it!"

A shrill, impatient voice sounded.

"Boss Vulture, boss Hook is back!"

Following the plan, Qin Ran deceived the man.

Facing such deception, Vulture harbored not the slightest shred of doubt.

Because he had confidence in his capable subordinate Hook, and he also had confidence in the three layers of defense he had set up!

Or rather, he believed that his terrifying reputation was enough to intimidate everyone!

The next moment, Vulture directly opened the door.

A tall, thin man wearing only what looked like beach shorts and a bare upper body appeared before Qin Ran. The man's cheeks were sunken, his eye sockets deep, the tip of his nose hooked, and his hair so sparse that his scalp was visible. Standing there, at a glance he looked just like a living vulture.

He glanced around, and upon finding only a single person in Qin Ran, he looked at him and asked, "Where is Hook? Where are those damn bastards?"

"The man is already dead! The woman was brought back, and right now she's being taken upstairs by boss Hook..."

As he spoke, a smile that only men could understand appeared on Qin Ran's face.

At the same time, Qin Ran unostentatiously sized up the notorious Vulture among the survivors and thugs.

The man was far from as strong as he had imagined!

That bare upper body was so emaciated that a row of ribs was clearly visible, and on his two thin arms, apart from skin, there wasn't an ounce of flesh—if he hadn't had the captive describe Vulture's appearance, and if Colin hadn't described it in detail as well, Qin Ran would never have believed the person before him was that Vulture, mistaking him instead for a mere junkie.

"That fellow Hook!"

Hearing Qin Ran's description, Vulture split his lips in a smile, revealing pitch-black teeth.

He didn't care in the least about Hook's actions; he only cared whether Hook had completed the mission and whether it allowed him to redeem his reputation.

"He did well, I'll reward him handsomely!"

Leaving those words behind, Vulture prepared to close the door.

As for Qin Ran?

Although he looked somewhat unfamiliar, he had recently taken in a batch of new recruits, and therefore didn't take it to heart.

More importantly, Vulture simply didn't believe that anyone would dare to break into his impregnable lair.

Thus, when Qin Ran raised his right hand from behind his back and thrust the dagger into his neck, Vulture didn't even react in time.

"Ugh!"

Clutching the dagger embedded in his neck, Vulture stumbled backward, clearing the doorway. Qin Ran smoothly walked into the room, pressing his left hand against the door panel to gently pull it shut.

Bang!

The instant Qin Ran closed the door, Vulture collapsed to the floor.

Those wide-open eyes still held a lingering trace of profound shock, while his face bore utter disbelief.

Until his dying breath, Vulture couldn't understand why Qin Ran had attacked him.

He didn't even know that Qin Ran was one of the targets he had issued a kill-on-sight order for.

[Thrust: Critical hit, deals 100 damage to the opponent (50 Cold Weapons (Dagger) (Basic) X2), target dies...]

Puff!

Qin Ran bent down to pull out the dagger, neatly avoiding the spurt of blood.

Then, his gaze swept toward his surroundings.

The first thing that caught his eye was a large bed, and upon that bed, a girl whose limbs were bound and mouth gagged was staring right at him with wide eyes.

"Relax, I mean no harm!"

Facing the woman's glare, Qin Ran subconsciously explained.

However, before Qin Ran could explain any further, a ringtone completely captured his attention.

Ring, ring ring!

Following the sound, Qin Ran spotted a mobile phone that looked slightly outdated in style but gave an impression of unusual sturdiness.

It sat on the bedside table.

Qin Ran walked over and picked up the phone.

The white screen displayed the incoming caller: Major!