The Little Rat seemed to sense the change in its body, and it excitedly scurried back and forth on its Master's shoulder and head.
No matter how the ' The Rat ' tried to soothe it, it wouldn't stop.
"Who... who were you just now?" the ' The Rat ' asked in confusion.
Richard looked at the lively Little Rat and smiled, hands behind his back. "It's just a trace of my Mana; it will subtly improve the Little Rat's health..."
"This Mana can last for several years..."
"Hopefully, it can complete its transformation before the Mana disappears..."
Without saying a word, the Rat excitedly knelt down on the ground with a thud. "Thank you for giving the Grey Rat the opportunity to change its fate, kind sir!"
Richard slightly raised his right hand, lifting the ' The Rat ': "It's just a little Mana, no need for such a fuss."
At this point, Fox and Bullseye, who had been unconscious, gradually regained consciousness.
When Fox opened her eyes, she quickly reached for her lower back, but the gun she had hidden on her body was already lost in the ruins of the bookshelf behind the stone pillar.
Bullseye slowly sat up, looking at Sloan's lifeless body not far away, and gave a bitter laugh, " Fox, the Assassin Brotherhood finished..."
Fox followed his gaze, and the moment she saw Sloan's body, all expression vanished from her face.
"Do you know why you survived?" Richard asked quietly.
"My mission is over, kill me!" Fox slumped to the dusty floor, staring blankly at the portraits of the saints on the ceiling.
The Bullseye followed up with a shrug and said, "Although I haven't lived enough, Fox was right. Our mission is over. Grant us death, sir!"
" The Rat " jumped to his feet, strode over to the Bullseye, and yelled, " Bullseye, are you crazy?"
What do you mean our mission is over?
"Where did our mission come from? That Loom of Fate?!"
"Ha! Don't be ridiculous! Buddy, that's just a funny toy Sloan made up to fool people!"
"We're just a bunch of hitmen who get paid to kill!"
"What sacred mission, what a blade of fate!"
"Fake, all of it is fake!"
The Bullseye's face flushed with Wrath. He rolled over and stood up, grabbing the man's collar and lifting him up.
"You bastard, what nonsense are you spouting?!"
Fox appeared silently nearby, coldly staring at ' The Rat ': "A paid hitman?"
The Little Rat perched on its Master's shoulder, baring its large teeth at the Bullseye, its dark eyes gleaming with ferocity.
"Quiet! Grey Rat, quiet!" the ' The Rat ' quickly shouted.
The Little Rat obediently put away its fierce demeanor and squeaked twice in dissatisfaction.
' The Rat ' ignored its complaints. He first looked at the Bullseye's expression, then turned to look at Fox, his face becoming very strange.
"I mean... do you guys know what Richard Bradson does?"
Bullseye paused, then replied with a puzzled look, "Isn't Bradson a wounded veteran of the Assassin Brotherhood?"
" The Rat " scoffed, mocking, "Injured personnel? Ha~ Someone actually believed Sloan's nonsense..."
"He's a middleman!"
"A pimp who operates in the underworld, introducing clients to assassin organizations!"
Fox, a ruthless man of few words, suddenly reached out and grabbed the Little Rat from his shoulder, holding it by the scruff of its neck, and coldly threatened, " The Rat, you have ten seconds to explain everything..."
"One!"
"Two!"
Richard watched the show with his arms crossed, practically ready to pull out some sunflower seeds and an iced cola...
"Three!"
"Four!"
After being picked up, the Little Rat was initially stunned, then began to struggle wildly, waving its arms and legs.
But fate had its neck firmly gripped by Fox, and its efforts were in vain...
"Five!"
"Six!"
Seeing Fox's serious expression, " The Rat " panicked. He grabbed the Bullseye's wrist, forcefully pulled away, and quickly raised his hand to stop him, shouting, "Stop!"
"Stop counting! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Fox tossed the Little Rat back, and the ' The Rat ' quickly reached out and caught the Grey Rat.
The Little Rat scurried back onto his shoulder, baring its teeth at Fox with displeasure.
"Squeak (Bad woman)!"
The Rat patted its little head reassuringly, then said with a wry smile, "Now I know why the master didn't kill you two..."
Bullseye and Fox exchanged a glance, then looked at ' The Rat '.
The " The Rat " sighed and continued, " Sloan has been deceiving everyone..."
Richard flicked his index finger, opening a Portal.
Carlos Gibson, who was crouching and watching Richard Bradson, fell out of the Portal looking completely bewildered.
Richard formed a hand seal and cast a Silence Spell on him.
Carlos recognized the place, and a look of shock immediately appeared on his face. He saw Fox and his two companions standing facing each other, and wisely remained silent...
" The Assassin Brotherhood changed the moment Sloan became its leader!"
"It has become a pure assassin organization!"
"They take money to buy lives, regardless of whether the target is male or female, young or old. As long as they receive the money, the Loom of Fate will weave the target's name..."
"That's impossible, you're lying!" The veins on the Bullseye's forehead bulged, and he clenched his fists, looking ready to strike at the slightest provocation.
The ' The Rat ' quickly raised its hands to protect itself. "Everyone knows!"
" Mr. X, the Mechanic, the Butcher, the Butcher, the Baker..."
"This can't be!" the Bullseye repeated, then said absentmindedly, "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Fox's full lips had almost lost their color; she raised her hand to her forehead, her body trembling and swaying precariously.
The Rat looked at the two of them and said somewhat awkwardly, "Uh, maybe you guys are... too naive?"
He coughed lightly and quickly said:
"Ever since I realized it, I'd rather be among the Rat..."
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!!" Bullseye suddenly cursed several times in a row. He squatted down abruptly, and his fist, full of power and all his Wrath, slammed heavily on the ground.
" Fox ..." Richard, who had been watching the whole thing unfold, suddenly spoke up, "Do you remember your childhood memories?"
Fox turned to look at him, nodded indifferently, and said, "I remember..."
Richard nodded, formed a hand seal, and a memory he had extracted from the depths of Sloan's memory appeared in mid-air:
In the luxurious villa, the still-young Sloan fired several shots at the man sitting behind his desk. After confirming the target was dead, he turned to leave.
Suddenly he stopped, and slowly turned around...
A little girl hid under a desk, covering her mouth in fear, and wept bitterly as she looked at her father's corpse...
The scene shifts, Fox replaces the little girl. She watches the playing image, covers her mouth, and bursts into tears...
When Richard left, Fox kept his head down and didn't say a word.
Then she had to choose between living or dying...
Well, life is a journey with its stops and starts; it's her choice...
Bullseye and ' The Rat ' gathered a team to clean up the mess.
The Assassin Brotherhood continue Sloan's model of killing for money, or they may revert to the ancient rules of eliminating targets based on clues from the Loom of Fate...
However, ' The Rat ' firmly opposed both options. He thought textiles were a good choice; besides being skilled at killing, they were also adept at weaving...
Carlos then Richard to take him back to his son Wesley, where he personally apologized to his son and formally invited him to move in with him.
Wesley agreed, but there was one more thing to do before moving...
That afternoon, he returned to his apartment near the train tracks with a gun.
Inside the apartment, a young man and woman are patting a seal's belly...
Mary, the girlfriend who was always assertive and domineering despite being in the wrong, pointed at Wesley and yelled, " Wesley? What brings you back at this hour! Get out of here right now!"
Former colleague Barry chuckled and pulled a pillow to cover his stomach, while stubbornly insisting:
"Uh, bro, I'm just here to help Mary relieve her loneliness. You know, Mary's been in a bad mood lately..."
Wesley coldly drew his pistol from his back and fired several shots at them.
Just then, the piercing sound of a train whistle, as always, rang out, drowning out the gunshots.
He tucked the pistol back into his waistband, quickly packed a few clothes, and left.
Inside the apartment, only Barry remained, writhing on the floor clutching his groin and groaning in pain, and Mary, shot in both legs, kneeling on the floor, cursing wildly...