Chapter 64
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Somewhere in the room with a lot of monitors, a man in blue shirt and black pants, sitting on a wheeled stool while holding a phone with its screen showed three blue birds fought green pigs inside a house. Another man in the same appearance stared at the monitors with a cup of coffee.
*Ueeee!*
*Bang!*
*Ha-ha-ha!*
"Shit, wrong target!" He grumbled.
The coffee-man glanced at him, a hint of disdain reflected on those pair of eyes.
It seemed he noticed the 'unkindly' stare his partner gave, his face changed its color like a red bird, "You got something to say rookie?"
"No, sir..." The coffee-man shrugged.
"Good! Remember your place here!" He snorted, he turned his eyes toward one of the monitors, wrinkling his eyebrow, he leaned his body forward before widening his own eyes, "what the fuck?"
"What happen?" The coffee-man also looked in the same direction.
On the monitor, several people showed to be clad in Balaclava mask, anti-bullet vest, and military boots. They held China made assault rifles CS/LR17 and swarmed the underground parking lots.
"We must inform the authority immediately!" He canceled out his game and proceeded to the urgent contact list.
*Splat!*
"Arrrghh!"
Suddenly, a blast of brown water came from his right, burning half of the skin on his face, he leaned toward the desk on his left, letting out a series of wailing.
The coffee-man stood up, a sneer hooked the corner of his lips, "You could have avoided this if you just pay attention to those birds."
"R-Rookie? What are you..." The man held his face, shivered all over his body.
"Don't worry sir..." He chuckled, his hand reached out to his back and a pulled out a Semi-Auto Pistol from his pants, he aimed it toward the man, "I'm not gonna hit a wrong target..."
"Rookie, wait! I-"
*Bang!*
He put the gun on the desk and reached out for his walkie-talkie, "Surveillance room secure, over!"
"What's the situation in the other area?" One of the men in parking lot stuck up the walkie-talkie to his mouth.
In the kitchen, people wore a chef clothing knelt with both knees on the floor, their both hands behind their neck, three people with pistols stood among them, one man brought up the walkie-talkie, "Cooking room secure!"
"Storage room secure!"
"Good, let's call out the big man."
Outside Emerald Quaza hotel, from the horizon, a black van drove heading toward the hotel and it arrived at the front entrance. Its passenger doors slid open and a bunch of men came down with an assault rifle in hands except one man with spiky hair. He had a relaxed expression as his narrowed eyes glanced toward his surrounding.
People who lingered around the entrance widened their eyes in amazement, they thought these people were shooting a movie or something. Their eyes scattered the perimeter, tried to spot a camera hidden somewhere, someone took out his phone and captured the scene. One of the valets approached the spiky-haired man, his expression turned little stiff, "Can I help you, Sir?"
"Oh, don't worry buddy..." He closed his eyes and smirked, patting the valet shoulder, his spoke in a dry voice, "everything just a play..."
He strolled forward, "Clear up this place."
*Pa!*
"Aaaaah!"
"What the hell they are doing!"
One henchman raised up his rifle at the valet and smacked his head with it. The rest spread out, hoarding the people to enter the hotel and gathered in the corridor.
In the auction management room, Naruto and Mr. Liu discussed the business regarding the antique knife. The energetic old man had a wrinkle decorated his forehead.
"I'm very sorry Mr. Naruto..."
Naruto sighed, "500,000 dollars still a no?"
"Pardon me, but I'll say this to you again," Mr. Liu wore a firm face, "unless you tell me your reason for buying it, then there's no deal."
"I already say I'm a fanatic knife collector, why wouldn't you believe me?" Naruto shook his head.
"Huh..." Mr. Liu curled his lips, "which land a Sai created from?"
"Oh, so we play a 'Who Wants To Be A Richman show' now?" Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Yes, humor me," the old man nodded.
"Fine, but you must promise me you sell the knife if I answer it correctly," he put a solemn face.
"I'll think about it," he closed his eyes and sipped the tea.
Naruto wrinkled his brow, he knew this old man was not someone easy to trifle, words said that with age comes a great wisdom.
"Sai was famous in Okinawa with its own technique called Saijutsu..." Naruto paused, he turned his underlips sideway for a moment, "but it's originally created in China, around the era of Ming dynasty."
"Correct," Mr. Liu nodded, "our country produced a plenty of arts and antiques, but most had been lost throughout the war, such a shame it's actually flourishing in other countries."
Naruto kept tight his mouth, the conflict between countries wasn't his problem, be it in the past or the present.
"Alright, second question: what are the materials that construct a Jambiya's handle?"
Jambiya?
Naruto frowned, he closed his eyes, trying to dig up his memory, he opened them after a while, looked at the old man who wore a temperate smile, "Is it... animal horn?"
"Albeit you not specifically correct but you still got it right," Mr. Liu chuckled, "precisely from a Rhino horn, back at the early '60s, they could also be used for alternative medicine."
"Oh..." Naruto nodded, his face became bitter, "are we done with the Q&A?"
"One last question," the old-man coughed a bit, "if you don't mind."
"Do I have a choice?" Naruto shook his head, "shoot."
"Tell me the history behind Mercurial Rain, Wang Yuanji's favorite knife."
'Urggh, kill me now... who the hell was Wang Yuanji?!' Naruto's face almost fell flat to the floor, he actually didn't have any fancy toward weapon OK?! His knowledge only based on what he knew and saw, back in the days.
"Call for backup?" Naruto twitched his lips.
"Sure, call any of your acquaintance if that can help," Mr. Liu coughed again, preventing a laughter broke through his mouth after seeing Naruto's expression.
Naruto let out a mirthless laugh, he fished out his phone and surfed his contact list.
"No Moggle," the elder drunk his tea.
"I know, I know, sheesh," Naruto snorted, he slid back and forth his contact while pondering who he should call.
Ruoxi? Rose? Mingyu?
But he doesn't even know about this Wang Yuanji... and he didn't think that history was these women favorite lesson.
Wait, regarding some antique, maybe Xue Lin knew! Naruto quickly focused his search and tapped the display as soon he found it. He brought it toward his right ear.
Huh? No services? Naruto squinted his eyes as he heard no single beep in his phone. He glanced at the old man, "Mr. Liu is this place isolated from cell phone signal?"
"No, this room only has soundproof, why?" This time a wrinkle managed to creep into his venerable face.
"My phone couldn't connect..." He presented his phone, "see?"
The old man leaned forward and saw a red cross mark on the phone upper corner, he eyes jumped in surprise, he took out his own phone and noticed the same mark.
Maybe the phone tower has a problem?
Or server maintenance?
Mr. Liu pressed his earpiece, but he only heard static on the line, his face darkened, he glanced at Naruto, "Mr. Naruto please give me a moment, I have to check on young lady first."
"Wait, Mr. Liu, let me try something first..." Naruto closed his eyes, and he crossed his arms. Seconds had passed yet Naruto still closed his eyes, foreboding rose within the elder's guts, his expression began to show impatient color.
At this moment, Naruto opened his eyes and faced Mr. Liu with a grave expression.
"Jam..." His eyes turned frosty, "someone jammed the hotel's signal."
*Bang!*
"Lay on your knees and all hand's in the air!"
"What's going on?! Who are you guys?!"
"Pitpatpitpatpitpat!"
"Murder! Murder!"
"One more sound, I pop another body!"
Right at the outside of the room, a distance sounds of gun's rapid fire and a male voice sneaked its way in, causing both elder and youngster changed their expression.
"Young miss is in danger!" The elder stood up and prepared to rush out, but Naruto quickly blocked his path, "Mr. Liu, please calm down first, there are four people outside with automatic firearms and perhaps in complete gear, if you just attack them, not only you endanger yourself but also staff in that room."
"I'm sorry Mr. Naruto but young miss safety is my first priority, I won't hesitate to sacrifice them, including my own body!" firm expression masked the elder face.
He strode forward but Naruto held him by pressing his chest, "I know, I know, just answer my question first, how's your vision capability in the dark?"
"I'm good, my eyes had been trained beyond normal human," the elder nodded then ascending his eyebrow, "why did you ask?"
"Just trust me!" Naruto rushed out toward a cupboard and grabbed several golden forks inside, he threw them at the ceiling and broke all of the lustrous bulbs in the room. Darkness engulfed the space but the two people inside as if still able to see their surrounding, "find a place to hide!"
The old man finally understood Naruto's intention, he dashed beside another cupboard and positioned his body there. Naruto jumped and grabbed the brownish furniture's edge, he swung his body, landed on its top surface and stayed there.
*Bang!*
"Freeze!"
The door toward the room smashed open and revealed a man in his getup, there were several windows in the staff room thus it brought a bit of light inside but not enough to shine the whole place.
The henchman looked around with difficulty since he not equipped with a flashlight, his left hand reached out for the wall and pressed the switch but still no luck.
"I know there are people in here, you better come out!" His voice muffled by the mask he wore but still clear to anyone's ear.
He fired his gun randomly in the room but no screaming or begging voice turned over. Goosebump started to linger in his chest, "I won't kill you if you surrender now! You have my word!" But still no single respond, this place became too quiet for his liking.
"Just get in and kill them!" His teammate roared from behind, he glanced toward the man on his right, "help him!"
"Roger!" He raised his rifle and joined up inside, the room layout consisted of two cupboards on both sides, two sofas in the center of the room and a table placed between them. There were few tables surrounding them that supported a variety of antiques, but it's unknown whether real or not. On the most northern area in the room, a big desk placed facing the sofa, and the henchmen thought those people hiding behind it.
One went straight from the door and passed the left cupboard, while another circled around the small tables, going for the path in front the right cupboard.
Mr. Liu grabbed him as soon as he arrived and twisted his head with ease, the man on the right jumped in fright but Naruto dropped on him and stabbed the back of his head with a fork before he managed to do anything. Naruto cleared his throat, picked up the rifle and started shooting at the wall while shouted, "Oh shit, he got him!"
Mr. Liu widened his eyes at Naruto's smooth manner in impersonating the dead man's voice, he thought this blonde young man wasn't as simple as he looks.
"What's going in there?!" the two men outside raised their gun and pointed it toward the room.
"That son of a bitch got him, die you bastard!" Naruto paused a while before shooting again.
After a while, the sound ceased and silence hugged everyone in the staff room, the henchmen glanced at each other, one of them stared at the room, "Hey, you OK?!"
"Yeah, he's dead, don't worry!" Naruto turned the dead body around, "there's an old man here, I'll bring him out!"
He took off all of its getups and put it on his own, "Come on old man, move that bony ass of yours!"
Mr. Liu glared at Naruto who smirked and focused on putting the gear on his body, after everything set, he nodded his head and they walked out from the dark room while Naruto pointed the rifle toward the elder's back.
"Master Liu!"
The staff stared in disbelieve, they knew the capability of this energetic old man thus unable to adapt the fact that he was captured. Mr. Liu gave them a comforting appearance as he walked toward them.
"Sorry, it's so dark in there, I didn't see that man until it's too late," Naruto straightened his back and put his rifle away.
"It's fine, so long he's dead," the nearby henchman said, he looked toward the door on the right side of the staff room, "just have to wait for the other two then we hauled them into the grand hall room."
Not long after he said that the door swung open, 6 people strolled into the room; three more staff, another two henchmen, and... one hell of a lady.
She wore a white JoJo dress that wrapped her whole curvaceous body, down to her knees. Her triangular face and seductive eyes brought heat into anyone's system. The two henchmen that already in the room couldn't help but stare at the alluring figure for a while.
Naruto nodded while secretly thought, This woman must be the young lady Mr. Liu mention.
Liu Ruyan's calm expression changed the moment she saw Mr. Liu crouched in the floor, "Uncle Fu!"
"Young miss, thank god you're safe!" Mr. Liu let out a relieved breath.
She hastened her pace and stared at the elder with worried eyes, "Forget about me! Uncle Fu, are you injured anywhere?"
This man had been protecting her since she's in elementary grade and never once seeing him kneel, she knew his combat prowess and capability thus it's understandable if she thought he's injured.
"Young Miss, I'm fine..." His face turned bitter, "but the youngster from Yu Lei... he died."
"Oh, that's terrible..." Her heart pang with sadness, especially when she saw one of her staff laid under a pool of blood, she glared at Naruto with full of hate, "You guys are despicable people."
"Hey, it's not our fault that they fought back," Naruto shrugged, "if they act docile like a little lamb then maybe, just maybe, we treated them a bit gentle."
Liu Ruyan greeted her teeth while the henchmen laughed in a mocking manner, one of them ceased, his eyes wandered for a moment, "Alright, enough! Let's go to the hall!"
(***)
"Hello, hello, can anyone hear me?"
In the hall where they previously held a banquet, the spiky-haired man stood in front of the stage, patting the head of a microphone.
"Heez, this place sounds like a graveyard, only without tombstones, and dead trees."
In front of the stage, people gathered and formed a crowd, pale yet dark countenance painted the scenery, local and foreign face decorated the wallpaper, adult and children swarmed the floor like a group of ants. Men in a bullet-proof vest and CS/LR17 rifle surrounding them like a prison guard.
The spiky-haired man rolled his eyes at the expression showed by the crowd, "Come on guys, isolated from the internet for fifteen minutes, won't make you lose followers.
I'm kindly standing up here, entertaining you bunch of rich and lucky person, hoping you won't get bored as my men do the task that had been assigned.
Don't be an asshole and make me same like a clown here."
Static.
"Urgh, this is killing me! Do you guys know that people could die from immense frustration?" He walked around the stage, "so there's this one time, a man, lurking in the wood, hunting for a bear, he met a fox along the way and asked the fox where he could find a bear, the fox said 'get me a chicken if you wanted information from me.'
So the man went to a chicken ranch back in his village, the chicken owner said, 'get me a corn if you wanted my chicken.'
The man went to a farmer in the neighbor village, the farmer said, 'get me a chunk of wood if you wanted a corn.'
The man went to a deep forest to meet a lumber, the lumber said, 'get me an ax if you wanted the wood.'
The man went to a blacksmith in the city, the blacksmith said, 'get me a coat if you wanted the ax.'
The man went to a tailor, back in his village, the tailor said, 'get me a bear pelt so I can make you the coat.'
Haha, get it? After traveling from one location to another, from one occupation to another, the man, in the end, returned to his initial position, hunting the bear! Bravo!"
"..." Everyone stared at the man with poker-face expression.
He twitched his narrowed eyes, "Come on guys, not even a chuckle?"
*Bang!*
At this moment, the door toward the hall opened, three henchmen came inside the room, two of them dragged a man and a woman by their hands. The man dressed the same with them but the woman, she only wore a nightgown, tattered one, her face and hair proved she's not local people, maybe a tourist or an immigrant. There is a bruise on her cheek and her makeup totally messed up.
The spiky-haired man wrinkled his eyebrows as he saw his men strolled inside, they brought the couple up to the stage. the crowds gasped as they saw what befell the woman, there were red tainted her thigh and other bruises in her skin. The females twisted their face in an ugly way, an earthquake occurred in their body, the parents started putting their children out of view.
"Guys, what is this?" The spiky-haired man twitched his lips.
"We find him inside one of the room, 'thrusting' inside this woman," they threw the man to the ground.
"Boss, boss, please I could explain!" His face turned pale as he forced a smile.
"Ah, cannot hold your 'little bird' in check are we?" The spiky-haired man meandered, shaking his own head.
"S-She came and offered her self to me when I went into her room!" A cold sweat broke from the man's forehead.
"He's lying!" The woman sobbed, she spoke in rather rough Chinese, "he raped me!"
"Shut up!" The man about to lunge at her but the other henchman held his body down.
"Ugh, get the woman down, find her some proper clothes or something, I don't need this kind of drama..." The spiky-haired man crouched several meters from them, one of the henchmen nodded and dragged the woman away.
"Boss, please... you have to believe me, that harlot seduce me!"
The spiky-haired man sighed, "Take out your knife."
"Boss?" The man startled.
"Take out your knife and fight me," he rose on his feet, a lazy smile smeared his face, "Kill me and you'll live, or not and you'll die, your choice."
Everyone except the henchmen surprised by the word he said, they couldn't believe this man willing to kill his own people.
"Are you sure boss?" the man said, there's a doubt in his tone but a trace of ruthless appeared on his eyes.
"Lying is not my trait," the spiky-haired man shrugged, "so what it will be, life or death?"
"I-I fight you..." Shiver gripped his tone.
"Bravo! Let him loose!" The spiky-haired man smirked. The henchman took his hand from the man and strolled backward several meters.
The man stood up, he took out his knife, its length comparable to one forearm.
"I am sorry, boss, but I want to live," the man hooked his right arm and hovered the knife beneath his left hand.
"Great!" The spiky-haired man opened wide his arm, "that desire for life, show me how strong your greed."
"Ha!" The man strode and launched his knife.
The spiky-haired man whisked the man's hand and punched his face at the same time, causing him to stumble backward while grabbing his face. The man's aimed his knife at the spiky-haired man's face, he brushed it sideways with his left hand and punched the man's stomach, before giving a hook punch to his face.
"Argggh!" With a roar, the man tried to slash his boss twice but the edge always miss, by the time of the third slash commenced, the spiky-haired man grabbed the man's hand, punching his stomach once, he twisted the man's arm, disarming him from his knife then smacked his face with his elbow, he landed his fist trice on his enemy tummy then hooked his head under his armpit.
"It seems..." The spiky-haired man chuckles, "you not greedy enough."
*Crack!*
He strengthened his muscle then broke the man's neck. The crowd went crazy as they saw such a cruel and barbarian act, death from firearm can't be compared at all.
The spiky-haired man threw the dead body to the side, "Get rid of him."
Two henchmen picked up the body and carried them away. He watched them with lazy eyes before glancing at the crowd, a slope curved his lips, "You guys enjoy the show?"
(***)
The corridor in the first level, several blocks from the auction management room.
Naruto glanced at the camera on the corner of the ceiling, his mind never once stops moving their gears. They turned to their right and passed a restroom.
"Guys wait I have to take a pee," Naruto paused.
"Seriously dude?"
"Yeah, can't hold it any longer," Naruto rubbed his thighs.
"Fine, go ahead," one of them grumbled.
"Thanks!" Naruto went inside the room.
Several minutes passed yet Naruto still inside, the henchmen exchanged their glances.
"Should you guys check on your friend?" Mr. Liu closed his eyes, "maybe he has some trouble urinating."
"You, go inside and check what's wrong," the leader waved his rifle to the henchman in front of him.
He nodded, he raised his rifle and pushed the door open, the restroom has four booths with all white and black theme. He noticed a figure beside the last stall, it's Naruto.
"Dude, what are you doing?" The henchman wrinkled his brow.
"I'm waiting..." Naruto shrugged.
the henchman startled, "Waiting for what?"
"You," in a swift move Naruto took out a handgun and shot the man's head in front. He sighed as the body slumped on the floor.
"How come you didn't have any silencer..." He shook his head, "well, time to get work."
Naruto tapped the wall behind him and canceled his isolation technique, he dragged the body inside one of the booths, he took a deep breath, "Oh shit, oh shit, he's bleeding! Guys, I Need backup now!"
The three henchmen outside got alerted, they all raised their rifle in the instant, the leader urged his two of teammate to rush toward the restroom.
"What happen?!"
*Pitpatpitpatpitpat!*
The moment they arrived at the booth, a dozen bullets took a nest on their body, splattering the wall with red spots. Two souls had departed into the land upstairs or downstairs. A trail of smoke danced from the mouth of Naruto's rifle, his face smirked with a glee, "Man I love guns! Second only to kunai and shuriken."
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Somewhere in the room with a lot of monitors, a man in blue shirt and black pants, sitting on a wheeled stool while holding a phone with its screen showed three blue birds fought green pigs inside a house. Another man in the same appearance stared at the monitors with a cup of coffee.
*Ueeee!*
*Bang!*
*Ha-ha-ha!*
"Shit, wrong target!" He grumbled.
The coffee-man glanced at him, a hint of disdain reflected on those pair of eyes.
It seemed he noticed the 'unkindly' stare his partner gave, his face changed its color like a red bird, "You got something to say rookie?"
"No, sir..." The coffee-man shrugged.
"Good! Remember your place here!" He snorted, he turned his eyes toward one of the monitors, wrinkling his eyebrow, he leaned his body forward before widening his own eyes, "what the fuck?"
"What happen?" The coffee-man also looked in the same direction.
On the monitor, several people showed to be clad in Balaclava mask, anti-bullet vest, and military boots. They held China made assault rifles CS/LR17 and swarmed the underground parking lots.
"We must inform the authority immediately!" He canceled out his game and proceeded to the urgent contact list.
*Splat!*
"Arrrghh!"
Suddenly, a blast of brown water came from his right, burning half of the skin on his face, he leaned toward the desk on his left, letting out a series of wailing.
The coffee-man stood up, a sneer hooked the corner of his lips, "You could have avoided this if you just pay attention to those birds."
"R-Rookie? What are you..." The man held his face, shivered all over his body.
"Don't worry sir..." He chuckled, his hand reached out to his back and a pulled out a Semi-Auto Pistol from his pants, he aimed it toward the man, "I'm not gonna hit a wrong target..."
"Rookie, wait! I-"
*Bang!*
He put the gun on the desk and reached out for his walkie-talkie, "Surveillance room secure, over!"
"What's the situation in the other area?" One of the men in parking lot stuck up the walkie-talkie to his mouth.
In the kitchen, people wore a chef clothing knelt with both knees on the floor, their both hands behind their neck, three people with pistols stood among them, one man brought up the walkie-talkie, "Cooking room secure!"
"Storage room secure!"
"Good, let's call out the big man."
Outside Emerald Quaza hotel, from the horizon, a black van drove heading toward the hotel and it arrived at the front entrance. Its passenger doors slid open and a bunch of men came down with an assault rifle in hands except one man with spiky hair. He had a relaxed expression as his narrowed eyes glanced toward his surrounding.
People who lingered around the entrance widened their eyes in amazement, they thought these people were shooting a movie or something. Their eyes scattered the perimeter, tried to spot a camera hidden somewhere, someone took out his phone and captured the scene. One of the valets approached the spiky-haired man, his expression turned little stiff, "Can I help you, Sir?"
"Oh, don't worry buddy..." He closed his eyes and smirked, patting the valet shoulder, his spoke in a dry voice, "everything just a play..."
He strolled forward, "Clear up this place."
*Pa!*
"Aaaaah!"
"What the hell they are doing!"
One henchman raised up his rifle at the valet and smacked his head with it. The rest spread out, hoarding the people to enter the hotel and gathered in the corridor.
In the auction management room, Naruto and Mr. Liu discussed the business regarding the antique knife. The energetic old man had a wrinkle decorated his forehead.
"I'm very sorry Mr. Naruto..."
Naruto sighed, "500,000 dollars still a no?"
"Pardon me, but I'll say this to you again," Mr. Liu wore a firm face, "unless you tell me your reason for buying it, then there's no deal."
"I already say I'm a fanatic knife collector, why wouldn't you believe me?" Naruto shook his head.
"Huh..." Mr. Liu curled his lips, "which land a Sai created from?"
"Oh, so we play a 'Who Wants To Be A Richman show' now?" Naruto rolled his eyes.
"Yes, humor me," the old man nodded.
"Fine, but you must promise me you sell the knife if I answer it correctly," he put a solemn face.
"I'll think about it," he closed his eyes and sipped the tea.
Naruto wrinkled his brow, he knew this old man was not someone easy to trifle, words said that with age comes a great wisdom.
"Sai was famous in Okinawa with its own technique called Saijutsu..." Naruto paused, he turned his underlips sideway for a moment, "but it's originally created in China, around the era of Ming dynasty."
"Correct," Mr. Liu nodded, "our country produced a plenty of arts and antiques, but most had been lost throughout the war, such a shame it's actually flourishing in other countries."
Naruto kept tight his mouth, the conflict between countries wasn't his problem, be it in the past or the present.
"Alright, second question: what are the materials that construct a Jambiya's handle?"
Jambiya?
Naruto frowned, he closed his eyes, trying to dig up his memory, he opened them after a while, looked at the old man who wore a temperate smile, "Is it... animal horn?"
"Albeit you not specifically correct but you still got it right," Mr. Liu chuckled, "precisely from a Rhino horn, back at the early '60s, they could also be used for alternative medicine."
"Oh..." Naruto nodded, his face became bitter, "are we done with the Q&A?"
"One last question," the old-man coughed a bit, "if you don't mind."
"Do I have a choice?" Naruto shook his head, "shoot."
"Tell me the history behind Mercurial Rain, Wang Yuanji's favorite knife."
'Urggh, kill me now... who the hell was Wang Yuanji?!' Naruto's face almost fell flat to the floor, he actually didn't have any fancy toward weapon OK?! His knowledge only based on what he knew and saw, back in the days.
"Call for backup?" Naruto twitched his lips.
"Sure, call any of your acquaintance if that can help," Mr. Liu coughed again, preventing a laughter broke through his mouth after seeing Naruto's expression.
Naruto let out a mirthless laugh, he fished out his phone and surfed his contact list.
"No Moggle," the elder drunk his tea.
"I know, I know, sheesh," Naruto snorted, he slid back and forth his contact while pondering who he should call.
Ruoxi? Rose? Mingyu?
But he doesn't even know about this Wang Yuanji... and he didn't think that history was these women favorite lesson.
Wait, regarding some antique, maybe Xue Lin knew! Naruto quickly focused his search and tapped the display as soon he found it. He brought it toward his right ear.
Huh? No services? Naruto squinted his eyes as he heard no single beep in his phone. He glanced at the old man, "Mr. Liu is this place isolated from cell phone signal?"
"No, this room only has soundproof, why?" This time a wrinkle managed to creep into his venerable face.
"My phone couldn't connect..." He presented his phone, "see?"
The old man leaned forward and saw a red cross mark on the phone upper corner, he eyes jumped in surprise, he took out his own phone and noticed the same mark.
Maybe the phone tower has a problem?
Or server maintenance?
Mr. Liu pressed his earpiece, but he only heard static on the line, his face darkened, he glanced at Naruto, "Mr. Naruto please give me a moment, I have to check on young lady first."
"Wait, Mr. Liu, let me try something first..." Naruto closed his eyes, and he crossed his arms. Seconds had passed yet Naruto still closed his eyes, foreboding rose within the elder's guts, his expression began to show impatient color.
At this moment, Naruto opened his eyes and faced Mr. Liu with a grave expression.
"Jam..." His eyes turned frosty, "someone jammed the hotel's signal."
*Bang!*
"Lay on your knees and all hand's in the air!"
"What's going on?! Who are you guys?!"
"Pitpatpitpatpitpat!"
"Murder! Murder!"
"One more sound, I pop another body!"
Right at the outside of the room, a distance sounds of gun's rapid fire and a male voice sneaked its way in, causing both elder and youngster changed their expression.
"Young miss is in danger!" The elder stood up and prepared to rush out, but Naruto quickly blocked his path, "Mr. Liu, please calm down first, there are four people outside with automatic firearms and perhaps in complete gear, if you just attack them, not only you endanger yourself but also staff in that room."
"I'm sorry Mr. Naruto but young miss safety is my first priority, I won't hesitate to sacrifice them, including my own body!" firm expression masked the elder face.
He strode forward but Naruto held him by pressing his chest, "I know, I know, just answer my question first, how's your vision capability in the dark?"
"I'm good, my eyes had been trained beyond normal human," the elder nodded then ascending his eyebrow, "why did you ask?"
"Just trust me!" Naruto rushed out toward a cupboard and grabbed several golden forks inside, he threw them at the ceiling and broke all of the lustrous bulbs in the room. Darkness engulfed the space but the two people inside as if still able to see their surrounding, "find a place to hide!"
The old man finally understood Naruto's intention, he dashed beside another cupboard and positioned his body there. Naruto jumped and grabbed the brownish furniture's edge, he swung his body, landed on its top surface and stayed there.
*Bang!*
"Freeze!"
The door toward the room smashed open and revealed a man in his getup, there were several windows in the staff room thus it brought a bit of light inside but not enough to shine the whole place.
The henchman looked around with difficulty since he not equipped with a flashlight, his left hand reached out for the wall and pressed the switch but still no luck.
"I know there are people in here, you better come out!" His voice muffled by the mask he wore but still clear to anyone's ear.
He fired his gun randomly in the room but no screaming or begging voice turned over. Goosebump started to linger in his chest, "I won't kill you if you surrender now! You have my word!" But still no single respond, this place became too quiet for his liking.
"Just get in and kill them!" His teammate roared from behind, he glanced toward the man on his right, "help him!"
"Roger!" He raised his rifle and joined up inside, the room layout consisted of two cupboards on both sides, two sofas in the center of the room and a table placed between them. There were few tables surrounding them that supported a variety of antiques, but it's unknown whether real or not. On the most northern area in the room, a big desk placed facing the sofa, and the henchmen thought those people hiding behind it.
One went straight from the door and passed the left cupboard, while another circled around the small tables, going for the path in front the right cupboard.
Mr. Liu grabbed him as soon as he arrived and twisted his head with ease, the man on the right jumped in fright but Naruto dropped on him and stabbed the back of his head with a fork before he managed to do anything. Naruto cleared his throat, picked up the rifle and started shooting at the wall while shouted, "Oh shit, he got him!"
Mr. Liu widened his eyes at Naruto's smooth manner in impersonating the dead man's voice, he thought this blonde young man wasn't as simple as he looks.
"What's going in there?!" the two men outside raised their gun and pointed it toward the room.
"That son of a bitch got him, die you bastard!" Naruto paused a while before shooting again.
After a while, the sound ceased and silence hugged everyone in the staff room, the henchmen glanced at each other, one of them stared at the room, "Hey, you OK?!"
"Yeah, he's dead, don't worry!" Naruto turned the dead body around, "there's an old man here, I'll bring him out!"
He took off all of its getups and put it on his own, "Come on old man, move that bony ass of yours!"
Mr. Liu glared at Naruto who smirked and focused on putting the gear on his body, after everything set, he nodded his head and they walked out from the dark room while Naruto pointed the rifle toward the elder's back.
"Master Liu!"
The staff stared in disbelieve, they knew the capability of this energetic old man thus unable to adapt the fact that he was captured. Mr. Liu gave them a comforting appearance as he walked toward them.
"Sorry, it's so dark in there, I didn't see that man until it's too late," Naruto straightened his back and put his rifle away.
"It's fine, so long he's dead," the nearby henchman said, he looked toward the door on the right side of the staff room, "just have to wait for the other two then we hauled them into the grand hall room."
Not long after he said that the door swung open, 6 people strolled into the room; three more staff, another two henchmen, and... one hell of a lady.
She wore a white JoJo dress that wrapped her whole curvaceous body, down to her knees. Her triangular face and seductive eyes brought heat into anyone's system. The two henchmen that already in the room couldn't help but stare at the alluring figure for a while.
Naruto nodded while secretly thought, This woman must be the young lady Mr. Liu mention.
Liu Ruyan's calm expression changed the moment she saw Mr. Liu crouched in the floor, "Uncle Fu!"
"Young miss, thank god you're safe!" Mr. Liu let out a relieved breath.
She hastened her pace and stared at the elder with worried eyes, "Forget about me! Uncle Fu, are you injured anywhere?"
This man had been protecting her since she's in elementary grade and never once seeing him kneel, she knew his combat prowess and capability thus it's understandable if she thought he's injured.
"Young Miss, I'm fine..." His face turned bitter, "but the youngster from Yu Lei... he died."
"Oh, that's terrible..." Her heart pang with sadness, especially when she saw one of her staff laid under a pool of blood, she glared at Naruto with full of hate, "You guys are despicable people."
"Hey, it's not our fault that they fought back," Naruto shrugged, "if they act docile like a little lamb then maybe, just maybe, we treated them a bit gentle."
Liu Ruyan greeted her teeth while the henchmen laughed in a mocking manner, one of them ceased, his eyes wandered for a moment, "Alright, enough! Let's go to the hall!"
(***)
"Hello, hello, can anyone hear me?"
In the hall where they previously held a banquet, the spiky-haired man stood in front of the stage, patting the head of a microphone.
"Heez, this place sounds like a graveyard, only without tombstones, and dead trees."
In front of the stage, people gathered and formed a crowd, pale yet dark countenance painted the scenery, local and foreign face decorated the wallpaper, adult and children swarmed the floor like a group of ants. Men in a bullet-proof vest and CS/LR17 rifle surrounding them like a prison guard.
The spiky-haired man rolled his eyes at the expression showed by the crowd, "Come on guys, isolated from the internet for fifteen minutes, won't make you lose followers.
I'm kindly standing up here, entertaining you bunch of rich and lucky person, hoping you won't get bored as my men do the task that had been assigned.
Don't be an asshole and make me same like a clown here."
Static.
"Urgh, this is killing me! Do you guys know that people could die from immense frustration?" He walked around the stage, "so there's this one time, a man, lurking in the wood, hunting for a bear, he met a fox along the way and asked the fox where he could find a bear, the fox said 'get me a chicken if you wanted information from me.'
So the man went to a chicken ranch back in his village, the chicken owner said, 'get me a corn if you wanted my chicken.'
The man went to a farmer in the neighbor village, the farmer said, 'get me a chunk of wood if you wanted a corn.'
The man went to a deep forest to meet a lumber, the lumber said, 'get me an ax if you wanted the wood.'
The man went to a blacksmith in the city, the blacksmith said, 'get me a coat if you wanted the ax.'
The man went to a tailor, back in his village, the tailor said, 'get me a bear pelt so I can make you the coat.'
Haha, get it? After traveling from one location to another, from one occupation to another, the man, in the end, returned to his initial position, hunting the bear! Bravo!"
"..." Everyone stared at the man with poker-face expression.
He twitched his narrowed eyes, "Come on guys, not even a chuckle?"
*Bang!*
At this moment, the door toward the hall opened, three henchmen came inside the room, two of them dragged a man and a woman by their hands. The man dressed the same with them but the woman, she only wore a nightgown, tattered one, her face and hair proved she's not local people, maybe a tourist or an immigrant. There is a bruise on her cheek and her makeup totally messed up.
The spiky-haired man wrinkled his eyebrows as he saw his men strolled inside, they brought the couple up to the stage. the crowds gasped as they saw what befell the woman, there were red tainted her thigh and other bruises in her skin. The females twisted their face in an ugly way, an earthquake occurred in their body, the parents started putting their children out of view.
"Guys, what is this?" The spiky-haired man twitched his lips.
"We find him inside one of the room, 'thrusting' inside this woman," they threw the man to the ground.
"Boss, boss, please I could explain!" His face turned pale as he forced a smile.
"Ah, cannot hold your 'little bird' in check are we?" The spiky-haired man meandered, shaking his own head.
"S-She came and offered her self to me when I went into her room!" A cold sweat broke from the man's forehead.
"He's lying!" The woman sobbed, she spoke in rather rough Chinese, "he raped me!"
"Shut up!" The man about to lunge at her but the other henchman held his body down.
"Ugh, get the woman down, find her some proper clothes or something, I don't need this kind of drama..." The spiky-haired man crouched several meters from them, one of the henchmen nodded and dragged the woman away.
"Boss, please... you have to believe me, that harlot seduce me!"
The spiky-haired man sighed, "Take out your knife."
"Boss?" The man startled.
"Take out your knife and fight me," he rose on his feet, a lazy smile smeared his face, "Kill me and you'll live, or not and you'll die, your choice."
Everyone except the henchmen surprised by the word he said, they couldn't believe this man willing to kill his own people.
"Are you sure boss?" the man said, there's a doubt in his tone but a trace of ruthless appeared on his eyes.
"Lying is not my trait," the spiky-haired man shrugged, "so what it will be, life or death?"
"I-I fight you..." Shiver gripped his tone.
"Bravo! Let him loose!" The spiky-haired man smirked. The henchman took his hand from the man and strolled backward several meters.
The man stood up, he took out his knife, its length comparable to one forearm.
"I am sorry, boss, but I want to live," the man hooked his right arm and hovered the knife beneath his left hand.
"Great!" The spiky-haired man opened wide his arm, "that desire for life, show me how strong your greed."
"Ha!" The man strode and launched his knife.
The spiky-haired man whisked the man's hand and punched his face at the same time, causing him to stumble backward while grabbing his face. The man's aimed his knife at the spiky-haired man's face, he brushed it sideways with his left hand and punched the man's stomach, before giving a hook punch to his face.
"Argggh!" With a roar, the man tried to slash his boss twice but the edge always miss, by the time of the third slash commenced, the spiky-haired man grabbed the man's hand, punching his stomach once, he twisted the man's arm, disarming him from his knife then smacked his face with his elbow, he landed his fist trice on his enemy tummy then hooked his head under his armpit.
"It seems..." The spiky-haired man chuckles, "you not greedy enough."
*Crack!*
He strengthened his muscle then broke the man's neck. The crowd went crazy as they saw such a cruel and barbarian act, death from firearm can't be compared at all.
The spiky-haired man threw the dead body to the side, "Get rid of him."
Two henchmen picked up the body and carried them away. He watched them with lazy eyes before glancing at the crowd, a slope curved his lips, "You guys enjoy the show?"
(***)
The corridor in the first level, several blocks from the auction management room.
Naruto glanced at the camera on the corner of the ceiling, his mind never once stops moving their gears. They turned to their right and passed a restroom.
"Guys wait I have to take a pee," Naruto paused.
"Seriously dude?"
"Yeah, can't hold it any longer," Naruto rubbed his thighs.
"Fine, go ahead," one of them grumbled.
"Thanks!" Naruto went inside the room.
Several minutes passed yet Naruto still inside, the henchmen exchanged their glances.
"Should you guys check on your friend?" Mr. Liu closed his eyes, "maybe he has some trouble urinating."
"You, go inside and check what's wrong," the leader waved his rifle to the henchman in front of him.
He nodded, he raised his rifle and pushed the door open, the restroom has four booths with all white and black theme. He noticed a figure beside the last stall, it's Naruto.
"Dude, what are you doing?" The henchman wrinkled his brow.
"I'm waiting..." Naruto shrugged.
the henchman startled, "Waiting for what?"
"You," in a swift move Naruto took out a handgun and shot the man's head in front. He sighed as the body slumped on the floor.
"How come you didn't have any silencer..." He shook his head, "well, time to get work."
Naruto tapped the wall behind him and canceled his isolation technique, he dragged the body inside one of the booths, he took a deep breath, "Oh shit, oh shit, he's bleeding! Guys, I Need backup now!"
The three henchmen outside got alerted, they all raised their rifle in the instant, the leader urged his two of teammate to rush toward the restroom.
"What happen?!"
*Pitpatpitpatpitpat!*
The moment they arrived at the booth, a dozen bullets took a nest on their body, splattering the wall with red spots. Two souls had departed into the land upstairs or downstairs. A trail of smoke danced from the mouth of Naruto's rifle, his face smirked with a glee, "Man I love guns! Second only to kunai and shuriken."
Somewhere in the room with a lot of monitors, a man in blue shirt and black pants, sitting on a wheeled stool while holding a phone with its screen showed three blue birds fought green pigs inside a house. Another man in the same appearance stared at the monitors with a cup of coffee.*Ueeee!**Bang!**Ha-ha-ha!*"Shit, wrong target!" He grumbled.The coffee-man glanced at him, a hint of disdain reflected on those pair of eyes.It seemed he noticed the 'unkindly' stare his partner gave, his face changed its color like a red bird, "You got something to say rookie?""No, sir..." The coffee-man shrugged."Good! Remember your place here!" He snorted, he turned his eyes toward one of the monitors, wrinkling his eyebrow, he leaned his body forward before widening his own eyes, "what the fuck?""What happen?" The coffee-man also looked in the same direction.On the monitor, several people showed to be clad in Balaclava mask, anti-bullet vest, and military boots. They held China made assault rifles CS/LR17 and swarmed the underground parking lots."We must inform the authority immediately!" He canceled out his game and proceeded to the urgent contact list.*Splat!*"Arrrghh!"Suddenly, a blast of brown water came from his right, burning half of the skin on his face, he leaned toward the desk on his left, letting out a series of wailing.The coffee-man stood up, a sneer hooked the corner of his lips, "You could have avoided this if you just pay attention to those birds.""R-Rookie? What are you..." The man held his face, shivered all over his body."Don't worry sir..." He chuckled, his hand reached out to his back and a pulled out a Semi-Auto Pistol from his pants, he aimed it toward the man, "I'm not gonna hit a wrong target...""Rookie, wait! I-"*Bang!*He put the gun on the desk and reached out for his walkie-talkie, "Surveillance room secure, over!""What's the situation in the other area?" One of the men in parking lot stuck up the walkie-talkie to his mouth.In the kitchen, people wore a chef clothing knelt with both knees on the floor, their both hands behind their neck, three people with pistols stood among them, one man brought up the walkie-talkie, "Cooking room secure!""Storage room secure!""Good, let's call out the big man."Outside Emerald Quaza hotel, from the horizon, a black van drove heading toward the hotel and it arrived at the front entrance. Its passenger doors slid open and a bunch of men came down with an assault rifle in hands except one man with spiky hair. He had a relaxed expression as his narrowed eyes glanced toward his surrounding.People who lingered around the entrance widened their eyes in amazement, they thought these people were shooting a movie or something. Their eyes scattered the perimeter, tried to spot a camera hidden somewhere, someone took out his phone and captured the scene. One of the valets approached the spiky-haired man, his expression turned little stiff, "Can I help you, Sir?""Oh, don't worry buddy..." He closed his eyes and smirked, patting the valet shoulder, his spoke in a dry voice, "everything just a play..."He strolled forward, "Clear up this place."*Pa!*"Aaaaah!""What the hell they are doing!"One henchman raised up his rifle at the valet and smacked his head with it. The rest spread out, hoarding the people to enter the hotel and gathered in the corridor.In the auction management room, Naruto and Mr. Liu discussed the business regarding the antique knife. The energetic old man had a wrinkle decorated his forehead."I'm very sorry Mr. Naruto..."Naruto sighed, "500,000 dollars still a no?""Pardon me, but I'll say this to you again," Mr. Liu wore a firm face, "unless you tell me your reason for buying it, then there's no deal.""I already say I'm a fanatic knife collector, why wouldn't you believe me?" Naruto shook his head."Huh..." Mr. Liu curled his lips, "which land a Sai created from?""Oh, so we play a 'Who Wants To Be A Richman show' now?" Naruto rolled his eyes."Yes, humor me," the old man nodded."Fine, but you must promise me you sell the knife if I answer it correctly," he put a solemn face."I'll think about it," he closed his eyes and sipped the tea.Naruto wrinkled his brow, he knew this old man was not someone easy to trifle, words said that with age comes a great wisdom."Sai was famous in Okinawa with its own technique called Saijutsu..." Naruto paused, he turned his underlips sideway for a moment, "but it's originally created in China, around the era of Ming dynasty.""Correct," Mr. Liu nodded, "our country produced a plenty of arts and antiques, but most had been lost throughout the war, such a shame it's actually flourishing in other countries."Naruto kept tight his mouth, the conflict between countries wasn't his problem, be it in the past or the present."Alright, second question: what are the materials that construct a Jambiya's handle?"Jambiya?Naruto frowned, he closed his eyes, trying to dig up his memory, he opened them after a while, looked at the old man who wore a temperate smile, "Is it... animal horn?""Albeit you not specifically correct but you still got it right," Mr. Liu chuckled, "precisely from a Rhino horn, back at the early '60s, they could also be used for alternative medicine.""Oh..." Naruto nodded, his face became bitter, "are we done with the Q&A?""One last question," the old-man coughed a bit, "if you don't mind.""Do I have a choice?" Naruto shook his head, "shoot.""Tell me the history behind Mercurial Rain, Wang Yuanji's favorite knife."'Urggh, kill me now... who the hell was Wang Yuanji?!' Naruto's face almost fell flat to the floor, he actually didn't have any fancy toward weapon OK?! His knowledge only based on what he knew and saw, back in the days."Call for backup?" Naruto twitched his lips."Sure, call any of your acquaintance if that can help," Mr. Liu coughed again, preventing a laughter broke through his mouth after seeing Naruto's expression.Naruto let out a mirthless laugh, he fished out his phone and surfed his contact list."No Moggle," the elder drunk his tea."I know, I know, sheesh," Naruto snorted, he slid back and forth his contact while pondering who he should call.Ruoxi? Rose? Mingyu?But he doesn't even know about this Wang Yuanji... and he didn't think that history was these women favorite lesson.Wait, regarding some antique, maybe Xue Lin knew! Naruto quickly focused his search and tapped the display as soon he found it. He brought it toward his right ear.Huh? No services? Naruto squinted his eyes as he heard no single beep in his phone. He glanced at the old man, "Mr. Liu is this place isolated from cell phone signal?""No, this room only has soundproof, why?" This time a wrinkle managed to creep into his venerable face."My phone couldn't connect..." He presented his phone, "see?"The old man leaned forward and saw a red cross mark on the phone upper corner, he eyes jumped in surprise, he took out his own phone and noticed the same mark.Maybe the phone tower has a problem?Or server maintenance?Mr. Liu pressed his earpiece, but he only heard static on the line, his face darkened, he glanced at Naruto, "Mr. Naruto please give me a moment, I have to check on young lady first.""Wait, Mr. Liu, let me try something first..." Naruto closed his eyes, and he crossed his arms. Seconds had passed yet Naruto still closed his eyes, foreboding rose within the elder's guts, his expression began to show impatient color.At this moment, Naruto opened his eyes and faced Mr. Liu with a grave expression."Jam..." His eyes turned frosty, "someone jammed the hotel's signal."*Bang!*"Lay on your knees and all hand's in the air!""What's going on?! Who are you guys?!""Pitpatpitpatpitpat!""Murder! Murder!""One more sound, I pop another body!"Right at the outside of the room, a distance sounds of gun's rapid fire and a male voice sneaked its way in, causing both elder and youngster changed their expression."Young miss is in danger!" The elder stood up and prepared to rush out, but Naruto quickly blocked his path, "Mr. Liu, please calm down first, there are four people outside with automatic firearms and perhaps in complete gear, if you just attack them, not only you endanger yourself but also staff in that room.""I'm sorry Mr. Naruto but young miss safety is my first priority, I won't hesitate to sacrifice them, including my own body!" firm expression masked the elder face.He strode forward but Naruto held him by pressing his chest, "I know, I know, just answer my question first, how's your vision capability in the dark?""I'm good, my eyes had been trained beyond normal human," the elder nodded then ascending his eyebrow, "why did you ask?""Just trust me!" Naruto rushed out toward a cupboard and grabbed several golden forks inside, he threw them at the ceiling and broke all of the lustrous bulbs in the room. Darkness engulfed the space but the two people inside as if still able to see their surrounding, "find a place to hide!"The old man finally understood Naruto's intention, he dashed beside another cupboard and positioned his body there. Naruto jumped and grabbed the brownish furniture's edge, he swung his body, landed on its top surface and stayed there.*Bang!*"Freeze!"The door toward the room smashed open and revealed a man in his getup, there were several windows in the staff room thus it brought a bit of light inside but not enough to shine the whole place.The henchman looked around with difficulty since he not equipped with a flashlight, his left hand reached out for the wall and pressed the switch but still no luck."I know there are people in here, you better come out!" His voice muffled by the mask he wore but still clear to anyone's ear.He fired his gun randomly in the room but no screaming or begging voice turned over. Goosebump started to linger in his chest, "I won't kill you if you surrender now! You have my word!" But still no single respond, this place became too quiet for his liking."Just get in and kill them!" His teammate roared from behind, he glanced toward the man on his right, "help him!""Roger!" He raised his rifle and joined up inside, the room layout consisted of two cupboards on both sides, two sofas in the center of the room and a table placed between them. There were few tables surrounding them that supported a variety of antiques, but it's unknown whether real or not. On the most northern area in the room, a big desk placed facing the sofa, and the henchmen thought those people hiding behind it.One went straight from the door and passed the left cupboard, while another circled around the small tables, going for the path in front the right cupboard.Mr. Liu grabbed him as soon as he arrived and twisted his head with ease, the man on the right jumped in fright but Naruto dropped on him and stabbed the back of his head with a fork before he managed to do anything. Naruto cleared his throat, picked up the rifle and started shooting at the wall while shouted, "Oh shit, he got him!"Mr. Liu widened his eyes at Naruto's smooth manner in impersonating the dead man's voice, he thought this blonde young man wasn't as simple as he looks."What's going in there?!" the two men outside raised their gun and pointed it toward the room."That son of a bitch got him, die you bastard!" Naruto paused a while before shooting again.After a while, the sound ceased and silence hugged everyone in the staff room, the henchmen glanced at each other, one of them stared at the room, "Hey, you OK?!""Yeah, he's dead, don't worry!" Naruto turned the dead body around, "there's an old man here, I'll bring him out!"He took off all of its getups and put it on his own, "Come on old man, move that bony ass of yours!"Mr. Liu glared at Naruto who smirked and focused on putting the gear on his body, after everything set, he nodded his head and they walked out from the dark room while Naruto pointed the rifle toward the elder's back."Master Liu!"The staff stared in disbelieve, they knew the capability of this energetic old man thus unable to adapt the fact that he was captured. Mr. Liu gave them a comforting appearance as he walked toward them."Sorry, it's so dark in there, I didn't see that man until it's too late," Naruto straightened his back and put his rifle away."It's fine, so long he's dead," the nearby henchman said, he looked toward the door on the right side of the staff room, "just have to wait for the other two then we hauled them into the grand hall room."Not long after he said that the door swung open, 6 people strolled into the room; three more staff, another two henchmen, and... one hell of a lady.She wore a white JoJo dress that wrapped her whole curvaceous body, down to her knees. Her triangular face and seductive eyes brought heat into anyone's system. The two henchmen that already in the room couldn't help but stare at the alluring figure for a while.Naruto nodded while secretly thought, This woman must be the young lady Mr. Liu mention.Liu Ruyan's calm expression changed the moment she saw Mr. Liu crouched in the floor, "Uncle Fu!""Young miss, thank god you're safe!" Mr. Liu let out a relieved breath.She hastened her pace and stared at the elder with worried eyes, "Forget about me! Uncle Fu, are you injured anywhere?"This man had been protecting her since she's in elementary grade and never once seeing him kneel, she knew his combat prowess and capability thus it's understandable if she thought he's injured."Young Miss, I'm fine..." His face turned bitter, "but the youngster from Yu Lei... he died.""Oh, that's terrible..." Her heart pang with sadness, especially when she saw one of her staff laid under a pool of blood, she glared at Naruto with full of hate, "You guys are despicable people.""Hey, it's not our fault that they fought back," Naruto shrugged, "if they act docile like a little lamb then maybe, just maybe, we treated them a bit gentle."Liu Ruyan greeted her teeth while the henchmen laughed in a mocking manner, one of them ceased, his eyes wandered for a moment, "Alright, enough! Let's go to the hall!"***"Hello, hello, can anyone hear me?"In the hall where they previously held a banquet, the spiky-haired man stood in front of the stage, patting the head of a microphone."Heez, this place sounds like a graveyard, only without tombstones, and dead trees."In front of the stage, people gathered and formed a crowd, pale yet dark countenance painted the scenery, local and foreign face decorated the wallpaper, adult and children swarmed the floor like a group of ants. Men in a bullet-proof vest and CS/LR17 rifle surrounding them like a prison guard.The spiky-haired man rolled his eyes at the expression showed by the crowd, "Come on guys, isolated from the internet for fifteen minutes, won't make you lose followers.I'm kindly standing up here, entertaining you bunch of rich and lucky person, hoping you won't get bored as my men do the task that had been assigned.Don't be an asshole and make me same like a clown here."Static."Urgh, this is killing me! Do you guys know that people could die from immense frustration?" He walked around the stage, "so there's this one time, a man, lurking in the wood, hunting for a bear, he met a fox along the way and asked the fox where he could find a bear, the fox said 'get me a chicken if you wanted information from me.'So the man went to a chicken ranch back in his village, the chicken owner said, 'get me a corn if you wanted my chicken.'The man went to a farmer in the neighbor village, the farmer said, 'get me a chunk of wood if you wanted a corn.'The man went to a deep forest to meet a lumber, the lumber said, 'get me an ax if you wanted the wood.'The man went to a blacksmith in the city, the blacksmith said, 'get me a coat if you wanted the ax.'The man went to a tailor, back in his village, the tailor said, 'get me a bear pelt so I can make you the coat.'Haha, get it? After traveling from one location to another, from one occupation to another, the man, in the end, returned to his initial position, hunting the bear! Bravo!""..." Everyone stared at the man with poker-face expression.He twitched his narrowed eyes, "Come on guys, not even a chuckle?"*Bang!*At this moment, the door toward the hall opened, three henchmen came inside the room, two of them dragged a man and a woman by their hands. The man dressed the same with them but the woman, she only wore a nightgown, tattered one, her face and hair proved she's not local people, maybe a tourist or an immigrant. There is a bruise on her cheek and her makeup totally messed up.The spiky-haired man wrinkled his eyebrows as he saw his men strolled inside, they brought the couple up to the stage. the crowds gasped as they saw what befell the woman, there were red tainted her thigh and other bruises in her skin. The females twisted their face in an ugly way, an earthquake occurred in their body, the parents started putting their children out of view."Guys, what is this?" The spiky-haired man twitched his lips."We find him inside one of the room, 'thrusting' inside this woman," they threw the man to the ground."Boss, boss, please I could explain!" His face turned pale as he forced a smile."Ah, cannot hold your 'little bird' in check are we?" The spiky-haired man meandered, shaking his own head."S-She came and offered her self to me when I went into her room!" A cold sweat broke from the man's forehead."He's lying!" The woman sobbed, she spoke in rather rough Chinese, "he raped me!""Shut up!" The man about to lunge at her but the other henchman held his body down."Ugh, get the woman down, find her some proper clothes or something, I don't need this kind of drama..." The spiky-haired man crouched several meters from them, one of the henchmen nodded and dragged the woman away."Boss, please... you have to believe me, that harlot seduce me!"The spiky-haired man sighed, "Take out your knife.""Boss?" The man startled."Take out your knife and fight me," he rose on his feet, a lazy smile smeared his face, "Kill me and you'll live, or not and you'll die, your choice."Everyone except the henchmen surprised by the word he said, they couldn't believe this man willing to kill his own people."Are you sure boss?" the man said, there's a doubt in his tone but a trace of ruthless appeared on his eyes."Lying is not my trait," the spiky-haired man shrugged, "so what it will be, life or death?""I-I fight you..." Shiver gripped his tone."Bravo! Let him loose!" The spiky-haired man smirked. The henchman took his hand from the man and strolled backward several meters.The man stood up, he took out his knife, its length comparable to one forearm."I am sorry, boss, but I want to live," the man hooked his right arm and hovered the knife beneath his left hand."Great!" The spiky-haired man opened wide his arm, "that desire for life, show me how strong your greed.""Ha!" The man strode and launched his knife.The spiky-haired man whisked the man's hand and punched his face at the same time, causing him to stumble backward while grabbing his face. The man's aimed his knife at the spiky-haired man's face, he brushed it sideways with his left hand and punched the man's stomach, before giving a hook punch to his face."Argggh!" With a roar, the man tried to slash his boss twice but the edge always miss, by the time of the third slash commenced, the spiky-haired man grabbed the man's hand, punching his stomach once, he twisted the man's arm, disarming him from his knife then smacked his face with his elbow, he landed his fist trice on his enemy tummy then hooked his head under his armpit."It seems..." The spiky-haired man chuckles, "you not greedy enough."*Crack!*He strengthened his muscle then broke the man's neck. The crowd went crazy as they saw such a cruel and barbarian act, death from firearm can't be compared at all.The spiky-haired man threw the dead body to the side, "Get rid of him."Two henchmen picked up the body and carried them away. He watched them with lazy eyes before glancing at the crowd, a slope curved his lips, "You guys enjoy the show?"***The corridor in the first level, several blocks from the auction management room.Naruto glanced at the camera on the corner of the ceiling, his mind never once stops moving their gears. They turned to their right and passed a restroom."Guys wait I have to take a pee," Naruto paused."Seriously dude?""Yeah, can't hold it any longer," Naruto rubbed his thighs."Fine, go ahead," one of them grumbled."Thanks!" Naruto went inside the room.Several minutes passed yet Naruto still inside, the henchmen exchanged their glances."Should you guys check on your friend?" Mr. Liu closed his eyes, "maybe he has some trouble urinating.""You, go inside and check what's wrong," the leader waved his rifle to the henchman in front of him.He nodded, he raised his rifle and pushed the door open, the restroom has four booths with all white and black theme. He noticed a figure beside the last stall, it's Naruto."Dude, what are you doing?" The henchman wrinkled his brow."I'm waiting..." Naruto shrugged.the henchman startled, "Waiting for what?""You," in a swift move Naruto took out a handgun and shot the man's head in front. He sighed as the body slumped on the floor."How come you didn't have any silencer..." He shook his head, "well, time to get work."Naruto tapped the wall behind him and canceled his isolation technique, he dragged the body inside one of the booths, he took a deep breath, "Oh shit, oh shit, he's bleeding! Guys, I Need backup now!"The three henchmen outside got alerted, they all raised their rifle in the instant, the leader urged his two of teammate to rush toward the restroom."What happen?!"*Pitpatpitpatpitpat!*The moment they arrived at the booth, a dozen bullets took a nest on their body, splattering the wall with red spots. Two souls had departed into the land upstairs or downstairs. A trail of smoke danced from the mouth of Naruto's rifle, his face smirked with a glee, "Man I love guns! Second only to kunai and shuriken."
