Forge a path to success.

Chapter 47 Breaking Through Enemy Lines (Second Update)
Maivia Club, three basement levels.

A wall divided a third of the parking lot, behind which were several heavily overloaded large delivery trucks, each guarded by heavily armed men in black robes and raven-like protective masks. Club thugs in grey suits opened containers and began removing crates of belongings in batches. Visapal and Carmel stood by, watching silently.

This wasn't the first time Visap had "unloaded" his cargo, but he still felt a slight tension. These assassins from the black workshop were as cold as raw iron; no one could possibly connect them with the eloquent workshop owner. As if sensing the young man's unease, Kanin leaned out of the passenger seat and greeted him.

"Is the quantity sufficient?" Kanin asked in a light voice. "You can rest assured about security; all goods are shipped directly from the workshop. We have our own ships and our own vehicles."

That's why Visap couldn't rest easy. His own ship… wasn't it only the City Lord's Dragon Ship that could travel between the upper and lower levels? Where did the Black Workshop get its ship? But he couldn't show his concerns to his closest partner. He smiled elegantly: "It's better than we expected, Mr. Kanin. As agreed, we'll hand it over on the spot…"

“Visapu?” Kanin asked with concern.

Visaph's face paled instantly, his gentlemanly features turning deathly white, and beneath his bloodless skin, black blood trembled like snakes. Behind them, a woman's mournful cry rang out, and Carmel collapsed to his knees, clutching his face in despair.

"No! Big brother!!" she cried out in anguish, black blood seeping from the corner of her eye like tears. "No!!!"

Visap was breathing heavily; the communicator in his pocket was vibrating wildly, the frequency a testament to the patriarch's fury. He pulled out five vials of "patriarch's blood" and shoved them into the car into Kanin's hands. "Something's come up, I have to take my leave." "You look bad," Kanin said. "Please understand, I'll be fine soon... Please take Mr. Kanin away!"

After giving his orders, Visapal grabbed Carmel and hurried away. They'd only gone a few steps when he realized the freight elevators were completely blocked by the relics, forcing them to go around to the other side and take the passenger elevator. This discovery enraged him, and Carmel screamed hysterically, "I'm going to kill him!! I'll skin him alive!!"

Vesapu still retained a semblance of rationality. He immediately contacted Master Yan: "Master! The City Lord's Mansion has made its move. Please provide support! We'll meet in front of the portrait!"

Kanin gestured helplessly to Bessen, who was driving. He waited for the footsteps to fade away, watching the freight elevator, laden with the remains, rise from -3 to 17. A thug in a suit came up and knocked on the car door.

“I apologize, esteemed Mr. Kanin,” the thug faithfully carried out his orders, “please—”

Kanin pulled out a pistol, and a brass bullet shattered the thug's head.

"What a coincidence, the city lord's mansion just happened to launch its attack at this time." He said cheerfully, "Bessen, please sabotage the main control gate. The elevator is going too fast, let our friends go up slowly!"

Bessen broke free of the puppet and ascended the wall like a ghost. Kanin whistled as he stepped out of the truck and ran briskly into the stairwell. Behind him, masked men with iron-like masks raised their guns, and short, rapid gunshots echoed through the parking lot.

Within two breaths, the club's thugs lay bleeding in pools of blood.

·
Chu Hengkong opened his eyes, and all he could see was gold and red.

A bright red carpet stretched out in a line, and the walls were covered with oil paintings in gold frames. Warm, soft lighting enveloped every corner. Like most casinos he had been to, the club had no windows, so the outside world was invisible, and the sense of time became ambiguous and blurred.

A pair of shiny leather shoes stepped out from around the corner, and a man in a gray suit peeked out: "Brother White Eyebrows—"

His greeting was cut short by the impact. Ji Huaisu hurled the light shield forward, knocking the man to the ground. The two men rushed forward simultaneously. Chu Hengkong held a knife to the thug's neck and quickly searched him with his tentacles. Ji Huaisu demanded menacingly, "Where are the children who were captured?"

"Do you know what you're doing?!" the chaotic thugs bluffed. "This is the club—ah! ah!!"

Chu Hengkong stabbed the thug's left hand with a single blow, then raised the knife to stab his right hand. He didn't even glance at the wound as he made these two stabs, as casually as if he were tossing away a cigarette butt.

"The next cut will take your life," he said.

The thug was completely stunned; he felt far more fear than pain. This was a true thug, someone who would kill without batting an eye! Then he realized who the two men were, and any semblance of responsibility he had succumbed to instantly shattered: "He always brings the child upstairs! I don't know which floor!!"

Ji Huaisu knocked him unconscious with a single punch. Chu Hengkong sheathed his sword, stood up, and tossed a yellow jade token to his teammate. "Probably an elevator card." "What card?" "The thing that opens the elevator. Hold on tight!"

Both men braced themselves against the wall, feeling a tremendous tremor coming from above, causing the ceiling lights to sway erratically. Then the true nature of the tremor was revealed: a roar emanating from the top floor, a man's desperate shout.

"—A blood debt must be paid for with blood!!"

The crystal chandeliers shattered all at once, sending shards flying through the air. Gasps of alarm echoed from afar, and the gamblers in the club trembled with fear. The roar was so loud that they couldn't hear the words, only feeling as if invisible bombs were exploding one after another, the very air itself trembling. Chu Hengkong shook his head; his hearing was too acute, and he had nearly been injured by the roar.

"Good news, Maivia is on the top floor."

Ji Huaisu covered her ears: "Is that all you wanted to say...?"

"Otherwise, should we just marvel at how loud his voice is?" Chu Hengkong turned and walked into a side path. "Why don't we hurry up and kill his whole family?"

Thanks to the earlier shockwave, he had roughly "heard" his floor. The teleportation jade tablet was a level two relic, but its range was limited, only taking the two of them to a height of about the 4th to 6th floors. Judging from the speed of the vibration, Maivia should be above the 15th floor; even in the enemy's headquarters, they would need to take an elevator for a quick victory.

Ji Huaisu quickly caught up with him, walking ahead of him. Just then, the elevator doors at the end of the fork in the road opened, and the hastily assembled thugs pulled the triggers, unleashing a hail of bullets like a storm. Ji Huaisu deployed her light shield, charging forward through the hail of bullets like a golden cannonball crashing into the elevator. Chu Hengkong followed closely behind, finishing him off with water bullets. The two worked together seamlessly, wiping out all the thugs in just three seconds.

The club has 18 floors, but this elevator can only go up to the 14th floor. They ascended to the sound of mechanical beeps. Chu Hengkong noticed his partner constantly rubbing his fingers together.

"Can't wait?" he said.

"Please don't call me a serial killer," Ji Huaisu sighed. "I'm a little nervous."

This time, Chu Hengkong was genuinely surprised: "You can be nervous too?"

“I’ve dealt with corpses and demons before, but the Fallen… to be honest, I have no experience with them at all.” Ji Huaisu scratched his face. “How did you feel after that fight just now?”

"It's almost as good as killing a human, it's just a useless knife."

"Thanks, I feel much more relaxed... Damn, the water's been cut off!"

The lights suddenly went out, and a screeching sound came from the darkness. Ji Huaisu immediately threw her shield up, smashing it through the top floor of the elevator. Chu Hengkong burst out of the hole, stabbing his sword into the iron door of the floor above. At that moment, the elevator, now without power, began to plummet downwards. Chu Hengkong braced himself with his sword in one hand, swinging the tentacle downwards, which Ji Huaisu quickly grabbed. The two hung precariously in mid-air. Moments later, the elevator, now powerless, crashed to the bottom, the dark shaft illuminated by the light and fire of the explosion.

"Can you hurry up, brother? Your touch is so slippery!" Ji Huaisu exclaimed.

Chu Hengkong stared at her, "Can I move now? You do it!"

Ji Huaisu swung to the side, gripping the tentacle, and leaped diagonally upwards, stepping on the edge of the elevator shaft. A dark shadow appeared in her hand, but instead of transforming into the greatsword she had before, it became a curved short sword. Ji Huaisu hurled the shadow blade at the elevator door; the heavy steel was pierced by the short sword, and the door flew backwards as if hit by a car.

Chu Hengkong reacted swiftly, grabbing the edge of the threshold. His right hand was still gripping the knife, and only two fingers were free to move. He used the strength of those two fingers to prop himself up and leap into the doorway, then turned and used his tentacles to scoop up Ji Huaisu.

Exclamations of surprise rang out in front of them, and the well-dressed guests retreated in alarm. This was the VIP area on the 13th floor, with an elevator on each side of the lobby. There were only a few gambling tables in the lobby, and most people were busy watching the games or entangled with the catgirls.

The dealer, also a catwoman, stared blankly at the elevator door that had been knocked away, muttering her usual professional line: "...How many bets would you like, sir?"

The thugs guarding the VIP area reacted immediately, drawing their guns and pointing them at the two men. "Stop!" "Who goes there!" "I'll blow your head off, you bastard!" Chu Hengkong's tentacles slithered across the gambling table like snakes, the tips of which were wrapped around his knife. A moment later, five angry heads flew off, the hot blood from their necks staining the ceiling a true crimson.

The guests scattered in all directions, their screams and cries almost drowning out the gunfire. They surged toward another elevator, but at that moment, the doors of the opposite elevator flew open! The first guests to rush forward were thrown against the wall!
Visapal and Carmel climbed out of the elevator shaft, the sudden water outage making the already anxious couple even more agitated. Visapal let out a beast-like growl, and their movements abruptly stopped. The four men's eyes met through the fleeing crowd; the fallen had unexpectedly encountered the two detectives.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment; neither of them expected to meet here. Visaph magically produced a playing card, but suddenly fell backward. A sharp knife pierced his shoulder, and the tentacles wrapped around the handle swung out with force, slamming him onto a gambling table.

"Go save them!" Chu Hengkong roared. As he attacked, he leaped forward, and two water bullets struck Carmel's eyes simultaneously. Carmel reflexively raised his hands to shield his eyes, but this caused him to temporarily lose his sight.

Ji Huaisu leaped onto the gambling table, transforming her light shield into a hammer shape, and slammed it into the ceiling with both hands. Before her immense strength, the reinforced concrete structure was hardly any stronger than a wooden plank; the ceiling, along with the supporting layer in the middle, was pierced through. Ji Huaisu then used her strength to leap high, taking the shortest path upstairs in an extremely brutal manner.

Debris fell from the ceiling, and the stacks of chips bounced wildly as they were smashed. A cheerful synthesized voice rang out from the gambling table: "What a bold move! A million-dollar bet!"

(End of this chapter)