Gun of Ashes

”What should we do next?”

Eve picked up the killer’s gun and leaned against the door, alert to the chaotic footsteps.

After the gunshots, many people were approaching here. Although everything happened quickly, it was enough time to gather forces.

Both the assassins and the Blue Whale hotel’s security were moving towards here.

This place was like a stage play, with Lorenzo’s actions drawing all eyes to it.

”Buy me some time.”

Lorenzo said, pulling up the dying assassin. A bullet had shot into his thigh, and blood gushed out uncontrollably. His face was pale, looking as if he was about to die from blood loss.

”Who are you? Why do you want to kill Erin?”

For Lorenzo, the appearance of these killers was purely coincidental. He never expected that not only his side was targeting Erin.

Thankfully, Hebdo was agile, and Lorenzo had warned him about these things in advance. Otherwise, this unexpected situation could have been difficult for anyone else to handle.

Speaking of which, this Viking seemed quite reliable.

Back to the present, the assassin made no sound aside from painful groans, not intending to tell Lorenzo anything, seemingly prepared to face death.

”Is that so...”

Seeing the assassin’s resolute silence, Lorenzo smiled. He wasn’t good at coercion, but he excelled at instilling fear in others.

He placed his hand on the assassin’s arm, gradually tightening his grip. The sound of bones cracking was clearly audible.

Pain, death, despair.

Heavy negative emotions echoed in the assassin’s mind, his eyes filled with extreme terror. Yet, when the terror reached its peak, he became calm instead.

”You’re just like them, a... monster.”

He smiled at Lorenzo, then died.

Not from blood loss—Lorenzo could smell it, the scent of deadly poison emanating from the assassin’s mouth.

He committed suicide.

”The other side is a group of experts too...”

Lorenzo furrowed his brows.

In Lorenzo’s understanding, he roughly categorized killers into three types. The first type was the rookie, someone who took on the job for some reason, perhaps hadn’t killed many people before, possibly their first time holding a gun.

This rookie would be a disaster at work, trembling as he pulled the trigger, killing the target, fleeing awkwardly, and then having nightmares for several days.

The second type of killer was someone like Lorenzo, familiar with the industry’s workflow, willing to shoot anyone for money. But such killers are loyal to no organization, only to themselves. As long as the reward is sufficient, switching sides is perfectly possible.

Before resuming his old profession and cooperating with the Purification Mechanism, Lorenzo had thought about whether anyone would be willing to pay him to kill Bola. If the price was right, Lorenzo might actually make a move. After all, with Bola dead, Lorenzo owed him nothing, and he might even offer a discount to the client.

Unfortunately, until Lorenzo reformed and collaborated with the Purification Mechanism, no one was willing to bid, or the prices offered were too absurdly low, not worth Lorenzo’s effort.

As for the assassin who just died, he belonged to the third category, the dedicated professionals with career ethics and loyalty to the company.

Unlike the first two types, they are professional and systematic, often trained by a specific organization, extremely loyal, willing to commit suicide upon task failure.

Now comes the question.

It’s known that Erin was wanted by the Viking countries, yet these people wouldn’t be from there. As the Imperial Envoy, Hebdo would never make such a laughable mistake.

Since the mission began, Lorenzo and his team’s identities were perfectly concealed with the help of the Purification Mechanism and Nordro. Looking at Erin’s meager power, she couldn’t possibly have gleaned Lorenzo’s information, as far as Erin’s concerned, Lorenzo and the others didn’t exist.

This means the trap wasn’t set for Lorenzo and his team but for these assassins, Erin deliberately revealing her whereabouts, probably to lure these men.

Another organization had targeted Erin.

Lorenzo was also puzzled by the assassin’s last words.

The ”they” he mentioned—who could they be?

”What’s your theory, detective!”

Eve shouted at Lorenzo, firing down the hallway.

Her bullet accurately exploded the head of a peering security guard, splattering blood across the walls. Judging by Eve’s mindset, she had successfully transitioned from the first type of killer to the second type.

Perhaps influenced by Lorenzo, even at such a perilous moment she wasn’t afraid, her mind instead wandering off to other thoughts.

For instance, Eve wondered if Arthur saw this scene, whether he’d smile with satisfaction, pat her on the shoulder, saying how his daughter had finally grown up, effortlessly blasting open heads... what nonsense, how could that be possible!

Enemies continuously assaulted from the corner, now not killers but Blue Whale hotel’s security. As a shady establishment, they also had their own armed forces.