The Devil’s Cage

The night was dead silent.

Sixth Broadway used to be a merry and lively area, but after the war had broken out everything had changed. Now it was all in ruins.

However, there were still a couple of taller buildings that had survived the war, standing proudly among the ruins.

The mall was one of them.

As the city’s biggest mall, it had definitely seen better days. Now it didn’t even have a proper roof covering it. A big hole could be seen on its top, as if a meteor had smashed through the building.

Still, it was a good hiding place for people during the war.

The only problem being that it was occupied by a bunch of armed thugs.

There were currently two guards leaning against the walls in the shadows, monitoring the area around the mall.

They both looked bad at their job. Neither of them was any paying attention.

This was not unusual behaviour.

Every civilian and lackey living around Sixth knew that this was the Vulture’s base. When the first person to ever oppose him had been hanged and burned in front of the building, it had scared everybody else away.

Besides, there was one more guard on the half torn-down rooftop.

That guard was the real deal compared to the two men by the entrance.

His spot offered him a vantage point, so he could oversee everything going on below. Plus, he was not using one of those M1905 handguns, but a much better sniper rifle.

Compared to the men below, that guy looked like the Grim Reaper himself. If anyone dared take a step toward the mall, they would get their head blown off in an instant.

“I need a cigarette,” one guard told the other.

“Let’s go together!” the second one agreed.

The two of them walked out of the shadows and entered the mall.

To light up a cigarette, they needed to find a place that was sheltered from the wind.

There was no such place outside the mall, so they headed inside.

The mall had been damaged by gun fights during the war, and all its walls had holes in them that the wind kept blowing through during the night.

The guards planned to get into the mall through one of those holes. The one who had suggested the cigarette break went in first, but before the second one could even bent his body, a hand grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth.

Before he could make a sound, he felt a sudden pain on his neck, and fell into the abyss of death.

[Stabbing: Inflicts 100 Damage to target HP, (50 Sharp Weapon (Dagger)(Basic) X2). Target dies…]

“Hurry up!”

The guard who was already inside told his partner. He hadn’t noticed that anything was wrong.

He lit up a cigarette.

The moment he lit it, a dark figure rushed through the wall and knocked him to the ground, using a dagger to cut his throat.

Before the guard could do anything, he was already dead.

[Stabbing: Inflicts 100 Damage to target HP, (50 Sharp Weapon (Dagger)(Basic) X2). Target dies…]

Kieran, who had take out both guards, stood up and let out a long breath.

He had arrived on site half an hour ago, and had been waiting ever since for a chance to strike.

With his [Undercover] skill, it had not been hard for him to get close to the building.

The hard part was taking out both guards without alarming the one on the roof.

The entrance to the underground storage area had been rigged by the Vulture’s men to sound an alarm every time someone opened it. It would have been hard for Kieran to pass unnoticed by the two guards and reach the underground storage area.

Especially if he didn’t want to alarm the guard on the roof. According to his observation, the man on the roof had only one sniper rifle, which was why Kieran had insisted, despite Colleen’s protest, that the two of them split up.

Kieran could hide himself very well, but Colleen couldn’t.

If Colleen had followed Kieran, not only would it have compromised Kieran’s plan but it also might have cost Colleen her life.

The captive had mentioned the sniper on the roof and had said that although he was good with a sniper rifle, he was no professional assassin.

If he was, Kieran would not have been able to sneak inside.

Kieran searched the dead bodies for loot, but did not found anything, so he moved towards the rooftop.

He didn’t care about the guns on the dead guards.

He had already one fully loaded M1905. Carrying any more would only slow him down.

The path that led up to the rooftop had been demolished and wasn’t safe anymore.

The steel beams and the concrete roof had fallen all along the wall, leaving only one end still attached to the rooftop, forming a natural flight of stairs that led up to the top.

Kieran went up the stairs silently.

When he reached the top, he saw the sniper that he had been warned of.

The man was squatting down, holding the sniper rifle in his arms and overseeing the area surrounding the mall.

Undoubtedly, he was much more dedicated compared to the men that Kieran had encountered.

His shooting skills were yet to be tested, though.

Kieran closed up on him quietly, moving in a combat-ready position, the dagger in his left hand raised up slightly.

It was like he had practiced this a million times. His left hand covered the sniper’s mouth as he pulled him back hard, creating some space between the man’s neck and the rifle. Having exposed his neck, he used his right hand to slash through it quickly with the dagger.

Fresh blood gushed out and spilled all over the rifle that fell to the ground.

The sniper’s body was shivering as if his arms and feet were being electrocuted. Kieran held him down tightly and covered his mouth.

The sniper didn’t make a single sound as he died.

The wound got even larger though as Kieran pulled the man back.

[Stabbing: Inflicts 100 Damage to target HP, (50 Sharp Weapon (Dagger)(Basic) X2). Target dies…]

When the notification popped up, confirming that the man was really dead, Kieran let go of his hand.

“Huh?” he exclaimed in surprise.

The rifle that the sniper had been holding was not actually a real sniper rifle. It was merely a handgun with an aiming scope that did not even fit well together.

It was a combination of two different things.

[Name: M12]

[Type: Firearm]

[Rarity: Common]

[Damage: Common]

[Ammunition: 20 Rounds]

[Attributes: None]

[Effect: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: This is a well-maintained 7.62mm rifle. It should be reliable.]

……

[Name: M12]

[Type: Telescopic Sight]

[Rarity: Damaged]

[Attributes: Can zoom-in 4 to 8 times]

[Effect: None]

[Able to bring out of dungeon: Yes]

[Remarks: It should not be attached to this gun.]

After reading the system notification details on the “sniper rifle” and inspecting it one more time, he eventually put it aside.

Even if it had been a real sniper rifle, Kieran would not have taken it.

He needed to be more agile in his movements, and the so-called “sniper rifle” was too eye-catching and would definitely compromise his plans.

His plan was to take out all the guards and infiltrate the Vulture’s base.

He had planned to infiltrate the base right from the very beginning, during his fight with the Vulture’s men.

Even though Colleen had rejected his plan, Kieran still insisted on carrying it out.

He had stuck to his plan even after he had found out that he would be facing not eleven, but twenty-one of the Vulture’s men.

He knew very well that he could not beat twenty-one men, even with the skills the game had blessed him with.

After checking out the body and the rooftop, he went down again, heading towards the underground storage area.

When he came down the slope, he spotted the entrance.

It was so conspicuous.

The door wasn’t even fully shut. It was partially open, and light from the inside of the room slid through the gap. It was easy for Kieran to peek inside.

He saw a corridor wide enough to fit a forklift, framed by rooms on each side.

According to what he knew, this storage area was made up of separated concrete walls, creating small rooms for mall visitors to store their bags.

Now it had become a hotel for thugs.

He slowly approached one of the rooms.

The light inside it shined through the door of the storage area, forming a bright line on the ground.

Unlike other civilians and thugs, the Vulture’s men were living quite the life considering the current war situation. By having connections with the rebellion, the thugs had earned themselves sufficient daily supplies. There was even a diesel generator in there.

That only proved how wicked the Vulture was.

The better the lifestyle of his men, the more the dealings between the Vulture and the rebellion, and the more the innocent women that had fallen to the evil hands of the rebels.

The urge to kill surged in Kieran’s heart.