The Devil’s Cage

The sounds of the machine guns and the muzzles flashing filled the air as the shop was showered with bullets. Orange shells fell off the car like rain.

Within mere fractions of a second, the laundromat was shot into a beehive, and the black bodyguard in front of it was torn to pieces, turning into a pile of charred meat.

When both machine guns ran out of bullets, the attackers did not come out of the car. Instead, they pulled out two grenades and threw them towards the alley behind the laundromat.

Kieran had seen everything. The speed of the car had caught his attention as it had sped past him, and he had naturally scanned the car out of curiosity.

Although Kieran had barely been able to catch a glimpse of the inside of the car, his C- Intuition had allowed him to clearly see what was inside.

Machine guns and grenades.

Those men did not look like they were there for a business deal.

Kieran halted and turned around swiftly, heading back towards the alley.

Although he did not really care about Larry’s life, the potential of unlocking a Sub Mission made him go back and try to prevent an incident.

As Kieran had expected, the people in the car were not there to talk. The attackers seemed to be quite familiar with Larry’s place.

They knew their machine guns could not pierce through the thick front wall of the laundromat, so they followed up by throwing two grenades inside the shop.

Boom! Boom!

The two explosions caused even more damage to the laundromat, which was already half torn-down and filled with smoke after the shooting. The grenades turned the shop into ruins after the two explosions.

When the laundromat was blown to bits, the attackers opened their car doors and came out.

Bang! Bang!

As they stepped out from the car, their heads were blown off by two shots, and their bodies fell to the ground.

The remaining man came out of the driver’s side and looked around in panic after his comrades had been killed.

The grenades that the attackers had thrown had produced a thick wave of smoke. The smoke blocked the remaining attacker’s view, preventing him from locating the person who had killed his comrades.

When a cold hard gun barrel was pushed up against the back of his head, the man froze in panic.

”Put down your gun and don’t move! If you value your life, you won’t try to pull any tricks!” Kieran said coldly from behind the attacker.

Considering that his two comrades were dead and he currently had a gun pressed against his head, the man knew that Kieran was not joking.

He followed Kieran’s orders, putting his gun down and raising his hands.

”I…”

Before the word could even form in the man’s mouth, Kieran rewarded him for his cooperative spirit with a hard hit on his neck. The attacker fell down to the ground, passing out.

After confirming that the man was out cold, Kieran turned his attention to the laundromat.

”Larry? If you’re still alive, make some noise, please!” Kieran shouted towards the shop.

”I’m not dead yet! But I’m not that far from it either! Goddamn it, Kieran! Are you sure this is not your doing?”

Larry’s voice came from within the debris of the laundromat. After such an attack, he dared not show his face. He just kept hiding there.

”My doing? For what? The 10,000 I paid you just now, or the 100,000 I’ve paid you before? Don’t make me laugh, Larry. Hiring these fellows would have cost me more than that!” Kieran replied with a loud mocking laugh.

”If you’re not willing to show your dried-up face, I’ll leave you be! The cops won’t ignore such a commotion though, even if your shop is considered a no man’s land!” Kieran continued in a slightly impatient tone.

”No, no, no! Wait! We’re friends! How can you leave me at a time like this?”

Larry hobbled out from the ruins, afraid that Kieran would leave for real.

”Friends? You give friendship a bad name, Larry.”

Kieran looked closely at Larry’s injuries. Both his arms and legs were wounded and there was blood on his left side. It was not anything serious though, despite the fact that he looked bruised and battered.

His wounds were just flesh wounds, so Larry was still able to make his way over to the attackers’ bodies and have a look.

”Holy cow, it’s the Morocco Brothers! God-fricking-damn it! Who hired them to kill me?” he asked in an angry tone after recognizing the face of the last man, who was being held captive by Kieran.

He swiftly collected his thoughts and calmed down.

”Kieran, I need you to do me a favor. Take me to my safe house and hand this son of a bitch to me! I’ll find out who is behind this!”

Larry begged Kieran with his eyes.

[Sub Mission Unlocked: Helping the Informant]

[Helping the Informant: Larry has gotten into some trouble, and he needs you to take him to his safe house and hand over the captive to him.]

The sole reason that Kieran had come back for Larry had been to unlock a potential Sub Mission, so he gladly accepted Larry’s offer.

”Fine, but only because you’ve helped me before!” Kieran nodded in agreement.

”Relax, my man, you won’t regret helping Larry! From now on, if you want any information, I’ll give you a 10 percent discount!” Larry smiled as he opened the door to the attackers’ car.

”I wonder how cheap your life is.” Kieran hit the captive once again and threw him into the backseat.

Kieran got into the driver’s seat despite the fact that he had no driving experience. He knew the standard procedure of driving a car, but as an orphan he had been destined to never get near one.

He had only heard about driving from his co-worker when he’d been working at the blacksmith’s.

Still, the situation before him had forced him into being the driver. There was no one else available for the job.

As the car engine started up, noise started coming from the car’s hood.

Although Kieran had started it up carefully, the car only moved a little before it braked hard.

Boom!

The sudden emergency brake made Larry knock his head against the dashboard of the passenger seat and scream in pain as he ranted about Kieran’s driving skills.

”You drive worse than you fight!” he said, mocking Kieran in a tone similar to the one Lawless often used. ”Your fighting skills are really odd for a reporter! Were you aiming to become a war correspondent before this? No, nevermind. Forget I asked. Everyone has their secrets!”

Compared to Lawless, Larry was much more observant. He quickly shut up when he noticed Kieran’s cold expression.

Larry’s safe house was 20 kilometers away from Falcon Street. As soon as Kieran familiarized himself with driving the car, the two of them made it to the safe house on the outskirts of the commercial and residential area.

Larry’s safe house was an abandoned factory that looked quite similar to Kieran’s game lobby from the outside. There was an extra wired fence surrounding it. Although the fence was all rusty and pushed down at parts, it seemed like no one had been there for a long time.

”It’s old alright, but it’s very safe! Come with me!” Larry said with utmost confidence as he got out of the car.

Larry did not walk to the front of the locked factory. Instead, he headed behind the facility and straight for a sewer cap.

He lifted the sewer cap with all his might and went in. It seemed like the safe house that he was so proud of was not on the surface of the ground.

Kieran followed him, instinctively scanning his surroundings for any danger. When he was sure that the coast was clear, he grabbed the captive and started going down the iron ladder.

After descending about three to four meters down the ladder, a wide underground room appeared before him.

The room stored tons of food, medicine and weapons, meeting all the criteria of a safehouse.

Kieran turned his attention to the weapons and noticed that they were sufficient to fully arm at least 10 men.

Although it was just handguns, the fact that the weapons even existed was proof that Larry had been lying when he’d said that he’d never touched any other types of business.

Kieran had not bought Larry’s words in the first place, but he still scanned the whole place before eventually looking at him.

Larry pulled out a heavy-looking cell phone from a drawer and turned it on. Judging by its bulky design, it had to be a custom made phone.

”Well, it looks like you’ve reached your destination. Anything that happens from here on is none of my business. I’m heading off!” Kieran told Larry after throwing down the captive.

He had just gone there for the Sub Mission. He had no intention of participating in Larry’s illegal activities, unless those constituted another Sub Mission.

Chances were slim though, considering that Larry seemed to be prepared for this. He had both weapons and manpower, and a phone to call in backup if he wanted to get revenge.

”Sure, sure! You did what a friend is supposed to do. Thanks again for saving my life!” Larry said while making a phone call.

[Sub Mission: Helping the Informant (Completed)]

Kieran was feeling quite good about finishing his first Sub Mission so easily. Waving at Larry, he turned around to head up again.

However, before he could reach the surface of the ground, a cold, freezing presence assaulted him from above. When he looked, there was nothing in front of him.

Kieran felt an immense sense of danger. Without a second thought, he jumped back down the ladder.

Bang!

Just as Kieran jumped back down, a big chunk of concrete was blasted off by an immense force, and a deep hole was punched on the side of the entrance.

It was a sniper!

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

Larryyyyy