Chapter 187

  The leader of the base approached the guards gathered around Johnny’s lifeless body. Judging by Miller’s body nguage alo was already clear he was furious. The bandits he passed by appeared to physically feel the dangerous energy radiating from him, shrinking bad visibly trembling in fear.

  Miller shoved aside two guards who weren’t quiough to get out of his way and stopped beside Johnny’s dead body. He stared down at it for a moment before shifting his gaze to the gathering of bandits. All of them immediately averted their gazes, looking down, too afraid to meet his bzing gre.

  “What the fuck happened here?” he shouted, loud enough for Jake to hear him as if he were standing right o him.

  None of the guards replied. Those who had been firing at Johnheir mouths shut. Everyone was too terrified of him to speak up.

  “Who am I talking to? Have you all gone deaf all of a sudden?”

  A few guards shot furtive g Dominid Patrick, who stood nearby, clearly hoping to shift the responsibility of expining the situation onto the leader’s closest subordinates. Unsurprisingly, the two of them looked just as scared as the regur guards.

  Dominic cast a quice at Patrick, who responded with a barely visible shake of his head, trying to make himself as inspicuous as possible by hung his bad l his head. Dominic looked around but couldn’t see Minh anywhere—he was standing far behind, watg the unfolding se from a distance.

  Dominic let out a sigh, fully aware that the burden of expining what had happened rested on him. He moved a bit closer to Miller, as if to demonstrate that, uhe others, he wasn’t intimidated by him. Thearted to ret the events that had take the base during the leader’s absence. Speaking in a low voice, he occasionally poio the ammo-produg mae and then to the tent where Johnny had been hiding.

  At some point, as he he end of his reting, Dominiodded toward the two guards who had been esc Johnny to HQ. The two wounded guards still y on the ground, squirming and moaning in pain. Until now, nobody had paid them any attention, having seemingly fotten about them the moment Miller returo the base.

  “For fuck’s sake, someohem already!” he yelled angrily at the bunch of guards standing nearby.

  Nearly all of them immediately ran toward their wounded rades to administer first aid. It was clear that the guards were afraid to move without permission, and now that they had an excuse to act, they seized the opportunity to create as much distance as possible from the furious leader.

  So Dominid Patrick suddenly found themselves standing opposite Miller by themselves. Patrick was visibly trembling, uo tain his fear. Dominiaged to hold himself together a bit better, but he was still scared, uain of how Miller would respond now that he was aware of the euation.

  The leader of the base stood motionlessly, watg the guards admiims to their wounded rades. They busied themselves around the two injured guards, as if they genuinely cared for them like brothers. To Jake, it was clear they only wao keep their distance from Miller. Two of the guards helped the wouo their feet and guided them toward the tents. Wanting to distahemselves from Miller, the rest of the guards followed suit. Some even took hold of the injured rades, trying to lift and carry them as if they were some sort of royalty.

  “For fuck’s sake,” Miller yelled at them. “They’re not that badly hurt. Just one man helping one wounded is more than enough. Two of you go with them. As for the rest of you, get your zy asses back here right now.”

  The guards who weren’t actually helping but only pretending to had no choice but to ply. Each of the two wounded guards now had only one panion assisting them as they walked to the tents. The rest of the guards returo where the leader of the base stood, albeit relutly.

  Miller instructed Dominid Patriaihey were, then signaled for the two guards he had arrived with to follow him. With the two men at his side, he walked fidently toward HQ and vanished inside. Dominid Patrick shared a few quiet words between them as they watched him go.

  Dominic then sed the area and finally noticed Minh far behind him. He called out for Minh to e closer, but Minh remained where he was. It seemed he had decided it was much safer to keep his distance from the furious leader of the base.

  He clearly wasn’t pleased with Minh’s refusal to ply. He even started to walk toward him but then remembered Miller’s order to stay put and stopped immediately. Terrified of his boss, he was unwilling to disobey and chose to remain where he was.

  It wasn’t long before Miller and his two men burst out of HQ. He took a few steps before ing to a halt, staring at Dominid Patrick from a distahey stared back at him. From Miller’s behavior alohey realized something was terribly wrong. He stared silently at them for a few seds, and to those around him, his silence was more terrifying than his usual outbursts e.

  He said something to the group, but since he was no longer yelling, Jake couldn’t make out the words. The guards appeared taken aback by whatever their leader had just said. Miller had to repeat the order before they finally plied, pointing their ons at Dominid Patrick, who instinctively raised their hands in the air.

  Dominic tried to speak to the leader, probably asking what was happening, but Miller ignored him. He walked over to where his power suit was and climbed in. The suit sealed around him, eng Miller pletely. While he wasn’t yet sure who had killed all the guards inside HQ, it was obvious he suspected his sub-bosses, just as Jake had anticipated. Since Miller didn’t know what might happen when he revealed what he saw in HQ, he clearly wahe prote of the suit’s armor in case a shootout erupted in the base. Even though he was high-leveled, he wasn’t invincible. Even a single bullet to the head could easily end his life.

  He then walked toward the group of guards who were aiming their ons at the two sub-bosses. He spoke to the guards, and this time, they obeyed without hesitation. Most of them tio aim at Dominid Patrick, while a few others positiohemselves behind the two men.

  The two of them were genuinely scared now. Although they didn’t know what Miller had uncovered in HQ, they could tell something was seriously wrong, and Miller obviously believed they had something to do with it. Patrick broke down in tears, colpsing to his knees. Dominic attempted to speak, but Miller cut him off. The guards secured the sub-bosses’ hands behind their backs, and at Miller’s order, they began to escort them back to HQ.

  Miller then spotted Minh watg the se from a distance. He yelled at him to e over, but Minh did something else instead. He wheeled around and sprinted across the base. Miller barked orders at his men to apprehend him, his voice amplified by the suit’s loudspeakers. Some of the guards opened fire on the runner.

  “Don’t fire, you idiots!” Miller immediately yelled at them. “I need him alive! Catch him!”

  Unfortunately for them, Minh was incredibly fast and agile. He made a beeline for the pickup truck Miller had arrived in. Luckily for Minh, Miller had jumped out of the vehicle as soon as he pulled into the base, leaving the engine running and the doors wide open. So Minh slid behind the wheel and immediately backed out of the base through the opening where the gates oood. He whipped the car around and hit the gas, quickly moving away from the base. Miller yelled at his men to give chase, but by the time they got into another vehicle and drove out, Minh was already o be seen.

  It was great. Just like Dominid Patrick, Minh had no idea what Miller had witnessed in HQ. However, upon notig Miller’s ged demeanor and the capture of the other two sub-bosses, Minh’s instinct for survival kicked in. Whatever was happening, it was clearly bad, so he decided to make a quick escape. Uhe workers, the guards were allowed to leave the base, which was why the turrets hadn’t opened fire on him while he escaped. Wherever he was now, it was clear he wasn’t returning anytime soon.

  By making his escape, Minh iently painted himself as the prime suspe the massacre that had unfolded at HQ. Sure, Miller would eventually start to wonder why Minh hadn’t fled right after killing the guards and stealing the Skeleton Key, only opting to escape after Miller discovered the aftermath. However, at first g certainly seemed like Minh was behind the horrific events.

  The guards had already escorted the restrained Dominid Patrito HQ. Yet Miller stayed outside for a few moments longer. He instructed the remaining guards to resume their duties, and after they plied, he popped open his power suit and stepped out. He walked toward HQ and disappeared inside a few moments ter, likely to interrogate Dominid Patrick. Whatever was in store for them was bound to be anything but pleasant.

  Before moving away, Jake cast o g Johnny’s lifeless body, still lying in the same spot. A wave of sadness washed over him, mingling with the ahat bubbled up inside. Johnny had seen Jake as some sort of hero, the oio take down Los Demonios and protect the ordinary survivors. But Jake was no hero, that was for damn sure. Yet it was a good thing because it meant he would have no reservations. No moral straints would hold him baothing would stop him from pletely eradig Los Demonios, leaving behind nothing but a damp staihe gang once was.

  However, before ung a full-blown war against Los Demonios, he o evolve into the stage. Before doing it, though, he wao spend the night searg for mana, as he was running low on it. So he wheeled around and dashed across the rooftop. When he was sure he couldn’t be seen from the base below, he deactivated Cloak, knowing there was no reason to waste mana unnecessarily. Reag the edge of the roof, he leaped toward another building.