The three curving bullets sent Mr. X, who was highly familiar with the Cross, stepping into the just-opened elevator. Turning, he pressed his right foot against the elevator wall, his heart pounding wildly. After taking only two seconds to prepare, he sprinted towards Sylma's office.
As someone who shared the same superhuman abilities as Carlos, the Cross, X knew full well that after firing three consecutive curving bullets, Carlos would be incapacitated for at least 30 seconds to a minute.
It would be foolish not to seize such an opportunity.
Even after a minute, Carlos's arms would likely be too weak to aim accurately, and full recovery would take several minutes at the least.
Believing he had the perfect chance, X never considered that someone else might fire a curving bullet from 200 meters away.
"Thump, thump." X's heart was pounding at a rate of 400 beats per minute, pumping adrenaline that granted him an explosive strength far beyond that of an ordinary human.
He sped through a 20-meter corridor and, with a loud "bang," crashed through a bullet-riddled, wobbling glass panel, leaping toward the Metropolis Tower across the way.
Yes, leaping. To William, observing from at least 200 meters away, it looked as though X was flying.
As X soared through the air, he pulled out his gun, taking out three assassins mid-jump—one of them with a curving bullet.
He then landed in a room one floor below the rooftop, rolling a few times before steadying himself behind a wall. Pulling out his phone, he called the Brotherhood assassins stationed nearby.
"What's the situation?"
"The Cross is in the Metropolis Tower," X said quickly. "He just fired three curving bullets at me and is now in a state of exhaustion. Surround him immediately—we only have three minutes!"
"Understood," replied an excited female voice.
Hanging up, X cautiously avoided possible firing angles. With no need to guard against those elusive curving bullets, he reached the rooftop hallway within seconds.
After eliminating the last assassin with a single shot, X spent a few careful moments searching the small, 30-square-meter rooftop, unsurprised not to find Carlos.
Just as he was about to turn and head downstairs, a phone rang nearby—its chime echoing sharply.
X didn't need to think to know it was Carlos calling to stall for time.
X smirked, his own malicious intent surfacing. With Brotherhood members lying in ambush downstairs, this was the perfect moment to distract Carlos and lower his guard.
For top-tier assassins, a single second of distraction could mean death. X holstered his gun and retrieved a phone from the pocket of a dead assassin.
"Didn't expect those three shots to miss, did you, Carlos?" X grinned. "I'd say you're exhausted now. You won't escape this time."
"Missing you is indeed unfortunate," Carlos replied casually, "but maybe you misunderstood. I didn't fire those three shots. Goodbye, X."
For half a second, X froze in confusion. Then instinct kicked in, urging him to evade. But before his brain could send the command to his body, an electric shock surged through his legs.
"Zzt!"
A bullet pierced X's forehead, exiting as it vanished into the skyline beyond the Metropolis Tower.
"Thud." Super-assassin X was thus eliminated by William and Carlos in a cleverly orchestrated trap.
The spider robot that electrocuted X scurried up to the rooftop communications tower and climbed into a drone deployment pod.
A few minutes later, several casually dressed individuals carrying firearms cautiously stepped onto the rooftop. Meanwhile, William, who was entering a nearby parking garage, released his right arm from the grip of his left hand. The earlier three shots had been his doing.
If he had used only a handgun, William could have fired ten curving bullets without issue. However, the 200-meter range made a handgun ineffective, so he had resorted to a long rifle. The effort had left his right arm slightly sore, but a quick healing spell had resolved the discomfort within minutes.
Satisfied after shaking out his arm, William focused on his smart glasses, observing as several Brotherhood assassins arrived on the Metropolis Tower rooftop.
The sight of X's corpse, his head cleanly shot through, filled them with dread, as though their own deaths were imminent.
Among them, only Fox, a striking woman with a cool demeanor akin to Julie's, remained calm as she inspected the scene.
After a moment, Fox pointed toward the nearby building where William had been stationed. "Either Carlos has been hiding his true abilities, or someone capable of firing curving bullets from 200 meters away is helping him."
"What?" The bald, gun-making specialist roared in disbelief. "That's impossible! No one can shoot curving bullets from 200 meters out. Air resistance alone would throw the bullet completely off course!"
The sound of sirens interrupted their argument. Looking down, Fox spotted two police cars below the tower, with more vehicles approaching from a distance. "I'll head across the street to check the bullet trajectory. You guys head back for now."
"No need. We'll leave together," said the gun-maker. "Someone will send us the crime scene report."
Watching them leave, William flexed his fingers and muttered to himself, "With physical abilities ten times greater than a normal person's, anyone could do this."
Just as he was reveling in his own prowess, his earpiece buzzed with a reminder from Sunday. "Sir, the shot Carlos fired earlier had a range of over four kilometers. Based on my calculations, evading such a sniper would be exceedingly difficult."
"No, you don't understand," William replied confidently. "A shot like that poses no threat to me."
What William didn't tell Sunday was that his mental abilities gave him a premonition of danger. A bullet traveling for seven or eight seconds was no challenge for him to dodge.
He opened the car door, driving home to Upper East Side in high spirits. After arriving, he opened a bottle of red wine, reclining on the sofa for a restful break.
Half an hour later, a 3D projection lit up in his living room. "Sir, I thought you might find this footage interesting."
William opened his eyes to see the Brotherhood assassins reporting back to Sloan at their textile mill hideout.
After hearing the report, Sloan pored over the detailed crime scene analysis, remaining deep in thought for some time before finally speaking. "It seems we're dealing with a Cross far more formidable than we imagined."
"Or perhaps," Fox interjected, "someone else fired those three shots at X near Sylma's office?"
"No," Sloan shook his head after some thought. "Those three shots were likely fired by the Cross. The person who actually killed X, however, is someone else. Don't forget—we've been hearing about a sniper with exceptional skills assisting the Cross lately."
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