Chapter 339
2-in-1-chapter
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"You don't look like the kind of junkies who'd mess with this stuff," said the only Latino sitting on the sofa in the room—this should be Gael, the one who sold the Glitter to Randy. "So what exactly are you here for?"
River and Mitch positioned themselves in front of Leo, while Scorpion kept a close eye on the man guarding the door.
"We're here to make a purchase," Leo said calmly, "but not from you. We want to deal directly with your supplier. If you're willing to tell us who he is and take us to him, we can pay you generously."
Gael crossed his arms. "Bold words. But what makes you think I'll just do what you say? You're the ones staring down the barrels, not me."
"You're Gael, right? I'll give you a reason you can't refuse."
The moment Leo spoke, everyone in the room froze in place as if bound by an invisible force.
The flow of time suddenly slowed to an immeasurable crawl—even the dust suspended in the air stopped mid‑flight.
In that frozen world, Leo alone could move.
He drew his Tsunami Defense Systems kinetic pistol Nue, firing four quick shots—two to the hearts and two to the foreheads of the Latinos standing behind Gael.
Without glancing at the results, he turned and aimed at the man blocking the doorway, who was holding a Copperhead, and pulled the trigger twice—sending two rounds clean into his skull.
After several seconds, time resumed its normal flow. Waves of distortion rippled through the air, before the bullets kissed the foreheads and chests of the three men, blooming into violent flowers of blood.
All three collapsed to the floor.
For everyone else, it had all happened in an instant.
Gael stared, dumbfounded. No matter how hard he tried to process it, he couldn't figure out how the situation had flipped so suddenly.
"I'd suggest you don't move," Leo said coldly, leveling the Nue at him. "Unless you want to end up like them."
As he spoke, Leo gave a quick nod with the pistol toward the bodies behind Gael before bringing the barrel back in line with Gael's chest.
River, Mitch, and Scorpion didn't react much, because before they came here, Leo had already shown them his talent, Time Zero.
Of course, Leo hadn't explained exactly what it was, as they still assumed it was a custom sandevistan.
The situation was under control instantly, and the three split their roles.
Scorpion guarded the door, Mitch went to the window to watch outside, and River stood silently behind Gale.
"D‑don't kill me! I'll give you whatever you want! Just don't kill me!" Gale was terrified, nearly falling over himself in panic.
"We don't want your life. You can keep your money. We just need to ask a few questions. Answer honestly, and we'll leave."
"What do you want to ask?"
"Who's your supplier?"
"Rat."
At that, River frowned. Standing behind Gale, he suddenly locked his arm around the man's throat.
He didn't have Gorilla Arms installed, but River's strength was terrifying nonetheless. In just over ten seconds, Gale's face flushed red.
"Let him go, River," Leo ordered.
Only then did River release him.
Free again, Gale clutched his throat, gasping desperately for air.
"What did you just say? I didn't hear clearly."
Terrified of being choked again, Gale frantically waved his hands. "You misunderstood—I wasn't mocking you. His nickname really is Rat."
Leo nodded. "All the product you sell here, you get it from him?"
This time Gale hesitated.
River, arms crossed behind him, snapped, "What, cat got your tongue? He asked you a question!"
"If I answer… will you spare my life?" Gale asked cautiously.
"Of course. You have my word."
Gale looked at Leo, then at River, before finally bowing his head. "Y‑yes. Everything I sell here comes from him."
"Good. Then call him. I don't care what excuse you use, just get him here."
Gale gave a bitter laugh. "Impossible."
Leo stared at him. "Impossible? Or unwilling?"
"It's impossible. I always go to him to get the product. Rat never leaves the Nest. And I don't have the authority to summon him."
Desperate to stay alive, Gale added quickly, "You might not know—I'm just one of many middlemen under him. I can't order Rat to come here."
"Fine. One last question. Where is the Nest?"
Gale trembled as he gave the address—only to look up and see a pistol barrel aimed at his head.
His soul left him before the words of begging could even form. A single bullet tore through his skull.
The light faded from his eyes, and his body collapsed like a sack of meat.
Leo holstered the pistol and said flatly to the corpse, "Sorry. I lied. I never planned on letting you live."
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Two days later, in a remote, run‑down part of Heywood.
Three vans pulled into an abandoned building site under the dim glow of yellowed streetlamps, their headlights going dark as they blended into the shadows.
From the back of one van, a drone lifted into the night sky. Its optical camouflage engaged, cloaking it from sight.
Inside the van, Lucy piloted the drone toward a four‑story building a short distance away, streaming the feed to the other vehicles.
"That's it—the Nest. Forty‑eight individuals inside. No civilians—all gang members. Their leader, codename Rat, is in there too."
"Their security's sloppy. A few cameras at the ground‑floor entrances, and only two lookouts on the roof. Their coverage leaves blind spots."
Lucy finished her report. Everyone's eyes turned toward Leo, waiting for his command.
"Mitch, Scorpion—you each take a squad. Hit the building from the sides and rear. Hack the entrance cameras first, then breach with flashbangs. No civilians inside, so fire at every two‑legged moving target."
"Lucy—use the drone to eliminate the rooftop sentries."
"V, Panam—you're with me at the front entrance. We'll deal with anyone trying to escape that way."
They had twenty‑six people for this op. Aside from the named squad leaders, the remaining twenty had been recruited from the Aldecaldos.
Yesterday, one hundred Aldecaldo volunteers had shown up for the selection. The judges were Leo, V, River, Mitch, and Scorpion.
After brutal trials, only twenty were chosen.
Now, with the ten veteran ex‑military Aldecaldos already under his command, Leo had thirty trained fighters. He brought the twenty new hires on this raid as their final test.
Orders given, the squads disembarked. Under Mitch and Scorpion's lead, they flanked the target building.
Leo, with V and Panam, moved into position at the front.
The fight began swiftly.
First strike came from above. Lucy's drone fired two micro‑missiles. They detonated beneath the rooftop sentries, showering the night in blood mist and shattered limbs.
Then Mitch and Scorpion's squads stormed in.
Gangsters inside had barely registered the rooftop explosions when flashbangs burst through the kicked‑in doors, blinding and deafening them.
Mitch's men weren't special forces, but that didn't matter—their enemies were far worse skill-wise.
Leo knew room‑clearing usually meant heavy casualties, so he'd supplied Mitch and Scorpion with plenty of flashbangs. Blind them first, then mow them down.
With no civilians to worry about, suppression fire worked great.
Room after room fell quickly.
Some gangsters ran upstairs to make a stand, while others, panicked beyond reason, bolted for the front entrance.
"Cut them down—leave none alive," Leo ordered.
He opened fire with a Defender power light machine gun. He hadn't chosen the Ajax power assault rifle because the Defender offered higher fire rate and larger mags.
As he squeezed the trigger, the gangsters fleeing through the entrance erupted in clouds of blood.
Even though the Defender didn't match the raw stopping power of the Mk.31 heavy machine gun, its fire was still far more than flesh could withstand.
No one could face a light machine gun head‑on.
The battle at the front ended as quickly as it began.
In under thirty seconds, every gangster who tried to flee through the main entrance was gunned down by Leo and V.
Panam, waiting with her sniper rifle, didn't even get a chance to fire before it was over.
"Mitch, how's it going on your end?" Leo asked.
Seconds later, Mitch's voice came over comms. "All done."
"Did you get Rat?"
"Yeah. Just his corpse."
He sent Leo a photo: a massive man lying sprawled on the floor, easily over two meters tall, muscles grotesquely overdeveloped—his arms thicker than most men's waists.
His head bore multiple bullet wounds, blood soaking his face and the floor beneath.
"This guy's Rat?" Leo muttered.
For someone that massive, to call himself Rat…He wasn't insecure, that was for sure.
Mitch sent another picture—an equipment‑packed room filled with setups for producing Glitter.
"Boss, what do we do with all this?"
"Plant explosives. Blow it after we're gone."
The Nest raid was a complete success. Only two Aldecaldos had been grazed by stray rounds—nothing serious.
Compared to professional spec ops, the squad still had a long way to go—but against ordinary mercs, they were already a cut above.
And Leo knew—they would only get better.
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