A convoy of over a dozen SUVs charged into the courtyard of the research institute.
Gin's eyes were icy as he looked at the bodies scattered across the grounds.
He wasn't grieving the deaths of these people. What filled him with rage was that the Organization's research facility had been so brazenly invaded.
What annoyed him even more was the possibility that Sherry might have died in this slaughter. If she was dead, then he wouldn't get to kill her himself.
"Boss!"
Vodka followed behind Gin, equally stunned by the carnage.
Though they were members of the Black Organization and had blood on their hands, the Organization usually carried out assassinations.
An open, large-scale assault like this, basically terrorism, was enough to make Vodka's heart race with fear.
Just then, Gin's instincts kicked in. A sharp sense of danger made him immediately press down on Vodka's head as he growled, "Get down!"
In the next instant, the muffled roar of suppressed assault rifles rang out. Bullets whizzed through the air and rained down on the Organization members like a storm.
The mercenaries that had arrived with Toru had already taken positions on higher ground and launched a sudden ambush on Gin's group. Screams echoed across the courtyard as several Organization personnel were instantly gunned down.
The ones who came with Gin were also mercenaries hired at a high price. With rich combat experience, they immediately dove behind the SUVs as soon as the ambush started.
The leader of the attacking mercenaries felt a chill down his spine and cursed under his breath. "Damn it, this mission is way more complicated than we thought."
"Be careful. These people have actual battlefield experience. They're nothing like the security guards we dealt with before. Don't die here!"
The mercenary captain was already considering retreat.
They only had six men. The enemy had at least thirty or forty, and they were all armed with rifles. In terms of weapons, there wasn't much of a gap.
Their surprise attack had taken out a few, but hoping to eliminate them all with such a small team was nothing short of a fantasy.
If only they'd brought rocket launchers or laid down landmines ahead of time.
But it was too late for that now. All they had were rifles and sniper rifles.
"Suppress them! Don't give them a chance to fight back!"
The captain gave a steady command, and he and his men kept up their fire, making sure that anyone who tried to raise their head would be immediately pinned down.
Gin crouched behind a car, listening carefully to the gunfire. Bullets slammed into the metal frame in front of him, but he remained calm.
He sneered. "There aren't many of them. I only counted six gunshots. Counterattack."
With that, Gin leaned against the car door and raised the M16 in his hands. Propping it on the frame, he fired a precise burst toward the spot where he'd heard the shots earlier.
His accuracy was frighteningly sharp, far beyond that of ordinary shooters. In just a few seconds, one of the mercenaries had to duck back behind cover.
With Gin leading the way, the other Organization mercenaries didn't fall behind. Dozens of guns returned fire in unison, and Vodka, sticking close to Gin, also fired non-stop.
The scene resembled a fireworks show during New Year's, with deafening bursts of gunfire echoing through the courtyard. Concrete walls were riddled with holes, gravel flying everywhere.
The CIA-backed mercenaries were immediately suppressed and forced into retreat. The mercenary captain shouted in panic.
"Fall back, fall back!"
"Their firepower is overwhelming. We can't match them!"
Special forces are strong, but only when executing specialized operations. If they're surrounded and exposed in the middle of a mission, their limited firepower becomes useless.
Right now, they were facing a force that not only matched but exceeded them in strength.
Especially these Organization mercenaries, who were all hardened veterans from real battlefields. This level of firepower wasn't something a six-man squad could compete with.
The mercenary captain cursed in his heart. Where the hell was that CIA guy? Had he sold them out?
Damn those CIA bastards. They'd do something like this without blinking.
"Trying to run? Kill them all!"
Gin sneered. If they dared to attack the Organization, they'd better be ready to die here.
He was getting worked up now.
Even though Gin had taken countless lives before, opportunities like this, with guns blazing like a real battlefield, were rare. He was caught up in the excitement and intended to wipe out every last one of them.
At that moment, the sound of police sirens filled the air as Tokyo's police force finally arrived.
But Gin didn't spare them a glance. If they dared enter the courtyard, he would not hesitate to take them all down.
Luckily, the police weren't complete idiots. The sheer volume of gunfire made them freeze. The entire scene looked more like a warzone than anything remotely domestic.
The moment the Black Organization members opened fire on the police cars, the cops freaked out, diving behind their vehicles, trembling in fear.
"Inspector Megure, is this... is this the shooting incident you were talking about?"
Takagi crouched behind a car, gripping his revolver with shaky hands. He looked at his suit, then at the others around him.
None of them even had bulletproof vests. Meanwhile, the enemy had M16s—fully automatic. If they tried to engage, they'd be slaughtered.
They were just regular cops. Maybe detectives at best. But the people on the other side? Judging by their actions, they were clearly soldiers.
Sato Miwako's legs were shaking, Shiratori wiped sweat from his brow, and when the sound of bullets striking their police cars rang out, they all ducked lower.
None of the officers dared return fire, let alone peek their heads out.
Megure, wedged between cars, heard bullets zipping past his ears. He gulped, his teeth chattering.
He had been a detective for years. He'd seen all kinds of scenes.
But this, this was something else entirely.
"Inspector Megure, we... we need to call in the Self-Defense Forces. We can't handle this at all!"
Shiratori shouted through clenched teeth.
Megure nodded furiously. "Shiratori is right. We—we need to call the Self-Defense Forces!"
Just then—
Amidst the raging gunfire, Takagi's ears twitched. "Did you hear that?"
Several officers turned toward the sound. It was like a helicopter's rotors.
They instinctively looked up and caught sight of something in the distance, and their faces turned pale.
"Is that... an Apache attack helicopter?!"
Shiratori collapsed to the ground, dropping his gun.
Was this still Japan? Still Tokyo?
It looked more like the front lines of the Russo-Ukrainian War or a battlefield in Syria.
Had they time-traveled?
If it were just a shootout with rifles, they might still hold out a little.
But facing an Apache attack helicopter? One sweep, and everyone would be sent straight to hell.
As the helicopter approached, the police were dumbfounded.
Takagi instinctively raised his revolver and aimed at the distant chopper.
Megure's face turned white. He lunged forward and grabbed Takagi's wrist in terror.
"Takagi, what are you doing?!"
Takagi snapped out of it and immediately dropped the revolver.
He had almost made a fatal mistake.
Megure exhaled in relief when he saw the revolver fall.
That was an Apache. Did Takagi really think he could shoot it down with a revolver?
Not even Hollywood would dare film something that ridiculous. Maybe only those guys from India would try that.
Megure looked up at the approaching attack helicopter, gulped hard, and slowly raised his hands in surrender.
The rest of the Tokyo officers followed suit, all raising their hands.
They had no idea whose side that Apache belonged to. All they knew was that resistance was futile.
Surrendering might actually keep them alive.
Not far away, reporters from Nichibei TV had also arrived on the scene.
The gunfight at the research institute had already made them frantic with excitement, and now, seeing nearly a hundred Tokyo police officers surrendering in unison, they forgot about the helicopter overhead and raised their cameras to capture every frame.
They needed to capture this. And capture it beautifully. This could be their Pulitzer moment.
Meanwhile, Rena watched the unfolding chaos, her mouth twitching.
She already knew the CIA operated lawlessly and with arrogance.
But to do this, in Japan, in the capital no less, flying an armed helicopter down Tokyo's streets and carrying out what amounted to a terrorist attack—this was beyond even her imagination.
She suddenly felt that her new superior was completely insane.
Back in the research institute courtyard, the firefight between the Black Organization and NATO special mercs came to a halt.
Everyone else had rifles and sniper weapons. Then this thing flew in.
It was outright cheating.
Behind the SUV, Gin stared at the Apache in the sky, face expressionless, muttering something under his breath.
Beside him, Vodka's legs were shaking. He was so terrified he nearly peed himself.
Vodka glanced at Gin. He was still calm, composed, with the demeanor of a true master, as if he didn't care about the Apache at all.
Vodka felt relieved. That was Gin for you—unfazed even when the world was collapsing.
But what was he muttering?
Vodka leaned in closer and finally caught the words:
"Shit."
At that moment, Gin gritted his teeth, the roar of the rotors thundering in his ears, wind from the chopper blasting against him. He turned and shouted at Vodka.
"Run!"
Just one "shit," one "run." That was all Vodka needed to hear.
Gin and Vodka scrambled with all their might, using both hands and feet, wishing they had a few extra legs. They sprinted toward the research building like Olympic sprinters.
Shoot down an Apache with an M16?
Come on, his name was Gin, not Homelander. That thing could blow up tanks.
Gin wished he had a Stinger missile launcher right now. Only then would he dare go head-to-head with that thing.
Just as Gin and Vodka made the right call and fled the battlefield, the terrifying roar of a Gatling gun descended from above.
From a distance, the M230 chain gun mounted beneath the Apache's nose unleashed hell at a thousand rounds per minute.
At the same time, the Hydra 70 rockets and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles on its stub wings were all fired without restraint.
In an instant, the courtyard truly became a warzone, with explosions rocking the area.
The fleet of over a dozen black SUVs was instantly engulfed in fireballs.
The Organization mercenaries didn't even have time to scream. Their bodies were torn apart and hurled skyward.
The M230 rounds chased Gin and Vodka, blasting massive craters behind them.
At the last second, the two dove forward and tumbled into the building.
But the chain gun didn't let up. The helicopter flew sideways, sweeping the building with bullets, and the remaining rockets followed.
Concrete shattered, glass exploded, fire raged. The building was reduced to rubble.
Inside, Gin and Vodka had just felt a glimmer of safety, only to see rockets tearing through the halls. Their faces went pale as they fled again, realizing that Apache outside was practically death incarnate.
After unloading all its ammo, Toru finally felt satisfied in the pilot's seat.
He pulled out a detonator, smirking.
"Let's see if you survive this, Gin."
He pressed it.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom—
All the C4 explosives planted inside the building detonated. Fire burst into the sky. The already battered five-story building collapsed with a deafening roar.
Dust filled the air. Silence fell over the outskirts of Tokyo.
In the distance, a barefoot little girl in a white lab coat far too big for her ran as fast as she could.
She turned her head, watching the rampaging attack helicopter, the collapsing building, the inferno engulfing the area. Her legs pressed tightly together.
She had peed herself in fear.
Shiho just wanted to change her pants now. They were completely soaked.
"Who the hell did the Organization mess with this time?"
This level of madness... even the Organization had to think twice.
Was this group of lunatics really here just to catch her?
She was just a researcher! Definitely not worth all this! Someone, please let her go!
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)