Silence fell at her words.
Was that even something a human being would say?
Only Leon Lynn meekly poked his head out from a corner and said, "You... you're Brute Force?!"
Although it was Logan who had messaged Brute Force under his ID, Logan hadn't hidden his plan to deal with Brute Force from him. So he knew Logan had sent someone their coordinates, luring them into a trap.
Seeing Renee Kane navigate the twisting and turning cave with such precision, the first thing that popped into Leon Lynn's mind was the "naive, sweet girl" Logan had mentioned.
But seeing Renee Kane holding two pistols, Leon Lynn couldn't help but curse inwardly: 'This isn't some naive, sweet girl. She's more like a man-eating flower!'
Hearing Leon Lynn's words, Logan's face looked as if he'd been slapped. Betrayed by his brother was one thing, but was the fat sheep he'd been expecting actually a man-eating tiger?
Even Mr. Rhodes, who had been so certain of victory, lost his composed demeanor now that Renee Kane had a gun pointed at him.
He stood frozen, raising his hands without any intention of resisting, and said with a sincere expression, "Miss, let's talk this out. I can work with you. They're all injured right now, they're no match for us.
"You were tricked by Logan too, right? The real beta tester is actually him—"
Mr. Rhodes pointed at Leon Lynn, who looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole, and said eagerly, "He has a huge inventory, and it's full of supplies. Logan is only controlling his game panel by using a Parasite prop card.
"I don't want any of those supplies; you can have them all. All I want is the gun in Logan's hand... What do you say?"
Renee Kane chuckled lightly, tapping her gun. "You're in no position to negotiate with me. If you want to live, hand over the prop card first."
If it weren't for the fact that a player's inventory disappeared with them upon death, she wouldn't be wasting her breath on these people.
The three of them were currently in a standoff, each wary of the other, which actually made things easier for her.
When Mr. Rhodes heard Renee Kane's words, a vicious glint flashed in his eyes, but the dark, gaping barrel of the gun made him quickly calm down.
He slowly walked toward Logan. "Logan, you heard her. Don't blame your brother. We're all just trying to survive."
Logan's eyes were bloodshot as he cursed, "Roy Rhodes, you son of a bitch! I treated you well!"
Cursing was one thing, but he was in an impossible situation. He was afraid that if he moved his gun, Shorty would blow his brains out in an instant. But he was also afraid that Renee Kane would make the first move, letting Mr. Rhodes reap all the benefits.
Mr. Rhodes spat, finally showing his vicious side. "Fuck you. You used me as your muscle and never gave me a decent cut.
"If it weren't for your uncle having some pull, who the fuck would want to follow a useless loser like you? Cut the crap and hand over the prop card!"
Logan was about to say something else, but Renee Kane had lost her patience. She shot him in his other thigh. "Don't waste my time. If I get annoyed, I'll just mow you all down."
Seeing Logan's miserable state, a flicker of fear crossed the faces of both Mr. Rhodes and Shorty.
But just as Logan had feared, they were also afraid that if they moved against Renee Kane first, the other two would stab them in the back.
Logan was drenched in sweat from the pain. He finally understood his situation completely and said to Renee Kane with a twisted, unwilling expression, "I can give you the prop card, but you have to help me kill these two!"
Mr. Rhodes's face changed. "Miss, you better think this through. He had no good intentions when he lured you here. He said it himself, if it was a girl, he wouldn't just rob you, he'd also..."
"BANG—"
Renee Kane looked at the wide-eyed corpse of Mr. Rhodes with a smirk. "Telling me what to do? Who gave you the right?"
With that, she turned her gun back to Logan. "Does it look like I'm negotiating with you? Open the trade window and give me the prop card. I'm only firing three shots. One—"
As she counted, another shot hit the arm Logan was using to hold his gun.
Logan finally came to his senses and roared at Shorty, "You think she'll let you go after I'm dead? We'll settle our score later. Let's team up and kill her first!"
Shorty's face was a mask of indecision for a long moment. But when he saw Logan's ruined hand, he finally made up his mind. A fawning smile appeared on his face as he said to Renee Kane, "Miss... no, Boss! From now on, you're my boss.
"You're here for the 'Parasite' prop card, right? I know a lot of Logan's secrets. Keeping me alive will be very useful to you. This gun is a sign of my sincerity!"
After saying this, he slowly placed the revolver in his hand on the ground and kicked it toward Renee Kane.
Seeing Shorty switch sides, Logan finally felt fear.
He swallowed hard and pulled a prop card from his backpack. "The prop card and the supplies, I can give them all to you. But don't trust Shorty. He betrayed me today, and he'll betray you tomorrow! I'm already a cripple. I'm begging you, spare my life."
Shorty explained frantically, "Logan is notoriously vindictive! If you let him go, he'll definitely find a chance to get revenge!"
Renee Kane ignored their bickering. She collected the gun and the prop card, then asked directly, "Where did the prop come from?"
Logan quickly pointed at Leon Lynn. "It was him! He's the real Miss Black Tights. He's the one who got the prop from a Diamond Box!"
Leon Lynn cursed inwardly. "Miss, I lied to him! I actually bought it from someone called 'Spinning Top'! You can check my transaction history if you don't believe me!"
Spinning Top again? A strange look flickered across Renee Kane's face.
'He's been in the instance for less than a day and has already gotten a prop card and a Skill Card. Isn't his luck a little too insane?'
However, just as everyone's attention was focused on Leon Lynn, Shorty, who had obediently handed over his weapon, used the motion of clutching his wound to secretly pull out a small, exquisite Repeating Crossbow...
Shorty didn't realize that his covert action had been seen by Leon Lynn, who was directly facing him.
But Leon Lynn's eyes flickered, and instead of warning Renee Kane, he started talking even louder about Spinning Top.
"Spinning Top is actually a former colleague of mine. His real name is Evan York. He's a recluse. All he did was work and play games. In the whole department, I was the only one willing to hang out with him.
"His game nickname was also Spinning Top, so I recognized him immediately. Brute, you have no idea, his luck with card draws has always been insane. He's always pulling rare cards.
"I can help you trick him into giving you his coordinates. With your skills, catching him would be a piece of cake. Then you can make him open boxes for you. You'll definitely get a lot of rare props!"
Seeing that Renee Kane's attention was completely captivated by Leon Lynn's words, Shorty fought through the pain and excitement, struggling to steady the hand holding the Crossbow, and aimed at Renee Kane's head.
'To him, Logan was already severely wounded. As long as he dealt with the woman in front of him, all these weapons and supplies would be his!'
'Die!'
A sinister grin flashed in Shorty's eyes as he yanked the trigger!