Deep within the industrial park, a spacious and brightly lit conference room buzzed with tension.
"You all know what's been happening lately. Let's hear what you think we should do."
Seated at the head of the long table, the scar-faced man swept a cold glance over the circle of black-suited figures. Hands folded beneath his chin, his voice was heavy with grim authority.
As the leader of Blood Axe, a century-old mafia syndicate, he'd recently been riding high, building power and pushing for dominance. Not long ago, he'd even managed to acquire a piece of North American military tech through some shady backchannel: a tactical mech. That single weapon had bumped up the organization's strength by a full tier.
After all, tactical mechs were a dream asset for most syndicates—destructive enough to rival a top-tier national battle tank and practically impervious to conventional firepower. Even if theirs had changed hands who knows how many times, it still outclassed anything they'd had before.
Everything had been going so well until this unknown enemy appeared out of nowhere. Business after business disrupted, key lieutenants assassinated, panic spread like wildfire within the organization.
And the most humiliating part? They still had no idea who the hell was behind it all.
"We oughta hit back! Let 'em see what Blood Axe is made of!"
A hulking man slammed his fist on the table.
Blood Axe wasn't some two-bit gang. They were one of the biggest syndicates in all of Northern Europe. When had they ever swallowed this kind of insult?
"Hit back? You even know where they are?"
A curvy woman sneered, her eyes filled with disdain. All brawn and no brains, how shameful.
"So what? You just wanna sit here and take it? We've lost a lot of brothers!"
A lean man chimed in, his voice laced with resentment.
If they didn't take revenge, morale would collapse.
"I'm not saying we give up," the woman said with a weary sigh. "I'm saying we need to be smart. We don't even know why they're targeting us."
Charging blindly when you couldn't even see your enemy? Might as well dig your own grave.
The recent string of casualties had already made it clear: this wasn't some run-of-the-mill gang they were dealing with. Caution was necessary.
"Yeah? If we had info on them, we wouldn't be sitting here, would we?"
A voice scoffed from the side.
"So what, we just wait around forever?"
Another voice snapped.
"I'm not gonna sit here like some scared little turtle!"
"Then why don't you go out there and die first? Save me the mess."
Arguments exploded across the table, and it seemed like guns might be drawn at any second.
Watching the chaos unfold, the scar-faced leader's expression hardened. He understood the pressure everyone was under, but this was disgraceful.
They were Blood Axe, one of Northern Europe's premier mafias. How could they be reduced to this?
"Actually, I know where the person you're looking for is."
Just as the leader was about to shut them all up, a raspy voice cut through the room. Silence fell instantly.
"Those guys are" The scar-faced man turned toward the source but froze when he saw a white-robed figure sitting casually at the far end of the table. "Who the hell are you?!"
When had this man entered? Why hadn't anyone noticed?
"Well, since you asked so sincerely, I suppose I'll be kind enough to answer," the stranger said, lounging with his feet up on the table. "If nothing's changed, I should be the one you were all just discussing."
A ripple of shock ran through the room.
Seeing their stunned faces, Shin curled his lips into a sly smile.
Raven had carefully chosen tonight for this operation. It was the perfect opportunity to wipe out Blood Axe's leadership in one swift strike.
This wasn't their first clash with Blood Axe. Over the past two weeks, World Serpent had acted like a seasoned predator, slowly herding Blood Axe into this kill zone. One misstep at a time, the syndicate had recalled every last lieutenant and now they were all here, ripe for the taking.
Despite its reputation, Blood Axe was nothing compared to World Serpent, the uncrowned king of the underworld. It was like a crayfish baring its claws before a deep-sea leviathan.
World Serpent merely glanced down, and Blood Axe had nowhere left to run.
Of course, this wasn't about justice. Blood Axe hadn't crossed any moral lines, nor had they broken any laws World Serpent cared about. They'd simply stolen a few unmarked crates weeks ago, crates that just so happened to belong to World Serpent.
For an organization of its scale, that was barely worth a memo. But someone needed a stage to show off.
With Grey Serpent's nod, Blood Axe became Shin's debut mission, and thanks to Raven, his recruitment test.
Would the mafia complain? Raven and Grey Serpent were confident the answer was no.
"Die, bastard!"
The shouting resumed. Startled but furious, the gangsters pulled out their handguns.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bullets erupted in a storm, muzzle flashes crackling like fireworks as they aimed straight at the white-robed stranger.
But Shin didn't move. He calmly sat there, letting them empty their magazines.
When the gunfire finally stopped, every gangster in the room stood frozen.
In front of Shin, over a hundred bullets hung suspended in mid-air, held fast by some unseen force.
"M-mon-"
Thunk!
A single bullet shot out like lightning and punched through a gangster's skull. Shin exhaled softly.
"Let's not say things we'll regret. I'm a very sensitive person, you know."
He smiled, perfectly polite.
The gangsters stared into his tranquil gaze and hurriedly nodded.
White robe. Black head cover. Obviously bad news. But still, he'd said "please."
They had no choice but to believe him.
"Good," Shin said, nodding in satisfaction. "You all seem quite reasonable."
The old saying was true: when logic fails, a physics lesson always helps.
"Who the hell are you? We never did anything to you!"
The scar-faced boss stepped forward, voice low and tense.
The others echoed him. Even in the chaotic underworld, they had rules. No one crossed lines without reason, and certainly not against someone like Shin.
"You wouldn't get it," Shin replied, shaking his head. "Let's just say… you were unlucky."
Normally, provoking World Serpent wouldn't be a death sentence. The organization was too large to care about every minor offense.
But bad timing was bad luck.
Everyone paled. Clearly, there would be no mercy.
"Really, I should thank you. Gathering all your top brass like this saved me a lot of effort."
With a casual flick of his hand, the suspended bullets flew back like a storm, tearing through every gangster in the room—except the scar-faced leader.
Blood sprayed across the walls.
Stunned, the mafia boss's mind went blank. What could he possibly do against a monster like this?
"As a reward, I'll give you a head start. Three minutes. Maybe you can rally your whole crew and put up a decent fight."
Shin's smiling voice echoed behind him as the man bolted.
Down the hallway, his voice rang out:
"Help! Somebody help! Red Dragon's attacking us!"
Shin shook his head with a sigh. Nice try. Too bad lies wouldn't help.
Thud-thud-thud
Chaotic footsteps echoed through the corridors.
"Halt! Identify yourself!"
The first few mafia members spotted Shin's white robe and yelled out.
He didn't answer. Just kept walking.
They exchanged a look and opened fire.
Bullets rained down, but all veered away from Shin as if striking an invisible barrier. Some even rebounded, instantly killing their shooters.
By the time Shin walked past, the hallway was awash in blood and spent shells, bodies scattered like trash.
He didn't spare them a second glance.
Those who take up weapons must accept that death may come for them.
Watching from the shadows, Raven was speechless.
So this was the power of a natural Stigmata awakener.
He'd been holding back at the bar, hadn't he?
Rebounding bullets? She could do it too… but the energy cost was insane. Ten times more than dodging—and her body couldn't handle that kind of load.
Judging from Shin's current output, he was burning through enough Honkai energy to power a squad of tactical mechs.
He wasn't dodging bullets or grenades. He was obliterating everything in his path.
That kind of casual devastation, Raven could only dream of it.
After all, she was still human.
BOOM!
Three hallways in, a different sound rang out.
Shin grinned. Finally.
Dada-da-da-!
A roar of gunfire split the air. Giant bullets, as thick as a baby's fist, screamed toward him, only to deflect like the others. Walls and columns exploded behind him.
"A tactical mech…"
Before him stood a five-meter tall humanoid frame, wielding a massive rotary cannon.
Now this was exciting.
Even Shin was curious about how Anti-Entropy's frontline mechs would fare against him.
He slowed his pace, giving the pilot time. Let's see what you've got.
As the distance closed, the gunfire ceased. The pilot realized brute force wouldn't work.
Time to escalate.
Shhhk!
The mech's back opened up, revealing a black cannon that locked onto Shin's position. A brilliant orange glow gathered at the tip.
It was charging a big one.
Shin didn't move. He stood still, watching with eager anticipation.
Pop.
A dull thud. The light vanished. The mech collapsed like a broken doll.
Power failure.
After all, tactical mechs ran on Honkai energy, and this one had been salvaged junk from Anti-Entropy, rigged to run on incompatible power sources.
It was a miracle it worked at all.
"You wasted my time."
With one swing of his bat, Shin crushed the mech and its pilot into scrap metal.
Game time was over.
Time to find the mafia boss.
Hopefully, he was still alive.
*********
Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!