Chapter 13: A Fateful Encounter on a Narrow Path

Page (1/3)

“Officer, the pharmacy is right beneath this building. The sewer system is quite complex; ordinary people can’t find their way. I’ll lead you!”

Is the building above just a cover?

Is the real illicit pharmacy actually hidden below?

Milton frowned, his alertness sharply heightened. He kept his gun ready at all times and replied, “Lead the way. Keep your steps light. If I suspect you’re deliberately making noise, I’ll shoot immediately.”

“Yes, yes! Officer, there’s really no need for that. No one here can threaten you.”

“Shut up. Lead the way.”

“...”

The lighting in the sewer was dim, and visibility poor. Milton insisted that Oliver stay directly in front of him wherever there might be a line of fire.

If there was a possibility of crossfire, Oliver would serve as a human shield on one side while Milton prepared to counterattack on the other.

This sewer was even larger than Milton had imagined — akin to a school building or a vast underground complex. Such indoor environments gave the defenders a tremendous advantage!

Tap, tap, tap...

The two men’s footsteps echoed faintly through the sewer as they walked about ten meters.

The sewer wasn’t completely silent; their footsteps wouldn’t carry far.

Suddenly, Milton heard a girl’s extremely soft sobbing and pleading from a room ahead. Then a door slammed shut, and the sewer fell silent again.

If the surroundings had been noisier, Milton might never have heard that sobbing!

Normally, Milton should have ignored it and cleared all threats first before dealing with anything else.

But... that sobbing voice sounded familiar!

He felt like he’d heard it somewhere before but couldn’t recall immediately.

Milton paused, thinking of possible clues from the system’s hints, and slowed his pace again, moving as quietly as possible toward the room where the sound came from.

Oliver was about to tell Milton he was headed the wrong way but remembered the warning about noise and reluctantly followed.

After over ten seconds, Milton arrived at the door.

From the outside, the room was small, and the door was against one wall, so it wouldn’t face any crossfire lines.

Pressing close to the door, Milton heard the voices inside again.

“… Heh heh, little girl, in the past only the boss got to play with such good stuff…”

“Please… release my father… I won’t resist…”

“You resist? That’s what makes it fun! You, your father, and your stinky whore of a mother—don’t you all love to resist?”

When he heard the word “mother,” the girl’s voice cracked with despair: “Please release my father… we didn’t do today’s things… believe me, I beg you.”

At this point, Milton recognized the voice.

Lia!

The brave little girl from the fruit stand not long ago!

Why was she here?!

Page (2/3)

Milton didn’t speculate further. He would eliminate that rapist first and then question her directly.

With that in mind, Milton reached out and pushed the door open.

In most cases, beds aren’t directly facing the door, so when opening it, Milton was likely to see someone in profile, minimizing danger.

Inside, a man looked completely relaxed, showing no caution, laughing freely: “Our people died at your fruit stand, and you say this has nothing to do with you? Your inspector mother wasn’t so defiant when the dogs tore her apart alive. We should have recorded her begging back then and shown it to you, haha…”

“Please… stop talking… I beg you…”

Creak—

Before she finished, Milton had already opened the door.

What met his eyes was a girl utterly broken, disheveled, making futile resistance, and a man half-naked from the waist up with his pants halfway down.

He heard the door open, panicked, and tried to turn his head, but his pants waistband caught him, making him look absurd and ridiculous.

This man had a conspicuous TEC-9 submachine gun strapped to his waist.

Milton’s gaze froze for a moment.

A hitman from the Vancon gang!!!

Why was he here?!

Though shocked, Milton’s reflexes didn’t slow. In the blink of an eye, he pulled the trigger.

Click!

A soft sound as the bullet left the chamber, precisely striking the hitman’s temple.

The man didn’t even have time to make a sound before collapsing onto the bed, staining the blanket and mattress with a mix of red and white.

Lia instinctively, fearfully tried to crawl under the covers but saw a familiar face.

That kind inspector.

Was she… saved?

Recalling the terrifying ordeal and extreme humiliation, the girl’s emotions threatened to break.

But Milton immediately raised his index finger, signaling her to stay quiet. Then he called Oliver inside, closed the door, and calmly said, “I’ll ask, you answer. One question at a time. Don’t panic. The more panicked you are, the harder it is to solve this.”

In truth, Milton felt uncertain and at a loss himself... He only had a small-caliber pistol with 19 rounds, a recently confiscated TEC-9, and nothing else!

The hitmen outnumbered him several times and were in the same place! Without numerical or equipment advantage, engaging in close-quarters combat alone was pure suicide!

No, rather, he was the one being CQB’d!

If luck ran out, there might be a hitman standing right on the other side of the wall at this moment!

Yet Milton no longer had the luxury to be unsure.

Stay calm! Calm... I still have the information advantage! The hitmen haven’t realized I’m here!

Lia fought back tears, red-eyed, nodding.

Milton pointed at the body on the floor and asked, “Did you come here on your own, or were you brought by these people?”

Page (3/3)

“I—I came on my own…” Lia stammered, trying to defend the pharmacy, “Inspector, the ‘boss’ and…”

Crack!

Before she could finish, Milton tugged the holster, raised his gun, and fired at Oliver, who was leering at her. The bullet tore through his skull.

An execution shot—Oliver didn’t even get a chance to speak!

This man had lied in previous intelligence. The illicit pharmacy wasn’t as vicious as he described; otherwise, Lia wouldn’t have approached on her own, let alone defend it.

Where there’s concealment, there’s a problem.

Milton didn’t have time to weigh the severity of the issue or why the man withheld some info. Killing him outright was the most efficient and safest choice.

Ignoring the corpse on the floor, Milton pressed on: “How many of these hitmen with guns are there in total? When did they arrive? Where are they roughly stationed? Are there any other weapons?”

Lia, startled by the inspector’s ruthless demeanor, trembled as she replied, “Six in total, they arrived about an hour ago. They’re probably all in the rooms over by the pharmacy. I don’t think they brought any other weapons.”

She faintly sensed that the inspector had deduced from her answer that Oliver had done something wrong…

Milton nodded. “Stay quiet and wait here. No matter what sounds you hear, don’t make a noise. Try to recall the layout of those rooms. When I return, tell me. If you’re unsure, say so. Never give false information. I won’t blame you.”

With that, Milton turned to open the door again.

The hitmen would soon realize one of their team was missing and rush back to the vehicle to put on their gear!

They needed to do this within ten minutes without being noticed.

Other questions could wait until after the fight.

The hitmen’s amateurish stupidity and misleading information had caused Milton a serious misjudgment.

There was no safe house at all!

The Vancon gang’s hitmen had chosen their base right inside this illicit pharmacy!

Milton had assumed the defenders would be deeply familiar with the interior, take out their backup weapons, set traps and mines, keep vigilant, and wait for reinforcements or a lockdown.

Even if forced to use a property temporarily as a base, they should have quickly cleared or detained unrelated personnel and posted at least one guard at the door. What was it with just an old man acting as a gatekeeper outside?

Letting people in so easily? Opening the door for a flimsy excuse about something lost inside?

Who would have thought this leaky, drafty place could be the enemy’s stronghold?

And they even had the nerve to mess around with women?

Such stupidity was beyond Milton’s comprehension.

In his mind, he’d been preparing to assault a heavily trapped, well-armed enemy lurking in every corner of a complex, fortress-like safe house.

The system’s misleading hint, “The pharmacy might have clues about the hitmen,” made Milton think the hitmen weren’t inside the pharmacy, only that he could find their hideout information there.

In fact, this wasn’t entirely wrong—the clues were indeed inside the pharmacy. The hitmen themselves counted as clues, didn’t they?

“I overestimated the enemy... got outplayed by amateurs this time. Luckily, I’m using suppressed weapons, the interior is spacious, and I’m cautious enough not to reveal myself; otherwise, coming in here with just a pistol and no armor would be a death sentence.”

“The gang isn’t a special forces unit. They don’t have the organization or discipline I imagined... I must learn from this next time.”

“But... this also shows that their attack on me was completely unprepared!”