The Devil's Cage

The bullet hole in front of Kieran was enough to let him know what was going on. He knew perfectly well what would happen to him if he stayed in the same place.

It was a sniper.

The sniper must have followed the two of them to the safe house entrance.

Maybe they had been there before Kieran and Larry had arrived, but in Kieran’s opinion, that was not likely.

If the sniper had been at the site waiting for their target to get there, they would have fired when Kieran and Larry had still been heading towards the entrance of the safe house, and not have waited for Kieran to come out of it.

There had been no obstacles on the way to the safe house, so the sniper would have had a clear line of fire. However, Kieran’s Intuition would have alerted him if he’d been under someone’s sniper scope. That previous shot had been proof enough of that. If someone had been following them, Kieran would have known.

That only left one explanation then.

After the person who had wanted to kill Larry had found out that the Morocco Brothers had failed in their mission, a second hitman had been quickly dispatched and sent straight to Larry’s safe house.

Anyone able to do that must have had a huge influence over the city, because they’d have to have ears and eyes everywhere.

Another possibility was that Larry’s men had betrayed him. Whether their betrayal was voluntary or not was irrelevant.

As he thought about this, Kieran looked over at Larry who was still in shock, holding his phone in his hand.

It seemed like Larry had not been expecting company at his safe house either.

"Is this what you call safe? First the Morocco Brothers, and now a sniper! They know everything about you, Larry! It seems like you crossed the wrong guy, man. I think you should try to recall what you have done recently. Any despicable stuff that stands out?" Kieran asked Larry.

"Goddamn it! What’s going on? I know I have a lot of enemies, but this is too much! I’ve always been nice to powerful people!!" Larry could not help ranting.

Kieran rolled his eyes at him.

"Are your men still alive out there? Is the killer just aiming for you or every single one of your men? Do your men even know the location of this safe house?" Kieran asked.

"My men are still alive! None of them were attacked, nor did anyone cause any trouble on my turf! None of them know this location. I found this place accidentally, and I fixed it up with my bare hands! Other than you, no one else knows about it!" Larry shook his head, denying the betrayal of his men.

"It sure doesn’t look that way! It seems like you’ve stepped on some big fellow’s toes! Remembered the witness you told me about on the phone? Are you sure it’s not him that’s causing all this? Most importantly, is the guy that I’m looking for still alive?" Kieran kept asking questions, hoping to get an answer about the situation at hand, but he was disappointed by Larry’s reply.

"The witness is safe, I’ve just called him on the phone! His problem was not my problem. It just took a phone call to solve that," Larry answered affirmatively.

"Then who is the guy who sent the sniper?"

Kieran’s questions had come full circle. Larry frowned hard as he tried to come up with any people that might want to kill him.

After a few seconds, he shook his head.

"I can’t figure out which bastard did this, but obviously, he’s onto me. He’s so damn sure that he can kill me! Oh, how naive he is. I’ll let him know what happens to people who mess with Old Larry! I’ll make him pay!" Larry threatened before he turned his eyes to Kieran.

"My friend, I need to get through this. Will you help me?"

Once again, the cunning informant begged Kieran for help in a pitiful tone, showing his cowardice.

[Sub Mission Unlocked: Unknown Attacker]

[Unknown Attacker: Larry is being hunted down by an unknown killer. Since you’ve helped him before, he’s asking for your help again. He will not forget your goodwill if you agree!]

Kieran looked over the Sub Mission and nodded.

"Fine, but the sniper is outside, and I’m trapped in here with you! We’re on the same boat now..."

"This is what friends are for! Going through hardships together tightens one’s bond. Some of the weapons here will surely be of help!" Larry delightedly pointed at the weapon rack next to them.

Kieran took a look at the weapons on it and shook his head.

They were great overall, but they were nothing more than common handguns without any extra attributes attached to them.

Unless Kieran was out of his mind, he would never use a handgun against a sniper. Snipers had the advantage of distance.

Despite the fact that his [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)] was at Grand Master level, it was only the skill itself that had been upgraded. It could not alter the attributes of any guns he used.

"I’m fine with my own guns," Kieran stated as he took out his [Viper-M1].

The sudden appearance of the [Viper-M1] made Larry suck in his breath.

"A sniper rifle? It is a sniper rifle, right?! I thought you were a reporter! Shouldn’t you be carrying a camera instead of a sniper rifle?" Larry was shocked by Kieran’s revelation.

He was not to blame for his shock. As an informant, he knew perfectly well how hard it was to get a sniper rifle.

Anyone with some money and connections could get their hands on a handgun, but a sniper rifle was an illegal firearm.

For the first time, Larry started to seriously doubt Kieran’s identity. He’d already had some doubts when he’d noticed Kieran’s exceptional fighting skills, but he had been smart enough not to ask any questions.

The more he knew, the greater the chances of him dying would be.

As an informant, Larry had an exceptional understanding of these things.

Kieran was on his side though, wasn’t he? That was all Larry needed to know. After all, he had always been a realist.

"What else do I need to do?" he asked eagerly after deciding what mattered to him.

"Give me your jacket, and the other guy’s jacket as well. Try to ask him whether he knows anything about this. I would not hope for much, though!"

Kieran put his backpack down after taking the two jackets, and approached the ladder again.

As he was going out of the pit’s entrance, he suddenly stopped. The sniper had to be aiming right inside the entrance, waiting for his target. If Kieran walked out all of a sudden, he might get shot, despite his extraordinary constitution.

Even though it was just a possibility, Kieran would rather not risk his life.

As he looked at the two jackets in his hand, he came up with a better plan.

He needed to trick the sniper into firing, and he needed the two jackets to increase his chances of succeeding. He could not be sure that the sniper would be tricked after one try after all.

Kieran also needed to confirm the number of snipers outside. There might be one, two, or even more enemies waiting for him.

He took a deep breath and threw the attacker’s jacket out of the pit before quickly throwing Larry’s as well.

The first trick did not work, but the second time he caught the attention of the sniper.

Bang!

A loud, sharp voice came from the pit’s entrance, and Kieran instantly jumped out.

In the blink of an eye, he leapt out like a jaguar and turned his sniper rifle towards the source of the shot.

Using the special effect of Grand Master [Firearm Weapon (Light Firearm)], [Lock On Grand Master], Kieran was granted +3 Intuition when he aimed at his target, so he managed to do so within mere fractions of a second.

The special effect temporarily boosted Kieran’s C- Intuition to B-. Even though the buff only appeared while he was aiming, it was still enough for him to perform an unbelievable feat.

Kieran pulled the trigger, aiming at the sniper on the other side.

Bang!

The sniper’s head was blown off just as he was about to take another shot.

His head was completely gone, so it was safe to assume that he was dead.

However, before Kieran could go search the sniper’s body for more information, a squad of three SUVs appeared before him.

Judging by their fierce manner as they drove up to Kieran, their intentions could not be good.

Translator’s Thoughts

Dess Dess

I’m still a little hungover from the previous dungeon :(