CHAPTER 473: CHAPTER 471: SORRY, I HAVE THE FULL MAP HACK_1

TAT, TAT. An odd sound floating through the air made Katsuhisa Shindo halt in his tracks. From the faint noise, he discerned it was gunshots, his brow furrowing slightly.

The sound of submachine guns wasn’t this loud.

Katsuhisa Shindo swiftly picked up the communicator and inquired, "Rose, Narcissus, have you spotted the target?"

"No."

The Upper Ninja Level with the code name Narcissus responded. When Ninja undertook missions, if employers required, they would provide their real names; otherwise, they would use code names.

The other Upper Ninja Level, code-named Rose, however, fell silent.

"Hey, Rose, do you copy?"

Katsuhisa Shindo asked again but received no response. His heart sank as he realized that the Upper Ninja Level had been taken out by the enemy. Were there other powerful bodyguards inside the castle?

This is troublesome.

Katsuhisa Shindo let out a quiet sigh, having known that this mission wouldn’t be easy. The Phoenix Academy, on par with the old financial conglomerates, wielded a power no less than that of the Takizawa Group.

But this operation was critical to the rise and fall of the Takizawa Group, and it was also a counterattack on which his elder brother had staked everything they had.

If they failed, the Phoenix Academy would employ the same tactics, erasing the Takizawa Family from the world before swallowing the Takizawa Group with violent means.

Katsuhisa Shindo wasn’t afraid of dying, but he was worried about affecting his elder brother’s affairs.

In his view, his elder brother was a natural-born leader destined for greatness who couldn’t just fall like this.

"You hurry over here. I’m in the Throne Hall on the first floor. Let’s meet up and act together."

"Alright."

The Upper Ninja Level named Narcissus replied, swiftly obeying his instructions and heading towards the Throne Hall.

Yet, their actions were all within Aozawa’s grasp.

Catalyst Induction gave him the ability to touch a wall and know the exact location of the intruders. He then pretended to unintentionally steer Hojo and the others toward the criminals.

This was why he managed to find Hattori Saburo instantly—like turning on a full-view cheat in a game, their every move couldn’t escape Aozawa’s control.

Anyone who has played CS knows that having full vision control means delivering an overwhelming blow to the enemy.

"There’s no one in sight."

"Okay, Little Sayuri, stop waving that little pistol around. I’m afraid it’ll go off accidentally and kill us."

Maggie commented, her mood still a bit tense, yet finding the situation exhilarating, her hand holding the gun sweating slightly.

She, unlike Yoshikawa Sayuri and Nomura Makoto, had a clear understanding of the power of guns.

Even a pocket-sized pistol could easily snatch a life away.

"Is it that dangerous?"

Yoshikawa Sayuri, frightened, refrained from carelessly waving the gun and aimed it straight ahead to avoid accidentally hurting a friend.

Aozawa turned left, descending the stairs.

They subconsciously followed and turned left. They hadn’t gone down two steps when Yoshikawa Sayuri suddenly came to her senses and called out, "Wait, shouldn’t we search the area ahead?"

"There should be only that one enemy on the second floor. Otherwise, they would have come to support upon hearing the commotion."

Aozawa casually fabricated a reason.

Maggie glanced at him skeptically. His outfit hid the red on his body, with just his exposed cheeks showing a bit of redness, and his expression was not visible.

She harbored a sliver of doubt about Aozawa’s words. Was it really that reason? Or could Aozawa actually see the enemy’s location?

「...」

The Upper Ninja Level named Narcissus met up with Katsuhisa Shindo in the Throne Hall.

The place seemed extremely luxurious, with the walls illustrating classic biblical stories such as the Creation, Adam and Eve, and the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus.

Even the ceiling was adorned.

Candle-like chandeliers and wall lights gave the place a very medieval atmosphere.

The royal throne in the center of the hall, made of gold and covered with a rich red cushion, looked particularly majestic.

"This job is harder than expected. We have to ask for more money."

The first thing the Upper Ninja Level Narcissus said upon seeing Katsuhisa Shindo was to demand an increase in the mission reward.

This was no longer a simple matter of kidnapping a mistress. The level of difficulty was now on par with assassinating a political figure of a country.

Katsuhisa Shindo nodded, "Don’t worry, as long as it’s successful, the fee can be increased fivefold."

"Alright." Narcissus nodded, internally cursing Keiji as a bastard. He was well aware that he had been set up this time.

Occasionally, such situations happened when an employer intentionally withheld the full details and let the Ninja take the order, only to increase the mission fee when they encountered difficulty.

Narcissus had no choice. He had already lost a comrade and couldn’t come out of it with nothing. He had to see this grim path through to the end.

"What do we do next?"

"Attract them here!"

Katsuhisa Shindo’s mind was calm and clear. He might not be good at business, but killing was within his capabilities.

He was well aware that the position of both sides had shifted.

The enemy was actively seeking their whereabouts. All they needed to do was draw them in.

The relationship between the hunter and prey was always changing.

That was the thrill of combat.

Katsuhisa Shindo took out a grenade, pulled the pin, and tossed it aside. Then, he quickly took cover.

Narcissus also immediately dodged and prepared to set a trap.

BOOM!

The grenade exploded, and Katsuhisa Shindo believed that such a loud sound would be enough to reach the enemy’s ears.

Next, all he had to do was wait for the enemy to take the initiative and come investigate.

Katsuhisa Shindo believed they would not sit back and wait. The more powerful a person is, the more confident they are in themselves.

Even if they knew it was a trap, they believed they had the ability to break through it.

The world never lacks such arrogant people.

Katsuhisa Shindo had already forgotten how many arrogant enemies he had killed.

The sound from the Throne Hall quickly reached Aozawa and the others.

"Did you hear something?" Yoshikawa Sayuri looked around, unable to determine where the sound was coming from.

Maggie heard it very clearly and pointed, "The sound came from the Throne Hall."

"Everyone should be staying on the top floor. There’s no reason for the enemy to be throwing grenades there. It’s a trap meant to lure us up."

"It’s also where they are located."

Aozawa added, holding his machine gun, "Let Hojo and me take the lead. You all wait for news from behind."

"Take the grenades."

Maggie handed her belt of grenades to Aozawa.

No matter how much she doubted in her heart, at this moment, she still chose to treat Aozawa like a regular person, trying to increase his firepower as much as possible.

Without absolute certainty, Maggie naturally considered even the slightest possibility whenever Aozawa was in danger.

She didn’t want to let Aozawa meet an accident due to her lack of consideration.

Life is very fragile.

Aozawa didn’t refuse her kindness, tied the belt of grenades around his waist, and with his gun, he headed toward the Throne Hall.

Hojo Tetsuji followed behind him and whispered, "What should we do?"

It wasn’t his first time fighting, but it was his first using a gun to kill, and he lacked experience.

Aozawa seemed experienced. He turned a corner, went out of Maggie’s line of sight, and touched the wall with his hand.

His Catalyst sensing ability activated, and he quickly captured the scene in the Throne Hall.

One person was hiding behind the throne, another in the west corner of the hall, feet resting on Jesus’s head and Adam’s hand.

At every entrance leading to the Throne Hall, nearly invisible fiber lines were set up ten centimeters above the ground, connected to grenades.

Aozawa withdrew his hand. He felt a trace of respect for the two who had set up such a trap in such a short time. It was no wonder they dared to come and kidnap Maggie.

"No problem, follow your beastly instincts."

"Alright."

Hojo Tetsuji nodded. Not needing to coordinate was best. He wasn’t good at cooperating with others in combat and preferred fighting freely.

「...」

Katsuhisa Shindo stood with his feet on the protruding patterns of the mural, his back pressed against the ceiling, tightly gripping the submachine gun, making sure he could sweep towards the enemy at the first opportunity.

Now he was like a spider on its web, calmly waiting for the prey to come to him, his heart becoming more peaceful than ever before.

Maybe because it related to his elder brother’s career, he began to recall some warm memories in this silent place. After this, he would definitely have a good drink with his brother. He remembered the last time they drank together was in March last year. Why was that again? He thought for a moment and recalled that March 6th was his brother’s birthday. This year, due to business difficulties, his brother hadn’t had time to celebrate his own birthday, flying all over the world for meetings. In the end, he was even targeted by the six major financial conglomerates and the Phoenix Academy.

As Katsuhisa Shindo was lost in these thoughts, he suddenly heard footsteps. He immediately became alert, suppressing all the memories deep in his heart.

His mind returned to the present, transforming into a ruthless hunter.

The footsteps were getting closer, sounding as if they were in the southern corridor.

Katsuhisa Shindo aimed the muzzle of his gun at the southern entrance.

The door was ajar, and just a push would trigger the grenade explosion due to the fiber line, followed by his attack.

A two-pronged approach. He couldn’t believe the enemy wouldn’t die.

THUD. The sound of heavy footsteps suddenly erupted. Aozawa sidled through the gap of the partially open door and, before even touching the ground, pulled the trigger in mid-air.

He was faster than Katsuhisa Shindo, with a clearer target, as if he had already known someone was there.

So, I was the arrogant one?!

RAT-A-TAT. A series of bullets, like torrential rain, struck Katsuhisa Shindo’s body. Blood splattered from the wounds, staining Jesus’s eyes and Adam’s hands red.

Katsuhisa Shindo’s face was full of shock, and to his death, he couldn’t understand why the young man knew his location. There weren’t even any surveillance cameras here.

He fell to the ground from the air.

The Upper Ninja Level Narcissus behind the throne was greatly shocked, "Wait, I..."

Before he could utter the words of surrender, Hojo Tetsuji, alert to the noise, shot him dead.

The golden throne had a large hole blasted in it, and blood surged out from inside. Behind it, the Upper Ninja Level Narcissus’s chest cavity was open, and he slid down along the back of the throne.

Aozawa lifted the thermal imaging camera, scanning the two bodies in the area, and laughed, "All right, the crisis is resolved. Now to see how Mike fared, I hope he’s still alive."