Stepping over bricks that were still radiating heat, Rock charged into the house through the collapsed wall.
He fired controlled bursts from his SIG SG551 at everyone lying in the rubble, whether they were still moaning or had already fallen silent.
Once he had put a round into everyone within sight, he rushed upstairs.
At the landing between the first and second floors, however, he pulled the pin from the last offensive grenade clipped to his tactical vest and threw it onto the second floor.
The grenade exploded with a deafening boom, and Rock immediately charged up after the blast.
His Danger Sense told him that rushing in was safe.
Hesitating would be far more dangerous.
As soon as he reached the second floor, he pressed himself against the wall and spotted three men lying beside the living room wall.
Two were completely motionless.
The third, who had been farther from the blast, was struggling upright and reaching for an AKS-74U beside him.
Rock put two bullets into him, then shot each of the other two in the head.
Only a dead enemy was a good enemy.
Rock had no intention of turning his back and getting shot by someone he had failed to finish off.
He still did not know how many people remained inside the two buildings.
His gaze fell on the massive ninety-round drums attached to the three AKS-74Us at his feet.
That was even more ammunition than a seventy-five-round drum could hold.
A weapon capable of sustaining fire for that long was exactly what he needed while clearing a building.
The AKS-74U could not match the SIG SG551 in accuracy, but few weapons could compete with its brutal close-range firepower.
Rock slung the SIG SG551 over his back and inspected the AKS-74Us on the floor.
Two were undamaged.
The third had been damaged by the explosion and would need repairs before it could be used, so he tossed it aside.
An ammunition crate in the corner contained four more drums of the same size, all fully loaded.
Rock crossed one AKS-74U and the SIG SG551 over his back, then picked up the second AKS-74U.
He stuffed all four drums into his backpack.
With his deep fear of ever running short on firepower, he was not about to leave behind anything that could help him maintain suppressive fire.
Armed with an AKS-74U fitted with a ninety-round drum, Rock began clearing the building like a one-man assault force.
Relying on his Intermediate Danger Sense, he kicked open each door.
Only after sensing no immediate danger would he charge inside and search the room.
With a body approaching the limits of human ability, no door could withstand a single kick from him.
As he searched the building, one impression stood out above all else.
The place was crude, filthy, and chaotic.
A foul mixture of body odor and bodily fluids hung throughout the building, now joined by the stench of burning material and gunpowder rising from downstairs.
Some of the makeshift tables still held scraps of aluminum foil and traces of white powder.
The gang had lived a depraved and self-destructive life.
When Rock reached a room on the third floor, he found a door that was unusually sturdy.
Even with his strength, his first kick failed to move it and produced only a dull thud.
Looking more closely, he realized the frame was made of iron and embedded directly into the wall.
The door itself was a steel security door painted white.
It looked like the other wooden doors, but its true strength only became apparent when someone tried to force it open.
Rock did not immediately resort to heavier measures.
He pressed his ear against the gap and listened carefully.
He could hear people inside speaking in muffled, trembling voices.
Danger Sense gave him no warning, suggesting there was no threat waiting behind the door.
Without hesitation, Rock aimed his AKS-74U at the lock and fired several rounds.
Once the lock was destroyed, the door finally yielded.
He kicked it open, and the stench of blood and unwashed bodies struck him immediately.
Fortunately, the scarf covering his face blocked at least some of the smell.
Rock swept the room with his rifle and discovered a large space of roughly fifty square meters.
Iron bars divided the room into a series of cages.
More than a dozen terrified men and women were locked inside.
There were only three men.
All three had been brutally beaten and chained to the bars.
The remaining prisoners were young, attractive women.
Given the gang’s main business, it was obvious that these women had been abducted and were being broken before being forced into prostitution.
The gang clearly understood what its customers wanted.
Every woman imprisoned there was striking in both appearance and figure.
Their clothes were torn, and some bore marks from being whipped, but their faces had mostly been left untouched.
Moraes and his men had clearly been careful not to damage what they considered valuable.
After all, the gang profited from the women’s appearance.
“Help us!
Please, save us!”
Seeing Rock shoot through the door lock seemed to give the prisoners hope.
Several women rushed to the bars and stared at him desperately as they cried out for help.
Rock did not respond to them immediately.
He first turned toward the three men chained to the cages.
All three had been beaten so badly that their skin was split and covered in wounds.
Rock had no idea why they had been imprisoned, but their weakened eyes still held a desperate will to live.
He searched the room with his rifle raised.
Aside from several whips and iron chains, there was nothing else of note.
Dark red stains covered the whips, making it easy to guess how they had been used.
“Everyone, move back.”
Rock ordered the women away from the cage doors as he prepared to shoot through the locks.
“The keys!
They’re hanging on the board behind the door.”
A girl dressed in rags quickly pointed toward the steel security door against the wall.
Even her torn clothing could not conceal her striking appearance.
Everyone’s breathing quickened when Rock found a large ring of keys behind the door.
He looked around but did not unlock the cages himself.
Instead, he handed the keys to the girl who had pointed them out.
“What’s your name?”
“Fabiana.”
“All right, listen carefully.
Fabiana will unlock the cages.
Once you’re out, don’t scream or shout.
Go straight downstairs and don’t touch anything.”
Rock already considered everything in the stronghold his property.
He had no intention of allowing them to take anything with them.
He added a threat to make sure they obeyed.
“If I catch anyone hiding something or trying to take it away, remember this.
They kidnapped you once, and my people can kidnap you again.”
Rock wanted them to believe he had accomplices waiting outside.
After giving his instructions, he nodded to Fabiana, who had already unlocked her own cage.
Fabiana began matching the keys to the locks and opening each cage in turn.
Rock stepped outside with his rifle and took position beside the entrance of a room he had already searched, watching for movement from the upper floor.
A few minutes later, hurried footsteps echoed from the cage room.
The freed women rushed into the hallway.
When they saw Rock standing there with his rifle aimed toward the stairwell, they nervously nodded to him without saying a word.
Then they hurried downstairs and fled.
Rock watched them leave and noticed that Fabiana was not among them.
He immediately raised his weapon and moved back into the cage room.
Fabiana was still inside, freeing the three chained men and carefully laying them flat on the floor.
“S-Sir, this is my brother…
and these are his friends.”