The search party came up empty again.
The gunfire hadn’t disturbed anyone.
William had made sure of that.
He crouched behind concrete pipes, watching the bloodlines move.
Through the hollow centers, he dropped two more.
Screams shattered the silence.
More shots.
Then nothing.
William had already relocated.
A thin sheet of metal separated him from the enemy.
He could hear them breathing.
Inside the casino, the boss’s face was pale.
Losses were catastrophic.
Even killing this rat wouldn’t save him now.
The boss would have his head.
He glanced at his deputy.
Years of默契—a silent understanding passed between them.
The deputy left.
Minutes later, he returned, dragging a woman by her hair.
She was unconscious.
Face covered in blood.
He planted his boot on her bullet wound.
She woke screaming.
Clawing at his leg.
Helpless.
Two seconds.
He lifted his foot.
“Forgive me, madam.
But I’m in a hurry.” “I need information.
Your partner is quite skilled.
I want to know who I’m facing.
That’s not unreasonable.” “Go to hell!” The man wasn’t angry.
He lit a cigarette, took a slow drag, then pressed it into her hand.
She screamed.
He closed his eyes, savoring it.
Then he pulled a knife and pinned her hand to the table.
Blood dripped onto the floor.
“Lady, my patience is thin.
One wrong answer, and you won’t have a hand.” She started to cooperate.
He pulled out a case.
Cash.
“One hundred thousand.
Yours when you leave.
Only I know what you said.” Another gunshot through his earpiece.
More screams.
His anger flared.
He twisted the knife, making sure it would come out clean.
She was dragged to the bodies.
One by one.
She recognized one missing face.
“I don’t know his name.
He barely spoke.” The description triggered nothing.
He smashed his earpiece.
Stomped it into the floor.
Then he waved his deputy to let the woman go.
She fled, pain forgotten.
He rubbed his temples.
The unknown was terrifying.
He dialed his boss.
“We have a problem.
Unknown player.
Heavy losses.” Silence.
Then Snader’s voice.
Calm.
Calculating.
“Noted.
Kill him.
I don’t care how.” “Yes, boss.” Outside, the fight continued.
William’s teammates were likely dead.
He was alone now.
But the enemy was hurting more.
He’d been surgical.
Wounds, not kills.
Every injured man needed two more to carry him.
William circled again.
His earlier maneuvers had pulled the defenders away from the scent of blood.
That must be their casualty station.
He followed the blood trail.
The boss sat in his hidden room, surrounded by blood.
Monitors showed nothing.
Too quiet.
The unknown rat had vanished.
His experience screamed that something was wrong.
He smashed a bottle.
“You!
Take everyone.
Search every corner.
I want him carved!” The deputy hesitated.
“I’m fine.
This is a bunker.
He can’t find me.” He fired two rounds into a body on the floor.
“And I’m not helpless.” The deputy left with his men.
The boss sat alone.
Should have installed more cameras.
William watched from the shadows.
A dozen men rushed past.
Looking for him.
He slipped in through a blind spot.
The casino was a hospital now.
Gambling tables covered with wounded men.
Sleeping under anesthesia.
Bloodlines matched the bodies on the floor.
But across the wall, several lines didn’t match.
Hidden room.
William spotted the locker room sign.
The boss heard gunfire.
Close.
Too close.
He gripped his weapon.
He’d boasted about still having fight in him.
But he knew the truth.
Decades of comfort had left him soft.
He was no longer the “Mad Dog” of his youth.
His men rushed back.
“Save the boss!” He didn’t stop them.
Perfect.
Trap the rat.
The men found the scene.
A massacre.
Wounded comrades executed.
Blood everywhere.
Faces went pale.
Rage and grief mixed.
Someone started forward.
“Don’t move!
He might still be here!” The deputy approached the hidden door.
“Boss!
You okay?” He reached for the keypad.
“Don’t open it!” the boss shouted.
“Find him first!” The deputy hesitated.
Exhaustion weighed on everyone.
They’d been hunting this ghost all night.
“Remember your family,” the boss warned.
“Fail, and we all die.
Our families too.” The deputy stiffened.
Thought of his kid.
The money he was supposed to bring home.
They searched.
Found nothing.
“Boss, he’s gone.” “Keep looking.
Stay safe.
Come in.” The deputy entered the code.
The door swung open.
His boss’s gun was already aimed at him.
The boss saw something in his peripheral vision.
One of the “bodies” on the floor had stood up.
He fired.
Not at his deputy.
At the shape behind him.
The deputy stumbled backward, already hit.
The boss fired again.
Again.
Light blazed in the darkness.
A shadow blurred past.
Three more shots followed the first.
Just hold on.
My men will be here.
William watched the bloodlines.
The boss was holed up inside.
He pulled out a grenade.
Pulled the pin.
Tossed it through the gap.
A desperate “NO!” echoed inside.
Then silence.
William stepped in.
Ruined cameras.
Ruined room.
Ruined man.
He turned to leave.
The phone rang.
Loud.
Insistent.
Echoing through the empty corridors.