Eagle King stepped from the elevator, surveying the stunned crowd. He blew on the barrel of his gun, striking a pose he considered cool, though Samantha found it ridiculous.

“What’s wrong? No one’s clapping? Come on, give a round of applause for handsome me!” he called out.

A long pause followed. The remaining thirty or so Crimson Blades members remained frozen. With Charlie and Bob dead, they were paralyzed. The atmosphere was thick with awkward silence. Eagle King pondered a moment, then turned to Samantha. “Hey, Samantha, am I not handsome?” His concern was clearly more about the lack of applause.

Samantha beamed. “Eagle King, you’re the most handsome in the universe.”

Emmett and Charles arrived, having dealt with the upstairs situation. They assessed the scene, then glanced upwards at Yvette and Jeremiah, who had already taken action. Their arrival shattered the first floor’s silence. From the second floor, Yvette watched Eagle King, Samantha, Emmett, and Charles below. Leaning against the railing, she casually remarked, “Just kill them all, and leave only one alive.”

Eagle King instantly shed his playful demeanor. Dual guns blazing, he fired upon the Crimson Blades. Without Charlie, they were easily dispatched. Emmett and Charles joined the assault, turning the gunfight into a one-sided slaughter. Even Samantha took down two members.

In under ten minutes, only one Crimson Blade remained, kneeling. Emmett aimed his gun, awaiting Yvette’s order. Samantha looked up, meeting Yvette’s cold, impassive gaze from the upper floor. Yvette’s eyes were icy and piercing, distant and aloof as faint autumn starlight. Samantha recognized the real Yvette—in her world, killing was routine.

The hostages, initially believing themselves doomed, were astonished to be saved.

“Thank you, Miss! You saved us!” one exclaimed.

“Miss, you’re our savior. Without you, we’d be dead!” another added.

A chorus of thanks erupted in Uprian, Frixyia, Dermonian, Thairian, and even Saracian, a cacophony that could induce a headache. Yvette frowned, her bright eyes calm. “Disperse,” she said calmly. Her expression conveyed her meaning even to those unfamiliar with Clusian.

Five minutes later, only Yvette’s group and the kneeling Crimson Blade remained. Jeremiah tilted his head, his narrow eyes sharp. “Do you want to wipe them all out?” he asked.

Yvette’s deep blue eyes flickered, her delicate brows slightly raised. “Yes.”

In an instant, Yvette and Jeremiah leaped from the seven-foot-high floor, landing steadily. The Crimson Blade, watching nervously, was terrified.

Emmett spoke, “Yvette, Jeremiah, what should we do with this guy? Do you have other plans?” He mused, Yvette must have a special plan. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have left a Crimson Blades member alive.

Yvette approached the kneeling man, hands in her pockets, her toe tapping nonchalantly. “Where’s the Crimson Blades’ headquarters? Is your boss there?”

The man fiercely shook his head, refusing to speak. Yvette glanced at Eagle King. Instantly, Eagle King produced a dagger and plunged it into the man’s thigh. His playful demeanor vanished, replaced by cold ruthlessness. The Crimson Blade screamed in agony.

“Answer my boss’s question,” Eagle King said, his voice hard. “Answer, and you live. Refuse, and I’ll carve you up piece by piece.”

Samantha’s lips twitched. Eagle King is ruthless. One cannot judge a book by its cover, she thought. Emmett and Charles remained impassive.

The dagger’s glint broke the man’s resolve. “I… it’s three streets away, villa number 667. Mr. Granger is there,” he stammered.

Eagle King sheathed his dagger, smiling at the man and patting his shoulder. “If you’d said so earlier, we wouldn’t have had to go through all this.” He turned to Yvette. “Boss, shall we go now?”

Eagle King was the second to grasp Yvette’s intentions. She always eliminated gangs like the Crimson Blades completely, leaving no trace. Emmett and Charles also understood. Failing to eliminate the root cause would leave them vulnerable. It was better to strike first and destroy the Crimson Blades.

Samantha tentatively asked, “Yvette, you want to take the Crimson Blades down?” This day is really testing my nerves, but it is indeed thrilling, she thought.

Yvette gave a brief, indifferent look. Her voice was cool. “Let’s take care of it while we’re at it.”

Jeremiah gazed lovingly at Yvette. “Yes, that’s a good idea. We should take care of it while we’re at it.”

The group unanimously decided to head to the Crimson Blades’ headquarters. That night became a night of terror in Ehongsoly. Early the next morning, Voraxia’s major drug lords received shocking news: Charlie and all his men were dead. Norbert and the Crimson Blades’ headquarters were wiped out by unknown assailants. None of the over three hundred people survived.

The Thongsoly police mobilized, causing city-wide panic. Voraxia’s power dynamics shifted. The Crimson Blades, a local power for years, had been eradicated overnight. The swiftness and completeness of their demise spoke volumes about the perpetrators’ terrifying power. Local factions investigated.

In Voraxia, the police were a mere formality; they collected the bodies and left it at that. Human life was cheap, and the police avoided trouble.

At the hotel, Manager Quinn Reese stood outside Yvette’s room, two people pushing a breakfast cart laden with local and Clusian delicacies. He repeatedly raised and lowered his hand, hesitant to knock.