The neon lights of Friday night still drenched the entertainment district, casting flickering reflections on the damp streets. Yet, beneath the false brightness, a true darkness was consuming 'The Velvet Shadow' gang from within... For them, this night was colder and more silent than ever before.
The atmosphere after last night's big meeting seemed to have improved slightly... but that was just a fragile facade, like cracked glass. The confrontation had ended, it was true, but the cracks that had formed were too deep to be mended by comforting words or a leader's command.
The old Boss sat submerged in silence within his once-powerful office. The cigar smoke, once fragrant, now tasted bitter in his throat. The image of his two sub-bosses standing before him yesterday still haunted him... their eyes... they were no longer the eyes of loyal subordinates. Suspicion continued to gnaw at his mind.
At Marco's private bar, thick with the smell of liquor, he was downing expensive whiskey like water. Every time the image of the scratch on his favorite sports car flashed in his mind, he gripped the glass tighter until his knuckles turned white. His hatred for Leo had taken deep root in his heart, waiting for the day he could exact a fitting revenge.
Meanwhile, Leo sat composed in his clean office. He was quietly transferring data and assets to a secret overseas account. The trust he had in the Boss and the organization had crumbled... Now, all he had left was a plan for his own survival.
The once-great organization... had come to a complete standstill from within.
At the familiar café, far from the simmering conflict, Iris slowly opened her eyes. The soft lights of the shop reflected in her cold gaze. A smile of the utmost satisfaction appeared at the corner of her lips.
'The foundation has crumbled…' she thought silently. '...and the next step is to destroy their walls.'
Iris closed her eyes, her psychic power expanding like a vast ocean wave. Within that mental network, 20 faint red dots of light floated calmly... the consciousness of her 20 "children," awaiting her command.
She sent out a psychic current, as cold and absolute as a queen's decree. The soundless signal seeped into every dark corner of the entertainment district…
'Special operations unit... prepare for orders.'
Almost instantly... a response, filled with a crazed faith, thundered in her consciousness from 20 directions at once. It was a chorus of adoration that vibrated throughout the entire network.
"At your command, Your Majesty!"
Iris ignored the overwhelming emotion of her children. She issued her next order, cold-bloodedly.
'Target: The Iron Python gang's casino, "The Python's Lair"... Create maximum chaos. And leave a "gift" that will point the blame back at your own gang.'
"We accept... Our lives for your goal, Your Majesty!"
At the final reply... throughout the entertainment district, 20 men who had been blending into the crowds suddenly froze... a man drinking at a bar, a man walking in a dark alley, a man sitting in a car... Within their eyes, the light of individuality flickered out, replaced by the cold glint of a unified mind.
All the bodies turned in the same direction in unison... and began to walk... Their footsteps perfectly synchronized like mechanical soldiers... The queen's army had begun its march.
…..
The sound of loud laughter and the rhythmic clatter of chips created a lively atmosphere in "The Python's Lair," the luxurious underground casino of the Iron Python gang. The air was thick with the smell of expensive cigars and women's perfume. Men and women in evening wear were gathered around poker and baccarat tables, enjoying themselves, unaware that disaster was creeping towards their door.
BOOM!!!
The massive steel door that served as the final bastion was blown from its hinges! The deafening explosion and the shockwave sent everyone in the casino screaming and diving for cover in a panic.
The 20 parasite units, dressed in practical black and heavily armed, stormed in. Their movements weren't perfect, but they were filled with a savage determination, like a pack of hungry wolves.
"Fire! Light 'em up!" the roar of an Iron Python guard sounded. They reacted quickly and professionally, flipping over baccarat tables for cover and immediately opening fire.
BANG! BANG! BANG! RAT-TAT-TAT!
War erupted in an instant! The sound of gunfire thundered through the casino, deafening. Bullets flew in all directions, shredding a crystal chandelier, sending it crashing to the floor in a shower of glass. The fight was fierce and evenly matched. The parasite units, controlled by Iris's cold mind, charged forward without fear of death, while the Iron Python guards fought for their lives to protect their kingdom.
"Aaargh!" One of the parasite members was shot in the shoulder and went down, but he immediately got back up and returned fire as if he felt no pain.
Amidst the chaos, "Number 1" and "Number 2" engaged a group of guards in a corner of the room. They used a sofa for cover, exchanging fierce gunfire. Next to their cover, an Iron Python guard lay with an injured leg. He tried to raise his gun but could only listen to the sounds of battle in agony.
"Damn it! These guys are fighting to the death!" Number 1 yelled as he changed magazines. "Why the hell did the boss order us to raid this place now! This is a snake pit!"
"Shut up and keep shooting!" Number 2 yelled back, frustrated. "Didn't you hear what Sub-boss Marco and Sub-boss Leo said!? We have to cut off their supply line before they get any bigger!"
The injured guard's eyes widened... The conversation he had "overheard" was too clear and shocking to be a lie…
The bloody battle raged on. The parasite units began to take more and more hits, with over half of them seriously injured, but they also pushed deeper into the casino. "Number 20" made a solo charge into the VIP zone but was surrounded by three guards in ambush.
He fought like a madman but was eventually shot in the stomach and leg, collapsing to the floor, unable to fight on.
"Fall back! Fall back!" Number 1 yelled, seeing they had caused enough damage and had someone captured, just as planned. "Leave him! Let's get out of here!"
The remaining dozen or so parasite units, all injured, began to retreat, disappearing into the darkness, leaving behind only ruins, the smell of gunpowder, and a single "witness" who had been captured.
…..
Less than an hour later, "Viper," the leader of the Iron Python gang, arrived at the scene. He walked over shattered glass and spent casings, into his kingdom, now stained with blood and the bodies of his fallen men. His brows furrowed into a knot of seething rage.
"Report!" he growled.
"We lost ten men, boss. Twenty-three injured... but we captured one of them!" his right-hand man reported, before pointing to the injured guard. "And Johnny here happened to overhear some of their conversation, boss."
Viper walked over to Johnny, who was receiving first aid, and listened to the entire story he had heard... The names Marco and Leo... the sub-bosses of The Velvet Shadow, no doubt.
Then, he walked to a back storage room where "Number 20" was tied to a chair, battered and bruised. At first, he pretended to be tight-lipped for authenticity, but after half an hour of brutal torture, he finally "broke."
"I... I really don't know anything!" he wailed. "It... it was an order... a direct order from the Boss... the Boss of The Velvet Shadow!"
Hearing a confession that perfectly corroborated what his man had heard, Viper's eyes turned blood-red. His last shred of patience snapped.
"Since they dared to insult us in our own den!" he gritted his teeth, his voice as cold as ice. "...we'll show them what hell really is!! It's time for a war of blood and honor, my brothers! Gather all our men. Tomorrow, we raze them to the ground!"
…..
The dawn of Saturday didn't arrive with a warm sunrise, but was instead awakened by the roar of engines and the sound of gunfire, thundering like lightning.
Hundreds of members of the "Iron Python gang" launched a full-scale, frenzied revenge. Dozens of black sedans screamed down the streets of the entertainment district like a swarm of hungry vipers. They launched coordinated, surprise attacks on every business belonging to "The Velvet Shadow."
BANG! BANG! BANG! CRASH!
The glass of a luxury bar shattered like ice crystals under a hail of machine-gun fire. Customers and staff screamed, diving for cover. Another underground club was stormed by a group of heavily armed thugs. The sound of gunfire mixed with screams and the sound of breaking tables and chairs.
The streets, once filled with party-goers, had now become a small-scale battlefield. Several cars were set on fire, their twisted metal frames licked by orange-red flames that sent thick black smoke into the sky, obscuring the neon lights. The sound of guns and people fleeing for their lives echoed through the district, creating an apocalyptic atmosphere.
The news of the simultaneous attacks caused chaos and panic within The Velvet Shadow. They had been attacked at their most vulnerable moment... a moment when the heart of their organization was already broken.
At the old Boss's office, the hotline rang off the hook. Reports of losses and chaos poured in from all directions like a tsunami. But instead of ordering a full mobilization to counter-attack, he sat motionless in his chair, his eyes staring blankly at a map of his own territory.
'You fools!!!' he swore internally. '...This must be Marco's doing, or Leo's. They started a war without my permission!' Suspicion had completely clouded his judgment. He hesitated to send out all his reinforcements, fearing it was a trap set by one of his sub-bosses to seize power.
At Marco's private bar, he was furiously shouting orders into the phone. "The Iron Pythons are playing dirty! This has to be Leo's plan! He must have teamed up with the enemy to get rid of me!" He gave the most foolish order. "Everyone! Don't go help the other districts! Defend and protect only our own territory! Don't let them get a single step in!"
Meanwhile, in Leo's quiet office, he stood watching the chaos outside his window with a cold gaze. His phone was ringing off the hook, but he let it ring, with no intention of answering.
'It's over…' he thought to himself. '...Marco's recklessness has destroyed everything.' He turned back to his computer and pressed the "confirm" button, transferring his final assets to his secret account, before ordering his own men to quietly withdraw from the battlefield... It was time for him to escape.
The lack of leadership led to a complete disaster. Contradictory orders made The Velvet Shadow's defense weak and uncoordinated. The low-level members fighting for their lives on the streets were confused and hopeless without clear orders from above. They became easy targets for the enemy to hunt down and kill.
The sun slowly set... leaving the once-bright entertainment district to be illuminated only by flames and the muzzle flashes of guns. The sirens of police cars could be heard in the distance, but all they could do was blockade the surrounding area, not daring to intervene in the full-scale war that was raging.
The once-great and formidable Velvet Shadow gang... was about to collapse and become a mere legend... in a single night.
The night wind whistled across the rooftop of a skyscraper. It carried the smell of gunpowder, smoke, and the faint, metallic scent of blood from below. The scene below was of a devastated entertainment district. Flames from the wreckage of cars and shops cast an orange-red glow on the night sky, chasing away the darkness and revealing the ongoing chaos like a painting from hell.
Iris (in Rosy's body) stood at the edge of the rooftop, letting the fierce wind whip her hair and coat. Her eyes reflected the light from the fires below. It was the gaze of a creator, looking upon her own work of destruction with the utmost satisfaction.
'Beautiful… isn't it?' Iris whispered to Rosy in her mind, her voice filled with a cold bliss. 'This is the scream of an old kingdom dying... and a lullaby for the new kingdom about to be born.'
'If your lullaby is the sound of guns and people screaming, I think I'd rather not sleep,' Rosy retorted sarcastically, but she didn't object further... deep down, she knew this was necessary.
Beside Iris, Talia, dressed in a tight-fitting black leather suit with a mask covering the lower half of her face, stood silently awaiting orders. She looked like an assassin from the shadows, ready to take any life at her mistress's command (even if she wasn't that skilled).
Iris turned to Talia, her eyes cold and emotionless. "It's time for the harvest... Go do your work."
"As you wish, Mistress," Talia bowed respectfully, before standing and walking to the edge of the rooftop without the slightest hesitation.
She leaped from a height of over twenty stories! Her body plummeted into the darkness below like a stone dropped from a cliff. But before her body could hit the concrete, she used her elastic arms to grab onto the edges of the building to slow her descent, landing softly and silently in a dark alley like a wild cat... The harvest had begun.
She moved through the alleys where the fighting had just subsided like a phantom. The sound of gunfire still echoed periodically from remaining skirmishes, but to her, it was no different from the annoying sound of firecrackers.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
Three bullets cut through the air towards her from a corner up ahead, but Talia didn't even think of dodging (because she didn't have the ability to). She continued to walk at a steady pace. The bullets slammed into her chest and stomach, but instead of creating gruesome wounds... those parts of her body indented deeply like clay, absorbing the full impact, before the deformed slugs fell to the ground with a "clink."
An injured Iron Python gangster leaning against a wall stared, his eyes wide with a shock that made him forget his pain... He was seeing a demon... a demon in the form of a woman in black whom bullets couldn't harm... and that was the last thing he saw before he passed out from fear and blood loss.
Talia's mission tonight wasn't to fight, but to "harvest" the fruits of the chaos her mistress had sown…
On Talia's back was a black tactical backpack. It looked ordinary, but inside was a miniature army... Over 80 flesh-colored dragonfly parasites were clustered together calmly, waiting to be released…
And as Talia walked past the body of an Iron Python gang member, breathing his last behind a dumpster, the zipper of her backpack slid open silently. A parasite crawled out as fast as a spider. It moved down Talia's leg and disappeared into the shadows on the ground, heading for the still body.
The parasite reached the back of the victim's neck silently. It used its six legs to grip his skin tightly before using its sharp, stinger-like tail to pierce the skin and embed itself in his brainstem... The man's body convulsed violently before going still…
Talia walked away without a second glance. She was the sower of new life, leaving Iris's "harvest" to sprout from the shadows.
Cut back to the rooftop…
Now... only Iris stood there, amidst the whistling wind that whipped her hair like a flag of victory. She gave a cold, satisfied smirk as, in her mind's eye... the red dots in her psychic network were rapidly increasing in number…
[Number of Infected: 25… 37… 50…]
'Now that the rotten old kingdom has fallen…' she thought to herself, her voice in her consciousness echoing with power. '...it's time for the new kingdom of this queen to be born… to prepare the throne… for my beloved King Owen~'
The flames from below reflected in her eyes, like the glow from an invisible crown…
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