Bang!
Before he could finish, a gunshot rang out. The glass pane of the coffee shop's wooden door shattered instantly, scattering shards that reflected rainbow-like glints in the setting sun.
Zhang Jie tilted his head, and that bullet actually grazed his ear, embedding itself in the wooden panel behind him.
Well, I'll be!
That shot was aimed at me, wasn't it?
If I hadn't had a crisis reaction, I probably would have been a goner!
However, though their reactions differed, their objective was the same: they all retreated backward, seeking cover.
Zhang Jie rolled sideways, taking cover behind the bar, his back pressed against the cold metal cabinet.
The exquisite coffee equipment displayed on the bar clattered with the vibrations, and the pressure gauge needle of an Italy coffee machine trembled wildly.
Serena, like a nimble cat, darted behind a Roman pillar, her light golden hair tracing a graceful arc in the air.
Veronica elegantly retreated to the corner of the restroom, casually flipping over a solid wood coffee table to use as a temporary barrier.
Three burly men in black suits stood at the doorway, brandishing HK416s. Muzzle flashes erupted, bullets swept across the room, tables and chairs exploded, and wood splinters and ceramic shards flew everywhere.
Their movements were crude, like street thugs rather than professional killers, but their firepower was fierce, pinning the three down.
The three burly men in black kicked open the shattered shop door and rushed in.
They were all dressed in black suits, but their ties were loose, their cuffs rolled up, revealing gruesome cross tattoos on their forearms.
The scar-faced leader carried an HK416 assault rifle, its muzzle still smoking.
The afternoon sun streamed in from behind him, casting long shadows of the three, like reapers come for souls.
"Time for that bitch."
The scar-faced man grinned, revealing a gold-capped front tooth.
His thick finger pulled the trigger, and the HK416 spat out deadly flames.
Da! Da! Da!
Bullets rained down like a storm.
The glass sugar jar on the bar exploded, and sugar cubes scattered like snowflakes.
A display wall covered in vintage coffee pots was riddled with holes, and copper pots clattered to the floor.
Zhang Jie smelled the strong scent of gunpowder mixed with the burnt aroma of coffee beans, a bizarre combination that made his nostrils itch.
"Mad Dog of the Cross Gang!"
Veronica, hiding behind the overturned coffee table, gritted her teeth.
Her slender fingers quickly checked the 1911's magazine, her crimson nail polish strikingly bright in the dim light.
"I should have known you wouldn't keep your word!"
Serena calmly observed the battle.
Her slender fingers caressed Razor's blade, the silver surface reflecting her ice-blue pupils.
"It's not just for you."
She whispered, her gaze fixed on a fleeting shadow outside the window.
Before her words faded, the piercing roar of motorcycles came from outside the shop.
Six Harley-Davidsons screeched to a halt in front of the cafe, their tires scraping the pavement with a teeth-grinding sound.
The riders were all wearing leather vests, revealing tattooed arms.
The burly leader took off his sunglasses, revealing a pair of murky gray eyes.
"There!" He yelled, pointing at the Roman pillar where Serena was hiding. "White Rose of Black Rose! The boss said he wants her alive!"
The two groups met head-on at the coffee shop entrance.
The scar-faced man from the Cross Gang paused, then cursed, "Get lost! This is none of your business!"
The burly man in leather was not to be outdone, brandishing a shotgun: "You're the ones who should get lost! This woman killed the boss's brother! Now this woman is worth five hundred thousand usd!!"
"Then try and take her!"
The scar-faced man directly raised his gun at the burly man in leather.
"Fuck! Then let's try!"
The burly man was equally defiant.
Seeing this, Zhang Jie fired a shot, and the two already tense factions almost simultaneously opened fire, but by a strange twist of fate, they ended up shooting at each other.
The ensuing scene was nothing short of absurd.
HK416 rifle bullets pierced the shoulder of a man in leather, while shotgun pellets blew a Cross Gang member's face into a bloody mess.
Stray bullets flew everywhere, shattering the last few intact chandeliers in the coffee shop, and glass fragments rained down.
Zhang Jie seized the opportunity to lean out from behind the bar, his glock 34 firing a steady three-round burst.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three gunshots almost merged into one line.
The first bullet struck the scar-faced man's gun-wielding wrist, the second burrowed into his knee, and the third accurately entered his brow.
The burly man collapsed, blood gushing from the three bullet holes, quickly forming a dark red puddle on the oak floor.
Amidst the hail of bullets, Serena, like a ghost, sliced into the battlefield.
Her Razor traced deadly silver lines in the dim light, and a leather-clad man's gun-wielding fingers were severed at the root.
Before the man could react, the second cut had already slit his throat.
Blood sprayed in a fan shape onto the coffee shop's brick wall, mixing with the previous coffee stains to form a bizarre abstract painting.
Veronica's performance was even more stunning.
She moved effortlessly in ten-centimeter high heels, the 1911 seemingly alive in her hands.
Every gunshot was accompanied by an enemy falling, every shot finding its mark.
A leather-clad man tried to ambush her from behind, but she kicked him cleanly in the groin with a swift back kick, then smashed his nose with a gun butt.
"Watch out!" Zhang Jie suddenly shouted.
A Cross Gang member, not quite dead, was stealthily reaching for a fallen HK416.
Serena, without looking back, flung Razor.
The blade spun through the air, then plunged with a 'thunk' into the man's eye socket.
He let out an inhuman scream, clutching his face and rolling on the ground.
Zhang Jie, without thinking, raised his hand and fired a shot, ending him.
The last man in leather, seeing the dire situation, turned and fled.
He crashed through the already precarious display window, glass shards cutting him all over.
But before he had run two steps, Serena's second thrown Razor plunged deep into his back.
Then Veronica followed up with a shot, and blood bloomed.
He stumbled and fell onto the sidewalk, convulsing a few times before becoming still.
Silence returned to the coffee shop, broken only by the distinct sound of dripping blood.
The setting sun lengthened the shadows of the three, casting them on the bullet-riddled wall.
Veronica elegantly adjusted her disheveled hair, pulling out a lipstick from her purse to reapply her makeup.
"So," she said, pursing her red lips in the shattered mirror, "now we have three problems."
Zhang Jie checked the remaining ammunition in his glock 34: "First, why is that Cross Gang chasing you?"
Serena retrieved Razor from a corpse, wiping the blood clean on the deceased's suit: "Second, it's just a small gang, and they think fifty thousand usd is enough to buy me?"
Veronica ejected the empty magazine, replacing it with a new one: "Third..."
She suddenly turned, pointing her gun at the corner outside the coffee shop, "And that gentleman who watched the whole thing, will you come out yourself, or shall I invite you out?"
From the shadows, an old man in a gray-white suit slowly raised his hands.
"Such a greeting isn't very friendly, is it, beautiful lady?"
The old man's expression was very calm; he looked at Veronica and Zhang Jie and smiled.
Zhang Jie's eyes widened instantly. Wasn't this the same old Black man he had asked Veronica about earlier?
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
patreon.com/TripleCrown07
If you guys wanna check it out.