Igwinte in the morning, amidst the bustling streets, the basement of the Cypress Fir Building.
Inside the An Yin Bureau, busy crowds came and went, and in a corner of the hall, a heavy iron door stood there. The workstation above the iron door was currently empty.
People came and went in the underground space of the An Yin Bureau, and no one paid much attention to the empty workstation. And just like that, the heavy iron door, which was originally tightly shut, began to slowly open, and a furtive figure walked out from within.
Carrying a briefcase, wearing glasses, the refined-looking Mr. Brandon walked out from behind the iron door. He first closed the iron door behind him, then scanned his surroundings.
'It went smoothly, no one has noticed anything abnormal yet. I've brought out as much as I could. Next is the most crucial moment.'
Carrying the heavy briefcase, Mr. Brandon thought this. At this moment, he had brought out the maximum amount of precious items he could access and take from the An Yin Bureau's sealed vault. This included secret transmission, Spirituality storage items, and Extraordinary items... These would become important achievements and capital for him to establish himself in the society in the future.
Taking advantage of the An Yin Bureau's Director and the Hunter Squad being absent, stealing as much as possible from the An Yin Bureau's sealed vault was an important task given to Mr. Brandon by Buck. Now, this task was about halfway completed. The next step was to successfully leave the An Yin Bureau with this briefcase full of things, and this step was the most important.
Because every entrance and exit was illuminated by the Hui Jian Lamp, the Light of the Hui Jian Lamp could penetrate objects and reveal any Extraordinary traces. If it illuminated traces that were not registered beforehand, the mechanism connected to the alarm would be triggered, alerting the entire bureau.
Due to the existence of the Hui Jian Lamp, external Extraordinary power was difficult to infiltrate the An Yin Bureau, and Extraordinary items within the An Yin Bureau were also difficult to be taken out.
The ""Cup"" medicine that Mr. Brandon usually carried with him was too faint in Extraordinary traces, and with a test tube that had a slight ""Shadow"" meaning as a barrier, as long as he didn't get too close to the Hui Jian Lamp, it wouldn't be directly detected. Mr. Brandon was familiar with the location of all the Hui Jian Lamps in the bureau, so he usually just needed to walk around them. But now it was different, the Extraordinary traces in the box he was carrying were hundreds of times stronger than that little bit of ""Cup"" medicine. As soon as he stepped into the detection range of the Hui Jian Lamp, he would definitely be detected.
And for this, Mr. Brandon already had a solution.
Taking a deep breath, Mr. Brandon reached into his pocket and fumbled for something, which turned out to be a small section of a human severed finger. Mr. Brandon found this in the sealed vault. It was a ""Cup"" Spirituality storage item seized from Burton's stronghold in the past. Now he had stolen it, but he didn't put it in the box; instead, he kept it on his person. This would be the key to his successful escape later.
Glancing at his former colleagues around him again, Mr. Brandon seized an opportunity when no one noticed and immediately threw the small section of severed finger into his mouth, chewing and swallowing it without a change in expression. Then he picked up the briefcase and walked towards one of the entrances and exits.
This entrance and exit was the furthest one from the Hui Jian Lamp. Although entering it would inevitably step into the detection range, he could delay this moment until the last second, buying Mr. Brandon more time.
Walking towards the already selected entrance and exit, Mr. Brandon's pace quickened. Just as he was about to enter the detection area, he took out a Raw Consumption Symbol from his pocket, which he had obtained from the sealed vault and was previously confiscated by the Hunter Squad. He directly placed it on his head. As the symbol burned, the symbol of the ""Cup"" appeared on Mr. Brandon's forehead.
"Please protect me here, great Blood Cup."
Along with the low murmur, the ""Cup"" Spirituality on Mr. Brandon's body was suddenly stimulated at this moment. His figure suddenly became strong and powerful. Carrying the briefcase, he darted forward and crossed the detection area.
At this moment, the Hui Jian Lamp closest to Mr. Brandon flickered, and then the entire An Yin Bureau's alarm blared loudly, causing everyone to be startled. People in the hall immediately looked towards the direction of the flickering Hui Jian Lamp.
Then they saw Mr. Brandon, who had already rushed into the entrance and exit and disappeared.
"Someone illegally took controlled items! Go after him immediately!"
Seeing this scene, several remaining team members pointed towards the entrance and exit Mr. Brandon rushed out of and shouted loudly, then also ran towards it. A group of people followed behind. At this time, Mr. Brandon, under the physical enhancement brought by the Raw Consumption Symbol, had already taken the stairs upstairs in two or three steps, opened the hidden door, reached the first floor of the Cypress Fir Building, and was sprinting towards the direction of the lobby exit at an astonishing speed.
In the lobby of the Cypress Fir Building, Miss Ada was sitting behind her front desk, looking puzzled at the newly delivered bouquet of flowers. Just then, a small alarm bell on her front desk suddenly began to ring rapidly. The piercing sound startled Miss Ada, who was originally admiring the flowers.
"What's happening now?"
Looking at the ringing small alarm bell, Miss Ada couldn't help but frown and say. However, at this moment, a hurried footsteps came from her side. Miss Ada turned her head and saw Mr. Brandon, looking flustered, carrying a briefcase and running towards the front door of the lobby at an astonishing speed.
Seeing this scene, combined with the alarm bell, Miss Ada, who had worked in the An Yin Bureau for most of her life, instantly judged the situation before her. She immediately stood up, drew a revolver from under the counter, held it with one hand, and aimed it at the rapidly moving Mr. Brandon.
"Where are you taking the bureau's things?! You little brat!!!"
Miss Ada shouted in a sharp voice, then aimed the gun at Mr. Brandon, who was running at high speed, and fired continuously. The violent gunshots caused the surrounding civilians to scream and scatter.
Mr. Brandon, who was in the process of fleeing, never expected the usually gentle Miss Ada to do something like this, but at this moment, he had no other choice but to run with all his might. He could only hope that his speed would make it impossible for Miss Ada to aim.
Standing behind the front desk, Miss Ada fired five shots full of anger at Mr. Brandon, who was rushing towards the front door. None of the shots hit, until the last shot, when Miss Ada hit the hand Mr. Brandon was using to carry the briefcase. Mr. Brandon, who had just reached the door, cried out in pain, and the briefcase fell heavily to the ground and opened, with most of the contents scattering out, spilling all over the floor.
"Ah ah..."
Enduring the pain of his hand being shattered, knowing that he couldn't stay here for a moment longer, Mr. Brandon immediately closed the briefcase on the ground and picked it up, carrying the remaining items, and ran out of the building at high speed, running towards the street opposite. By the time Miss Ada arrived at the entrance of the Cypress Fir Building with her gun raised, Mr. Brandon's figure was already gone.
...
Iggwente Upper City, inside a dark and deserted alley.
Panting heavily, Mr. Brandon stumbled along the alley. Looking tired and nervous, he kept glancing back and forth, left and right. After confirming that no pursuers were following, he let out a long sigh of relief and leaned against a wall.
The effect of the Raw Consumption Symbol had long passed, and the continuous long-distance running had left him somewhat physically exhausted. He needed to rest for a while now, and then go to the society's rendezvous point.
Trembling, Mr. Brandon extended his right hand, which had lost two fingers. Looking at the bloody and mangled severed finger, he murmured softly.
"Hoo... hoo... That, that damn old bitch, one day, I will personally kill you..." While speaking angrily, Mr. Brandon relocked the briefcase he was holding. After taking a few more breaths and recovering for a while, he stood up straight and staggered to the center of the alley.
"Hoo... hoo... Just wait, wait until I become an Extraordinary, I will settle this account."
"I'm afraid you won't live to see that day."
At this moment, a cold male voice came from behind Mr. Brandon. Mr. Brandon was startled and turned around, seeing a man wearing a gray trench coat, a short top hat, and a thin, sharp face with a hooked nose.
"You are... Ugh..."
Before Mr. Brandon could speak, the man, holding a small knife, stabbed it into Mr. Brandon's heart. Mr. Brandon's face was full of shock, his eyes wide open, and he fell down in disbelief.
He fell into a puddle of sewage on the alley ground.
Looking at the lifeless young man before him, Edrick took out a cigarette, lit it with a match, and put it to his mouth. After exhaling two puffs of smoke, he slowly continued.
"Traitors deserve such a fate, don't you think? Mr. Brandon."
Then, Mr. Brandon, who was lying in the puddle, his expression of shock gradually eased. Then he slowly stood up from the puddle. He pulled out the small knife from his chest and returned it to Edrick before him, then spoke to him.
"Of course, I deserve this."
Seeing the scene before him, Edrick smiled slightly, put away the small knife, and turned to leave, while Mr. Brandon followed closely with the box.
In the blink of an eye, the deserted alley once again fell into silence, leaving behind only traces of blood in the puddle.