"It's none of our business, boss!"
One of the underlings complained.
"It was the Hyena boss who sent us up, he said with 'Mad Hand' we could definitely handle that group...
Seven or eight guards escorting, mostly someone with a status, we couldn't lose by capturing them.
But we didn't expect that the kid who came out of the carriage had a firearm, and shot the Hyena boss dead with one shot!"
"A firearm?"
The burly man frowned, seeming to realize things were a bit tricky.
"It seems the kid you're talking about is no small fry, but we can't afford to lose 'Mad Hand.'
Since there's only one firearm, it's not like we don't stand a chance."
He stood up and pulled out a pair of Iron Gloves identical to those worn by the former bandit leader and put them on himself.
Fist against fist, they clanged twice.
"Let's go! Catch up with them!"
"Move out!"
Upon hearing the command, all the underlings instantly raised their weapons, pumped as if injected with chicken blood.
"No need to chase, I've come myself."
Just as the bandit leader was gearing up to leave with his henchmen, sharply preparing to set off, they suddenly heard a man's voice.
He was startled and looked up.
He saw a young man walking out of the bushes at a leisurely pace.
"Boss! It's him!"
The sidekick next to him recognized Chen Lun and immediately alerted his leader.
The burly man first surveyed the surroundings, found nothing suspicious, and then a mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Just you alone?"
"Hmm."
Chen Lun responded indifferently and slowly walked towards them.
The bandit leader's smile became more ferocious and terrifying, and he signaled; his underlings surrounded Chen Lun, holding various weapons in a pinching trend.
"You dare to follow us here alone? Who do you think you are? A hero?"
He raised his iron fist, flexing his fingers, making a crisp metallic friction sound.
Chen Lun then drew the Flintlock Gun from his waist holster and pointed it at the burly leader in front of him.
"Oh ho, wow... Look everyone, what is this, a firearm!"
The burly man seemed not to care at all; he spread his hands and looked at his underlings.
"Didn't your mom ever tell you, read less of those lone hero stories and stay home and drink your milk?"
Laughter erupted from the underlings surrounding them, their eyes filled with excitement and mockery.
In the corner of the camp, the people locked in iron cages, seeing this scene, couldn't help but sigh silently. They had thought there might be a rescue, but it was just a young man full of notions of heroism.
"Why didn't you call more people before coming here to die alone!"
One of the men cursed angrily, slamming the iron cage, muttering some ugly words.
"I quite admire him."
Another young man with blond hair was sitting in another cage, wearing a top hat with a White Feather and draped in a dirty cloak.
A pair of dark green eyes watched the standoff in front, his handsome face showing a look of satisfaction.
"He has a bit of my youth's grace, admirable and pitiable."
"Shut up, you blabbering pretty boy!"
The enraged man shouted.
The blond young man rolled his eyes and immediately stood up, pointing at the man and shouted back.
"If you bark like a dog one more time, believe it or not, I'll knock you out with two punches when I get out?"
"Oh, bring it on! Could you have been caught by just keeping your mouth shut?"
The others locked up pressed their hands against their ears, looking speechless, clearly used to such quarrels.
While facing off with the bandits, Chen Lun raised an eyebrow and asked:
"I'm very interested in those Iron Gloves you have, can you tell me where you got them from? "
The bandit leader looked at Chen Lun, his eyes turning icy.
"It seems you still don't understand the situation. Without your guards, just with one firearm, what can you do?
At most, fire one shot, and we'll capture you, then clean you up and sell you to the black market...
Seeing you've been coddled quite well in your greenhouse, delicate and tender, I believe many buyers will like you! Now..."
Chen Lun silently pulled out a second gun.
The bandit leader's eyes twitched, and the words died on his lips.
"No worries, you don't have to tell me; the dual guns will give me the answer."
Chen Lun, holding two Flintlock Guns, one pointed at the burly man, the other at the surrounding underlings.
"Go! Don't be afraid of him! Even with two guns, he can only fire two shots! After two shots, he's no threat!"
At that, the underlings roared and charged forward.
But as the gun barrels targeted them, they simultaneously took a step back. Though those were the words, no one wanted to be the unfortunate one to take the first bullet.
"Damn! A bunch of useless fools!"
The burly man cursed angrily.
He immediately took the lead, striding forward and swinging his fist at Chen Lun. Seeing this, the other underlings also rushed forward.
Bang!
Bang!!
Two gunshots sounded almost simultaneously.
Two flowers bloomed, almost simultaneously.
One underling's forehead burst into a spray of blood, falling to the ground. Another bullet was blocked by the muscular man's Iron Gloves, sparking a flame.
"Quick, get him! He can't shoot anymore! Capture him! I want to torture this kid harshly!"
The muscular man, still frightened, looked at the bullet mark on his glove and roared angrily.
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang bang!!
A rapid succession of gunshots echoed continuously, instantly stiffening his expression, then revealing a look of disbelief.
"What... what's going on?"
Flintlock Guns are supposed to load one bullet per shot, right!?
What is this!?
Which shot is this already!?
The black-haired young man swiftly moved his hands as if playing a beautiful piano melody.
Walking, turning around, pulling the trigger...
His dual guns continuously spat out flames and smoke, as one underling after another screamed and fell.
They were powerless to fight back, it was like a slaughter!
Thud!
Until the last bandit fell.
Chen Lun looked at his Flintlock Gun with a helpless expression, smoke still trailing from the barrel.
"Well… out of ammo."
His barely audible mutter was heard by the bandit leader, who suddenly shuddered.
"Opportunity!"
The burly figure lunged at him like a fierce tiger, his iron fist raised high and then smashing down.
The black metallic glove, emitting a blast of air, shot straight towards Chen Lun's head!
Bang!!
The bandit leader's face filled with disbelief as he stared wide-eyed.
He slowly lowered his head, seeing the Flintlock Gun pressed against his left chest, emitting smoke.
"You aren't..."
A heart-piercing pain struck, draining all his strength.
After that, he followed in his underlings' footsteps, falling to the ground, dead on the spot.
Chen Lun holstered his gun and crouched down, looking at the corpse.
"Gotcha, fool."
Unfortunately, the bandit leader could no longer hear him.
[Eliminate Bandit Camp, D-level Task: Pursue the Poor Until Complete!]
[Task Reward: 300 Experience Points and 500 Copper Kro.]
Chen Lun disregarded the prompt box and directly stripped the Iron Gloves from the corpse, examining them closely.
"Is this glove… the 'Mad Hand'?"
Originally, he had planned to go back and study a pair, but here was a ready-made one.
He was quite curious about this gadget.
Equipped by an ordinary person, its combat power soars, and in some ways, it could be considered black-technology brass knuckles.
[Mad Hand–Mechanical Glove]
Item Description: An inferior imitation of a masterpiece by craftsmen that ended up being birthed.
The crude craftsmanship has castrated the originally precise and powerful function, retaining only the most basic striking enhancement effects.
Of course, you could also use it for handling hot pots and pans; at least the heat insulation is still pretty decent...
"Is this all?"
Chen Lun immediately lost interest in it.
To an ordinary person, the glove might be a decent weapon, but for him, it was hardly useful.
Not to mention the slight increase in striking power, for the current Chen Lun with 22 Strength Attributes, plus the [Surging Badge] which could reach 24 Points, it was basically ineffective.
As for the added protection, just covering the hands with a layer of scale armor would be several times tougher than this glove.
Moreover, wearing it even affected the experience.
Here, it's about combat experience.
However, he could consider finding an opportunity to throw it to the Shelter for research, scooping some benefits, as they would certainly be happy to equip each Investigator with a pair of such gloves.
With a Flintlock Gun for distance and Iron Gloves for close combat, perfect!
Furthermore, Chen Lun discerned some trickery from the prompt description and noted down this information.
He stood up and walked into the camp past the scattered corpses.
The place was very spacious, everything was clearly visible.
Heading straight to a corner of the camp, he first noticed seven or eight people locked in a cage, casting hopeful glances at him.