"???"
The concern and worry in Caitlyn's eyes grew.
He didn't hit his head, right? …what nonsense is he talking?
"Don't look at me like a nitwit, just do as I say." Lilin glared at her, "It's my new invention. TRUST. ME."
Caitlyn pursed her lips and hesitated for a moment, "I hope this gun is as good as you said."
She gripped the gun with both hands, took a slow deep breath, tried to relax as much as possible, and envisioned the structure of this alley in her mind.
The gunman was about 20 steps away, in a room about 4 meters above the ground.
The people on the other side are more than ten meters away from here, they can run over within a few seconds...
The shooter's eyes are definitely on our cover.
Although they said they would not kill me, I would be a fool to trust the enemy.
There's a high probability I am shot as soon as I exit cover...
What do I do?
Caitlyn's mind was racing, considering every possible countermeasure.
Then, she saw some protruding metal obstruction above the alley, and an idea came to her mind.
"Lilin, what is the caliber of your revolver?" she asked softly.
"Uh, I modified it from a normal revolver, it should be 10mm..."
Lilin noticed that Caitlyn's eyes had been wandering their surroundings and deduced her train of thought.
"Ricocheting an energy bullet seems a bit bold, don't you think? That wasn't quite what I had in mind when I said..."
"I thought you said you trusted my aim Lilin." Caitlyn looked at him and replied calmly.
Lilin speechless.
"And you said it would explode?"
"…yes…"
She kneeled on one knee and stretched out her arm, closed her left eye, and aimed the pistol at the diagonal position above her.
Inhale, then hold.
Her slender finger pulled the trigger.
At the same time, the hextech revolver vibrated slightly, and the power supply core began flashing a blue light.
After a short delay, with a muffled sound, a blue energy ball quickly shot out of the barrel, according to Caitlyn's plan, the bullet hit the ricochet point perfectly.
However... The shot exploded in a sphere, sending a shockwave, and illuminating the dark alley.
The thug, taken aback by the sudden counterattack, was blinded by light, "What the hell!?"
Using the explosion as a distraction and as a flash bang, Caitlyn swiftly manoeuvred out of cover. In a different position to where the goon was aiming, she waited for the crystal to recharge. The low hum of the recharge stopped; she took another shot at the location of the gunner.
Raising his hand to block the light, another shock wave suddenly came from the soles of his feet, it destroyed the ground he stood on, and knocked him into the air.
The last thing he saw was a slender figure emerging from the bright blue light.
…
On the other side of the alley, the goons hiding behind the wall, one lighting a cigarette.
"It's fine, she might be a good shot, but the boss is the best..."
The explosions sounded.
"Holy…"
"What is that light? Is she really holding a gun? Or a new weapon developed by the Kiramman?"
The goon dropping his smoke, "That's … not good..."
Just they were peeking into the alley, a dull voice of a strange middle-aged man suddenly sounded behind them.
"I don't know about a new weapon, but this punk's bad feeling is right."
"Who... !"
Just as one of them turned around, a fist had already landed on his face, and he was knocked unconscious without even saying a word.
When the other three saw their partner knocked out, they scrambled to prepare their weapons and distanced themselves from the middle-aged man.
"Who are you?!"
Wielding a cybernetic-augmented arm, the man wearing a metal skull mask stared coldly at the strange man in front of him.
"I advise you to mind your own business!"
"You've all come to Lanes, and you don't even know who I am." The middle-aged man cracked his knuckles and smiled, "Didn't you find out whose territory is here in advance?"
"... Vander" The man took two steps back subconsciously, "We have no business with you, why did you attack my people?"
Vander laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke in his life, "No business? Hahaha..."
For a moment, he restrained his smile, and asked sternly: "Then do you know why the Lanes are the most orderly area in all of undercity?"
"Cause it's all part of my business."
The three looked at each other. After a brief exchange, they glared at him, mockery in their eyes.
"Cut the chitchat. There are three of us, and one of him!"
"You have the numbers?" Vander shook his head and pointed behind the three of them.
The man wearing the skull mask felt an inexplicable chill, as if being stared at by countless pairs of malicious eyes.
He stiffened his neck, turned his head like a rusted mechanical gear.
Just a dozen meters away from them, a crowd of figures in the dark.
All of them are fully armed, some with machetes, some with nailed bats, and many of them have Chemtech augmentations.
it's over...
At this moment, the only thought remained in the goon's mind.
"May the Gray never rise to your door." Vander stepped forward and patted his shoulder with a smile, "On behalf of the Lanes, the sincerest greetings to you and your friends."
...
...
At Benzo's shop.
Caitlyn, worried, stared at the two men, one fat and one strong, who were busy tending Lilin.
Lying on the bed, Lilin received anesthesia and was in a semi-conscious state.
After the battle, Vander took Caitlyn and the injured Lilin back to Benzo's to treat his wounds.
Benzo threw the towel in his hand into the basin that was already tainted with red, and shouted "Ekko, get more water!"
"Okay!"
Not long after, a little boy with white hair and black skin came in again with clean water.
Vander used tweezers to pick a piece of metal from the wound and threw it in a tray, then washed the blood from his hands and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his forearm.
Seeing this, Caitlyn, who was restless, asked about Lilin's situation, "Is he okay?"
"This kid's fine. The bullet didn't go deep enough, and all the shrapnel has been taken out. Benzo's going to suture the wound, and he'll be fine after resting a while."
"Thank you." Caitlyn breathed a sigh of relief, "By the way, those five people..."
"Come out and talk." Vander motioned her to follow him.
The two walked out of shop and came to a narrow alley next to the store.
Vander lit his own pipe with a match, leaned against the cold wall, raised his head and exhaled several circular smoke rings.
After pondering for a while, he slowly opened his mouth and said: "My people have yet to come up with any results of the interrogation, but what I can confirm is that they are not from down here, people here have no money to install augmentation from the city. "
"I know, they should be sent by a hostile clan."
"I didn't expect you to be the daughter of an Uptown Councillor."
"And I didn't expect that you to be the head of Lanes.
"You are very different from the Chem-baron I imagined."
"I'm not a Chem-baron, I'm just a bartender." Vander knocked out the pipe in his hand, not wanting to continue this topic, "What are you going to do now?"
Caitlyn's expression sank, "I will personally send them all to prison, including the people behind them."
"Well, that's fine, but sometimes, the law is not as useful..."
"I'm not a murderer."
"Of course, I'm just speaking from personal experience... I don't like to cause trouble anyhow."
Vander shrugged.
A long silence.
Time passed by minute by minute.
After some time, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the alley in front of the store.
A woman wearing a brown tattered leather coat with dark skin and thick black eyeshadow came to Vander.
"Sevika, how is the situation?"
"They are mercenaries traveling between Uptown and Bilgewater, and they were hired by a man to kidnap this girl."
The woman glanced at Caitlyn, her voice a bit raspy.
"But none of them know the real identity of the employer, only an alias
"C."