Evelyn was quick in her actions, and she grabbed Christoph from the back of his collar and pushed him closer. The place where the man stood earlier suddenly turned into a bottomless pit.
Finally, Christoph realized what was going on in this place. They had walked inside a trap maze. Every step had the potential to kill them. Evelyn said, "Stay close and do not try to act out. It is not only the traps we have to deal with."
Christoph raised his brows, and suddenly, he sensed his lungs burning. He asked, "What is this?"
Percival spoke on the speakers once again, "That is Silver Nitrate. I thought it would be good for you to feel a bit rushed. Hahahaha…. However, do not worry. I will not flush the place with it. Consider this to be a time penalty. Every time you take more than one minute to clear a corridor, you will release the gas in the ventilation system."
Christoph grits his teeth, and Evelyn says, "He is goading you into it. Calm down. We don't have much time."
The young man nodded, holding the gun to aim over Evelyn's shoulder level, and followed her. He was smart enough to follow her footsteps down to the dot. He could now figure out where the traps were hidden.
His instincts were being trained as he followed Evelyn. Suddenly he raised his gun and fired a shot.
Bang!
A scream followed the shot, and a bright fire lit up. Christoph shot an enemy hiding in the shadow. Evelyn was surprised that she missed the enemy, but it was time for self-doubt. The fire illuminated the rest of the corridor, and Christoph began firing his gun.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots and two kills. One of the bullets was shot to disarm the last guy, who had caught up to Christoph and was about to shoot at them. Evelyn narrowed her gaze and looked at the other side of the corridor.
She signaled Christoph, and the two-headed the way where the shooters were. The young man asked, "Why this way?"
Evelyn replied, "Security is always placed where you want to guard."
Christoph did not speak anymore and just followed her. His task was to be her backup. This was an on-job training session, and he needed to learn as much as possible.
They moved through the corridors, and suddenly, Christoph asked, "We have not found a single man in these hallways. Where are we heading?"
Evelyn replied, "He is playing with us. Did you not notice my step pattern changed?"
Christoph nodded. He did notice the change, the steps were more careless, and even when Evelyn stepped on the trap triggers, none were triggered. He said, "What is he waiting for?"
Suddenly a voice echoed in the corridor, "I was waiting for you to ask."
The next moment, the room was filled with clicking sounds. Looking at the walls, they found small holes opening up. Evelyn cursed and said, "Run."
The two put caution to the wind as they ran through the shower of bullets. The walls were fitted with guns. However, the speed of a vampire was still faster than the bullets.
Percival was not going easy either. He calculated where the target would move and calibrated the guns to aim at the spot they would be. Christoph sensed the change, and he suddenly came to a halt. Evelyn was also not a fool to miss the change in firing rate.
The young man suddenly discovered the camera fixed on the corner of the ceiling and threw his dagger at it. The camera was stabbed, and it stopped working. Christoph said, "I got it. He likes to play games, meaning everything around us is controlled manually. Destroy the cameras. He will be blinded."
Evelyn nodded, and they quickly located the cameras to destroy. She did not doubt his judgment. Christoph was a psychologist and was very apt in deducing the other party's behavior.
As soon as they were done with the cameras, Percival roared in the sound system, "Argghh! You ruined the fun, now do not blame me for breaking the rules too."
Evelyn sniffed the air and said, "He will release the silver nitrate and quickly drink the blood from the flask. The temporary boost will help you get through the poisonous effect."
Christoph followed her command, quickly removing the metal flask from his windbreaker and chugging the content inside. He also understood that as a half-breed, Evelyn did not need to drink blood when faced with silver. This must be her particular boon for being a half-breed.
After chugging down the blood inside the flask, the two were on the run again. Evelyn decided to use blades to destroy the cameras, and they would change their path every few turns. The maze was complicated, but they judged they were heading in the right direction if the traps got more deadly.
They also found that the walls were laced with microphones, which was how Percival could listen to them. Evelyn furrowed her brows as time was running out for the two of them to locate the target, and the threat of Hunters was increasing.
Christoph made a few hand signals, and Evelyn understood. Since the enemy would pull tricks on them, it was only fitting to return the favor. The two begin to feed Percival the wrong information.
If the flow of information were controlled, then Percival would not have much power against them. This also made Percival angrier. His traps were failing, and his men were being killed.
…
A middle-aged man sat in front of the monitors in a closed monitoring room with a livid expression. He said, "Vance, go and deal with it."
Vance was the man in a suit, the manager who had earlier dealt with the police. He bowed and left the room. Percival sneered and said, "Although I will lose a good dog, he will be enough to injure Evelyn. Then I will make my move, kill that bitch and that little puppy behind her. Tch, to think that Ambrosia will send a greenhorn to hunt me."
The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became. He smashed the control panel before him and roared to vent his frustration.
…
Evelyn suddenly stopped and said, "The worst timing ever. You go ahead, and I will handle this guy."
She had spotted a figure standing in the corridor blocking their way. She had a sharp vision to know who this person was. Christoph, behind her, dilated his pupils to make out the manager's figure.
He said, "I do not think he will let me pass this easily."
Evelyn nodded and replied, "That is obvious, but I will help you open a way."
Christoph shook his head and said, "The enemy waiting ahead is stronger than this guy. He is not here to kill us but to sacrifice himself so that his master can get away.
Since I need experience, let me deal with him, you can rush ahead when the gap is open. Terminate Percival, and if I am still entangled with this guy, you will have the chance to get your hands on him."
Evelyn turned her face to look at him and did not know why she found him strangely confident. He had been analyzing things ever since they had entered the premise. He was acting quickly and without hesitation as well. However, in this situation, he could deduce the enemy's primary motive, which signified that he had grasped the way Percival was thinking.
When she was evaluating this guy, he stepped forward and said, "Christoph Winslow, here on orders of Lady Ambrosia Silvermoon to arrest the criminal Percival. If he is willing to come along peacefully, the Lady might be lenient in her judgment. You should not stand in the way."
The manager opened his eyes slightly wider and then, with a smile, said, "Boy, do you think, just because I am a servant you can talk fancy and confuse me? I am Vance. This life of mine is a gift from Master Percival. If you want to take him…"
At this moment, Christoph suddenly took out his gun and fired a shot. Vance flinched to dodge, but the shot was not aimed at his heart. It was aimed at his feet. The manager jumped to the left and Evelyn exploited this window to rush past him.
Vance was surprised and wanted to attack the Lady who turned around as she leaped into the void to fire a shot at him from another direction.
Vance had no choice but to dodge again, and in these two seconds, Christoph had closed up the distance with the man and was standing before him. He had successfully blocked the way for Evelyn to move without being bothered.
Vance did not like this. He had taken after his master and yelled, "I will kill you, bastard."
Christoph gazed at him cheekily and said, "Then what are you waiting for? An invitation?"
The young man was changing as he faced pressure. He was evolving.