Pesticide rolled to the side, avoiding the shot. He then tossed out a rat and took cover behind a pillar, cursing, "F***, Cross! I was the one who taught you that trick, and you used it to try and kill me?"
"You bastard!"
Cross showed no mercy. He swiftly slung his gun, and the bullet curved in its trajectory, bypassing the pillar where Pesticide was hiding and instantly taking him out.
At the same time, gunshots sounded behind Cross. Gunsmith held a handgun and immediately pulled the trigger on Cross.
Whether it was due to a premonition or sensing the danger, Cross lunged forward, dodging the bullet. He then turned around and fired his own shot.
Gunsmith didn't hold back either. While evading, he shot back at Cross.
The bullets from both sides occasionally met and collided in mid-air.
...
On the other side, Charles Doyle entered a spacious study. The room was vast, with bookshelves lining the walls, filled with countless books.
Suddenly, Sloan and three assassins appeared behind separate bookshelves in four different directions. They all raised their guns and fired without hesitation.
"Bang!"
Four bullets were simultaneously fired from four different directions towards Charles. In an unbelievable move, Charles performed a mid-air somersault, evading all four bullets at once from seemingly impossible angles.
Before the enemies could react, Charles threw four shurikens, instantly killing the three assassins—excluding Sloan—on the spot. Although Sloan survived, his palm was pierced by a shuriken, causing him to drop his firearm.
Seeing that the danger was averted, Charles, who had landed on the ground, spoke to confirm, "Sloan?"
Sloan covered his bleeding hand, pretending to remain calm as he said, "Charles, how much did Cross pay you? We'll offer double, no, triple the price. Please help me."
Charles looked at Sloan with a hint of mockery and said, "Sloan, you can't afford that price."
"Besides, once you're dead, the property of the textile factory will belong to me!"
Charles wasn't joking. Sloan truly had nothing else comparable to the healing bath or the sacred weaving machines.
Upon hearing that Cross had used the entire textile factory as a bargaining chip to give to Charles, Sloan immediately broke into a sweat.
Then, realizing something, he continued, "Charles, if you let me go, I'll cancel the bounty on your agency. How about that?"
"And I'll give you ownership of this textile factory as well. How does that sound?"
Seeing that Charles remained unmoved, Sloan continued, "Charles, if you don't release me, the bounty will continue to hang at the Continental Hotel. Countless assassins will swarm you like locusts. You won't be able to trust anyone."
Hearing Sloan's threat, Charles kicked him to the ground and stepped on him, saying, "Sloan, you'd better cancel the bounty on my agency. That way, I might make your death a little less painful."
Sloan, pinned under Charles's foot, wasn't afraid. Instead, he quickly regained his composure and looked at Charles, saying, "Charles, if you're unwilling to spare me, then this bounty will remain on the five members of your agency until you're all dead and the bounty is claimed."
"Perhaps you're not afraid of assassination, but what about others? They'll live under the constant threat of assassination. Can they really endure it?"
Charles, still pressing down on Sloan, stomped hard on him, crushing him to death.
"I, Charles Doyle, can't stand threats the most in my life. You think you can rely on those insignificant assassins to force me to spare you? Sloan, you underestimate me."
With another forceful kick, Charles kicked Sloan's corpse to the doorway.
At this moment, Cross, who had just dealt with the gunsmith, walked in while holding his arm wounded. He looked at the lifeless Sloan and then glanced at Charles, who remained unscathed.
Cross' pupils contracted slightly as he thought, "This guy is too terrifying."
"Charles, is the bounty issue resolved?"
Charles shacked without much elaboration, clearly indicating that the matter wasn't resolved. Instead, he said, "Are there any survivors in the textile factory?"
Cross didn't expect an answer since Charles hadn't replied, so he continued, "They've all been killed."
Looking at Sloan's lifeless body on the ground, Charles asked, "Show me the so-called Fate Weaving Machine you guys mentioned."
Hearing Charles's request, Cross looked at him deeply but didn't refuse. Instead, he led Charles to a factory.
The factory was spacious but empty, with only one operational weaving machine inside.
Staring at the weaving machine in front of him, Cross spoke with mixed emotions, "Charles, this is the Assassin Brotherhood's Fate Weaving Machine."
Charles approached, circled around the machine, and especially looked at the back, as if checking if there was an internet cable connected to it, as some internet users had humorously speculated.
As it turned out, the Fate Weaving Machine was not connected to any network cable. Charles examined the machine carefully, trying to find some distinctive feature, but after observing for a while, he found nothing.
He gently touched the weaving machine. The next second, the system that had never successfully recharged before suddenly responded, emitting a message.
Ding Detected special energy. Recharge is available. Do you want to recharge?
Hearing about the recharge, a smile appeared on Charles's face. The Fate Weaving Machine was indeed not a simple object; it could actually recharge the system.
Without hesitation, Charles silently confirmed the recharge.
The next moment, the weaving machine in front of him seemed to have its energy drained away. It aged instantly.
The machine that hadn't sustained any damage for over a thousand years suddenly deteriorated as if consumed by time, turning into ashes and scattering on the ground.
Cross, who witnessed this scene, was dumbfounded. He was bewildered by how the immortal weaving machine had decayed into ashes the moment Charles touched it.
His eyes shifted, and he murmured, "The Fate Weaving Machine is just like the Assassin Brotherhood—it corroded and perished together after betraying its faith."
Regarding Cross' words, Charles merely raised an eyebrow, not particularly concerned. He was more focused on the interface of the Naruto System in his mind.
Ding Recharge successful!
On the system interface, the gold coins column rapidly flipped numbers, going from 100 to 500 to 1000.
The numbers were constantly changing until they finally settled at 1730.
Charles recharged 1680 gold coins, and his VIP level had also changed. It went from 0 to VIP1.
Seeing these changes, Charles didn't linger on the system interface for too long. He directly exited and planned to investigate further later. After all, Cross was still standing beside him.
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