The assassins that Russell had taken care of were merely ordinary members within the Brotherhood.
In short, they were just for show.
Only those assassins who were skilled in gun or possessed unique abilities could be considered elite members of the Brotherhood.
For example, Fox, the Mechanic, the Butcher, the Gunsmith, Mr. X, and others.
Russell hadn't reverted from his Venom form. Just as he was about to head to the second floor, a mobile phone suddenly rang.
"Wait a moment, I need to take a call!"
Russell partially dispelled his Venom form, revealing half of his face.
Under his control, the phone he had placed in his pocket emerged from his Venom-formed body, wrapped in black tendrils, and brought up to his ear.
Controlling the tendrils, he answered the call, and a electronically masked male voice echoed from the phone.
"Mr. Traveler, greetings. I am a hacker from the Rising Tide organization, you can call me Jack."
Jack's attitude was polite.
"I'm a bit busy right now, so let's get to the point. I need you to help me look up a phone number. I want to know who is behind that number. The reward is $50,000."
Russell stated directly, paying no mind to the fact that the Cross was right beside him.
"Sure, what's the number?" Jack asked.
For the Rising Tide organization, looking up a phone number wasn't difficult. And the reward of $50,000 was reasonable given the difficulty.
Jack had no reason to refuse.
Russell provided the anonymous phone number Diana had received yesterday to Jack.
"As per our protocol, I'll need to collect half of the fee upfront," Jack stated again.
"Alright, send me the account details!"
Russell had barely finished speaking when he received the bank account details sent by Jack.
Without hesitation, he logged into his overseas bank account and transferred $50,000.
"Mr. Traveler, we usually only collect half the fee in advance."
Seeing that Russell had transferred the entire fee at once, Jack reminded him.
"I know, I just didn't want to make two transactions."
After saying this, Russell hung up the call, and the black tendrils put the phone back "inside" him.
"Alright, let's go!"
Having resolved this unexpected interruption, Russell returned to his complete Venom form.
Textile factory, second floor.
Sloan's office.
The office, decorated much like a study, was crowded with key members of the Brotherhood.
Sloan, who looked no different from a successful businessman with his impeccable suit, coat, vest, tie, and tie clip, sat behind his desk with a solemn expression, not saying a word.
In front of him stood the elite members of the Brotherhood: Fox, the Gunsmith, the Mechanic, and others.
And Wesley, the assassin apprentice who hadn't even graduated yet.
The expressions of Fox and the others were just as serious as Sloan's, displaying an air of solemnity.
Only Wesley, who had yet to realize the gravity of the situation, seemed extremely excited.
After scanning Fox and the others, Sloan began slowly, "Cross not only betrayed the Brotherhood, but he also wants to destroy the Brotherhood completely."
"For this purpose, he's even willing to collaborate with the infamous Traveler, Russell."
"The Brotherhood has been around for over a thousand years, and today might very well be its final day."
"Cross used to be one of the best among us, and Traveler Russell is the most famous assassin in recent years. But even if the two of them team up, they won't easily destroy the Brotherhood!"
"Where the Loom of Fate is, there the Brotherhood is!"
At this point, Sloan slammed the table, stood up, and with an extremely serious tone, continued, "Gentlemen, we are assassins of destiny, chosen by God as fate's executioners!"
"Today is our best opportunity to prove ourselves! Even if it costs us our lives, we must protect the Loom of Fate, passed down through generations!"
"Go! Use the weapons in your hands to tell the Cross and Russell that the Brotherhood will never back down!"
Sloan passionately conducted the final pre-battle mobilization.
In truth, even if he hadn't said a word, Fox and the others would have fought to the death.
Especially Wesley.
He was eager to kill the Cross immediately and avenge his father's death.
After Fox and the others left the office with a resolute spirit, Sloan sat back down with a sigh of helplessness.
Damn it!
The Cross, damn him! And Russell even more!
Up until now, Sloan couldn't understand what reward the Cross had offered that convinced Russell to go along with him.
Two people daring to infiltrate the Brotherhood's headquarters and actually succeeding!
After cursing the Cross and Russell in his heart, Sloan opened a drawer and retrieved an old-fashioned Mauser pistol.
Then, he stood and approached a bookshelf, opening a hidden door behind it.
Unstoppable!
Just one Cross had forced them to bring Wesley in. And now, there was Russell, who survived a gunshot to the temple.
In this situation, Sloan couldn't see any chance of victory.
Despite his enthusiastic mobilization of Fox and the others, he had never thought of sacrificing his life to protect the Loom of Fate.
To use his life to protect an antique loom that wanted to kill him.
'Give me a break!'
'The Loom of Fate, go deceive someone else!'
'I am fate!'
When Sloan's name was woven by the Loom of Fate, his faith collapsed completely, shifting from one extreme to another.
Fox and the others would never have imagined that Sloan, who had just passionately motivated them to protect the Loom of Fate with their lives, was currently secretly sneaking out of the textile factory through a secret passage.
Sloan had only been in the secret passage for a short time when sporadic gunshots reached his ears from outside.
There was no need to guess.
Fox and the others had engaged in a battle with Cross and Russell.
Upon hearing the gunshots, Sloan quickened his pace.
In the dim, damp underground passage, Sloan hastened along.
Before long, he arrived at the exit of the passage.
Creak!
Sloan pushed open the iron door that hadn't been opened in who knows how long and stepped out from the passage.
Before he could even savor the joy of escaping, a voice sounded from behind him.
"Mr. Sloan, fleeing at the brink of battle isn't what a good leader should do!"
The speaker was none other than Russell.
After ending the call with Jack, he hadn't followed Cross to the second floor. Instead, he had left the factory directly.
Cross and Fox were unaware that Sloan had a secret escape route.
But Russell just happened to know.
Although he didn't know where the exit of Sloan's escape route was, it didn't matter.
Because he didn't need to know where the exit was.
After leaving the factory, he followed the exterior wall to the window of Sloan's office.
He not only witnessed Sloan's impassioned pre-battle mobilization but also observed the entire process of Sloan opening the hidden door behind the bookshelf and leaving the study.
The next steps were quite simple.
He broke into the study through the window, opened the hidden door, and quietly followed behind Sloan.
The environment in the underground passage was already dim, and he, in his Venom form, made no sound.
Sloan had no inkling that just over ten meters behind him, there was a massive black figure trailing him.
In fact, Russell could have taken out Sloan early on.
But he didn't.
Dispatching Sloan directly from behind seemed a bit too easy.
So, he deliberately waited until Sloan had exited the passage before giving him a heads-up.
To plunge the enemy into despair when they were at their happiest!
Failure at the final moment would be the most unforgettable lesson!