Two shots per second, point-blank, it's a routine operation.

Yakou Shichi was terrified, fumbling to grab his gun, when he saw Watanabe Shun darting out of the woods, delivering two explosive punches that left him dazed and confused. If Kazama Tatsuya hadn't ordered him to leave him alive, he would've killed this guy right then and there.

"Are you okay?"

Kazama Tatsuya glanced over as a courtesy and then turned away, taking off his trench coat and draping it over Moriyama Yasurou: "Can you walk?"

Moriyama Yasurou's shirt buttons were ripped off, and the fabric was torn in several places, exposing large patches of her pale skin.

She clutched the trench coat, momentarily stunned, then snapped back to reality, looking at Kazama Tatsuya, catching a faint smell of smoke on the coat.

Hmm, it's not unpleasant at all.

"Don't do this," Moriyama Yasurou didn't want to be treated specially: "It's no big deal."

"The director is so generous; I won't hold back then." Watanabe Shun turned his head, eager to feast his eyes, while also getting some petty revenge on the director for always being a killjoy.

Kazama Tatsuya casually slapped him, not hard, just enough to turn Watanabe Shun's face forward.

"It's fine, I don't want people seeing where my arm's broken either," Kazama Tatsuya said.

It was the first time Moriyama Yasurou found a man's words pleasing. She had never paid attention to Kazama Tatsuya before. If it weren't for Minamoto Tamako and Fushimi Roku, she probably would've never crossed paths with someone like Kazama Tatsuya in her life.

"Alright, okay." Not being fussy, she tidied herself up, put on the trench coat, and buttoned it up: "Where's Fushimi-san and the others? What's the situation now?"

"I have no idea." Watanabe Shun interjected: "We got to the designated spot but didn't see them. Senior Kazama suggested we head in the opposite direction to avoid running into the arsonists... Then I got a stomachache, needed to take a dump, and just happened to spot you guys, so I quickly called the boss over..."

Moriyama Yasurou was puzzled about how the bald guy found them, and now she understood, the stench had given away Watanabe Shun and the others' position.

Yakou Shichi was also bewildered; he never thought it would be such a coincidence to run into them. If he'd listened to the bald guy and pushed on a bit, maybe he could've avoided this.

Now wasn't the time for idle chatter. Kazama Tatsuya and Moriyama Yasurou stood their ground on either side, while Watanabe Shun crouched in front of Yakou Shichi, placing his hands on his knees, scolding with the distinctive thug-like caw, "What the hell!"

"I won't say anything!" Yakou Shichi shouted.

"I haven't even asked anything yet!" Watanabe Shun replied.

"No matter what you ask, I..." Yakou Shichi hadn't finished his sentence when Moriyama Yasurou picked up the gun beside his hand, pressed it to his forehead, and he hurriedly changed his words: "I'll talk, I'll talk, ask me anything... No, what's 'chambering a round' mean, don't use violence... let's sit down and talk this through..."

Moriyama Yasurou fluidly ejected a shell, chambered a round, aimed, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

—Bang!

Another gunshot rang out, the bullet piercing Yakou Shichi's lips, knocking out two of his front teeth, penetrating his throat and cervical spine, and finally exiting through the back of his neck.

This shot wasn't fatal, but Yakou Shichi's eyes widened, face twisted in pain. He clutched his mouth, blood oozing through his fingers, trying to say something but only managing a gurgling sound.

After a moment, he fell backward onto the ground, as if pleading, or maybe cursing.

If he didn't suffocate first, it wouldn't be long before he bled out and died.

The gunshot startled Watanabe Shun. He turned back and asked, "Weren't we supposed to leave him alive for questioning? Why the extrajudicial punishment?"

"Didn't he say he wouldn't talk?" Moriyama Yasurou replied.

"But he just started to..."

Watanabe Shun hadn't finished talking when Kazama Tatsuya interrupted, signaling him not to dwell on this matter and to continue retreating in the opposite direction, circling near the coastline, making their way back to the dinghy and waiting to meet up with Fushimi Roku and Minamoto Tamako.

"Good idea." Watanabe Shun couldn't really tell right from wrong; as long as it was the boss's idea, it was a good idea.

Moriyama Yasurou had no objections either. The three reached a consensus and advanced toward the outer area.

On the other side, the confrontation between Fushimi Roku and Uesugi Shion had also reached a fever pitch—not as a metaphor, but literally. The raging fire gradually depleted the oxygen, distorting the view near the ground. Fushimi Roku could neither move forward nor just leave; he could only keep negotiating with Uesugi Shion.

In the process, he leveled his negotiation skills up to ten, continually trying to buy time for Kujo Yua to bring others to rescue the hostages.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The tactical team made a big detour, reappearing in his line of sight, just near the barricade.

"Drop your weapon!"

Kujo Yua shouted from thirty meters away through the tactical team: "Surrender immediately! This is the final warning, in ten seconds we will open fire!"

Uesugi Shion didn't respond but began unbuttoning her shirt, revealing her chest covered in hideous scars, with a blue wire extending into the wound.

Kujo Yui froze, raising her hand to signal the tactical team not to shoot. She recognized this device, having seen it on Ajun before.

It's a pacemaker combined with a detonator, linking the detonation circuit with the pacemaker. If the heart stops, the bomb will explode.

But where's the bomb?

Uesugi Shion continued unbuttoning, removing her jacket to reveal only a tank top underneath, with a belt of TNT strapped around her waist, estimated to weigh at least ten kilograms.

"From now on, no one moves; otherwise, I'll press the detonator, and everyone within fifty meters will die."

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