Chapter 7: Dark Chinese Zodiac

Wesley slapped the side of his leg with the pistol equipped with a silencer and looked at the killers outside. "It's getting late. Everyone should get a rest now."
After the words fell, he raised his gun.
At the same time, a glistening flying dagger appeared in his left hand.
He jumped into action with his left hand holding a flying dagger and his right hand on a gun.
Swish! Swish!
The sound of a pistol equipped with a silencer was similar to that of a throwing knife. The sound of gunshots rang out, and cold lights suddenly appeared.
The killers failed to react in time and were either shot in the head or had their throats slit by the flying dagger.
The magazines were emptied, the throwing knives were used up, and there were corpses everywhere. The pungent smell of blood filled the air, sickening everyone to their stomachs.
He only brought ten flying daggers this time.
Of the twenty killers, only three were lucky enough to survive temporarily as they went into hiding.
As he passed by, Wesley dashed forward hurriedly, pulling the flying daggers out of three corpses, and hid behind a pillar.
A pale-faced killer with a terrifying look on his face held his gun tightly as he stuck out the gun muzzle from behind the training equipment and quietly poked his head out to observe the situation.
There was a "pop" sound.
A cold light flashed before his eyes, and then his life ended. He fell on his back with a flying dagger, even its handle, stuck between his eyebrows.
"Dragon, are you going to betray the headquarters?"
A killer was hiding behind a pillar, his face full of panic. His gun-holding hands were trembling as he roared at Wesley.
"Isn't it obvious enough?"
As Wesley spoke, he flicked his wrist, and a flying dagger disappeared from his hand.
The killer who was hiding behind the pillar quietly poked his head out, hoping to spot him. Suddenly, the back of his head stung, and then he completely lost his ability to think and fell to the ground without moving anymore.
"Didn't your instructor tell you you should never reveal your position if you have no confidence you will survive?"
Wesley's voice was cold.
At this moment, there was a scream, and a figure suddenly jumped out. He rushed to the elevator in panic and shot behind him indiscriminately and wildly.
But just as he was emptying the magazine, a cold light shot into the back of his head, killing him with one blow.
Wesley walked out from behind the pillar and looked at the corpses on the ground expressionlessly, his eyes cold.
At this point, the entire Flame City branch was annihilated. No, that was not true. Wesley, the instigator, was also a member of the branch.
Maybe one day, his life would be ended by other killers.
That was the reality of being a killer. It's a dog-eat-dog world, and one could only survive based on one's unmatchable strength.
Wesley spent some time gathering the bodies and burned them up. As the space was vast and more than twenty meters away from the ground, he didn't have to worry about the smoke billowing to the top once he turned off the exhaust system.
He erased all traces of himself and left.
Back on the ground, he destroyed the master control system hidden in the elevator shaft. From now on, no one could go down unless someone from the headquarters came to reset the system.
He didn't think this matter could kept under wrap from the headquarters. If people from a branch suddenly disappeared en masse, they would definitely send someone to investigate.
Wesley needed time. He had to devise complete countermeasures before these people arrived.
The breeze was gentle, the moon was bright, and only a few stars were in the sky.
Wesley stretched and avoided the surveillance cameras. Then, he walked on the roadside for several miles before taking a taxi home.
The man didn't rest when he got home. He took out another mobile phone, logged into a complicated website, and then sent a message: [Everyone, I need help.]
Benjamin Lawson spent a ton of money building this internal contact group for the Dark Chinese Zodiac that not even the top hackers could break into.
But Wesley waited for a long time, and no one responded.
He sent another message: [I'm your leader, okay? Can you guys please respect me?]
Finally, someone answered.
Wesley was excited to see Red-faced Tiger from the Dark Chinese Zodiac reply to him: [Tell me where you are?]
The corner of the former's mouth twitched. He thought, "Hey, if I tell you where I am, I'm afraid you aren't going to show up to help me but to kill me."
After all, Benjamin, the despicable scumbag, told the other members before he died that whoever could kill Wesley would be the next leader of the Dark Chinese Zodiac.
They had zero idea who the others were, regardless of their genders or personalities.
But they were aware of each others' capabilities, for they had to be powerful and talented to be recruited by Benjamin.
Benjamin had told Wesley that the Dark Chinese Zodiac was his life's most proud work. He could not leave the Dark Chinese Zodiac to a mediocre person, so whether Wesley could completely control the organization depended entirely on his ability.
Hence, after Benjamin handed him the Dark Chinese Zodiac, the Red-faced Tiger and the others frequently asked Wesley about his whereabouts.
To avoid revealing his identity, Wesley didn't even dare to use Dragoria's language when he chatted with them.
At this time, someone spoke again.
Gopher: [I can help. Where can I find you?]
Carnivorous rabbit: [I can help too. Where are you? I'm going to find you now.]
Horse Hunter: [Dragon, let's meet up offline. If you need any help, you can tell me in person.]
Wesley's scalp went numb. These bastards were trying their best to kill him, so meeting them in person would only bring him trouble.
He responded hurriedly: [There's no need to meet. I just need help to protect someone.]
Seven steps snake: [Who?]
Wesley wrote: [Let's chat privately if you're keen on helping.]
This group had a private chat function.
As soon as he said that, Wesley received private messages from everyone simultaneously.
Wesley clicked into the conversations individually. He thought the others were busy but didn't expect them to be silently glued to the screen, observing as the conversation continued.
The reason why they talked to Wesley privately was because they could find him through the protected person and kill and replace him.
He complained inwardly, "I'm the only good person in this group."
Then, he clicked into Seven steps snake's conversation, ignoring the others.
He sent: [Are you willing to take on this task?]
Seven steps snake replied straightforwardly, [How much will you pay me?]
Wesley mused, "Damn, such a realistic person." He pursed his lips and replied: [700 thousand dollars.]
Seven steps snake: [You're such a poor person.]
Wesley's mouth twitched, feeling that he was humiliated. He said: [I have no choice. Mr. Lawson cheated me of all of my money.]
Seven steps snake: [Understood!]
Wesley wondered what the other person meant. He pondered, "Could it be that Mr. Lawson also defrauded other people of their money?" Somehow, he was relieved by this thought.
The truth was Benjamin didn't cheat him out of his money. Instead, he gave Wesley a large sum of money when he died. Wesley pretended to be poor to establish a fake persona that would confuse the others, so they could not determine his identity through these details.
Wesley: [So, is that a yes?]
Seven steps snake: [Sure. A friendship is priceless.]
The man mused, "Bah... do you think I'm young and dumb? If it weren't for the possibility of finding me through this mission, you wouldn't have accepted it so quickly."
Wesley replied: [Yes, yes, friendship is priceless. How about I pay you 400 thousand dollars? I need to have some leftovers to keep as my marriage gift.]
He felt his face burning after saying that. He had pretended to be a woman to survive this cat-and-mouse game.
Seven steps snake replied: [Who to protect?]
Wesley rolled his eyes and thought, "You haven't answered me yet. Is 400 thousand dollars enough for you?"
He assumed this price would not work out according to the Seven steps snake's reaction.
Wesley was a little hesitant because what he said next would reveal much information about him, but he also needed the other person's help.
Every assassination mission needed to be reported to the superior. If the mission failed, the superior would arrange for someone else to take over until the mission was successful.
Although he destroyed the killer branch in Flame City, the headquarters would send more people over once they realized that the Flame City killer branch was uncontactable.
It was easy to defend himself when he knew what was coming, but it could be challenging if their actions were unpredictable. He knew how powerful the headquarters was. Yet, he was all alone in this fight. He could not ensure his and Ethel's safety at the same time.
Wesley hesitated for a while and finally replied, "The general manager of Simmons Group, Ethel Simmons from the Flame City of Dragoria."