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nBlack Mamba took out two metal darts from his hidden pouch.

nHe wanted to slice him into pieces with his kukri knife, but there were two other people stationed in the corridor. Bait was best used fresh.

nThe pouch he always had around his left hand was approximated to be an antique of the Chung Dynasty. It was a bronze pouch covered in a dinosaur’s hide that he had bought in Paris’ Clignancourt antique shop.

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nHe bought his beloved purchase at 1,000 francs. The hide that lined the inside was soft, while the outer bronze material was hard to the point that even his kukri couldn’t scratch it.

nMoreover, he could store over 20 five-inch darts in the hidden pouch. He had asked a traditional steel master in Ajaccio to make 200 to his standards.

nThe door opened without a sound, a gun barrel shoved between the gap. They were highly trained movements, secretive to a fault. Of course, that was like child’s play to Black Mamba.

nBlack Mamba, who stood next to the door, grabbed the wrist that held the gun with his left hand and pulled abruptly. A needle buried itself inside the mystery man’s artery without giving him a chance to react as he was dragged into the room.

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n“Uh!”

nA large gust of wind escaped the intruder’s lungs. A shoulder lodged itself into the intruder’s collapsing chest, and the intruder flew out of the door. Black Mamba followed the corpse like a magnet.

nPa pa pa pa—

nBullets dug into the intruder’s body, which bounced into the corridor. The intruders’ reactions were similarly fast. They threw their bodies to the floor and attempted to shoot again.

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nBlack Mamba kicked against the opposite wall and used his momentum to fly onto the ceiling.

nSchink—

nTwo darts flew out like raindrops falling from the sky.

n“Ugh.”

n“Oomph.”

nThe two masked men, who were holding thick, silenced guns, crumpled like empty sacks. The darts were buried deep inside their foreheads to the point that only their ends stuck out.

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n“You damned b*stards, I didn’t even get off. Why’re you intruding now?”

nThe more he thought, the angrier he became.

n‘I need to take what I can.’

nHe picked up the handguns that had been dropped on the floor. They were berettas with silencers. Berettas were expensive handguns, much too expensive for those beggar-like FROLINATs to use.

nEven the highest-ranking FROLINAT commanders used cheap Tokarevs. Small countries like Libya and Barshaba used Mikarovs, not Berettas. Something seemed strange.

n“Black Mamba, wha-what?” Emil stuttered awake.

nIt seemed as though he had been deeply asleep. Black Mamba suddenly grabbed the back of Emil’s neck and dragged him to the bathtub.

nWhen he shoved the showerhead into Emil’s face, Emil freaked out.

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nGurgle—

n“Stop, stop! Black Mamba, what is it?!”

n“Emil, listen well. There are assassins. I’ve gotten rid of three. You shove these b*stards in the room and go tell the captain in the communications room. I’m going to Bell Man and Jang Shin.”

nEmil dragged the three corpses into the room and took off their masks. Two were Arabs, while the other was white.

n“Do you know him?” Emil asked.

n“Ha, are you stupid?”

nEmil acknowledged that his question was stupid. There was no way someone in Africa would know Black Mamba.

n“This isn’t some novice guerrilla. It’s a hitman. Emil, head to the communications room. The captain’s in danger.”

nEmil ran down the stairs, while Black Mamba ran down the corridor.

nBell Man and Mike were in room 316. In 318 were Jang Shin and Burimer. Ombuti was out meeting with his Ummah friends.

nThere wasn’t a single spider out in the corridor.

nThe Chad Civil War had even driven away the footsteps of explorers and tourists. Foreigners who visited the Tibesti and Ennedi Plateaus of Sahara ceased visiting. The Le Marien Hotel had closed.

nBlack Mamba grabbed the door of room 316, but released it and ran up the emergency stairs. Understanding the situation was the first priority.

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nThe hotel was a five-story building.

nThe iron door that connected the emergency stairs to the rooftop was, as per normal, locked. He grasped the fist-sized lock and flexed his muscles. With a cracking sound, the entire piece of metal fell apart.

nHe kicked the iron door aside and ran out. Going down the water pipe like a squirrel, he flipped his body to the fourth floor. He hung upside down like a bat with his feet on the balcony rail using the Eased Gripping Motion of Fearless Steps.

nHe could see the inside of room 316 through the balcony’s window.

nBlack Mamba’s lips twisted up. This was the expression he wore when he was amused. Bell Man and Mike were kneeling on the floor with their hands tied behind their back. The intruder kicked at Mark’s toes with his heels. The opening and closing of Mark’s mouth looked comical. Fortunately, the two intruders were standing with their backs to the veranda.

nBell Man’s eyes, upon finding Black Mamba, widened.

nThe figure hanging upside down outside the window with the night as its background was definitely Dracula. It was surprising. The intruder, who saw Bell Man’s expression, turned around with the gun in hand.

n“Putain, cong!”

nSurprised, Black Mamba leaned backward as though he was rolling his hips into his back and pulled his upper body parallel to the ground. The intruder’s gun spewed fire at the same time.

nBang, bang— Crash—

nThe low quality plastic glass that made up the entire veranda crashed down with the sound of bats hitting sandbags. Black Mamba used the tension in his back to rip through the air and shoot into the room like a cannonball.

nBlack Mamba’s body, suspended in the air, turned fiercely like a wind mill.

nIt was the Double Engaged Air Attack. Eagles used both claws in the air to grasp at each other and shake their opponents fiercely.

nPa pa pa— Pa pa pa—

nThe intruders fired at a surprising speed. A human’s moving eye had its limits, a blind spot, like how ears had a hearing range. The intruders were unable to target Black Mamba, who was spinning fiercely in the air.

nTa ta— Ta ta—

nThere were two rounds of two taps.

nThe intruders crumpled as though they were fainting by the time Black Mamba touched the ground. They’d each had their heads and chests shot by the double taps. Bell Man and Mike stared at Black Mamba with blank eyes.

nA small pistol had a low impact rate. The moving force of a 0.35-inch parabellum used in a Beretta was within 400 joules. It was 25 percent of a 0.21-inch mini pistol. A special soldier had a risk of retaliating despite an injury. Black Mamba always used a double tap in risky situations.

nMike and Bell Man looked from the intruder to Black Mamba with uncomprehending eyes.

nBlack Mamba had appeared outside the window upside down, smashing the veranda’s window, then he ran in and killed the intruders, all in one breath. The situation was over before they would even regain their senses.

n“Black Mamba, those b*stards asked for the captain’s location. The captain’s in danger.” Mike spoke rapidly with his ruined face.

n“I’ve already sent Emil. You’re really pathetic.”

nMike and Bell Man turned their faces away in shame.

nThey wouldn’t have been able to find an excuse even if they had ten mouths.

nThey had lowered their guards and been done in due to their deep sleep. They were indignant, but it was ultimately their fault. On top of that, Bell Man had made the mistake of alerting the intruders to Black Mamba’s presence.

n“Black Mamba, thank you. I owe you my life once again. I was stupid,” Bell Man apologized with a shamed face.

n“They were intruders that no human could have withstood. I’m glad you’re alive. But Bell Man, it looks like you’re a panda man now. Is Mike a glasses-wearing bear? Hahaha!”

nThe two were sporting black eyes due to the hitman’s violence. Black Mamba was unable to hold back his laughter.

n“Damn it, stop laughing. They were shoving guns on our foreheads. What were we supposed to do? I’m not you,” Bell Man complained.

n“Why’s that man acting up?”

nMike was kicking the corpse on the ground in a fit of madness.

n“You know that his personality’s shot. He’s probably doing that because his pride took a hit.”

n“That idiot. Wait, Jang Shin!”

nThere was a high possibility that a hitman had intruded Jang Shin’s room, too. Black Mamba kicked his way out of room 316. Just then, the door to room 318 opened, and Jang Shin jumped out with Glocks at hand.

nBang— Bang—

nJang Shin opened fire. Surprised out of his wits, Black Mamba threw his body onto the corridor’s floor and shouted, “Jang! It’s me!”

n“Ack, big brother? Why are you coming out of there?” Jang Shin screamed.

n“You piece of sh*t, did you tape your eyes shut?”

nHe threw out his frustrations, which stemmed from fear.

n“It was a hitman. One ran off.”

n“What time?”

n“A minute ago.”

nIt had only been a minute since he was messing up room 316.

n“Something happened.”

nJang Shin’s face was splattered with blood. Half of his left ear was falling off, and his nose had caved in.

n“Bell Man!”

nWhen Mu Ssang called for Bell Man, Jang Shin shook his head.

n“No problem. The sergeant is just injured.”

nBell Man ran into room 318 as Jang Shin began to shout rapidly, “Black Mamba, you need to get rid of him.”

n“Tsk!”

nBlack Mamba clicked his tongue and ran out.

nThe smell of blood passed the corridor and went into the lobby. He didn’t know who the hitman was, but if he allowed him to get away, their team’s traces could be revealed. Black Mamba jumped the stairs in a rush.

n“Guest, please mind your—”

n“Dude, mind your own.”

nThe desk man who was blocking his path in the lobby bounced to the floor as though a buffalo had rammed into him.

nVroom—

nBy the time he crossed the lobby, a motorbike’s engine roared.

n“Motherf*cker!”

nBlack Mamba’s face crumpled.

nCrash—

nThe front door, which was made of strong oak wood, shattered. Black Mamba, who shot out like a cannonball, crossed the grounds as fast as the wind.

n“Ugh, what?”

nBell Man faltered as he jumped into room 318. The corpse strewn across the door’s entrance had caught his foot.

nA masked man had collapsed in front of the shower booth located near the room’s entrance. A large knife had been twisted into the man, making the wound wider. Blood spluttered in his gaping chest. The room’s floor sloshed with water.

nBell Man frowned at the amount of blood.

n“That’s a confirmed kill,” Mike whined as he trailed behind.

n“Burimer, where are you?”

n“H-h-here!”

nThe sound of strangled breathing came from behind the couch.

n“Damn!”

nBurimer was gasping on the couch with his arms wrapped around his abdomen. His face was twisted from holding back the pain. Bell Man hurriedly supported Burimer’s upper body.

n“Jang Shin, go grab the emergency bag from my room,” Bell Man shouted as he took out atrophine and morphine from his spare bag.

n“He-here.”

nJang Shin was frozen.

nBurimer had been shot when he blocked the front. If Burimer died, he would be riddled with guilt for the rest of his life.

n“Sergeant, don’t die! What do I do? Aaaah!” Jang Shin cried.

n“You little b*stard, get your sh*t together. ‘Confirm-Contain-Communicate,’ don’t you know that?! Stop the blood flow from the exit wound.” Bell Man shouted.

nBell Man washed the entrance of the bullet wound with a disinfectant and scraped out the metal and clothing pieces which had followed in. A penetration wound was easier to treat than an internal wound.

nSome said that the pierced wound grew bigger when the bullet was pulled out, but that wasn’t true. There was no difference in the size of a penetrated or extracted bullet hole. The only difference was when a rollback phenomenon occurred, in which the bullet flipped around.

n“It’s my fault. The sergeant covered me when that b*stard shot at me. The sergeant was done in while trying to protect me! The sergeant has two daughters, what do I do? I should have died. I should have been holding a handgun! Agh, aah!”

nJang Shin kept crying as Bell Man treated the wound.

n“Dude, stop that. It’s a mercenary’s duty to be shot at with guns, and it’s a mercenary’s duty to live or die,” Mike shouted, unable to watch any longer.

nHe became more eloquent day by day since he was beaten up by Black Mamba.

nSurprise flickered over Bell Man’s face.

n“This is surprising. It only went through the stomach and back. To think it didn’t touch any of the viscera, how fortunate. I thought I’d never see a day when I witnessed a flesh wound,” Bell Man exclaimed once more.

nThe exit wound was also clean, as there had been no rollback phenomenon. This was because the bullet’s moving force hadn’t decreased from such a close-range gunshot.

nBell Man finished the treatment and slapped Burimer’s shoulder.

n“Oi, fishing man, stop whining. You don’t even need to go to a hospital for this. You can go wrestle with the giant piranha in Shari in a few days. Get up.”

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