Chapter 41 Say Thank You
Hanks burst from the shadows. His left hand clamped over the raider's mouth from behind like an iron vise while his right hand drove the hand axe across the man's throat in one swift motion.
Hiss. Blood sprayed out.
Hanks lowered the body gently. The entire sequence made almost no sound.
His gaze locked onto the next target—a raider with his back turned, searching a corpse for ammunition.
Hanks closed in like a ghost. The axe rose and fell.
Thunk.
The blade bit precisely into the neck. The man collapsed without a sound.
Two silent kills finally caught the attention of nearby raiders.
"Behind us! He's behind us!" A raider who'd just looked up screamed in terror.
"Open fire! Kill him!" Scarface roared in shock and fury, raising a pistol he'd just picked up.
Bang! Bang!
Bullets struck the scrap pile, throwing sparks.
Hanks had already moved. He dove forward in a rolling lunge, dodging the shots while his P226 fired repeatedly.
Bang! Bang!
Two shots.
The raider who spotted him first and another raising his weapon both dropped.
Hanks rose without pausing, charging toward the nearest cover like a whirlwind. Bullets chased him, kicking up dirt with sharp puffs.
Enemy fire converged on him, but their formation scattered under his assault.
"Surround him! He's alone!" Scarface shrieked hysterically.
The remaining six or seven raiders spread out, attempting to flank from both sides.
Hanks steadied his breathing and pushed his enhanced senses to their limit, listening for enemy positions.
Three on the left. Two on the right. Scarface and one more straight ahead.
He burst from the right side of the shipping container.
Bang! Bang!
Two precise shots. One of the right-side flankers took a chest hit and went down. The second shot missed but forced the other raider back into cover.
Fire from straight ahead immediately swept toward him.
Hanks pulled back quickly, hearing footsteps approaching from the left.
Without hesitation, his left hand drew the hand axe from his belt and hurled it blindly toward the left corner of the container.
Whoosh. Thud.
"Aaahhh!" A scream.
A raider attempting to ambush from the left caught the spinning axe in the face and went down screaming.
Hanks used the opening to dart out from the right side again.
Bang!
Another shot. The remaining right-side raider who'd just emerged took a headshot.
Three more down in an instant.
Including Scarface, only four remained.
The raiders were completely unnerved by this ghost-like fighter with godlike marksmanship.
"He's a demon! A demon!" One raider broke completely, throwing down his gun and trying to run.
Bang!
Hanks showed no hesitation. He leaned out and dropped the fleeing man with one shot.
He never showed mercy to enemies.
His killing efficiency was chilling.
In just a few exchanges and gunshots, several more bodies littered the ground.
Only one enemy remained standing in the factory yard—Scarface, hiding behind a shipping container.
Scarface pressed his back against the cold metal wall, clutching his still-bleeding shoulder, gasping for air.
All his earlier arrogance had vanished, replaced by fear and disbelief.
"Fuck... fuck..." he muttered incoherently, his trembling hands barely able to grip his gun.
Hanks took a deep breath, suppressing the dull ache in his chest where the bullet had struck his vest.
"Hey, Scarface!" he suddenly called out, his voice echoing through the empty building. "You're the last one. How long are you planning to hide?"
Scarface's body trembled. He didn't answer, only pressed himself tighter against the container.
"Weren't you running your mouth before?" Hanks continued applying verbal pressure while his ears tracked every subtle sound. "Didn't you say you'd skin me alive?"
"Fuck you!" Scarface snapped, losing his temper. He leaned out to shout and fired wildly in Hanks's direction.
Bang!
The bullet hit his cover harmlessly.
But the shot revealed his exact position.
Hanks's eyes sharpened. He seized the moment, leaning out and taking aim instantly.
Bang!
The bullet struck the edge of the container inches from Scarface's head. Sparks and metal fragments sprayed his face.
"Ahhh!" Scarface shrieked and scrambled back, no longer daring to show himself.
Hanks didn't waste ammunition pursuing. He knew the man was trapped.
"Put down your weapon and come out," Hanks said with an undisguised hint of amusement. "I might consider leaving you in one piece."
"Fuck your one piece!" Scarface roared in desperation. "I'll take you with me!"
He suddenly charged from behind the container like a madman, screaming and firing wildly in Hanks's general direction.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Pistol rounds sprayed randomly, clattering off the surrounding cover.
This spray-and-pray shooting posed minimal threat to the prepared Hanks.
Hanks calmly sidestepped the wild fire, raised his weapon, and took aim. Just as his finger tightened on the trigger—
Click. Click.
The hammer fell on an empty chamber. Scarface's gun was empty.
Scarface froze mid-motion, the color draining from his face, eyes filling with despair.
Hanks's gun remained steady, pointing at him, but he didn't fire immediately. "Looks like your luck just ran out."
"No... don't kill me!" Scarface completely broke down, throwing aside the empty pistol and raising both hands. "I surrender! I'll tell you a secret! Don't kill me!"
"Oh?" Hanks raised an eyebrow, keeping his gun trained. "What secret?"
"It's... it's my brother!" Scarface babbled. "The leader of the nearby camp is my brother!"
"If you kill me, he'll never let you go. He's got a lot of people, a lot of guns!"
"Let me go and I swear I won't cause trouble. I can even introduce you to my brother's camp!"
Hanks listened without any visible reaction, though he nodded thoughtfully. "How many people does he have, how many guns? I need to judge his strength before I decide whether to join."
Seeing what looked like interest, Scarface grabbed at this lifeline and spilled everything frantically.
"A lot of people! At least eighty, maybe more. They've got rifles and pistols. They control a good location with food and water!"
His eyes darted as he exaggerated desperately, trying to increase his bargaining value. "My brother values me highly. If you spare me, I can definitely convince him to take you in!"
Hanks calculated quickly.
Eighty-plus people? Even accounting for exaggeration, that was a serious threat.
This intel was valuable.
Scarface thought he'd hooked him. He forced a smile and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Hanks smiled faintly. "Say thank you."
"Uh..." Scarface thought he was supposed to thank Hanks for sparing his life. He reluctantly opened his mouth. "Thank—"
Bang!
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