A burning, stinging pain shot through Leo's right shoulder; the bullet hadn't caused a serious penetrating wound, but the tearing sensation in his muscles and the impact severely affected his movements and the stability of his gun.
He stared intently at Johnny below, who had a relaxed expression but a rock-steady gun barrel, and an alarm bell rang in his heart.
This opponent played by no rules, had no 'chivalry' whatsoever; he was all about efficiency, utterly ruthless.
"Crap..."
Leo cursed under his breath, and without any hesitation, he spun around abruptly, no longer attempting to confront the firepower below, but instead rushed upstairs at his fastest speed!
Breaking through downwards was no longer possible; the only way out was above. In a ventilation duct on the 8th floor, he had hidden an emergency kit containing spare ammunition, some cash, and, most crucially, a high-strength climbing rope and a rappelling device. This was one of the final escape routes he had prepared for himself!
How could a killer only have one escape route!
"Trying to run?"
Johnny's eyes turned cold, and without a moment's hesitation, he immediately stepped forward and began the pursuit!
Like a seasoned hound, he clung tightly to the scent of his prey.
Bang! Bang!
Leo sprinted upwards, blindly firing two shots behind and below him based on feel, without even looking back, trying to slow Johnny down.
The bullets struck the steps and walls in front of Johnny, sending debris flying.
Johnny didn't even pause; he merely shifted his body slightly to evade potential stray bullets, his pursuit speed undiminished.
Each time the glock 34 in his hand was about to lock onto Leo, his figure would quickly dart away.
Hitting a rapidly moving target while moving significantly, especially in such a complex environment, would drastically reduce accuracy and be very difficult.
One chasing, one fleeing, they enacted a deadly pursuit in the bloody stairwell.
Leo's speed was extreme; enduring the intense pain in his shoulder, he took two or three steps at a time. His white suit was already stained and mottled with blood and dirt, but the instinct for survival ignited all his potential.
Johnny followed closely, the distance between them gradually closing.
Johnny's physical endurance and speed seemed superior, and he was uninjured, his movements more coordinated and efficient.
Soon, Leo reached the fire door on the 8th floor.
He violently crashed through the door and burst into the 8th-floor corridor.
Johnny arrived at the door almost simultaneously, but he didn't rush in immediately. Instead, he cautiously stopped at the side of the door, quickly peeked into the corridor, found it empty, and saw Leo's figure disappearing around a corner at the end of the corridor.
Johnny immediately darted in, lowering his body, advancing quickly and quietly with tactical steps, his gun always pointing in the direction Leo had disappeared.
His senses were heightened to the extreme, wary of any possible ambush.
The corridor lights were somewhat dim, with glass doors of various companies lining both sides, mostly closed. Occasionally, the panicked whispers of employees could be heard from a few rooms, clearly indicating that the commotion in the stairwell had already alarmed this floor.
Leo rushed to a door marked "Equipment Room," kicked it open violently! He darted inside, then reached back to lock the door.
But just as the door was about to close!
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, and the doorknob was directly shattered by Johnny's precise shot! Wood chips flew!
Johnny's figure appeared at the doorway like a ghost, kicking the door fiercely!
The door panel violently sprang inward, crashing heavily into Leo, who had just tried to brace it!
"Ugh!"
Leo stumbled, retreating several steps, and hit the cold ventilation duct.
The equipment room was filled with cluttered server cabinets and ventilation equipment, making the space narrow.
With only two bullets left in his magazine, a flicker of despair crossed Leo's eyes, but it was immediately replaced by ferocity.
He reached out and fired a shot towards the door, forcing back Johnny, who was about to enter.
He lunged at a ventilation cover on the wall, trying to tear it open!
His escape gear was inside!
How could Johnny give him this chance?
He immediately extended his gun and fired a series of blind shots!
Puff! Puff!
Two muffled gunshots!
The bullets precisely struck the edge of the ventilation cover Leo was about to touch, sending sparks flying!
Leo was forced to violently retract his hand!
"Game over, handsome killer brother."
Johnny's voice was cold.
Leo leaned against the cold machinery, panting heavily, blood continuously seeping from his shoulder, staining his white clothes.
He glanced at the ventilation opening, so close yet unreachable, then at Johnny, who was pressing closer with no openings, and a tragic, mocking smile appeared on his face.
"Night Owl... truly lives up to his reputation..." he gasped, "I admit defeat, but do you want to capture me alive? Or just take my corpse for a reward?"
He was trying to distract Johnny with words, searching for one last slim chance.
Johnny did not answer, leaning against the door, his gun steady as a mountain.
Capture him alive? Ding Qing hadn't given that order.
For such a dangerous enemy, elimination was the safest choice.
Just as Johnny was about to peek out and shoot again, a flicker of madness suddenly crossed Leo's eyes!
He was not without a backup plan!
His left hand pulled out a small, lipstick-like cylinder from his lower back!
Click!
He pressed his thumb down on the top!
Then he threw it out, clatter!
The small device rolled to the side of the door, just as Johnny was about to peek out and fire.
Bang!
An extremely dazzling flash of light instantly erupted, accompanied by a sharp, piercing noise, instantly filling the entire narrow equipment room!
Stun Grenade!
Or rather, a small-scale, homemade flash-bang device!
Leo actually had something like that hidden!
Johnny's reaction was extremely fast; the moment the opponent's hand made an unusual movement, he instinctively ducked, closed his eyes, and turned his head away!
But the distance was too close! And the space was too narrow!
The intense white light and noise still instantly deprived him of his sight and hearing. The huge shockwave made his brain buzz, his sense of balance instantly became disoriented, his body involuntarily stumbled, and his gun lost its aim!
Bang!
"Crap!"
Leo himself was also severely affected, but he was mentally prepared!
Enduring the dizziness and ringing in his ears, relying on memory and blurry vision, he lunged frantically towards the ventilation opening, using all his remaining strength to tear open the cover, grab the black emergency kit inside, and then, without thinking, rolled towards the depths of the equipment room!
There was a maintenance passage window leading to the back of the building! This was his planned final escape route!
Johnny shook his head; his powerful willpower and physical fitness allowed him to recover from the dizziness at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people!
Although his vision was still somewhat blurry and the ringing in his ears persisted, he had already roughly judged Leo's movements based on intuition and residual perception!
He fired continuously in the general direction Leo was rolling!
Puff! Puff! Puff!
Bullets struck machinery and equipment, sending sparks flying!
A muffled grunt was heard! It seemed a bullet had hit the target, but it was uncertain if it was fatal!
Johnny immediately staggered forward in pursuit!
He saw Leo had already crashed through the simple window of the maintenance passage, half his body already extended outside. The sound of a grappling hook catching something seemed to come from outside the window!
He had been shot; the bullet had hit his thigh, and blood was gushing out!
But the will to survive supported him!
He looked back at the pursuing Johnny, a painful yet somewhat relieved, savage grin on his face, then he jumped out the window without hesitation!
He began a rapid descent using the climbing rope!
Johnny rushed to the window and leaned out to look.
He saw Leo rappelling down the building's outer wall with astonishing speed using the rappelling device and rope, creating a breathtaking trajectory in the air.
The gunshot wound to his thigh distorted his movements somewhat, but he still clung tightly to the rope.
Johnny unhesitatingly raised his gun and aimed!
But just before he pulled the trigger, Leo seemed to trigger some mechanism; the rappelling device suddenly accelerated, causing him to instantly drop a full one or two floors, moving out of the optimal Shooting window!
At the same time, he pulled a small ball from his emergency kit and threw it upwards without even looking!
Johnny instinctively ducked to avoid it!
The small ball burst open in the air, spewing out a large amount of dense, pungent gray smoke, instantly obscuring visibility!
Smoke bomb!
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