In the staff area,
Caiaphas found that the corridor behind the door led to the back of the entire building, likely a storage area. Judging by the smell, it might be a kitchen or a garbage dump, given the unsanitary conditions. To the left, there was also a precarious, steep staircase.
"She must be up there," Caiaphas said.
Sheriff Vinita agreed and led the way up the stairs. It opened onto a corridor as wide as the building, lined with simple wooden doors.
The three exchanged glances and shrugged. Caiaphas then suggested, "Should we check one room at a time?"
"No need."
Sheriff Vinita pointed her thumb at a wooden door a few meters away. A ceramic plaque was stuck to it, depicting a plump pink pony in a ballet outfit. Below it, "Camella's Room" was written in shaky, childish letters, apparently with crayons.
"It must be this one."
Before Caiaphas could offer any humorous compliments on her deductive skills, she spun around and kicked the thin wooden door off its hinges.
A woman's scream, a mix of surprise and anger, confirmed they had found their quarry. The Police Officer and Caiaphas quickly followed the Sheriff through the remnants of the door.
"Camella Dobrowski?"
Sheriff Vinita asked, though the question was merely a formality. A girl matching Milsen's description perfectly sat up from the messy bed, her purple-haired, melon-seed-shaped face filled with shock and anger.
"Police inspection. Get dressed and come with us."
"Why?"
She reluctantly obeyed the Sheriff's instructions, exposing her tattooed body to them. The patterns, as Nordstrom had said, were strange and intriguing.
Despite Caiaphas's efforts to control himself, he couldn't help but want to study them, to see how they accentuated her curves. As Caiaphas did so, his palm felt a sudden prickling sensation, which usually meant his subconscious was sending him a reliable warning, reminding him that something wasn't quite right.
Camella, meanwhile, lifted her head and seduced Caiaphas with a charming gaze: "Are you admiring the view, Caiaphas?"
"Oh, I didn't realize you two knew each other... What? The innocent puppy Political Commissar?"
Sheriff Vinita turned her attention to Caiaphas, her questioning tone as biting as a Valhalla winter solstice morning. It was as if she thought, 'How could this Political Commissar, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, know such a prostitute?' How they knew each other, Sheriff Vinita naturally didn't need to elaborate.
Just as Sheriff Vinita was about to conclude that Caiaphas's innocent persona had shattered, and that he was just a Cadillac owner, Caiaphas immediately said:
"We don't know each other."
The slight contraction of the prostitute's pupils as Caiaphas spoke was enough to tell him she realized her slip of the tongue had revealed her identity. And the subconscious hint Caiaphas had noticed earlier made him realize with a start that what he felt was 'not quite right' was her muscle tissue, concealed by tattoos.
"But I did give my name to the Bartender."
Caiaphas began to draw his Chainsword.
"And Genestealers can exchange information through telepathy..."
Just as Caiaphas was about to act, a series of Bolter shots echoed from the bar's main hall behind him. The vibrations from the sound made the already flimsy building tremble.
Everyone instinctively turned to look, and suddenly! Camella let out an inhuman shriek, leaping from the bed with an unbelievable swiftness that astonished Caiaphas. She charged directly at the Police Officer who was still blocking the doorway.
The young Police Officer tried to raise his sidearm, but it was too late. Camella's jaw inexplicably extended, revealing a mouth full of sharp fangs. She forcibly bit into his throat, severing the muscles and cartilage, decorating the dilapidated room with a spray of crimson blood.
"My God!"
As this screaming, bastard Genestealer dropped the Police Officer's still-twitching body and lunged at Caiaphas and Sheriff Vinita, Sheriff Vinita raised her hand and fired a shot. The Las-fire narrowly missed its head, drilling a small hole in the cheap partition wall.
Caiaphas could hear footsteps from the second-floor corridor behind it, and the fierce firefight in the main hall.
Though Caiaphas couldn't see their owners, the distinct, rapid patter of their running sent shivers down his spine. Caiaphas's Chainsword was now fully unsheathed. As Camella leaped again, Caiaphas desperately swung his sword, parrying the monster's assault.
"There's an entire nest of Genestealers!"
...Two minutes ago, first floor hall.
Although the bar was damaged, it was quite spacious and had many employees. Dozens of employees were tidying up tables and chairs, while cleaning the floor and walls.
But Li Feng noticed that these employees seemed a bit distracted, as he saw one employee holding a mop, seemingly about to mop the floor, but had already washed the mop five times in a row.
At this moment, Fides's voice rang out from Li Feng's earpiece; she was using the communication module inside her helmet. Li Feng looked back to see that all the Nuns had, at some point, put on their helmet masks and begun to form a circular battle formation, facing all directions.
Li Feng looked at Fides's helmet. The golden Ecclesiarchy fleur-de-lis symbol on her helmet, representing a High Sister and honor, was gleaming.
"Li Feng, prepare for battle. Something is wrong."
The experienced Fides had already sensed something amiss. Although these employees were cleaning the floor and arranging tables and chairs, they were constantly contracting like a ring, surrounding the few people in the center of the hall.
At this moment, several employees had already stood beside Li Feng. Li Feng had also noticed this situation and immediately reached for his revolver.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"What? Sir?" One of the employees holding a mop looked up and asked, but Li Feng had already pulled out his weapon, pressing down the hammer of his revolver with his thumb:
"What the hell did you just ask me!? Why are you standing on both my sides, why are you surrounding us!"
Instantly, an employee beside Li Feng opened his gaping maw and lunged at Li Feng. A bolter round shot rang out, and Fides's Bolter successfully intercepted the employee mid-air, blowing his body to pieces.
Li Feng followed closely. His plasma-ized Ace of Spades revolver fired a bullet directly from the muzzle, disintegrating the screaming Gretchin employee in front of him into a puddle of blood and flesh.
Multiple Bolter shots rang out in the hall. The muzzle flashes illuminated the dim hall, and spent casings clattered to the floor with crisp sounds. Splattered blood mist and internal organs continuously repainted the dilapidated bar.
The Nuns' combat proficiency was undoubtedly strong. Even though they were all Fides's recruits, their circular battle formation, formed from muscle memory, was eliminating Genestealers lunging at them from all 360 degrees.
Li Feng didn't even have a chance to fire another shot, because Fides's "boyfriend power" was overflowing. She reached out and shielded Li Feng behind her, while she continuously fired her Bolter.
But the number of Gretchin was simply too many. The Nuns kept firing and changing magazines, while their battle formation also shifted towards the direction of the door... And suddenly, Li Feng noticed that the formerly timid Bartender had undergone a massive change, becoming several times larger than before. More importantly, he appeared behind the bar, carrying a heavy logging gun, aiming it at them.
"Get down!"
Li Feng immediately pulled Fides and several Nuns nearby to the ground. As the heavy logging gun roared, its bullets indiscriminately pulverized everything in their trajectory.
One bullet directly hit a Nun who couldn't dodge in time, cutting her in half. Everyone immediately accelerated their retreat through the door. Just as Li Feng was about to be dragged out by Fides, Li Feng saw the face of the dead Nun. Her face was covered in blood, and her beautiful blue eyes were lifeless... "Thank you for buying us milk tea and hand-grabbed pancakes! May the Emperor protect you, hehe!... My previous home was in a Hive City. This is my first time eating hand-grabbed pancakes. What's that green thing? Lettuce? What is lettuce?... Let me tell you, Sister Fides is usually so fierce. Only when you're around does Sister Fides become a little gentler... Hey! Sister Fides! I didn't say anything! Really! I was just praising how delicious the hand-grabbed pancake was... Ow! If you hit my head again, I'll become stupid..."