Zod charged straight in.
Most of the workers inside the factory were Mexican. Though the place sat on the Texas side of the border, it was still right along the U.S.–Mexico line; seeing undocumented Mexicans here was hardly unusual.
For a gang headquartered in Mexico, it made perfect sense to use people who knew exactly how terrifying they were—and whose families were still back home, making them easier to control.
The Skull Gang had tried to take down this factory multiple times, but every attempt had been beaten back by the Scorpion Gang's ferocious firepower.
Days of blistering Texas sunlight had strengthened Zod enough to shrug off small-caliber bullets. Only heavier weapons could hurt him now.
Still, if he wanted to keep his clothes intact, it was better to dodge.
He couldn't exactly wander around everywhere wearing his battlesuit.
Zod moved like a ghost, closing the distance so fast the Scorpion Gang panicked. They were used to dealing with normal people—seeing someone move like this was enough to rattle anyone.
He slipped through the first wave of gunfire with ease, then grabbed a semi-automatic rifle off a crate—he had no idea what model it was—and opened fire.
With his strength, the recoil didn't even register, and aided by his enhanced senses, his aim reached near sharpshooter precision almost instantly.
Half of the Scorpion members fell in the first volley. Their return fire hit nothing. Terrified, the remaining men scattered.
Zod switched to controlled bursts, took them down one by one, and only then started looting.
Anything that wasn't U.S. cash, he tossed aside. Even so, he pocketed two to three thousand dollars.
"Still too slow."
He sighed. If he'd come with more than just his battlesuit, he'd have hacked the network by now, set up a new identity, and secured a fortune. No need to wring cash out of criminals.
He didn't destroy the factory. Instead, he herded all the Mexican workers out. The ones who spoke English were told:
Tell the Scorpion Gang they have to bring ten million dollars if they want their factory back. Otherwise, he'd torch everything and the Texans could take what was left.
The factory was too important. Zod's message spread quickly—and the Scorpion Gang responded even faster.
This time, over two hundred armed men came storming in, practically ready for war. They even brought a squad machine gun.
The Mexican worker had failed to give an accurate report. Since Zod used a rifle during the slaughter, the worker assumed it was the Skull Gang—or some new rival faction—challenging the Scorpion Gang.
"Just you?"
The Scorpion Gang's third-in-command, Kimfi, stared wide-eyed at the calm, unfazed Zod.
"It's been just me the whole time," Zod replied, genuinely puzzled by the question.
"Grab him!"
Kimfi didn't believe a word. He assumed Zod was a messenger left behind by the Skull Gang or some new group.
Zod picked up a handgun from the table. Before anyone could react, he fired—dropping three men instantly.
Kimfi jumped back in fright, hiding behind his men.
"Kill him!"
Gunfire erupted. Zod grabbed two rifles from his pile of scavenged weapons.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Muzzle flashes filled the factory as the men fell in waves.
The Scorpion Gang took this factory seriously. Their men were equipped with large-caliber, high-penetration rifles. Ordinary cover was useless; the bullets punched straight through it.
Zod ignored the recoil entirely, holding the triggers down until both rifles ran dry. By then, he'd already cut down a frightening number of people.
The Scorpion Gang didn't dare use explosives inside.
This month's entire production of crystal and powder was still stored in the factory. Losing it would cost them a massive chunk of revenue.
Zod seized the opening and sprinted forward, scooping up rifles from the fallen men as he advanced.
By the time he finished, the entire armed force had been wiped out.
Zod hauled Kimfi up by the collar.
Kimfi trembled uncontrollably. More than two hundred men—gone. All wiped out by one person.
What kind of world was this?
"Hurry up and call your boss. Tell him to bring the money. Say I've got a whole army here and you've been captured."
Zod didn't like taking unnecessary risks. Better to force the Scorpion Gang to send everything they had. If they came in waves instead, that was fine too.
Kimfi understood what Zod was doing. What he didn't understand was where this monster came from—and why he had chosen to target the Scorpion Gang.
"Moniz… I failed. They caught me. There were too many of them—I wasn't a match!"
But if he wanted to live, obedience was the only choice.
"They just want money. The goods are untouched."
Zod didn't care if Kimfi tried to leak information. There was no universe in which the Scorpion Gang would abandon such a massive shipment. Beyond the financial loss and supply shortage, they had existing orders—and Kingpin and the Skull Gang had been eyeing this region for months. If anything slipped, their customers would run straight to Kingpin.
Plenty already had, after Kingpin partnered with Madame Gao from the Hand to produce ultra-pure powder.
So even if they knew this was a trap, the Scorpion Gang—being what they were—would come anyway.
Just as Zod predicted, they couldn't bear to lose the factory. Since Kimfi said the other side only wanted money, they decided paying was acceptable.
Two hundred men was already a huge force for them. They could send more, sure, but Kimfi had claimed the enemy had even more people. If they exhausted themselves and the Skull Gang struck while they were weakened, everything could collapse.
So this time, the Scorpion Gang sent just over a dozen men—carrying cash.
They had chosen to step back.
"Boss Kimfi!"
The newcomers stared at the corpses strewn across the floor, Kimfi hunched over counting money, and Zod drinking whisky at the table.
For a moment, they couldn't process what they were seeing.
"Idiots! Bring the money over!"
Kimfi snapped. He had just finished looting the dead and his back felt like it was breaking.
"Thanks."
Zod accepted the money with satisfaction. It was a full ten million dollars—mostly old twenty-dollar bills.
Far more cash than he expected. It didn't even look like his car could hold it all.
He found a larger vehicle, loaded the money inside, and drove away.
"Boss Kimfi, let's head back quick. Boss Moniz wants to know everything."
…
Jadre almost dropped dead on the spot when he saw Zod. He had gone out for a short while, and now he'd returned with a new car—and a mountain of cash.
"What did you do?"
/-\
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