Chapter 49
“Hi! You’re back!” A girl who was twenty-something years old tiptoed and stretched her arms, trying to reach the ring for the roller shutter door above her head. Seeing James passing by, she quickly tucking some loose hair behind her ears, and shyly straightened her dress.
“Hi.” James nodded, noticing the girl’s situation, and smilingly stepped forward to help her pull the roller shutter door down, “are you finishing your work?”
This is a useless question, but please understand that though they have feelings for each other, they are embarrassed to say it. So before one of them confesses their feelings, this kind of useless question will keep happening.
The two stared at each other awkwardly in front of the cafe that was about to close, saying goodbye to each other.
James clamped the information under his armpit and walked to the back of the coffee shop. In the middle of the two closed stores, there was a small three-step staircase. James held the guardrail and waved at the girl who looked back. The girl waved shyly and made a turn at the corner.
With a smile on his face, James stepped on the stairs and entered a corridor nearly three people wide.
This is [Liszt Back Street]. Unlike [Liszt Street], which mainly focuses on selling clothing and boutiques, there are many cafes like the one below James’ loft. It is a temporary resting place for those who are tired of shopping. So when night fell, and the stores on [Liszt Street] closed one by one, and the stores on the back street also closed their day of business.
If you don’t understand James Rance’s wealth, maybe his loft in Barton can give everyone a better understanding.
James’ loft is in the attic on the third floor. It is not the half-story high isolation layer in ordinary houses, but a duplex apartment consists of the third floor and the fourth floor. And such a 200-square-meter loft is also located on Liszt Street, the most expensive area in Barton.
James walked to the innermost side of the corridor, pulled the fence of the lift that belonged to him only, and pressed down the ‘up’ bottom.
The sound of the chain pulling sounded, James took out his afternoon work, opened the lock on the folder, and looked at it seriously.
With a clanging movement, James swayed a few times in the elevator, closed the folder, pushed open the fence, and stood in front of a metal door.
James frowned. His lock had been pried open, and there was a suspiciously thin gap between the metal door and the door frame.
James pulled out the gun in one hand and stepped away from the door slightly. With the help of light in the corridor, he looked into the room through the gap.
Waiting for a while, there was no movement, James maintained a vigilant posture with his right index finger on the trigger, and his left hand holding the folder. Avoiding the light in the corridor, he used the folder to reach the door gap.
“Clang!”
James’s left hand shook! The huge impact from his wrist forced him to release the folder! He clearly saw a silver cone-shaped steel needle pierce his folder!
Then the sound of machine spring twisting!
James didn’t have time to think, his whole body squatted down and fell forward!
“Clang! Clang! Clang! …”
Continuous sounds of penetration came from above James’ body! Several silver two-finger-thick steel needles penetrated the metal door, pierced through the elevator, and stabbed at the wall on the other side!
James’s body rolled forward quickly, facing up, while his right hand was still maintaining the shooting posture. His left hand quickly grabbed the lower part of the metal door and pulled it open with force. As soon as he slid into the loft, he pulled the trigger!
Along with the roar of gunshots, the lights of the corridor instantly occupied the interior of the loft. The body of the Inan holding the cracked crossbows rolled sideways, and the blood mist burst out from his left shoulder slowed his movements.
It’s him? !
Slightly distracted, James lost the advantage that he had just gained after taking a huge risk!
Then the silver dagger’s gleam pulled James back from the distraction! James just wanted to turn the muzzle away, a brown leather boot kicked hard on his wrist! While in pain, his gun was kicked away and fell into the gap between the elevator and the floor! Lying on his back on the ground, James, who was unable to move, had no time to catch the gun, and the silver dagger was thrust directly at his throat!
James only had time to protect his neck. He crossed his arms and pressed onto the man’s arms! The tip of the dagger had stabbed toward James’ jaw!
The face of Inan, who pressed the dagger down with the weight of his whole body, was grim, and the wounds on his shoulders bleed more and more because of the muscle contraction!
James gritted his teeth tightly, and the blue veins in his forehead showed that he had resisted the man with all his might! Anthony had reminded him to be careful, but he wanted to tell the man who had saved his life last night that he was not a shape-shifter! However, novels are full of lies, because he could not even speak now.
It was not that he didn’t want to, but he didn’t dare to! No one dares to speak when a dagger is trying to thrust into your throat!
*Struggling*
James was disappointed to find that the Inan was unusually strong! Even if he was injured, if he continued like this, he would not be able to survive until the man lost too much blood.
James decided to try it one more time! He kicked the metal door with force, the positions of the two people slightly changed. The body of Inan, who was on top of him, slightly lost his balance. James’ right hand stretched out quickly to reach the wound on the man’s right shoulder!
“Ah!”
The short cry and the loss of the man’s strength gave James the opportunity to move sideways, and the sharp dagger made a cut on the side of James’s jaw and then deeply embedded in the ground!
James didn’t dare to relax anymore. The four fingers of his right hand clasped the man’s left shoulder tightly, as his thumb pressed into the cracked wound of the Inan! Pressing his right leg on top of the man’s abdomen, he exerted force on his legs and kicked the man away, temporarily opening up the distance between the two!
“I’m not…”
James found an opportunity, before he could even finish, he was surprised to see that the right hand finger of the Inan went into the ring on the handle of the dagger that was inserted into the ground. Under the dim light, the ring broke away from the handle of the dagger, and the steel wire emitting cold gleam was pulled out between the ring on the man’s right hand and the handle of the dagger that was also pulled out of the ground in the next second.
Then the Inan charged toward him again with the metal wire.
James wanted to stand up, but the man didn’t want to give him a chance at all, just like a beast, he ran into James, who was still trying to maintain his balance!
James, who was pushed over again, was facing a bigger crisis! The dagger in the man’s left hand, and the wire between the two hands, were both deadly weapons! James tried to defend himself, but he still couldn’t block it.
The wire was wrapped around James’ neck! The only thing James could do was to raise his arms and block the rapidly shrinking wire!
James had fallen into a dead end, blocking the dagger, he could not break the shrinking wire, but breaking the wire, he couldn’t protect the dagger that would thrust into his throat at any time!
James felt that the steel wire was already embedded into his skin, and the trachea was compressed by the tight wire and his defensive arms, unable to breathe!
“Bang!”
After the gunshots, the strength of the Inan was gone, and the man’s whole body fell to James! James, who could finally breathe, coughed violently, pushed away the man who was pressing on top of him, and looked forward.
Louise tremblingly held a gun and looked at James in horror.
“H, Hi… are, are you alright?”