Chapter 25 "Night Light

What... what happened?

Ghost found his own shadow suddenly becoming distinct.

No, it was the brightness of the lighting that was sharply increasing, to the point where shadows from multiple directions were all being overshadowed, leaving only the most prominent one!

He violently turned his head to look at the dome—

Was that... fire?

The thought popped into Ghost's mind because he had never seen such bright flames before.

It reminded him of the steel mill he had inspected before, where only the splashing molten iron in the furnace could be compared to it.

But to achieve such a temperature, a steel mill required the cooperation of hundreds of people and the support of bulky, sturdy blast furnaces. And here, the man in front of him made the fire burn white-hot all alone.

Then he heard a sharp, piercing tearing noise.

That sound was so ominous, like the mournful groan of a ship's keel just before it sank.

"No way..."

Ghost murmured to himself.

He had always regarded his opponent as a rat, just like the many rats he had dealt with before. Since rats posed no threat to him, he projected the same contempt onto these people. But it wasn't until this moment that Ghost realized he might have been wrong. Because rats are ignorant, cowardly, and can never break free from iron chains, whereas these people were different... Their courage and insight had exceeded his own horizons.

"Sir?" His subordinates looked at him in panic.

"Retreat, retreat from here—"

He was cut off mid-sentence by the thunderous crash of the falling chandelier which completely drowned out his voice!

The main chain melted through, and the surrounding six ropes used to stabilize the chandelier could not bear the weight, snapping one after another in the blink of an eye. The heavy copper lamp broke free of its restraints and smashed down onto the audience area, with hundreds of pounds of fuel oil spilling out and bursting into flames! The fire, like a long snake slithering forward, leapt over rows of tables and chairs and pounced towards the man in blue!

The brightness inside the hall suddenly increased several folds!

No further reminder was needed.

The booming of the falling chandelier and the rapidly changing light of the fire were the best signals. Joe James, Tyler, Mingzi, and Zhou Zhi dashed out of the corridor doors in unison, charging towards the enemies who were thrown into chaos in the hall! Though it was four against more than ten, the momentum of the two sides was completely reversed!

"These lunatics, aren't they afraid of being burned to death?" someone yelled in terror.

"Never mind that, face the enemy first!"

"Have you gone mad too? If we keep this up, none of us will get away!"

But regardless of whether they wanted to or not, a melee had already begun against the backdrop of the fire, and the scorching heat and choking smoke were testing the will and nerves of everyone. Sadly, the Paradise Group's four had already reduced their pain perception to the lowest level; even if they caught fire, they would not stop their slashing blades.

In less than half a minute, the morale of the police squad completely collapsed. The reinforcements dropped their weapons, abandoned their comrades who were still fighting with the enemy, and scattered in all directions—At this moment, the second chandelier also fell, turning the back half of the theatre into a raging inferno. If they didn't run now, even if they won, they would only end up as accompaniments to the funeral.

Lost... Ghost couldn't believe what he was witnessing, but he had to accept reality.

Under the crazily flickering firelight, the shadow of his opponent fighting wasn't that of any rat, but of a wild beast unleashed!

His subordinates could flee, but he could not.

He was too deeply involved in the matter; even if he got out, he was still on a road to death.

That's when Ghost suddenly remembered the reporter on the stage.

Right, he still had a mission, or rather the last thing he could do... The sacrificial offerings on stage knew too much and couldn't be allowed a chance to speak! If everyone died in the fire, perhaps his family wouldn't be implicated!

Ghost took advantage of the moment his men were still being cut down, limping onto the stage and looking at Dane, who was slumped to the ground, he drew his waist-mounted sword.

"Don't move!" Suddenly, a stern shout interrupted his action.

He looked toward the source of the sound and to his surprise, the one stopping him was a woman.

In her hand, she held a rifle, her face illuminated by the firelight showing clear signs of nervousness and stiffness.

"Judy, Judy?" Dane was just as surprised, "Cough cough... Why are you here? Run!"

Damn, when did this guy sneak in? Ghost spat inwardly, his halted steps once again moving forward—He had seen plenty of women like her, bold enough to hold a gun, yet too scared to pull the trigger. Seeing how her hand was shaking, it was a miracle she could even level the gun. He didn't need to be intimidated by her threat; he just needed to take out the journalist first, and then kill the Seaguardian slave tied to the post...

With two quick steps, Ghost walked forward without hesitation, sword thrusting straight towards Dane!

Bang!

A soft gunshot echoed in his ears.

Ghost lowered his head to look at his chest as his shirt gradually stained red, then at the smoking barrel of her gun, before slowly collapsing.

Judy, shaking, dropped the gun and ran quickly to Dane's side, "You're still alive... Thank God!"

"How did you know I was here?"

"I hired a detective to find you, he's the one who brought me here—" Judy turned her head only to freeze, there was nobody behind her, "Anyway, I'll get you out first! Cough cough... This place doesn't look good. Can you move?"

"I can't muster any strength..."

"It's okay, I'll carry you!" With that said, Judy bent down, grabbed Dane, and hoisted him onto her back.

"Wait, save that person too—she's still alive!" Dane pointed at another person on the rack.

"But I can't carry two people!"

"Leave that person to us, you go first." At that moment, Tyler and Zhou Zhi also managed to climb up onto the stage.

"What about the lady and the gentleman who set the fire?" Dane noticed they were three people short.

"They didn't make it." Zhou Zhi said, gasping for air.

"How could this be!" The journalist's eyes immediately filled with intense sorrow... after all, he had seen the whole series of rescue fights.

"Hurry up, don't dawdle! If you die, our reward goes down the drain!" Zhou Zhi couldn't help but yell. Meanwhile, Tyler cut the ropes on the rack to lift the other victim onto his shoulders.

Because the fire had become quite fierce, with thick smoke billowing overhead, everyone had to crouch to move, searching for a way out through clouds of smoke and dust.

"This way."

The host conveniently appeared at just the right moment to point out the correct direction for the duo from Paradise.

Half an hour later, they finally escaped out the front door of the Sinclair Grand Theatre. By that time, flames were shooting out from the windows of the theatre, climbing up the stone walls and pillars. These fiery serpents, devouring the building, also completely lit up the neighborhood. Everyone could hear the occasional sounds of explosions and collapses from inside the building. It was obvious that the main wooden frame of the theatre was disintegrating. It wouldn't be long before it was completely consumed by the fire. But before that happened, Sinclair Theatre would be the city's most spectacular beacon of light at night.

And such commotion obviously wouldn't go unnoticed; lights in the surrounding neighborhoods had started to flicker on, signifying that many people were jolted awake to see the inferno reaching for the sky.

Dane stared at the theatre, his expression complex.

"I never thought it would be destroyed by such a group of people..."

"What's so bad about that? It's better than them succeeding, with a bunch of people unveiling the curtain early in the morning only to find a bloody murder scene," Zhou Zhi said nonchalantly, "Anyway, the flames will purify everything."

"Let's get going, this isn't a place for chitchat," Judy urged, "There are bound to be residents coming to gawk soon, we can't be seen."

"Do you guys have a place you can go to?" Zhou Zhi looked to the victim in his arms, "She doesn't look well."

"I have the keys to the newspaper office, no one should be there now."

"No, we can't go back to the newspaper!" Dane interrupted, "Go to Emerald Street, I have a cottage there."

"Alright, you're the boss," the remaining survivors agreed without objection. They hurriedly squeezed into a carriage under the cover of night and sped towards the address the journalist had given.