"I will wipe you out with ease; your resistance or lack thereof makes no difference. Laziness dictates you can choose to continue resisting, but you will bear the consequences!"

After shouting this, Yang Ying turned and lowered his voice, instructing a Ghost Agent Second Lieutenant: "Take two more squads. Once the pirates emerge, you will infiltrate the villa to check if anyone is hiding. If you find any, eliminate them all." He was certain these pirates would comply because they had no other option.

"Yes, sir," the Ghost Agent Second Lieutenant snapped a salute, turned, rallied his troops, and disappeared into a nearby alleyway without a trace.

Ralph and Number One watched the neat array of tank cannons in the distance through binoculars, their muzzles still aimed squarely at the villa.

Go out, or stay in?

Ralph lowered his binoculars and slammed a fist onto the table: "There is nothing here that can withstand their tank fire. God knows where the Tran Mercenary Group got these formidable cannons; even a fortress like the estate couldn't hold against them, let alone this villa."

Number One shook his head: "The power level is secondary. The range of these tank cannons is too far. We don't even have the capability to reach them before they strike; we can only take fire passively, unable to retaliate. Although Yang Ying is our enemy, he speaks the truth: wiping us out would be as simple as turning over his hand."

"You mean we should go out?" Ralph frowned, considering for a moment, then shook his head: "The problem is, if their target is this villa, Hermann hid the treasures he's accumulated over the years in the safe behind the one-meter-thick alloy door in the basement. But even I don't know exactly what's inside. If their goal is the vault, then staying inside the villa forces them to hesitate. Outside, we'll truly be at their mercy."

"Do you think delaying here will help us weather the storm? If we go out, we still have a chance to scatter and flee. In this tiny coffin, there is only a dead end!" Number One hissed.

Ralph was highly displeased with Number One's attitude. He glared at him with distaste: "You need to show me more respect. From now on, I am your boss!"

"You haven't become the proxy for the Three Great Pirate Fleets yet, and whether you inherit Hermann's estate is still undecided. Don't forget the portion of that inheritance you promised to me. Once you hand that share over to me, then I'll decide if I should call you boss."

Number One showed Ralph no deference whatsoever. They were merely temporary allies driven by profit. Calling Ralph 'boss' was just appeasement. Number One had already decided to take his share and then leave Gray Harbor to find another city where he could live without want.

Seeing that there was still no response from the villa, Yang Ying mused, "The defenses of this estate can almost be described as impenetrable. If it weren't for our indestructible tank cannons, other factions in Gray Harbor would likely have been shattered against these fortifications. Hermann treated this place as his final sanctuary, which suggests there must be a treasury or some secret chamber within this villa. To blow up these riches along with these pirates would be such a waste; it's better if they come to me!"

He said to Bob, "Fire a warning shot at the eastern corner of the villa wall. Be careful not to damage the villa itself; I have use for it."

"Yes, sir!" Bob turned back to the tank he was riding: "Target the eastern corner of the villa wall, one warning shot! All other units remain on standby!"

The tank receiving the order, under the control of its fire-control system, moved its muzzle a tiny angle, aimed at the corner, and with a boom, a three-meter-long tongue of flame erupted from the barrel.

The eastern corner of the villa exploded in a burst of fire, sending bricks and stones flying. A few pirates standing near the wall were instantly torn to shreds by the searing blast wave.

The warning shot was effective, finally making the pirates inside the villa realize what it meant to be the fish on the chopping block.

After only two minutes, groups of pirates began emerging from the villa entrance. They tossed their weapons into the fountain at the entrance and then gathered on the open lawn. Several dozen pirates in power armor stripped off their plating and set it aside.

Simultaneously, a communication came through Yang Ying's ear from the Ghost Agents: they had infiltrated the villa and were sweeping the premises. Yang Ying smiled slightly and dispatched twenty machine gunner squads to supervise the pirates' disarmament.

After stalling for another dozen minutes, the Ghost Agents contacted him again: they had cleared the entire villa, eliminating all enemies who had hidden and refused to surrender. Furthermore, they had discovered a massive vault in the basement, described by the Ghost Agents as being "tightly secured." It was clearly the real deal.

Yang Ying ordered a machine gunner to bring Ralph to him. Moments later, Ralph was escorted over.

"Commander Yang Ying, your troops are excellently equipped and boast high morale. Hermann’s decision to oppose you was certainly unwise," Ralph said immediately, bowing deeply with the utmost humility.

Yang Ying waved a hand: "Spare the pleasantries. I called you here to ask if you know about the vault in the villa's basement?"

"I know about it. However, Commander Yang's knowledge of this vault truly surprises me," Ralph replied, nodding, though he secretly heightened his alertness. Yang Ying’s immediate focus on the vault meant his earlier speculation might be correct—Yang Ying stopped the shelling not to spare their lives, but because he wanted the vault!

"I want to know where the code and the key to the vault door are. And I also want to know what is inside the vault," Yang Ying pressed, although his Ghost Agents could force the door open, having the code and key would be much more convenient.

"I only know that Hermann placed immense importance on this vault; it contains his accumulations from several years. But as for what exactly is inside, or the codes and keys, I’m not aware," Ralph said while closely watching Yang Ying's expression, terrified that Yang Ying might suddenly act and kill him.

"You really know nothing?" Seeing Ralph shake his head, Yang Ying said, "In that case, rest assured and accompany Hermann on his journey."

As the words fell, Yang Ying raised his hand and shot him dead. He then casually tucked the pistol back into his waist holster. Ralph had intended to dodge, but Yang Ying's bullet was not something he could evade.

"Hmm? An expert in the crowd! But no sign of psychic energy; likely a top-tier special forces operative of some kind." Yang Ying looked towards the hundred meters away.

Amidst the disarmed crowd of pirates on the manicured lawn, Yang Ying immediately spotted Number One. This bodyguard had accompanied Hermann to a reception party previously, so Yang Ying recognized him.

Seeing him, Yang Ying felt a sudden impulse and deliberately projected a fierce killing intent, focusing on Number One's vital points, such as his heart and brow. His hand brushed his waist, bringing the pistol back into view.

Top special forces operatives who have seen too much action, even if they aren't Awakened, develop a sixth sense capable of perceiving killing intent.

From a distance, Number One’s eyes narrowed. He had just witnessed Ralph’s death, and now he saw Yang Ying looking at him with murderous intent, followed by Yang Ying drawing his pistol—it was obvious Yang Ying intended to kill him. How could he possibly remain still?

Number One pulled a pulse gun from behind his waist, fired a shot at Yang Ying, and then broke towards a direction where there were no machine gunners, shouting loudly: "They are going to massacre us! Run!"

Number One hoped to incite chaos among the regular pirates to mask his escape. He was supremely confident in his skills, but as he fled, a cold dread washed over him: "Something's wrong. Yang Ying must have anticipated my move. He drew his gun specifically to make me incite these pirates. Does he intend to exterminate us all? This is a neutral city; neither mercenaries nor pirates are allowed to be this ruthless!"

The pirates’ nerves were already stretched taut. The fully armed machine gunners were lined up, guns pointed at them, ready to fire at any moment, yet they had already been disarmed, their lives hanging by a thread. Instigated by Number One, they instantly became agitated. Many who had concealed weapons that hadn't yet been checked now drew them out.

Yang Ying had only made the gesture of drawing his gun and projecting killing intent to force Number One to make the first move, thereby avoiding the stigma of slaughtering the weak falling upon him. Number One had indeed fallen for the trap!

"The pirates have suddenly turned hostile! Open fire immediately and wipe them out!" Yang Ying dodged the energy beam fired by Number One and roared the command.

Instantly, the machine gunners unleashed full firepower! A storm of bullets slammed into the flesh and blood of the pirates at close range.

Earlier, during the disarmament, the machine gunners had stood in a single line, not surrounding the pirates, precisely to avoid being struck by returning fire when their Gauss rifles opened up.

One hundred-plus machine gunners made short work of five to six hundred pirates. Firing a few bursts meant two or three kills per shot was normal. One single bullet even pierced seven men in sequence before exiting the mass of bodies.

Currently, the machine gunners' Gauss rifles were not operating at maximum power, a measure to conserve energy, but even at this level, the pirates could not cope.

The pirates' energy beams impacted the machine gunners, but unless several hit the exact same spot, they couldn't penetrate the machine gunners' power armor.

Number One shot out from the crowd like a crossbow bolt, emerging unscathed due to his vastly superior speed, strength, and sensory perception.

But—

Bang!

Yang Ying fired from over a hundred meters away, hitting Number One squarely in the back. The round entered his back slightly to the left, pierced his heart, and erupted through his left chest, causing blood to spray from both front and back in two scarlet jets!

The gap between an Awakened and an ordinary person is vast. Even a top-tier special forces operative appears completely outmatched when facing a master like Yang Ying, whose psychic potential approached four thousand.

Soon, every last pirate was slain, all lying dead on the ground.

Yang Ying entered the grounds and saw the pirates' blood pooling into small ponds, turning the soil beneath the grass into thick mire. He walked past the heaps of corpses and stated slowly, "Changing Gray Harbor—this is only the beginning." Then he turned and said, "Let's go see what Hermann's accumulated vault looks like."