Chapter 346: Fish Before the Shark
Alexander looked at Daniel with utter indifference, keeping his voice steady and devoid of emotion.
"They are not for sale," Alexander said, turning around calmly to head back into the mansion. "You may leave, I won’t escort you out."
However, the group of men didn’t give an inch. Daniel took two hurried steps forward, raising his voice with a mix of disbelief and impatience before Alexander could cross the threshold.
"Wait!" Daniel called out. "Everything in this world has a price, young man. If two million sounds like too little, we can negotiate. Money is no object for us... How about five million gems for each of them? Fifteen million in total for all three!"
Upon hearing the new figure, Marcus was on the verge of a total meltdown; he clutched his chest and had to lean against the doorframe to keep his balance. Five trillion dollars per person! Even Alexander’s aunt and the girls watching from inside the house couldn’t help but feel a shiver of temptation at such an astronomical sum capable of buying entire armies.
Yet Alexander didn’t even pause. He kept walking toward the porch as if Daniel’s words were nothing more than a minor annoyance, an insignificant buzz.
"Not interested," Alexander replied without even turning back to look at him.
Seeing his astronomical offer discarded like trash, Daniel’s patience ran out entirely. His face contorted into a snarl of suppressed rage, and the atmosphere in the courtyard turned suffocating in an instant. At a wave of his hand, the dozen armed men behind him stepped forward, reaching for their holsters and releasing menacing auras.
"You are making a grave mistake, kid," Daniel said in a voice dripping with malice and overt threats. "I thought you were a smart man, but I see arrogance has blinded you. Nobody refuses a business deal with the Buschmann family and walks away to brag about it. If you won’t sell them to us the easy way... we’ll take them by force, and we’ll collect your head as payment for your insolence."
Alexander paused before stepping through the doorway. He turned his head slowly, locking an icy gaze onto the group of trespassers.
"Are you threatening me?" Alexander asked in a measured voice.
Examining them closely, he noticed several of them were clutching conventional firearms beneath their coats. Furthermore, Alexander felt none of that dense pressure characteristic of true Awakened from the other world. They were merely surface thugs armed to the teeth.
"Helena, quick question," Alexander said without changing his tone. "Is this property official TMC territory?"
"That is correct, Master," Helena answered, stepping forward with an upright posture.
"And what is the penalty for attacking or insulting a TMC member on their own ground... especially considering I hold Silver rank?" Alexander inquired.
Before Helena could reply, one of the men behind Daniel burst into a mocking laugh and spat onto the ground.
"There’s no such thing as Silver rank, you bluffer!" the thug barked, adjusting his firearm. "Everyone in this district knows ratings are based on colors, you idiot! If you’re trying to scare people, at least do your research so you don’t exaggerate with made-up nonsense!"
Alexander let out a weary sigh and shook his head slightly.
"Do you really think you’re so important that I need to trick you?" Alexander shot back with a contemptuous smirk. "You must have more ego than brains."
The words landed like a strike. The group’s expressions twisted with rage. Every single one of them gripped their weapons tighter as the atmosphere in the courtyard grew exceedingly hostile. Daniel stepped forward, his eyes bloodshot with fury over the insult.
"Enough of this stupid farce!" Daniel roared. "I’m taking those bitches back to my boss, whether it’s the easy way or the hard way. It’s your choice, kid, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!"
Alexander placed a hand over his chest in a sarcastic gesture and faked a shudder.
"Oh, I’m terrified..." Alexander said, his voice instantly turning dry and sharp. "Stop talking, you idiot, and get the hell out of here."
"You think I’m playing around?!" Daniel roared, completely losing his composure.
With a rapid motion, he pulled a firearm from beneath his coat and pressed the cold metal barrel against Alexander’s chest.
Alexander didn’t back down a millimeter. Instead of showing panic, he flashed a cold smirk, spread his arms wide, and closed his eyes with utter serenity.
"Shoot," Alexander said in a mocking tone, waiting for the gunshot.
The vein on Daniel’s forehead looked ready to burst at such blatent provocation.
"Don’t say I didn’t warn you...!" Daniel screamed, gritting his teeth as he squeezed the trigger.
Click!
The gunshot never came. Instead, an invisible line sliced through the air with blinding speed. A split second later, a jet of warm blood sprayed into the air, and the handgun—along with Daniel’s severed hand and wrist—thudded heavily onto the courtyard’s marble tiles.
Daniel froze for a second before the overwhelming neurological pain hit him. He clutched his bleeding stump and unleashed a agonizing shriek that echoed across the entire property.
Beside him, the fake Brianna stood in a flawless stance, holding her dagger glistening with a thin trail of blood. Not a single person among the invaders—not even Marcus—had managed to catch the exact moment she had vanished from the porch and reappeared next to the attacker.
"Aghhhhh! My hand!" Daniel shrieked out of his mind, dropping to his knees in the pool of his own blood. "Shoot! Shoot, what the fuck are you waiting for, shoot them all!"
The sound of racking slides echoed across the courtyard as every weapon swung around to point directly at Brianna, whose icy eyes showed not a shred of doubt.
Paige and Sydney stepped forward beside Alexander. Paige drew a pair of short blades that gleamed with a faint trace of mana, while Sydney adjusted her stance, ready to unleash her power the moment the order came down.
Behind Alexander, Marcus raised his laser rifle, Ben and Leo took up fighting stances, and Alexander’s aunt stifled a terrified gasp from inside the house, clapping a hand over her mouth.
Alexander didn’t flinch an inch. He scanned the men, who were trembling ever so slightly as they held their rifles, sensing the air thick with gunpowder, blood, and fear.