"Is Suwen hiding in there…" Rulu shot a quick gnce at the building, leapt from the rooftop he was on, and rode the wind to the top of that building. The moment he nded, four armed soldiers burst out from the stairwell and onto the rooftop.

  "There are guards here after all—so Suwen really is hiding inside." A fsh of satisfaction crossed Rulu's mind. He looked at one of the soldiers and said: "Kill your companions, then take me to your Governor Suwen."

  Several gunshots rang out across the rooftop. Three soldiers were hit and crumpled into pools of blood—shot by the very soldier Rulu had taken control of with his Spiritual-power.

  A few minutes ter, in another part of the building, Suwen was hurrying down a corridor with several soldiers at his side, making for the exit, desperate to flee the building.

  A thick white fog materialized from nowhere, enveloping Suwen and his escort and rendering them unable to see anything around them. Then a sharp volley of gunshots rang out nearby, accompanied by screams of agony, and the soldiers around Suwen fell one by one.

  Footsteps approached. A bck-cd man wearing a mask emerged from the white fog and stepped in front of Suwen. An armed soldier accompanied the masked man, keeping watch on their surroundings.

  "Long time no see, Your Highness Prince Suwen." The bck-cd figure in the mist addressed Suwen with a mocking tone. The man was Rulu. Though Suwen could not see his face, he could sense that Rulu was smiling.

  "You… you have some nerve, coming to assassinate me again and again. If anything happens to me, you're finished too." Despite his panic, Suwen kept his expression stern and threw the threat back at Rulu.

  "Don't worry—I won't kill you just yet. Bring him inside." Rulu gestured toward the open door of a nearby empty room. The soldier beside him immediately wrenched Suwen's arm and forced him into the room. Rulu followed, shut the door behind him, and ordered the soldier to guard the entrance.

  "What… what do you want from me?" Suwen fought to keep himself composed, gring at the masked assassin with a mixture of fear and ferocity.

  "Let me ask you something—do you want to live, or do you want to die?" Rulu produced a handgun from his person, holding it in his uninjured left hand, and leveled the muzzle at Suwen's body from close range.

  A muscle twitched in Suwen's face. He said in a stiff, dry tone: "Even if I say I want to live, you'll kill me anyway."

  "Ha, you're not wrong. But before that, I need you to do a few things for me. If you refuse, I'll kill you right now. Do you understand what I mean?"

  Knowing his life was in this assassin's hands, Suwen gritted his teeth and said: "What do you want me to do."

  "First, I want you to issue an order for all your forces to stand down where they are—no pursuing the Rebels."

  "That I cannot do. The command over the military doesn't lie with me." The moment those words left Suwen's mouth, a gunshot rang out. Rulu had fired into Suwen's left shoulder. The bullet struck his left arm; blood immediately soaked through his clothing. Suwen crumpled to the floor, clutching his wounded shoulder, crying out in pain.

  "My patience has its limits. Don't make me say it again." Rulu looked down coldly at Suwen on the floor, his voice low and den with menace, and trained the muzzle on him once more.

  Suwen's nerve broke. Having seen just how ruthless this assassin was, fear overtook him entirely. He blurted out in a panic: "I… I understand." Then, biting through the searing pain in his shoulder, he took out his communicator and issued the order for all forces to stand down.

  Once the order was given, Suwen forced an ingratiating smile and said to Rulu: "I… I've done what you asked. Surely that's enough."

  "Good. There are still some things I'd like to ask you, but it seems there's no time for that now. Which means you have no further reason to stay alive." A murderous gleam appeared in Rulu's eyes. He raised the handgun and aimed it directly at Governor Suwen's head, ready to finish him off.

  At that very moment, urgent knocking came from the direction of the door, and a voice called out from outside: "Governor, sir—are you in there?"

  "I'm here, help me—" Suwen immediately cried out at the top of his voice. The moment the words left him, Rulu raised his hand and fired again, this time striking Suwen's right thigh. "Tell them not to do anything rash," Rulu said in a low, dangerous tone. "Otherwise you know what will happen."

  Suwen's face was contorted with pain and terror. He shouted: "All of you stay outside! No one enters without my order!"

  The corridor gradually fell silent. Rulu walked to the window and looked out. The street below was packed with soldiers and humanoid armored soldiers, and more troops were streaming in from a distance, encircling the building on all sides.

  Taking in the situation, Rulu felt a knot of unease form in his chest. He could kill Suwen at any moment—but getting out himself was another matter entirely.

  Slumped on the floor, Suwen seemed to read the hesitation in Rulu's mind. He let out a vicious, gloating ugh: "Heheheh… this pce is already surrounded by my men. Even if you kill me, you won't escape. You'll die right here along with me—hahahaha…"