My Manor

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap... A flurry of footsteps echoed through a narrow alley in the South City of Boston. A group of people was running at full speed. The leader accidentally knocked over a trash can, causing those behind him to tumble over. Covered in garbage and stinky water, they didn't seem to care.

After scrambling to their feet, they dashed to a nearby corner, glancing behind them in panic.

"Boss, boss, I can't run anymore! What do we do now?" A young man, his face streaked with tears, asked the leader. His voice trembled with fear.

"You're asking me what to do? How should I know?" The leader, the first to have fallen, snapped at him. "Shh... Keep quiet! Don't attract that female demon."

The first person who fell was Billy Valen, a man with a longstanding grudge against Jiang Hai. If someone familiar with Billy were present, they might not even recognize him—his current disheveled state was a stark contrast to the arrogant, confident demeanor he had just days before.

Billy now understood why the United States was considered a paradise for the rich: because they truly couldn't compete with the wealthy here.

Initially, he believed that with thousands of underlings at his disposal, he was invincible. As long as he didn't cross the U.S. government, he could take down anyone. But now he realized how wrong he had been. In the U.S., a gang boss like him had no chance against the rich. He was insane to think otherwise.

Revenge came swiftly. His informants told him that the men he had sent out the previous night had either been killed or arrested. The Boston police had sealed off his neighborhood and started raiding the bars and casinos he ran. Things quickly spiraled out of control.

When Billy tried to flee, he found that every neighborhood he'd been in was now sealed off. The entire area was locked down, with police checkpoints on every street. Everywhere he went, officers asked if they had seen Billy. His panic intensified as he realized there was no way out.

He changed clothes and used the maze of alleys in South Boston to escape. Less than half an hour later, his house was raided after his subordinates had turned on him. That's when he truly feared for his life.

Now the entire South City was under lockdown. It didn't matter where you went—police were stopping and checking everyone, asking about Billy. He couldn't believe how quickly his life had unraveled.

He had thought that if things got tough, he could escape like the previous boss had. But now, he didn't even have a chance to run. He was trapped, unable to leave the South City.

It seemed the police wouldn't stop until they caught him. As he hid, hoping for a break, a woman entered the scene.

This woman was unlike any other. She tracked down five of his hideouts in a row, using methods so brutal that none of his men who had seen her survived. Now, only a few of them remained: Billy, his deputy, and a handful of new recruits.

These recruits, terrified for their lives, had no idea what they were up against. They had only ever seen the glory of working for Billy Valen, never considering the dangers. Now, it was too late for regrets.

"My empire is finished." Billy thought, reflecting on the day before when he was still a wealthy man with thousands of subordinates, earning millions every month. How could it all be gone in a single day?

He was broke, and his life was in danger. The thought of it made him smile bitterly. Life was short, and everything could change in the blink of an eye.

"Boss, I think we've been played by those Chinese. This isn't a bad deal, this is a deadly one!" His deputy, wearing a bitter expression, muttered to Billy. He was furious at the people who had led them into this conflict with Jiang Hai. Billy, though, didn't blame himself. After all, this wasn't his fault—he was just the tool.

"Those damn Chinese, they've set us up. Maybe... maybe this news can save us," Billy said, his eyes lighting up with sudden hope. His thoughts raced. Jiang Hai only knew he was after him. But Jiang Hai didn't know who was pulling the strings behind the scenes. Billy's heart raced with excitement. If he could just hang on long enough to get the information to Jiang Hai, maybe—just maybe—he could survive.

Just as his hope grew, a gunshot rang out from behind him.

The deputy, who had been helping him strategize, collapsed into the filthy sewage at his feet, lifeless.

A teasing female voice echoed through the darkness. "Why don't you run? I've killed another one."

Azirina, her silhouette emerging from the shadows, sauntered forward. Her hair was loose, and she wore a green Celtics uniform, stained with blood. The blood wasn't hers, but that of those she had killed.

Azirina had been trained to kill from a young age, and killing came without hesitation or burden. She never spared anyone—no matter their age, gender, or condition. She wasn't like Bell, who had difficulty killing innocent people. Azirina had been doing it since she was twelve, and her escape from her former organization wasn't due to a distaste for killing—it was a desire for freedom.

To her, the mission was what mattered. The identities of those she killed didn't. Only completing the task.

"Demon..." Billy and his men stared at Azirina, wide-eyed with terror. To them, she was the embodiment of their worst nightmare.

"Bang!" Azirina smiled, unaffected by their curses. "Thanks for the compliment. Who's next?"

Her men, with chilling smiles, shot the boy who had been crying earlier in the head, silencing him forever. Azirina's eyes swept over the others.

"Wait, wait, you can't kill me! Are you Jiang Hai's people? I have information he needs." Billy shouted in a panic, hands raised to stop Azirina. He quickly added, "Jiang Hai's real enemy isn't me—I'm just a pawn in someone else's game."

Azirina paused, then shrugged. "Sorry, I'm only here to kill. Exchanging information isn't my job."

"Please, Jiang Hai will want this information. I'm not the one who wants to hurt him. I'm just being used. You have to understand!" Billy pleaded, desperate.

Azirina's expression shifted slightly, intrigued by his words. The idea that someone else was behind this piqued her interest.

Billy, sensing an opening, pressed on. "It's not just me. I'm telling you the truth!"

Azirina hesitated, just for a moment. Then, with a swift movement, her pistol flashed. Billy braced himself for death, but as the gunshots rang out, he felt no pain. When he dared to open his eyes again, he saw that all his men were dead—except for him.

"Since you want to trade information, let's see if it's worth anything to my master. Let's go!" Azirina ordered, pointing her gun at Billy and pulling out a phone. She dialed a number given to her by Jiang Hai before she left, and a response came almost immediately.