Chapter 46: Jackpot

Klaue silently nodded before turning around.

Without needing to be told twice, he started walking, keeping both of his hands where we could see them.

Diablo gestured for him to stay in front while we followed a few steps behind.

I kept my AS VAL trained on his back the entire time.

Even after everything that had happened, I wasn’t about to trust someone like Klaue.

As we moved through the corridors, Klaue warned us about every trap along the route.

Hidden pressure plates, tripwires, and concealed mines were all pointed out before we reached them.

It seemed the curse had completely broken any thought of resisting.

The deeper we went, the fewer electronic security systems I saw.

Instead, the base relied on reinforced steel doors, mechanical locks, and enough explosives to bury the entire place.

Thinking about it, that probably explained how Klaue had managed to stay hidden from Wakanda for so many years.

Physical security left far less of a trail than cameras, servers, and digital networks.

A few minutes later, Klaue finally stopped in front of a massive reinforced steel door.

A keypad was mounted beside it, along with a fingerprint scanner.

“This is the vault,” he said quietly.

I glanced at Diablo before looking back at Klaue.

“Open it.”

Klaue nodded nervously before stepping toward the keypad.

With trembling fingers, he entered the password before placing his hand on the fingerprint scanner.

A soft beep echoed through the corridor, followed by a series of heavy metallic clicks as the locking mechanism disengaged.

A second later, the reinforced steel door slowly slid open.

The vault wasn’t as large as I had expected.

There were no stacks of cash or shelves filled with weapons.

Instead, ten large metal containers were neatly arranged in the center of the room, each one sealed shut and marked with identification numbers.

I turned to Klaue.

“How much Vibranium is in each container?”

“Twenty-five kilograms,” he answered without hesitation.

My gaze swept across the vault once more.

Ten containers, each holding twenty-five kilograms.

That meant there were two hundred and fifty kilograms of Vibranium sitting right in front of me.

I kept my expression calm, but inwardly, I couldn’t help smiling.

Jackpot.

Without wasting another second, I walked over to the nearest container and placed my hand on it.

With a thought, the container disappeared into my storage space.

Then the second vanished, followed by the third.

Within a few moments, every container had disappeared, leaving the vault completely empty.

Klaue stood there in stunned silence, his eyes fixed on the empty space where the Vibranium had been only moments ago.

After everything he had witnessed today, he still couldn’t understand where everything was disappearing to.

I ignored his reaction.

The objective of this raid had already been accomplished.

Everything else was just cleanup.

Thup.

The suppressed shot echoed softly through the vault.

Klaue’s eyes widened in disbelief as a small hole appeared in the center of his forehead.

His body swayed for a brief moment before collapsing onto the concrete floor with a dull thud.

Just like that, one of the most notorious black-market arms dealers in the world was dead.

I lowered my rifle and looked toward Diablo.

“Take the body. We’re leaving.”

Diablo nodded before lifting Klaue’s body onto his shoulder as if it weighed nothing.

Taking one last look around the vault to make sure nothing had been left behind, I turned around and headed back the way we had come.

The return trip was much faster.

With Klaue dead, there was no one left to guide us, but I had already memorized the route.

Avoiding the pressure plates, tripwires, and concealed mines, we made our way back toward the warehouse without any trouble.

By the time we reached the warehouse, the gunfire had grown even louder.

Judging by the constant exchange of shots, the villagers were still keeping the remaining mercenaries occupied.

I walked over to one of the security monitors that was still running.

Most of the cameras covering the perimeter showed the same thing—villagers taking cover behind rocks and abandoned vehicles while Klaue’s men fired from defensive positions inside the compound.

Neither side had managed to gain much ground.

I wasn’t surprised.

Most of the villagers had never received proper combat training.

Against armed mercenaries with prepared defenses, they were at a clear disadvantage.

Walking over to the control desk, I shut down every camera feed before pulling the hard drives and storage units from the recording system.

They disappeared into my storage space one after another.

To be safe, I smashed the remaining monitors, computers, and recording equipment with the butt of my rifle until nothing was left that could be recovered.

I wasn’t about to leave behind footage of Diablo or me walking through the base.

After making sure there wasn’t a single working security system left, I looked toward Diablo.

“Let’s go.”

There was no reason for us to stay any longer.

We had already secured the Vibranium, eliminated Klaue, and collected everything useful from the base.

Whether the villagers won or lost after this no longer mattered to us.

With that, we slipped back through the warehouse and headed toward the secret tunnel, leaving the battle behind us.

The tunnel was just as quiet as before.

Apart from our footsteps, the only sound was the occasional drip of water echoing through the passage.

Neither Diablo nor I spoke.

A few minutes later, the end of the tunnel came into view.

After making sure no one was waiting outside, I stepped into the night.

The cool air hit my face as I looked around.

The forest was still as silent as ever.

From this distance, the gunfire had become faint, almost blending into the sounds of the night.

Anyone passing through the area would probably think it was nothing more than distant thunder.

I turned toward Diablo.

“We’ll split up here.”

He looked at me without saying anything.

“I’ll head back first. Take Klaue’s body to the location we discussed and get rid of it. Make sure there’s nothing left that can be identified.”

Diablo gave a small nod.

“As you wish.”

Without another word, Diablo disappeared into the darkness with Klaue’s body over his shoulder.

Watching him leave, I let out a quiet breath before taking one last look in the direction of Klaue’s base.

By the time the fighting ended and someone finally entered that vault, all they would find was an empty room.

With that thought, I turned around and began making my way back toward the temporary base.

As I walked through the forest, my thoughts drifted to the two hundred and fifty kilograms of Vibranium sitting inside my storage space.

That single raid had pushed my plans forward by years.

My first instinct was to open the system and start buying upgrades immediately.

There were still countless things I wanted, and every purchase would make surviving this world a little easier.

But after thinking about it for a moment, I held myself back.

Upgrading myself wasn’t my only priority.

I also wanted another demon.

If I remembered correctly, Diablo had told me that once he recovered around twenty percent of his original strength, I would be able to summon another Primordial Demon.

With that in mind, I decided to wait.

First, I’d see how much money the Vibranium brought in.

After that, I’d decide whether to invest in myself or expand the people working under me.

…

Author’s Note:

Cast your vote and let me know which demon you’d like to see join Chris’s side!