Chapter 123 The Hacker, Serial Killer

Chapter 123 The Hacker, Serial Killer
"Not my intention to interrupt such a harmonious moment, but the 700 million on that man's head is simply something I can't let go of."

In their excitement, the group hadn't remembered, let alone paid attention to the hacker who had quietly slipped away from them.

Now she was pointing a pistol at Ezekiel, one somehow fitted with a red laser sight.

Caleb and Ezekiel subtly tried to reach for their own guns, but she scoffed and tossed several bullets at them.

"While you were all so engrossed with yourselves, I took the liberty of taking out the bullets and burying them in the graves we dug. So I'm the only one with a gun. Since that's the case, I'd hate to shoot you before you know why I'm doing this, so please listen to what I have to say."

Immediately, all four of them slowly raised their hands.

Except one.

Henry wasn't intimidated by the gun and boldly took a step forward.

"She's bluffing. Look at her. Does she look like she's fired a gun a day in her life? That aside, are we stupid? Which one of us hasn't used a pistol before? We all know only a sniper produces those red dots, and yet she wants us to think her pistol does?" He scoffed. "Please! I call bullshit! She's holding a gun just to scare us!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the woman's head tilt to the side. Her wrist flicked as she turned the pistol toward Mr. Forensic and squeezed the trigger, firing a shot into his leg without taking her eyes off the group.

"Yeah, I'm a hacker and a serial killer. Yes, being a hacker pays the bills, but as a serial killer, it's far less exciting than holding people for ransom and watching the life drain from their eyes as they realise they're dying."

"When I saw the bounty, I didn't know how to get in on it, so I asked around. They told me you had a few hackers on your payroll, so I hacked one of them and waited until you called them. Then I simply joined the group and came in with them."

She stopped and placed a hand over her chest, exhaling with the kind of satisfaction only someone who had finally attained the impossible could feel.

"When I saw how you outfoxed Mr. Forensic, I knew for a fact that you're the thrill I've been looking for. Killing all six of you would sic the police onto me like a rabid dog. With no Mr. Forensic around, the murders of that family of four would also be pinned on me, and I'd constantly be on the run, finally getting to play a cat-and-mouse game with the police until I get bored."

The five of them listened to her ramble while Mr. Forensic continued whimpering on the ground from having another bullet fired into his other leg.

"Damn... you're crazy." The words slipped past Amber's lips before she could stop herself.

"I am," the woman replied, her crazed eyes widening.

"But of what use will that be when you'll be dead?" Amber clicked her tongue wistfully.

The woman immediately grew agitated, her hands trembling with anger as she swung the pistol from Ezekiel to Amber.

"Are you deaf? I just told you I plan to play a cat-and-mouse game with them. What part of that sounds like I'll be dead?"

Ezekiel immediately stepped in front of Amber, but that only agitated the woman even more.

Amber noticed and smiled.

Keeping her hands raised, she calmly stepped in front of Ezekiel once again.

"Didn't you read everything about Ezekiel Kent?" she asked, raising a brow.

"What?" Confusion flickered across the woman's face.

"You're not the only one chasing the thrill. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who want both the thrill and the money. But guess what? There's another bounty out there on the head of whoever kills Ezekiel."

"So if you squeeze that trigger, you'll be dead the very next second, and all the fun and excitement you've been looking forward to will disappear. We don't want that to happen, do we?"

The woman's eyes lowered, a faint trace of sanity creeping back into them as she slowly shook her head.

Seeing her guard drop, Amber seized the opportunity and slowly closed the distance between them.

"Remember what I said about all those people waiting for someone to kill Ezekiel so they can cash in on it?"

The woman gave a slow nod.

Amber reached out and gently rested a hand on her shoulder, using the other to lift her chin until their eyes met.

"Why should the fun end when you kill him, when you could hunt down every bounty hunter after his head instead? Forget hundreds. There are thousands of them. Just imagine how much fun you'd have watching the light leave every single one of their eyes."

At those words, the woman's eyes lit up once more.

She slowly began backing away, a thoughtful expression settling across her face.

A few seconds later, she disappeared into the darkness.

"I know I'm not a lawyer, but wasn't what you just did premeditated genocide?" Henry blinked, stunned.

"Those people want to kill my husband. Why shouldn't I return the favour?" Amber shrugged, retorting as she continued walking forward.

A smile immediately spread across Ezekiel's face, and he swaggered after her.

Caleb tilted his head to the side and let out a long breath.

Meanwhile, Julius checked on Mr. Forensic, only to find that he had finally passed out from the pain of being shot twice.

He bent over, hoisted the man onto his shoulders, and followed the others.

When they returned to the groundskeeper's house, the elderly man was delighted to see so many guests. He hurriedly made more room for everyone before serving them a warm meal.

After a while, Julius stepped outside with a chunk of bread.

He shoved it into Mr. Forensic's mouth as a gag, tightened the ropes binding him, then headed back inside and shut the door behind him.

Meanwhile, the hacker returned home, energised and excited about her next hunt.

She logged onto the dark web and began searching through the many users who had expressed interest in claiming Ezekiel's bounty. As she worked, she noticed a freshly created account and decided to hack into it.

Two minutes later, she was browsing through countless movie trailers and screenplay drafts stored in its folders.

Then she paused.

She had stumbled across something far more interesting.

A file containing a man's name, photograph, and home address.

She spent the next three minutes committing every detail to memory before logging out.

Curious, she opened her browser to search for the man. While doing so, she noticed another document containing a checklist of his goals and ambitions.

One entry had already been ticked off.

‘Finally become someone famous.’

Her curiosity deepened.

She opened a search engine, looked down at her keyboard, and slowly typed,

"How many Aaron Fosters are famous?"