Chapter 41: Chapter 041 Hunters and Prey
Seeing the silhouette that climbed over the wall, Rip, hiding in the car, revealed a sinister grin. “Little bastard, I’ve finally caught you!”
He pulled out the pistol from his lower back, thought carefully, and then placed it back in the car, before drawing a dagger.
The night in Baytown was too quiet, once a gunshot rang out, it would surely draw the attention of others, and the dense trees in the mountains made the night vision even worse, making the knife more convenient than a gun.
Most importantly, Rip intended to vent his frustration thoroughly after getting the information he wanted.
He opened the car door, got out, and quietly followed the distant figure, one in front, one behind, Rip carefully maintaining his distance.
On the road, he noticed that the skinny figure in front would often stop and pretend to casually scan the surroundings.
Rip’s face was full of mockery.
“Late at night, doesn’t that posture of yours raise even more suspicion?”
Several days had passed without getting the information he wanted, and Sherman was already starting to complain. If Rip couldn’t find an opportunity, he was ready to resort to more forceful methods.
Even if it meant leaving some traces behind.
However, as Sherman’s private enforcer, he rarely appeared in Baytown, and he would just lay low for a few days after causing trouble.
After walking for a long while, Rip noticed the young man ahead turn off the highway and head straight into the forest. He became anxious and, unable to care about revealing his presence anymore, quickly chased after him.
It was a dark and windy night, with very low visibility in the forest, and if he stayed too far away, he might lose sight of his target.
Despite his size, Rip was extremely agile. Each step he took was large, but when his feet hit the ground, they made almost no noise, while his eyes in the darkness gleamed with a ruthless light.
He could hardly wait to tear the other apart.
“Have you finally caught up?”
In the dark, Roger’s steps were light, his eyes calm, but his tightly clenched fists were soaked with sweat—it was his first time launching a counterattack.
A faint wolf howl came from afar, and Rip’s face brightened. He felt that he had been in the forest for a while now, and no longer bothering to hide, he dashed forward quickly, soon catching up with the figure ahead.
A young man’s voice came through the darkness, and although he tried to remain calm, Rip could still hear the tremor in the other’s suppressed voice.
A savage smile appeared on his lips, and Rip emerged from behind a large tree.
Hearing the panic in the young man’s voice, Rip took a step forward, revealing his sinister and shadowy face intermittently through the mottled tree shadows.
“You… you…” Roger stammered in a flurry.
“You took something you shouldn’t have taken, hand it over.”
Rip had originally planned to capture Roger and then ask him in detail, but thinking of the misery he had endured hiding in the car all these days, he suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of emotion.
It’s just a teenager after all, now that he’s under my watch, could he possibly escape?
“What are you talking about?”
“What thing? What have I taken from you?”
On the surface, Roger was full of fear, but deep down, he had completely calmed down. “Indeed, it’s about that book; it seems that Sherman must be connected to Ivy.”
He pretended to back away in panic, as if unconsciously saying, “I didn’t take your book, I don’t know anything!”
Rip let out a hearty laugh, certain in his mind. “Don’t worry, everyone makes mistakes when they’re young.”
“Kid, just hand over that book, and I’ll pretend that nothing ever happened and let you go safely.”
Rip revealed his ghastly white teeth; in the darkness, his eyes brimmed with intense killing intent. In such an environment, he didn’t even try to conceal his malice.
What he didn’t know was that his ferocious expression and murderous aura were clearly visible to the young man in the distance.
Roger halted his retreating steps, a glimmer of hope crossing his face, “Is what you’re saying true?”
“If I give the book back to you, you’ll let me leave?”
Rip nodded vigorously, “Don’t worry, my word is my bond.”
To deepen Roger’s trust in him, he continued, “Remember the check you received a few days ago?”
“Yes, I was sent by Mr. Sherman. Rest assured, you’re a friend of Mr. Sherman, and he specifically instructed me not to scare you. That check was a demonstration of his sincerity.”
“A lot has happened in Baytown these past few days. I don’t know why you’d run into the woods at night, but it’s too dangerous. I wouldn’t have followed you if I weren’t worried about the danger you’re in.”
Rip put on an innocent front, but the murderous intent in his eyes grew even denser.
In his mind, he had already sentenced the youth before him to death.
The struggle flashed across the young man’s face. He took off his backpack and pretended to search through it, “I’ll find it for you right now.”
“So he’s been carrying it with him the whole time.”
Things were going much smoother than expected, and Rip, overjoyed, stepped forward quickly, “I have a light here, I can help you…”
Just then, things took a sudden turn!
Rip felt as if he had stepped on something hard. The next second, a sound of a spring mechanism triggered, and he instinctively recoiled his left foot in shock.
A scream filled the air as Rip looked down to see that a Beast Trap had clamped onto half of his foot. The intense pain nearly made him pass out, and in an instant, it was as if he understood something. He hastily drew the dagger from his waist.
“You little bastard, I’m going to kill you!”
But as he looked up, the slim youth who had been standing at a distance had somehow already charged toward him, swinging his backpack. Curled into a ball, the young man plunged forward with lightning speed!
Rip, seasoned in combat, didn’t attempt to touch the backpack thrown at him. His body dropped sharply and he crouched down, watching Roger charge. Rip held the dagger in his left hand and reached into his chest with his right.
“I’m going to shoot you full of holes!” he roared.
Roger’s prior experience had made him overlook the prevalence of firearms in this country. As he saw Rip’s right hand about to pull something out, his scalp tingled. He couldn’t think about pressing his advantage any longer; he halted abruptly and leaped toward a large tree nearby!
Instead of the expected gunfire, a grating metallic sound echoed. Roger seemed to realize something and carefully peeked out from behind the tree to look.
Rip’s right hand was empty. He was exerting force to pry open the Beast Trap, attempting to drag his ensnared foot free.
Roger was filled with regret; in that moment, he had reacted instinctively and evaded.
But now he couldn’t be sure whether Rip really had a gun in his hand, causing him to hesitate.
Rip sneered, “You actually managed to hurt me, kid. I’d advise you to start running now because once I get out of here, I’m definitely sending someone to burn down the apartment you live in!”
“There’s also that girl named Amanda, I’ll make sure to ‘take care’ of her!”