The Almighty Garbage Collector: Reclaiming My Throne

The Trap Inside the Mansion

The sound of shattering glass filled the grand hall as dozens of armed mercenaries dropped from the upper balconies. Their black uniforms and red-painted badges gleamed under the bright chandeliers. They raised their assault rifles, pointing every barrel directly at Ms. Alabi and me.

Ronke stumbled backward down the marble stairs, dropping the glowing golden box as pure panic took over her face. She looked at the armed men, then at the box pulsing with a dangerous red light on the floor.

"Wait!" Ronke cried out, holding her hands up toward the mercenaries. "I am your commander! The Black Sun leadership promised me control of this branch!"

The lead mercenary, a tall man with a jagged scar across his cheek, did not even look at her. He laughed coldly, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "You were never our leader, woman. You were just a useful tool to lure Tunde into the open. The Black Sun does not share power with garbage."

Ronke’s face turned completely pale. All the arrogance and cold pride she had worn like a crown vanished in an instant. She realized too late that she had been played by the very syndicate she served.

"Tunde!" Ronke shouted, turning to me with tears in her eyes and reaching out a desperate hand. "Help me! They are going to kill me! Remember our past! Remember when we—"

"Our past died twelve years ago when you helped destroy my family," I said, my voice completely flat and cold. I did not move an inch to help her.

[System Alert: Multiple hostile targets locked in range.]

[Warning: Active detonation seal in the golden box will trigger in sixty seconds.]

[New Quest Available: Clear the mercenary squad and secure the golden box before explosion.]

The system interface flashed bright red in my mind, but I did not need a prompt to know what to do. I locked my eyes on the lead mercenary.

"Kill them all," the leader commanded, dropping his hand.

Before the first rifle could fire, Ms. Alabi moved with a speed that caught everyone off guard. She kicked a heavy wooden table into the path of the nearest gunmen, using it as a shield while pulling her own weapon from her jacket. She fired two quick shots, dropping the two closest guards instantly.

I did not wait for cover. I leaped forward, activating the full physical strength of the Level 2 Dragon Bloodline. My body cut through the air like a fast bullet.

The closest mercenary tried to aim his rifle at my chest, but I reached out and caught the metal barrel with my bare hand, pulling it upward with a sudden twist. The gun went off into the ceiling, showering us with bits of plaster. Before he could recover, I struck him square in the chest with an open palm. The heavy force threw him backward into three of his comrades, knocking them all to the floor in a tangled heap of limbs and weapons.

More bullets flew past my ears, biting into the marble pillars behind me, but I kept moving forward. My mind was sharp, focused entirely on the danger ahead and the ticking box on the floor.

Across the room, Ronke tried to crawl away toward the back doors, but the lead mercenary stepped on the hem of her white lace dress, pinning her to the floor. She screamed in terror as he raised his pistol, pointing it directly at the back of her head.

"If we are going down, we take the traitors with us," the leader snarled, glaring at Ronke.

I didn't hesitate. I used the system's Shadow Step, vanishing from the floor in a blur and reappearing right behind the leader before he could pull the trigger. I swept my leg hard against his knees, shattering his balance and sending him crashing heavily to the marble ground.

He dropped his weapon, gasping for breath as I placed my boot firmly on his chest.

"Where is the master key to the estate's underground vault?" I demanded, looking down into his terrified eyes.

"You... you will never find it," the leader choked out, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. "The Supreme Leader... is already downloading the core files from the mainframe right now. This entire house is wired to blow!"

I looked down at the golden box on the stairs. The red light had stopped pulsing and was now glowing with a steady, blinding brightness. The timer on its surface hit five seconds.

"Get out!" I shouted to Ms. Alabi.

Ms. Alabi grabbed Ronke by the collar of her dress, hauling the crying woman to her feet with surprising strength, and sprinted toward the front doors. I snatched the glowing golden box off the stairs, activated my maximum speed, and dived through the massive oak doors just as the entire grand hall exploded behind us in a wall of fire and flying stone.