Chapter 119: Another Sect

Late night.

From an aerial view, a brightly lit classical city lies here.

Even in the deep night of late autumn, the city center remains bustling, with endless traffic and crowded tourists.

What makes this city unique is the circular "Opera House" located in the city center.

The theater is somewhat ruined, at least a thousand years old; its exterior resembles a multi‑arch structure, the interior features tiered open‑air seating, and the center contains a sand area seemingly for alternative performances.

Roman Colosseum.

This is the capital of Italy, Rome.

Rome time, October 24, 2001, 23:37.

Although Italy has many notorious deeds throughout history, it does not prevent the country from possessing numerous famous historical monuments.

To the east, about ten kilometers from Rome's city center, the suburban district of Villa Rba appears rather desolate.

Few vehicles pass on the road, and the streets have hardly any pedestrians or tourists.

At the edge of the district, a bar converted from an abandoned factory is open for business.

!!!

Even standing outside the bar, one can hear the booming music coming from within.

Fortunately, nearby communities and apartment buildings are far enough from the bar, so it hasn't yet become a nuisance.

A community street not far west of the bar.

The street is lined with cars whose engines are off and lights off; after all, it's late night and most people have finished work and returned home to rest.

A four‑seat sedan with one‑way tinted windows and black paint is parked at an angle directly facing the bar's main entrance.

Inside the car, the driver and front passenger seats are occupied by two people in casual clothes.

In the driver's seat sits a man wearing a black tracksuit and sweatpants.

In the front passenger seat is Aya Buleiya, dressed in a black leather jacket and slim jeans, with short golden hair.

After Buleiya helped Umbrella resolve the "Weird Human Model" case, she joined Umbrella on Leon's recommendation and underwent extremely rigorous training at the European division.

Since finishing training last summer, she is no longer the Venice police officer she once was, but a qualified intelligence operative.

The man in the driver's seat is also an intelligence operative tasked with investigating anomalous phenomena.

Normally, intelligence operatives work alone, especially top agents like those from Leon.

But this time four have gathered.

Buleiya watches the bar's main entrance while the back entrance is monitored by two others.

A month ago, she and three other operatives discovered within Italy a newly formed special sect that appears to worship a creature linked to anomalous phenomena.

With Sheheba's prior experience as a lesson, Buleiya and the others act together.

Eventually, they pinpointed the sect's base—the bar within their line of sight.

At the same time, they reported to the European division, requesting the nearest armed security support, even MTF or HellParatrooper assistance if possible, to eradicate the sect completely.

They waited patiently for more than ten minutes.

Near midnight, Buleiya finally detected the anomaly.

A black van stopped in front of the bar's main entrance.

Because of the angle, she couldn't see the side of the van clearly, but soon the van drove away from the street in front of the entrance toward the rear parking lot.

Now she and the male operative clearly saw three muscular men in leather jackets and pants, resembling biker gang attire, walking toward the main entrance.

The man in the middle held a metal box in both hands, large enough to contain a basketball.

The anomalous creature the cult worships should be inside that metal box.

Seeing the three men enter the bar, Buleiya, wearing a throat‑mic, immediately reported in a low voice: "Target has entered, prepare to act."

After speaking, Buleiya pulled the safety off her pulse pistol from the armpit holster, then placed the pistol back into the holster, and the operative beside her did the same.

"Let's go."

"Okay."

After the brief exchange, the operative started the engine, left the street, and drove the vehicle toward the main entrance.

With a "Swoosh—!" sound, their vehicle came to a stop in front of the main entrance.

They got out and walked toward the entrance.

As Buleiya and the other approached, a similarly burly security guard stepped forward and warned, "Non‑members are not allowed inside."

"Police investigation," Buleiya replied coldly.

"Then you also have no right to search!" the guard said, trying to pull out his intercom to report to the bar's interior.

"Raise your hands! Don't move!"

But the male operative drew his gun even faster, pointing the barrel at the guard while shouting the same sentence.

!!

The guard clearly hadn't expected a Roman police officer to be so tough; he immediately raised his hands, staying still, and hurriedly said:

"Don't shoot! I'm willing to cooperate!"

???

Buleiya and the male operative were somewhat surprised.

In their impression, cultists who worship anomalous creatures should be fiercely loyal, so why would they so easily abandon resistance?

After the brief surprise, the two did not lower their guard.

Buleiya took a restraint strap from her small tactical bag on her left side and rear‑hand bound the guard.

Moreover, the guard cooperated, face down, obediently lying on the ground.

Immediately after, Buleiya took out a bandage‑like patch from the bag, peeled off its protective film, and stuck it onto the guard's back of the neck.

With a "hiss!" of electric current, that security guard instantly rolled his eyes and fainted.

After dealing with the guard, Buleiya and another continued to rush into the bar's interior.

They went in.

"!!"

Then they heard piercing music, saw dizzying lights, and saw biker gang members reveling with drinks in hand.

Buleiya and another's faces darkened.

In this environment, even if they fired continuously, the biker gang members might not necessarily hear the gunshots.

Suddenly, the DJ stopped the music, and the blinding lights switched to bright incandescent bulbs.

The sudden change in environment made Buleiya and her three companions, as well as the biker gang members, involuntarily narrow their eyes to quickly adapt to the bright lighting.

"Dear devoted members!"

At that moment, a biker gang member with a spiky hairstyle, resembling a leader, stood on the bar stage, right hand holding a microphone, left hand pointing at Buleiya and another, and also pointing at the two other informants at the back door, and shouted:

"Police have intruded into our holy land! To ensure the Holy Lord's safe transfer, we will spare no expense to drive the police out!"

?!

Upon hearing that, the biker gang members all turned their gaze toward Buleiya and others, and many clenched their fists and twisted their necks with furrowed brows and glaring eyes, seeming unwilling to beat up the "police" but also wanting to protect the so-called Holy Lord.

But with a "pop!" gunshot, the biker gang members' true colors were revealed.

Only seeing Buleiya decisively fire a shot as a signal, she aimed the gun at the nearest biker gang members and shouted loudly:

"Those who don't want to die, raise your hands and lie on the ground! Otherwise we don't mind using force!"

???

The biker gang members' momentum instantly waned, no longer as fierce and menacing as before.

(End of chapter)