Chapter 148: The fun part finally begins
Karlo let out an amused chuckle.
"Good." His lips curled into a satisfied smile.
"You seem quite eager to leave this place.Excellent."
Clara shot Thomas a cold glance before looking at Gen instead.
Something wasn’t right. This entire game was a trap. Anyone with common sense could see that.
Thomas might have been foolish enough to play along... But Gen? She wasn’t reckless.
Before Clara could say a word, Gen calmly reached for the revolver.
"I’m in." Her voice was flat, almost emotionless.
Karlo nodded with obvious satisfaction.
"I expected nothing less."
As Gen lowered her gaze, her eyes briefly met Clara’s. They were empty. Yet Clara somehow understood.
She’s planning something... She just didn’t know what.
Karlo returned to his chair and leaned back comfortably.
He lit his cigar before taking a slow drag. "Let the game begin."
The room instantly fell silent. Clara quietly scanned the office.
More guards had entered while everyone’s attention had been on the prisoners. Almost every corner of the room was occupied.
Why so many men...? Her eyes flickered as she took in every expression when suddenly a guard near the entrance shifted awkwardly.
"...Strange." He frowned. "Why do I suddenly feel uncomfortable?"
Another guard rubbed his stomach. "I thought it was just me.I’ve had this weird feeling for the past minute."
Nearby, Luca discreetly adjusted his tie.
Even he felt...Odd. However he couldn’t explain it.
It wasn’t fear not was it sickness. Just...an uncomfortable pressure building inside his stomach.
Yet he ignored it.
Karlo’s voice interrupted everyone’s thoughts.
"Girl." He pointed toward Gen. "You first."
Thomas instinctively held his breath. His hands trembled as he watched Gen slowly raise the revolver. The barrel pointed directly at him.
His eyes widened."W-Wait..."
Gen remained expressionless.
For years...she had imagined killing the man sitting across from her.
The man who had killed her mother.
The man she no longer considered her father.
If fate truly wanted one of them dead today...
She wouldn’t hesitate. Only one regret remained.
Mother...I wish you were here to see this.
Thomas’s panic grew.
"N-No..."
His shaking hand reached for the second revolver.
Almost instinctively...he raised it too.
The muzzle pointed straight at Gen.
The office fell eerily silent. Father and daughter.
Two loaded guns. Two expressionless faces.
Karlo smiled with genuine excitement.
"Perfect. Now...pull the trigger."
Click.
Gen fired first.
Nothing. An empty chamber.
Thomas immediately squeezed his trigger.
Click.
Nothing. He exhaled in relief.
Round after round...they continued.
Click.
Click.
The tension inside the office became suffocating.
Each empty chamber made Thomas believe he had survived...
Only for the next round to begin.Then...something unexpected happened.
A guard near the window suddenly grabbed his stomach.
"...Ugh."He frowned.
"What the..." Another doubled over. "My stomach..."
Luca glanced toward them. "What’s wrong?"
"I... I don’t know." The first guard’s face turned pale. "It hurts..."
A third guard suddenly crossed his legs tightly.
"Boss..." He looked utterly horrified.
"I think... I need the bathroom."
Several men laughed.
"Scared already? I told you not to drink so much tea."
The guard shook his head violently.
"No..." His face twisted.
"This isn’t fear." His eyes widened.
"Oh no..." His stomach let out an unmistakable gurgle. The sound echoed through the silent office.
"..."
Everyone stared at him. "I... I really need to go."
Before anyone could react...another guard clutched his stomach.
"So do I."
"What?"
A third raised his hand awkwardly.
"...Me too."
Within seconds... half the room looked increasingly uncomfortable.
One guard was sweating. Another kept shifting from one foot to the other.
A fourth had both knees tightly pressed together.
Luca frowned. "What is wrong with all of you?"
Just then...his own stomach made a suspicious noise.
Grrrrrrk...
He froze.
"..."
He slowly looked down. "...No."
Across the room, another guard suddenly blurted out,
"Boss!"
Karlo raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
The man looked seconds away from crying.
"Permission to use the bathroom!"
"What?"
"I don’t think I can hold it anymore!"
Before Karlo could answer...another guard shouted,
"I need to go too!"
"So do I!"
"My stomach is killing me!"
"Oh no..."
One unfortunate man suddenly gasped.
"...It’s happening!"
He bolted toward the door at full speed. The others instantly followed.
In less than three seconds...the once intimidating office erupted into complete chaos as Karlo’s feared men abandoned all dignity in a desperate race for the nearest restroom.
Only Karlo, Clara, Gen, Thomas... and a stunned Luca remained.
Luca blinked several times.
"...What..."
He looked toward the fleeing guards.
"...just happened?"
Karlo was the first to recover from the chaos.
His sharp eyes swept across the room, watching his men sprint out of the office one after another.
"What in the world is going on?"
For the first time that day, genuine confusion crossed his face.
Then, a calm voice spoke beside him.
"Those poor guys."
Clara let out a small sigh, sounding almost sympathetic.
"I only shared some food with them out of generosity."
She shrugged innocently.
"Who would’ve thought they’d all end up with diarrhea?"
Luca’s eyes shot toward her.
His mouth fell open.
"You..."
His finger trembled as he pointed at her.
"You did this?"
Before Clara could answer, a violent cramp twisted through Luca’s stomach.
His expression instantly changed.
"...Oh no."
He instinctively grabbed his abdomen.
Another cramp followed and his face paled.
Without another word, he spun around and bolted for the door with what little dignity he had left.
The office door slammed shut behind him.
Karlo’s lips twitched. He slowly turned toward Clara. The innocent smile on her face no longer fooled him.
Everything suddenly made sense. It had all been planned.
"You bitch..." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "You were one of them all along." His voice was low and filled with rage.
In one swift motion, Karlo pulled a pistol from beneath his jacket and aimed it at Clara.
"I should’ve killed you the moment you walked in."
The trigger had barely begun to move, however before he could fire, Clara reacted.
Her body twisted gracefully.
Thud!
Her foot struck Karlo’s wrist with surprising force.
The pistol flew from his hand, skidding across the polished floor.
Karlo’s eyes widened.
Fast...
Before he could recover, Clara was already on her feet. The harmless, carefree woman from earlier was gone.
In her place stood someone calm, focused, and ready to fight.
A faint smile tugged at Clara’s lips.
"I guess..." She rolled her shoulders before settling into a defensive stance"...the fun part finally begins."