Birmingham, Britain.
Dressed in a neat suit, Tom emerged from his country villa.
Because Tommy had already warned everyone to relocate, Tom had moved out here despite his reluctance.
Yet as Tom walked up to the mailbox to collect the day's mail, he turned his head with a flicker of curiosity.
Not far down the road sat a black sedan that had not been there before, bearing license plates he had never seen.
Just as Tom took two puzzled steps forward, his mind went completely blank.
Through the open car doors, two fully loaded Gatling guns were already aimed at him.
Facing Tom, the two gunmen pulled their triggers without an ounce of warmth.
*Rat-tat-tat! Rat-tat-tat-tat!*
A metal storm swept outward like a torrential downpour, instantly riddling the defenseless Tom with bullets like a honeycomb.
As mists of blood burst continuously through his back, Tom's brain ceased all thought, and his lifeless eyes stared blankly as he collapsed to the ground.
Watching coldly, the gunmen said flatly, "Go!"
*Clack!*
The car door slammed shut, and the black sedan kicked up a trail of dust before vanishing down the road.
When Tom's wife ran outside and saw her lifeless husband, she let out a desolate, heart-wrenching wail that pierced the air.
***
At a secluded manor in Birmingham.
When Tommy received the news about Tom, he froze on the spot, his mind descending into chaos.
He had never imagined Luca's retaliation would strike so swiftly and so brutally.
"No, no, no..."
Putting down the receiver as though a blade were piercing his heart, Tommy staggered, forced to brace himself against the desk just to stay upright.
His youngest brother, Tom, was dead!
Clutching the phone with a hoarse voice and eyes blazing with fury, Tommy snarled, "Find him! Dig him out for me! I'm going to kill him with my own hands!"
Roaring at the man on the other end of the line, Tommy had been driven entirely mad with rage.
***
Inside a luxurious hotel.
Tom Shelby's name was slowly crossed off, leaving behind an inky black blot.
Looking at Luca beside him, Han Hu folded his arms and asked, "Who's next?"
"Arthur. Arthur Shelby!"
Luca spoke the name slowly, a vicious gleam in his eyes.
He knew all too well who had pulled the trigger that gunned down his father!
He intended to bring this family vendetta full circle with his own hands, and Tommy Shelby would watch helplessly as every single one of them disappeared one by one!
Hearing Luca's words, Han Hu raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Now that's more like it. Since when has the underworld ever been about social niceties? Isn't it all about killing and dying?"
Thinking of how the Shelby family, entrenched in Birmingham, had the gall to brazenly provoke the Silver Rock Group, Han Hu couldn't help but give them an ironic thumbs-up. Good on them—everyone was flesh and blood, but those bastards certainly had balls!
Back in Sicily, Silver Rock had only lost a single shipment of goods to seizure, and the result? In less than ten days, Ciccio and his entire family had vanished in a blaze.
Had Tommy never bothered asking around about Silver Rock Group's way of doing things?
Daring to cut off their revenue was sheer recklessness!
***
Inside a secluded villa.
A dead-drunk Arthur was busy drowning his sorrows, Tom's death having struck him like a sledgehammer.
Yet just as Arthur reached for another bottle, faint footsteps sounded outside.
Though inebriated, Arthur still cautiously drew his revolver.
Rising slowly to his feet, he leveled the barrel toward the front door.
The instant the doorknob turned, Arthur pulled the trigger without hesitation.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
A succession of gunshots rang out, and the man sent to breach the door collapsed into a pool of blood.
Seeing his subordinate take hits, Han Hu instantly roared in fury, "Shred the place for me!"
*Rat-tat-tat-tat!*
Submachine guns barked in unison as triggers were held down, tearing the door to splinters in a heartbeat. Caught off guard, Arthur took several rounds and tumbled to the floor, sprawling across the planks.
"Brother Hu, I'm fine!"
Grinning through the pain, the wounded man clutched his injury and offered a strained smile.
Looking at him, Han Hu said coldly, "Send him back to Chinatown first. We'll handle the rest!"
Once the wounded man was carried away, Han Hu pulled a grenade from his pocket and sneered, "Think you're clever firing back, don't you? Let's see you defend against this!"
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
As the primed grenade was tossed inside, Arthur froze in disbelief. Was this still a bloody Mafia turf war? Who the hell brought hand grenades to a gang fight?!
Even as the thought raced through his head, Arthur struggled desperately to crawl toward a liquor cabinet nearby.
*Boom!*
A tremendous explosion tore through the room, reducing the entire foyer to utter ruin.
Assorted liquor bottles shattered instantly, showering Arthur in broken glass.
Scrambling up in battered disarray, Arthur reached out to grab his shotgun, but in the next second, he froze.
Standing right before the liquor cabinet were seven or eight ruthless thugs clad in suits and hats!
Ordering the men to train their Thompsons on Arthur, Han Hu drove a brutal fist directly into his face.
*Crack!*
Blood sprayed from Arthur's mouth, and his head swam into instant darkness.
Grabbing Arthur by the hair, Han Hu leaned in and spat, "Pretty cocky, aren't you? Daring to trade lead with us? Huh?!"
Han Hu rained heavy punches down on Arthur's face without showing the slightest mercy.
By martial lineage, Han Hu was Liu Ren's junior martial brother, both trained under the same master—Head Coach Han!
No one understood the rule of ruthless execution better than they did!
After three devastating punches, half of Arthur's face was twisted out of shape.
Seeing that Arthur was about to be finished off by those "courtesy three punches," Luca also grew anxious and called out, "Han, that's enough! He's mine!"
Hearing Luca, Han Hu casually tossed Arthur onto the floor, letting the shards of broken glass dig into his flesh.
"Aaargh!"
Arthur let out a shrill scream of agony. Never had he imagined that he would one day end up in such a wretched state.
Stepping up to Arthur, Luca raised his pistol and slowly clicked off the safety.
Yet just as his finger tightened on the trigger, gunshots erupted outside.
When one of the hitmen was hit, Han Hu and the others quickly scrambled behind cover.
"Fuck! Shanggelaite, fuck you! I'll tear you to pieces!"
Roaring at Luca from outside the house, Tommy had arrived with reinforcements.
Standing right beside Tommy was Ronald Kray.
The two had originally come to consult Arthur about staging a counterattack, but the moment they turned onto the street, they heard the explosion.
And that had led directly to this confrontation.
"Tommy Shelby! Ahahaha!"
Laughing maniacally toward the outside, Luca was visibly thrilled.
"Arthur! Arthur, are you alive?!"
Tommy bellowed at the top of his lungs, desperate to know his brother's condition.
Hearing Tommy's shout, Arthur also roared back, "Fuck, Tommy, don't worry about me! Kill this bastard!"
Before Arthur could finish, Luca seized his hair, slammed his head violently against the broken glass on the floor, and snarled, "I'll blow Arthur's head apart right in front of your eyes, and then I'll slaughter every last one of you!"
"Fuck! You bastard! If you've got a problem, take it out on me!"
Roaring at Luca inside the villa, Tommy's eyes turned bloodshot.
Tom was already gone; was it now Arthur's turn?
Holding his gun with a frigid stare, Ronald surveyed their surroundings and gestured to his men, preparing to flank the house from the side.
Yet before Ronald could take more than a few paces, several black sedans roared up in the distance.
As the car doors swung open, cold, black Gatling guns were already fully loaded and waiting!
Chapter 50