Right as the bullet that had crossed two thousand meters shattered the window and struck its target, the restaurant instantly descended into screams and chaos.
The various socialites and gentlemen who had just been dining there screamed and hurried toward the elevators and stairwells.
They didn't drag their feet in the slightest.
Their practiced escape showed how important safety education was, but they were so practiced that it was almost heartbreaking.
Lake slipped into the crowd and left as well.
Natasha?
"Maureen!"
"..."
Natasha looked at Maureen, who had been shot in the head and instantly lost all signs of life. She turned to glance at Lake, who had already disappeared, then took something from her clothes.
Screech!
Natasha tore open something resembling a sticker, then quickly pressed it against the huge hole blown through Maureen's wound.
The sticker instantly began to swell like a balloon being inflated.
In less than three seconds, a bubble shimmering with blue hope enveloped Maureen's head, which had been almost completely pierced through from one side to the other.
Alpha Gel!
As everyone knew, this was a universe where Black Technology ran rampant.
Had anyone ever seen someone hacked into pieces and then stitched back together with needle and thread?
Lake had.
In the movies!
After Natasha finished everything, she let out a breath of relief. Although she knew there was almost no hope, doing something was better than doing nothing. She then took out her phone and dialed the New York Operations Center.
Five minutes later.
Ratatatatata!
A helicopter appeared directly above the building. An agent immediately rappelled down, smashed through the window, and a S.H.I.E.L.D. doctor quickly came over and took over from Natasha, receiving Maureen, whose life had been preserved by the Alpha Gel.
But...
That was clearly wishful thinking.
With her brains splattered all over the place, reviving her would probably require fighting Mephisto!
Twenty-five minutes later.
Natasha emerged from the elevator and got into a S.H.I.E.L.D. car by the roadside. Her clothes and hands were stained with blood, and her face was grim and furious as she said, "Have you found the target?"
The agent said, "By the time we arrived, he had already escaped."
Natasha said coldly, "Issue a Wanted notice nationwide and send it to every other law-enforcement agency. The moment he's spotted, shoot him on sight. I only want to see his corpse."
The agent nodded.
Natasha then changed the subject. "What about Lake Edwin?"
Although Lake Edwin hadn't been the one who killed her, he couldn't escape any responsibility for what had happened.
Besides...
Maureen had been your girlfriend. Even if you'd already broken up, did you really have not the slightest bit of affection left between you?
Cold-blooded!
Beast!
Natasha applied nearly every negative adjective she could think of to Lake. Although, on the surface, she had no way to do anything to him, S.H.I.E.L.D. had never been an organization that operated in the open.
The agent replied, "One minute ago, the New York JFK International Airport system showed that Lake Edwin had boarded a flight to Washington."
"Washington?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Notify the agents in Washington. Have them intercept him at the airport."
"Yes!"
"Drive. We're going to the airport."
"Understood."
The black sports car started instantly and sped toward New York JFK International Airport, barely a dozen kilometers away.
On the plane.
Lake sat by the window, staring unblinkingly at the pitch-black scenery outside.
Sigh.
Lake shook his head helplessly. He had wanted to give her a chance. Even if Maureen had offered the most outrageous excuse imaginable, Lake would have pretended to have temporarily lost his mind and chosen to believe her.
Unfortunately...
She hadn't given him the chance. What could he do?
I'll never kneel to a woman. Anyone who dares scheme against me has only one fate—death. There's no second path!
For a transmigrator to kill his own girlfriend and prove through his actions that dating is life-threatening... I'm probably the first. Maybe I'll even become a celebrity in the Transmigrator United Association.
As for why Lake had suddenly boarded a flight to Washington...
Lake wasn't actually going to Washington. It was simply more convenient to fly to Washington first to reach the place he really wanted to go.
An hour later.
The plane reached the airspace above Washington Dulles International Airport. After circling overhead for a while and receiving instructions from the airport control tower, it began to descend.
The captain's voice came over the cabin speakers.
Lake had been staring out the window the whole time. As he listened to the captain apologize and announce that, after receiving notification, the aircraft would undergo a temporary inspection in the hangar, he raised an eyebrow.
Heh.
The corner of Lake's mouth curved upward slightly. Were they planning to arrest me and lock me in a dark room to slowly torture me?
When I was undergoing interrogation training in Guantanamo, what kind of situation hadn't I seen? Besides, do you really think you can arrest me?
Soon.
Once the plane had come to a stop, three S.H.I.E.L.D. agents wearing black sunglasses and black suits, dressed much like the Men in Black, boarded the plane.
"Lake Edwin, you're suspected of participating in a case of intentional homicide. Please come with us."
"FBI?"
Lake looked at the identification one of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had produced and laughed twice. "Sure. I'll come with you."
After leaving the plane.
Two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents flanked Lake on either side, while another person stood beside a black SUV.
"Move."
"..."
The two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents shoved Lake forward.
Just then.
Boom!
Five military armored vehicles approached from the distance and drove straight into the hangar. Under the watchful eyes of the civilians near the window, who had been watching the parked plane, more than a dozen Marines climbed out of the armored vehicles.
Click, clack.
The Marines loaded their weapons and aimed them directly at Phil Coulson and the others, who were disguised as FBI agents.
Coulson, at the head of the group, looked shocked.
"Lake, I knew asking you to come pick me up wouldn't lead to anything good."
"I think it's a good thing."
"I don't."
Lake smiled at Jason, the SEAL B Team commander who looked like a lion and was also one of Lake's close friends, as he approached from behind the Marines. "I don't know who these people are, but I can guarantee they're definitely not FBI agents."
Jason looked at Coulson and the others, who had also drawn their guns and aimed them at him. "Really?"
Coulson's expression changed drastically. "We..."
Lake cut him off. "When have I ever lied to you?"
Jason nodded.
The next second.
Jason called out to Coulson and the others, "Drop your weapons. I'll count to three. You'll be responsible for the consequences."
Coulson raised his FBI identification high and said, "We're with the FBI. Please clear the way."
Jason laughed coldly. "Fake."
Coulson: "..."
The FBI identifications held by Coulson and the others were indeed fake.
When had the FBI been established?
And when had S.H.I.E.L.D. been established?
Besides...
S.H.I.E.L.D. belonged to the Security Council. Even though its headquarters was located in the USA, it was still a secret organization. Some law-enforcement agencies might know about it, but that didn't mean they would tacitly approve of S.H.I.E.L.D. using their identifications.
Before you continue