"Predator"

The little girl tilted her head and glanced at Leon, as if confirming something, then said softly, "My name is Matilda."

Beta's lips curved slightly as he replied warmly, "Good name."

"Leon, are we leaving now?" Beta asked.

Leon said nothing more. He merely raised a hand and put on his signature round-lens sunglasses, replying curtly, "Let's go."

Matilda nimbly hopped down from her chair, scooped up the unfinished sundae on the table, and quietly moved close to Leon's side while deliberately keeping some distance from Beta.

An inconspicuous Black Land Rover Discovery drove along a country road far from London.

Beta had rented it. It was spacious, had excellent off-road capability, and most importantly, this common model seen everywhere would not attract any attention.

Outside the window, endless farmland swept past in the gathering dusk.

Beta pulled an exquisite cigarette case from his pocket and handed it to Leon. "Good stuff from Far East Special Supply. Way better than those rotten leaves in the United Kingdom."

He shrugged. "I don't smoke anyway. You can have them all."

Leon took the cigarette case, expertly opened it, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it.

Then Beta took a Butterfly Knife gleaming coldly from the center console and handed it to Matilda in the back seat. "A gift. This knife has been with me for a long time. It's seen blood."

He paused meaningfully. "Taken lives."

Matilda casually set the empty sundae cup aside and accepted the coldly gleaming Butterfly Knife.

Her slender fingers flipped the handle, the metal parts clicking crisply as the blade traced a chilling arc through the cabin.

"Thank you," she said simply, her tone carrying a composure far beyond her age.

"Why would your arms dealer be out in the middle of nowhere?" Beta asked, sounding puzzled.

Leon adjusted his sunglasses and answered calmly, "He's not really a professional arms dealer. Just a farmer obsessed with firearms. He usually makes hunting rifles and rifles, and occasionally modifies old World War II antiques he picks up."

The Land Rover slowly entered the estate gates. Three Black Land Rover Discoverys identical to theirs were parked in front of the main villa, lined up neatly in the lot.

Beta hit the brakes, and the tires rasped against the gravel driveway.

"Is this a Land Rover owners' club?" Beta looked at the three suspicious-looking Land Rover Discoverys.

Leon's hand silently slid toward his waist, his fingertips lightly brushing the outline of the pistol hidden beneath his clothes. In the back seat, Matilda pressed against the window, curiously studying the black SUVs that looked as though they had been copied and pasted.

Beta lowered the window a crack. "Cops' vehicles. Hidden police lights installed. Put your gun away. A Predator is coming this way with her human slaves."

Leon looked over and saw several figures emerge from the villa entrance.

The Black woman at their head stood nearly six feet tall, her thick braids bound behind her head like steel cables. At first glance, her face brought to mind someone who had been run over by a truck. At second glance, she looked like an alien hunter straight out of a science fiction film.

Even Leon, who was usually expressionless, could not help smiling. "Damn. She really is a Predator."

Matilda snorted with laughter, then hurriedly covered her mouth. Beta's comparison was brutally vicious, yet terrifyingly accurate.

Several people in black formed a fan-shaped encirclement around the Land Rover Discovery. The leading "Predator" strode forward and rapped heavily on the window with her knuckles.

She slapped her ID against the window. The embossed seal on it gleamed coldly in the sunlight. "MI6 Special Operations Group. Kill the engine, get out, and show your identification. Immediately."

The ugly face before them looked like a failed Predator cosplay.

Beta lowered his head and pretended to search for his ID, using the motion to compose his expression. When he looked up again, he wore an earnest face.

"We heard that the owner here..." He deliberately drew out the words, then shot Leon a look. Faced with MI6's sudden interrogation, this improvised excuse needed Leon to help flesh it out.

After all, only Leon truly knew the arms dealer's background.

Understanding at once, Leon handed over his identification and smoothly picked up the story in American-accented English. "I heard he specializes in collecting and modifying World War II weapons. I run a gun shop in New York, so I came here specifically to find a few antique guns to take back to the United States."

His tone was as calm as if he were discussing the day's weather.

The ID Beta handed over was a carefully prepared special version, an almost flawless "clean identity."

This US citizen's background was spotless. Apart from a few insignificant United Kingdom traffic violations, it could withstand any investigation. The more ordinary and boring an identity was, the safer it became under MI6's nose.

Leon likewise presented his specially prepared identification, its information equally airtight.

As for Matilda, she sat quietly in the back seat, and her harmless little-girl image served its purpose perfectly.

The "Predator" merely gave her a cursory glance and could not even be bothered to ask for identification. In an intelligence agent's eyes, what threat could an underage girl possibly pose?

The "Predator" tapped the roof with her knuckles, producing a dull metallic sound. "Verifying your identities will take time. The owner of this estate is suspected of involvement in a firearms case."

She paused deliberately, her gaze moving back and forth between the two men. "Until we confirm everything, you are not permitted to leave."

Beta immediately put on an aggrieved expression, looking exactly like an innocent citizen being wronged. "What kind of joke is this? We're just ordinary people running a small business!"

He waved his hands dramatically. "Good Lord, we came all this way just to stock up on merchandise we can sell, and now we don't even have our personal freedom?"

Beta pulled out his phone and shouted indignantly, "I'm calling the US Embassy right now! We're US citizens who entered legally. What right does British MI6 have to detain foreigners for no reason?"

His thumb hovered over the call button, as if he were ready to trigger a diplomatic incident at any moment.

Perhaps their identities as US citizens really were beyond reproach, or perhaps Beta's bluster had worked.

After her subordinates confirmed the authenticity of their identification, the "Predator" stepped back with a dark expression and reluctantly waved a hand. "You can go."

Unwillingness flickered in her eyes, but she ultimately failed to find any flaw in the two "ordinary businessmen."

Beta immediately adopted the typical arrogance of an American, slamming the car door with his nose in the air. He deliberately revved the engine loudly and drove off with Leon and Matilda under MI6's watchful eyes, the tires kicking up a haze of dust on the gravel road.