Hydra

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Night.

The gunshots were especially piercing in this suburban factory thirty miles outside New York. Looking at the only three people remaining by her side, a flash of fierce fury and murderous intent crossed Annie's stubborn eyes.

She had been betrayed—betrayed by her best friend at school.

She had originally arranged to meet someone here for a street race today, only to walk into an ambush.

If not for the people Ryan had sent to protect her risking their lives to get her out, she would have already been captured and turned into a tool to threaten Ryan!

"Britney Joz!"

Annie clenched her pearly teeth and spat out the name word by word in an icy voice. Never before had she wanted to kill someone as badly as she did now.

Abandoned machinery lay scattered throughout the factory, and the enemy's threatening words echoed faintly among it.

"Miss Annie, I can responsibly inform you that the person from the Haulers Group responsible for contacting the bodyguards beside you is one of ours."

"So don't expect reinforcements. If you come out and surrender now, I guarantee that we'll let you go in a couple of days and spare the lives of the bodyguards beside you."

"I believe a kind person like you wouldn't want anyone to die because of your choice!"

Inside the factory, a bespectacled man in a gray suit made tactical hand signals as he threatened and sowed discord, directing the armed men behind him to slowly close in on Annie and the others.

They did not have much time left. Headquarters had sent word that the Haulers Group had noticed something was wrong and was already on its way. At most, they could only stall them for another thirty minutes.

The bespectacled man understood headquarters' difficulties well. After all, they were currently hidden beneath the surface and could not expose too much, or they would easily draw the attention of an organization with an absurdly long name and a one-eyed director.

But now that the plan had gone wrong, his team had likely already made it onto that organization's investigation list.

Though that organization had plenty of their people within it, concealing things from the one-eyed man would inevitably require certain sacrifices.

To make up for those losses, they had to capture the target of this operation.

According to their investigation and the conclusions of psychological experts, their ultimate target, Ryan Garcia, cared immensely for this younger sister who was not related to him by blood.

As long as they captured her this time, they would not have to worry about Ryan Garcia refusing to work for them.

And with the Haulers Group's cultural propaganda capabilities, they would be one step closer to the organization's ultimate goal.

"There are ten sets of footsteps."

A man climbed up from the ground and quietly spoke to Annie and the others.

Not one person present believed the enemy's attempts at sowing discord.

They were all adults. No one was foolish enough to trust an enemy's words.

"What do we do? We don't have enough firepower. We can't hold out for long."

They carried only handguns, and after the earlier exchange of fire, each of them had less than two magazines left on average. If they really went up against those fully armed people, they would all be turned into sieves in under a minute.

"How about this!" A heavily bearded man suddenly gritted his teeth. "Abel and I will draw their attention here. Wendy, take Miss Annie and break out through the factory's back door!"

Of the three remaining bodyguards, two were men and one was a woman. The bearded man left the hope of survival to the woman. Abel's expression changed slightly, but he nodded in agreement. He could not bring himself to compete with a woman for the chance to live. Besides, the factory's back door was guarded as well, and the chances of breaking through there were equally slim.

"I'll be the bait!" Annie said calmly.

The guards at the back door would not be much weaker than those at the front. Following their plan would only lead to death. At this point, she could only take a risk.

Still,

this was fine too. The feeling of death looming over her gave her an unprecedented thrill. "My plan is this..."

Annie quickly and briefly explained her plan. After hearing it, the three hesitated.

"It's too risky!" The bearded man struggled with the decision. If they followed Annie's plan, they did have a chance of breaking out, but putting their employer at risk went against their professional code.

Annie rolled her eyes at that. The enemy was practically upon them—where was the time to hesitate? She snatched the handgun from the bearded man, fired two shots into the air, then handed it back and signaled to him with her eyes.

Fine!

The bearded man accepted the gun with a sigh. His lifelong reputation was going to be completely ruined today.

The bespectacled man, who had been directing his men to advance, heard the sudden gunshots and gestured for them to stop. He looked toward the machinery three meters ahead and aimed his gun at it.

"Don't shoot! You said it yourselves—if I surrendered Miss Annie to you, you wouldn't kill me!"

The bearded man held his gun to Annie's head, keeping his whole body tucked behind her as he slowly emerged from their hiding place.

"You traitor! Bastard! Scum! Ryan trusted you so much for nothing!"

With a gun pointed at her, Annie cursed through clenched teeth. The hatred on her face was plain for anyone to see.

The bespectacled man smiled at the sight and motioned for his subordinates to lower their muzzles slightly. In a gentle tone, he said, "Don't worry. As long as you hand Miss Annie over to me, I guarantee I'll spare your life."

"Now!"

Seeing the enemy lower their guns, Wendy was about to fire, but Abel stopped her.

"Not yet. Miss Annie may be clever, but she lacks experience. If someone died, how could there be no blood?"

Abel drew a military knife from his waist, gritted his teeth, and sliced a ten-centimeter-long wound into his left arm. Blood immediately stained the ground red.

At the standoff.

"I don't trust you!" The bearded man gritted his teeth.

"Then what do you want?" The bespectacled man's tone remained gentle, though a trace of impatience appeared between his brows. If the mission target had not been held hostage, he would have shot this bearded man long ago instead of listening to his nonsense.

"You back off and give me a car. Once I'm in the car, I'll hand Miss Annie over to you. Otherwise, wait to collect a corpse!" The bearded man's tone was vicious and venomous, perfectly playing the role of a traitor desperate to survive.

After glancing at the blood spreading across the ground, the bespectacled man hesitated briefly before finally waving his hand back. "Move back a little."

"I take the left, you take the right. Fire!"

Abel, hiding behind the discarded machinery, let out a low roar. He and the already-prepared Wendy sprang up and fired four times in rapid succession, taking out four enemies.

At the same time, the bearded man playing the hostage-taker shoved Annie aside and fired repeatedly at several enemies trying to return fire. But as he prepared to fire a fourth shot, the bespectacled man—who had ducked behind cover the moment the shooting began—shot him in the heart.

"Urgh..."

Blood bubbled from the bearded man's mouth. Using the last of his strength, he threw the handgun toward Annie before collapsing backward.

Annie picked up the gun. A mist rose in her eyes, but she forcibly held it back.

This was not the time to grieve. She had already watched people fall while protecting her ten times today!

"Damn it!" Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, the bespectacled man's face twisted. He grabbed his radio and roared, "Everyone, gather here!"

Such a flaw appearing in what should have been a foolproof situation made his heart feel ready to explode!

Gunfire rang out continuously through the factory, and the enemies guarding the other exits began rushing toward this place.

Wendy and Abel protected Annie as they broke out. Only three enemies remained directly ahead of them. This was their only chance.

Bang! Bang!

Wendy and Abel were both shot while protecting Annie during the breakout. Seeing Annie's reddened eyes and her delicate face filled with grief as she tried to stop and support them, they forcefully shoved her outward.

"Remember to take care of my family!"

"Don't let our sacrifice be in vain!"

They each shouted a line. Two tears slid from the corners of Annie's eyes, and without looking back, she ran outside. She swore that absolutely, absolutely everyone and every force involved in this would pay the price!!!