Just as Gree released the hostages from the observation deck, still muttering about XO's sudden appearance, the door was kicked open by an enraged young man.
Seeing the newcomer, Gree was taken aback.
"What the hell are you doing?" Churik cursed angrily.
"You said to do this," Gree replied coldly. "Damn it, where's the girl?"
"She and another person were brought to you, as you instructed."
"I didn't say anything like that," Churik fumed. He had barely recovered from being mysteriously electrocuted and waking up in a storage room, humiliated by a mere boy.
Churik rushed to the observation deck, only to find all the hostages had been released.
"Damn it, we've been tricked," Churik roared. "Gather everyone, now!"
As they were about to act, a panicked voice came through the walkie-talkie. "They've breached our defenses!"
Churik checked the time; ten minutes remained until the one-hour mark.
"What about the hostages? Where are they?"
Shouting yielded no response, only chaotic noise from the walkie-talkie.
"Damn it, we need to escape." Churik was livid. The original plan was to blend in with the hostages and escape, but now everything was falling apart. The designated time hadn't even passed, and they were already under attack.
"What's going on?" Gree was confused.
"Hell, they must have received intelligence, the plan's exposed, and they planted undercover agents in the building."
Churik ran downstairs swiftly. Though the building was surrounded, they had a pre-arranged secret passage.
...
Leon Chen, Isabella Xiang, and Cynthia hurriedly made their way down. Hearing the noises outside, Leon knew the cop he met earlier had probably relayed the information about the building's interior.
Safety was near.
As Leon thought this, he heard two thuds. The thugs holding Isabella and Cynthia collapsed, a sharp wind whistling past his ear. Instinctively, Leon dodged, barely avoiding a swift kick.
The one delivering the kick was none other than the usually icy Isabella Xiang.
In one swift move, Isabella subdued the two thugs, leaving Cynthia stunned.
Isabella's combat skills rivaled Churik. After missing her first kick, she didn't hesitate with her second attack.
Leon hurriedly shouted, "Isabella, stop!"
A powerful gust hit his mask, causing his face to sting. Opening his eyes, he saw her leg halted inches from his face.
"Who are you?"
"It's me," Leon said, removing his mask reluctantly.
"Leon!" Cynthia exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, it's me." Leon shed the thug disguise.
Isabella was also momentarily stunned.
"Oh my God, Leon, why are you here? Where's XO?"
"I'll explain later." This place was no longer safe, so Leon led them to escape quickly. The entire mall was in chaos, and despite his nerves, Leon knew they had to keep moving.
"We should go this way," Cynthia volunteered to lead the way.
As they ran, Leon explained the situation to them, omitting his own heroic deeds and replacing them with the actions of undercover agents. Hearing how Leon saved them from under the leader's nose, the girls were deeply moved.
It required immense courage to act so decisively.
Even the usually reticent Isabella couldn't help but look at Leon with a hint of incredulity.
Following Cynthia, they fled to an abandoned underground parking lot, where they saw Churik and his men entering a tunnel.
Bang!
As Leon was about to hide, Cynthia accidentally kicked an empty can.
The metallic clang echoed sharply in the enclosed space, immediately drawing Churik's attention.
"Kill them!" Churik shouted as he emerged.
"I'll distract them. You two escape," Leon said.
"You?" Isabella was taken aback.
Before she could react, Leon darted among the obstacles with incredible speed.
Leon moved so fast that the enemies often saw only a blur before losing sight of him.
Isabella's combat skills were impressive, taking out the thugs guarding the tunnel entrance and opening the path. Leon, seeing an opportunity, jumped into the sewer.
Emerging from the sewer, they found themselves in a remote area with a few cars parked. The guards had already been taken down by Isabella. Cynthia quickly opened one of the cars, signaling them to get in.
"Hey, can you drive?" Leon asked from the back seat.
"I've been driving since I was twelve."
Cynthia floored the accelerator, and the car sped down the deserted road. Churik and Gree watched as this happened and started shooting at the car. Churik cursed as he got into another car to give chase.
"Chasing like this will alert them," Gree shouted.
"This is the outskirts. Even if alerted, we'll have time. Damn it, I won't sleep until that guy's dead!" Churik snarled.
The outskirts of Xi Jing were undeveloped, sparsely populated, and had few vehicles on the roads.
Leon brushed the glass shards off himself, remarking how thrilling the chase was.
Isabella remained unfazed, seemingly having no concept of fear.
"Cynthia, drive faster and lose them," Leon urged.
Cynthia nodded, remaining remarkably calm as she accelerated.
"I should have dealt with them earlier," Leon said, frustrated.
"Someone will deal with them eventually. Focus on your safety first," Isabella said, glancing behind.
Cynthia's driving skills were excellent, maneuvering the car through sharp turns and narrowly avoiding the enemy's attacks.
Churik was infuriated, finding their efforts futile.
"Damn it, we can't keep chasing," Gree cursed. "We'll deal with them later."
As they saw the car head into the mountains, Churik lost heart. "Damn it."
Just as he was about to turn back, there was a loud thud.
It felt like a meteor had struck the car's hood. Gree and Churik were stunned.
A beautiful woman in a cheongsam, like a creature from a nightmare, landed on the speeding car.
"Hey, are you the rats plotting against Miss Xiang?" Her smile was like venom, sending chills down their spines.
"Damn it!"
A sharp blade pierced through the glass, stabbing into Churik's heart.
"Xiang Army greets you!"
The woman smiled, withdrawing her sword as blood splattered across the driver's seat.
Seeing his comrade's gruesome death, Gree screamed in terror, slamming on the brakes. The woman flipped gracefully, landing softly. She watched Gree's retreat with disdain.
Bang.
Gree fell.
A sports car pulled up beside the woman, driven by a stern man.
"I love seeing their expressions when they die," the woman licked her lips indifferently.
The phone in the car rang. The man answered, his expression tightening.
"Red, get in the car quickly. There's still trouble near Miss Xiang." The man started the car, and the woman, called Red, leaped in with incredible agility and flexibility.
When the car finally stopped, Leon realized they were in a wooded area. Cynthia volunteered to scout, while Leon and Isabella stayed in the car, recovering from the intense chase. Reflecting on the earlier events, Leon still felt the cold sweat.
"Are you hurt?" Isabella pulled out a handkerchief.
"It's just a scratch," Leon shook his head.
"Oh."
"Isabella, they seemed to be targeting you in addition to XO. Do you know why?" Leon asked curiously.
Isabella gave Leon a puzzled look, as if asking how he knew.
"I overheard them," Leon explained.
"Oh." Isabella's calm response left Leon feeling dizzy. What was Isabella's real identity to be entangled in this?
As they rested, Leon's expression suddenly turned serious.
Isabella noticed Leon's tense look and followed his gaze, seeing someone emerge from the woods.
It was only Cynthia.
"Leon, what's wrong? They didn't follow us," Cynthia sighed in relief.
Leon trembled slightly, her thoughts flooding his mind.
『Leon is truly remarkable. I suspected he was XO and installed a bug, but that led to a military cleanup. Now he's saved us…』
『Those idiots failed such a simple task, thwarted by a boy. I guess I'll have to kill Isabella myself. Hmph.』
『This place is a perfect resting ground!』
Cynthia was actually an undercover agent…
Leon stared at the seemingly innocent French girl, unable to believe what he heard.
The thoughts faded as the mind-reading ability ended.
"Isabella," Cynthia had no idea what Leon was thinking, maintaining her flawless facade.
Isabella didn't suspect anything, looking at her.
"Danger!"
Leon shouted, suddenly grabbing Isabella and diving aside.
Bang!
Isabella looked at Leon in surprise, the icy beauty showing her first expression of shock.
Cynthia was also stunned, realizing Leon had seen through her disguise. "Leon, you're such a nuisance." She gritted her teeth, preparing to attack again. But Isabella reacted, throwing a stone at Cynthia. As Cynthia recoiled in pain, Isabella closed in, delivering a chopping blow.
Cynthia's vision darkened as she collapsed.
Leon felt a piercing pain, his consciousness fading.
Isabella quickly tended to Leon's wound, her expression showing rare panic.
"Hang in there."
As the ability ended, Leon's mind cleared, realizing the severity of his situation.
"Get away from me…" Leon whispered.
"What?" Isabella didn't hear clearly, leaning closer as she saw Leon's lips moving.
Her proximity was like adding fuel to the fire.
Leon couldn't control himself, grabbing Isabella's shoulders and kissing her.
Isabella Xiang's body instantly stiffened at the unexpected kiss. She instinctively raised her hand to strike, but when she saw the pain in Leon's eyes, her hand dropped. She allowed him to continue kissing her, his lips dominating hers.
If Isabella had the ability to read minds, she would have seen the agony in Leon's eyes and wouldn't have hesitated.
Oh God, just let me die...