A thick pink fog enveloped the scene for over two minutes before it slowly dissipated under the gentle breeze.
Francis and his three subordinates, along with a super soldier.
Two widows sent by Dreykov.
And finally, Blake, Natasha, and Yelena.
Ten people—exactly ten—stood frozen in place as the neurotoxin gradually cleared, revealing their motionless silhouettes.
Dreykov was extremely cautious. Even at this point, he waited until the fog had completely dispersed and could clearly see all ten people standing still, eyes filled with confusion.
Only then did he wave his hand, signaling two super soldiers behind him to move forward.
"Break his wrist for me!"
Dreykov pointed at Francis.
One super soldier nodded slightly, stepped forward, and grabbed Francis's wrist. With a crack, he twisted and crushed it, the sound of bones breaking sending shivers down one's spine.
Francis grunted, cold sweat pouring down his face, but he stood rigid and still, his gaze vacant.
Dreykov nodded in satisfaction before pointing at Natasha and Yelena.
"Kill them both. Those who betray the Red Room are nothing but trash to be discarded!"
Upon hearing the command, the two super soldiers silently strode towards Natasha and Yelena. Halfway there, they each drew a dagger, a cold gleam flashing.
The blades moved swiftly, slashing towards the two sisters like lightning.
"Sigh."
A soft sigh echoed.
In a flash, Blake stood in front of the sisters, grabbing the wrists of the two super soldiers.
'Crack, crack!' With two swift motions, Blake dislocated their wrists, causing them to drop their daggers.
He followed up with a kick to each, sending both super soldiers flying back to Dreykov's side.
Almost simultaneously, Natasha and Yelena drew their guns and aimed at Dreykov.
"I thought you would come straight here, but I didn't expect you to be this cautious!"
Blake sighed.
From not trusting Yelena at the start, to setting up an ambush with a special neurotoxin bullet, and then testing them with super soldiers—no wonder Dreykov had managed to keep the Red Room intact all this time. He was excessively cautious.
"Being careful never hurts. Otherwise, I would have died at Natasha's hands years ago. Now, I just want to know why my neurotoxin had no effect on you!"
Given the situation, Dreykov had no hope of escape under Blake's overwhelming strength, but he remained calm, showing the poise of a seasoned leader as he asked his most pressing question.
And because of that, Blake answered.
"Tony Stark. Not only does he have a genius mind, but he also has a bit of OCD. When he learned about this neurotoxin that controls people, he didn't just develop an antidote—he added something extra. You can think of it as a vaccine against chemical mind control."
Blake quietly gave Tony credit in his heart. Tonight's situation would have been dire. Even if the neurotoxin didn't work on him, if Natasha and Yelena had been controlled, it would've been impossible for him to take down Dreykov without complications.
"Iron Man, of course. I almost forgot you have such a good friend. Tony Stark, impressive. I like people like that, who know to take out insurance before making a move, just like me. And I never take out just one policy!"
As soon as Dreykov finished speaking, he pressed a button on his wristwatch.
The seven people around Blake, excluding Natasha and Yelena, all immediately turned and lunged at the three of them.
In response, Blake didn't move a muscle. Since Tony had developed the antidote, how could he not carry it with him?
Natasha pulled out several vials emitting a red glow and smashed them hard on the ground.
Red smoke rose up and seeped into the pores of those being controlled. Almost instantly, their eyes cleared, returning to normal.
Dreykov was sprinting towards the plane. Just as Blake was about to leap forward and catch him, a sudden chill ran down his spine—a dangerous instinct overwhelmed him.
Without hesitation, Blake grabbed Natasha and Yelena, one in each arm, and dove several meters away.
Almost at the exact moment they hit the ground, the car next to them exploded with a deafening blast.
The massive shockwave sent the car flying into the air, where it exploded a second time.
Shards of metal shot out from the vehicle, covering several meters around it.
Fortunately, Blake had thrown the sisters far enough away, and the three of them were lying on the ground, avoiding injury from the flying debris.
Looking back at the seven others, only the super soldier survived, though gravely injured, with shards embedded in his body. The rest had been torn apart by the shrapnel.
One trap after another—there were not just two bombs in the car, but the bombs were also packed with metal shards, steel balls, and other objects to increase their lethality.
The first explosion had sent the car flying, but the vehicle itself hadn't suffered much damage, clearly having been modified. In midair, a second, more destructive bomb went off.
Each layer of the trap was designed to catch you off guard.
As Blake quickly ran through everything in his mind, he couldn't help but secretly admire Dreykov's caution, ruthlessness, and cunning.
Compared to Hydra's leaders, Dreykov was more like a cobra lurking in the shadows.
"Are you two okay? Any injuries?" Blake asked, concerned about the sisters he had shielded.
"We're fine!" Natasha replied after exchanging glances with Yelena.
"Blake, don't let him get away!" Natasha urged.
"Don't worry, he won't!" Blake responded confidently, eyeing Dreykov, who was just about to board the plane.
With a leap, he lunged towards the plane.
Even if it had just taken off, rising a few meters or even ten meters into the air, as long as it hadn't started accelerating, Blake could easily bring it down.
In midair, Blake reached towards his waist, intending to use his Tang blade to disable the plane's thrusters.
As a precaution, before reaching the plane, Blake planned to throw his blade to knock out one of the thrusters first.
However, once again, Blake underestimated just how ruthless and cunning Dreykov could be.
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