A man's thirst for power often rivals his desire for beauty.
Miles's eyes glimmered with interest before he suddenly chuckled. "You've got quite the silver tongue."
Mary stiffened, her face flushing with indignation. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Crouching down to her level, Miles grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You talk about helping me dominate a region, but let's not kid ourselves. You want to use my resources to restore the Mary family's glory. Since you know I'm an esper and those supplies aren't easily seized, you'd rather ally with me. Then, when you've regained your strength, you'll figure out how to eliminate me."
Mary held his gaze for a moment, then smiled faintly. "But you need me, don't you? Because I can deliver."
Miles stood and walked towards the door, throwing a casual remark over his shoulder. "Let's save Ryan first."
The southwestern base sprawled across the rugged terrain, its intricate maze of areas covering an impressive seventy to eighty thousand square meters. Without a guide, one could easily become lost in its labyrinthine layout.
With Aaron reluctantly leading the way, however, the group deftly avoided patrols and checkpoints. After about ten minutes, they arrived at a small storage room. Aaron unlocked the door, and there was Ryan, his face lighting up with joy at the sight of Miles.
Isaac rushed forward to remove the gag from Ryan's mouth, grinning. "You good? Did they rough you up too much?"
"Pfft!" Ryan spat out a mouthful of saliva and swore. "Damn bastards worked me over for a whole day and night. I thought I was done for."
"Thanks, brother." Miles smiled as he untied him.
Ryan returned the smile. "You've got it backward. I should be thanking you for coming to get me. Without you, I'd probably be dead by now."
Miles didn't respond, only patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, you'll stay alive."
Though Ryan was in decent spirits, the cuts and bruises covering his body told a grim story. Aaron had clearly tortured him mercilessly, trying to extract information about Miles. But Ryan hadn't broken.
Reunited, the group began to move quickly toward the base's entrance. Before long, they reached a corner near the exit.
"Damn it," Aaron muttered under his breath, trembling slightly. "There are patrol soldiers ahead. What now? They're armed to the teeth. If they spot us, we're toast!"
"Then we fight!" Ansel growled, brandishing his knife and preparing to charge.
"Fight? With what? A kitchen knife against rifles?" Miles rolled his eyes. "You trying to die for fun?"
"Uh…"
Miles peeked around the corner, assessing the situation. "Eight soldiers. No way we can take them head-on. I can't protect everyone if things go south."
"Drop a car on them!" Ryan suggested fiercely.
"Can't do that," Miles replied. "If I block the entrance, we're stuck here too. My powers won't help in this scenario."
As tension mounted, the heavy doors of the base suddenly creaked open, flooding the hallway with light.
"Someone's here!" one of the patrol soldiers shouted.
For a moment, Miles and the soldiers locked eyes, both sides frozen in mutual surprise.
"Damn it! Guess we're fighting now!" Miles muttered, pulling three submachine guns from his storage space and handing them out. "Ryan, you've got the best aim—take out their captain. Isaac, handle the ones on the left!"
"What about me?" Ansel's eyes sparkled at the sight of the weapon in his hands. What man could resist?
"Just don't die," Miles snapped.
Ratatat!
Ryan fired first, dropping the captain before he could react. Miles and Isaac opened fire next, mowing down six of the eight soldiers in a hail of bullets.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
An alarm blared, echoing throughout the corridor.
"Crap! Reinforcements are coming! Run!" Miles shouted.
Before he could finish, Aaron grabbed Mary's hand and bolted, using the chaos as cover to slip past the guards.
Ansel watched in disbelief. "That bastard's fast! He's already gone!"
The hallway descended into chaos. The remaining two soldiers shouted for backup while firing wildly.
"You're the criminals here!" Ansel snarled, lunging at one of them.
"Damn it, kid!" Miles growled, covering him with suppressing fire. The second soldier fell under Isaac's crushing blow, while Ansel wrestled with the first. A stray bullet grazed Ansel's arm, drawing blood, but he didn't let up.
"Got him!" Ryan rushed forward, finishing off the last soldier with a savage blow from his gun's stock.
"Let's move!" Ryan barked, pulling Ansel to his feet.
"I'll hold them off!" Isaac yelled, standing firm as the group raced toward the exit.
With immense strength, Isaac grabbed one of the soldiers' lifeless bodies and hurled it against the wall, clearing a path.
"Isaac's a beast!" Ryan exclaimed as they reached the entrance.
Ansel, clutching his wounded arm, nodded in amazement. "He's like a goddamn superhero!"
"No time for praise—move!" Miles shouted.
Just as they reached the door, a deafening explosion rocked the corridor. Smoke and debris filled the air as Isaac was thrown backward by the blast. Yet, moments later, he emerged from the wreckage, his powerful frame unscathed.
"They're throwing grenades! Run!" Isaac bellowed.
"Get out here now!" Miles yelled, conjuring several cars from his storage space to block the corridor and buy them time.
Ratatat!
Gunfire echoed behind them as Miles dropped more obstacles into the passage, sealing the entrance completely.
"That was close," Ryan panted, his face pale.
"No kidding. Two more seconds, and we'd be dead," Miles muttered, his heart still racing.
"Boss, you're incredible!" Ansel grinned, his admiration for Miles evident.
"Where's Mary?" Miles glanced around.
"Don't tell me she bailed," Ryan muttered.
"I'm here." Mary's voice called out as she and Aaron emerged from behind a tree.
Miles smirked. "Thought you might've taken the chance to ditch us."
"Where would I go without resources?" Mary replied calmly. "Besides, didn't we agree to work together?"