Bang!

A crisp gunshot rang out.

But the one bleeding wasn’t Xia Lei but Sperry. The bullet that came out of the Viper pistol was nestled snugly within his right wrist, causing his gun to fall.

Sperry immediately bent over to reach for his gun. While he knew his chances were next to nothing, Sperry was ready to risk it all. He was out of choice, his survival instincts were kicking in.

Bang!

“Gah!” Sperry shouted in agony, grabbing his right knee as he doubled over. But without wasting another second, his left arm was already reaching for his weapon.

Bang!

Another bullet hit Sperry in his left wrist. His left grip was already wrapped around the handle but the sudden destruction of both his wrist and tendon had caused him to lose all strength.

Xia Lei nonchalantly studied the man. “If you can pick the gun up with your left leg, I can assure you that I’ll stand still and allow you to shoot me.”

“Fuck! Ah!” Sperry’s mental strength was breaking at its seams. In a desperate attempt, he really reached his left leg over for the gun.

Bang!

A bullet hit Sperry in his left knee.

Sperry cried in agony and was knocked unconscious. Even if he was spared from this battle, he was as good as dead.

Sperry was right. Even if they had told him all about Hattori Mei and the FA Organization, Xia Lei had no plans of letting them loose. There was no other reason for that. The CIA Jingdu informant base was the mastermind behind the attempted assassination on his family!

This was the sole reason that Xia Lei would kill them ten times over!

Xia Lei continued to move forward towards their pillar. Just when he was merely ten steps away from them, his heart clenched sharply. It was as if the organ had abruptly ceased function, causing his mind to enter a hazy blank mode. The entire phenomenon persisted for only a moment before the mysterious energy dwelling within him was awakened. The energy rapidly seeped into his blood, cells and bones.

Pant! Xia Lei exhaled a drawled breath of contaminated gas, the feeling of death dissipating along with it.

This was the second time he felt close to death. The feeling was terrifyingly surreal that it was able to grip his being in unfiltered fear!

However, the experiences allowed him to realize how powerful the mysterious energy and super immunity truly was. It made him wonder. If his body was able to neutralize a lethal poison like this, didn’t that mean he was essentially invincible against all forms of existing poisons?

The only thing he could be sure of was that his organs and brain were continuously upgrading. His advancement was improving constantly in the background!

“Cease fire!” Yang Shan exclaimed from behind the cement pillar.

“Come out, I promise I won’t fire,” said Xia Lei. Despite that, the muzzle of his Viper pistol was aimed at the pillar. No matter which direction Yang Shan chose to emerge from, the man would still be ready.

It took two seconds of hesitation for Yang Shan to finally show himself. He walked from behind the pillar with his left palm pressing against his injured right wrist. The hot blood was seeping through the gaps of his fingers, drop by drop it stained the ground.

Yang Shan eyed Xia Lei cautiously, filled with terror. He tried to probe, “Is... Is your deal still viable?”

“Of course, I’m a sincere person. There is no exception even in the face of enemies,” said Xia Lei.

“Put your gun down onto the floor and we’ll talk,” uttered Yang Shan sternly.

Xia Lei threw his Viper pistol to the ground swiftly and kicked it ten metres away. He did not care that he was completely unarmed now. Even if Yang Shan was healthy and in prime condition, it would’ve been nothing to take him down. Yang Shan was handicapped and in pain, the man was no longer a valid concern.

“Is this better?” Xia Lei stared at him. “I’ve fulfilled your request. It is your turn to give me what I need,” said Xia Lei.

“Hattori Mei was in the Japanese Embassy the day before yesterday. I have no idea where she is currently,” answered Yang Shan.

“How do you keep in contact?”

“You know her style. She never leaves contact. She always came to me,” replied Yang Shan.

Hattori Mei was indeed an exceptionally sly woman. She would never stay a night at any hotel and would never leave any contact behind. Xia Lei understood how she functioned but he was reluctant to believe Yang Shan’s words. Why? The reason was simple. This entire mission was led by America. How could there not be any form of contact between its participants?

“She provided the poison and the FA Organization provided the assassins. We... Actually, this whole thing has nothing to do with me,” said Yang Shan.

While Xia Lei was painfully aware that this was a lie. Xia Lei shot another question, unimpressed. “Where are the FA members at then?”

“FA’s Yan Fo is at...” Before he could even finish his sentence, Yang Shan palmed at his heart and swayed. His body slowly crumbled to the ground.

Xia Lei watched him silently, offering no help.

Yang Shan fell onto the floor, twitched a few times and went still.

There were antibodies inside Xia Lei’s blood that could easily save Yang Shan. However, Xia Lei chose not to do so. Yang Shan was a man that offered a lie even at a dire time like this.

What was the point of saving his life?

Above them, in the Freedom EDM Music Bar.

Bang!

Tang Yuyan fired a bullet into the ceiling above and yelled at the top of her lungs. “Speak! Where is the underground basement?!” The waiter quivered in fear.

“I don’t know... I really don’t know!” The waiter was close to tears.

Tang Yuyan smacked the back of her gun into the waiter’s skull.

“Ah!” The waiter screeched in pain, sounding more like he was stabbed instead of getting hit. His tears, snot and even piss began flowing out of his body uncontrollably.

How could he be a CIA agent with such courage?

The waiter was reduced to tears. Meanwhile, Tang Yuyan was driven to tears by pure frustration. Xia Lei had barged into an enemy’s territory alone and completely went out of the radar. Where was he? Was he hurt? Was he in danger? These worries clouded her mind and tortured her sanity.

“What the hell are you still standing there for?” Tang Yuyan yelled through her hot tears. “Blast off all the walls in here! I don’t care if you destroy this place, find him!”

The entire group of agents gulped and obeyed her instructions, placing explosives along the wall.

But as if on cue, rustling and movement were heard from the storeroom. The agents had ransacked that particular room over and over with nothing found.

The combatants immediately ran towards it.

Tang Yuyan was the first to reach its entrance. The door of the room opened abruptly and out emerged a familiar face.

Tang Yuyan froze at the sight before quicking throwing herself against his chest. While the two were only separated for ten minutes, it felt as long as a lifetime.

All of the agents halted their actions. Some offered no emotion while some stifled their giggles. Everyone knew who Xia Lei was. He was Bureau 101’s ace advisor and a fighter of extraordinary combat abilities! The agents knew exactly what the indication was behind Xia Lei’s solo appearance. The implication allowed slight ease to their tension. All they needed to do now was to wait for instructions to handle the bodies. But of course, that would require their very own Leader Tang to leave Xia Lei’s body and make space.

Tang Yuyan was reluctant to let go. Her arms were tight around Xia Lei’s waist, her plump bosoms pinned tightly to the front of his chest. The soft mounts were flattened into literal pancakes but she did not care. What harm would a little skinship do anyway?

Xia Lei, on the other hand, wanted to flee. He was a married man. Not to mention, he had four wives and four kids on the way. Now that Tang Yuyan threw herself on him without any care in the world, how could a married man feel at ease in a situation like this?

“Everything is alright. I got it handled.” Xia Lei continued, “Those bastards are all dead...”

This was his attempt to have Tang Yuyan voluntarily loosen her grip. However, Tang Yuyan seemed to have not registered a single word of his. Xia Lei was now painfully aware of how soft her breasts and lower abdomen were. The odd sensation brought him some complications. As time went by, one particular part of his body began to show responses enthusiastically. This was completely normal, inevitable even. This was a natural feature that evolution decided to grace men with. Anyone normal would produce a boner at close contact with someone as crazily gorgeous as Tang Yuyan unless they were sick or dysfunctional in the groin.

Xia Lei inhaled stealthily and utilized his ability to control his nerve endings. It was only then that his proud forming erection calmed down and repented its sins.

“Do you have any idea how worried I was?” Tang Yuyan stared at him tearfully. “How am I supposed to live on if something were to happen to you?”

Boisterous laughter was earned from the agents. They had never imagined that their normally composed and strict Leader Tang would say something so corny. In their eyes, Tang Yuyan was undoubtedly a female tiger. But in Xia Lei’s embrace, she was no different from a kitten in front of a lion.

“Yuyan... Please... Stop. Your underlings are laughing at us,” said Xia Lei.

It was only then that Tang Yuyan was willing to let go of him. She turned around and yelled sternly, “What the hell are you looking at? What is so funny? Go on and you’ll have a good laugh back at the headquarters!”

The agents immediately ceased laughter.

Xia Lei uttered, “The CIA agents are in the underground basement but they’re all dead. The storeroom was actually a functional elevator. The ashtray on top of that shelf is its trigger. There is also another layer above the ceiling.”

“What are you still standing for? Did you not hear it?” Tang Yuyan hissed, “Go on, move!”

A large bunch of agents rushed towards the door.

But Xia Lei quickly blocked their way. “Wait, there are toxic gases underground! You can’t just barge in like this. You need a hazard mask and an oxygen tank.”

A few immediately left the group to retrieve corresponding gears.

Tang Yuyan pulled Xia Lei’s wrist. “Come with me.”

Xia Lei was slightly taken aback. “To where?”

A flash of dejectedness took form in the eyes of Tang Yuyan. “What? Are you afraid that I’ll eat you up?”

Xia Lei spluttered a little before falling silent

Tang Yuyan did not bother to hear an answer from Xia Lei, immediately pulling him towards the end of the corridor.

Xia Lei’s urge to escape her grasp was vehement but as soon as he caught sight of the tear tracks that had yet to disappear at the corner of her eye, he could only relent.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

This did not require any explanation.

If someone was so deeply in love with you to the point where they couldn’t live on without you, would you be so heartless as to push them away? Could you bear to hurt them repeatedly?

Some might be able to achieve that but Xia Lei was not part of that crowd.

There was only one reason behind that.

Xia Lei was Xia Lei, after all.