North American Detective: I am Proficient in All Kinds of Gun Quick Draws-Chapter 565 - 322 Arrangement_2

Wires crossed?

Amon took a deep breath, gestured to his subordinates for silence, and pressed the answer button.

ZZZT!

Following a harsh static, the other end spoke first, "There are nine minutes left until the base self-destructs. Evacuate the island."

The voice was clearly synthetic.

The content of the message was enough to furrow Amon's brow.

Self-destruct? Impossible! I came leading my team in response to a signal from an inside informant. There's no way the other side would self-destruct!

But they had mentioned the base right away. This clearly indicated they knew his situation and were an insider.

"Who are you?"

"That's not important. You have nine minutes. In fifteen minutes, I'll contact you again. We'd like to propose a trade."

BEEP.

The busy tone conveyed that the call had been disconnected.

Pocketing the satellite phone, Amon gazed at the quiet base buildings ahead, his expression flickering uncertainly. It was, after all, only a matter of minutes.

He grabbed his pager and issued an order for everyone to quickly evacuate the island.

「Nine minutes later.」

Sitting in a small boat on the sea, Amon stared unwaveringly at the nearby island.

All was calm and undisturbed.

"FK!"

He cursed under his breath and picked up the pager, wanting to inquire about the patrol situation, to ensure it wasn't just a decoy.

The next moment, WHUM!

Bubbles surged up from the seabed, just as everyone felt the small boat beneath them start to tremble significantly.

Ripples spread out in circles from the island, dispersing in all directions.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Terrifying sequential explosions rocketed upward, finally bursting forth, dyeing the dim sea surface the orange of dusk...

The island had really exploded!

「Late at night.」

Cheston En walked absentmindedly on the deck, gazing into the dark expanse, lost in thought. Only flashes of his brief time with Dean surfaced in his mind.

He and Dean hadn't actually been that close.

But Cheston En had seen Dean as his hope for revenge against the Lucifer Organization.

Yet before their resistance could even begin, they were reduced to drenched rats by the waves stirred up by the Organization.

Now, not only were Dean's chances of survival slim, but he, Black Widow, and the others also didn't know when they might turn into those mutated monsters, eventually dying as their bodies broke down.

This made Cheston En feel like he was back on the night his family was slaughtered.

Bewildered, hopeless, unable to see a way forward.

The best outcome for myself might just be being rescued by the CIA, then imprisoned like a lab rat. I wouldn't die but would lose my freedom, let alone get my revenge...

Just as his mind was muddled, lost in random thoughts.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Amid the whooshing sea breeze, a faint metallic tapping sound reached Cheston En's ears.

His vacant eyes moved slightly, and his ears perked up.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

It's not an illusion!

Cheston En quickly got up, moved to the railing, and looked around, but he saw nothing but darkness.

He didn't give up, however, focusing intently on pinpointing the source of the sound.

After relentless effort, Cheston En followed the direction of the sound all the way to the bow of the cruise ship.

Directly above him was the pilothouse, and beneath his feet was the ship's prow.

The sound seemed to be coming from below!

Leaning over the railing, Cheston En shouted downwards as the next CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! rang out, "Who is it?"

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!!

The tapping, now more forceful, answered him!

Thinking of Dean, who had fallen overboard, Cheston En was thrilled.

He rushed back to the cabin and found Black Widow and two others venting their frustration with a game of cards, to whom he relayed his discovery.

"Impossible!"

One of Black Widow's teammates, who was clapping vigorously, glared at Cheston En. "It's been at least six or seven hours since your companion fell overboard. Even if he was lucky and didn't die right away, he would have died of hypothermia by now!"

Another teammate below, who was eating grapes, stuck out his head. "You're probably hearing things. If you feel off, do us a favor and stay away—I don't want to deal with you if you turn into a monster!"

If it weren't for the fear that Cheston En might undergo a sudden transformation when facing a life-and-death crisis, they would have killed him already.

Obviously, Black Widow, stuck between the two, hadn't revealed her special status to her teammates.

Their fate, even if rescued, would probably be to end up as test subjects somewhere else.

Ignoring the two idiots who were unaware of Black Widow's true depths, Cheston En looked directly at Black Widow, who hadn't spoken and was caught between them. "My boss's mentor is Anthony; he knows many influential people in the FBI..."

"Anthony?"

Black Widow finally opened her eyes.

The North American intelligence community was just that small. As an intelligence operative active on the front lines, she was aware of this formidable old man. No wonder Dean is so clever. Though it seemed like a long time since she'd heard any news about old Anthony.

Black Widow hesitated for a moment, then extricated herself from between her companions. Grabbing some rope, she followed Cheston En to the bow of the cruise ship.

Cheston En, not daring to ask for more, had a rope tied around him and, buffeted by the sea breeze, nervously made his way down to the lower part of the cruise ship's hull.

By the faint moonlight reflecting off the sea, Cheston En saw a tall figure lying weakly on the bulbous bow beneath his feet, using a rock to knock... again and again.

Recognizing the figure at first glance, Cheston En let out an excited shout, "Boss Dean!"

「Several days later.」

Three warships arrived in the waters where the cruise ship was located, coming into view of Black Widow and her companions.

Black Widow looked at the warships with puzzlement.

She knew the intelligence group would send people to pick her up. But wasn't this a bit much?

Beside her, a weakened Dean, caringly supported by Cheston En, showed a barely perceptible smile in his eyes when he saw the ships.

The plan was successful! As long as there were no surprises next, the destruction of the Lucifer Organization this time would have nothing to do with him.

The three warships had a clear objective.

They enclosed the cruise ship carrying Dean and the nearby cargo ship.

Dozens of small boats filled with soldiers rapidly approached.

Because of the distance, the cruise ship was occupied first.

Under the aim of heavily armed soldiers, Dean and the others knelt with their heads in their hands. They were then loaded onto a motorboat heading for one of the warships.

Halfway there.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT!

Fierce gunfire resounded from the nearby cargo ship.

Cheston En, listening to the gunshots, unconsciously gripped Dean's arm tighter. He didn't dare to look towards the cargo ship; without food, the scene on board must have been hellish by now.

Black Widow, seeing his reaction, said with interest, "Are you feeling guilty?"

Cheston En glared at her. "I am guilty! To survive, I ate the little food they had left. You can call me a hypocrite, but at least I'm better than you cold-blooded types!"

HAHAHA!

Black Widow and her two teammates burst out laughing upon hearing this.

To them, some stowaways were no different than the native refugees in Africa. Besides, since there were monsters on the cargo ship, it meant those stowaways were also test subjects in this game.

So, even without their intervention, the stowaways' fate was already sealed.

Dean leaned on Cheston En, his face deathly pale, eyelids drooping. He looked half-dead and didn't join the conversation.

His role for now was to play the victim. As for the rest, that would have to wait until they were on land.

After being brought onto the warship, they were all scattered on the deck, handcuffed and shackled, then led away separately.

Even Dean, despite appearing half-dead, was cuffed to a stretcher with thick handcuffs by two soldiers and carried off.

Before disappearing from the deck, Dean noticed a group of surviving men, women, and children being brought down from the cargo ship. Judging by the direction of the escorting motorboats, they were being taken to a different warship.

Their fate was self-evident.

Meanwhile, in a room on the warship where Dean had been taken, smoke swirled. Two groups of people were discussing the arrangements for Dean and his companions, as well as the distribution of the spoils from this mission...