Northwest of Saint-Michel Mountain, in a certain sea area, a speedboat swayed with the waves, and in the distance, two other speedboats collided and exploded, their flames having diminished significantly over time.
Bang!
Splash—
A gunshot rang out, and Evelyn, who was shot in the shoulder, looked panic-stricken and pale, losing her balance and falling directly into the sea.
Conrad was startled by the sudden turn of events, quickly bent down to dodge, and turned around to look towards the direction of the gunshot, only to see a dark figure leaping out from the sea behind him, bracing against the side of the speedboat to swiftly climb aboard and pounce towards him like a black panther.
The moment Luo An somersaulted into the speedboat, he also pulled out a dagger from behind his waist and flung it towards Reesi's side, shouting:
"Cut the ropes, keep an eye on that woman!"
"Understood!"
Reesi immediately fell over, grabbed the dagger, and cut the ropes on her wrist with a backhand motion. On the other side, Luo An moved in front of Conrad and kicked out with a whip-like leg.
Conrad subconsciously bent down to squat, putting up his arms defensively next to his body to block the kick.
Thud—
A muffled sound rang out, and under the tremendous force, Conrad stumbled backwards, losing his footing and falling onto a chair.
Feeling the intense pain and trembling in his arms, he looked at Luo An in shock, unable to comprehend how Luo An still had so much strength after swimming in the sea for so long.
However, now was not the time for questions. Conrad immediately raised the pistol in his hand, preparing to aim at Luo An and pull the trigger.
Luo An was faster. Before Conrad could fully raise the gun, Luo An kicked again, sending the pistol flying towards Reesi.
Then Luo An pinned Conrad down, wedging his knee against Conrad's right arm and violently twisting it backward.
Crack!
"Ah—"
A clear sound of a bone breaking echoed, and Conrad let out a shrill scream. His right arm was cruelly twisted and broken by Luo An, bent behind his back.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Seeing Conrad struggling frantically, Luo An landed three heavy punches squarely on his face. Conrad instantly spat blood, his tears streaming down, and his struggling grew weaker.
On the other side, Reesi had already cut the ropes and picked up the pistol from the ground. Standing on the speedboat, she aimed at Evelyn's floating head in the sea and asked:
"Luo An, what do we do with this woman now?"
"Don't kill me!"
Seeing that Luo An had swum for a few minutes without losing any strength and had knocked Conrad to the ground with a few punches and kicks, Evelyn screamed in panic:
"Don't kill me! I know a lot of things! I can tell you everything! You can ask me to do anything!"
Meanwhile, Conrad had already stopped resisting. Luo An thoroughly searched him to ensure there were no hidden weapons and then stood up, giving Reesi a look.
Reesi, though somewhat reluctant, still reached out to pull Evelyn into the speedboat from the sea, but her actions were a bit too rough, accidentally poking Evelyn's gunshot wound on the shoulder several times.
The seawater, which had cooled down significantly at night, along with the pain from the gunshot on her shoulder, made Evelyn shiver and break out in cold sweat, cursing Reesi inwardly.
However, she put on a pleasing expression on her face, repeatedly apologized for her earlier remarks, and hoped that Reesi would plead on her behalf, asking Luo An to spare her.
Reesi snorted coldly and poked Evelyn's wound again.
Evelyn: "…"
Ignoring the minor interaction between the two women, Conrad, with blood at the corner of his mouth, struggled to sit up, his face sullen as he looked at Luo An and asked:
"When did you come back?"
"You guess."
Luo An smiled. Soon after he had jumped into the sea, the "emotional perception" in his mind detected huge fluctuations of panic and shock in Reesi's emotions.
At first, Luo An thought that they had encountered new enemies near the speedboat, but then he realized that Evelyn and Conrad exhibited corresponding violent emotions, and he immediately understood the situation on the speedboat.
Luo An's first reaction was to rescue the hostages, but he later found out that although Evelyn and Conrad had the intent to kill, during the return they tied up Reesi and waited for his own return, indicating that he was their true target.
Earlier, near the explosion, Luo An had sensed a fleeting surge of excitement, leading him to suspect that someone might have survived. After a few seconds of quick thought, he decided to first go to the explosion site to capture someone, and then return to the speedboat to rescue the hostages.
There was no need to explain these matters to Conrad, and Luo An couldn't be bothered to waste words with him, simply asking:
"Spill it. What exactly was the target and plan for this operation?"
Pain from his broken bones made Conrad break out into cold sweat on his forehead, but he remained unflustered, looking straight into Luo An's eyes and said:
"Group Leader Greenwood, there are some things you don't need to know. Let's call it a night with this incident.
Let me go, and in return, I will give you back that beautiful computer specialist, one for one, how about that?"
Reesi's pupils dilated, realizing that the computer specialist Conrad referred to was Mona, and she also thought about Agent Shawn who had stayed on Saint-Michel Mountain.
Reesi was very clear about the relationship between Mona and Luo An, and she looked at Luo An urgently, anxious for Mona's safety and worried that Luo An, in a rage, might resort to drastic measures. Thousands of words flashed through her mind, but she didn't know what to say, and finally, she just shouted:
"Luo An!"
"Conrad!"
At the same time, with a face full of excitement and shouting loudly was Evelyn.
She heard Conrad mention "one for one" and had no doubt that she was not that "one," so she yelled out:
"You can't do this! We used to play together! Don't say you didn't enjoy it!"
"Shut your mouth! You damn bitch!"
Conrad, with his eyes full of fury, glared at Evelyn and said coldly:
"You think I don't know about you and Shawn having played together too? Shawn knows about you and me as well; we simply couldn't be bothered to tell you!"
"..."
Evelyn's eyes widened, but she was unable to speak.
She always thought she had control over the two men in the team, but it turned out the two men had reached a consensus long ago.
Ignoring Evelyn, whose face was growing paler, Conrad turned his attention back to Luo An, only to find that Luo An's expression had not changed at all.
A sense of foreboding flickered through Conrad's heart, but he still said:
"Group Leader Greenwood, you..."
Luo An waved his hand to cut him off, took out his phone, and dialed Mona.
Ding-dong—ding-dong—
While Reesi and an even more nervous Conrad watched, the ringing soon stopped, and the call was answered. Mona's voice came through:
"Luo An, how is the operation going on your end?"
"Not bad, generally speaking it's going smoothly."
Under Conrad's incredulous gaze, Luo An revealed a sunny and bright smile towards him, then asked:
"Mona, how is Agent Shawn?"
In a room behind a shop on Saint-Michel Mountain, Mona glanced at the bed, at Agent Shawn sleeping soundly and sweetly in an embrace with the similarly unconscious shop owner, and with a twitch of her mouth, said:
"His sleep quality is very high; he must be having a good dream."
"OK."
After a brief conversation, Luo An hung up the phone. Reesi let out a long sigh of relief, while Conrad yelled in disbelief:
"Impossible! There's something wrong with that phone call!"
Luo An didn't speak, simply looking at him with the eyes one reserves for an idiot.
Conrad: "..."