C5 Predator

Without a word, Dexter raised his hand and slapped Willow in front of everyone. The force was so strong that Willow stumbled, falling directly into the nearby shallows.

Everyone stood still. Dexter, still enraged, attempted to kick the seated Willow. However, Jade stepped in and blocked him.

"Mr. Wen," she said calmly, halting Dexter. She glanced from top to bottom at Andrea, who had remained aloof, as a subtle reminder.

Probably concerned about his own reputation, a public altercation between father and daughter wasn't something to be proud of. Dexter, teeth clenched in fury, reluctantly withdrew his foot.

"Go check over there," Andrea, completely unfazed, didn't spare the group more than a glance. He casually stowed his gun and walked away with Viktor.

Dexter followed suit.

As their footsteps receded, the vast river valley was soon left with only Jade and Willow.

The atmosphere was tense.

Jade, without saying a word, walked over to lift Willow. Willow, in a fit of temper, resisted and pushed her. Jade seized her wrist, twisted it backward, and dragged her up onto the shore.

"Let go of me! Let go! Ugh..."

Jade dropped Willow on the ground, staring at her with a cold expression.

"F**k off!" Willow's rich girl temper flared, and she hurled stones in a fit, trying to hit Jade.

Jade stood still, silently waiting for a moment before crouching down to speak to her. "I'm not Mr. Wen's running dog. Following you is just part of my job. How you feel about Mr. Wen is your business. But, Ms. Wen, you can hate one person, but you shouldn't let that turn into hatred for the whole world, making yourself look like a joke."

She wasn't good at consoling others, and saying this much was already at her limit.

Seeing that Willow's emotions stabilized a bit, Jade checked her injuries.

The ankle was red, likely scraped during the fall. Some skin was broken, but it wasn't clear if the soft tissue was damaged.

"Can you move?" Jade asked.

Willow tried to lift her foot but quickly winced and withdrew.

"Does it hurt?" Jade gently touched her ankle, eliciting another wave of pain.

It might be genuinely injured.

Looking around, with Andrea and Dexter already gone, she couldn't carry Willow back. Fortunately, this forest was Andrea's private hunting ground, with no wild animals around. Jade decided to leave Willow here and go back to bring help.

March in New Jersey was still chilly, not to mention staying in a forest river valley.

Jade changed Willow into her dry clothes and equipped herself before leaving.

However, not long after she walked, the sky began to hint at rain.

If it rained and the water level rose, and with Willow's foot injury, staying by the river could pose a risk. Moreover, she had no sheltering tools.

Thinking about this, Jade decided to leave the equipment for Willow and turned back. However, the open river valley with rustling grass showed no signs of anyone.

Jade found the spot where she left Willow and saw a series of wet footprints on the ground.

She realized...

A tense string tightened in her mind. Jade almost immediately understood that Willow had deliberately feigned an injury to distract her.

"How much did Dexter Wen pay you? I'll double that if you help me take him out."

Jade remembered her half-joking remark in the apartment, and a cold sweat broke out on her back.

The forest was deep, and she was holding a gun! There was no time to waste. She removed unnecessary equipment, put on a compass, and grabbed the gun, following the footprints. Once the tall grass rustled away, replaced by taller bushes, Willow's trail vanished.

As footsteps approached from behind, Jade crouched and hid among the bushes. Several men with guns, seemingly tracking something, communicated through earpieces and dispersed after a brief discussion.

Jade frowned, the unease in her heart intensifying.

On the other side, Andrea, who had been waiting for a long time, stood at a high point in the hunting ground, setting up his R11 sniper rifle.

"Found anything?" he asked, pressing the earpiece with black gloves and placing earplugs on the other side.

After a moment, as if receiving a confirmed answer, Andrea raised his arm, pressed his cheek against the gun barrel, and began to wait patiently.

*

"Willow!!!" At the sight of her, Jade was on the brink of exploding.

As she suspected, after Willow brushed her aside, she actually sneaked off with a gun to secretly trail Dexter. The figure ahead hesitated for a moment, instantly transforming into a forest rabbit, vainly attempting to escape. Dense woods quickly blocked her path, but Jade clenched her teeth and pursued.

Being more agile, she reached Willow in just a few steps, leaped forward, and firmly pinned her to the ground.

"Ah!!! Let go of me!" Willow went insane, wildly scratching and clawing.

"Bang!"

Almost simultaneously, there was a muffled sound behind her as she tackled Willow.

The volume wasn't high, like someone firing a shot with a blanket over the gun.

Willow beneath her stayed still. Both of them were stunned, turning their heads to see a red oak tree not far away, the bark sparking a hint of fire.

Someone shot from behind?

Moreover, it seemed the shooter, to avoid exposing their location, had equipped a silencer.

Before Jade could wrap her head around it, more voices around them were closing in. Occasional conversations, seemingly confirming the target's position, with a distinct Italian accent.

It was the Mafia.

But wasn't this Andrea's territory?

The whole of New York, were there Mafia families daring to intrude directly into Andrea Caruso's territory?

The more Jade thought, the more peculiar it seemed. Yet, she couldn't afford to dwell on it. With one hand lifting Willow, she whispered, "Follow me."

Then, she led her crouching behind a massive rock toward the river valley.

"Crack!" A crisp sound of a broken twig.

Jade turned to look at Willow, still unaware. She seemed to realize something, shuffled her feet, revealing the broken branch.

"..." Jade was speechless.

No time to complain because someone quickly chased after them.

A man in casual attire, tall in stature, unknown to Jade.

In the blink of an eye, the man drew a gun toward her. Jade rolled to the side just as the bullet hit her side, sharp rock fragments flying everywhere.

But the man didn't linger with her, instead pointing the gun directly at Willow.

"Get down!" Jade roared, leaping from the ground. With a forceful kick, her long legs entwined around the man's neck.

Tightening, turning, then kneeling down!

"Crunch!"

Swift and decisive, her clothes fluttered open, like a butterfly about to take flight.

"Ugh..." The man between her legs groaned and passed out.

Willow, backed against the rock, sat huddled, watching the fallen man with a bewildered expression.

And at that moment, a small red spot silently landed between her eyebrows.

Jade was stunned.

Too late.

Whether she pounced over or warned Willow to move, it was all too late.

"Bang!"

A severe shake in her ears, a flash of white light before her eyes.

The anticipated splatter of blood didn't happen, but Willow screamed tragically.

Following that, a subdued and deep male voice.

Jade shook her head, seeing a man in a similar outfit entering her field of vision.

It was Vincent.

"Go!"

With the situation urgent, their eyes met, and neither had time to inquire about the causes and consequences. Vincent protected Willow, rushing ahead. Jade picked up the fallen man's gun, one hand gripping it, responsible for covering the rear.

The three concealed themselves on the other side of the rock, fortunately, the earlier scuffle ended quickly and quietly. This meant the pursuers would take some time to find them.

But everything was too strange.

Jade couldn't even discern in the current chaotic situation how many factions were involved.

But at least one thing was certain.

She closed her eyes, recalling the two almost-hit shots on Willow. From the bullet's landing point and the traces left, she could roughly deduce the ambusher's position.

Corresponding to that, when she looked back, she indeed discovered a clue.

If she wasn't mistaken, the opponent should be lurking in a higher position behind the rocks. She leaned toward the spot on the slope where a gun could be mounted, a slender glint shimmering in the afternoon sunlight.

It was a scope!

Sure enough, in today's unexpectedly violent attack, there was still a "predator" hiding in the shadows.

"Take this!" Jade's heart skipped a beat, handing the gun in her hand to Vincent.

"Can you use it?" she asked, with a serious expression.

Vincent nodded, taking the firearm, loading it skillfully and calmly.

"You stay here to protect her," Jade pointed to the uncooperative Willow, swiftly scanning the surrounding area. "I'll check outside."

Saying that, without looking back, she dashed out.

*

After accumulating for a long time, the rain finally poured down, carrying anger that seemed boundless.

From a high vantage point, Andrea brushed aside the branches, pressed a button on the walkie-talkie at his side, and asked, "Where are they?"

His voice was cold, sending a chill down anyone's spine.

Viktor's voice trembled slightly as he watched the grass disrupted by the rain in front of him. After a while, he had to honestly respond, "Still... still searching."

In the earpiece, only the faint buzzing of electricity remained, sounding like little insects gnawing at the ears.

Nervously, Viktor loosened his collar, and unconsciously, his breathing slowed down. The atmosphere froze, and he could vaguely hear the muffled tapping sounds. Viktor knew that this signaled Andrea's patience had run out.

"But, Boss, please rest assured," Viktor coughed twice, "everyone here is ours. There's no way they can escape..."

He reported mechanically, unable to resist turning his head to sneak a glance in Andrea Caruso's direction. Looking away might have been better because, at that moment, Viktor's gaze suddenly froze, landing on someone behind Andrea. His words got stuck in his throat.

Standing at the elevated position, Andrea naturally noticed his abnormality, but it was too late when he turned around.

The woman's steps were as light as a cat, completely masked by the surrounding noisy rain. With earplugs and a Bluetooth headset, her focus was on the scope and Viktor; he didn't notice the silently approaching figure.

In front of him, the scene from that night when they first met appeared. Cold moonlight, those indifferent yet unyielding eyes, looking at him coldly, unflinching.

Like wild peach blossoms suddenly blooming in the mist, bold and vibrant.

The hand holding the R11 tightened, gloves rubbing against the gun barrel, making a faint rustling sound. Somehow, even without turning around, in this moment, Andrea immediately knew who the owner of that cold gun barrel was.

Ten years, from Moscow to New York.

In all these years, she was the only one who could come here and aim a gun at him.

Suddenly, a muffled laughter rolled through, and Andrea put down the gun in his hand, calmly calling out, "Miss Ouyang."