Chapter 1904
chapter1904
Mirabella strolled in, graceful and composed.
The grand hall was lined with a crew of sharp-eyed, well-trained individuals, all poised and ready. Asa seemed to have timed Mirabella's entrance perfectly, for as soon as she stepped in, he turned to face her, his striking blue eyes clear and bright.
He seemed harmless enough, without a trace of menace.
"Ms. Mirabella, you've arrived," Asa greeted, flashing a smile. His gaze flicked briefly to James, who stood beside her. "James," he nodded, keeping it polite.
James, ever the picture of aloof indifference, returned the nod with a cool glance, his demeanor a clear signal to keep strangers at bay.
Mirabella cut straight to the chase, skipping the small talk. "Alright, Asa, what is it you want to discuss?"
Asa raised an eyebrow, a hint of intrigue in his expression. "I thought you might ask about Mr. Davis first."
Mirabella met his gaze, her look sharp and unwavering. "If you've harmed him, you'll pay. I don't take you for a fool."
"Ms. Mirabella, you're nothing if not straightforward," Asa replied, unfazed by her words' edge. "I was thinking we could be excellent research partners."
Mirabella's intelligence made her a prime candidate for study, but her cautious nature had even bested King. Asa thought of the life-sign chip that had long gone dark, and his eyes shadowed momentarily.
"If that's all you want to talk about, I'm not interested," Mirabella stated plainly.
"That's unfortunate. I hoped you'd reconsider," Asa said, his voice laced with regret that might fool those unaware of his true nature.
"Is this a threat?" Mirabella asked, a teasing smile dancing on her lips.
"Not at all, I assure you," Asa shook his head, then gestured to his men. "Bring out Mr. Davis and the others."
His subordinates moved quickly to comply. The room fell into silence, the atmosphere tense yet not outright hostile, more like a delicate dance of unease.
Suddenly, someone stormed in, anger radiating off them. "Asa, what the hell is going on? Why destroy the Main Base?"
The Main Base was home to countless experiments... Santos's face was dark as thunder. He only noticed Mirabella and James after he finished speaking, surprise flickering across his features.
Asa turned to Santos, his face maintaining its calm smile. "Mr. Santos."
At that moment, Asa's men brought in Jim and Nellie, treating them with a surprising level of courtesy.
The room hummed with an unspoken tension, and Santos became acutely aware that something was off. This content belongs to F?nd-Novel.net
Since Asa had taken Jim and Nellie, Santos had been suspicious of his motives. Seeing them here, he wondered if Asa intended to release them to gain favor with the Davis family. If so, the Main Base's destruction made more sense.
Santos frowned, trying to piece together Asa's plan. Even with King gone, the Main Base's foundation was too solid to be easily toppled by the Davis family alone.
"Asa, what are you..." Santos began, but Asa cut him off with a raised hand.
"If Mr. Santos joins us, Ms. Mirabella, would that be sincere enough?" Asa asked her, ignoring Santos entirely.
His casual tone made it seem like they were discussing a trivial matter.
Santos's eyes widened in realization, anger flaring. "Asa, are you selling me out?"
Though unclear on the details between Asa and Cian, Santos wasn't naive. The pieces were falling into place.
He was being betrayed by Asa.
Realizing this, Santos quickly drew his gun, but the elite assassins in the hall were faster, surrounding him before he could react.
This was clearly planned from the start.
Santos's face tightened, his grip on the gun so tense his knuckles turned white. He knew he was outmatched.
Mirabella glanced at the trapped Santos, her expression unreadable. "Do you think finding someone is hard for me?" she asked Asa, uninterested in his offer.
Santos was her target, but she wouldn't let Asa interfere. Asa's choice of meeting place already hinted at his complex motives.
"It seems there's a misunderstanding, Ms. Mirabella," Asa said, raising an eyebrow. He was curious, wondering where her hostility came from since they'd never directly crossed paths before.
Mirabella wasn't in the mood for a lengthy exchange. Instead, she moved towards Jim and Nellie. Just then, Santos fired a shot.
The bullet was aimed at Jim. As it sliced through the air, Mirabella's eyes narrowed too far to intervene inture. It seemed destined to hit Jim, but Nellie, quick on her feet, pushed him aside at the last second.
The sneak attack was narrowly avoided.
Mirabella's hand, which had tensed, relaxed slightly. But Santos wasn't done; he fired again, this time hitting the chandelier, which came crashing down, plunging the room into sudden darkness.
The shift wasn't total darkness, but enough to disorient momentarily.
In the chaos, Santos saw his chance to escape, tossing a smoke grenade
modified with hallucinogenic compounds to slow down any pursuers.
With the gunfire, Santos's bodyguards rushed in, clashing with the elite assassins, turning the room into a battleground.
Santos retreated towards the door, but Mirabella was already there, standing in silhouette, her presence chilling and authoritative.
Santos tightened his grip on his gun,
knowing Mirabella's strength and hoping to avoid a direct fight. But circumstances forced his hand. Asa had betrayed him anchif he couldn't escape, this could be his end.
Determined, Santos launched an attack on Mirabella, ordering his guards to encircle het Mirabella's lips curved into a slight smirk. Her movements were so swift that the guards couldn't close in before she vanished from sight.
The guards, bewildered, fired blindly, missing their target. The air grew thick with tension, a deadly aura hanging over them.
Santos, unable to find Mirabella, panicked. He grabbed a guard, using him as a shield. His focus on the front left him vulnerable from behind, and he realized too late.
A sharp pain shot through his neck. Santos's eyes widened, his hand instinctively reaching for the wound, feeling warm blood seep through his fingers.
He couldn't stop it.
Turning slowly, Santos faced Mirabella's cold gaze. She held a small, silver
scalpel, a hint of red still marking its blade.
"You..." Santos tried to speak, but no words came. He fell back, eyes staring into nothingness, never to close again.
He was the last of the Massolio family, except for Nellie.
Mirabella closed her eyes briefly, a swirl of emotions washing over her.
With Santos down, his guards quickly retreated. As the smoke cleared, only Jim
and Nellie remained in the dim light. Asa and his assassins had vanished, along
with James.
Mirabella's eyes hardened as she moved swiftly to Jim and Nellie.
They looked dazed, clearly not in their right minds.
Mirabella checked their pulses, relieved to find they were unharmed. Asa's men had taken them while she was distracted by Santos's sudden appearance. Pulling out her silver needles, Mirabella used acupuncture, reviving them gradually.
Jim, once alert, barely paused before urging, "Mira, you have to leave. The Arango family is dangerous... Wait, this isn't the Arango family?"
He finally realized the change in surroundings.
"This is Merrywoods' biggest chaos zone," Mirabella replied quickly.
Nellie regained her bearings. They had been drugged when Asa captured them, but Nellie's resilience allowed her to wake sooner.
That's why she managed to save Jim when Santos fired, though it exposed her. Asa's men then injected her again, preventing her from helping Mirabella. Upon understanding their location, Nellie's face drained of color.
"The Arango family has developed a mutant drug that drastically alters human genes, making them more terrifying than those assassins."
The chaos zone was already filled with outlaws and refugees. Without oversight, it
could easily become a disaster if turned into a testing ground.
The more Nellie thought, the paler she became. The Arango family's drug stemmed from forbidden medical data preserved by the Massolio family. Happy New Year! May the Year of the Tiger bring you joy and success!