Vyuk was aghast at Emma holding a crowbar, while the masked figure was trepidatious. He tried to make a deal:
"Listen, you don't have to go too brutal. I will tell you everything—just put that thing away."
Emma was perplexed by their looks. She put the crowbar aside and said:
"I am not going to beat you."
Vyuk and the masked figure sighed in relief. Still puzzled, Vyuk asked:
"Then why did you bring that crowbar?"
Emma chuckled softly and continued:
"Vyuk, you are the one who will beat him. Like, you are the cop who knows how to handle these things."
The masked figure almost choked for air. He looked at Vyuk, thinking he would decline, but Vyuk was deep in thought and then replied in a serious tone:
"You are right. After all, in the end, we have to make some things messy to make his mouth open."
The masked figure was caught off guard while Vyuk took the crowbar. He was about to thrash the masked figure repeatedly, but then the figure finally screamed:
"I will tell you everything!!"
Vyuk stopped mid-air. The masked figure was trembling with fear. He spoke panickily:
"We are just going to Washington, D.C., and will do something there!! I don't know what we will do—we aren't given that much information!!"
Vyuk grinned in success. He exhaled deeply and said:
"Damn, I thought you would catch our trick."
The masked figure was skeptical. From behind, Emma burst out laughing, and after wiping her eyes, she finally spoke:
"This is actually a fake crowbar made from thermocol! When I captured you and hid you here, I immediately called Vyuk, and then we made this plan—and you actually fell for it! Now we know a little bit about your boss and plan."
The masked figure's eyes, hidden behind the mask, widened in surprise. He felt ashamed but was more angry. He gritted his teeth and tried to move to free himself while yelling at them:
"You motherfuckers!! Let me out of here, and then—"
Still grinning, Vyuk turned and handed the fake crowbar to Emma.
All of a sudden, he heard the sound of glass breaking. Vyuk swiftly turned around instinctively and saw that the window had been broken and—
The masked figure's head was tilted to the left side, hanging lifeless at an uneven angle. Blood was dripping from the corner of his head; something had pierced through his skull horizontally.
Emma froze in fear and finally whispered:
"Sniper."
Vyuk rushed toward the window, peeking outside hastily, but saw no one. While looking around, a paper struck his face. When he saw it, he was left speechless.
Emma came and read it:
"Don't interfere or die."
—————
Noah was walking through a surprisingly luxurious white corridor, unbothered, still with handcuffs on his hands, a masked figure guiding him.
Soon they reached a black gate. Beside it was a radio-like device attached to the door, without any antenna like a usual radio.
A masked figure came, swiped his card, and the door opened.
The walls were the same color as the corridor. The floor was made of wood, and the walls were covered with paper targets spread throughout. At the end of the room, someone was wearing a white wooden fox mask without ears, painted with three red stripes on each cheek—it was Lord Yin, wearing a dark green jacket, jeans, and a light green T-shirt.
Noah didn't know him and just gave him a lifeless stare. Lord Yin tossed a gun toward him and spoke:
"I am the head of the organization and the one who has your friend, Ron Smith."
When those words reached Noah, without a second thought, he took the gun and aimed it at Lord Yin, his face infuriated, blood boiling, no mercy in his eyes. Lord Yin ignored it and continued calmly:
"Remember, you shot me, and your friend's death—and even if I go, the organization will continue. So please pull that gun aside and let me talk."
Noah lowered the gun, still infuriated, exhaled, and nodded.
"I will let your friend live—and you as well. You just have to do something for me."
He paused.
"I will also give back the pills. So if you agree, shoot the paper target—and I am standing right here."
Noah shot.
Lord Yin looked at the paper target. It had been hit, just a few inches away from the red dot in the middle.
"Raw talent. Have to use it," he murmured.
From the door beside Lord Yin, a masked figure entered. He was wearing a karate uniform, and his wooden mask was different. His eyes were wide and stretched but shallow; the mask also had a mouth with canine teeth carved into it. His forehead had horns carved into it. He was around six feet tall, with long hair and a bulky build—though not as much as the gangster Emma hired.
Lord Yin spoke nonchalantly:
"If you want your friend alive, prove your worth."
"Wha—"
Before Noah could finish his sentence, the bulky figure rushed toward him. In less than a second, there were only centimeters between them. The bulky figure swung his fist toward Noah.
Instinctively, Noah barely dodged the punch.
Noah aimed at his leg, but suddenly he felt his stomach pushed backward. The bulky figure had landed a forearm strike on his stomach. From the impact, his grip on the gun was lost, and it fell to the ground.
The bulky man started to taunt him contemptuously:
"A gun in martial arts? Who are you—a pussy? Can't believe we are letting you join. We should have just killed you and your pathetic friend."
Noah tried to stand up and succeeded. He spat blood and spoke:
"You are right. I am a pussy. Never did anything worthy in my life, and now I am a murderer, have killed innocent lives, and I deserve to die a brutal death and rot in hell. But I can't—because I made a promise, and I shall complete it."
The bulky figure smirked and said:
"Then complete it."
Saying that, he threw a series of punches toward Noah. Noah continuously dodged them. He thought to himself:
"I can't dodge the punches forever. I have to do it."
While dodging, Noah found a delay in one punch. It might have been one second, but in that delay, he crouched down and, with all his strength, struck a blow to the ribcage. The figure didn't even flinch.
Noah thought he had lost—but the bulky figure walked to Lord Yin and said:
"Let him in."