?Chapter 1337:


    However, when he witnessed the figure sprawled across the emergency bed, his pupils constricted with shock.


    The patient was decidedly not the alleged “Mr. Stewart’s daughter.” Instead, a massive brute with a blood-crusted bandage wrapped around his wrist reclined there, sneering at Noah with malicious satisfaction. The thug was merely one of Emerson’s expendable foot soldiers.


    The entire scenario had been an borate snare, meticulously crafted to ensnare Noah.


    Meanwhile, within his cramped apartment, Hurst scrutinized the miniaturemunication device clutched in his palm, his brow creased with intense concentration.


    Suddenprehension struck him—the device found within Afara’s belt served dual purposes, both receiving transmissions and broadcasting their location.


    As he examined the device more closely, the screen illuminated once more, revealing a freshmunication.


    “Noah has fallen into the trap. Quickly move Afara to the warehouse at west port.”


    Dread plummeted through Hurst’s chest like a stone through water. The instant his vignce faltered, the entire situation transformed catastrophically.


    Afara, who had been masterfully feigning unconsciousness in the corner, suddenly erupted into deadly action.


    His eyes zed with predatory intent as his tongue pushed out a razor-thin de, delicate as a cicada’s wing, from the inner side of his gums. The micro-de sliced through his restraints with surgical precision, liberating his limbs in absolute silence.


    “Oh, no!” Hurst realized the danger he was in far toote.


    Afaraunched himself forward with the explosive velocity and savage intensity of a hunting panther, abandoning all pretense of being a harmless yboy.


    Hurst spun to defend against the assault, and both men immediately became entangled in vicious hand-to-handbat.


    Despite his inferior fighting abilities, cing him at a tactical disadvantage, Afara demonstrated intimate knowledge of the room’s every detail.


    He executed a masterful feint before pivoting sideways, causing Hurst’s powerful strike to misspletely and sending him stumbling off-bnce.


    Capitalizing on that critical moment, Afara drove his foot into the table, sending the kerosenemp crashing to the floor.


    Oil sshed across the floor and burst into mes without warning. “Boom!” Fire exploded through the air, devouring the ramshackle wooden structure within heartbeats.


    While the mes drove Hurst backward, Afara bolted through the door without sparing a single nce behind him.


    Once outside, he hacked and wheezed, turning to watch the building surrender to the inferno as a frigid smile crept across his face. Instead of reaching out to Emerson, he withdrew another device from his jacket and punched in an encrypted number.


    Someone picked up on the second ring.


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