ra let the guy go and headed straight back to the motel.


    She waited there until around eight, but Charles still hadn''t shown up. Instead, the motel owner popped in. When he saw her alone, his eyes lit up, and he brought over a ss of water, insisting she drink it.


    ra almostughed out loud-could he be any more obvious? Did he really think she''d fall for such a basic trick?


    She pulled out her gun and pressed it right up to his forehead.


    The owner''s eyes went wide with fear as he slowly backed away, carefully taking the water with him. After that, he didn''t daree near her again.


    ra waited until nine. Finally, the door swung open from the outside. Before she even saw who it was, she heard Charles''s voice.


    "Hey, sis! I found out where Dn went! He really was here. People said he headed up to the northernmost mountain, but there''s a catch. Some foreign billionaire bought up the whole area years ago—like, dozens of kilometers around it. No one''s allowed in, and nobody knows what they''re doing up there."


    That lined up with what ra had heard. But if the ce was locked down so tight, had Dn really managed to sneak in?


    She frowned as Charles stepped closer, sharing his theory.


    "Maybe they''re running secret drug experiments up there. Remember that underground fighting ring in North America? There was this drug that turned the whole scene upside down-made fighters go wild, then disappeared. The people behind it ended up wanted in like a dozen countries. The country we''re in now? Basicallywless. They''ve got a president, but he''s so corrupt he''d sell out his own people for the right price. I asked around. Turns out they recruit people to test some kind of drug on that mountain. If you pass the health screening, they pay you a ton-but no one everes back."


    ra lowered her eyes, thinking. "So they''re using people for human experiments?"


    Charles leaned back. "Don''t be so surprised. Stuff like this happens in North America too. The big bosses just keep it behind closed doors. Regr people never see it."


    ra''s hand curled into a fist at her side. "I want to go in and find Dn."


    It had already been five days with no news. And when Dn left the country, did he really take that many people with him?


    Charles nced outside. Night hadpletely fallen.


    "They''re recruiting new test subjects soon. We can try to get in. Trust me, people from our country are in high demand here."


    The next two nights, ra barely slept. On the third day, a group of recruiters finally arrived in town.


    Everyone knew volunteering meant almost certain death, but the reward was so huge that some families were willing to send their own kids hoping the money would help the rest survive.  s


    The line was long. ra didn''t expect to see Grayson again.


    At first, Grayson didn''t even notice Charles. But the second he spotted ra, his face twisted in disbelief.


    "You again?!"


    ra was just as surprised. How did she keep running into this guy?


    Grayson marched over, arms crossed. "Hey, ra, what are you doing here? Seriously, why do I see you everywhere? And where''s your bad-luck charm?"<fn2325> This text is hosted at Find_Novel(.</fn2325>


    He nced around and finally spotted Charles standing behind her.


    For a second, Grayson looked like he couldn''t believe his eyes. "B-Boss?" Charles stared at him, brow furrowed. "Do I know you?"


    Grayson immediately grabbed his arm. "It''s me, Grayson! You saved my life a year ago! Don''t you remember? I''ve never forgotten how heroic you were!"


    Charles pushed him off, frowning even harder. He''d done a job for the Chester family, taken out a couple of had he saved anyone?


    guys e


    Maybe there was a time, but it was a blur.


    s


    Grayson, meanwhile, was suddenly all smiles, sticking close to Charles.


    "Boss, what are you doing here? Did you hear the rumor too?"


    "What rumor?" Charles asked.


    Grayson nced around, making sure no one was listening, and lowered his voice. "Word is, you can buy a drug here that makes you stronger. After I survived that jungle, my family still wasn''t happy. They said if I didn''t toughen up,


    send me to some rival group for a month. I''d never survive, so I came here to try and get the drug."


    s


    Grayson wasn''t much of a fighter-his real talent was talking his way out of trouble.


    ra and Charles exchanged a nce. Was this the same drug that had once thrown the underground fighting world into chaos?


    There was only one way to know for sure-they had to see it for themselves.