<b>Chapter </b><b>255 </b>


    Ashton kept his <b>eyes </b>fixed on the road, looking <b>as </b>if he’d been put in his ce by his wife’s sharp re. But if one looked closely, his eyes were crinkling with amusement.


    ‘How could she be so adorable!‘ he thought.


    Their cars split up seamlessly at a fork in the mountain road. Connor and his men continued up the mountain, while Ashton’s car turned onto a side road leading to the back of the mountain.


    The road to the back of the mountain was rugged and uneven, preventing the car from picking up speed. Fortunately, Briar had already hacked all the mountain’s surveince cameras before they arrived.


    Now, no matter how slowly they drove, they didn’t have to worry about missing anything.


    With nothing better to do, Ian leaned over the back of the passenger seat to watch the surveince footage with Briar.


    On the surveince feed, Connor’s car had already forced its way in. The guards at the gate couldn’t even stop it. After bursting into the courtyard, Connor and Brandon split up. They pushed forward in a clean sweep, shooting down half of the ck–d bodyguards along the way.


    The men following them were also incredible fighters, making it a thrilling sight.


    Seeing Connor take down two bodyguards with a single shot, Ian rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Hey! Connor is an absolute beast! So awesome.”


    Ian had been on many missions since joining the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base, but they were mostly solo operations. He rarely had the chance to fight as part of a team. Seeing such a thrilling scene, he was itching to join them right away.


    Known for his fearless and ruthless nature, Connor was Ashton’s top bodyguard, with skills second only to Ashton’s<b>. </b>


    If Ashton had not deliberately kept a low profile and stopped expanding his territory in recent years, the 121 Mercenary Organization would have likely surpassed the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base as the world’s top mercenary group.


    Watching with fascination, Briar nodded repeatedly. “Connor’s skills are truly wless. See? His ability to sense danger is also faster than an average person’s.”


    Ian nodded in agreement. “True. If it were me against that many bodyguards swarming in, I would not be able to get out unscathed. At least, I could not be <b>as </b>agile as he.”


    Brandon’sbat prowess was equally astonishing, proving why he was Ashton’s most trusted personal bodyguard,


    Ashton listened to them praise Connor’sbat abilities without a hint of surprise. If Connor could not take on a hundred men at once, he couldn’t have led the 121 Mercenary Organization for so many years.


    In the mercenary world, the rule had always been simple: the strongest was the boss, and the most ruthless


    12:58 <b>Sat</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>20 </b>


    was the leader.


    :


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    “Brandon is incredible too… Holy crap, they have grenadeunchers! Damn it, they’re fighting dirty!”n suddenly roared in anger as he watched.


    Briar’s breath caught in her throat. Grenadeunchers? Their firepower was a hundred times more destructive


    than bullets.


    Ashton simply nced at Briar’s phone and continued to drive calmly. “Don’t worry, they’ll be fine.”


    Since Connor and Brandon were sent to storm the main entrance<b>, </b>they were fully prepared. As long as Ben hadn’t nted a self–destruct bomb in the vi, they and their men would return safely.


    Besides, Ashton figured that a coward like Ben wouldn’t risk his own life by nting a self–destruct bomb in


    the vi.


    Sure enough, after the bodyguards in the vi fired a grenade that injured several of their own men without achieving the desired effect, they didn’t dare to risk using the weapon again.


    The intertwining echoes of explosions, gunfire, shouts, and screams turned the vi into a living hell, finally forcing Ben, who was cowering in his room, toe out.


    When Briar got a clear look at the mysterious man’s face on the surveince video, her expression suddenly turned cold. “How could it be him?”


    Startled by the sudden cold, murderous auraing from Briar, Ian asked suspiciously, “Briar, you know him? He looks like a Dasmiecian, doesn’t he?<b>” </b>


    Ashton had already driven to a spot with low bushes behind the mountain. After parking, he nced over, but his expression changed when he got a clear look at the person on the surveince feed.


    There was surprise in his voice. “Someone from the Lopez family?”


    Seeing their grim expressions, Ian asked anxiously, “Briar, who is this guy? You all seem to know him. He looks to be in his forties or fifties, so why does he walk like he’s seventy or eighty?”


    Briar’s voice was icy. “He might as well be. His name is Freddie Lopez, from a minor wealthy family in Shoneport. Do you remember when I was framed and almost arrested shortly after I got into Shoneport University…”


    “How could I forget?” Ian replied. “You said someone was deliberately giving you a hard time because of your falsified records… Wait a minute.”


    Jan leaned closer to the phone for another look and asked uncertainly, “Don’t tell me he was the one who leaked your fake identity information.”


    Briar scoffed, “I could never figure out how a small local police station could have possibly found my altered identity records.”


    Seeing the real face of Ben, the man who had been hiding in the shadows, made everything fall into ce.


    <b>12:58 </b><b>Sat</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>20 </b>


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    Ever since she joined the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base, Briar’s identity had been ssified as top secret. Anyone who could discover that her records were altered must have been watching her for years.


    Her identity records weren’t discovered by the police back then. Someone leaked them on purpose.


    Back then, if Ashton hadn’t arrived in time, she would have had to resort to special tactics and would have fallen right into Freddie’s trap.


    Still, she couldn’t understand why the Lopez family would target the Grant family and her mother.


    “Don’t overthink it. Once we catch them, finding out why will be easy,” Ashton said soothingly, sensing his wife’s distress and fearing she might act impulsively.


    Briar looked up, her turbulent anger gradually calming under Ashton’s gentle gaze. “You’re right. Once we catch them, everything wille to light.”


    The fight inside the vi continued, but Connor and Brandon had already taken control.


    On the security monitors, Freddie saw his men were about to copse. Escorted by four or five bodyguards, he rushed to the vi’s rooftop, where a helicopter was waiting.


    However, his escape n was destined to fail.


    Before they could get close to the helicopter, they watched helplessly as a small, gourd–shaped bomb urately detonated above it, destroying the rotor des and preventing it from taking off.


    Unable to escape by helicopter, their only remaining quick exit was the path on the mountain behind the vi.


    AD