"Alright." Juniper sounded pleased with that answer, her tone noticeably brighter.


    "Also..." Shanley was about to say more when he was abruptly cut off.


    "I''m hanging up now. Bye!"


    Then, the line went dead.


    Shanley nced at the girl on his phone''s wallpaper and chuckled helplessly. “Quite a temper. But I like it."


    "Crash-!"


    Shanley was still smiling when the window suddenly shattered, a bullet streaking straight for his head. His expression shifted. He dodged nimbly, his eyes locking onto the bullet.


    "Specter. Just as I expected."


    When he looked up again, Shanley''s eyes had turned dangerously cold. Tracing the bullet''s trajectory, he raised his own gun and fired several shots in quick session toward the opposite side.


    “Bang! Bang! Bang!”


    A shower of ss rained down. Though Juniper dodged quickly, a shard inevitably grazed her cheek, leaving a shallow cut that welled with blood.


    Juniper touched her cheek, her fingertiping away red. Her eyes turned crimson with fury.


    "That son of a bitch, the leader of the Sigma Network. He could have hit anywhere else, but he had to go for my face. How am I going to exin this to Shanley?"


    Anger surged from deep within her. Juniper grabbed her gun and returned fire with a vengeance.


    Everything in the room was shattered. Sparks flew from a damaged chandelier, quickly igniting the room. In an instant, the cabin was aze, the mes spreading rapidly to adjacent rooms.


    Shanley''s gaze turned icy as he expertly vaulted to a higher position.


    Juniper timed her move perfectly, firing at the figure that emerged from the mes. Unfortunately, after several shots, Shanley had dodged them all.


    "Damn it. So close," Juniper muttered, her brow furrowed as she gave chase.


    The two figures darted across the burning ship, a deadly dance of pursuit and evasion, attack and defense.


    Soon, the ship''s hull was riddled with holes, and it began to show signs of sinking. Before long, the vessel would either be consumed by fire or swallowed by the sea.


    Meanwhile, thanks to Lue''s strategy, Subterra Vanguard had sessfully seized one of the Sigma Network''s cargo ships.


    A few of Subterra Vanguard''s men had been shot, but none of the injuries were life- threatening.


    The Sigma Network hadn''t fared any better. Several of their men were also wounded and now found themselves taking an impromptu swim in the ocean.


    "Guard this ship well. Once Specter deals with the Sigma Network''s leader, this will be our congrattory gift to her," Lue dered, standing on the deck and inspecting its contents.


    "Tsk, tsk. As expected of the Sigma Network, they''re loaded. This is all top-shelf stuff."


    However Juniper had spent billions


    fighting the Sigma Network''s


    blockade. That debt would have to


    be settledter. As she saw it, once the leader was dead, the Sigma Network chaos Maybe... be they should just take over the whole organization!


    At the thought of Subterra Vanguard growing so powerful and wealthy, Lue


    couldn''t help butugh out loud.


    “Lue, it looks like a ship is on fire!” one of her men shouted, snapping her back to reality.


    On fire? She climbed to the top of a


    container and looked into the distance. Sure enough, she saw ship shrouded in smoke, glowing with mes she remembered correctly, that was the Sigma Network leader''s ship. The one


    Juniper was on.


    “Juniper!” Lue''s face paled. She immediately grabbed her walkie-talkie. “Juniper,


    can you hear me? Respond!"


    Silence from the other end.


    "Oh no. Don''t tell me she was injured


    by the Sigma Network. You son of a bitch! I''ll kill your entire family!" Lue roared, running a hand through her hair. She barked a few orders at her men and immediately sprinted toward the burning ship.