On the ship, the fire raged, engulfing the two lower decks, and the vessel was sinking fast.


    Specter chased the Sigma Network''s leader to the third deck but found no sign of him. “Tsk. The old geezer''s pretty nimble for someone with one foot in the grave."


    "Lue "


    She tried to radio Lue to check on her situation but received no reply, no matter how many times she called.


    "Is the walkie-talkie broken, or... Lue isn''t in trouble, is she?"


    At that thought, Juniper''s expression turned grim, and she began frantically searching for the Sigma Network leader.


    Suddenly, she sensed faint footsteps approaching from behind. She spun around, dodging and raising her gun in a single fluid motion.


    "Don''t move."


    The barrel of her gun was pressed firmly against the back of the person''s head. "Don''t shoot, it''s me,” Lue panted, having just climbed up.


    “Lue?" Recognizing her, Juniper''s gaze darkened. She yanked Lue into a safe corner and snapped, "I told you to watch over the men. What are you doing here?"


    The leader of the Sigma Network was not one of his underlings who could be dealt with easily. If Lue ran into him, with her skills, she wouldn''t even have a chance to fight back.


    "I..." Lue had never seen Juniper this angry. Her face went pale as she stammered, "I was worried you were in trouble, so I..."


    "Bang-!"


    Before she could finish, a hail of bullets flew toward them.


    "Sigma Network''s men are here." Juniper shielded Lue, her expression grave.


    "Stay hidden here. Don''t show yourself. I''m going to find their leader."


    "No—” Lue refused, retorting coldly, "Are we friends or not?"


    Juniper stared at her without answering.


    "And don''t friends face danger together?" Lue pressed. "We grew up together. Am


    I the kind of person who runs away from a fight?”


    Juniper gazed at Lue, but before she could speak, she was shoved forward.


    "You go after the Sigma Network''s leader. I''ll take care of these bastards," Lue said to Juniper. "Don''t worry. The student you trained won''t let you down."


    "Be careful," Juniper said, unable to turn back, her voice raspy. "Don''t get hurt."


    It wasn''t ''don''t die,'' but ''don''t get hurt.'' That was her bottom line for Lue.


    "You got it," Lue replied with a confident smile. "I''ll be waiting for you toe back."


    From the sounds, there were likely only two men. Lue could handle them. Without another word, Juniper raced upstairs.


    Soon, the sound of intense gunfire erupted from Lue''s position.


    ---


    The Sigma Network leader reached the top deck with Specter in hot pursuit. The chase consumed a significant amount of ammunition Both were filled with a simmering rage, their attacks growing fiercer and more ruthless.


    The Sigma Network leader fired three shots, nearly hitting Specter in the heart. Specter returned fire, narrowly missing his temple.


    With thest shot, the Sigma Network leader dodged so forcefully that the sandalwood bracelet on his wrist flew off.


    "ck-"


    Shanley''s eyes darkened, and he instinctively reached for it, only to be met with another bullet from his opponent. The shot tore through his shirt cor, the hole still smoking.


    "Nowhere left to run?" Juniper''s


    left to


    voice, distorted by a changer, came out in an old man''s tone This skip will bepletely engulfed in mes in ten minutes. If you want to live, your only option is to jump. It''s time we settled our score.


    “Settle it?” Shanley rubbed his wrist, a grim smile ying on his lips. "And how do you propose we do that?"


    "By getting my revenge, of course,"


    Juniper purred through the voice changer, adjusting her position as she spoke, her tone cold and arrogant. "Three years ago, you shot me and put me ma hospital bed for three months. It''s only fair take your life today, wouldn''t you agree?"