The continuous plummet of Ark, as the young secretary's voice already faded away mid-air, made him fix his gaze on the wall below.

  His heart pounded so violently that he could hear his own heartbeat clearly, while his ears went completely deaf to the surrounding sounds.

  He continued to kick off the wall in front of him, spinning and propelling himself further down. At that moment, while leaping down to the lower floor with the number 21 marked on the wall...

  ...his vision suddenly blurred as his body felt drained of strength. His raised legs, bracing for the impact from the side wall, lowered.

  As a result, his body launched toward the wall. The image of the wall only a few centimeters away made him grit his teeth and twist his body, bracing his right arm against it, sending his body crashing into the wall!

  The impact sent a shockwave through his body, bouncing him slightly off the wall before he instantly smashed into the floor!

  Both of his legs slammed into the stairs, while his left and right hands released the bag and the unconscious secretary onto the ground.

  He leaned forward and crashed onto the floor as the image of the stairs expanded in his eyes until his face smashed against the steps!

  Ark rolled down the stairs before lying motionless on the ground, his face turned toward a white door reflecting red light on the right.

  A ragged breathing sound emerged as he tried to take a deep breath, his golden eyes staring at his own right hand, which was now empty.

  His struggling breaths continued for several seconds. At that moment, his fingers twitched slightly, resulting in a heavy gasp as he pushed himself up from the floor and coughed violently!

  He quickly used his right hand to pull off the balaclava covering his face and opened his mouth, instantly coughing up fresh red blood onto the floor! The concrete in front of him turned into a small pool of blood.

  He continued to spew blood from his mouth until he finally stopped, panting heavily as the constant ringing in his ears gradually faded away.

  As he sat staring at the floor with empty eyes, the sound of a door crashing open came from his side, making him slowly turn his head to the right.

  He found a soldier standing there, staring at him. The soldier quickly crouched down, releasing his right hand from his gun to grab something from his back, revealing a green liquid inside a square vial.

  He raised the green vial and supported Ark to sit on the floor before plunging the vial straight into the center of Ark's chest.

  Ark, who had been struggling to breathe, held his breath for a moment as his body convulsed violently until he bolted upright from the soldier's arms.

  But when the green liquid in the vial disappeared, the soldier pulled it out, and Ark collapsed back into his arms.

  Ark's heavy panting gradually turned into slow, steady breaths, prompting the soldier to speak immediately.

  "What happened?"

  Ark turned to stare at his face before raising his left hand and pointing upwards. Seeing this, the soldier looked up for a moment, then turned back to see over ten other soldiers standing and waiting.

  The soldier raised his right hand and pointed upwards. Seeing this, everyone nodded and rushed out of the room before raising their guns and immediately heading up the stairs.

  The soldier who had been supporting Ark carried him over to the wall. He then turned to look at the secretary lying on the floor.

  He quickly walked over to her, while the other soldiers swiftly walked past her heading upstairs.

  Soon, only he, Ark, and the secretary lying on the floor were left. He bent down and pressed his fingers against her throat, then pulled his hand away before lifting her and dragging her over next to Ark.

  Ark, sitting there breathing slowly, turned to him and spoke in a hoarse voice.

  "Is she alright?"

  The soldier, who was picking up his radio, shook his head.

  "No, she's not dead, just unconscious. Wait right here, I'll call for an emergency medical unit."

  He raised his radio, pressed the button, and spoke.

  "Calling all units, enemies are upstairs, requesting backup. And there are two injured on the 21st floor. I repeat, enemies upstairs and two injured on the 21st floor. Over."

  He lowered the radio as he released the talk button. At that moment, he saw Ark trying to stand up from the floor by pressing his back against the wall and pushing himself up.

  Seeing this, he put the radio away, walked over, and spoke.

  "Don't force yourself. You're in no condition for this right now."

  Ark raised his left hand, grabbed him by the collar, and spoke while pulling him close.

  "The boss ordered me to escort the secretary to the car and get her out of here with the package."

  Ark pushed him away, turned to the secretary lying on the floor, and used his hands to support her up.

  Seeing this, the soldier nodded before bending down to pick up the three boxes on the floor and handing them over.

  Ark used his right hand to take them. The soldier nodded and said,

  "Go down. I'll cover this area."

  "Thanks."

  Ark nodded before escorting the secretary and the packages past him and down to the lower floor. The soldier, watching their backs, then turned back upwards.

  He raised his gun to his shoulder before rushing upstairs to immediately regroup with the previous soldiers. Ark glanced back slightly; seeing him head up...

  ...he turned his attention back to the front, crouched down, and placed the three boxes down before reaching into his inner jacket with his right hand, pulling something out.

  Looking down at his palm, he found a compressed meat bar wrapped in paper. He brought it up, tore the paper off with his teeth, and shoved the entire meat bar into his mouth before chewing and closing his eyes.

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  Trying to swallow it, he opened his eyes, gulped the meat bar down, and panted. The black mark on his chin, previously obscured by the red light...

  ...spread up to both of his cheeks as his golden eyes glowed even brighter. He grabbed the three bags with his right hand, stood up, and immediately moved forward.

  After dragging his feet for a while, he gradually transitioned into a brisk walk. He headed down the stairs, passing floors 19, 18, and 17 consecutively until he reached floor 15.

  He ran into soldiers rushing up, who instantly aimed their guns at him. Startled, they paused for a moment while Ark simply kept walking forward.

  The soldiers looked at each other before quickly rushing past him with their guns raised high, while Ark walked past them down to the lower floor.

  He saw other soldiers following closely behind, but they passed by time and time again. Finally, he saw a number marked on the wall—the number 1. He glanced at it briefly...

  ...before looking at the door, walking over, and using his hand to open it. It revealed a long white hallway stretching forward with an intersection to the right.

  He walked out of the stairwell and turned right, revealing a hallway with elevator doors in the middle on the right side—the exact spot where he had stood waiting earlier.

  He immediately walked down that path. Passing the elevator, he turned left at the corner of the hallway, revealing the wooden door he had used before and the right door not too far away.

  Ark continuously walked toward it, picking up speed. When he was about 10 meters away from it, a loud explosion from behind brought him to a sudden halt!

  In that split second, the sound of metal crashing against concrete echoed throughout the hallway. He glanced backward, then quickly turned back and immediately kept walking.

  Reaching the door, he used his left hand, which was holding the secretary's waist, to twist the doorknob while glancing back at the path he had just come from.

  This revealed a man in a white suit stepping out from the corner, staring straight at Ark. The man smiled and slowly walked closer.

  Seeing this, Ark pushed the door inward and broke into a half-run toward the next door immediately. Reaching it, he quickly pulled the door toward himself before pulling them both inside.

  It revealed the parking garage he had come up from. He immediately turned to the car on the left, half-running toward it before opening the passenger door, placing the secretary in the seat, and buckling her seatbelt.

  He threw the boxes into the back, where his wet clothes and the corpse were. Then, he rushed into the driver's seat, using his right hand to smash the ignition lock until it shattered. He felt around for the wires and violently yanked them out.

  As he looked at the two wires, he heard the sound of a door opening. He turned to look and found the man calmly walking out of the door, staring right at him.

  Seeing this, he hurriedly connected the wires! The car roared to life violently! He quickly threw it into gear, slammed the gas pedal, and cranked the steering wheel all the way to the left!

  The car instantly shot forward! Ark glanced up at the rearview mirror and saw the man still standing and staring from behind before beginning to walk after them.

  But Ark turned his focus back to the front, finding a metal gate blocking the way. He floored the gas pedal, and in that split second, the car crashed into the metal gate!

  The metal gate burst apart as he emerged into the violently pouring rain. The car launched into the air slightly before slamming down onto the wet road surface.

  The car swerved back and forth as it propelled forward! Revealing the road and the building on the opposite side that he was charging straight toward!

  Seeing this, he cranked the steering wheel completely to the right while slamming on the brakes. As the car turned right while the rear kept sliding forward, he immediately released the brake and hammered the gas pedal!

  The rear of the car continued to hurl toward the building while the front angled down the street. The car shot forward as he rapidly cranked the steering wheel back to the left!

  The car, which had been hurtling toward the building on the right, jerked back to the left and began running straight down the middle of the road, illuminated only by its headlights!

  Ark stared straight ahead, taking a deep breath, his right hand raised to grab the front of his shirt over his chest. He gripped it tightly and gritted his teeth, his foot still flooring the gas pedal completely.

  He glanced up at the rearview mirror, alternating with the front. Seeing nothing following behind the car, he drove down the road amidst the sound of the pouring rain.

  He slowed down before making a left turn. But a movement in the corner of his eye made him turn back to look at his left side mirror.

  Reflected in his eyes was the man in the white suit, charging diagonally through the pouring rain, only a few dozen meters away from them.

  And in that exact second, the man smashed right into the middle of the car just seconds after it cleared the curve!

  The car launched into the air as the metal caved inward, while Ark, sitting inside, felt a sudden sense of weightlessness.

  In that second, the car smashed into the building on the right! He was violently thrown to the right before being whipped back to smash against the left door!

  His head slammed into the door and bounced back. As the scene in front of him moved in slow motion, the white airbag deployed from the steering wheel and smashed into his face!

  He instantly collapsed into the airbag, lying entirely still, with only the sound of the pouring rain and the flashes of lightning illuminating the cabin.

  Ark kept his eyes open, staring at the airbag with a motionless body. Blood flowing from his head touched his right eye, slowly turning everything in his vision red.

  The sound of the left metal door being ripped open roared loudly! The sound of the metal door being thrown against a concrete wall followed immediately after! And in the next second, he was violently yanked out of the car!

  Ark flew out of the car, catching sight of the man in the white suit's back before his body slammed onto the road and skidded across the surface!

  The puddles on the road splashed into the air before he lay completely still on the waterlogged ground. The heavy rain pounded against his face and paralyzed body.

  As he tried to shift his face and move his eyes to look at the man, a flash of lightning illuminated the man in the white suit walking back toward him.

  He stopped in front of him, bent down, and used his right hand to grab his collar, lifting him off the ground. The water that had covered Ark's body...

  ...spilled back into the puddle as he was hoisted high. His face stared up at the pitch-black sky, where only the pouring rain and flashes of lightning appeared in his vision.

  As Ark managed to tilt his head down to look at the man, the image of him grinning widely reflected in Ark's eyes, prompting the man to speak.

  "You're truly bold, daring to invade my territory. It's laughable!"

  He slammed Ark down onto the ground, his body crashing into the puddle, sending water splashing up! His body bounced slightly off the ground before settling down, arms and legs spread apart motionlessly.

  The man bent down, grabbed Ark's head, and lifted it up once more, speaking.

  "You made a massive mistake picking a fight with me, kid. Not only did you steal my property and try to kill me, but you also failed to kill me when you had the chance!"

  He let go of Ark's head, and as his body began to fall back to the ground, the man pulled his fist back and drove it straight into the center of Ark's body!

  Ark's body folded in half as he launched through the raindrops—which seemed frozen mid-air for a split second—crashing into the building behind him!

  The wall severely cracked as he lay pinned against the fissure, while the rain continued to pour down relentlessly.

  The man walked over and stared at Ark's blood-covered face. Ark's eyes were now entirely filled with emptiness.

  He moved his face closer, tilting his head against Ark's chest. Hearing only the sound of the pouring rain, he stood there listening for a moment. Just then, a faint heartbeat echoed amidst the rain.

  He smirked and backed away, grabbing Ark's head and pulling him out of the wall. Debris fell into the puddles below as he spoke.

  "Death is too easy for you, kid."

  A flash of lightning appeared as he stared at Ark in his hand. At that moment, a reflection from the right made him frown and immediately turn his head to look.

  Revealing the reflection of the man in the white suit on the pitch-black scope of a massive sniper rifle. Vic, standing at the edge of a building in the darkness...

  ...smirked and pulled the trigger.

  A thunderous boom roared out as the gun's recoil jolted his shoulder, pushing his body slightly backward! A bright muzzle flash erupted from the barrel, and the bullet appeared within the blink of an eye as he staggered slightly back!

  The black bullet spiraled through the pouring rain, and in that split second, it slammed straight into the man's chest, sending him hurtling backward to crash into a building 20 meters away! A deafening crash echoed everywhere!

  Everything was broadcasted through the image on the rifle's scope. Seeing this, Vic looked up slightly, watching the building the man crashed into collapse, burying him completely under the debris as a cloud of dust billowed out.

  Vic looked back down through the scope, aiming the barrel at Ark, who was lying on the ground. Seeing this, he took his eyes off the rifle and lifted his right inner arm to look.

  Revealing the time 00:11 displayed on the watch on his wrist.

  Vic smiled, glanced back at the collapsed building, and used his right hand to lift the rifle onto his shoulder before turning around and disappearing into the darkness amidst the sound of the pouring rain.

  But beneath the sound of the pouring rain and the roar of thunder, Ark lay staring up at the sky, surrounded by water. He slowly closed his eyes amidst the chilling cold.

  Yet, a smile appeared on his lips as a soft chuckle echoed in his throat. His lips slowly began to move.

  "Looks like I... owe you another debt, Vic."