Chapter 3

"Fire! Shoot him down!" Brown yelled at the top of his lungs from under the operating table.

Wind and rain poured in through the shattered windows. Glass shards covered the floor, mixed with rainwater and blood, spreading a metallic smell throughout the room.

"My hand..." The lead surgeon rolled on the ground, his left hand pressed hard against his severed wrist. Blood kept gushing out between his fingers, staining his clothes red.

"Hold that girl down, extract the bone marrow now!" Mason's raised voice came through the speaker.

"Mr. Caldea, help me, my hand's been cut off!" The doctor looked up at the surveillance camera, tears and sweat streaming down his face. "The needle fell on the floor."

"Then use your left hand. Pick up the needle and stick it in her spine. Extract the bone marrow." Mason's tone was flat.

The doctor bit his pale lips and shakily reached out his left hand to grab the puncture needle on the floor.

A pair of military boots stepped in front of the doctor. The floor tile cracked immediately, sending stone fragments flying.

"Who... who are you?" The doctor trembled like a leaf, shrinking back continuously.

Victor's voice was emotionless: "You want to use this needle?"

"I'm Mr. Caldea's private doctor, just doing a job for money..." The doctor ignored the pain in his wrist and crawled backward through the blood using both hands and feet.

"Let go! My left hand's about to break too!" The doctor opened his mouth wide and howled.

Victor bent down and picked up the puncture needle with two fingers.

"You just now, you wanted to stick this into my daughter's spine?"

"You're Elena's husband!" The doctor realized, his eyes widening. "Don't do anything crazy!"

Victor reached out and grabbed his neck, lifting him straight up.

"Let... go..." The doctor's legs kicked wildly in the air, his face turning purple. He tried to pry Victor's fingers off, but that hand was like an iron clamp, completely unmoved.

Victor applied force to his wrist. The doctor's neck snapped. His head tilted to one side, eyeballs bulging out, limbs hanging limply.

Victor released his hand. The body dropped into the blood, splashing up red.

"Shoot! Shoot him now!" Brown poked his head out from under the table, his voice cracking.

Five bodyguards raised their guns, pointing them at Victor.

"Don't move! Put your hands up!"

"Hands behind your head, turn around, or we'll shoot!" The lead bodyguard gripped his gun, but the barrel shook badly.

Victor ignored them and turned to look at the corner.

Elena lay there, covered in blood.

"Victor..." Elena lay on the ground, looking at him, her voice hoarse and faint.

Victor took a deep breath, his voice heavy: "I'm back."

"Fire!" the bodyguard captain roared.

Gunshots rang out in succession, muzzles flashing.

"Did we hit him?" Brown poked his head out to ask.

"He's gone!" The bodyguard captain stared at the bullet holes in the wall, his lips trembling.

"He's up there!" A bodyguard looked up and shouted.

The moment the guns fired, Victor had already jumped into the air using the equipment cabinet, grabbing a scalpel from the counter.

Before his feet touched the ground, the scalpel had already sliced across the left bodyguard's neck. Blood splattered onto the ceiling.

"This is a monster!" A bodyguard stumbled back several steps in fear.

The second bodyguard had just started to turn his gun when Victor's elbow struck his chest. The man didn't even make a sound before falling down, his broken ribs piercing straight into his heart.

Then Victor dodged a bullet sideways, his wrist reversing. The scalpel swept horizontally, and the remaining two bodyguards fell to the ground clutching their necks.

The bodyguard captain looked at the bodies on the floor, dropped his gun in terror, and ran for the door.

Victor didn't even turn around, casually throwing the scalpel backward.

The blade entered through the captain's neck and came out through his throat. He ran forward two more steps before falling headfirst to the ground, his body sliding far along the corridor tiles before stopping.

All the guards in the room were down.

Only the howling wind remained in the room. Elder Brown huddled by the cabinet, his teeth chattering.

Victor walked to the operating table and took off his coat.

"Stay away..." Lily lay on the table, her voice hoarse, her wrists marked with red circles from the belt restraints.

Victor reached out and yanked the belt buckle apart, then gently draped his coat over Lily.

"Don't be scared, Lily." Victor picked up Lily, holding her against his chest, his chin touching her tear-stained forehead.

"Did you come to save me?" Lily leaned against Victor's broad shoulder, still trembling, smelling the mixture of rain and gunpowder on him.

"I'm your dad." Victor closed his eyes, his throat tight. "I'm sorry Lily, I came too late."

"Dad?" Lily raised her pale little face, somewhat confused. "Mom said Dad went far away, and he watches me from the sky..."

"I'm not leaving anymore. I'll stay with you from now on." Victor held Lily and walked toward Elena in the corner.

Elena lay on the ground, her legs twisted at a grotesque angle. The broken bones in her knees had even pierced through her pants, exposed.

"Victor..." Elena raised her bloody hand, wanting to touch Victor's face, but her arm stopped halfway. "It's really you. You came back."

"I'm back." Victor knelt on one knee, holding Lily in his left arm and supporting Elena with his right.

"My legs are broken." Elena leaned against Victor, tears streaming down. "They wanted to extract Lily's bone marrow. I couldn't stop them..."

"Leave the rest to me." Victor lowered his head and touched her cheek. "They'll pay for this."

"Take Lily and go quickly! Mason won't let us go!" Elena clutched Victor's clothes. "There are people everywhere outside!"

"Today, I'm taking you both home." Victor lifted Elena, held Lily tight, and slowly stood up straight, blocking the wind and rain blowing into the room.

"You maniac!"

Brown crawled out from under the table, pointing at Victor.

"You killed Mr. Caldea's private doctor and killed people from the Ross family. You won't make it out of London today!"

Victor turned his head and gave him a cold glance.

"Hand them over now!" Brown shouted, forcing himself. "Or the Ross family won't let you go!"

Victor asked back: "The Ross family?"

He paused, then continued: "After tomorrow, there won't be such a family in London."

Mason's voice came through the speaker. He was watching everything through surveillance.

"You're surrounded."

Victor stood facing the camera.

"You alone can't fight an entire guard unit." Mason proposed, "Leave the girl. Name your price. Take the money and your wife, I'll send a helicopter to get you out."

"Keep your proposal." Victor stared at the lens.

"The guards have sealed off the top floor," Mason's voice grew louder. "I just need to press a button and the people outside will open fire!"

"Go ahead and press it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Victor flicked his toe. The bloody puncture needle on the floor flew up into the air toward Brown.

The needle hit Brown right in the calf. Brown screamed and fell flat on the ground.

"That needle is payback for hurting Elena." Victor looked at the person rolling on the ground. "Go back and tell the Ross family that The Umbral Covenant will come knocking to settle this score properly."

"You're with The Umbral Covenant?" The breathing on the other end of the speaker clearly became heavier.

Victor didn't answer.

He pressed the communicator by his ear and said: "Chase, cut all communications in this building. Lock onto Mason's position."

"Chief, position locked. He's in the underground bunker." Chase responded quickly.

"Seal all passages to the bunker."

"Copy that."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Mason shouted into the speaker. "Guards! Go in and shoot them!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a piercing air raid siren sounded throughout the castle.

Red warning lights on the corridor ceiling flashed frantically.

Dense footsteps came from both ends of the corridor—the guards! Armed soldiers blocked the hallway, surrounding the operating room door completely.

"Listen up, people inside. You're surrounded!"

The commanding officer shouted through a megaphone.

"Drop your weapons and come out to surrender immediately!"

The soldiers pulled their bolts one after another. Rows of gun barrels aimed at the operating room.

Red laser sights swept into the room, covering every corner.

"There are too many people outside!" Elena trembled against Victor's arm. "Victor, take Lily and jump out the window..."

"Don't be afraid." Victor steadied Elena's shoulder. "We're going out through the front door."

The commander outside began counting down.

Victor ignored the warning outside and asked into his earpiece:

"Chase, what's the situation outside?"

"Reporting, Chief. We've secured the perimeter. Heavy firepower is in position. Ready to breach at any time."

The countdown outside reached its end.

Victor glanced at the dense red dots on the floor and gave the order directly.

"Clear the area."