Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 181 I Died

"I originally thought the military industry only involved blueprints, budgets, permits, and legal counsel," she said softly. "I never imagined there would be so many foreign experiences involved."

The short man nodded and joked, "Just consider it a 'necessary evil.' If you bring too much stuff, they'll naturally think the worst."

"So, will you be suspected of being spies?"

The older man smiled knowingly: "Isn't this just the beginning of counterintelligence training?"

"—He repeatedly emphasized that he was not a spy."

The casual conversation continued for a few more minutes.

Seeing that the time was right, Zhou Yi said, "Excuse me for a moment."

As he spoke, he nodded slightly toward the restroom, his tone composed.

Then, he turned and left naturally, without attracting much attention.

Natalie's gaze didn't linger on him for long; she continued to exchange pleasantries and conversations with everyone present.

After several rounds of conversation, she seemed to suddenly remember something, put her wine glass on the table, and slowly walked in the same direction.

Zhou Yi had been waiting in the restroom for a long time.

He stood in front of the washbasin, turned on the tap, and pretended to wash his hands.

The door was pushed open, and high heels stepped on the floor tiles.

“You guessed right,” Natalie said, opening her handbag. “Those USSCP guys didn’t check at all.”

Among them were three IEDs made from modified grenade casings.

The metal is blackened, the detonation device is resealed, and it is secured with tape during transport to prevent accidental activation.

It is filled with high explosives, mixed with silver-plated copper wire and aluminum powder.

Zhou Yi took the item and put it in his pocket.

“The rest is in the dress belt.” Natalie blinked.

The light flowed across the folds of the black silk satin.

My fingertips brushed against my skin; it wasn't very warm, and it was damp.

Natalie barely moved, but the sensation sent a shiver down her spine, spreading upwards from her abdomen.

“I can’t wait,” she said, tilting her head back slightly, her face flushed, “to see Hollen die with my own eyes, along with everything he built.”

Zhou Yi helped her pull up her clothes and said calmly, "You'd better not linger around here."

"Find an empty room and hide inside."

"If the grenade detonates in a moment, the entire area will lose power, and the probability of accidental injury is too high."

Natalie was somewhat disappointed, but she readily agreed anyway.

Before pushing open the door and stepping out, she hesitated for a moment, then said:

"Actually, I could sense that Hollen had already guessed that something bad was going to happen today."

"He didn't dare to look me in the eye when we were in the car."

"So I'm curious, why did he still insist on coming?"

"Why not make an emergency visit to an allied country, pretending it's a business trip?"

Zhou Yi was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "He sees my existence as a slow death."

"You can escape for a while, but you can't escape for a lifetime."

"For an ambitious person, being torn apart is better than being forgotten."

"."

Soon, the bathroom returned to quiet.

Zhou Yi went down the steps and arrived at the second basement level.

The control room is located on the west side.

At the end of the narrow passage is a double steel door, next to which is a spare battery cabinet.

Two people per post, on high alert.

A typical rapid-response alert deployment.

Zhou Yi's footsteps were extremely light as he stopped at the corner.

In the blink of an eye, the pistol appeared out of thin air.

He carefully screwed on the muffler and leaned forward slightly.

Then--

Fire two shots in succession.

"Pfft—Pfft!"

The dull thud echoed through the concrete tunnel, like a wet cloth being forcefully slapped.

One of them suddenly exploded between the eyebrows and collapsed limply.

His companion was shot low down.

The bullet tore through his neck, and blood gushed out.

He staggered and turned, his head tilting weakly to the side.

The next second, his body crashed to the ground, his legs twitching twice before coming to a complete stop.

Zhou Yi changed his grip and quickly moved closer.

He bent down, untied the walkie-talkie from the corpse's belt, and pressed the call button.

two seconds.

Background noise was coming from my ears.

Immediately afterwards, the mute switch snapped back to its original position. The channel was empty.

No one responded.

well.

Everything is ready; we can proceed according to plan.

"Final check," the captain said succinctly.

Upon hearing this, everyone confirmed the weapon status, synchronized communications, and folded down the night vision goggles, securing them to the helmet tracks.

Mike glanced down at his watch—

Less than a minute left.

Outside the building in the distance, four special agents stood in a cross formation, their combat postures standardized.

"Prepare fire."

The passenger lifted the gray-black M3E1, placing the shoulder rest firmly against the upper part of his sternum.

"At a distance of 77 meters, at a low angle, with moderate enclosure of the structure, it is recommended to aim the upper right."

"confirm."

The next second—

boom--!
Almost without warning, a bright light suddenly appeared on the back seat of the construction vehicle.

The glass curtain wall at the building's main entrance shattered instantly.

The four people outside were caught off guard and were thrown into the air by the blast wave, falling heavily to the ground and remaining motionless.

"Outer perimeter clearing complete."

After he finished speaking, Mike jumped out of the car.

He held a remote detonator in his hand and quickly approached the sheltered area on the side of the street.

"Power supply target, activation countdown in ten seconds—"

"ten."

"Nine."

"Eight."

The door was finally pried open.

The latch popped out, albeit with a slight delay.

Zhou Yi slipped inside.

The room is not small.

The air was filled with the smell of dust and oxidized metal.

In the dim light, he saw several rows of spare circuit breakers piled on the shelf.

An old busbar control terminal stands against the wall.

Zhou Yi pulled out a modified grenade, flipped it with his right hand, pulled open the cap, and was just about to find a fixing point—

Suddenly, his expression changed drastically.

Several small devices were tied to a thick bundle of cables in the corner.

The black plastic casing, exposed wires, and even the most basic features were missing.

Fuck!
There are others in the same industry!
Ignoring everything else, Zhou Yi tensed all his muscles, turned around abruptly, pushed off the ground, and rushed outwards with all his might.

Three seconds later, a short, low-frequency hum came from inside the room.

That's the sound of the fuse being activated.

Immediately afterwards——

"boom--!!!"

A scorching wave of air surged and instantly engulfed the control room, then expanded outwards.

Metal supports flew about, accompanied by flashes of electric arcs, followed by thick black smoke after a flash of white light.

Zhou Yi was still in the corridor, with nowhere to hide.

A dull pain came from my abdomen.

He groaned, lost control, and fell to the ground, rolling several feet.

Half of his cheek was scraped across the floor tiles, and debris mixed with blood streaks embedded in his skin, causing him to bleed profusely.

Zhou Yi subconsciously looked down—

A broken steel bar pierced through the side of the wall.