Ark Chess Player.

“We want to give you a chance, Beatrice Swire.”

"Abandon your pointless ideals and pretenses, join us, and become us."

"Did you hear those sounds outside? Your direct subordinate squad wouldn't last three minutes against my Hidden Dragon Squad. If you're willing to surrender, I might consider sparing their lives. But you need to understand... we're not after your talent, we're after your background, understand?"

Charlotte looked down at Swire from her elevated position, the silver pistol reflecting the dim light in the secret room.

"Therefore, there is only one answer!"

Shi Huaiya stood up shakily, her emerald green eyes filled with determination.

"Eat shit, Xia Feifan!! Don't underestimate my men, they won't lose to you bunch of losers!"

Ignoring her injuries, Swire pounced on Charlotte like a tiger descending a mountain.

Charlotte smiled coldly, shoving the gun back into its holster at his waist and raising his left arm to block Swire. He remained stationary, effortlessly deflecting all of Swire's punches. He didn't even move an inch, and there was even a hint of him pushing back.

Being the captain of the Hidden Dragon Squad isn't an easy job. Charlotte, at such a young age, became the top special forces officer, naturally through his exceptional skills. He used the most direct and brutal methods to subdue others, climbing the ranks step by step. He also liked to use his brain; knowing about this secret room beforehand, he deliberately lured Swire inside, forcing her to be unable to use her signature chain hammer freely, then severely wounded her with a gun, using force to coerce her into submission.

Charlotte had basically controlled the whole process. The only discrepancy was that the location of the operation was much more dangerous than he had imagined.

Charlotte was quite aware of the capabilities of Silverwing Security Contractors, given that Silverwing President Edward Wenger and his faction had conducted numerous transactions. They knew Silverwing inside and out. To secretly build a building with a hidden chamber in Lungmen without Wei Yanwu's knowledge required not only a large sum of money but also genuine power.

The real mission of the Hidden Dragon Squad in this operation was to seize Edward Wenger's secret ledger.

This document contains far too much information that shouldn't be known. While Wenger was alive, they could turn a blind eye. After all, Wenger was sensible, knew how to behave, and even knew how to be a dog. But now that he's dead, it's time to take back what was once given to him.

"enough!"

Charlotte used both hands simultaneously. He could already suppress the injured Swire with just one hand, but now, with his full strength, Swire was no match for him.

After three moves, Swire's vision went black, and Charlotte's right hand locked her fair and slender neck. With just one more move, she could kill her.

"This is your last chance—"

Before Charlotte could speak, Swire spat a mouthful of bloody foam directly in his face.

If it weren't for the severe pain in her neck, Swire would have liked to hurl a few curse words at him.

"Okay, okay, okay!!"

Charlotte exclaimed "Good!" three times in a row, showing just how angry she was.

"Damn you, you bitch! You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences! If it weren't for the Swire Group, I would have raped and killed you long ago! You won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, huh? Well, just you wait!" Charlotte cursed inwardly, abandoning all pretense of composure, and grabbed Swire by the neck and right hand, dragging her out.

“Take a good look at your men. I will slit their throats one by one in front of you! Don’t worry, this process will be extremely long, until you change your mind.”

Charlotte dragged Swire step by step toward the main hall of the office, but he stopped just before reaching the door of the secret room.

Something feels off.

By the way, it's so quiet. Why is it so quiet?

Apart from the sound of the helicopter coming from outside the building, it seemed that nothing else could be heard.

Charlotte was puzzled. Even if his squad members had annihilated Swire's direct squad, they should have come to report to him. As for being defeated by Swire's squad, that was simply impossible; he hadn't considered that possibility from the beginning.

Could it be... the killer who massacred the entire building has returned!?

Charlotte's mind was instantly filled with the nightmarish corridor, which sent a shiver down his spine.

Charlotte slammed Swire to the ground, instinctively drawing his pistol to kill her so she wouldn't become a burden later. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, not for any other reason than that he only had one etched bullet left; the rest were regular magazines.

"Damn it, we've gone too far."

Charlotte broke out in a cold sweat. He shouldn't have wasted etched bullets trying to toy with Swire; these bullets were specifically designed to target her incredibly expensive, custom-made bulletproof vest. If he had known, he would have just shot her in the shoulder—she wouldn't have died anyway.

Charlotte held the guns in both hands, extending them horizontally in front of her chest, forming a triangle with her hands around her body.

These precious etched bullets must not be wasted. If we encounter Death, let Death know what death means!

A surge of confidence welled up within Charlotte. She walked along the wall to the door of the secret room, took a deep breath to adjust herself to her optimal state, and immediately drew her gun. Her eyes darted around rapidly, scanning the area. Both the special agents of the Hidden Dragon Squad and the police officers of the Swire Squad were lying on the ground, their postures remarkably peaceful.

"What's happening here……"

Charlotte raised her gun, aiming at the possible hiding place, and carefully observed her surroundings at a slow pace.

His heart was pounding. This was perhaps the most formidable opponent he had ever encountered; even the astronomers of the Imperial Observatory were far easier to deal with.

"Ok?"

Charlotte suddenly sensed something was amiss.

A bloodstained note was found on one of the unconscious team members, and no matter how strong the wind blew, it showed no sign of being blown away.

"..."

His intuition told him that picking it up would definitely not lead to anything good.

Charlotte avoided the note, but his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the desk.

The power-saving display, which had been in standby mode, inexplicably lit up without being touched, startling Charlotte so much that she momentarily assumed a shooting stance. Her strong self-control prevented her from panicking and firing like a rookie, wasting precious bullets and ending up with nothing but open wounds.

Just like early televisions suffered from poor signal due to the constant movement of mobile cities, the screen was filled with a messy, grayish-white display. The speakers that Wenger had once swept to the ground in a fit of anger emitted an annoying hissing sound, like the noise that appeared when ghosts and demons passed by, making people feel scared.

Charlotte, once obsessed with the occult, felt her heart pounding like she was bungee jumping to its peak. In this mysterious world of Terra, there were always unimaginable, surreal substances. Whether it was the Sarkaz of Kazdel, the Agor of the hellish Iberia, or the Sarkaz of Laterano… these races had truly come into contact with things that shouldn't exist in this world, which was why they were regarded as heretics and kept at a distance by others.

Charlotte spread his legs, ready to break free or launch a spinning kick from behind. He hadn't forgotten that Swire, the woman he'd left behind, could still be a hindrance if she dared to crawl over, especially in this crucial moment.

Just then, the distorted screen on the display suddenly returned to normal.

You have an unread email.

A message box pops up on the monitor's desktop.

Charlotte's first reaction was to step back and scan her surroundings for surveillance cameras.

Who would send an email at this time? If it's a coincidence, it's just too perfect, isn't it?

Charlotte weighed the options in her mind and made a decision.

He carefully walked to the screen, holding the gun in his right hand and awkwardly gripping the mouse with his left, and clicked the confirmation button.

The unread email was opened, and it contained only one very simple word that anyone in Lungmen could understand.

"Bye."

Charlotte's gaze didn't linger on the monitor, but rather on the power cord on the table.

The display screen... is not connected to power.

Chapter 271 Are you a Doctor from Rhodes Island? (4K)

“Fuck fuck fuck!”

Charlotte staggered back several steps, as if she had seen a ghost.

Suddenly, cracks appeared on the screen in front of him, extending in all directions.

As if it had completed its mission, the machine quietly withdrew from the scene, completely losing its purpose.

Charlotte muttered to herself, "Bye? Bye bye? Goodbye?"

Knowledge of the occult exploded in his mind. The meaning was simple: in Lungmen, this was the kind of blessing people used when parting ways. So who was blessing him? Or…cursing him?!

"Aha……"

Charlotte took a deep breath, gripped his gun with both hands, and carefully steadied himself, heightening his awareness to observe his surroundings.

Even though Charlotte couldn't understand with common sense why the monitor could still function normally without power, and even send him a cryptic email, he knew that his current situation was quite dangerous.

Something bad has already set its sights on him. Even if he wanted to run, he wouldn't dare to walk the pilgrimage route through the main entrance again.

After standing in the corner for about three minutes, Charlotte's tense nerves relaxed a little; he was almost suffocating from the pressure.

"...Am I just being paranoid?"

Charlotte frowned, but the people lying on the ground proved that it wasn't his imagination.

If that's the case, what is the other party's purpose?

He suddenly realized what the problem was.

"Schwarzman!!"

Charlotte roared and rushed back to the secret room, using her arms to form a triangle and aiming her gun at the spot where Swire had been standing. However, the room was completely empty. At the far end of the room, the elevator whose control panel he had shot through had its iron doors shut!

"Shit, we've fallen for their trap!"

Charlotte flipped her hand and pulled out a communicator, cursing, "Run! Go ahead and run! I'll kill all your men right now! I'll let you escape! Hey, Hawkeye, keep a close watch on the east side of the Silverwing Building! There's an underground exit there. If you spot Swire coming out, execute her on the spot!"

"...Hawkeye? Please reply upon receipt!"

"Hawkeye?!"

Charlotte gripped the communicator tightly, continuing to growl, but received no response from the squad members on the helicopter. As he continued to growl, he realized how terrified his voice was, sharp and hoarse like a child crying in the middle of the night, as if the end of the world was imminent.

"Stop shouting, they can't hear you."

A slightly androgynous voice came from behind, making it impossible to tell whether it was male or female.

Charlotte almost reflexively swung her elbow behind her back using military combat techniques. Her arms, along with her upper body, formed a perfect closed loop, allowing her to block and defend against attacks from any direction.

A balance of offense and defense—this is his most proficient fighting style at the Qianlong Base.

"Want to compete with me in CQC?"

Lin Lu laughed, a laugh laced with extreme sarcasm.

"You're not qualified."

Facing Charlotte's elbow strike, Lin Lu slightly turned his body to avoid it, and his right fist struck Charlotte's exposed side waist from below.

"——Bang!"

Charlotte's eyes bulged out. He felt as if he had been hit by a heavy truck at high speed, his entire lower body was numb, and he couldn't even swing his whip kick. All his backup plans were disrupted, and even his attempts to counterattack became much slower.

"too slow."

Lin Lu watched indifferently as Charlotte attempted to change her move after missing her elbow strike, and simply placed his hand on Charlotte's shoulder.

Like a dragon's claw, it gripped the bulging muscles and then exerted force, dislocating Charlotte's shoulder joint along the bone.

There aren't many fancy offensive and defensive techniques, nor are there many complicated moves. Lin Lu's close-quarters combat techniques always have only one purpose: how to find the enemy's weakness in the shortest amount of time, destroy him with the most direct force, and render the enemy unable to fight.

Charlotte screamed as the silver-white gun fell from his limp right hand.

Half of his body was locked up by Lin Lu, leaving him unable to resist.

"Next is the left hand."

"My legs are also in the way, might as well be ruined."

"Don't worry, this process will be incredibly long... Isn't that your catchphrase? How does it sound now?"

"Ah ah ah ah ah!!!"

Charlotte's wails echoed in the secret chamber as he collapsed to the ground, lying there like a lump of mud.

In less than thirty seconds, the only part of Charlotte's body she could still move was her neck; otherwise, she felt as if all her bones had been ground to dust. The intense pain nearly turned her into a screaming idiot; she was going crazy from the agony, yet she just couldn't pass out.

He is the captain of the Hidden Dragon Squad, the rising star of Lungmen, the pillar of the Alexander family, he is...

He is nothing now.

With all four limbs crippled, the mission failed.

The former might leave him bedridden for the rest of his life, while the latter would result in his expulsion from the Hidden Dragon Squad.

Not only that, Wei Yanwu's old dragon will definitely not let him go.

Wei Yanwu, Wei Yanwu… Wei Yanwu!! Charlotte suddenly remembered why Wei Yanwu had specifically reminded him that Swire would be in charge of the entire mission. Taking back the special forces team's unique autonomy and making him obey Swire's orders—did this mean… Wei Yanwu knew what happened at Silverwing Tower from the very beginning? Or was it all a setup?

"Hey, trash."

Lin Lu patted his face, pulling Charlotte back to reality.

“Don’t you like giving people opportunities? Here, I’ll give you one too.” Lin Lu squatted down in front of Charlotte, his dark coat covered in layers of black sludge, making him look like a demon who had just stepped out of hell.

“Speak, what brings you here? You know what I mean.”

"Speak or die."

Charlotte's eyes widened. He hurriedly looked up, realizing he had no chance to fight back against such an enemy. As long as he survived, even if his limbs were crippled, the Alexander family's wealth would ensure his safety.

Lungmen has collaborated with Rhine Labs, and with Rhine Labs' top-tier capabilities, he still has a chance to recover his limbs and rejoin the Lungmen Squad.