Chapter 212: The Taboo Between Mother and Daughter
The pupils of the woman kneeling on the ground suddenly dilated.
She looked at Sophia in disbelief, not understanding how the other party had predicted her sneak attack.
Sophia's shooting angle was extremely precise—the two bullets had lodged right in the woman's kneecaps.
As the woman knelt down, the bullets embedded themselves deeper, triggering a second wave of intense pain.
Sophia naturally knew what she was confused about.
"I've seen plenty of women who pretend to be weak and two-faced. Your acting skills are really terrible, way too fake."
After dealing with this attacker, Sophia looked at the other two women.
She blew on her slightly heated gun barrel, curled her lips in a cold smile, and reminded them, "The door is over there. You only get one chance to leave."
The man on the bed with his limbs restrained roared at the two women, threatening that if they dared to leave, he would hunt them down across the entire world.
Sophia frowned. "You're too noisy."
A gunshot rang out.
The bullet hit the bedsheet, with the smoking bullet hole just inches from the man's manhood . If he moved even slightly, he'd be finished.
The most disgusting thing about Dark Abyss City wasn't the territorial control, but the endless abuse of human bodies.
Last night was Dark Abyss City's annual carnival day.
They would drink freely and consume drugs that clouded their minds, followed by a day and night of deep sleep.
Sophia rushed over as soon as she got off the plane, having calculated this timing precisely to catch them off guard while they were still in their post-pleasure slumber.
Just to be safe, she brought extra people and weapons.
Fortunately, so far, everything was under control.
"Teach this gentleman a good lesson," Sophia ordered.
The four women who had been tortured by the man immediately took action. Accompanied by several crisp sounds, they used their knees to viciously shatter the bones in the man's hands and feet.
The intense pain twisted the man's face.
Sophia actually had drugs that could make people lose mobility painlessly, but she didn't want to let this man off easy.
Pain while conscious had more deterrent power.
The two women who had been hesitating exchanged glances, no longer paying attention to the man's threats, and got out of bed to change their clothes. They looked warily toward the door, as if evaluating the truthfulness of Sophia's words.
Seraphim was Joe's home base.
With him around, Sophia could do whatever she wanted here.
After the others left, Sophia walked up to the woman kneeling on the ground. She bent down slightly, grabbed the woman's chin, and carefully examined her face.
Very ordinary-looking.
Sophia looked at her with a half-smile and asked, "Your skills are so poor, you can't even hold a gun steady. You're nothing like a female assassin who fought her way up in this brutal environment. So... why did you suddenly attack me?"
Yes, suddenly.
Or rather, on impulse.
The woman's eyes darted away, her face pale. Though her face was small, it was very gaunt, as if she had been through a serious illness. She didn't dare look into Sophia's eyes.
But Sophia didn't give her room to avoid it.
Her gaze was sharp, her voice cold. "If I'm not mistaken, you decided to attack only after seeing my face, right?"
"Does my face threaten you?"
At these words, the woman in front of her trembled violently, as if her thoughts had been exposed.
Sophia found it boring and released the woman's chin.
She inexplicably thought of the man in the cage, those beautiful eyes that didn't match his face at all.
Earlier, all the naked victims in the cage had escaped, but he still maintained his sitting position.
Perhaps...
He came for this woman?
Sophia had no interest in Dark Abyss City's territory. Though it was indeed cleverly built, the location was too remote—she couldn't grow herbs there, and it was far from ZN Laboratory. It had no value to her.
As for the man on the bed who'd been crippled, he used to be under Joe's adoptive father, but later betrayed him. Joe's adoptive father even had two fingers cut off because of it.
Sophia decided to leave him for Joe to clean up, then left with the remaining people.
Before leaving the room, she casually dropped a micro listening device in the corner.
Passing by the cage outside, she inexplicably glanced over—sure enough, the plain-looking man was no longer there.
Sophia kept her guard up.
Lucas had already been escorted back to the lab. She waited at the door for a while, then left together with Joe after meeting up.
On the way back.
Sophia put on her earphones, and the expected sounds came through her phone.
"Mr. Morris, this young lady's knees are severely injured. If the bullets aren't removed, she may have difficulty walking in the future."
This was followed by a woman's crying. "Ryan, it hurts so much."
Sophia didn't hear the man's response because the listening device she'd left there had been crushed by him.
She wasn't surprised by this.
The man's aura was sharp as a blade, like a leopard in the forest, yet faintly carried the refined air of wealth accumulated over generations.
Mr. Morris?
Ryan?
Ryan Morris, the heir of the Morris family in Suncrest City?
Sophia rubbed her fingertips, recalling the sensation when she'd touched the man's cheek earlier. That texture was clearly wrong, not like real human skin.
Special effects makeup for disguise?
The Smith family in Empire City, the Morris family in Suncrest City—these two families, one in the south and one in the north, controlled the country's economic lifeline with absolute power.
From what she knew, Ryan's appearance was on par with William's—both were exceptionally handsome. Perhaps only such true features could match those beautiful eyes.
So the woman who attacked her was... Rebecca Morris?
She'd heard the Morris family had just found their daughter, who'd been missing for over twenty years. Shouldn't they be protecting her with utmost care? How could they let her appear in this chaotic Dark Abyss City across the ocean?
Questions gathered in her mind one after another.
Raymond had mentioned before that the Morris family was also looking for Revival Herb.
William had also mentioned that the Morris family dominated the north, close to the center of power. And Ryan was ruthless, with killing intent brewing beneath a seemingly calm surface.
Ryan...
He was half involved in business, half in politics.
And most skilled in strategy.
She'd heard he once personally acted as bait to destroy the largest underground criminal organization in the north, making his legendary reputation in one move.
Sophia couldn't help but ponder darkly, 'If I assume the worst, did Ryan happen to save Lucas, or was Lucas knocked out and sent there by him in the first place?'
All of this seemed unrelated.
But Sophia never believed in such coincidences.
The motive remained questionable.
Sophia thought to herself, 'Hopefully she was overthinking it.'
If all of this was really a trap Ryan set for Lucas, then no matter what his purpose was, no matter if he was the Morris family heir or some big shot, she would definitely make him pay.
On the other side.
Rebecca reached out, crying, wanting Ryan to pick her up, but got no response from him.
Ryan held the micro listening device he'd found in the corner, his eyes lowered in thought. This thing looked like an inconspicuous little toy.
He put the item in his pocket, then turned his attention to Rebecca.
"I had you disguise yourself as a victim here to get her to take you back to ZN Laboratory. What did you do to anger her?"
Rebecca said guiltily and anxiously, "How did I anger her? I didn't do anything. She's just an irrational lunatic. She started hurting people as soon as she came in. I just looked at her once, and she attacked me. I... I..."
She paused, asking tentatively, "Ryan, did you see her face?"
She was a bit afraid Ryan had seen Sophia's face.
The elite circles of Empire City and Suncrest City didn't mix.
Empire City valued wealth, Suncrest City valued power.
Everyone preferred to deal with elite circles in their own city and was somewhat exclusive toward outside circles.
Ryan thought of Sophia's face, looking thoughtful.
"That's none of your concern."
He said to the doctor beside him, "I'll leave the rest to you."
Actually, Ryan never understood why ZN Laboratory would take money from ordinary small clients, but immediately refused as soon as they heard "the Morris family of Suncrest City."
Whether offering money or any favorable conditions.
The other party always flatly refused.
As if the Morris family were at the top of their blacklist.
Back at ZN Laboratory, Sophia went to wash up and change clothes first. The bloodstains on her hands and body made her uncomfortable.
Warm water flowed from head to toe.
Sophia closed her eyes and tilted her head back, letting the water wash over her face.
Her mother's image floated into her mind, and she remembered what her mother had once said.
The Morris family was taboo for the mother and daughter.
Couldn't mention them, couldn't see them, couldn't have any contact!
Because it would bring disaster.
Sophia had never asked her mother why, but seeing Ryan today, she suddenly realized the seriousness behind this.