Chapter 143

Chapter 143

A thunderous crash echoed from the base of the cliff. The car slammed into the water and was instantly dragged into the depths by the force of the impact.

Damien had been barely conscious, but the violent crash snapped him awake. Thank God the airbags deployed in time, or he would have been knocked out cold.

Pain shot through his entire body like an electric current. Beside him, Mona had been knocked unconscious.

"Wake up! Come on, wake up!"

The car was sinking fast, icy lake water rushing in from every direction. Damien shook Mona desperately, but she didn't respond.

He forced himself out from between the seats, drew the pistol from his waist, fired two shots at the sunroof, then kicked the shattered glass open with his foot.

With the last of his strength, Damien hauled Mona out of the passenger seat and pulled her away from the car as it disappeared into the darkness below.

Mona finally came to, choking and gasping on water.

Up on the cliff, Judy and the others watched helplessly as the car plunged into the abyss. Their own vehicle had stopped less than a meter from the edge — one second later on the brakes and they would have gone over too.

Judy's hands were still shaking as she pushed open her door and stared down into the black void below. Her chest ached like something was being carved out of it.

"Search," she said through her teeth.

The others snapped back to reality and immediately called for teams to head to the bottom of the cliff.

Down below, Damien had managed to drag Mona to shore, but he had nothing left. Between the physical toll and the poison spreading through his system, he was completely finished.

"Don't fall asleep! Damien, don't you dare close your eyes!"

The moment they reached the bank, Damien collapsed, eyes shut. Mona slapped his face over and over. He barely managed to crack one eye open.

She gritted her teeth, pulled him upright, and the two of them stumbled into the forest, lurching forward step by step.

Not long after they disappeared into the trees, a Celestial Temple drone swooped down over the water — and found nothing but a calm, undisturbed surface.

"No sign of them. They probably made it into the woods. Drone can't go deep enough to search in there." The man at the controls on the clifftop frowned as he reported back.

"How long until our people get there?" Judy's voice was flat.

"About an hour. The path down is rough."

"When they arrive, expand the search area. Damien and the others are injured. They can't have gotten far." Judy gave the order with a calm face, but inside she was quietly pleading: use every minute you have and run as far as you can.

She said nothing more, got in the car, and drove down the mountain.

Meanwhile, Mona was half-carrying a barely conscious Damien through the trees.

By a stroke of luck, she spotted a hidden cave. She got Damien inside, but before she could even get him settled, he passed out completely.

"Damien! Damien!"

She called his name, but he didn't respond. She pressed her hand to his cheek — it was burning.

Mona hurried out to gather firewood. Along the way, she remembered the survival skills Tobias had taught her — cover your tracks. She went back immediately, erased every footprint, then deliberately created a false trail leading in a different direction.

By the time she was done, she was running on empty. Back in the cave, she got a fire going, and when the warm flames finally flickered to life, she felt herself come back from the edge.

She stripped off Damien's soaked jacket and moved him closer to the fire.

Once the clothes were mostly dry, she put the fire out. The cave entrance was hidden, but an open flame at night was still too big a risk.

Night fell and the temperature dropped sharply. Mona's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. She sneezed, hugged herself tight, and curled up against Damien, drifting off into a deep sleep.

Celestial Temple's search team combed through the forest all night, but the darkness worked against them at every turn. They came up empty.

The next morning, Damien slowly opened his eyes. Something warm was pressing against his chest. He looked down — Mona was curled up against him, fast asleep.

He gave her a gentle nudge.

"What? You're awake!"

Mona blinked open her eyes and immediately perked up at the sight of him.

Damien forced himself to sit up and checked his phone — completely dead from the water. His other supplies were gone too. His bones felt like they were being gnawed from the inside, and his head was thick and foggy — the poison from the insect bite was taking hold.

"Do you have any medicine?"

"Yes! Here — can you use any of these?" Mona quickly handed him the herbs she'd gathered.

Damien picked out a few and took them. Mona pressed her hand to his forehead. He was hotter than the night before.

On the other side, Judy didn't get back until just before dawn. She walked straight into Monty coming out the door, his wounds freshly dressed.

After a night's rest, Monty looked steadier. He saw Judy coming, her face hard, and stepped in front of her.

"You let Damien go on purpose, didn't you?"

"Are you out of your mind? I let him drive off a cliff and almost went over myself?" Judy stared at him like he was an idiot.

"Don't play dumb with me." Monty dropped his voice to a low threat.

Judy shoved him aside. "Mind your own business. I've already reported everything to White. He's sending backup. As for you — you went rogue and blew the whole operation. You deal with the fallout."

"Judy! Don't think White's favor makes you untouchable! I will find something on you. Just wait."

"Fine. But make it quick — because I'll be White's most trusted person before long. And you?"

Judy glanced at him with complete contempt, like he was something she'd stepped in, and turned and walked away.

Monty watched her go, jaw clenched so tight his teeth ground together.

Inside Celestial Temple, White already knew everything.

"Tell me — is Judy more ambitious than her father?" He looked over at Mia.

"Honestly, yes. She used to at least try to hide it. Back then she was already trying to edge Felix out. Now she doesn't even bother pretending." Mia laid it out plainly.

"Then send her the support she asked for. I want to see just how far she gets."

"Yes, my lord."

In a secret laboratory somewhere, Kyrie stared at the mutant insects in the containment tank, barely able to contain his excitement.

After failing to capture the Carrington family's people in New York, he'd been sent to Li'an to set up a lab.

He'd hated the assignment at first. But White had told him what they were developing could be decisive against Shadow Sect, so he'd stayed with it.

Now, after all this time, they'd finally produced the mutant strain. Of course he was thrilled.

The next step was scaling up production. Once they did that, dominating both the shadow world and the underground was well within reach.

White received the news quickly. He'd been looking for a chance to field-test this batch anyway. He had Mia handle it directly — deploy the insects for another strike on Crescent City.