Chapter 294 Encounter

Chapter 294 Encounter

In the dim light, Ivy looked at the familiar figure before her. That familiar feeling washed over her, yet she feigned panic.

"Who... who are you people?"

As she spoke, she stumbled backward in apparent confusion. Suddenly, another man in black dropped down behind her. His voice was cold. "Miss, I'd advise you to listen to our boss. Maybe we'll let you live. But if you don't cooperate... well, we can't guarantee our guns won't accidentally go off."

Ivy whipped around in terror, trembling at the sight of the black-clad figure who'd appeared out of nowhere.

But in those few seconds, she'd already circled halfway around him. From what she could see, this guy was an S-rank assassin. Moss had definitely come prepared this time. Given how paranoid he was, of course he'd brought an S-rank killer as backup. Still, she'd expected as much.

As an assassin, Moss himself didn't have S-rank skills. What made him dangerous was his brain—his talent for manipulation, his keen observation, his cunning tricks. That's how he'd clawed his way to the top of Syndicate.

Ivy shook her head, backing away frantically. "What do you want? What do you want from me? I don't know anything, I don't have anything! Leave me alone! Please! Please!"

The more she acted this way, the more excited Moss became. He stepped forward, his voice cold. "Relax, miss. Just answer my questions, and I won't hurt you."

'Like an assassin would ever let a witness live.'

Ivy scoffed internally, but her face remained a mask of terror. She nodded vigorously. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Things were going even more smoothly than the stranger had imagined. He gave a cold snort. "In that case, let me ask you this—do you know where Anso's treasure is?"

Ivy froze slightly, not answering right away.

Her hesitation didn't escape Moss's notice. He said softly, "Right now, your life is in our hands. If your answer doesn't satisfy us, you might not be around much longer. So what matters more to you—the treasure, or your life? After all, you can't take money with you when you're dead. I think you should consider that carefully."

Ivy trembled, tears streaming down her face as she spoke.

"I do know," she said, her voice shaking. "But please, please don't kill me. I'm so scared."

Ivy's complete one-eighty—acting terrified and helpless—actually fit perfectly with her current cover as a college student.

This seemed to dispel Moss's suspicions entirely. He nodded. "If you know, then lead the way. Get me that treasure today, and I'll let you live. But if you can't..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence.

Ivy knew that whether Moss got Anso's treasure or not, she was marked for death.

Of course, that would be true if she were just some ordinary person. But she wasn't. She was still Blood Dove—supposedly dead, but very much alive.

"Okay, follow me. But... but I need you to promise me something. If you get Anso's treasure, you absolutely can't kill me."

Moss's lips curled into a sly grin. "Sure, why not. But before we go anywhere, answer one more question."

Ivy had barely taken two steps when Moss called her back. She turned, tears glistening in her eyes, and looked at him. Moss spoke slowly, deliberately.

"How did you open Anso's treasure? How did you get Anso's key? I don't buy that some college student could pull all this off by herself."

'Of course he's still suspicious.'

The corner of Ivy's mouth twitched upward for a split second before she forced it back down. She kept her voice trembling. "Sir, I got this treasure by accident.

First of all, I didn't even know it was called Anso. An older man dressed all in black told me about it.

That man had Anso's key. But when he tried to open the treasure, he attracted the attention of a local assassin organization—the one called Tengu.

The two sides fought over the treasure and destroyed each other. Every single assassin there died. Except me.

The only reason I survived was because I'd gone to that man in black to buy something—an item that happened to be stored in Anso's treasure. That day, he was taking me to make the exchange. He opened the treasure again, and that's when Tengu's people found us. Both sides opened fire, and everyone died.

As for anything else, I really don't know."

Ivy spoke with complete conviction. In the darkness, the stranger and his subordinate exchanged glances.

"Boss, that man in black she mentioned—that's gotta be the informant you planted. He did tell us he'd gotten Anso's key. Then he went silent. Turns out he ran into a local assassin group in New York. Tengu's crew, no less. I think this woman's telling the truth."

"Everything lines up."

Tengu nodded thoughtfully. Ivy's story seemed to have completely erased his doubts. His voice was cold. "Then take us to the treasure. Now."

Ivy nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, of course. But the treasure is underneath Twin Towers."

"Fine. But Ms. Cooper, let me be clear—if you try anything funny, we won't be so nice."

Moss stepped behind Ivy and pressed the barrel of his gun against her back, forcing her to lead them to the treasure.

Ivy walked forward slowly, her face wet with tears. But where they couldn't see, her lips curved with barely suppressed excitement.

After all these years, her revenge plan was finally coming to an end.

A voice crackled through the tiny earpiece in her ear. Tengu spoke softly. "Boss, we've set up the ambush in the underground vault. Just lure them in, and we'll have them like fish in a barrel."

Soon, Ivy had led Moss and his subordinate to the healing shop. She took them through the back entrance, straight down to the basement.

At first, Moss was skeptical. But when he saw the massive door, he cried out, "This is Anso's treasure! That symbol—it's definitely Anso!"

Moss rushed forward excitedly, his hands trembling as he touched the sealed door. This was the treasure he'd been hunting for years, the prize he'd dreamed of. And it had been hidden right beneath downtown New York all along.

Who could've known? He turned to Ivy, his voice sharp with excitement. "Open it. Now. Or I'll kill you!"