Chapter 121

Frank shot Seraphina a mocking glance, naked disgust flickering in his eyes.

"Look in a mirror before you say that. Did you really think just anyone could be my woman?"

The contempt hit Seraphina like a blade. Her whole body went stiff.

Every expression drained from her face. She pressed her lips together, her voice trembling slightly. "Then what do you want from me? What will it take for you to let me go?"

Frank raised an eyebrow, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Did I say I was going to do anything to you? Isn't that just the ending you came up with in your own head?"

Of course, he had no intention of letting her go. But rather than dealing with her himself, he'd already arranged something far more satisfying.

The moment he finished speaking, something shifted in Seraphina's eyes.

A fake smile spread across her face, her voice going soft as a feather. "You'd really let me go?"

Frank's expression didn't change. He gave a slow nod. "How could I bring myself to make things hard for a beautiful woman?"

He left out the part where someone else would do it for him. But Seraphina's eyes lit up with pure joy, and without a second thought she spun around and ran.

Frank watched her bolt, then turned to the other thugs still frozen in place.

"What? Your boss just ditched you. You really planning to stick around and die?"

They exchanged glances, slowly set down their weapons, and quietly crouched on the ground.

Frank frowned, genuinely puzzled. "Shouldn't you be running?"

One of them gave a bitter smile. "If we actually ran, that'd be a death sentence. Staying here, at least we can pin the blame on you."

Frank shook his head, not bothering to deal with these idiots, and shifted his gaze to the people huddled inside the cage.

The terror in their eyes was identical. They looked at him like he was a monster.

Frank let out a quiet sigh, keeping his voice low. "Go. Run now, straight out the front. Someone will be there to help you."

Before he finished the sentence, they were already scrambling out of the cage, like every second they stayed meant more suffering.

Frank watched them disappear, then turned back to the thug who had spoken first.

"Where are the kids being held?"

Straight to the point. The man's eyes flashed with fear, and he stuttered. "I—I know. There's a warehouse to the southeast. But the guards there are serious."

Frank acknowledged that with a sound. To him, "serious" from a bunch of losers like this meant absolutely nothing.

He couldn't be bothered to deal with these men himself either. Once tonight's footage got out, plenty of people would make sure they got what they deserved.

He headed southeast, and ten minutes later stood outside the warehouse.

The outer wall was crumbling, weeds growing everywhere. At first glance, it looked nothing like a place where people were being kept.

But Frank spotted the flattened trail through the grass. If no one came through here, how did that hidden path get worn in?

"They're pretty good at hiding it. Easy to miss if you're not paying attention."

The moment he stepped into the yard, more than a dozen people materialized from every direction, gun barrels all aimed at his vital spots, red laser dots covering him like a net.

"Take one more step and I'll put you down." A pale-skinned man with sharp features walked out of the warehouse.

Frank glanced over the dozen black muzzles pointed at him and let out a short laugh. "You people just keep coming. Who knew a little industrial park could be hiding this many guys."

The man's lips curved into a cold smirk. "Fire."

All dozen guns went off at once.

Frank's eyes sharpened. He moved like a ghost, and within seconds materialized behind the man, his right hand locked tight around his throat.

The gunmen immediately swung their barrels around, but not one of them dared pull the trigger.

"Looks like they don't want to hit their own boss." Frank's voice dripped with mockery.

"Tell them to put the guns down. Unless you want to get shot along with me?"

A vein bulged on the man's forehead. His voice was forced through a crushed throat. "Everyone put your weapons down!"

All of them lowered their guns at once. Frank was about to press him on where the kids were when the man suddenly yanked something from his pocket and slammed down on a button.

A figure slowly walked out of the warehouse. Looked completely ordinary—thin, even frail.

Frank assumed it was just another fighter they'd called in. Then the figure opened its mouth.

A deep, low-frequency hum poured out.

Frank felt it instantly—his organs vibrating with the sound, nausea and a splitting headache crashing over him, his vision blurring.

Something warm appeared on the back of his hand where he gripped the man's throat. He looked down. The man was coughing up blood.

Frank let go in disgust and wiped his hand clean on the man's clothes.

The man, utterly humiliated, didn't get angry. He laughed, smearing the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Do you know how many people he's killed with this? Today is the day you die!"

Frank looked at the man still spitting blood, and at the dozen thugs already writhing on the ground.

"You're actually insane."

He'd seen people willing to take damage to deal damage. He'd never seen someone willing to die just to drag their enemy down with them.

If that wasn't crazy, what was?

Frank reached into his bag and pulled out two silver acupuncture needles, pressing them precisely into the points behind his ears.

A sharp aching pressure shot straight to his head—and then the world went silent.

All that remained was a muffled, distant hum. Everything else was completely cut off.

He glanced at the man beside him. The man's face was twisted in shock, his mouth opening and closing, but Frank couldn't hear a word.

Frank looked away, ignored him, and charged straight at the thing still emitting that low frequency hum.

Just as he'd suspected—it was another modified being. The sound attack was its only ability.

He took it down without much effort, and gradually his hearing came back.

He looked at the man, who was barely standing, shaking from the impact. Frank shook his head.

"How did you do that?" Confusion filled the man's eyes. "We tested this. Even earplugs can't fully block the sound. Why didn't it affect you?"

He stared at Frank like he was looking at something that defied explanation.

Frank gave a light laugh. "There's a pressure point in traditional Chinese medicine that can temporarily dull your hearing. If I couldn't hear it in the first place, how was it going to affect me?"