Hank and Hall watched Gunner on the stage, being flattered by everyone, their eyes bloodshot with anger.
Damn it, Gunner had published the formula. How could they now accuse him of plagiarizing the Hall family's special medicine?
For a moment, both of them felt a suffocating frustration in their chests, making them extremely uncomfortable.
Although Gunner was dealing with the reporters in front of him, he still took the time to observe Hank and Hall's reactions.
Seeing their extremely gloomy faces, a look of triumph appeared in his eyes.
Hank had been watching Gunner all along and naturally did not miss that smug provocation. His anger surged again.
Especially when he saw Gunner preparing to leave with Deanna and the others, he became even more anxious.
"Mr. Hall, aren't you going to do something? They're about to leave!"
He tried to incite the man next to him to teach Gunner a lesson.
But Hall was no fool. "What do you want me to do? Didn't you see that they've published the formula? Do you think everyone here is an idiot?"
Three consecutive questions left Hank speechless and he took a step back in fear.
Seeing this, Hall snorted coldly, glanced at where Gunner was, and turned to leave.
Little did he know that as he left, Gunner also quickly exited the venue with Deanna and the other two.
Gunner was indeed lucky.
Given their high-profile display earlier, it was almost impossible to leave the award ceremony quietly.
Just then, an internationally renowned biologist arrived late, immediately diverting the attention of the media and reporters present.
After leaving the award ceremony, Gunner and Deanna wasted no time and immediately headed to the nearest dock by car.
There, they had arranged for a direct flight back home.
On the way, Deanna tightly held Lance's hand, frequently looking out the car window.
Lance knew what she was worried about. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and said, "Don't worry. I have people behind us. If anything unusual happens, we'll be notified immediately."
Deanna nodded but still felt uneasy, sensing that something was about to happen.
And her premonition soon came true.
Xavier suddenly braked hard and said gravely, "Mr. Mercer, there's a checkpoint ahead. We saw on the news yesterday that this road would be open today. It must be set up to block us."
Lance didn't speak immediately but frowned as he looked at the checkpoint not far away.
Although Deanna was nervous, she knew not to disturb Lance at this moment.
But while she remained silent, someone else spoke up. "There's no time to think. Either we turn back or break through. They've spotted us."
Gunner's voice was low as he stared at the approaching Abla police officers outside the window.
Lance also saw the police signaling them to get out of the car and made a decisive decision. "Break through!"
"Yes!"
Without any hesitation, Xavier floored the gas pedal, and with a roar, they sped past the police.
The two Abla police officers were stunned for a second before reacting. They drew their guns and fired at the car while calling for backup to intercept it.
However, even after setting up barriers, they couldn't stop Lance and his group.
Not a single bullet hit the car either.
Even so, Deanna clung to Lance in fear when she heard the gunshots. Her face turned pale as terror gripped her heart and a sharp pain shot through her mind.
She bit her lower lip hard, not wanting Lance and the others to notice her condition and get distracted.
Her head hurt more and more, as if something was about to burst out. She felt like it would explode any second.
Finally, Deanna couldn't bear it anymore and let out a muffled groan as her consciousness began to blur.
At this moment, Lance finally noticed something was wrong with her. He immediately pulled her from his embrace. "Deanna, what's wrong?"
Deanna didn't respond. Her face was deathly pale and covered in sweat.
Gunner and Lionel heard Lance's voice and turned around from the front seat to look at her in shock. "What's wrong with Deanna?"
"I don't know. I heard her make a strange sound just now and pulled her up. She was like this. Mr. Martinez, please check on her."
As Lance spoke, he urgently handed Deanna's wrist to Gunner.
Gunner didn't dare delay and immediately began checking her pulse.
Lionel wasn't idle either. He lifted Deanna's eyelids to check her pupils.
"She's been triggered!"
Both of them reached the same conclusion almost simultaneously.
Lance frowned deeply. "Triggered? By what?"
Gunner and Lionel exchanged a glance, recalling what had happened since they left the venue.
Soon, they both thought of the answer and spoke in unison.
"The gunshots!"
"Previously, Deanna was attacked and chased by Bella with a gun. Although she lost her memory, it left a trauma in her heart."
Hearing this, Lance held the unconscious Deanna tightly, his heart filled with worry as his eyes turned cold and ruthless.