Chapter 278

Chapter 278

"Just as I thought, they're prepared."

Bradley pulled his head back, lowering his voice with a grave expression. "Quite a few of them, weapons unclear. Forcing our way in is too risky."

He quickly drew a handgun from his waist, checked the magazine, then held it out to Elaine, his voice serious. "Take this, for protection. Don't shoot unless absolutely necessary. Stay close to me and follow my lead."

Elaine looked at the heavy black handgun and took it without hesitation.

She nodded and gripped the gun tightly.

Bradley quickly pulled out a bulletproof vest from his backpack and motioned for Elaine to put it on.

He efficiently put one on himself, checked all his equipment, and made a hand signal to his two men.

"I'll go first."

Bradley's voice was extremely low. "Create chaos, you guys cover us when you see an opening. Elaine, stay behind me on my side."

He took a deep breath and removed a smoke grenade from his vest.

Swiftly and decisively, he pulled the pin, aimed at a gap in the warehouse, and with a powerful throw of his arm, hurled the smoke grenade inside!

"Hiss—!"

After an explosive sound, thick, choking white smoke instantly spread throughout the warehouse interior.

"We're under attack!"

A sharp shout immediately came from inside the warehouse.

"Now!"

Bradley growled and suddenly burst out, charging toward the side door!

Elaine gripped her gun, her heart pounding wildly, following close behind him as she rushed into the warehouse.

The smoke spread wildly through the warehouse. Bradley, with his precise marksmanship, quickly took down the two nearest enemies in the smoke.

His two men followed right behind, using the smoke as cover to quickly fire at the approaching enemies. The next second came the dull thud of bodies hitting the ground.

Elaine stayed close behind Bradley on his side, her heart hammering in her chest.

She gripped the gun tightly, finger outside the trigger guard, forcing herself to stay calm and observe.

Her eyes quickly swept over areas where the smoke was thinner, and she soon locked onto a corner deep in the warehouse.

There were several makeshift lab tables with scattered equipment on them!

"Over there!"

She called out quietly, and under Bradley's cover, bent low and rushed over.

Getting closer, she saw it—just as she thought!

Several specially-made storage boxes were carelessly piled under the table, with some document folders and portable hard drives nearby.

Elaine quickly opened a storage box. Inside were neatly arranged rows of labeled test tubes.

These were the stolen drugs from her lab!

Though not many, the core ones were all there!

She felt a wave of relief—at least the most important research results hadn't completely fallen into enemy hands.

She quickly secured the storage box, grabbed the nearby document folders and hard drives, and prepared to evacuate.

However, just then, from outside the warehouse, the roar of car engines approached from far to near!

"Not good! Some of them went out and now they're back!"

One of the men keeping watch at the door urgently reported.

Bradley's face darkened.

They'd already moved fast enough, but the enemy still had people out on patrol!

"Retreat! Take the stuff and go through the back door!"

Bradley made a split-second decision, shouting to Elaine and his men.

But it was too late.

The returning enemies had clearly discovered their fallen comrades at the entrance. Instead of rashly rushing in, they quickly spread out and occupied advantageous positions around the warehouse perimeter.

Bullets instantly poured in from several broken windows!

"Watch out!"

Bradley's pupils contracted. He spun around and tackled Elaine to the ground, both of them taking cover behind an abandoned machine tool.

Bradley's two men also immediately found cover and engaged in fierce gunfire with the newly appeared enemies outside.

Inside and outside the warehouse, gunfire suddenly became intense.

"Bang bang bang—!"

Elaine was pinned under Bradley, able to clearly hear the sound of bullets whizzing past.

She clutched the storage box tightly, her face pale but her eyes unusually clear.

Bullets whistled by. Bradley pressed against the side of the machine tool, continuously firing at the approaching enemies.

But the enemy numbers clearly exceeded expectations, and their firepower was exceptionally fierce.

They seemed to have sensed the weakness of the resistance inside the warehouse, and their attacks grew bolder.

"Bang! Bang!"

Bradley pulled the trigger, but was met with two empty clicks.

The magazine was empty!

His face changed. He quickly pulled back behind cover, skillfully ejecting the empty magazine with one hand while his other hand reached for the magazine pouch on his vest...

Empty!

His spare magazines were all used up!

"Bradley!"

Elaine beside him immediately understood what happened. Without the slightest hesitation, she shoved her own handgun into his hands.

"You use it!"

Bradley looked at her, meeting the complete trust in her eyes, and his heart jolted.

There was no time to think. He immediately took the gun. "Stay close to me!"

He barked the order and leaned out again, continuing to return fire with Elaine's handgun.

But the situation didn't improve.

The enemy's firepower outside seemed to be increasing, while Bradley's side only had three people, all running low on ammunition.

The other side was clearly prepared, wanting to trap them here.

"We can't stay here any longer!"

Bradley said to Elaine. "Their reinforcements might still be coming. We need to break through now while we can!"

His eyes quickly swept over a hidden corner at the back of the warehouse. "See that over there? When I count to three, concentrate fire to suppress the front entrance. You follow Xiao Chen and rush out from there! I'll cover the rear!"

Elaine's heart leaped to her throat. She nodded hard, clutching the storage box tightly.

"One..."

Bradley took a deep breath, his muscles tensing.

"Two..."

Elaine and the other man prepared to sprint.

Just as everyone's nerves were stretched to the breaking point—

"Clang!"

A cylindrical object was thrown in through the warehouse's high window.

The thing rolled, landing right near where Bradley and Elaine were hiding!

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

Bradley and Elaine's pupils simultaneously contracted to pinpoints!

A grenade!

"Danger—!"

Neither had time to think. Survival instinct instantly took control of Bradley's body.

In the split second before Elaine could fully react, Bradley had already sprung up!

He didn't dodge backward, but used all his strength to grab Elaine's arm and violently pull her toward the metal shelving!

The explosion countdown ticked in their ears—probably less than two seconds in reality.

Elaine only felt a tremendous force pulling her, her body dragged forward uncontrollably, nearly dropping what she held.

Then an even stronger force knocked her to the ground!

It was Bradley!

The instant he pulled her behind the shelving, he used his entire body to completely cover her.

His arms wrapped tightly around her, shielding her firmly beneath him, his head lowered and buried against her shoulder.

"BOOM—!"

A deafening explosion erupted almost simultaneously!

Scorching shockwaves swept past. The shelving they hid behind shook violently. The blast's impact made Elaine's ears ring instantly—she couldn't hear anything.

The violent impact left her mind blank, her body feeling like it had been torn apart.