Chapter 158: Perish Together

Chapter 158: Perish Together

A muffled grunt came from the darkness. Sophia didn't look back. Using the building's shadow as cover, she moved toward the second target, her steps light, barely making a sound on the ground.

The second person sensed something, turned sideways, and looked toward where the sound had come from. His attention was pulled away for half a second.

That was enough.

Sophia's eyes darkened. Seizing the moment, she closed in from behind, one hand covering his mouth, the other gripping the side of his neck with precise force. Within seconds, she snapped his neck.

She dragged him into the shadows, crouched down, and quickly stripped off his jacket to put on herself.

The jacket was two sizes too big, enough to hide her silhouette.

Sophia stood up and scanned the area—nothing major happening. Listening carefully, she could hear muffled shouts in the distance. The snipers were constantly changing positions.

She moved along the wall, changed angles, found the next useful cover point, and ran over in a crouch.

Several shots rang out. One bullet grazed the wall beside her, sending up a spray of debris. She didn't stop, rolled into a nearby dark corner, and steadied her breathing.

Her heart was racing, but her mind was clear.

Crouching in the shadows, she mentally reviewed the situation around the warehouse, planning her next route.

Suddenly, a series of screams came from above, brief and sharp, then abruptly cut off.

Sophia frowned but didn't move immediately. She listened for a few seconds, confirmed there were no footsteps coming her way from that direction, then cautiously glanced over.

On the ground lay a sniper's body, sprawled on the cobblestones in an unnatural position—clearly fallen from a high floor.

Sophia stared at the spot and narrowed her eyes.

She hadn't touched that person.

There must be someone else here.

She didn't have time to think it through. She located the last outer target, silently took him out, then turned to look at the row of vehicles parked on the distant street.

A dark mass of them—over a dozen cars with their engines off. But she noticed subtle reflections in the windows of several vehicles. There were people inside.

Abigail had said this part wasn't her concern, but Sophia couldn't rest easy.

After thinking it over, she spent about ten minutes circling around to the back of the nearest car. She found a piece of broken stone on the ground and threw it hard in another direction.

The stone hit a metal sheet in the distance with a clang.

Movement stirred inside several cars. Two doors opened, and people stuck their heads out to look in that direction.

Sophia took advantage of the distraction to quietly unscrew the valve stem of one car's tire. Hearing the slow hiss of air escaping, she turned and headed for the next one.

She couldn't disable all the cars, but every bit of delay helped.

On the other side, by a window in an old building, Alexander frowned as he watched Sophia's all-too-obvious movements below and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He'd had people secretly following Sophia these past two days and had indeed discovered her covert operation. Just moments ago, when those snipers opened fire and nearly hit Sophia, his heart had leaped into his throat. For her safety, he'd directly taken out the ambushing snipers.

"Send people to cover her. Don't let her get caught," he ordered the bodyguard beside him coldly. "And deal with whoever's left in the area."

"Yes, sir." The bodyguard bowed his head and left.

Inside the warehouse, the air was thick with dust, old timber smell, and a hint of unpleasant gasoline. Some light filtered in from outside, making the space less gloomy.

Felix walked in, his footsteps echoing in the empty warehouse. He stopped and scanned the area—no one in sight.

"Stop hiding. I'm in a hurry," he said flatly, pausing briefly. "Honestly, I don't believe in any finished formula at all. I'm only here to settle things with you once and for all. I imagine you feel the same way."

Soon, footsteps sounded.

Abigail emerged from the shadows, her right eye fixed on him, the eye patch covering half her face in shadow.

Felix looked at her, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes before returning to normal. "Cool new look."

Facing his fake compliment, Abigail sneered and responded, "What makes you think I haven't figured it out?"

She reached inside her jacket and pulled out a small notebook with a worn cover. She opened it, flipped to certain pages, and held it up toward Felix.

Dense writing—formulas, data, charts—every page filled to the brim, clearly the result of considerable effort.

"You've never truly trusted me. I don't care. Because I feel the same way," Abigail said.

Felix's gaze shifted. He walked forward a few steps, his eyes landing on the notebook, narrowing with skepticism.

"What do you want," he said flatly.

Abigail's face twisted in that moment.

The composure she'd always maintained shattered in an instant.

"Your life, of course!"

She lunged forward, her right hand drawing a knife from her waist—a slender blade wrapped with green metal vine patterns, its edge gleaming with an unnatural purple sheen.

Felix nimbly sidestepped. The knife sliced through empty air, not touching a hair on his head.

He stepped back two paces, looked her over, and said coldly, "Abigail, you can't fight. Don't overestimate yourself."

"You think you can kill me with that?"

Abigail didn't answer. She advanced again, moving faster than he'd expected, but Felix saw through her movements, circled to the side, and grabbed her from behind, one arm locking both of hers, the other hand clamping down hard on her wrist holding the knife.

Abigail struggled desperately but couldn't break free.

Felix looked down and saw the unusual sheen on the blade. Confirming it up close, his eyes suddenly turned cold, and he mocked, "Poisoned?"

"How ruthless of you."

He gripped her wrist forcefully, twisting it in the opposite direction, slowly turning the knife's point toward Abigail herself.

"These years together, I've enjoyed them. I'm glad I met you. But, goodbye now."

"Light it!"

Before Felix finished speaking, Abigail suddenly shouted, her voice piercing through the entire warehouse.

At that moment, a flash of firelight appeared from the side.

Natalia threw out a lit match. It landed on the ground.

On the floor, a thin layer of liquid—almost invisible to the naked eye—erupted in blue flames the instant it touched fire, spreading along a pre-laid path.

The ground burst into flames, orange-red tongues of fire licking the floor, a wave of heat rushing forward!

Felix startled, released Abigail, and jumped back, trying to get away from her while pushing her forward.

But Abigail used the force of his push to spin around, wrapping both arms tightly around him, locking him in place.

He couldn't retreat or shake her off.

At the same time, the knife in her right hand, as she turned, plunged backward into his back!