From the manor to the abandoned factory—
it happened in the blink of an eye.
The movement was so fast that the people inside didn't even register what was happening. By the time they saw Jason Kin materialize out of thin air in front of them, even Effie froze, eyes wide as saucers.
It was like seeing a ghost.
"Y–You… who the hell are you?"
One of the men instinctively raised his gun—
and a heartbeat later, he was screaming.
Laffey's forehead-mounted laser cannon had fired first. The man's entire arm exploded into a spray of gore. The scene was grotesque, far beyond anything these thugs had ever witnessed. One of them collapsed on the spot, legs buckling in pure terror.
"Which one of you is in charge?" Jason Kin's voice was calm—too calm.
His words reached not only the men in the room but also the woman listening on the other end of their phone line. Her face mirrored their shock.
From where she sat, an entire wall of monitors displayed live feeds. Her eyes locked on the screen showing the factory—and her breath caught. The man who had vanished from the manor only moments ago… was now here.
She knew exactly how far apart those locations were—several kilometers at least. Under normal circumstances, even with a car, it would take over half an hour. But this man had gone from one feed to the other in an instant.
Impossible.
She pressed the phone to her chest and turned sharply to the man beside her, suspicion flaring in her gaze.
"Are you sure your people left the manor?"
The man paled.
"Madam, I've been with you for years—I've never lied to you! My men definitely took the woman out of the manor. We even have location tracking on the feed!"
"Then explain what I'm looking at right now." Her voice was cold steel.
"I… I don't know what's going on!"
"You don't know? That's your answer?"
"M–Madam, I was wrong! I'll send people to the factory right away!"
Cold sweat streamed down his back as he scrambled to obey.
Inside the factory, the air had dropped to ice.
When Jason Kin asked for the boss, a few trembling fingers pointed to one man. The "boss" shot them all a murderous glare—then, in a flash, he darted behind Effie and pressed a gun to her temple.
"Don't move! Or I blow her head off!"
Even now, the fool still thought a hostage would save him.
Kin's face remained unreadable… until a flicker of killing intent ignited in his eyes.
A crushing wave of power erupted from him—
so heavy it felt like a mountain falling.
The entire group collapsed to their knees, pinned to the floor. The boss gritted his teeth, struggling again and again to stand, but it was useless. Panic swallowed his features as Jason Kin walked toward him, unhurried.
Without effort, Kin took the gun from his trembling hand and twirled it lazily.
"Guns are dangerous toys. Play with them the wrong way… and you lose your life."
With a faint smile, he turned the weapon on the rest of the men.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
One by one, they fell, skulls bursting.
Only the boss remained. His fear curdled into raw, choking terror.
"D–Don't kill me! Whatever you want to know—I'll tell you! Everything!"
Kin didn't even look interested. Placing a fingertip against the man's forehead, he smirked.
"No need to open that lying mouth of yours. Everything I want to know… your brain will tell me. And the best part? It's always the truth."
In an instant, Jason Kin's mind-reading ability flooded his vision with the man's memories. Piece by piece, the truth took shape.
These men—
including the so-called "mystery woman"—
all belonged to an organization Jason knew well.
Hydra.
And the woman in Lisa's memories, always cloaked in black… was none other than Madame Hydra herself—Viper. A master poisoner. Which explained exactly where Edward had gotten that rare, deadly toxin.
Hydra had been pulling the strings all along.