"Whoosh—!"
With the sound of a fist cutting through the air, one of the armed individuals closest to Ivan was directly knocked to the ground by his punch.
The force was so immense that it shattered the mechanical exoskeleton on the armed individual's back, and Ivan's right fist showed no signs of stopping, continuing its descent.
"Boom—!"
A sound similar to an explosion echoed throughout the church.
At the same time, Ivan's punch caused a large cloud of dust and rubble to rise, centered around the fallen armed individual.
Having suffered such a massive impact, that armed individual was beyond dead.
The sudden turn of events caused all the armed individuals in the church to stop in their tracks, preparing to turn around and see what had happened.
Ivan, in the center of the smoke and dust, quickly picked up a rifle that had fallen nearby and began firing at the armed individuals who stood with their backs to him.
"Bang! Bang bang!" Rapid bursts of fire followed one after another.
Ivan had undergone Spartan-like training, and he had participated in every shooting course, consistently ranking among the top performers.
He held the rifle, ran towards the girl, and aimed for headshots on every target he saw.
However…
"Clang—! Clang—!"
The expected scene of heads being shot through did not occur; instead, the bullets produced a crisp sound upon hitting the armed individuals' full-coverage helmets.
The armed individuals who were hit merely stumbled due to the impact of the bullets, or their heads felt a bit dazed.
!
Seeing this, Ivan realized that their personal equipment was also made of titanium alloy.
It possessed excellent bulletproof capabilities.
As for the person Ivan had bludgeoned to death, it could only be said that he was unlucky and died from internal injuries.
After a brief moment of surprise, Ivan immediately abandoned the idea of shooting them dead with a gun and instead relied on his 'super strength' and 'rapid movement' to engage the enemy.
"High-threat target detected, open fire."
"Yes."
It was at this moment that the armed individuals spoke emotionlessly, all pointing their guns at Ivan.
"Bang! Clang…"
But from Ivan's perspective, the bullets had only just left the barrels of the guns.
The well-trained armed individuals, a few remaining travelers in the church, and the girl with a terrified expression in the distance all moved in slow motion.
Immediately, Ivan, now in a state of rapid movement, wasted no time and directly charged at the armed individuals with his fists.
A moment later.
"Boom—! Boom—!"
The armed individuals were instantly 'flung' from their original positions, with multiple indentations on their bodies, tracing perfect parabolas before crashing to the ground.
Ivan also arrived beside the girl, looked at the chaotic church, and couldn't help but softly mutter:
"Just as Father said, only a hard fist is the hard truth."
Then he turned, looked at the girl who was slumped on the ground, and smiled kindly, saying, "Don't be afraid anymore, you're safe now."
"Sa… safe…" The girl, still in a state of terror, only whispered softly.
"Yes." Ivan half-squatted in front of her, meeting her gaze, and extended his right hand to comfort her, saying, "Don't worry, I'll protect you."
"…" The girl looked at Ivan in front of her, was silent for a moment, and then slowly extended her left hand to grasp his.
She quietly said, "Th… thank you."
"Haha." Ivan gently pulled her up, smiling, "It's nothing, saving people is what I should do."
"Boom! Boom!"
It was at this moment that the loud thud of drop pods echoed from outside the church.
"Ah!"
The girl, who had gradually calmed down, was startled again by the earth-shattering noise and instinctively hugged Ivan.
"Uh…" The sudden physical contact made Ivan a little flustered.
But he quickly calmed down and gently patted the girl's back, saying, "Don't be scared, the people outside are good people."
"Thump thump!"
Soon.
Helljumpers, in dark gray uniforms with red and white umbrella insignias on their armbands, poured into the church from various entrances.
Medics, with white and red cross armbands, immediately began treating the travelers lying in the church.
And the unidentified armed individuals that Ivan had dealt with were immediately inspected and transported by the paratroopers.
As for several officers with red armbands, they headed straight for Ivan and the girl's location, and then a paratrooper with the rank of lieutenant saluted Ivan, saying:
"We are A Company of the First Regiment, Third Airborne Division of the Containment Fleet. Please follow us to evacuate this area."
Ivan, still tightly embraced by the girl, returned a somewhat unstandard military salute and replied, "Okay, thank you all."
Next, the lieutenant looked at the girl, who had her head buried in Ivan's chest, and asked with confusion, "She is?"
"She…" Ivan looked down at her, then shrugged helplessly and said, "She might know the details of this terrorist attack. Let her come with me."
"Yes." The lieutenant nodded at Ivan, then turned and ordered, "Prepare to escort the Boss's eldest son for evacuation."
"Yes, Lieutenant." The paratroopers responded.
Subsequently, Ivan and the girl, accompanied by this group of fully armed Helljumpers, withdrew from the church that had been ravaged by the attack.
— — — — — — — —
…
Time: August 28, 2015, late night.
Location: Athens suburbs, Greece, Umbrella's largest military base in Europe.
An interrogation room within the base.
A simple layout.
Two chairs and a table, a surveillance camera in the corner, and a giant one-way mirror on the left wall of the room.
The girl sat against the wall, remaining silent to the researcher in front of her.
No matter what the researcher asked, she merely shook her head slightly, her expression revealing that she was still in a state of fear.
.
The observation room of the interrogation unit.
Two military-clad technicians sat behind the one-way window, operating several instruments to record fluctuations in the girl's physiological and emotional states.
William, now in a new suit and wearing an earpiece, stood behind the technicians, his brow slightly furrowed as he looked into the observation room.
As for Halsey, she was no longer in a dress but in jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt, with a women's jacket bearing the red and white Umbrella insignia draped over it.
She also wore an earpiece, looking at the girl in the observation room, and asked calmly, "Cortana, do you have any records about this girl?"
Cortana's voice came through the earpiece: "Doctor, there is no information about her on the internet.
However, in my comprehensive search with other artificial intelligence, we found several pieces of information regarding those armed personnel."
"Is that so." William said calmly, "Which country or organization do they belong to?"
"Boss, they are not a state-owned force; they should be a church called 'Star of Light.'
There have been traces of this church's activities since the twelfth century.
After centuries of accumulation, their financial resources should be no problem at all; they even possess resources that no country could own."
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