Once inside the car, Ethan finally felt a bit more at ease.
Forget snipers, he was sure even a rocket launcher wouldn't get through this beast of a vehicle.
No one spoke.
Leo and Williams still looked rattled. It was hard to believe that, in this day and age, soone had the audacity to fire sniper rounds from a rooftop in the heart of the city.
And not just any sniper, a Barrett M95.
How the hell had they smuggled sothing like that in?
And what about the woman driving?
She clearly wasn't just so random acquaintance. Both Ethan and Lyla seed to know her.
After more than ten minutes of silence, Lyla finally spoke up.
"Celeste, what are you doing here?"
"Protecting your precious boyfriend, obviously," Celeste replied.
She had already ditched her mask, sunglasses now perched atop her head. Dressed in sleek black combat gear, she had an undeniable presence—cool, sharp, and utterly unfazed.
"Your boyfriend, by the way, has pissed off so very dangerous people."
"You know who's after ?" Ethan asked.
Celeste glanced at him from the driver's seat. "Want to know?"
"That classified intel. Join the Ninth Division, and you'll have clearance."
Ethan rolled his eyes. "I don't need you to tell . I already know who it is."
"Oh?" Celeste arched a brow.
"Zachary." Ethan's voice was steady.
The second he said the na, Celeste slamd on the brakes.
"So, you do know a thing or two," she said, eyes sharp. "Then tell , do you know what he really is?"
Ethan leaned back, unbothered.
"A sleeper agent from Serpent Isle, planted here for infiltration. What, you guys didn't know?"
In his previous life, Zachary's cover had been blown after he orchestrated a massacre of elite players from Dragonspire. But by then, his mission was already complete.
That incident had nearly collapsed the national economy.
The top guilds suffered heavy losses, and soon after, waves of foreign players flooded in, pillaging strongholds, looting resources, and decimating key infrastructure within Ethereal.
The economic damage bled into the real world. Corporations invested in the ga lost millions.
Panic spread.
Serpent Isle seized the opportunity, launching a full-scale economic war against Dragonspire.
Celeste's expression darkened. "Are you sure?"
That confird it.
They had no idea about Zachary's true identity.
So much for "protecting" him. They weren't guarding him, they had just been tracking Zachary and happened to stumble across his target.
Ethan smirked. "You say you're here to protect , but let's be real, you just wanted an excuse to recruit into the Ninth Division."
Celeste opened her mouth to respond, but Ethan didn't let her.
"You were only after the mutant." He gestured toward the backseat. "If you were really here for , your first shot would've been aid at the other rooftop. That's where the real threat was."
Celeste stayed silent.
"And don't even try to deny it," Ethan continued. "You fired first. The sniper on the other roof fired after. You had no idea he was there."
Leo and Williams exchanged looks.
Celeste gripped the steering wheel tighter.
"You were sent to eliminate the mutant, and only then did you realize he was after us."
Still, Celeste said nothing.
"And that fire round?" Ethan leaned forward slightly. "Standard incendiary rounds don't turn bones to ash. Your bullet was a custom job, sothing only the Ninth Division would have access to."
Before Celeste could argue, Ethan smirked.
"Relax. I never said I wouldn't join. But if I do… what's in it for ?"
His words hit like a barrage, giving Celeste no room to cut in.
Victor finally spoke up. "You're with the Ninth Division?"
Celeste's face darkened, clearly irritated at being called out. Instead of addressing Victor's question, she turned to him with an icy gaze and said:
"Victor Grant. Callsign: Slashblade. Served in the Northern Frontier Region for seventeen years. One year in boot camp, sixteen years in black ops.
dically discharged at thirty-five due to injury. Took a job as a mall security guard.
Exceptional track record in classified missions.
On one of those missions, you saved a sixteen-year-old girl nad Celia Clair, now your wife.
Applied to the Ninth Division eighteen tis over five years. Seventeen rejections.
Retired with the rank of Major General but refused a cushy governnt position.
Instead, you chose to work as a security guard.
A month ago, you attempted to leave the country in secret. You've been in contact with rcenary groups from the Sablon Republic.
All because of your fallen comrades' orphaned children.
Tell , Victor, was throwing away your life really worth it?"
Her words hit like a hamr.
Celeste wasn't just venting her frustration from Ethan shutting her down earlier, she was pissed.
Victor let out a bitter laugh. "Damn, you Ninth Division people really do your howork."
He leaned back, exhaling slowly. "I turned down the governnt position because I knew I wasn't fit for it.
What else am I good at besides killing? I don't have the patience to play office politics.
And as for those kids... I made a promise."
"You don't need to explain anything," Celeste cut him off.
She gestured to the case sitting on Victor's lap. "Open it. Inside is your eighteenth application form."
Victor hesitated.
He already knew what was inside.
The mont Celeste had tossed the case to him, he'd recognized the weight, the unmistakable heft of an M110 sniper rifle.
But when he opened it, there it was.
A docunt.
Four years ago, it had been his final application to join the Ninth Division.
Stamped across the bottom, one bold word: APPROVED.
Victor stared at it.
The unshakable soldier, hardened through war and bloodshed, suddenly had red-rimd eyes.
He took a deep breath.
Then, after a long pause, he placed the docunt back in the case and slowly closed it.
"It's too late," he muttered. "I'm married now. And…" He glanced at Ethan.
Celeste smirked. "Him? Don't worry about him. He's joining the Ninth Division too.
As for your lovely wife, she was picked up by our people the mont you left the hotel.
We protect our own."
Victor imdiately pulled out his phone.
Ethan already knew who he was calling.
A few seconds later, Victor's breath hitched.
Whatever Celia said on the other end made his eyes well up for real this ti. When he finally hung up, he looked like he wanted to say sothing, but no words ca out.
Celeste turned to Williams and Leo. "And you two, don't even think about running."
"Huh? Us?"
"Don't play dumb.
You think that mutant was after Ethan?" Celeste crossed her arms. "I had two missions. One, recruit you three into the Ninth Division. Two, eliminate that target.
But guess what? Turns out that target was after you.
I'm guessing it's because you two bailed on your eting with the Sablon Republic rcenary group.
They sent soone to take you out."
She said it so casually, like it was just another day at work.
"Wait, hold on." Ethan suddenly snapped.
"What do you an? What am I, so disposable extra? And don't think I didn't hear you trying to poach my guys. That's not happening."
Celeste raised a brow.
Ethan glared.
Back in school, she was the one who had stuck him with the nickna Weakling.
Now, not only had she made the decision of him joining the Ninth Division, she was trying to take his people?
Like hell he was going to agree to that.
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