The hissing of the military-grade tear gas canister was deafening. Thick, blinding white smoke violently erupted, swallowing the Intensive Care Unit in seconds.
Seraphina choked out "Cough! Kaelen... I can't..." as she fell to her knees when the toxic chemical attacked her lungs and burned her emerald eyes.
I advanced without any delay. I took my unconscious sister in my left arm and proceeded to use my right boot to hit the linoleum floor.
A BOOM sound erupted through the air.
My body released an intense shockwave of Dragon Qi, which created a stream of pure golden energy that spread out from my core. My cultivation power created an effect that completely eliminated smoke by vaporizing it within a distance of ten feet from my position. An invisible dome of energy began to hum around me, Lily, and the nurse who was struggling to breathe.
Seraphina inhaled a large amount of fresh air while she stared at the shining barrier above her with complete astonishment.
Three small red lasers from the sniper rifles pierced through the thick white fog that surrounded our bubble while they moved back and forth across the walls until they finally fixed their aim on my chest.
A cold, robotic voice from the hallway declared, "Target acquired," while announcing, "The Sterling trash must be killed together with the nurse to ensure that no one survives to tell the tale.
The heavy tactical boots created loud crunching sounds as they walked across the broken glass that covered the ICU doorways. Twelve members of the Underground Syndicate, who wore full black tactical clothing and night-vision goggles, entered the room while they carried suppressed submachine guns. These killers belonged to an elite group of ruthless assassins who operated with a cold-blooded mentality. To ordinary men, they were the Grim Reaper.
To the Dragon King, they were just loud, annoying insects.
I ordered "Hold Lily" while my voice transformed into a frightening demonic sound.
I carefully placed my sister into Seraphina's arms. The nurse instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around the frail girl, who was looking up at me. She remained silent while she avoided making any vocal sounds. The girl maintained strong eye contact with me, despite her bruised cheek and frightening situation, because she trusted me completely.
I whispered, "Nurse Thorne, please close your eyes," because her upcoming experience would be extremely unpleasant to witness.
I stepped away from the glowing Qi barrier and walked directly into the bright white smoke.
The lead assassin gave the command to "Fire" in an urgent manner.
The area where I had just been standing became filled with dozens of suppressed bullets that created a pew-pew-pew-pew sound. The bullets struck only the reinforced concrete wall.
"What happened to him?!" one of the killers shouted with panic in his voice. "He vanished from the thermal optics! He is not human!"
The answer I provided to them turned into their most terrifying experience.
I moved through the smoke at bullet speed while I became entirely invisible. I appeared directly behind the rearguard assassin. I used a hand chop to hit the assassin at his throat before he could even turn his head.
CRACK. His windpipe shattered instantly. He fell to the ground without making any sound.
I seized his submachine gun as it began to fall and swung it like a baseball bat at the face of the next killer. The steel shattered the man's tactical helmet and his skull simultaneously. Blood sprayed across the white fog.
The second killer shouted, "He is behind us!" while he shot his gun in a wild manner at the ceiling.
I ducked under the erratic gunfire while I executed a sweeping leg movement that created a powerful low arc. The strike created a strong impact that broke the legs of three assassins at once. I punched the air above them as they went down to the floor with screams. My Dragon Qi generated enough explosive force to create a shockwave that crushed their chests before they hit the ground.
The fight took place as one side conducted a systematic operation to eliminate the other side.
I had controlled my power for three years while weak, arrogant fools disrespected my dignity. They had called me a stray dog while they mocked my dying sister. Every single ounce of that suffocating rage was now pouring out of my fists.
I moved through the smoke like a vengeful god. The area contained a broken neck, which I could see, and a shattered spine, which I encountered. The chaotic gunfire stopped completely after exactly twelve seconds had passed. The room remained quiet except for the blood that fell heavily on the floor.
I stood in the center of the room, my breathing perfectly steady, my white button-down shirt completely untouched by the carnage.
The smoke began to move through the broken windows because the stormy night air pulled it out of the building.
Seraphina slowly opened her eyes. She gasped, her hands trembling slightly as she took in the scene. Twelve elite Syndicate killers were scattered across the room, broken and lifeless. Kaelen Vance stood in the middle of the destruction, radiating power that filled the whole area with his terrifying presence.
She was looking at a king instead of a billionaire's discarded toy.
"Do you have any injuries?" I asked her while my voice returned to normal after my golden eyes changed back to dark brown.
Seraphina shook her head while she brought Lily closer to her body. "N-No. I'm fine. Kaelen... what are you?"
I declared myself as the man who would destroy all corruption throughout the city as I moved forward to lift Lily into my arms. "Let's go. We have a rat to catch outside."
I led Seraphina through the destroyed ICU area. We skipped the elevators to descend from the emergency stairwell to reach the main lobby. My Vanguard team had completed perimeter security work at the building. However, they had left the main entrance open because I had signaled them to do so in a hidden way.
We arrived at the ground level of the building. The hospital lobby's giant glass doors had been forcefully destroyed. The outside storm continued to rage as thunder shook the building's entire structure.
My ex-wife stood outside in the rain, with the black Mercedes headlights creating a perfect glow around her.
Chloe Sterling stood under her expensive umbrella, wearing a wicked, triumphant smile. The high-ranking lieutenant of the Underground Syndicate stood next to her, a man who had a towering presence with his heavily scarred face.
Chloe laughed, her voice traveling through the rain as she asked, "Did you hear the gunfire stop?" She crossed her arms, looking smugly at the dark lobby. "I told you, Marcus. Grandfather's useless dog didn't have any bite. He probably died begging on his knees. I want you to drag his body here for me to show Liam tomorrow. I need a picture of him.
The scarred lieutenant chuckled cruelly. "Of course, Miss Sterling, my boys are the best in the business. They probably snapped his neck in the first five sec—"
The lieutenant's words died in his throat.
Chloe's triumphant smile instantly froze as she let her hands drop to her sides.
The heavy footsteps from the ruined lobby made their way toward the abandoned space in the dark lobby.
I emerged from the smoke and dust to enter the pouring rain. My clothes were totally clean. I held my sleeping sister securely in one arm, and Seraphina stood fiercely by my side. I had no injuries on my body.
Chloe's jaw dropped. All the color rapidly drained from her beautiful, arrogant face, leaving her looking as pale as a ghost. She stared in horror.
Chloe stammered, "N-No..." while she moved backward until her back hit the wet hood of the Mercedes. "That's... that's impossible! I sent twelve elite killers! You... you're just a floor-scrubber! You're trash!"
I asked the coldly operating person in front of me, "Are these the killers you were waiting for?"
I kicked a heavy, black tactical helmet out of the lobby. It rolled across the wet pavement and bumped directly against Chloe's expensive Italian shoes. The helmet had been cracked into two pieces, and the surface of the helmet was stained with fresh blood.
Chloe shrieked in terror with a high-pitched scream while she kicked the helmet away and climbed onto the hood of her car to escape from me.
Chloe pointed her manicured finger at my face while she screamed at the Syndicate lieutenant, "Kill him!" Chloe shouted. "Shoot him right now!"
The lieutenant panicked after he tore his holster to draw a heavy Desert Eagle pistol. He aimed the pistol directly at my head and shot me. "Die, you freak!"
I didn't even blink. I didn't move a single muscle to dodge.
BANG.
A loud, high-caliber sniper bullet made a sound that could be heard from the nearby rooftops. The bullet missed my body.
The lieutenant's entire right arm, from the elbow down, exploded into a mist of red. His heavy pistol clattered onto the wet asphalt, a severed hand still gripping the handle.
The lieutenant dropped to his knees while he clutched his ruined stump, and he screamed in absolute, mind-shattering agony.
Multiple red laser sights appeared from the stormy darkness to surround Chloe's Mercedes with hundreds of red dots that showed on her white designer dress.
Chloe stopped screaming. She was completely paralyzed by fear, realizing that she was completely, hopelessly outmatched. The man she had humiliated for three years was commanding a private, invisible army.
I walked toward her at a slow pace until I reached the area just in front of her vehicle. She trembled so intensely that her umbrella slipped from her hands, which caused her to become drenched in the cold rain.
Chloe, do you want to see the trash taken out? I whispered, my voice slicing through the storm and striking her very soul. "I am just getting started. I told you, the Sterlings only survived because of me. Now, you have made an enemy of the Dragon King.
Chloe couldn't speak. She sobbed, completely destroying her arrogant appearance, which had shown all her weaknesses to the world.
I told her to enjoy her beautiful engagement party tomorrow night while I turned my back on her humiliated, shaking form. "Make sure you wear your best dress. Because I will be crashing it. And I am bringing a very special gift for the Sterling family.
I didn't look back. The matte-black armored SUVs arrived at the curb while I led Seraphina to the vehicles. The elite Vanguard soldiers opened the heavy doors, and we climbed inside after they bowed their heads to show respect.
The doors shut with a powerful sound, which sealed us inside the quiet, warm space of the tactical vehicle. The convoy left the area at high speed, which resulted in Chloe Sterling crying while she stood in the rain next to a bleeding gangster who was screaming.
I placed Lily in the backseat of the SUV, which had a spacious leather interior. The silver needles were still doing their job; her breathing was deep and peaceful.
Seraphina sat across from me. She reached up to wipe off a drop of rainwater that had landed on her own injured cheek. She looked at me, her emerald eyes filled with a storm of complex emotions—gratitude, shock, and an undeniable, burning curiosity.
"You aren't just a powerful man, are you, Kaelen?" Seraphina asked softly. "You own the hospital. You command an army. And with silver needles, you have brought a girl back from the dead. Who are you, really?
Before I could answer, my cracked smartphone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and put it to my ear.
I told him to start speaking.
The Vanguard Intelligence Commander delivered his report to the King with a serious voice. The blood samples from your sister showed us that she had been poisoned with a synthetic bio-toxin, which was classified as a secret.
I asked whether Chloe purchased the item from the Syndicate while my eyes focused on her.
The Commander said no sir while his voice showed his uncertainty about the answer. The chemical signature matches a proprietary formula. The poison that has been slowly killing your sister for three years was engineered and manufactured exclusively by... the Thorne Medical Group.
My blood became cold as ice.
I lowered the phone while my eyes moved to focus on the beautiful, innocent face of Seraphina Thorne.