Chapter 34: An Unexpected Person

Milton exhaled and said coldly, "Stay on your knees, line up! Are there any more of your people inside?!"

Although it was disgusting, time was of the essence, so he had to interrogate them this way.

The man in the lead felt both terrified and humiliated—he frequently killed police officers, stripped their widows and daughters to parade them in the streets, and raped them before finishing them off, yet now he had been reduced to such a role himself.

"No, no, it's just the three of us."

Milton nodded, looked at Luz, and issued an order: "Guard the door. Don't rush in; I'm going to interrogate them first."

Luz raised his weapon, pressed against the wall, and replied, "Copy that."

He would see if he could extract intelligence from these three captives before killing them, then they would both enter the final room. Milton was worried about traps in the room, and leaving these three captives behind posed a potential risk.

"You, the one with the smallest bird," Milton said, looking at the first man. "Do you know where the original medicine bottles for your drugs are kept? Whisper it; tell only me."

By preventing the three from knowing each other's answers, he could effectively avoid collusive testimony.

"I, I can tell you, but you have to first..."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Milton fired three shots into the man's chest, ending his nonsense.

"Next." Milton kicked the corpse out of the pool of blood and looked at the second Vancan gang thug. "Same question as before. Whisper it to me."

After the shots, the other two were deathly pale. It was terrifying—the two were nearly scared to the point of collapsing to the ground. Even when facing their leader, Raul Montoya, the pressure had not been this intense.

The second man shook uncontrollably and whispered, "I don't know the specific location, but it seems to be in Greenleaf Street, in that direction, because they all come from that way..."

Greenleaf Street... that was the slum where the female prosecutor named Veronica had disappeared earlier. Was it really in that vicinity? It seemed somewhat credible, given that Veronica had gone missing there. The problem was, Greenleaf Street was too large, not to mention that "in the direction of Greenleaf Street" was vague. It would be impossible to clear it in under three days... a piece of intelligence with little significance.

Milton glanced at his watch again, turned his muzzle toward the other man, and stared at him. "Your turn. Answer my question."

Seeing that his companion hadn't been shot after answering, the third Vancan thug hurriedly whispered, "The approximate location should be in that slum on the southeast side of town, called, called Greenleaf..."

Just then, a faint whimpering sound suddenly came from the room Luz was guarding.

"Wooo... mm!!!"

This... this was a sound only a human could make! There was someone else in the room! Had the Vancan gang thug dared to lie to him? Fortunately, he had been cautious enough to have Luz guard the door!

Without waiting for the third thug to finish speaking, Milton pulled the trigger, executing both men at close range, and simultaneously lunged to the side of the door, standing ready.

"Luz, prepare for combat!"

"Boss, that..." Luz frowned, his voice filled with uncertainty, as well as excitement and agitation. "This sound, it sounds a bit familiar to me!"

Milton was stunned. "What do you mean, a bit familiar?"

The question had barely left his lips when Milton realized it, his tone carrying a hint of surprise: "You mean, Veronica?"

In truth, all of them had long since considered Veronica dead—what good end could a law enforcement officer captured by a Mexican cartel possibly have? Luz had merely wanted to try and recover his colleague's body.

"Yes!"

"Alright, follow my lead, enter with caution." Milton chose to trust his teammate's judgment and lowered his stun grenade. "There may still be enemies inside."

"Copy that."

"Three, two, one."

Clang! The two shoved the door open violently, each responsible for clearing one side of the room.

Milton stepped into the room; there were no enemies within his line of sight... but against the wall stood a specially modified medical bed resembling a torture rack. Bound to the bed was a woman with a great figure, wearing only tattered pieces of a prosecutor's uniform. She was struggling, her body twisting so hard that her toes were involuntarily curling and stretching. Several "medical instruments" had been inserted into her body, and many more lay scattered on the floor. It was clear she had been kept there as a sex slave for some time.

"Wooo... woo!"

Seeing this, Milton finally understood why those three men outside had been naked—those idiots from the Vancan gang had prioritized their lust, allowing someone who should have been silenced immediately to survive, only to be rescued by a twist of fate!

"Veronica!" Luz looked as if he wanted to turn back and put a few more rounds into those three Vancan gang members. He stepped forward quickly and removed the devices from her body in a few deft movements. "Damn it... what did those people do to you?"

Hearing a familiar voice, Veronica's struggling lessened significantly. Once the gag was removed and she could speak, she asked in astonishment, "Luz? Is that you?! Holy shit, how did you find this place?" Could it be that the explosions and gunfire she heard outside had been caused by this colleague of hers? Wasn't Luz a penniless guy? Since when was he so capable, and since when could he obtain such equipment? No, Luz didn't have this ability; it must be the person beside him! Who was he?

Milton, confirming that Veronica was not in immediate danger, interrupted them: "You two can catch up later. Veronica, do you know where the Greenvine Foundation swaps the medicine bottles for Troglitazone?"

The prosecutor was weak and exhausted from the torture, but fortunately, her mental state had not collapsed.

"The waste treatment plant behind Greenleaf Street. I was targeted precisely because I accidentally discovered this matter." Veronica swayed as she stepped off the bed. She looked at Milton and let out a sigh. "You must be the 'Hell Tax Collector,' Milton, right? Those Vancan gang members have been talking about you since yesterday... Buddy, I've heard of you. You're really fierce, for real!"

"..." Milton clenched his fist, ignoring the topic. "Are there any other valuable clues in this room?"

The waste treatment plant—actually, the "Boss" had mentioned it once before, but neither Milton nor Brandon had paid much attention to it, and even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to analyze anything. If the "Boss" were still alive, this operation might have been much easier...

Veronica shook her head. "No, at least not that I know of."

She could see that time was pressing and that the others had likely taken a huge risk to rescue her. Once the excitement and joy of escaping death faded, she calmed down and stopped talking nonsense.

"We have 1 minute and 36 seconds left, evacuate immediately." Milton checked his watch and turned on his radio. "Luz, support the wounded and stay close to me. Brandon, start the car and open the doors. We're going to the waste treatment plant."

"Brandon here... you found that missing colleague? She's not dead?"

"Yes."

Milton returned to the first floor and, just as he was about to move toward the exit, his peripheral vision caught sight of a nurse trembling nearby. He checked the time, then suddenly whipped his right hand out, twisted the nurse's arm behind her back, covered her mouth, and pressed her against the wall. He stripped off her clothes in a few seconds and threw them to Veronica behind him.

He finished with a hand strike to the back of the nurse's neck, knocking her unconscious. The entire process took only three seconds.

"Get in the car." Milton sat in the passenger seat and tossed his soft-body armor, which he had taken off earlier, into the back seat. "Put this on; it can stop handgun rounds. Remember to fasten your seatbelt."

This vest was made of Kevlar fiber; its surface was not smooth, and wearing it directly would cause abrasions or scratches to the skin due to friction or the roughness of the material's edges. That was why Milton had stripped the clothing for Veronica before they left.

By this time, the car had started, turned around, and left the hospital, sprinting toward the waste treatment plant at full speed. The entire raid, from entry to retreat, took 4 minutes and 21 seconds—it could be called perfect.

Seeing the hospital gradually disappear from view, everyone couldn't help but exhale in relief. In the back seat, Veronica put on her clothes and gear and fastened her seatbelt. "What a cool guy."

"That's our boss, Milton."

"The one driving is Officer Brandon."

"Thank you for saving my life, I'm eternally grateful... I've been gang-raped since I was captured. These Mexicans are truly beasts!"

*You're not simple either, being able to act like nothing happened...*

Milton didn't know how to respond and could only issue a cold, emotionless order: "Once your gear is on, grab a TEC-9."

"Wow, what a cool guy!"

"..."

With the operation in its final stage and a teammate rescued, and with the enemy having been on the defensive the entire time, the mood in the car relaxed significantly, and the group began to chat. However, Milton remained vigilant. He had witnessed the operational capability and speed of the Vancan gang and would never let his guard down.

Ignoring Veronica, Milton turned to Brandon, who was driving, and asked, "Any unexpected situations earlier?"

"No," Brandon shook his head. "But just as you said, Boss, the hospital is too big. I could only ensure no one left from the main entrance, but there was a high possibility of someone slipping out the back. Although it delayed us a bit, we must assume the enemy has already received the corresponding news..."

Just then, from the right side of the intersection ahead, the faint roar of an engine suddenly echoed.

*Hmm?!*

Almost reflexively, Milton grabbed the steering wheel and shoved it hard to the left!

*Screech!*

The front of the car swerved sharply to the left, the tires lost partial traction, and emitted a piercing screech! Milton's body slammed uncontrollably against the right door.

Immediately afterward, a Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ with its headlights off surged out from the road on the right, passing by almost scraping the front bumper of the Chevrolet Caprice!