Echo found herself momentarily stunned, looking at Ryan’s cold, emotionless expression. His eyes reflected nothing but pure ruthlessness-no regret, no sympathy, no humanity.
She couldn’t help but stare at him, and Ryan coldly returned her gaze.
Suddenly, Echo understood.
It was survival of the fittest. Everything was about power and skill in the underworld-that was the unchanging rule. It was more complex and dangerous than any other path, yet it was also the most straightforward, reflecting the brutal law of nature. In this world, there was no room for compassion or mercy.
Different environments shape different perspectives.
Echo knew Ryan wasn’t wrong. In a world like this, relying on mercy or the belief that someone didn’t “deserve” to die was far too naive.
This world ran on pure strength, not fairness.
But even though she understood Ryan’s view, it didn’t mean she shared it. She said lightly, “You have your way of thinking, and I have mine. But in my view, if someone didn’t do anything wrong, they don’t deserve to die.”
Ryan frowned slightly, seeing Echo’s face pale from the pain. After a long moment of silence, he held her by the waist and coldly said, “Just this once.”
Echo, who had been bracing herself for something much worse, was surprised when Ryan actually let her off that easily. She looked at him in slight disbelief, her heart slowly easing from the tension.
Cobra and Bill exchanged glances, both surprised and somewhat understanding. They knew how strict Ryan was about being touched by women, yet he had spared Echo this time. It was clear she was special to their boss.
As the tension left her, the pain in Echo’s body hit her full force. Her face turned white as she leaned against Ryan’s shoulder, breathing heavily.
Ryan, seeing her discomfort, narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “You may avoid death, but you won’t escape punishment. Because of a woman, you almost messed up my plan. I won’t tolerate such mistakes from my people.”
His words were harsh, but his hand had softened as he gently massaged the area around the injury on Echo’s chest.
Hearing Ryan’s severe tone, Echo realized she had nearly dragged him down, and it might have affected his plans.
She hadn’t meant to cause trouble-she had just acted on instinct. She hadn’t expected Ryan to be delayed by those extra seconds, which led to a dangerous moment.
She didn’t fully understand what had happened or the impact of her actions on the mission, but she now knew that her mistake had cost him in some way. If Ryan hadn’t pointed it out, she wouldn’t have realized what she had done wrong.
So, that was the mistake Ryan had been talking about. Her actions had slowed him down, and that was the key issue.
If she’d known, she wouldn’t have acted that way at all. Echo silently cursed herself for not understanding how things worked in the underworld. She really needed to pay more attention to Ryan’s expectations from now on.
Looking into Ryan’s cold eyes, Echo leaned against his chest, her trembling hand painfully pulling out the loot she’d collected.
She handed it to him and quietly said, “I did find this. It wasn’t just because of that woman that I got delayed.”
She was hoping this would help fix things.
Ryan’s gaze focused on the object, and he frowned slightly as he released his grip on her waist to take it. After examining it for a moment, his eyes turned colder.
He turned to Echo and asked in a sharp tone, “How did you find this?”
Hawk and the others nearby were just as shocked when they saw what Ryan was holding. The ring was unfamiliar to them, but they recognized the small, button-like devices. They’d seen them before in fields of poppies-dangerous items that neither machines nor people could easily detect. And in this quantity, their destructive power would be enormous.
Seeing that the anger had left Ryan’s eyes, replaced by cold calculation, Echo took a deep breath and explained, “I was in the surveillance room recording footage that would be useful for you. I saw a strange room, a torture chamber, and I went in to grab everything I could for you. I really was gathering evidence for you. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have wasted any time.”
It was 80% truth and 20% lies. Even Ryan wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. And honestly, it really was because of those things that she’d been held up. Otherwise, she would’ve been out in 20 seconds.
Ryan gave a cold snort. “Overstepping. Since when do I need your help to handle things? If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t have even bothered.” He handed the items to Hawk and, as he pulled Echo closer, he gently massaged her injured side.
Echo noticed that even though Ryan’s words were still harsh, the tension had eased slightly.
The menacing feeling from before had faded, and though there was still some anger, it was within a range she could handle.
Raising an eyebrow slightly, she said, “If you don’t want it, fine.”
She knew that if Ryan had taken action, he must’ve already had a solid plan. She was just helping, that’s all.
“Let me see,” Ryan said, noticing Echo rubbing her bruised wrist.
In the car’s headlights, her wrist looked swollen and purple, making Ryan frown slightly.
Echo huffed and pulled out the attached disc, tossing it to Ryan. “I recorded it from the surveillance room. This should at least get me out of punishment, right?”
She could feel his mood leveling out, and her boldness started to rise again.
Echo had a knack for reading people’s moods, and it was paying off now.
Ryan glanced briefly at the disc before tossing it to Bill, who immediately inserted it into a device. The footage that popped up made everyone raise their eyebrows.
This was definitely valuable.
Cobra slapped the back of his seat with a grin. “This makes our case even stronger. The Street family is gonna pay big for this one.”
Even Hawk, who usually had a calm demeanor, looked more relaxed. He glanced at Echo and nodded. “Not bad. That was a nice move.”
Seeing everyone’s reaction, Echo realized that she’d been right-Ryan and his team were planning to turn the tables on the Street family. But that wasn’t her concern. All she cared about now was Ryan’s attitude. She was already covered in injuries and didn’t want to add any more to the list.
Ryan noticed Echo staring intently at him, and for once, a hint of satisfaction crossed his eyes. He adjusted his hold on her, pulling her closer so she could lean against his shoulder.
In a calm voice, Ryan said, “I’ll let this go for now. You did some good, but you also made mistakes. Next time, don’t let this happen again, or don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
In their world, things could change in an instant. Sometimes, even a second’s delay could mean a completely different outcome.
And since Ryan was an arms dealer, he had access to things that could destroy a building of dozens of floors in the blink of an eye.
If Echo kept disobeying him and acting on her own whims, it would be incredibly dangerous for her.
But she used to acting freely, and had no clue just how risky it all was.
Like today, when she delayed him by 20 seconds. How many lives had been lost because of that? Echo didn’t realize it, but everyone else did.
The question wasn’t about the importance of one life but about how many more lives were at stake. Everyone could calculate the cost; it was the difference between stealing and robbing.
Luckily, even though she made a mistake, the ceramic explosives she recovered had also saved a lot of lives. So, in the end, it wasn’t impossible to explain it to the rest of the team.
Echo let out a sigh of relief. She’d deal with the future later-getting through this moment was enough for now.
But after paying such a heavy price, all she got was, “I’ll let this go for now.”
Feeling a bit wronged, she muttered, “But I’ve already been punished. Shouldn’t I get some kind of reward?” She stretched her wrist out for Ryan to see.