Echo didn’t hear any screams, nor did she see the guy’s expression, but a chill ran down her spine anyway.
Ryan was terrifyingly strong-just brutal. How much strength did it take to pull that off? How much skill? And what kind of mental toughness? Ryan wasn’t even human.
On the screen, Ryan hooked his feet, flipping himself over and sliding in another direction, dodging the panicked gunfire from below, before going after his next target.
Echo suddenly understood-Ryan had been way too gentle with her.
With his skills, he could’ve easily broken her down and rebuilt her.
The fact that she was still in one piece and doing fine? That was pure mercy.
Echo clasped her hands together in a prayer of thanks, feeling grateful that the heavens had been kind to her.
“What kind of move is that? Praying for Ryan?” Adolph’s voice broke in, snapping Echo out of her thoughts.
Tiger and Bill also turned to look at her.
Echo didn’t answer, just pulled a straight face, her mouth twitching slightly.
Bill chuckled and said, “Look at that, you’re actually worried about the Boss. Don’t stress too much-once Boss gets on that plane, nothing’s going to happen to him. You haven’t seen all he can do. This is just a warm-up.”
Echo ground her teeth at that. “Just a warm-up? If this is him going easy, I don’t even want to imagine him going all out,” she said with a bitter smile. “I’m only worried about myself.”
Tiger frowned at her comment, his voice deep. “What do you mean?” Not worried about Ryan, but worried about herself? What kind of talk was that? His expression darkened as he glared at her.
Echo shot him a glare right back but didn’t respond.
Bill rolled his eyes and said, “Good you know. Maybe now you’ll think twice before acting up.” Tiger didn’t get why she was worried about herself instead of the Boss, but he sure did.
“Enough with the chit-chat,” Adolph cut in, not caring what Echo was worried about. “Stay focused-there’s no room for any distractions right now.”
Meanwhile, Ryan had crawled to the very front of the plane’s nose, where there was an access hatch. This was the entry point for this type of fighter jet and also its weakest spot.
Ryan crouched there, calm and composed, as if he weren’t in mid-air on a violently shaking plane trying to throw him off. His composure and speed were unmatched.
With one forceful move, he yanked the hatch open, and in a flash, he was inside before anyone could react.
The people on Cecily’s plane, still guarding the windows, didn’t even have time to register what had happened.
Gunfire erupted.
Ryan, already in motion, didn’t hesitate. His shots were precise, each bullet hitting its mark right between the eyes. The armed men who had raised their guns toward him never got the chance to fire, collapsing backward with their weapons still aimed.
Ryan leaped to the ground, but before he could even stand, a gust of air rushed from behind-someone charging at him with the force of a storm. In that split second, they were so overwhelmed by Ryan’s sheer presence that they forgot to shoot and instead went for hand-to-hand combat, launching themselves at him.
Ryan’s eyes turned cold. Without even looking, he fired a shot behind him, and with lightning speed, his left hand shot out, grabbing the throat of the man charging at him. In one swift motion, there was a sharp crack-the man’s collarbone shattered instantly. Ryan flipped the body over and hurled it at the closest person.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Not one of the attackers survived-either a bullet through the forehead or a brutal takedown.
Ryan’s strength was terrifying, and his strikes were deadly efficient. Every encounter only took a single move to end, the sound of bones snapping in the tight space sent chills down anyone’s spine.
Grabbing the last man by the neck, Ryan’s expression was cold and ruthless. His fingers dug into the back of the man’s neck, yanking him down. With a powerful knee strike, there was another crack, and the man didn’t even get a chance to groan before his spine was broken in several places, sending him straight to the afterlife.
Ryan casually tossed the lifeless body aside, his eyes full of murderous intent as he glared at Cecily, who had been sitting still the whole time.
He said coldly, “Hi, Cecily.”
Cecily’s face showed a mix of shock and fear. When she heard Ryan’s voice, chilling like it came straight from hell, a shiver ran through her as she met his icy gaze.
But being a boss in the underworld herself, Cecily quickly composed herself and gave Ryan a graceful smile. “Mr. Ryan, you’ve killed everyone-who’s going to fly the plane?”
Ryan glanced at the controls, noticing the plane was starting to nosedive. With a cold grunt, he quickly switched on the communication channel.
Tiger, Bill, and the others, who had been waiting in tense silence, saw the signal from Cecily’s plane come through and exchanged relieved glances as they answered the call.
“Press the three buttons in front to your left, pull up the control lever, and hit the fourth button on the lower right…” Tiger didn’t wait for Ryan’s command, immediately guiding him.
Ryan didn’t know how to fly this model, but seeing the plane plummet, they knew what was happening.
Ryan sat in the captain’s seat and, following Tiger’s instructions, quickly stabilized the plane. Then, he turned to Cecily and said coldly, “Are you going to jump, or should I make you?”
Cecily chuckled lightly. “Mr. Ryan, you’re truly impressive. Even in this situation, you still came out on top. I almost envy my darling son for finding someone like you to team up with.”
Ryan’s expression darkened, his voice low. “I’m being patient because of Adolph. Don’t push it.”
Cecily burst into laughter. “Mr. Ryan, I’ve always known you to be cold and ruthless. Now that I’m in your hands, I know what’s coming for me. Honestly, I regret it-letting you escape yesterday. That explosion should’ve killed you all. It really disappointed me, after all the careful planning I did.”
Ryan’s expression darkened as he snapped his head toward Cecily. He was losing patience.
Cecily grinned menacingly, her voice dripping with mockery as she said, “Ryan, I, Cecily, am no fool. If I had the guts to come here myself, I wasn’t planning on leaving empty-handed. Underestimating your survival was my mistake, but in this game, always keeping something in reserve is the reason I’ve lasted so long in this world. And now, you get to die with me. Consider it an honor, Ryan. Even in death, I’ll drag you down with me.”
With that, she threw her head back in wild laughter, opened the window beside her, and leaped out.
Her maniacal, arrogant laughter echoed faintly in the air, sending chills down the spines of those who heard it-whether they caught every word or not.
Tiger, Adolph, and the others, listening in through the signal, immediately became serious.
Tiger quickly called out, “Boss, press the fifth green button to slow the plane down. I’m coming to get you.”
He dove his plane into a steep descent, unable to approach recklessly with twelve transport planes and five fake fighter jets still in the air. Ryan had to reduce speed for them to attempt a rescue.
Ryan’s face was grim as he barked back at Tiger, “What’s with the panic? Run a quick check on the-”
Ryan stopped mid-sentence, suddenly sensing something wrong with his seat. Instantly, his instincts kicked in, and he leaped out of his seat just as two steel bands shot out from the sides, wrapping tightly around the spot where he had just been sitting.
Ryan’s frown deepened.
In an instant, with a series of sharp clicks, the entire plane sealed itself shut. Even the windows and front screens were covered, plunging the cabin into darkness. Emergency lights flickered on, and thick smoke began to fill the space from every corner.
Gas.
Poison gas.