Feeling a bit down, Echo returned to Ryan’s villa. She couldn’t quite figure out why she felt that way, and after thinking for a while without any answers, she decided to stick to her usual approach: if she couldn’t understand it, she wouldn’t stress about it. It had nothing to do with her life or freedom, so why waste her energy? Plus, with Ryan away, she figured it was the perfect time to relax.
She shrugged off her bad mood and casually headed into Ryan’s computer room. Even though Ryan had let her rest these past couple of days, he still expected her to learn about the Dark family’s inner workings. He’d given her access to the central computer system, a place that held all the Dark family’s secrets. If she were a spy or an undercover agent, she’d be set, but unfortunately, she wasn’t.
Echo wasn’t particularly interested in the Dark family’s secrets or hierarchy. She had no desire to climb the ranks, knowing the price she’d have to pay to get there. So she wasn’t eager to dig into the documents. Instead, she stumbled upon a new computer game while browsing online. It was a bit childish, but the graphics were nice, making it perfect for killing time.
After launching the game, just as she was about to dive in, a notification popped up on the screen. Echo recognized it as an incoming message. Ryan’s computer room was connected to all the main servers of the Dark family, and all messages were filtered before reaching him. He had dozens of machines monitoring things, like Hawk and Cobra.
Noticing the message was red, she realized it was something Hawk had reported. Raising an eyebrow, she clicked on it since it had automatically appeared, which meant it wasn’t high-priority and didn’t require a special password to access.
“Skye’s location report,” the brief note sent a shock through Echo.
Her expression changed instantly, her eyes lighting up with urgency.
It was about Skye!
Without thinking twice, she quickly refreshed the report.
“Skye, mid-last month spotted in London, being hunted by the Theft Organization, injured, currently in Hong Kong, reported by the Asia-Pacific regional head.”
Echo read it quickly, her heart racing.
Skye was being hunted?
Fixating on the report, she took a deep breath, pushing down her worry and shock. The report mentioned the hunt had happened last month, and since Skye was now in Hong Kong, that meant she was likely okay.
Suddenly relieved, Echo couldn’t help but feel grateful that Ryan had her familiarize herself with everything about the Dark family and had allowed her into this control room.
Skye, I really missed you!
Once she calmed down, Echo swiftly deleted the report.
Ryan threatening her with Skye was nothing new; now that she had stumbled upon this information, she couldn’t let anything fall into Ryan’s hands.
Knowing Skye’s whereabouts made everything easier. A smile broke across Echo’s face as she realized that it seemed the Dark family didn’t really prioritize Skye. Otherwise, the report wouldn’t have been so low-level, and they wouldn’t have waited this long to inform her. She’d thought Ryan was really concerned about Skye, but maybe it was just a minor issue for him. If it wasn’t a big deal, then it worked to her advantage.
She quickly restored everything to its original state and stepped outside with a light-hearted spring in her step.
Hong Kong was a great place-if she could get to Skye before Ryan did, it would feel even better.
No need to be restrained or threatened; even though she was willingly working under Ryan now, her mood was completely different.
“Miss Echo, where are you going? Do you need to prepare anything?” The guard at the Dark family’s gate was surprised to see Echo strolling out without any baggage. Usually, if someone from the upper ranks of the Dark family was leaving, they’d at least be driving a car.
Echo maintained a calm expression and replied, “No need.” She waved her hand, signaling them to open the gate.
The Dark family valued rules highly, and obedience was expected. The guard immediately bowed slightly and stepped back, opening the gate.
What the higher-ups said was an absolute order-there was no room for questioning or doubt; they just had to comply.
With a serious look on her face, Echo walked out and quickly disappeared into the bustling crowd. As soon as she was among the masses in downtown New York, her serious demeanor vanished.
After a quick stroll, she changed her appearance and clothing, shaking off her protective detail and headed straight for the airport.
Hong Kong, here I come.
Hong Kong was an international city.
As dawn broke, after about 20 hours on a regular flight, Echo appeared at Hong Kong Airport, taking a deep breath. A graceful smile remained on her lips as she hurried forward.
Driving a rented sports car, Echo made her way to the location of the Dark family’s Asia-Pacific regional head. She wanted to gather information before Ryan realized she was gone, and then find a safe place for Skye. That was her goal for this risky trip. If Ryan discovered she had left without permission, he’d likely deal with her without hesitation. Speed was crucial; she hoped to arrange everything and sneak back without Ryan even noticing.
She followed the address she had found, only to end up at a small, bar-like establishment. The doors were closed during the day, and it looked completely unremarkable.
Echo couldn’t help but doubt if this was really a Dark family outpost. Could the Dark family really be this pathetic? She found it hard to believe, wondering if she had made a mistake.
What she didn’t know was that the Dark family wasn’t very interested in the Chinese market due to too many restrictions. As a self-sufficient military power, they didn’t need to buy everything like other countries or rely on their supplies. Their influence in the area was relatively weak because they couldn’t fully penetrate the market.
As for their connections there, they mainly served to provide information and foster relationships.
Once she confirmed that she hadn’t made a mistake, Echo naturally opened the door in the morning light and walked in, as if entering her own home, giving no one a chance to pay her any mind.
Entering the inner area quietly, all the locks felt like mere decorations to her, hardly stronger than paper.
“Hobart, what’s going on that you called everyone in so early?” A soft voice came from what seemed to be the living room, mixed with heavy sleepiness.
Echo couldn’t help but furrow her brow slightly.
“Just wait until everyone’s here, and then I’ll explain. You should sit for a bit; this is serious,” a calm voice replied.
“What’s happening? You need to give me the details. Did something go wrong?” Anxiety and surprise replaced the earlier sleepiness.
“It’s not an issue on our end, but it might be related. I got some news from above that there might be a problem with the Skye report we submitted yesterday,” the steady voice explained.
Echo, hiding outside the door, felt a jolt of surprise.
“Skye? What could go wrong? We reported everything accurately!”
“I don’t know, but a command came in from the New York headquarters at 5 AM. Lord Hawk personally issued a Level 1 mission to capture Skye.”
Echo was taken aback. When she left, Skye’s mission was only rated Level 5, and now it suddenly jumped to Level 1. What did that mean?
“Level 1?” came an astonished voice, clearly startled as well. This was a high-level order.
Echo frowned tightly, clenched her fist, and was about to step out of the shadows. As the sixth leader of the Dark family, even if she was still a bit below Hawk, she was still the highest authority here. She could directly pull up the information and people-these guys wouldn’t dare resist.
“Hobart, what’s going on that you summoned us so urgently?”
Before she could take a step, several people rushed in quickly.
“Since you’re all here, listen up. The New York headquarters sent an urgent order at dawn. First, it’s a Level 1 mission from Lord Hawk to capture Skye. Second, and this is the most important part, the Boss personally issued an order for a Level 1 search for Echo, and they want her alive.”
Silence fell as everyone absorbed the order.
Echo went quiet too, her foot hovering in mid-air slowly retracting. Luckily, she hadn’t stepped out yet, or she would’ve walked right into trouble. Echo rubbed her nose, quietly retreating; this wasn’t a place to linger.
She slipped out carefully, pulling her cap down almost to the point of masking her face. The ring on her finger wouldn’t come off, so she tightly rewrapped the bandage she had ripped open to show her face, making sure to cover the ring completely.
What was going on? Was Ryan trying to eliminate her?
His Level 1 order-searching for her?
She had just come to find Skye! Did it have to be this severe?
They wanted her alive, which meant they didn’t care how she looked afterward. They could beat her up and break a few limbs if they needed to; it was just a small issue of her sneaking away, right?
Getting into her rented car, Echo slammed her fist on the steering wheel, making a loud thud that startled nearby pedestrians. She took off like a bat out of hell, feeling like she could cry.
How did things turn out this way? She’d been so careful hiding, and yet here she was, caught just like that. The Dark family’s reach was insane; they moved way too fast.