CHAPTER 127: NOT LEAVING THEM BEHIND..

All the new team members with Dr. Lopez turned toward the lab stations and immediately began their research, voices low and hurried.

Hunter seized the moment. He slipped quietly to the side, his eyes darting around before settling on a computer terminal.

The screen blinked with a heavy security lock.

Hunter’s jaw clenched, but his fingers flew across the keys without hesitation.

Lines of red code flooded the monitor, warning intrusions, but green strings of Hunter’s override commands pushed through.

His hands moved like lightning, the keys clattering under his touch.

Within minutes, a progress bar filled—the entire research archive was siphoned.

Every formula, every patient record, every experiment file—downloaded. With a final keystroke, he planted a virus deep in their system.

It sat there, silent and invisible, waiting to spread.

Hunter slipped out of the chair, blending back into the shadows.

No one had noticed. He moved toward the iron door, recalling the six-digit code Dr. Lopez had entered earlier.

Punching it in, he heard the heavy click of the lock disengaging.

But just as he was about to push the door open—

WEE-OO, WEE-OO!

A shrill alarm screamed across the facility. Red emergency lights flared, bathing the corridor in warning.

Hunter froze, instincts sharp. He darted into the corner shadows, pressing himself against the wall.

He whispered into his earpiece, voice taut. "Knight, find out what the hell just happened."

High in the treetop outside the villa, Knight stiffened. His smartwatch flicked open, transforming into a sleek mini-laptop.

A wry mutter slipped from him: "We should be thanking Luna for this—tech god herself. Half these toys wouldn’t even exist without her."

His fingers hammered the holographic keys, firewalls flashing and collapsing one by one. Before, their system had been unbreakable.

But now—thanks to Hunter’s virus infecting its core—Knight slipped through with alarming ease.

Security cameras flickered, doors unlocked, encrypted files unraveled before him.

Hunter murmured again, tension mounting. "Knight... have you found the problem yet?"

No reply. Only the crackle of static.

A chill spread in Hunter’s chest. His mind raced. Did something happen to him?

Minutes ticked like hours. Then Knight’s voice returned, low and grim. "Hunter... stay in the shadows. Don’t move."

Hunter’s brows furrowed. "What’s going on?"

Knight exhaled sharply. "They found one of the elites. Body dumped by the river cliff.

Knight’s voice dropped low. "They’ve been alerted. An intruder’s on their radar. You’d better get out of there now.".

Hunter grit his teeth, his whisper rough. "But those people—they’re still in there! We can’t just—"

"Hunter." Knight’s voice cracked like a whip, sharp and commanding. "We will save them.

We still don’t have enough resources on our side," Knight said firmly, his voice carrying the weight of hard truth.

"And we both know how Rex operates—brutal, precise, and never alone. Taking them on single-handedly isn’t just reckless, it’s suicide.

We need to pull out now. Only then, with the right preparation, can we come back and save those innocent souls."

Don’t forget—we have their entire blueprint now. Every corridor. Every lab. Every secret. But if you’re caught tonight, it’s over. Get out. Now."

Hunter swallowed the protest clawing at his throat, eyes flicking toward the cages, the experiment chambers, the faint cries that still echoed behind the walls.

His fists clenched, but he stayed still in the dark, waiting for his chance to move.

Hunter forced himself to take a steady breath, Knight’s words burning in his ear. Get out. Now.

"No, Knight," Hunter growled into the comm, his voice steady and unshakable. "We’re not leaving them behind.

We’re taking them with us. Get the vehicle ready. I’ve already locked the doctor’s team down in the basement with the animals—they’re trapped.

We’ve got a window, and we can pull most of these people out. Trust me on this."

The alarm lights strobed red, casting jagged shadows down the corridor.

Guards in black tactical gear stormed past, rifles slung, boots thundering on the steel floor.

Hunter pressed himself into the dark recess of the wall, waiting for the rhythm of their footsteps to fade.

"Knight," he whispered.

"Fine...!!" Knight snapped, but his voice carried no hesitation—only the hardened calm of a man who had faced death a hundred times and never blinked. "I’ve got your path."

His tone was brisk, razor-sharp, the kind of precision that came from years of surviving impossible missions.

"Four guards ahead. One at the staircase, two holding the left corridor, another sweeping back from the far end."

Hunter smirked under his mask, eyes locked forward. "That’s child’s play."

"Focus," Knight replied, though there was a trace of amusement in his tone. "I’ll feed you their moves, one by one.

Time it right, and you’ll ghost through without breaking a sweat."

Hunter shifted his grip on the pistol holstered at his thigh. "Don’t worry. Just give me the word."

Knight’s tone dropped, crisp and commanding. "Wait for my signal."

Hunter crouched low, his pulse steady, matching the rhythm of the alarms. The door panel flashed insistently, demanding its code.

"Okay," Knight’s voice crackled in Hunter’s earpiece, steady but commanding. "There are four rooms where people are still alive and moving.

Save the new batch and the children. You’ve got fifteen minutes. I’ll keep the other team locked up, but their men are already working hard to open the door."

Hunter’s eyes narrowed. "Copy. Fifteen minutes is more than enough."

At the signal, he moved. Smoke bombs hissed across the corridors, swallowing the hallways in thick clouds.

Guards and lab attendants staggered blindly, coughing, but Hunter cut through them with silent precision—swift strikes dropping one after another until the place fell quiet.

He headed first to the chamber with the woman he had seen earlier and the boy beside her.

Both were barely clinging to consciousness. Hunter freed them quickly, pressing a small pill to each of their lips.

They swallowed weakly—and within minutes, their bodies responded.

Color returned to their cheeks, breath steadied, and their eyes flickered open in disbelief.

Hunter gave them both a firm nod. "You’re safe. Stay close. We’re getting out of here."