"Such a strong sll of blood!"
This was Cocolia’s first reaction upon entering the mansion.
The place looked like it had been cleaned. Both the sandy ground in the courtyard and the wooden floors inside were spotless, at least showing no signs of having been stained with blood. But for so reason, the sickeningly sweet sll still lingered.
Perhaps this was the power of ti. Anything that happens in this world leaves a trace, a trace that can never be erased. The act of hiding and covering up these traces is, in fact, just a aningless deception.
"I knew it. You arrived here early, so you had ti to set up the scene. Bronya, you take the hostage and find a suitable room. Natasha, you go and set up the tactical chs. This way, the so-called neutral, uninhabited area becos our ho turf."
"Mmph! Mmph! Mmph—"
Bronya had no objection to this arrangent. She simply and roughly dragged Kiana, whose hands and feet were shackled with electronic cuffs, towards the back of the house, leaving only the muffled groans of the gagged Kiana behind.
"Her emotions are extrely unstable today. She’s not in the best state to carry out a mission," Natasha comnted softly, standing beside Cocolia.
"By your rcenary standards, Bronya, who is extrely angry right now, is indeed not suitable for a mission. But this only considers the impact of emotions on ability. In other words, your assessnt is only based on the ability factor in a single battle. A qualified commander needs to consider more factors. In comparison, the decline in state caused by emotional fluctuations is not a decisive factor. If used well, it can even be beneficial to our side."
"Really, every ti we talk about this topic, you can go on and on." Seeing Natasha with her hand on her forehead, looking helpless, Cocolia smiled lightly.
"I can’t help it. I was an officer once, you know. Just think of it as my occupational hazard acting up."
"Is that really it?" Natasha leaned lazily against the wall, pulling the hood on her head down a little. "Your current identity, isn’t it also ’commander’?"
"Ah, that’s true..."
"So, as a commander, what are your thoughts on this? Why don’t you share them? I’m quite curious to know what those ’big shots’ were thinking when they were ordering us around."
Natasha’s tone showed no awareness of being a subordinate, but Cocolia didn’t seem to have a problem with it. She seed to enjoy this kind of conversation.
Raven wasn’t strictly her subordinate either, just a rcenary who worked for money. They only had an employnt relationship, with no personal feelings involved. So, in the countless days and nights of the past, Cocolia’s trust in Raven was once far greater than her trust in Bronya.
After all, human emotions are complex, but money is pure. As an employer, simply providing a high enough salary could ensure the loyalty of such an expert, which was much simpler and easier than guessing the thoughts of ordinary subordinates.
Under this premise, whether Natasha’s attitude towards her was good or bad didn’t really matter.
However... this topic was quite fitting for what she wanted to say.
"It’s simple. For , it’s best for Bronya to remain in this state of anger. At least this anger shows her attitude towards the enemy. I don’t need to worry about a certain situation arising."
"Then, what if she appeared calm, or nervous, or anxious?"
"That would an... hehe, that today, the only one accompanying for the exchange would be you."
Cocolia tilted her head and smiled. Natasha’s mouth also curled to the sides, but the muscles in her face were a little stiff.
To prevent Cocolia from seeing through her, she only smiled for a mont before quickly pulling a long face and complaining, "How should I put it? It’s as disgusting as I expected."
"You can think it’s disgusting. I never thought it wasn’t. But if you want to survive better, this is a skill you have to learn."
Natasha snorted coldly and shook her head noncommittally. "Forget it. I’m just a rcenary who works for money. I only need to consider how to survive in battle. As for what’s outside the battlefield, hehe, I’m too lazy to think about it."
"Is that so... what a pity."
"A pity for what?" Natasha asked, secretly on guard. It wasn’t as if Cocolia hadn’t had heart-to-heart talks with her before. She had tried her best to convince herself that those were just conversations between "friends," but she wouldn’t be surprised if Cocolia used those thods on her, looking for clues in her words and expressions.
Especially at such a sensitive ti. In half an hour, it would be the ti they had agreed to exchange hostages. Under such circumstances, she couldn’t afford to show her hand in front of Cocolia...
"A pity for what?" Cocolia mimicked Raven’s posture and leaned lightly against the wall. "Of course it’s a pity... Natasha, I actually value you a lot. Even your current thoughts... hehe, more than ten years ago, when I was still a captain, I thought the sa way—observing and manipulating people’s hearts, managing complex relationship networks, I didn’t care about these dirty and disgusting things. At that ti, I only knew how to follow the rules. So, I arrested a colonel nad Alexei, caught him red-handed selling arms. But what was the result? Just because he was a higher rank than , just because he had stronger connections, in the end, I was the one who was put on trial. They pinned Alexei’s cris on and successfully threw into prison..."
"Hah? Cocolia, please speak human! You should know very well that I only care about money and don’t want to know about my employer’s past. Besides, this roundabout way of speaking isn’t like you, is it?"
"Is that so... is it hard to understand?" Cocolia smiled bitterly and shook her head. "Let put it this way. I myself know that many of the things I do can hardly escape the evaluation of ’heinous.’ You can understand it as feeling guilty, but I also understand that sotis, doing many unjust things will lead to one’s own demise is not just a naive human fantasy. Especially seeing soone like Raiden Ryoma, who was once so powerful, being taken down by us so easily... so, it’s hard for not to worry that I will follow in Raiden Ryoma’s footsteps."
"I know, I know! But what does this have to do with ? Please! You don’t expect to save you then, do you? I’m a rcenary who works for money, a rcenary who will serve anyone who pays, I’ll just run away with Bronya if things go south. Of course, if the other side offers a high enough price, I don’t mind changing sides on the spot."
"I know all that, of course." Cocolia pressed her lips together and stood in front of Natasha. "Natasha, I just want to ask you for one thing—you like children too, right? The children in the orphanage... if sothing happens to , the only one willing to take care of them will be you. Isn’t your dream to buy a small island and build a villa to live a good life? The mission rewards I’ve given you these past few years should be about enough. But if you live alone on the island, with at most Bronya, it would be a bit lonely, wouldn’t it?"
"Hehe, alright, alright, I give up..." Natasha shook her head exaggeratedly. She didn’t understand what had gotten into Cocolia, why she was saying these things to her so out of character, almost as if she were giving her last words. However, it seed that if she didn’t agree, things would get very troubleso later. And so of Cocolia’s words were not without reason. For example, if sothing happened to her, Natasha would be the only one who cared about the children in the orphanage. For example, Natasha did indeed like these children very much.
So, no matter what happened, Natasha decided to agree first.
However, to prevent Cocolia from pushing her luck, she quickly turned and walked outside, saying as she went, "I agree, alright! The agreed ti is almost here, I have to go and set up the tactical chs!"
Watching the ink-colored cloak disappear around the corner of the entrance hall, Cocolia’s eyes gradually narrowed into a slit. She twirled her long golden hair with her index finger, a playful smile on her face. "Raven... that codena is really fitting. But, I still don’t understand why she wears a cloak in broad daylight..."
"Mama Cocolia, it’s all set up inside. I chose the room closest to the northwest corner. The size is right, not too empty, but enough room to move around. The room has only one door and one window. The window faces the courtyard wall. The tactical chs can provide fire suppression there."
"Very good. This way, this place really becos our ho turf... hehe, I wonder what that guy Michael is thinking, actually agreeing to a place with no third party. It’s his own foolishness, he can’t bla for cheating, hmph!"
"Uh... if he happens to show up and sees this, will he..." Bronya did feel that this was not a good idea, but of course, it wasn’t about any moral scruples. rcenaries were guys who would do anything to complete a mission and get paid. She was just afraid that such an action would provoke the other party and threaten Seele’s safety.
"Don’t worry, Bronya. I’ve deployed drones around the area. This place is already sparsely populated. If the other party appears, it will be difficult to hide their tracks." She knelt down on one knee in front of Bronya, gently ruffling her hair, and added softly, "Trust , Bronya. How could I joke about Seele’s safety?"
Bronya’s lips moved a couple of tis, but she finally stopped纠结 on this issue.
"Then... if Natasha and I are not there, will there be any problems at the orphanage?"
"Oh? Bronya, do you think I’m the kind of careless person who would leave my own base undefended? Don’t worry, by now, Sin Mal, Rozaliya, and Liliya should have already been taken to the Corp building. I’ve turned the orphanage into a trap. If they were to use such despicable ans, they would probably get a big surprise."
"I understand." Bronya nodded chanically and turned back to the room she had chosen.
"Mmph mmph mmph—mmph mmph mmph—mmph!" Seeing her, Kiana, who was tied tightly to a wooden stool, imdiately struggled.
Bronya raised an eyebrow and rubbed her eyes. Although it was just for a mont... although the girl in front of her was very different from the other one in both appearance and personality, Bronya still mistook her for Seele for a mont.
Also kidnapped, I wonder what kind of treatnt Seele will receive... thinking of this, Bronya, on a whim, took the gag out of Kiana’s mouth.
"Ptooey ptooey ptooey! Untie , you... mmph! Mmph mmph mmph!" Bronya decisively stuffed the gag back in.
She covered her face, turned to look at the closed door behind her, and then lowered her voice, "Behave yourself. Soone will be here to pick you up soon, understand?"
Kiana nodded repeatedly, but seeing Bronya turn to leave, she quickly started yelling again.
"Mmph mmph mmph! Mmph!"
"What are you doing now?" Bronya frowned and walked back to Kiana. This ti, Kiana didn’t yell, but obediently stretched her face forward.
Bronya understood and once again took the gag out of her mouth.
This ti, Kiana didn’t yell randomly. Instead, she smiled foolishly and requested, "Um... can you use sothing cleaner to gag... uh..."
Bronya stared at her coldly. After about half a minute, she sighed longly, wishing she could hold her own head in her hands.
"Are you an idiot?" Who would argue with their kidnapper about sothing like this at a ti like this? Do you have any awareness and sense of urgency as a hostage! Don’t you know that this can easily provoke the kidnapper and lead to extre actions!
But then, she thought of a great idea—a way to both satisfy Kiana’s request and relieve a little of her anger.
"Hey! Wait! Why are you taking off your socks when you’re talking... wait! Don’t co over! Help... mmph!"
---||---
"Hey! Cocolia, the target has appeared, and he’s alone."
"He didn’t bring the hostage?"
"It doesn’t look like it. He probably couldn’t handle it alone. But it seems like they didn’t ntion exchanging hostages in person when they made the agreent last night..."
"I see... guide him to the negotiation point as planned."
Raven took off her hood, smoothed her collar, and removed the miniature microphone—she had a feeling that this thing was already useless.
"Yo? Not wearing a hat this ti?" Michael casually closed the car door and didn’t forget to tease Raven. The latter blinked, shook her head noncommittally, and Michael quickly followed up with an explanation, "Well, when we fought the other night, you’d rather take a kick from than let go of your hood. Does it have any special aning?"
Raven squinted her eyes and smiled, but her words were cold, "No comnt."
"Alright, alright! But today’s negotiation topic should be the exchange of hostages, right? Let’s hurry up and see Cocolia."
After saying that, Michael gestured to Natasha, who understood and beca even more silent.
The sa courtyard, the sa path, a different ti, a different purpose, the feelings along the way were also very different. Yesterday, at this sa place, every step Michael took was slow and heavy. Today, it was incomparably light. It wasn’t long before Natasha led him into the room.
Cocolia had been leaning lazily against the sofa. Seeing Michael arrive, she tilted her head and smiled faintly. "Hehe, a little younger than I imagined."
Michael shook his head, first walking around the room to confirm Kiana’s situation, then sat down next to Cocolia with a casual air.
"You..."
"What? Is this seat reserved?"
"No." Cocolia gritted her teeth. She hadn’t expected this young man to so easily take the initiative... but it didn’t matter. Negotiation was not just about words. Strength was also very important...
"Ahem! I’m a straightforward person. After all, ti is precious, so I’ll just state my demands directly: First, I’m definitely taking Kiana with . Second, I didn’t kidnap Seele. I just rescued her on the way. But she’s quite cute, so I don’t plan to return her to you. But Seele feels bored being alone and wants to bring her big sister Bronya back to keep her company. So you see... third, I..."
"Enough!" Michael’s direct demands caught Cocolia off guard. It wasn’t just the timing, it was... she had never seen such a shaless person!
"No sincerity at all. You’re not here to negotiate!"
"How can you say that? This is pure slander!" Michael shrugged with a look of indifference and stood up from the sofa. This sudden movent triggered a series of reactions in the already tense atmosphere. Cocolia, Natasha, and Bronya all drew their guns at almost the sa ti. Cocolia’s gun was aid at Michael, Bronya’s gun was aid at... and Natasha’s gun...
"Natasha, what are you doing!" Bronya angrily questioned Raven, who was pointing her gun at Cocolia. Cocolia, however, didn’t seem very surprised.
"I see... so you chose that side in the end, Natasha. I was originally planning to..." Cocolia’s words stopped there, cutting off at just the right mont, but it was enough to bring back Raven’s mory of their recent conversation.
"Cocolia..." The daze was only for a mont, but even such a short mont was enough for the forr soldier Cocolia to draw the second pistol from her waist.
However, Raven’s reaction speed was naturally faster than the ordinary Cocolia. She had a chance to shoot before Cocolia could release the safety on her pistol, but the finger on the trigger trembled and ultimately did nothing.
The situation was suddenly at a stalemate until Michael let out a soft sigh, "Really, why do you have to fight... why don’t I tell you a secret first—this is the place where Seele was kidnapped yesterday. And the reason I chose this place for the negotiation is because..."
As his voice fell, everyone’s vision seed to be covered with a red filter. Looking closely at the walls, ceiling, and floor, they could see that they were all stained with blood. The grain and cracks of the wooden floor even had a small amount of flowing blood...
This place had never been cleaned, as if this hostage exchange was never an exchange at all.
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