Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

Chapter 248

The four of them sat on the sofa in the living. Briar and Ashton sat on the left, while Jabari and Jasmin sat on the

right, creating an atmosphere of confrontation.

Ashton sat there with his arms crossed. He did not even have to speak; the blank stare he gave the two of them

was unsettling enough.

His

presence was just too intense.

Jabari and Jasmin did not dare to look up under Ashton’s stare and kept shrinking back into the sofa.

Briar gave Ashton a subtle nudge, signaling him to stop scaring them. Any more and Jasmin would start crying.

Ashton finally looked away.

Briar quickly asked, “Jabari, is there a reason you two are sneaking around my doorstep this early to ambush

me?”

As she spoke, she frantically shot glances at Jabari, who was looking up at her, warning him not to misspeak.

Although Ashton had thoroughly scared him, Jabari still knew what to say and what not to.

Seeing Briar’s nervous expression, he gave her a reassuring smile. “Oh, it is like this. We have not had much to

do these few days and just wanted to travel around. My wife heard you were back in Qathana, so we cto

hang out with you...”

“Cup with another excuse. This one isn’t convincing.” Before Jabari could finish, Ashton cut him off coldly.

The others were speechless.

Indeed, such a meaningless excuse might fool an ordinary person, but it was hard to convince Ashton.

Jasmin looked to Briar for help. “Briar, we really cto find you...”

It was true they were looking for her, but they could not reveal their intentions in front of Ashton.

Briar shook Ashton’s arm. “Ashton, stop scaring them. They won't hurt me.”

Ashton said, “I know they won't hurt you. Otherwise, they wouldn't be conscious enough to be talking to us right

now. But I'm still very angry.”

Briar felt a little guilty, as she could tell who Ashton was angry with.

Jabari’s expression suddenly turned serious, as if he was done pretending. “Briar,” he said, “the intel you sold

our base last twas extremely helpful. We cto buy more information from Hacker Alliance.”

Ashton glanced at Jabari, his expression unreadable.

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Chapter 248

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Hearing Jabari’s sudden, all-business tone, Briar raised an eyebrow. “Alright, you want to buy intel? As it

happens, | have exactly what you're looking for, concerning that secret laboratory and its human experiments...

Briar wasn’t the only one investigating the secret laboratory and Ben, who was backing it; the DDC Vanguard

was also on the case.

In recent years, several of the base’s mercenaries had vanished mysteriously. The investigation eventually

revealed they had been taken to a secret laboratory to be used as guinea pigs.

Ashton frowned. “You're investigating the secret laboratory, too?”

Relieved that Ashton’s attention was successfully diverted, Jabari breathed a silent sigh. “The man’s persistence

was even harder to handle than his terrifying combat skills, he thought.

“Yes, several mercenaries from our DDC Vanguard Base have gone missing. So far, our investigation only

indicates they were likely taken to the secret laboratory. And, as you know, Briar has been investigating this for

the past few years... That's why we're collaborating.”

Jabari desperately tried to redirect Ashton’s suspicions. He couldn't let Briar’s secret identity as the elite

instructor for the DDC Vanguard Mercenary Special Operations Base be exposed on his watch.

Otherwise, the unreasonable and overprotective Louie would beat him to death.

Briar chimed in, “That's right. I did work with DDC Vanguard, but we lost touch after | returned to Dasmieca. I'm

guessing they cto my house because they heard something from lan.”

Jasmin nodded quickly. “Exactly. Our people spotted fan in Qathana, so the base sent the two of us to contact

Briar secretly. Who knew she’d be hiding a man at home...”

“Since you're here to discuss a collaboration with Briar, go ahead. I'll leave you to it.” With that, Ashton actually

stood up and went upstairs.

Jabari watched in astonishment as Ashton left without a fuss. After a moment, he asked, “Briar, is your man

really that gullible?”

Briar retorted, “What do you think? He didn’t believe a word of our nonsense. He's only playing along for my

sake.”

‘How could Ashton possibly be that gullible?‘ she thought.

Worried, Jasmin got up and sat next to Briar. “When we leave, is he going to brutally interrogate you? I've heard

the methods used by his 121 Overseas Mercenary Organization are even more terrifying than our base’s

interrogation techniques.”

Briar smiled and shook her head. “He won't go as far as brutally interrogating me. He'll just be harder to coax.”

“Alright then,” Jasmin said apologetically. “We were careless this tand didn’t think it through. We're sorry!”

“It’s fine. Let's get down to business. You two are treasures at the base, so what brings you tothis time?”

Briar didn’t dwell on the topic and cut to the chase.

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Chapter 248

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Speaking of business, Jabari and Jasmin becserious. “Briar,” Jabari said in a grave tone, “just a week ago,

another five mercenaries from our base disappeared for no reason.”

“A week ago? Isn't that exactly when Ashton and his people captured Hayden?” A dark glint flashed in Briar’'s

eyes.

Jabari nodded. “Yes. Louie is already investigating it himself, but he didn’t tell you, likely because he didn’t want

to burden you. But the men have been missing for a week, and as the head of the base’s external

communications, | have the right to ask you, as an involved party, for clarification.”

Briar opened her phone and showed Jabari the information she and Ashton had uncovered about the Garzas and

the locations of several secret labs.

“Although | suspect things may not be what they seem, I'm still willing to share this information with the base,”

she said.

She was investigating the Garzas to find the truth behind her mother’s death, which shouldn't be directly related

to the missing mercenaries from the base.

However, just as Jabari said, the recent disappearances of the base’s mercenaries coincided with the tshe

took action against the Garzas. This was more than just a coincidence.

“I'll notify the base immediately and have them follow up on the information you provided. Hopefully, we can

find sother clues.” Jabari immediately took out his phone and started calling people at the base.

After sthought, Briar sent the information to their small Whatgroup and tagged Louie.

Jasmin said, “lan must have told Kameron the news. | just hope they're fast enough.”

AD

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