Chapter 2 Too Late

Within the borders of Ozin's neighboring city, Cloud City, to the south of town, a license plate-less business van sped out from an abandoned factory and headed towards the outskirts.

Inside the van were three tattooed men and a four or five-year-old girl besides the driver. The little girl's face was pale with fear as her big eyes showed nothing but terror. She trembled slightly all over.

"Baldy, how could you mess up like this?" The man with a scar on his face turned to the bald man and said in a deep voice.

"You were supposed to keep an eye on this little girl! How come you didn't even notice she had a phone on her?"

"I'm sorry, Boss. It was my mistake.” Replied the bald man quickly.

"I didn't expect such a young kid would have a phone with her." Said Scarface.

"We're lucky we found out early, otherwise if she called for help we'd be in big trouble!"

"Got it, Boss!" Baldy nodded vigorously.

"Boss, who wants this little girl? The commission they gave us is quite generous, she must be someone important." Another crew member with short hair asked curiously.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. Just focus on your own job." Scarface responded coldly.

A deep sense of dread flashed through his eyes as he spoke about their client's identity. It made him shiver uncontrollably.

"I'm just curious," Short Hair replied, "Do you know why they want this little girl?"

"It's said that they're going to do a heart transplant for another little girl." Scarface nodded slightly in response.

"Damn! That's so cruel! Then this girl is doomed?" Buzz cut guy gasped.

"What do you think?" Scarface glanced at him.

Buzz cut guy shrugged his shoulders.

"Tasha won't die. Dad...Dad will come to save Tasha..."

Upon hearing their conversation, the little girl cried loudly.

"Where is your dad from?" Baldy turned to the little girl and asked.

"You are a bastard who doesn't even know who your daddy is. Your mother doesn't even know who he is!"

"Tasha isn't a bastard, Tasha has a dad..." The little girl continued crying and said, "You... You bad people, my... My daddy will never let you go..."

"Even if you have a dad, he probably died long ago. Otherwise why hasn't he come looking for you all these years?"

"Dad Isn't dead, he will come to save Tasha..." The little girl shook her head vigorously, "Dad will come..."

"When do you think your dad can come and save you? Tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow?" Baldy grinned.

"Unfortunately, tonight you're going into surgery. After tonight, even if your dad comes, you won’t see him anymore!"

"No... It's not true. Tasha will see him..." The little girl burst into tears again.

"That’s enough, don’t tease her anymore." Scarface spoke up before turning to the driver, "Find an unmonitored place to change cars before we leave."

"Got it, boss!" The driver nodded in response.

At 1 pm, a military jeep pulled up to the entrance of an abandoned factory in the southern part of Cloud City.

Bang!

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Billy burst out of the door with a fierce look on his face and charged into the factory.

An hour earlier, he and Casey had just landed at Ozin Military Airport when they received a message from Black Tortoise. He informed them that Tasha's phone number was not located in Ozin but instead in an industrial park on the outskirts of Cloud City. So they hopped into a military jeep and raced over to Cloud City as fast as lightning.

"Are you sure Tasha's last message came from here?" Billy looked around and then turned to Casey behind him.

The entire lobby of the factory was empty except for some old sofas and scrap machinery lying around.

"Yes," Casey nodded solemnly. "The War Department system has precise location tracking. There's no way it would give faulty information.”

It was obvious that they were too late. Casey shivered involuntarily as she stood behind him. He knew that Cloud City was about to experience a massive earthquake.

Only he knew just how terrifying Billy Gardner truly was. The mere mention of his name was enough to make millions of hot-blooded men go crazy with awe and reverence. It was a great fortune for the country when he descended from the heavens.

Three years ago, at only twenty-two years old, Billy became a myth within his battalion and rode off into legend. He fought against ten top-ranking commanders from ten different countries and emerged victorious, becoming a god among men. He took command of Army of Bloodshadow stationed in the western border two years ago and dominated several neighboring countries with fear-inducing tactics that made even small-time crooks tremble with terror. Just three months ago, when enemies attacked the western border, Billy led Army of Bloodshadow and destroyed the enemies’s troops from millions to thousands.

"Got it!" Casey nodded and pulled out her phone to make a call.

“Have someone coordinate with Police Station in Cloud City to investigate all suspicious vehicles entering and exiting the area from the time I received the news from Tasha to now. They have half an hour, I must know the result.”

“Yes, Commander." Casey then took out his phone to dial out.

"When will Judge be able to arrive?" Billy asked as soon as Casey hung up the phone.

Judge mentioned by him was one of the five “sharp blades” of SHADOW.

SHADOW was divided into five districts according to geographical location, and each district was ruled by a “sharp knife”.

"When I called him, he was on a mission outside. He said he would come right away and should be here before evening if nothing unexpected happens!" Casey responded.

"Hmm!" Billy nodded slightly.

"Where are we going now, Commander?" The two got back in the car again and Casey asked.

"Locate Harleen's position. She may know who took Tasha!" After some thought, Billy replied.

"Okay!" Casey edited a message and sent it out.

Five minutes later, Casey's phone notification sounded. He picked it up and looked at it.

"Commander, Harleen's location has been confirmed." With a hesitant tone, Casey looked at Billy.

"Speak up!" Billy spoke in a deep voice.

"She's now at Cloud City Earth Hotel." After taking a deep breath, Casey responded hesitantly

"Hmm?!" Billy turned his head to look at Casey with a slight frown on his brow.

"Maybe she was just going to the hotel for business, who knows," Casey took a deep breath once again.

"Drive!" Billy lit a cigarette and took a deep drag, his eyes cold and his face dark.

Vroom!

Casey hit the gas pedal and the car shot out.