"You've gotten soaked, haven't you? I told you not to buy that car!" Ale'er-Sara teased with a smile as he watched Valentina ride in, drenched from head to toe. Once alpha wolves themselves and now leaders of a team, Valentina and Ale'er-Sara were both rivals and allies. Belyaq had been a wolf before, and Leilis wasn't even a wolf—just a tarantula. In terms of rank, they didn't match Valentina and Ale'er-Sara.
While everyone in Jiang Hai's company was treated equally, these two never acted arrogantly when Jiang Hai wasn't around. They only joked when Valentina or Ale'er initiated it.
"Your car is too slow!" Ale'er glared as Valentina closed the shutter door and headed to the garage to peel off her tight leather bodysuit. This wasn't ordinary leather—it was bulletproof. Her flawless figure emerged as she shed the garment, leaping a few times as her form trembled with motion. Had a man been present, he might have fainted. But only four women were there, so the room remained orderly.
While Jiang Hai and the others were on missions, they received their weekly salaries plus additional pay from the organization. He also covered their rent, and each team member had $150,000 USD for equipment—guns, vehicles, and more. Items purchased for missions had to be returned afterward, but the team always knew what was practical and high-quality, crafting everything perfectly.
Take Valentina's motorcycle, for example. It was world-famous. While the Dodge Tomahawk is theoretically the fastest, it's illegal on roads. Only two top-tier street-legal bikes existed: the Falcon and the HP4. Since Jiang Hai already owned a Suzuki Falcon, Valentina opted for the HP4. Its acceleration could rival a Bugatti Veyron, outpacing most sports cars priced anywhere from one million to ten million RMB. Only the 1 could surpass it, but that bike, too, was not road-legal.
Hearing her boast, Ale'er curled his lips and tossed her a towel.
By now, Valentina had removed her custom-made leather jacket, which was bulletproof, waterproof, and heat- and infrared-resistant—perfect for stealth operations. She shrugged off her vest and shorts, dried her hair with the towel, and walked upstairs, hanging the jacket and tossing her vest and shorts into the washing machine. She then relaxed on the sofa, flipping through TV channels. Ale'er and the others followed.
"We didn't finish the mission," Ale'er said, studying her. "Have you thought about what's next?"
Valentina sighed, lifting her feet from the coffee table. "When the rain stops, I'll search along the shore. This was my mistake. I failed my first mission. Jiang Hai didn't blame me, but… I feel awful."
In the past, she worried about punishment for mission failure. But as Wolf Leader, she now had the freedom to fail or adapt. Yet this time was different—it was a simple mission assigned by Jiang Hai, the most important person to her. Failure weighed heavily, not with fear, but with guilt.
"I hope luck is on your side," Ale'er shrugged. Regardless, two of Jiang Hai's family members—Galina and Azarina—were far stronger than them. They would never tolerate such failure.
The room fell silent except for the hum of the TV. A pizza advertisement flickered across the screen, drawing the girls' attention.
"Pizza?" Lei Lisi asked.
"Great idea!" the others chimed, immediately ordering takeout via their phones. The mission would wait until the rain stopped.
Summer storms in coastal states like Massachusetts came fast and left just as quickly. After nearly two hours, the heavy rain subsided, leaving a clear sky illuminated by a bright moon. Everyone drifted to sleep.
Meanwhile, in an abandoned farmhouse in rural Connecticut, a fire crackled as a group cooked rabbits and fish. Nearby lay an unconscious man, soaked and shivering in the chilly post-rain wind. Connecticut, bordering Massachusetts and New York, was sparsely populated, giving the farmhouse a desolate feel.
Suddenly, the man awoke with a start. Two of the group approached, crouching before him.
"Who are you? Where is this?" Izzo Edis asked, horror-struck, looking at the ragged men before him. The man closest to him was terrifying—face smeared with paint, clothes torn, guns strapped to his back and waist, bandages on his hands—clearly someone who had fought to survive.
"Now isn't the time for questions. We saved you. Who are you, kid? Why were you by the river? And where's your gratitude?" the man sneered.
"I'm Izzo Edis. I don't have much money. Someone pushed me into the river, but if you take me to New York, I'll pay you," Izzo said calmly, despite his fear.
A man sitting by the fire, wearing hiking gear, stepped forward. "You know Christian Edis from Chelsea? What's your relationship with him?"
"Christian Edis? He's my father…" Izzo whispered, recalling his father's final moments.
"Christian is your father? Then why are you here like this? I remember his influence in Boston," the man said, puzzled.
"It's because of Jiang Hai… he killed my father…" Izzo's eyes burned with hatred.
(To be continued.)