After repelling Jason, Avril turned a cold gaze toward Owen, and he could clearly see the unmasked killing intent in her eyes.
Owen launched an attack on her. Avril had indeed become stronger—her reaction speed and strength were both significantly enhanced compared to earlier. No wonder Jason Bourne had taken a hit as soon as they clashed. Owen, caught off guard, was also struck a couple of times. The pain in the targeted areas was real and intense.
On the other side, Jason rushed over to join the fight. Owen responded cautiously. Jason and Avril fought fiercely, their combat style extremely close-range and tangled. Once they got in, it became a constant grapple.
Owen's fighting style was more like conventional combat, but not Jason and Avril—they pressed in tight, never giving the opponent space. If their fists couldn't extend fully, they used elbows and knees. And if blocked, their movements naturally flowed into throws and locks. Owen barely managed a few strikes before getting squeezed out of the fight. There simply wasn't space—Jason and Avril's bodies were practically glued together.
Every move targeted vulnerable spots: the abdomen, neck, temples, eyes, groin—no strike spared the vital zones. Jason gripped Avril's leather jacket, while she clutched his collar. With a shout, Jason slammed Avril hard against the wall, then drove a punch into her stomach. She braced through the blow and retaliated, elbowing him square in the temple. Jason seemed dazed, momentarily stunned.
Avril immediately followed with a hand strike aimed at Jason's throat. If it landed cleanly, it would crush his windpipe. Owen rushed in and punched her hand off-course just in time. Two more blows forced Avril back—he'd saved Jason's life.
Good thing he intervened when he did. One second later, Jason would've been dead.
Jason shook his head to clear the daze. That strike had rattled him badly. Owen now faced off against Avril. She had indeed grown more formidable—because of that serum.
Owen realized the serum was an upgraded version of the blue pill Dr. Susie had originally developed for the CIA. He hadn't expected it to be this potent.
Before drinking it, Avril and Jason had been roughly on par—possibly with Jason slightly ahead. Afterward, she had nearly wiped the floor with him.
Jason had recovered now, and the three formed a triangle, none making the first move.
Jason's face was bruised, and he stared coldly at Avril. Then he took out a small box, popped a blue pill into his mouth. Owen recognized it—the CIA's original formula.
Avril watched all of it in silence.
"And you still think we shouldn't kill her?"
Jason sneered at Owen, then charged again. Owen was at a loss. Truthfully, he could no longer guarantee they could take Avril alive. Jason and Avril clashed again. Owen tried to assist, but Jason had already been slammed to the ground.
This time, Jason lost even faster. Clearly, the first-gen pill couldn't match the second. Avril's movements were so fast they were nearly invisible. Jason barely blocked the first blow before taking a hard punch to the gut, followed by a double-fisted slam that floored him.
He got back up—only to be knocked down again. Then again. It was clear now: Avril wasn't just fighting Jason—she was toying with him.
A faint smirk curled on Avril's lips. She hadn't planned to take the serum, but faced with capture, she had gambled everything. To her surprise, the serum worked astonishingly well. Within moments of drinking it, her body surged with power, and her mind grew sharper.
She moved so fast Jason couldn't even see her attacks. He couldn't block them either. She knew now: Jason was no longer a threat. She could kill him at any moment. But every time she remembered Jason beating Zheng Anshun in the head over and over with a wrench, she decided he wouldn't die so easily.
Meanwhile, Clay glanced at the chaos, then noticed the pistol on the ground not far away—the one Avril had lost. It had lain there untouched since Owen knocked it out of her hand.
Suddenly, Clay darted toward it—but in the next second, a glass tube pierced his chest. The transparent vial turned red with blood. Clay stared in disbelief at the syringe embedded in his chest, then collapsed just inches from the gun.
Avril shot a cold glance at Dr. Susie, a silent message in her eyes: if you even think about going for that gun, you'll end up just like him.
Jason was hurled again, this time landing at Owen's feet. The blue pill had done its work, but Jason was still no match for Avril.
Avril stepped toward him. She figured the show was over—it was time to snap his neck. As for Owen, to her, he was just another piece of garbage. Maybe he had been worth worrying about before. Now? No longer a threat.
Owen saw Avril advancing, stepped forward, and placed himself between her and Jason. Avril smiled as if to say, I knew you'd do that. Then she struck, aiming to show this CTU agent the same helplessness Jason had just felt.
But before her attack landed, Owen's fist smashed into her face.
Avril staggered back, stunned, clutching her nose—blood streamed out.
That had to be luck.
She attacked again, her speed so fast it was just a blur to Susie. But again, she cried out in pain, stumbling backward—Owen had punched her in the stomach.
What was happening?
Avril couldn't believe it. Standing before her, perfectly fine, was Owen—grinning smugly.
So what if she was fast? The moment her adrenaline kicked in, every move she made looked like bullet-time to Owen—he saw it all.
"What are you so fierce for…"
"Picking on people, huh…"
"Took the drug, did you…"
With each sentence, Owen landed a blow. Avril couldn't block a single one. She staggered backward, reeling. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't defend herself. Now she was the one filled with helplessness—just like Jason had been minutes earlier.
Owen, fully adrenalized, was giving Avril a lesson in humility. He dodged her attacks with ease. She had no defense against his. In no time, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just then, a loud banging came from the distant sealed door. They'd heard this sound too many times today. It was like the death knell. Clearly, the noise they had made had drawn in something bad.
The fight stopped. Owen considered whether to finish Avril off or flee—but the door didn't give him the chance to choose. With a thunderous crash, the shark burst in.
Run!
Everyone dashed toward the nearest sealed door. Owen spun the valve with lightning speed. The moment the door opened, a powerful suction yanked everyone inside. That's when it hit him—they had opened the shaft access door.
Behind them, a torrent of seawater surged in, bringing a great white shark with it. The water exploded forward, flooding into the shaft. Under the sudden loss of pressure, water continued to pour in. The surface inside the shaft rose rapidly.
Moments later, the great white shark's silhouette appeared again, swimming relentlessly in the shaft's depths.
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