From the heavy smoke on the road, a tall man slowly walked out.
He was wearing a black suit and a shiny Rolex on his wrist, and as he walked towards the Audi RS7, his steps were calm, steady, and full of confidence.
At first, his face was hidden by the smoke, but when the headlights of the Audi RS7 shone on him, his facial features became clear.
He was too handsome to look real or be called a human; his brown hair fell neatly to his shoulders, his jaw was sharp, his skin was smooth, and his dark eyes were deep enough to pull anyone in.
With the light shining on him, he looked like someone that people would stop to admire no matter what they were doing or where they were going.
He walked straight to the Audi RS7 and tapped on the glass lightly.
Rachel, who was barely trying to calm her rising anger, slowly lowered the window and sized him up before staring at him with her cold blue eyes.
The man saw the look on Rachel's face and smiled before speaking in a gentle voice, saying, "Hi, Miss. Sorry if I scared you; I didn't mean to. I'm Daniel, Daniel Shaw."
After he finished speaking, he stretched his hand out towards Rachel for a handshake.
Rachel frowned at him but shook his hand from inside the car, then with her voice as sharp as a blade, she said, "I didn't ask for your name. Why did you block my way like that? If I hadn't hit the brakes on time, we would have crashed. Say what you want, I don't have time."
Daniel pulled his hand back and rubbed the side of his head awkwardly while still maintaining the smile on his face before saying, "Alright... Truth is, I just flew in from Estresa a few hours ago. I'm lost. Why? The answer is, I haven't been in Norpond for over ten years, and as I was driving towards my destination, my GPS suddenly stopped working, and I didn't know what else to do... So I did this."
Rachel lifted her brow, and with her cold gaze not softening but still fixed on him with vigor, she said, "So what do you want from me?"
Daniel laughed nervously before saying, "Well, Miss, please... can you show me the way to Suban Avenue? There's a memorial park there... A close childhood friend of mine was buried there twelve years ago, and I really need to visit him."
Rachel sighed deeply while thinking for a moment before saying, "Alright, Mr. Shaw, you're on the right path. Just drive straight until you see a Catholic church. The street beside it is Suban Avenue. Follow it all the way down, and you'll see Suban Memorial Park. That's all… I have to be on my way now. Goodbye."
She turned the wheel, drove the Audi RS7 around the Mercedes-Benz S-Class that had blocked her, and then pressed her right foot on the accelerator pedal.
The Audi RS7 roared, its tires screeched, and in a flash, the car shot forward like a bullet.
The red taillights of the Audi RS7 started to fade in the distance and disappeared, leaving only a trail of smoke behind.
Daniel stood by his Mercedes-Benz S-Class and watched with curiosity and interest until the Audi RS7 was gone from view before entering into his Mercedes-Benz S-Class quietly.
Rachel kept speeding through Baswil City until she reached a street full of cars stuck in traffic.
She decided to wait, but after waiting for a while, she started to grow impatient, and when her patience snapped, she used Aliya Modric's memories to drift through lanes at high speed, which made the tires of the Audi RS7 screech as she dodged and zoomed past every car effortlessly, like she had been driving her whole life.
She reached an intersection where the light was green but about to turn red in five seconds.
A wide grin spread across her face as she pressed harder on the accelerator pedal of the Audi RS7 and sped past the intersection just before the light could turn red.
Arriving at a sharp bend, an oncoming sports car swerved into her path and nearly collided with her, which made Ashley scream loudly while shutting her eyes tight, but the crash never came because Rachel's hands were faster as she drifted sharply, switched into another lane with perfect timing, and sped faster down the asphalt.
Nearly crossing paths with death, Ashley, who was shaken and looking pale, clutched her seat in terror and turned to Rachel, who was singing "Speed Demon" by Michael Jackson, the late King of Pop.
"Slow down, Chel!" she cried.
But Rachel, as if fueled by Ashley's screams, decided to piss her off and make her scream louder by pressing the accelerator pedal harder and chuckled with delight glistening in her eyes when Ashley's loud, terrified screams became louder.
Street after street passed in a blur until they hit the highway.
Rachel turned her gaze to Ashley briefly and quickly told her to hold tight before slamming her right foot harder down on the accelerator pedal, which made the Audi RS7 roar like a beast unleashed and shoot forward down the asphalt like a rocket.
Wind rushed in through the open window, whipping Rachel's hair back.
Her arm rested casually on the frame, and a bright smile was on her face with her blue eyes glistening with excitement as she changed lanes with ease, as if the whole road belonged to her.
Some sports cars, annoyed by her speed, tried to chase her, but the Audi RS7 left them far behind and forced them to eat and choke on the smoke from her exhaust.
Finally, she left the highway and turned into Maco Street.
After driving down the quiet street for a while, La Vipera's Den came into view.
A minute later, she slowed down, pulled over, and parked right in front of the bar.
Exhaling deeply, she turned off the engine and stepped out calmly with her face still bright with excitement and glowing with adrenaline, while Ashley stumbled out of the Audi RS7 after her and bent over to vomit on the sidewalk.
Looking at Ashley vomiting, Rachel, feeling amused, raised a brow and said,
"You've never sat in a car before? Is that why you're throwing up?"
Ashley wiped her mouth and glared at Rachel before saying, "I've never seen anyone drive like that. How did you even do it? My private investigator clearly told me you had never driven a car before. So how—"
Rachel hurriedly interrupted her and said, "Enough, Ash, let's go in."
Ashley's eyes widened in terror as she said, "Wait, what?! You want us to just waltz in?! Shouldn't we call Grandma and get backup?"
Rachel laughed, and while pinching her cheek playfully, she said, "No backup. Just us."
Ashley's jaw dropped.
She grumbled before locking her gaze on Rachel's icy blue eyes while saying, "Rachel, if you want to die, fine! But don't drag me along. I'm only nineteen! I haven't turned twenty yet, I haven't had a boyfriend yet, not even my first kiss, and you want me to go on a suicide mission with you and die in that lion's den?!"
Rachel, feeling annoyed, frowned at her and said, "You talk too much, Ash. We're not here to die—we're here to save Josie."
Ashley tried to protest again.
"But—"
Then Rachel interrupted and snapped at her while saying, "If you're that scared, then stay here. I'm done wasting time with a grown girl acting like a baby."
Without another word, Rachel pushed Ashley aside, walked to the entrance door of La Vipera's Den, pushed it open, and walked in like she owned the place.
Inside La Vipera's Den, the bar was eerily silent.
As soon as the sixty huge, muscular men covered in tattoos saw Rachel walking into their bar confidently like she owned the place, they all rose from their seats and stared at her with hostility and menace glistening in their eyes.
All sixty huge, muscular men covered in tattoos were all armed; some of them were armed with knives, while the others were armed with pistols.
They moved while circling Rachel with their weapons aimed at her from every side, ready to strike.
Rachel, who was unfazed by their threat, didn't flinch but smirked at them coldly, then she swept her icy gaze at them and said, "So, you've all been waiting for me? Good. Then let's not waste each other's time, as we're all busy people... Now, tell me where my cousin, Josie, is... And don't you dare lie to me because I know she's here."