Chapter 670
Unauthorized Actions Prohibited!
Lynn walked over to Jason, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, "How's the situation? Any casualties? Have the contraband items been inventoried?"
Jason shook his head, his tone heavy: "Captain, three of our team members and two police officers were injured, all with gunshot wounds. They've been given basic first aid and are not in life-threatening condition. Seventeen mutants were killed and five were subdued; none escaped. The contraband has been inventoried; there were thirty boxes in total, containing drugs and equipment used for mutant experiments, and there was no damage."
Lynn nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield, taking in the corpses and bloodstains on the ground, his eyes still cold. He turned to Rodriguez and said, "Officer Rodriguez, please arrange for officers to take the injured team members and officers to the hospital for treatment. At the same time, take the subdued mutant back to the police station and keep him under strict guard. Also, arrange for personnel to properly store the seized contraband, with 24-hour guard to ensure there are no mistakes."
“Okay, I’ll arrange it right away!” Rodriguez nodded, immediately took out his phone, dialed the police station, and carefully explained the task.
Lynn walked to Warehouse Number Three, looking at the contraband piled up inside. Each box bore the same silver skull and crossbones emblem as the black boxes, giving it a particularly eerie appearance. He opened a box filled with blue vials of serums, each inscribed with complex text—the core drugs used in mutant experiments. There were also some sophisticated experimental equipment, all seemingly smuggled in from abroad. Lynn picked up a vial and examined it closely, his eyes filled with grave concern—if these drugs entered the market and were used by the Karen organization for experiments, countless ordinary people would be transformed into mutants, suffering unimaginable pain.
Just then, a hurried voice came through the earpiece. It was from the police officer who was stationed at the container pile: "Captain, something's wrong! Verus is trying to escape. He broke free of his handcuffs while we weren't paying attention and ran towards a fishing boat on the dock!"
Lynn's eyes turned cold, and he immediately shouted into his headset, "Stop him! Don't let him get away! I'm coming right away!" After saying that, he turned and rushed towards the pile of containers, gripping his rifle tightly in his hand, his eyes filled with icy killing intent—he absolutely could not let Varus escape. Varus was the key to capturing Karen, and if he got away, all the previous efforts would be in vain.
When Lynn reached the container pile, Varus had already broken free of his handcuffs and was running towards a fishing boat on the shore. He was incredibly fast, glancing back at Lynn as he ran, his eyes filled with smugness and madness. Two officers gave chase, but they couldn't catch him—Varus, though not a mutant, was extremely agile, and his desperate escape made him much faster than usual.
"Varus, stop! I'll shoot if you run again!" Lynn shouted, raising his rifle and aiming it at Varus's back, but still didn't fire immediately—he still wanted to capture Varus alive. But Varus didn't stop at all; instead, he ran even faster. Seeing that he was about to board the fishing boat, Lynn knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. He slightly adjusted the muzzle of his gun and fired at Varus's calf. With a "bang," the bullet accurately struck Varus's calf. Varus let out a shrill scream, his legs buckled, and he collapsed to his knees, unable to escape any longer.
Lynn rushed over, grabbed Verus by the collar, and slammed him to the ground. He looked at him coldly, his voice filled with anger: "Verus, you actually dare to run away? It seems you won't learn your lesson until you're faced with death!"
Verus struggled, blood gushing from the wound on his calf, staining the ground red. He glared fiercely at Lynn, his voice filled with despair, yet he still refused to yield: "Lynn, even if you capture me, I won't tell you anything about Lord Karen. Just give up on that idea!"
Lynn sneered, ignoring his shouts, took out a new pair of handcuffs from his pocket, and re-cuffed his hands. Then he said to the team members who had rushed over, "Put him in the SUV and keep a close watch on him. We absolutely cannot let him have another chance to escape."
"Understood, Captain!" The two team members nodded, immediately stepped forward, helped Verus up, and escorted him towards the off-road vehicle. Verus struggled and shouted frantically, but to no avail. He could only be forced onto the off-road vehicle by the team members.
Lynn stood there, watching his team escort Verus away, his eyes showing no sign of relaxation. He turned to look at the dock; by then, officers had begun clearing the battlefield, removing the mutant's body, cleaning up the bloodstains, and loading the seized contraband into police cars, ready to transport it to the police station for safekeeping. Injured team members and officers were being taken away by ambulances to the hospital for treatment.
Jason walked over to Lynn, handed him a bottle of water, and said, "Captain, the battlefield has been basically cleared. Contraband and subdued mutants have been dealt with, and the supporting police officers have arrived and are assisting us with the follow-up work."
Lynn took the water, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and glanced at the dock again. He said in a low voice, "We can't be careless. The Karen organization is still very powerful. Although Verus has been captured, Karen is still at large. He will definitely try to retaliate against us. We must be vigilant and take precautions. At the same time, we need to interrogate Verus as soon as possible and find out Karen's exact location from him so as to completely destroy the Karen organization's core stronghold."
Jason nodded, his eyes resolute, and said, "Don't worry, Captain, we've taken precautions. We've arranged for people to patrol 24 hours a day, and we absolutely won't give the Karen organization any opportunity. In addition, the interrogation room is ready. As soon as we get back, we'll interrogate Verus immediately and make sure we get any useful clues out of him."
Meanwhile, on the dock, the finishing touches were still being carried out methodically. Although exhausted, the team members and police officers all had eyes full of determination and fighting spirit. They knew they had won this battle, but they also knew that greater challenges lay ahead. They had to remain vigilant at all times, go all out, and meet the challenges ahead until all evil was completely eradicated and peace was restored to this land.
Several officers were meticulously inspecting each speedboat, ensuring no contraband or mutants were missed. They carefully searched every corner of the boats, leaving no detail overlooked. On the lead speedboat, one officer discovered a hidden compartment containing a small black box, identical to the one found in the abandoned warehouse, bearing the silver skull and crossbones symbol. He immediately picked up the box and handed it to Rodriguez, saying, "Officer, we found a hidden box, just like the one we found before." Rodriguez took the box, examined it carefully, and then handed it to Lynn, saying, "Detective Lynn, look, this box looks very similar to the previous one. Perhaps it contains important clues."
Lynn took the box and carefully opened it. Inside, there was no USB drive, only a small note with a complex set of coordinates written on it in black pen, along with a line of smaller print: "Backup coordinates for Lord Karen's core stronghold. Strictly prohibited from use except in emergencies." Lynn's eyes lit up. He carefully put the note away and said firmly, "Excellent! This is another important clue. With these coordinates, we can locate Karen's core stronghold more precisely and capture him completely."
Jason leaned closer, looked at the coordinates on the note, and said excitedly, "Captain, with these coordinates, we don't need to waste time interrogating Varus anymore. We can just follow the coordinates, raid Karen's core stronghold, and capture him in one fell swoop!"
Lynn shook his head and said, "No, we can't act rashly. This coordinate is likely a trap set by Karen. We don't know how many mutants are in the stronghold, nor do we know the defenses. A hasty raid will only put us in danger. We should interrogate Verus first to confirm the authenticity of this coordinate. At the same time, we need to understand the defenses and the number of mutants in the stronghold, formulate a detailed action plan, and then launch the raid to ensure everything goes smoothly."
Jason nodded and said, "The captain is very thoughtful. We'll follow your instructions. Once we get back, we'll interrogate Varus immediately to confirm the coordinates and develop a detailed raid plan."
“Alright, let’s go back,” Lynn said to his team members and Rodriguez. “Once we get back, we’ll immediately begin the interrogation. At the same time, we’ll organize all the clues and contraband, report them to the embassy, request more support, and prepare to raid Karen’s core stronghold to completely destroy the Karen organization.”
"Understood!" everyone responded in unison, boarding the SUVs and police cars and heading towards the police station.
As the vehicle drove away from La Ceva Port, the scenery gradually changed from the chaotic docks to the low-rise houses of the Tegucigalpa suburbs. The car window was half-rolled down, and the damp sea breeze mixed with the city's distinctive smell of cooking oil drifted in. Lynn leaned back in his seat, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the piece of paper with coordinates written on it in his pocket. His gaze was fixed on the rapidly receding containers and dilapidated houses outside the window. The panting and shouts of his teammates during the battle were still playing on repeat in his earpiece, and the gunshots seemed to still echo in his ears.
“Captain, the embassy's reinforcement convoy will arrive in Tegucigalpa in twenty minutes. They've sent a message saying all their support personnel are in place and requesting confirmation of the next rendezvous point.” Jason, sitting in the passenger seat, rapidly tapped on the vehicle's terminal, looking up at Lynn with a barely perceptible seriousness in his voice. “Also, we just received a message from the police station. The two officers remaining in the interrogation room reported that the five subdued mutants are extremely unstable, repeatedly attempting to ram the interrogation room door, and repeatedly shouting, ‘Lady Karen will come to save us,’ making it impossible to conduct a routine interrogation.”
Lynn nodded slightly, his fingertip lightly tapping the coordinates on the note: "The rendezvous point is set in the abandoned parking lot on the west side of the police station. It has a wide view and is easy to hide there. As for those mutants—" He paused, his eyes turning colder, "Don't interrogate them for now. Keep them under strict guard. When we get back, use a special tranquilizer to suppress their agitation, and then gradually break through their psychological defenses."
As the vehicle entered Tegucigalpa city, the streets gradually filled with pedestrians. Unlike the chaos of La Ceva port, the city streets, while still frequented by roaming gangsters, possessed a more everyday, lived-in feel. However, the figures in black vests with visible arm markings always made the team members in the car instinctively tighten their grip on their guns. Through the car window, Lynn saw several children squatting on the ground playing with pebbles at a street corner, their parents standing nearby, their eyes warily scanning passing vehicles—an instinctive vigilance ingrained from long-term exposure to mutants.
“Three minutes to reach the rendezvous point. The signal for the reinforcement convoy has appeared on the terminal.” Jason’s voice rang out again. Immediately afterward, a slight static came through the earpiece, and an unfamiliar male voice came through the communication channel, with a deliberately lowered and steady tone: “Detective Lynn, we are the U.S. Federal Emergency Tactical Team, codenamed ‘Vanguard’. We have arrived at the abandoned parking lot on the west side of Tegucigalpa city. Requesting identification confirmation.”
Lynn pressed the headset switch and said calmly, "Vanguard Squad, identity command 'Shield of Freedom', please show personnel configuration and equipment information."
"Personnel: Twelve people in total, all of whom are Federation tactical members trained in mutant gene adaptation. Eight of them possess basic mutant abilities, including enhanced strength, increased speed, and heightened senses, while four are responsible for technical support. Equipment: Heavy tactical rifles, fragmentation grenades, and mutant energy suppressors. They are ready for combat." The other party's answer was concise and clear, without any beating around the bush.
Lynn raised an eyebrow slightly. He had anticipated this; the US reinforcements for this operation against the Cullen mutant organization would inevitably include mutant combatants—after all, most of Cullen's men were modified mutants, and conventional human soldiers would inevitably be at a disadvantage in direct combat. He spoke into his headset: "Roger that. We'll arrive at the rendezvous point in three minutes. Everyone, get out of the vehicles and take cover, await further instructions. No unauthorized actions are permitted."
"clear."
The vehicle slowly drove into the abandoned parking lot, which had already been cordoned off by the police. Several officers were on guard, peering through binoculars from the surrounding rooftops. Lynn opened the car door first, his black combat boots leaving shallow imprints on the dusty ground. He looked up and saw four dark gray armored vehicles parked in the center of the parking lot, bearing the insignia of the Federal Emergency Tactical Team. The doors opened, and twelve team members in identical combat uniforms filed out. They were generally taller and more upright than ordinary humans, their eyes sharp as eagles, exuding an aura distinct from the mutants they had encountered before—a calm composure born of rigorous training and mastery of their abilities. (End of Chapter)