Struggling in the Face of Adversity

"Uncle!" Janice exclaimed and pounced toward Michael with excitement.

"Why'd you come here? You attracted these two," Michael pressed a button on his collar to conserve its power, then lightly tapped Janice on the head—not too hard, but it still hurt a bit.

"Hey, hey, hey! Quit it, it hurts!" Janice pushed Michael away, putting some distance between them.

"Then explain yourself," Michael's expression remained unchanged, but you could feel the anger emanating from him.

"... I saw you lying on that sickbed, and since you had a mission, I thought I'd help..." Janice's voice was barely audible; Michael had to get closer to hear her.

"You did help, no doubt about that. But right now, it's not reassuring," Michael grumbled.

"But I'm a killer too." Janice retorted, sounding like an annoyed kid.

"Not a 'SECRET' "

"It's the same; we still need to gather intel."

"Why does a killer need intel gathering skills?"

"A killer needs to know everything about the target to carry out an assassination."

"But this time, the mission is about protection."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Tana suddenly felt something was off and pulled Janice aside, "Sorry, Uncle, could you give us some space?"

Michael obliged.

"What's up?" Janice felt a bit puzzled.

"Do you have a crush on this Uncle?" Tana's face was all curiosity.

…!

"...No."

"Then why're you blushing?"

"I'm not blushing!" Janice struggled to control her volume.

"Your lying skills haven't improved since we were kids. Don't tell me you dream of taking over Uncle's missions now!"

"You..."

"Hey." Michael finally spoke, and Janice hoped that her conversation with Tana hadn't been overheard, "Come closer."

With Janice and Tana pressed against him, they cautiously surveyed their surroundings. Aside from a few streetlights, everything else was darker than the night itself.

So, unless your eyes were like Sun Wukong's fiery eyes from "Journey to the West," you wouldn't have a clue about the terrifying monstrosities in front of you.

"Where is it?" Janice asked.

"I only heard the sound, but it's definitely nearby. The sound was too close," Michael replied, "Let's stay in place and turn around a few times. Janice, grab your gun. Tana,if you have a weapon, get it ready." Michael finished speaking and pressed the button on his collar, attentively watching the darkness around them.

DEEEEEEEEE...

Michael heard that sound again; he suddenly cried out in pain, holding his head. His eyeballs rolled up, and the blood inside his nose spun around. He felt like spitting out blood, but he couldn't.

"Are you... Uncle! Are you okay?" Janice's face was full of worry; she completely forgot to survey their surroundings.

"Hey! Uncle! You alright?" Tana couldn't move and could only nudge Janice with her elbow, signaling her to check.

"Are you okay? Uncle!" Janice held his face, turning it towards her.

"... Be careful..." Michael swallowed back the blood he was about to spit, then blood started flowing from his nose and ears.

His legs lost strength, and he let his head rest on Janice's shoulder, completely drained of energy.

Like he was dead.

"Uncle?" Janice couldn't believe it, "Uncle!"

DADADADADA...

"Janice! Get behind me!" Tana rushed behind Janice. Her right hand was restored with water, so she turned both her arms into water and created a shield, blocking the bullets that came their way.

To be precise, the bullets were trapped within the shield.

"HA!" Tana shouted and sent the trapped bullets right back at the darkness.

But it was clear that they hit nothing; there was no sound of bullets hitting anything.

"Let's move Uncle first." Tana started giving orders.

"But he's heavy..." Janice struggled to drag Michael's body. She could move a few centimeters with effort, but it wasn't nearly enough.

"Never mind, I'll do it. Lift your gun!" Tana and Janice switched places. Janice aimed her gun at the darkness around them.

Staying here, they couldn't see their surroundings clearly. And the enemies had likely shifted positions too. So, they were at a disadvantage at the moment. They knew the enemy possibly"SHADOW," but they didn't know the enemy's numbers, locations, strategies, let alone how to deal with them or eliminate them.

The frustrating thing was that they only "possibly" knew the enemy was "SHADOW"!

Tana turned her "shield" into a "rope" and tied it around Michael's body. She pulled with force, which was indeed more efficient, making the dragging a bit faster, though just a bit.

They were preparing to enter an alley, kick open a grocery store's door, and take shelter inside.

"Hey, Janice, help out." Tana asked for Janice's assistance and pointed at a window.

After all, breaking through a closed window was something a hitwoman might be reasonably expected to do.

Janice went to the window, took out a pen, and skillfully pressed the button on top. There was no sound to be heard in the evening breeze.

The pen tip started emitting red light. If this pen hadn't been heat-re

istant, it would've surely burned Janice's skin to a crisp.

The pen tip approached the window, creating a small hole. Janice used her gloves to suck up the glass that had been cut, preventing it from falling to the ground and making a sound that would make them regret it forever.

She reached into the hole, feeling a button on the window.

DANG.

Something fell to the ground!

Tana and Janice looked around... no one was there.

Looking at the ground... there was something.

A thing shaped like a can was rolling in place, gray in color.

...!

"Smoke bomb! Clear out!" Janice realized what this thing was and quickly pressed the button, opening the window.

SI...

Semi-transparent smoke billowed out from the opening of the canister. Janice pulled Tana and jumped inside, then closed the window.

"Tana, got any fabric?" Janice urgently looked at Tana; Uncle Michael was still outside!

"Here." Tana took out an apron, probably meant for service robots.

Janice covered her nose with the apron and dashed to the back, trying to open it.

Not useful.

Janice couldn't bear it anymore, repeatedly kicking the damn door!

This smoke seemed ordinary, but in reality, inhaling too much of it would drain a person's strength, gradually inducing unconsciousness, and with a little more... death.

DONG!

One more time!

DONG!

Smoke seeped in through the door crack! It seemed the door was loosening!

Janice concentrated all her strength in her right foot.

DONG!!!

The door was kicked open. The electronic lock was forcefully dislodged and fell to the ground.

A substantial amount of smoke rushed in while the door wasn't shut yet. Tana anxiously looked around, spotting a fridge. She opened it up and found various drinks. Regardless of their type, Tana grabbed them all.

Tana ran to the corridor by the door and threw the drinks she was carrying all at once. Tana's ability filtered the water from the drinks, then the water burst the cans and bottles, condensing into a ball in Tana's hand.

She furrowed her brows, looking at the smoke continuously approaching. She was waiting for the right moment.

"Uhuk! Uhuk! Tana!" Janice stumbled in carrying Michael; she entered, looking disheveled. She jumped into the nearby counter area; the corner there hadn't been infiltrated by the smoke. "Hurry!"

Tana tossed the ball forward, and it suddenly elongated until it entirely blocked the doorway.

As for the smoke underneath, Tana and Janice couldn't do much. They could only unlock the grocery store's door and rush into the darkness before them.

They didn't dare to get near the streetlights or the lights from the windows. They only allowed themselves to meld into the shadows.

Michael on Janice's back was a burden; he was heavy, so heavy that Janice couldn't walk properly. Every step she took, she felt more drawn to the ground, nearly forcing her to kneel and rest.

But she didn't want to rest, and she definitely didn't want to leave Michael behind. She couldn't even explain why herself.

They continued to stealthily run, trying not to make any noise.