Chapter 388 Mary, Danger
"Please enter the password. Password accepted. Initiating retinal scan."
The machine's voice was cold and robotic.
William was on edge. The second he got the news, he bolted to the lab entrance.
Thankfully, Mary had already registered his credentials for access. Otherwise, breaching the fortress-like lab would have been impossible unless he had access to some heavy explosives!
Suddenly, another explosion rang out.
William was jittery, but his training kicked in. From the sound, he could gauge the blast's power.
It wasn't gonna bring the house down, but anyone close by? Toast.
"Scan done."
The lab door slid open, and William darted in like a flash. Smoke was everywhere, making the place look like a scene from a nightmare.
He sniffed the air, his nose twitching. It wasn't from the blast; it was tear gas. That stuff messed with your senses, made you dizzy and teary, but it wouldn't kill you.
William breathed a little sigh of relief. If it had been poison gas, this place would be a death trap.
Mary, meanwhile, was hit by the blast but kept her cool. She kept working, methodical as ever.
As a professional researcher, she had to protect the data, even if the place was under siege.
The lab had a self-destruct button, known to just a few. She hit it and grabbed the backup hard drive.
Once she pressed it, all the data would transfer to the backup drive, and the system would wipe itself clean.
Mary, sharp as a tack, stayed calm, but her colleagues were in total panic mode. Even the old professor was losing his composure.
Their freak-out made Mary's calmness even more crucial.
The data here was gold, not just for new drugs but for some top-secret stuff too.
Mary watched the chaos, hiding the special hard drive on her. She moved with the crowd, eyes peeled.
She knew the culprit had to be among them, stirring up trouble to make their move.
Passing a sink, she grabbed a towel, wet it, and covered her mouth and nose. It helped with the tears.
Feeling a bit better, she went to fire up the backup ventilation system.
But the external connection was blocked. This meant that not only was there intruders inside the lab, but there was also accomplices outside!
Mary knew things were going south fast.
If this kept up, the data would be toast, and the tear gas would mess up the researchers. Dizziness and blurry vision were minor; if their brains got hurt, that'd be a huge loss. These folks were the best of the best.
Mary decided to take charge.
Her eyes locked on the LCD screen she'd just used. If the intruder wasn't here to kill, then they were after the data. Therefore, anyone approaching the screen now must be the intruder.
But no one moved.
Just as she thought she was wrong, she spotted a sneaky figure heading for the screen.
Mary squinted, knowing she'd found her target.
Everyone else was scrambling for an exit. The main door was sealed, but there were escape routes. They just couldn't find them in the chaos, and the tear gas made it worse.
But this person went straight for the control panel, which made no sense.
The smoke was thick, and Mary could only see a blurry figure, not the face, which drove her nuts.
She decided to take the plunge and approach the guy, thinking, "Even if I get busted, I gotta know who's behind this."
If she didn't, once the smoke cleared and the man blended back into the crowd, it would be nearly impossible to find him again!
Mary crept closer and suddenly thought of William.
She couldn't help but think, "It'd be awesome if William showed up right now."
She chuckled to herself. Had she really become that dependent on William? She moved again, inching closer to the control panel, but the sneaky figure suddenly froze and looked her way. It seemed like the intruder had caught on to her.
Just then, the door, which had been locked from the outside, was kicked open. Fresh air rushed in, and there was William.
Mary's attention snapped to the door. When she saw William's silhouette, she almost couldn't believe it, thinking it might be a hallucination.
But then, William's voice cut through the chaos.
In his calm, steady tone, he said, "Alright, everyone, chill. Stay put. I took care of the folks outside, and all the exits are open."
After that, he started scanning the room for Mary.
Mary wanted to jump up and shout, "I'm here by the control panel!" but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the sneaky figure making a move.
Catching this guy was more important.
She stayed silent, not wanting to spook the guy and make him bolt. She waited for the right moment and lunged. She managed to grab someone. She didn't get a good look at his face, but she could tell it was a man.
The guy kept his head down, hiding his face. Seeing Mary tackle him, William rushed over.
The guy started struggling like crazy. He twisted his hand into a claw, aiming for Mary's vital spots.
He hadn't planned on killing anyone today. He just wanted to stir up some chaos, snag the data, and then live it up with the reward.
But his plan had gone sideways. As he tried to escape, someone had tackled him. Now it was do or die.
Just as his hand was about to grab Mary, William knocked it away.
He grabbed the guy's wrist and flung him six feet away. But the guy didn't stay down; he bounced up and charged at William.
A cold, sharp glint flashed in his hand.
Everyone was supposed to be thoroughly checked before entering the base, and no metal was allowed, let alone a knife. How did this guy have a short knife?
As the guy swung the knife, William dodged and led him towards the door, away from Mary.
In a flash, they exchanged ten blows. This guy's fighting skills were actually on par with William's.
But William could tell the guy was running out of steam. He possessed formidable attack power but lacked endurance.
William's punches kept landing on the guy's face, and he gradually gained the upper hand.
William skillfully dodged the guy's attacks and even landed punches on him from time to time. The more desperate and angry the guy got, the more mistakes he made.
William seized an opportunity and grabbed the guy's hand.
With a forceful twist, the short knife fell from the guy's hand, and his arm twisted into an unnatural position, clearly dislocated by William.
Despite the pain, the guy kept attacking William.
This guy was tough. His resilience was off the charts.
Holding the short knife, William was about to strike back, but Mary suddenly screamed, "William! Help me!"
Her panicked voice snapped William's attention. He turned and saw Mary being held hostage by a man in a white lab coat.
Damn it! How had he missed that this guy had a partner? This accomplice had hidden so well that even William hadn't sensed him.
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