Solflare: The Painter's Secret-Chapter 140: Six Hours Before Hell

Ding! Ding!! Ding!!!

"Who is calling me at this time?" With furious eyes, Darian snatched his smart device, then stared at the screen.

"Jerry. I think he’s calling for their ransom." Darian calmed himself, then answered the call.

"Are you—" Darian’s words were cut short when he heard the screams from the other end. "Jerry! Where is the scream coming from?"

He questioned, but the only thing that responded to Darian was more screaming. ’Were they intercepted by those rascal military personnel?’ Darian said low in his head as he stood up abruptly.

"If they were intercepted by the military, then that means..." He stood there, unspoken questions popping in and out of his mind.

"No... I’ve got to be there at this instant."

Without hesitation, Darian moved away from the maid’s side, then exited. In a flash, he drove off in a black BMW.

Dust spiraled behind the tires as he moved from the traverses of the Safe House to the main street, fifteen miles away from the high-arching bridge.

Meanwhile, every bolt and nut in the pillars of the bridge trembled, promising to let go. Vehicles stopped the moment they climbed onto it, their owners leaving them vacant and joining in the stampede.

Smoke fogged the center of the bridge. Inside the fog, Jerry and his few men ran as if their lives were categorized by their speed.

"Move aside!" Jerry pushed a young lady off her own motorcycle, then hopped onto it. "Work! Work!! Work!!!"

With three sparks, gas blasted from the exhaust pipe, then he drove off.

At the second in which the back tire of the motor left its stand, the young lady got devoured by the Oculus Devourer, splitting her in half.

Just as Jerry reached the edge of the bridge, the motor broke down.

"FUCK!" he cursed, jumped off the motorcycle, then continued on foot.

With three steps forward, bright headlights flashed on him, blinding Jerry’s path.

Crash!

A loud banging sound echoed as he collided with the vehicle and fell to the ground. Luckily, the vehicle stopped the moment it reached an inch away from Jerry’s head.

...

"Who the fuck was that?!" Darian breathed heavily, then stepped out of the car.

Shock filled his face when he saw the leader of the group he normally sent to clear his mistakes lying on the ground.

"Jerry!" Darian crouched down, helped the guy stand, then stared at him with a confused expression. "What the fuck is going on?!"

Jerry tried to speak, but his words got stranded in his throat when he saw the Oculus Devourer nearing them from the far distance.

"That’s..." he raised his trembling right arm, pointed a finger at an angle behind Darian. "...she."

Before Jerry could finish his statement, more screaming humans ran toward the edge of the bridge, shouldering Darian.

When Darian held his stance, raised his head, and squinted at the creature everyone was fleeing from, he laughed.

"THAT?!" The tone of Darian’s voice intensified in an eerie manner.

’WHO THE FUCK AM I WORKING FOR?’ loud thoughts rammed Jerry’s mind as he looked at his boss with a shocked expression.

While the creature devoured humans easily, Darian moved toward the boot of the BMW, then pulled out a black sword that had the inscription My Love written boldly on it.

"It’s been a while since I used you." Darian drew the blade of the sword from its cover, stared at it for two seconds, then kissed it.

With slow steps, Darian stopped by Jerry’s side and handed him the three-foot blade’s cover. "Protect this with your life."

Darian gave Jerry a tap on the shoulder, then dashed toward the creature as if he were mad.

Meanwhile, at the forecourt of the Agarthan Special Forces ground, where Hei Luo had joined Leon after he had enjoyed his silent hour. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Mid-conversation, the screen of the smart device hanging at Hei Luo’s side lit up.

"I will be back." Hei Luo turned, moved five steps away from Leon, then placed the device on his left ear.

Although Leon couldn’t hear what was coming from the other side, he could read it in Hei Luo’s constant change of expressions.

The chilled wind and the cries of night birds scraped across the ground while Leon stood there, helplessly staring at Hei Luo.

After five minutes, Hei Luo hung up the call, closed his eyes, then gave a subtle exhale. He walked slowly toward Leon, then placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Leon..." Hei Luo paused, shifted his gaze to the stars in the sky, then shook his head.

"Is something wrong, Sir?" Leon asked in a confused but strangled voice.

"Your first mission has been canceled."

"Canceled? Why?" Leon swallowed hard, staring into Hei Luo’s eyes.

Hei Luo hesitated for a moment, then inhaled deeply. "You’re coming with us. We are heading to Thule."

...

That night, when Hei Luo left Leon in the forecourt, both joy and a dreadful fear overshadowed Leon’s heart.

"I will finally get the chance to meet my family after years of leaving," he whispered calmly as soon as he entered back into the madhouse.

Surprisingly, Liu Yan stood up, carrying questions in her expression.

"Are you leaving us?" she closed the gap between her and Leon, then stopped in front of him.

"How can I leave you guys behind?" Leon teased slightly, then tapped Liu Yan on the shoulder.

Although he had no idea what he and the other soldiers he would be leaving with were going to do there, he knew one thing. It wasn’t for peace.

That morning, when all the soldiers, including Hei Yung, Longwei, and a few others, gathered, Bao Xiong stood by the side of the Black Ops section apartment, watching them.

"Is that..." he cleared his eyes, then stared at the boy leaving the madhouse apartment. "That can’t be possible." Bao Xiong swallowed hard, then focused on the direction Leon was heading.

As soon as Leon stopped by Longwei’s side, the Yanlous joined Bao Xiong.

"Why are you standing here as if you have seen a ghost?"

With one voice, they teased Bao Xiong, then had a change of expressions when they followed Bao Xiong’s pointed finger.

"IS THE RAT JOINING THE CALL?" Both of them turned, looked at Bao Xiong, then back in Leon’s direction.

As if pulled by a string, Tiger and Samir exited.

Samir folded his arms across his chest, then gave an eerie sigh and tapped Bao Xiong on the shoulder.

"Poor boy... be ready to serve his eyes to my pet once they return with his corpse."

Meanwhile, beside Leon, Longwei greeted the boy like a god heading for his first mission.

"Be by my side once we get there." Hei Yung smiled at Leon, then turned toward the direction where the Black Ops stood.

"Seems you’ve got the attention of your friends." Hei Yung teased, pushing Leon’s head toward that same direction.

’Kang T!’ The name exploded in Leon’s head when he saw Tiger standing in the far distance, waving and smiling.

The engines of the armored convoy roared to life one after another, their metallic growls echoing across the wide Agarthan Special Forces ground.

Cold morning air drifted across the courtyard as soldiers moved with sharp precision. Boots struck the ground in heavy rhythm while the long convoy of MRAPs, armored carriers, and two aerial transport crafts prepared for departure.

Leon stood beside Longwei, his gaze drifting toward the distant gates that slowly began to open.

A deep mechanical rumble rolled through the compound.

The journey to Thule had begun.

"Move in!" one officer shouted.

Soldiers climbed into the transports while engineers sealed the heavy doors with loud metallic clanks. Leon followed Longwei into one of the armored carriers, the interior dimly lit by cold blue tactical lights.

As the vehicle lurched forward, the massive steel gates of the Agarthan base slid apart like the jaws of some giant machine.

Outside, the wide roads of Agathan stretched endlessly.

For the first few hours, the convoy moved through the greener territories of the country. Vast plains rolled past the windows, dotted with watchtowers, abandoned farms, and the skeletal remains of cities long consumed by the apocalypse.

Leon rested his elbow against the metal wall beside the window, his eyes fixed on the moving landscape.

"Thinking about home?" Longwei’s voice broke the silence.

Leon blinked, then nodded slightly.

"Something like that."

Longwei chuckled quietly.

"Careful with that hope. Thule isn’t the same place you left years ago."

Leon frowned slightly.

Before he could ask what the man meant, the convoy slowed.

The plains were gone.

In their place rose a jagged mountain range that stretched like a black wall across the horizon.

Snow clouds gathered above the peaks.

The road narrowed as the convoy entered the border wastelands separating Agathan from Thule.

Ruined vehicles littered the cracked highway. Some were twisted beyond recognition, as if enormous claws had crushed them like toys.

"How long until we reach Thule?" Leon asked.

"Six hours if nothing attacks us," Longwei replied calmly.

As if answering those words, a distant howl echoed across the frozen wind.

Several soldiers inside the transport immediately tightened their grips on their weapons.