恶霸鲁尼 奖学金

[ Country J: At Red Dragon Mafia\'s Sanitarium… ]

A few minutes ago, Violet and Stephen were able to infiltrate the Red Dragon Mafia\'s Sanitarium together with thirteen men from their elite group. They divided their team into two groups. One was assigned to enter the Sanitarium while the other one would serve as a backup. They stayed on guard outside waiting for the other team to get Phantomflake out of the Sanitarium.

Violet and Stephen already felt strange since they easily infiltrated the Sanitarium without encountering any difficulties. Unknowingly, the Red Dragon Mafia intentionally lowered their security and made it less tight, allowing the members of the Syphiruz to enter their territory.

Stephen and Violet immediately searched for the location of Phantomflake\'s ward. They followed Nathan\'s instruction which was provided by Abigail when she used her account Cliste. However, upon entering the VIP ward, all they could see was an empty bed. That was the time the two realized that something went wrong with this operation. They fell into the enemy\'s trap.

~ Current Time…~

Violet\'s phone had been ringing. Nathan, Chantha, and Axel kept calling them but they couldn\'t answer them. They were in such a deadly situation that a simple move could cost their lives.

They fell into the Red Dragon\'s Trap. They were now surrounded by several armed men who were disguised as nurses and patients.

They also lost ten comrades after exchanging fire. The blood of their comrades had been spilled in that Sanitarium. It was already too late to retreat. They were like sheep cornered in the wolf\'s den. Several guns were pointing at them.

Stephen put his gun down on the floor and raised his hands while stepping in front to shield Violet. Violet appreciated Stephen\'s protective gesture.

She looked around and saw their comrades lying dead on the floor. The team who would infiltrate the Sanitarium was composed of fifteen people. Another team was on standby outside with twenty armed men.

But to their surprise, the Red Dragon Mafia trapped them inside the sanitarium. They could no longer send a message to warn the other group nor ask for backup.

Violet could tell that Nathan and others were calling her as her phone was vibrating inside her pocket. It was put in silent mode. However, she couldn\'t answer it under the watch of their enemies.

"Dr. Zhou," Violet called his name from the back. There was a gleam of worry in her eyes.

But Stephen just turned at her, giving her a reassuring smile. The doctor remained calm in this situation. He just motioned Violet to stay behind his back.

"Drop your weapons!" One member of the Red Dragon Mafia shouted at them. They didn\'t plan on killing everyone there. Someone must stay alive so that they could serve as their hostage.

The Dragon Lord ordered his underling to capture the team leader of the Syphiruz Mafia to be used as a hostage for exchange and negotiation. He had to rescue Jack and Spade. Two important subordinates were being held captive in the Syphiruz Headquarters.

"Who is the Supreme Leader among you?" Agustav finally stepped forward. He was looking for Nathan. The Dragon Lord expected that Nathan would come personally to reclaim Phantomflake\'s body.

Stephen heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. \'I\'m glad that I was the one who joined this team on behalf of Nathan. Nothing bad will happen to him.\'

Violet saw the faint smile on Stephen\'s lips when he turned to look at her. She admired him for being so calm and composed in this kind of situation. She could also feel that Stephen was glad that he was there instead of Nathan.

\'This man… I respect him so much. He cares so much about our Supreme Leader. He is a true friend. Our Supreme Leader is so lucky to have a friend like him.\' Violet thought to herself. Before she knew it, she began to admire Stephen as compared to before. She had the urge to protect this guy.

"I\'m the leader!" Stephen presented himself once more, catching the attention of everyone.

Agustav and others shifted their gazes back to Stephen. Agustav frowned because Stephen didn\'t look like the Supreme Leader of the Syphiruz. He didn\'t even wear his signature mask.

"Are you the Supreme Leader? Are you trying to fool us?" Another member of the Red Dragon Mafia spoke up. He had some doubts also since Stephen had silver-gray hair. The Supreme Leader of Syphiruz had black hair. Did he change his hair color?

Agustav walked closer to them, kicking the gun away from Stephen. He also commanded his members to take the weapons of Violet and the other three members who stayed alive. That was the time they noticed Violet\'s phone.

"Boss, someone has a phone. And her comrade is calling her!" the guy who confiscated Violet\'s phone reported to Agustav.

"Give me her phone!" Agustav extended his right hand, asking his underling to hand over the phone.

When Agustav answered the call, Chantha\'s worried tone reverberated from the other line.

"Sister! We have been calling you! Why did you just answer now?! Our Supreme Leader has ordered us to abort the mission! This is a TRAP! Leave the Red Dragon Mafia\'s territory NOW!"

Chantha tried to warn her twin sister but it was already too late. Agustav sneered slyly at them. He taunted Violet and Stephen by putting the phone into loudspeaker mode. They heard Chantha\'s worried voice.

"Miss, you are too late. We\'ve already captured them and killed some of your members. This is our revenge for destroying our two hideouts in Country M, killing our brothers, and capturing two important people in our organization." Agustav mumbled in his chilly tone. He felt so proud of their achievement today. He knew that he also caught big fish from the Syphiruz Mafia.

"Don\'t you dare lay a hand on my sister, or else, I will send the head of your comrades and spread their body parts all around the world!" Chantha was not able to control her rage. She burst out because of her concern for her twin sister.

Violet facepalmed the moment she heard Chantha\'s threatening voice. She was not helping. Chantha shouldn\'t provoke their enemy. They were at disadvantage.

"Forgive my sister, Dr. Zhou. She might put us in deep trouble because of her sharp tongue. Sometimes, she couldn\'t control her blabbering mouth," Violet apologized to Stephen, feeling a little bit embarrassed. She was worried that Chantha\'s words might get them in trouble.

But Stephen just smiled at her and responded, "It\'s okay. Don\'t worry. I guess, they won\'t kill us just yet. They also need us to save their comrades." This was the advantage of being a psychologist. Stephen could read the situation. He could analyze the enemy\'s behavior. He could tell that the Red Dragon Mafia wanted to save their comrades as well so they didn\'t kill them all.

"It depends. You will see how we will deal with them soon. Tell your Supreme Leader to contact us for negotiation. Don\'t make us wait, otherwise, I can\'t tell you what I\'m gonna do to your beautiful sister…" Agustav let out a sinister laugh. His underlings also joined him, laughing together.

Violet and Stephen were able to hear Chantha\'s loud curse before Agustav hung up the phone. Violet could already imagine her twin sister\'s angry expression. If she was there, she would have attacked Agustav already. Chantha was also very protective of her twin sister.

Two men approached Violet. They were about to grab her and touch her shoulders inappropriately but Stephen blocked them. He punched the tall guy and twisted the arm of the thin guy.

Violet gasped in surprise. She didn\'t expect that Stephen would suddenly step in the middle to intervene. He was protecting Violet against those men. But Agustav pointed his gun at Stephen\'s head.

"Stop! Do you want me to blow up your brain using my gun?" Agustav threatened him.

But Stephen met Agustav\'s gaze with a cold glint flashing through his eyes. "Don\'t touch the lady."

Agustav hated Stephen\'s guts and confidence. He should fear them but Stephen didn\'t show any weakness. Instead, he was acting so brave and calm in this situation.

Without a warning, Agustav hit Stephen\'s face using the tip of the gun magazine. "You are in no position to tell us what to do. I make the call here."

"Stephen!" Violet yelled his name and was about to move closer to Stephen to check on him when the two men grabbed her, holding her in place.

The left corner of Stephen\'s lips bled instantly because of the impact. He wiped it and spat some blood. Stephen didn\'t look mad. He just stared at Agustav with a blank expression. Because of that, Agustav became more annoyed by his reaction.

Agustav threw another punch, hitting Stephen on his stomach. Not yet satisfied, Agustav raised his leg and kicked him once more.

"No! Stop it!" Violet was struggling. She wanted to help him but the two men already pointed the gun at her thus stopping her from moving. Stephen just shook his head, signaling Violet to stay still and don\'t do something reckless. He could endure the pain.

"Where\'s Phantomflake? Where did you hide her?" Stephen asked Agustav, not minding the pain of those punches and kicks. He was not worried about his safety. He just wanted to protect Violet and at the same time, to see Phantomflake.

"Stop acting arrogant and brave. You are pissing me off!" Agustav barked at him as he continued to beat Stephen. He only stopped when Stephen finally fell to the ground, badly beaten up by him.

Violet clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Her eyes turned red from both anger and worry. Her eyes were burned with tears. She could no longer watch Stephen in that state. "STOP! Please Stop! You might end up killing him! Please stop…"