NOVPUB
Chapter 121: Chapter 121 War II
The air in the car was thick with tension as Leo sped through the outskirts of the city. Gravel crunched beneath the tires as the vehicle pushed through the darkness, nearing the Black Lotus base.
But even before the first building of the compound came into view—before the perimeter lights or guards—they heard it.
Gunfire.
Lilith’s eyes widened. "Already?"
Leo’s jaw clenched as he accelerated. "They’re fast. Too fast."
The thunder of assault rifles echoed across the open field, and with each passing second, it grew louder—closer. The scent of smoke drifted in through the air vents. Something was burning.
Then it happened.
A hail of bullets screamed through the darkness, tearing through the windshield and rear glass. The sudden eruption of shattered glass rained over them like deadly snow.
"Down!" Leo shouted, grabbing the steering wheel tightly as he ducked his head below the dashboard.
Lilith dropped immediately, her hand already reaching for her sidearm.
The Crimson Hand had formed a blockade. Black trucks and SUVs lined the dirt path ahead, and behind them, masked men opened fire with cold precision. Muzzle flashes lit up the night like sparks from hell.
But Leo didn’t slow down. He gritted his teeth and floored the gas pedal.
"Hold on!" he roared.
The tires screamed in protest as the car surged forward, becoming a metal missile aimed straight at the blockade. The enemy barely had time to react. One man dove out of the way, but another wasn’t so lucky—the front of the car slammed into him with a sickening crunch, sending him flying into the air like a ragdoll.
Leo yanked the wheel, drifting just inches away from a flaming barricade. Another man tried to plant an explosive, but the car clipped his legs and spun him violently to the ground.
Bullets continued to riddle the sides of the vehicle, but Leo dodged each new obstacle with inhuman reflexes, weaving through gunfire and corpses like a storm tearing through paper.
They were almost at the base.
Almost there.
Then—
Lilith’s sharp voice sliced through the chaos.
"RPG!"
She had turned her head just in time to spot it—one of the Crimson Hand soldiers taking a knee, resting the long launcher on his shoulder, already locked onto them.
Leo didn’t even blink. His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, and he saw the fire streak through the air—coming straight for them.
In one breathtaking motion, he jerked the wheel into a gut-wrenching turn. The tires screamed as the car twisted sideways, drifting at high speed. The rocket whizzed past the tail of the car, missing them by inches.
But the redirected path sent it crashing into a group of Black Lotus men further down the road. They saw it coming—tried to run—but it was too late.
The explosion ripped through the night like thunder.
BOOM!
A blazing inferno erupted in the distance as screams tore through the flames. Men were flung into the air like rag dolls, their bodies burning as they hit the ground.
Lilith and Leo didn’t waste the moment. The fire and smoke created the perfect cover.
"Now!" she shouted.
They kicked the car doors open, rolling out onto the ground and sprinting into the shadows. Gunfire crackled behind them, but the chaos had created just enough confusion for them to slip through the perimeter.
As they reached the edge of the compound, the gates opened just long enough for their own men to provide suppressive fire. Lilith and Leo dove through as bullets whizzed over their heads. The gates clanged shut behind them.
Inside, the base was madness.
The Black Lotus stronghold, normally a place of precision and order, had transformed into a hive of frantic energy. Men in tactical gear loaded magazines, passed out rifles, and ran toward the outer defenses. Explosions echoed in the distance. The sky had turned orange from the fires.
But Lilith didn’t hesitate.
She marched through the base, straight toward the command center.
She passed dozens of her men, all yelling, all coordinating—but when she walked in, everything seemed to pause. Everyone in the heart of the base—men surrounding maps, radios screeching out enemy positions, shouting for reinforcements—they all looked at her like the storm had arrived.
She stopped in front of the operations table, resting both hands on its edge. Her expression was hard, eyes scanning everything.
Behind her, five men appeared without a sound.
Dressed in black suits and wearing white masks, her shadows stood like ghosts behind her. They hadn’t spoken a word, but their presence sent a chill through the room.
Lilith’s voice was cold, commanding. "Status."
A man, sweat on his forehead and a rifle slung across his chest, stepped forward.
"We’re under heavy assault, ma’am. They’re using higher-grade weapons. Heavy machine guns, explosives, even drones. They’re coming at all angles. We’ve lost contact with two outer squads already."
Lilith narrowed her eyes. "They’re too well-equipped. Too fast."
The man nodded grimly. "We believe they’ve received reinforcements. Possibly from the Golden Bird."
Lilith’s hand clenched the edge of the table tightly, knuckles turning white.
The Golden Bird had joined hands with the Crimson Hand too fast.
Li wasn’t wasting any time.
It had barely been twenty four hours since their last clash, and now he was throwing everything at her. Everything they had built—all the lives, the blood, the history—was under siege.
And Liam still wasn’t here.
She looked up, fire burning behind her eyes.
"They want a war?" she said coldly. "Then we’ll give them one."
---
Lilith stood before the command table in the heart of the Black Lotus base. The place wasn’t a military facility—it was a hardened gang fortress built with blood, sweat, and years of brutal street warfare. The room was alive with tension as men and women moved around her, armed and ready, tattoos and black masks marking their allegiance to the Lotus.
"Send the drones," she ordered sharply, her voice calm but commanding.
One of her lieutenants—a scarred man with a cybernetic eye—nodded and tapped into the system. A hum filled the room as several sleek, silent drones buzzed into the air from rooftop hatches and alley corners, soaring high into the darkness. Each one began transmitting live footage back to the central monitors.
Multiple feeds appeared across the screens: overhead shots of the gate, the perimeter fences, hidden alleys, even the thick tree line on the far end of the compound.
The Crimson Hand was here.
They were flooding in from the east and the south, their gang colors dark red, masks on, weapons raised. They didn’t move like a chaotic mob. They were precise. Trained. And heavily armed.
Lilith’s eyes narrowed.
This wasn’t just a random gang raid. This was a full-scale attack—reinforced, just as she feared.
"Cut the power," she said, turning toward another gang member leaning near the breaker switch.
He hesitated. "All of it?"
"All of it," she repeated. "Only leave the system up."
The switch was thrown.
Thud.
Everything went black.
The humming lights above died. The buzz of overhead fans stopped. The entire base dropped into a suffocating silence, lit only by the dim glow of screens and the flickering feed of drones.
Outside, the Crimson Hand faltered. Murmurs and curses echoed in the dark.
They didn’t know what just happened—but it rattled them.
Then something else clicked.
Snick.
Within the base, several members of the Black Lotus tapped a button on the side of their goggles. With a faint electric hum, their lenses came to life—adjusted not for night vision, but ultraviolet. Special lights embedded in the walls—nearly invisible to the naked eye—now bathed the compound in a glowing outline of the surroundings. The Black Lotus saw everything.
The Crimson Hand saw nothing.
And then—
BAM.
A shot rang out.
A Crimson Hand thug dropped, blood spilling across the concrete.
BAM. BAM. BAM.
More shots. More bodies hit the dirt.
"Yo! They’re ghosting us—what the fuck!" someone from the Crimson side screamed.
But it was too late.
From rooftops, alley corners, and barricaded points, Black Lotus members unleashed hell. The sound of gunfire cracked through the night as suppressed shots tore through the darkness.
"Keep it tight!" someone from Lotus barked.
Crimson Hand gangsters panicked. They stumbled. Some fired blindly. A few tried to retreat—but even more came charging in, screaming at the top of their lungs, maddened by bloodlust and desperation.
Lilith watched the chaos unfold on the monitors. Her lips curled.
"They’re not backing down," one of her shadows said.
"No," she whispered, eyes locked on the screen, "they’ve been juiced up. This is Golden Bird influence—fast, brutal, overwhelming."
On screen, the Crimson Hand threw smoke grenades—thick, gray clouds rolling across the compound as they pushed forward. Lilith could barely see them now on the drone feed, but she didn’t need to.
The Black Lotus didn’t stop firing. They adjusted, flanked, moved like shadows in a world only they could see.
