North American riot police: Start by arresting P. Diddy!

Chapter 248 "Paratroopers are born to be surrounded!"

"Boom, boom, boom."

Footsteps echoed continuously in the stairwell.

The people who were originally in the hall rushed to the top floor, all wanting to be the first to intercept the guy who took the [Staff] chip.

As for why the other party suddenly went mad as if possessed, they didn't care at all.

Whoever can seize the magic staff will have the power to threaten global powers!
Therefore, everyone became obsessed and was willing to do anything to succeed.

Dozens of floors above them, Rorschach, like Spider-Man, gripped the railing and leaped, rapidly ascending towards the rooftop.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Mary Jane clinging to his back, but rather the tech-savvy woman, Gen.

“Wait, Rorschach.”

Clyde's voice suddenly came through the headset, "Something's not right. After they got the [Staff], they didn't go downstairs. Instead, they went to the rooftop."

"What? How will they evacuate?" Luo Xia frowned.

"Are they going to rappel down from the rooftop?" Gen guessed, panting.

"Impossible!" Luo Xia denied it categorically.

This isn't a Hollywood blockbuster.

A hundred-story building, over six hundred meters high, coupled with strong winds and low visibility on a winter night, would be a feat even special forces might not be able to accomplish.

Moreover, that guy named Leo looks like a weak and incompetent nerd, how could he possibly complete a descent from a height of several hundred meters?

Luo Xia took a deep breath and silently increased his speed.

He glanced at the floor markings on the wall; it was already over sixty floors. He could reach the rooftop and stop them in another minute!

“There’s something else I need to remind you, Rorschach,” Harold, who was in charge of communications support for Anna and John, suddenly interjected. “John disappeared from the surveillance footage a minute ago.”

"what?"

Luo Xia suddenly stopped and involuntarily slowed down his climbing speed.

At this very moment, in the corridor a few hundred meters away from them.

John knelt on one knee on the blood-soaked carpet; his once-crisp suit was now completely drenched in blood.

His right hand was bent at an unnatural 90-degree angle, and his left arm hung limply as if dislocated.

Her messy black hair was stuck to her forehead, most of her teeth were broken, and she looked up at the man in front of her with her face covered in blood, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"The skill level is alright."

Jack wiped the blood from his fist with a handkerchief, his tone indifferent: "In the past twenty years, among the top assassins at the Continental Hotel in New York, you're the only one who can last thirty seconds against me. No wonder that kid recruited you."

John spat out a mouthful of blood, his voice hoarse: "What exactly do you want?"

In the previous exchange, this counter-terrorism bureau chief was able to dodge bullets with ease at close range, and when he got close, he displayed overwhelming power. His speed and strength far exceeded those of ordinary people, and his fighting skills were exquisite.

In just a few rounds, he was completely defeated and had no chance to fight back.

But what puzzled John was that the other party had countless opportunities to kill him, yet never did.

"take it easy."

Jack slowly lit a cigarette. "The number of Counterterrorism agents who have died at Rorschach's hands is too many to count on two hands. It's not convenient for me to take direct action against him, so I'll just have to collect some interest from you first."

"."

John shook his head with a wry smile. If he had known this would happen, he should have let Anna pursue the other man.

Jack glanced at his watch and took a deep drag on his cigarette: "Five minutes left."

He flicked his cigarette ash and glanced across the empty corridor: "An hour ago, an Ohio-class nuclear submarine launched a Tomahawk cruise missile in the North Atlantic, targeting this very building."

John's pupils constricted, his whole body trembled violently, and he roared hoarsely, "Are you kidding me?!"

"I never joke."

Jack looked down at him coldly. "Blame Rorschach for being too arrogant. Only two days have passed since the San Francisco incident, and he dared to openly show up in Toronto. The White House held an emergency meeting and decided to bury Spectre and the Staff together."

He stubbed out his cigarette and gave John a meaningful look. "Hurry and notify your accomplices. The missile will hit precisely in five minutes and level the entire building. Escape now—it's not too late."

Watching Jack's departing figure, John swallowed hard, his trembling fingers hurriedly tapping the communicator in his ear.

Meanwhile, Rorschach, who had already reached the top floor of the building, heard John's voice in his earpiece and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't know much about Jack, but given Jack's personality, he shouldn't easily kill John. Now it seems that the guy did indeed still have some feelings for him.

Of course, if John really died, then he would have no choice but to accept it, because as mentioned earlier, he didn't know much about Jack.

But he didn't get a chance to breathe for long before he almost couldn't catch his breath again.

"missile!?"

Luo Xia abruptly stopped, exchanged a glance with Gen beside him who was equally shocked, and then asked in a deep voice, "Did he really say that?"

John's voice, though weak, was exceptionally clear in the earpiece: "It's absolutely true! The missile was launched an hour ago, and it'll be hitting us in five minutes at most! We're all doomed!"

In the hall, Anna and Caitlin, who were escorting Walter back to the safe house, froze in place upon hearing this.

After exchanging glances for a few seconds, the two of them quickened their pace in unison.

Her high heels clicked loudly, as if she wanted to sprout wings and fly away.

"Rorschach! Retreat!" Anna practically yelled into the headset. "Don't be reckless! No matter how powerful you are, you can't possibly snatch the [Scepter] and escape unscathed amidst a missile barrage!"

“I agree.” Harold’s tone was grave. “Tonight has seen too many unexpected events. First, the developers stole the scepter in public, and now there’s the federal missile attack. A slight misstep could lead to utter destruction. Let’s retreat first and plan our next move.”

However, Rorschach's reply plunged everyone's hearts into despair:

"Anna, you and Caitlin meet up with Gen downstairs. I'm going to keep chasing those guys who took the scepter."

"WTF? Are you crazy?"

"Please stop trying to be a hero! You're already manly enough!"

"Come back first, let's revise the plan!"

The people in the earpiece were all talking at once, trying their best to dissuade him from taking the risk.

But Luo Xia ignored him and turned to Gen, instructing him, "Hide in the guest room for a minute, and then take the elevator down after those people rush up."

Root stared wide-eyed in disbelief: "You really want to risk stealing the [Scepter]?"

"Nonsense, they're right under our noses. Backing down at the last minute is not my style."

Luo Xia looked at the rooftop gate not far away, his eyes resolute.

Looking at his resolute face, Gen nodded silently and took out a handheld computer from his pocket: "After you get the chip, insert it and enter the verification key to verify its authenticity."

“Sounds easy.” Luo Xia put away his computer, gave Gen a reassuring look, and then strode towards the rooftop.

Looking at his fearless back, Gen couldn't help but scratch his head and mutter to himself, "That madman."

Everyone else in the safe house and the hall was also filled with anxiety.

This wasn't the first time Rorschach had acted unilaterally during an operation, but this time, facing a missile threat, no one was sure if he would return alive.

"Ugh"

Harold sighed and ordered firmly, "Then let Rorschach give it a try. But you lot must evacuate the building immediately!"

"clear."

Anna and the others acted quickly, leading Walter towards the safety passage.

On the rooftop, Rorschach, who had just stepped out of the door, immediately spotted Leo and his group fleeing in panic.

The four men and one woman, apart from Leo who was developing the "Divine Staff," were all dressed as mercenaries, which seemed particularly out of place.

"boom--!"

He didn't have time for words, raised his hand and fired a shot, the bullet whizzing past Leo's scalp.

The deafening gunfire made the group pause in their tracks.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Rorschach had already charged forward. When they turned around, they only saw a fist the size of a sandbag coming straight at them. "Bang!"

Leo was the first to be hit and was sent flying by a punch, crashing heavily into the edge of the wall.

Rorschach continued his relentless attacks on the remaining members.

To save time, he decided to skip the interrogation and subdue the group directly.

But unexpectedly, the way these seemingly amateur "mercenaries" fought back was quite bizarre.

"call out--"

A playing card flew through the air, aimed straight for his throat.

"Poker cards?"

Rorschach raised an eyebrow dismissively and crushed the playing cards to pieces with a wave of his hand.

What the hell is this?

The missile was about to hit them on the head, and here a group of mercenaries were still hitting people with playing cards.
Upon recognizing their pursuers as Rorschach Butcher, the group of "mercenaries" turned ashen-faced and scrambled to flee toward the wall.

The person who had just thrown the card gritted his teeth and charged forward again, bracing himself for the challenge.

This kid is fairly agile, especially with his incredibly fast hands, but that's nothing compared to Luo Xia.

A heavy punch landed on his chin, and Rorschach grabbed him by the neck and threw him aside like a dead dog.

"Bang bang bang-"

"Try running one more!"

Luo Xia fired several shots at the feet of the group, the bullets sending cement fragments flying everywhere, which indeed intimidated the imposters.

He strode forward, carefully examined the group, and then frowned.

Although they were dressed in mercenary uniforms, these men had no bearing whatsoever for soldiers; they hadn't even turned off the safety on their guns, clearly a bunch of amateurs.

“Interesting.” Luo Xia narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the group. “So you guys are the real masterminds behind this?”

The group exchanged awkward glances.

Luo Xia wasn't going to play games with them and said bluntly, "Hand over the chip, then get lost!"

The group hesitated and looked at each other, then the bald, middle-aged man who was leading them reached into his coat.

Rorschach assumed he was going to remove the chip and watched his movements intently.

Unexpectedly, this guy suddenly pulled his hand away quickly and snapped his fingers at Rorschach: "Sleep!"

“Pah.”

The bald man snapped his fingers several times, but Rorschach, who was standing still, did not move an inch.

He glanced helplessly at his expectant accomplices behind the man and scoffed, "Hypnosis? You think that trick will work on me?"

"Well, it does seem unrealistic now." A curly-haired man awkwardly touched his nose.

"OK, have you had enough fun?"

Luo Xia acted with lightning speed, grabbing the bald man's fingers and twisting them in the opposite direction.

"Ah!! Fuck!!!" The bald man who was trying to hypnotize him screamed in agony.

Rorschach raised an eyebrow and sneered: "Playing cards, hypnosis, and what's that girl hiding in her sleeve? Could it be a pigeon? So you guys are actually magicians?"

The curly-haired man looked at Leo, who was lying on the ground, and his companion, who was groaning in pain, and then glanced at the bald man whose fingers were twisted.

He swallowed hard and forced himself to speak: "You may not believe what I'm about to say, but I have to tell you."

He held up five fingers, his hand trembling: "Five minutes left, no, maybe only four minutes left, and a Tomahawk cruise missile is about to hit us! The most important thing now isn't to grab the chips, but to escape!"

After he finished speaking, he stared intently at Luo Xia's expression, only to be shocked to find that the other party was completely unmoved, as if he already knew the news.

"I see."

After listening, Luo Xia immediately understood the whole story.

"You're undercover agents from the counterterrorism bureau, right?"

He sneered, "Use magic to infiltrate the building beforehand, disguise yourself as a mercenary. After the auction begins, use hypnotic commands to control Leo, making him escape with the [Staff], and then secretly hand the chip over to the Counter-Terrorism Bureau. Afterwards, everyone will just think that Leo suddenly went mad and betrayed his comrades, a perfect frame-up, and no one will suspect the Federation at all. Tsk tsk."

With the [Master of Trace Analysis] operating at full speed, Rorschach pieced together the entire conspiracy in the blink of an eye.

The few people on the other side who were still able to move stared in disbelief at each other.

The curly-haired man's voice trembled: "Since you know this, why aren't you running? Do you think you can withstand a missile?"

Rorschach didn't answer, but reached out and grabbed his throat: "I'll say it one last time, hand over the chip. Otherwise, you won't even have to wait for the missile to fall; I'll send you on your way right now."

The curly-haired man, his face ashen, pulled a blue-glowing chip from the back of a playing card in his pocket: "Jack. Jack has leverage over us. If we don't want to go to jail, we have no choice but to listen to him."

Luo Xia ignored his explanation and quickly inserted the chip into the computer, entering the verification key provided by the root.

Just then, Harold's voice suddenly blared in the earpiece: "Rorschach! Something's happened! A large number of armed men have suddenly emerged from the rooms of the building, they... wait!"

Inside the safe house, Harold stared at the cobra tattoos on the necks of the soldiers on the monitor screen and gasped, "They're nanite warriors from the Cobra organization! Hundreds of them! Get out of here, Rorschach! Don't get entangled with them!"

Luo Xia's eyes narrowed, and he grabbed the curly-haired man by the collar: "Since you're trying to escape to the rooftop, you must have an evacuation plan, right? How are you planning to leave?"

The curly-haired man pointed tremblingly to a ventilation duct near the wall, his voice shaking: "The counter-terrorism bureau had originally agreed with us that once they got the chip, we could slide down the duct to escape, and they would be there to meet us below. But now..."

Luo Xia looked up and saw that the pipe opening had been completely sealed, tightly blocked by a thick steel plate, with a large alloy padlock hanging on it.

"We only realized we'd been tricked when we got up here! Damn it! The Counter-Terrorism Bureau never intended to get the [Staff] in the first place; they just wanted us all to die here! This was a complete trap!" the curly-haired man roared hysterically.

But Rorschach stared at the lock, seemingly lost in thought.

Jack's actions were completely pointless. If they really wanted to kill people to cover their tracks, there would have been no need for them to send these magicians in to steal the chip.

Harold's warnings continued through the headphones.

But Rorschach ignored him, quickly thinking of a strategy to deal with the situation.

Just then, his phone rang.

Seeing the caller ID, Rorschach sneered as he answered, "You win this time, Jack!"

"To be honest, I didn't really want to make things this ugly."

Jack's voice came through, "I've given you at least two chances tonight, but you're still so stubborn, so I'll have to take a hard line."

"So this phone call was to mock me?"

"No, I'm not that bored."

Jack said calmly, "See that drone hidden behind the concrete platform in the east corner? If you insert the chip into the microcomputer on the drone, I'll tell you where the key to lock the pipes is. That key is on the rooftop. You still have a chance."

“Remember,” Jack emphasized, “don’t try to fool me with a fake chip. I can verify its authenticity in real time once it’s inserted.”

"Fuck you!" Rorschach cursed furiously. "Fuck you! You really think you can get me?"

Jack replied coldly, "Cobra soldiers are on their way, and Tomahawk missiles will be hitting us in three minutes. You're surrounded, Rorschach! Stop fucking holding on and just give up!"

Rorschach looked around.

The counterterrorism bureau had indeed set a perfect trap for him this time.

The appearance of the Cobra was clearly part of Jack's plan.

He is now in a dead end, caught between a rock and a hard place.

Even if the missiles fall, the Federation can use the excuse of "eliminating terrorists" to cover it up—after all, his and the Cobra members' corpses will be the best evidence.

Jack, that cheap father-in-law, is really ruthless when he really turns on me!
But admitting defeat has never been his style.

"It seems you've forgotten something, Jack."

"what?"

Rorschach grinned, revealing a wild smile:
"I'm a paratrooper, born to be surrounded!!!"

(End of this chapter)