Chapter 2 There Are Still Fish That Slipped Through the Net

Now, even if Trevor's heart was on the wrong side, there was no way he could survive.

The helicopter disappeared into the night.

Russell removed his mask and cloak.

The woman at the computer stopped typing and stared intently at Russell's face.

The adoration in her eyes was impossible to hide.

"The Caesar cabal is truly terrifying - they've already infiltrated the highest positions in Interpol," said the man piloting the helicopter.

"They're all cancer cells, and we've finally eliminated them," Russell said calmly.

"Russell, you won't have nightmares anymore, right?" the woman continued gazing at him.

Russell thought again of the dream he often had.

A burning village.

People fleeing for their lives.

Killers massacring.

A sword piercing through his heart, accompanied by the Caesar cabal's declaration—

"Loyalty to the great Julius Caesar!"

Now they had fulfilled their loyalty through death.

The nightmare was finally over.

"Stella, can you crack this key?" Russell tossed the cross-shaped key over.

Stella Windsor brushed back her golden hair. "No problem, but it might take some time."

She was a super hacker who could breach military firewalls with ease.

After inserting the key, Stella began running the decryption program.

Russell looked at his companions in the cabin.

Mark Rodriguez, the pilot, was proficient with all vehicles and firearms, and could craft various tools. His nickname in the team was 'Fixer' - he could repair and fix any damaged equipment.

Stella, a beauty among beauties, whose golden hair could charm any man.

Before each mission, she would hack cameras and alter footage for disguises. Over all these years, Russell had never left any trace online - she deserved much of the credit.

And Russell.

Born with a natural talent for stealth, making him nearly the perfect assassin.

The three-person team was as solid as a triangle in a mathematical formula.

But now.

It seemed time to end it.

A hint of sadness showed in Russell's eyes. After eliminating the last Caesar cabal member, he suddenly lost his purpose, feeling an emptiness in his chest.

Soon.

Stella cracked the cross key.

As expected, it was the Caesar cabal's private account.

It contained all of the Caesar cabal's secret assets in Europe, including an account with as much as 10 billion dollars.

"Russell, we're rich!" Stella was stunned.

Russell looked at the astronomical figure without any excitement, though the fixed assets caught his interest.

Turns out, besides infiltrating the political cores of European countries, many companies were also secretly controlled by them.

Stella continued decrypting and discovered the Caesar cabal had a master account that could remotely control these company assets. Previously, for secrecy, they had used key-based identity verification, requiring only a password.

"Russell, there's another key needed," Stella said in surprise after some operations, discovering another key was required.

"However, this half of the key can control half the companies, while the other half can't be controlled for now." Stella came to her final conclusion, though the 10 billion dollars could be accessed.

"Let's split the money," Russell said.

"Not right now - this amount is too huge. A sudden transfer would shake the entire financial system. It needs to be broken down gradually," Stella said after trying.

"Alright, I'm planning to retire," Russell frowned.

"Russell, you keep the key for now. We don't need money, and in case there are more Caesar cabal members, we'll need it to deal with them," Mark laughed.

Stella also smiled, "Yes, Russell, you've been acting alone from the start. This money should rightfully be yours."

"Then let's find a chance to donate it to charity. What do you think?" Russell had no interest in this blood-stained fortune.

Mark and Stella nodded.

"Wait, Russell, are you sure Trevor was the last Caesar cabal member?" Stella asked doubtfully.

"What did you find?"

Stella opened a member chart from the key.

It was the secret society's roster.

It not only detailed the Caesar cabal members' names, backgrounds, and joining dates, but also recorded various operations the secret society had planned over the past decade or so. After checking everything, Russell could confirm there were no survivors.

But Stella discovered hidden information.

A secret account from the Americas.

"The United States also has the Caesar cabal!"

Russell frowned. This was somewhat unexpected.

Because the secret society's mission was 'Follow Julius Caesar, revive the Roman Empire,' he had always assumed the society's activities and sphere of influence were in Europe. Now it seemed their ambitions had also infiltrated the United States.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

The United States was the hegemon of global order, the creator of rules.

Even many European countries followed their lead. To achieve revival, controlling the United States' power was inevitable.

"Russell, are we going to the United States for a big operation?" Mark said excitedly.

Stella seemed hesitant to speak.

"Stella, what do you want to say?" Russell asked.

Stella paused, then smiled, "Russell, I'll follow your lead."

Russell thought for a moment. "With the European cabal destroyed, if there really are remnants in the United States, they'll definitely be more alert recently. We need to understand the United States' environment and political landscape better. How about this - let's rest for a while first. I'll transfer the key's assets, and when the time is right, we'll make plans."

"What do you think?"

"No problem." Mark gave a thumbs up.

Stella seemed to want to say something, but finally just couldn't help hugging Russell, giggling, "Russell, I love you. Whatever you say goes."

Several months later.

New York.

A young woman with her cap pulled low, head down, emerged from a noisy underground bar.

The homeless people around were warming themselves by fires, staring at her.

Even though she was bundled up, her shapely figure was hard to hide.

The remote Brooklyn alley had always been breeding ground for evil. Soon, two men who had just injected drugs targeted this tasty prey. They exchanged glances and closed in.

"Miss, where are you going?"

"Keep us company, we'll show you a good time!"

They breathed foul breath, showing yellow teeth, groping at the woman. As her baseball cap was knocked off, the woman's golden hair shone like flowing gold, her face as exquisite and captivating as a sculpture. The two homeless men were stunned, their expressions becoming even more frenzied.

"So sexy! We're in luck."

It was Stella.

"Get lost if you don't want to die!" Stella kicked them both away.

Unfortunately, these two homeless men had lost their reason. They got up and lunged at her frantically. One pulled out a syringe and stabbed it toward her.

Stella's eyes turned cold.

Bang!

Two muffled gunshots rang out. The homeless man with the syringe fell to the ground on the spot, blood spreading from beneath him, turning the puddles red.

The other homeless man was scared stiff, watching several men in black emerge from the shadows, holding pistols with silencers.

"Murder!" the remaining homeless man fled in terror.

The men in black fired emotionlessly, and the last homeless man fell with a thud.

Stella bit her lip, looking at them. "I could have handled it. Did you have to kill them?"

The men in black remained unmoved, as if they'd just disposed of trash. They threw the two bodies into a dumpster, while another bowed to Stella. "Ms. Windsor, please come back with us."