You Want War, Then Let’s Have War

Lake didn’t care what Hydra was thinking.

It was the same as always.

Lake always acted boldly and calculated carefully. From Hydra’s perspective, if this attack failed, naturally, to avoid exposing their cloning base, Will Wick would definitely not survive.

At the latest…

Will Wick would live until the moment he met Lake, and then, no questions asked. If that were the case, it would clearly be another big trap set by Hydra.

John Wick immediately stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"…"

Lake looked at John, the Night Demon, who was getting up to leave, and pointed to the many Homeland agents currently trying their best to find Will Wick. "If you can find him before they do, believe me, I’ll fire them all."

John’s expression was grim.

Lake gestured to John’s seat. "Sit down. It’s not that Will Wick has no chance of survival, it’s just that the possibility is very low."

He was immortal anyway.

Even if a nuclear bomb detonated beneath him, he wouldn’t die. He could handle any trap, but could Will Wick, as bait in a trap, be exempt from death?

However…

Things were up to people.

With cloning technology emerging, it was clear that in the Marvel Universe, miracles were never in short supply.

Besides.

Whether Will Wick lived or died was unimportant to Lake. The crucial thing was whether Will Wick could tell him the location of Hydra’s cloning base before he died.

That was the most critical point.

Time ticked by.

The temporary Homeland office in the borrowed bar in Vega Town was brightly lit. Texas Homeland Security and New York Homeland Security were quickly connected, exchanging information.

Around 10 PM.

There was news.

"Sir!"

"Speak."

"There’s a quarry north of Vega Town that’s been abandoned for a long time. But the power company reported that the electricity there is being used."

"Send people to check it out."

"Understood!"

Carlan, the operations supervisor for Texas Homeland Security, immediately responded. He looked directly at a fully armed team ready to go and said, "Team A, go check it out immediately."

Team A, a six-person unit, stood up.

John Wick spoke, "I’ll go too."

The captain of Team A looked at Carlan. "Sir?"

Carlan then looked at Lake.

Lake looked at John Wick. "You can go, but you can’t go alone."

John Wick nodded without speaking.

Soon.

The sound of cars starting could be heard from outside.

Half an hour later.

The satellite footage of the abandoned quarry appeared on the big screen.

Team A, along with John Wick, had also appeared on the big screen. Team A’s head-mounted cameras were already activated.

"Turn on the thermal imaging scan."

"Yes!"

Lake clasped his hands, looking thoughtfully at the satellite information on the big screen, feeling a bit curious.

He could fly from New York to here because Will Wick was here.

But then what?

Lake came here because he was worried that Homeland Security’s capture efforts would be ineffective, so he came to oversee things. After this, he wasn’t without subordinates to handle tasks for him. How would Hydra plan to lure him away from this temporary office?

They couldn’t just do what they did before, dispatching two armed helicopters to conduct carpet bombing, could they?

Lake raised an eyebrow.

He had already alerted the nearby Fort Bliss Biggs Army Airfield to be on alert. After all, he didn’t want a repeat of his feat of shooting down a helicopter with three shots.

However…

Just as the satellite thermal imaging scanning device was about to be activated.

The satellite image on the big screen suddenly flickered.

The Texas Homeland Operations Center and the New York Homeland Operations Center simultaneously sent messages that the satellite signal was severely jammed and about to be lost.

At the same time.

At Stark Industries, Jarvis, who had also tuned the Stark satellite to the airspace above Texas, saw the anomaly and immediately spoke up, "Sir, the New York Homeland satellite and the Texas Homeland satellite have been infiltrated."

Tony, who was in his office telling Pepper that he wanted to increase Frank’s coaching fees to $50,000 a month, stood up upon hearing this and walked over to his computer. "Is it that Ghost?"

"Yes."

Ghost.

This was the name Tony Stark and Jarvis gave to a hacker who was as elusive as a phantom and as proficient with networks as Jarvis. In reality, it was Dr. Zola.

Just then.

Jarvis saw the real-time footage from the Stark satellite and directly took over Lake’s earpiece, speaking out, "Mr. Edwin, the satellite shows five armed helicopters appearing, estimated to arrive in thirty seconds."

Lake’s eyebrows shot up.

Was Hydra planning to self-destruct?

They were actually coming?

Karelan, the Operations Director, and the other Homeland agents in the temporary office also received the warning from Jarvis.

"Retreat!"

"Fall back, fall back!"

"Quickly!"

"Whoosh!"

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Several missiles streaked through the sky like arrows, arcing directly towards the temporary Homeland Security office. Instantly, a violent explosion shattered the peaceful night in Vega Town.

"Thump!"

"Pfft!"

"Ah!"

Some agents who had just managed to retreat from the offices behind them were caught in the blast wave. They were instantly thrown up and then heavily slammed onto the ground.

"Woooo!"

"Rattata-tat-tat!"

The gun barrels of the five armed helicopters in the sky began to spin, their sound a low hum. Immediately after, armor-piercing rounds capable of penetrating buildings began to indiscriminately attack the temporary office with a series of booming explosions.

The armor-piercing rounds, capable of penetrating buildings, struck the ground, instantly creating numerous bullet holes in the concrete surface.

Pfft, pfft, pfft!

The moment one unlucky Homeland agent was hit by an armor-piercing round, he had no chance to fall. With a burst of blood mist, he was riddled with holes while still standing, like a human sieve.

Lake, meanwhile, pulled Karelan, the Operations Director, and they almost immediately dashed across the road, hiding in the shadows of a building.

Karelan, the Operations Director, stared with bloodshot eyes at the agents being slaughtered.

The scene was extremely bloody.

Lake kept pulling Karelan, preventing him from rushing out to his death, while simultaneously contacting the New York Operations Center. His expression remained unchanged, and he thought to himself, The more you jump around now, don’t cry when it’s time to settle the score.

"Where are the fighter jets?"

"Sir, the fighter jets have taken off and will arrive in two minutes. The communication signals were attacked just now."

"…"

In the sky.

After their gun barrels were almost glowing red, the five helicopters circled the temporary office, which had already turned into ruins. After confirming the situation, The next second.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Five earth-shattering explosions occurred one after another as the five helicopters plunged into the ruins. The superimposed shockwaves, accompanied by flames, swept out in all directions.

What a move.

A suicide attack?

Boom!

Just as the shockwave was about to hit, Lake pushed the nearby Calilan operations director to the ground and then threw himself onto Calilan’s back.

Awooo!

The howling of the shockwave sounded like a hungry wolf’s cry. Accompanied by the explosive flames, just as it was about to strike, the Force that Lake had accumulated transformed into a transparent barrier around him.

Bang bang bang!

Countless small stones and shattered building debris slammed into the transparent barrier, creating ripples, but all were blocked from the outside.

The shockwave didn’t last long.

For the people of Vega Town, it felt like the end of the world was incredibly close.

Lake flipped over, got up, and turned to look at the temporary office, which had now been reduced to ruins. His expression was as grim as dripping black water.

Very good.

Arnim Zola!

Congratulations.

Your mother blew up!

"No…"

The Calilan operations director also crawled up from the ground and rushed out. Seeing the mess all over the ground and the almost mangled bodies after the explosion, he couldn’t help but kneel down and roar.

The police force of the Vega Town Police Department arrived at the scene, as if from a movie, fashionably late.

The town’s police had never witnessed such a bloody, large-scale scene.

A few young officers, after just one glance, couldn’t help but run to the side of the road to vomit.

Rumble!

In the sky, two fighter jets from a nearby military base roared across the town’s airspace.

Lake looked up. The fighter jets began circling over Vega Town. He was expressionless.

"Sir!"

"Sir!"

Lake snapped back to attention, hearing Tiffany’s somewhat anxious voice through his earpiece. "Speak."

Tiffany breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s great, Sir. You’re alright."

Lake stared at the bodies and ruins spread out before him. "What about Fort Bliss Biggs Army Airfield?"

"When we were hit by the cyberattack, the Fort Bliss Biggs Army Airfield system was also attacked, causing radar interference."

"…Any good news?"

"Tony Stark has already engaged with the hacker who attacked our network and is currently tracking their final location."

"Good."

Lake said concisely, "Let me know if you get any news. Oh, and tell Secretary Kelly what happened here. Tell him I want to apply for a Full Investigation Order!"

A Full Investigation Order!

One without any reservations, the highest level of authority that only a Homeland Security operations director could initiate, fully mobilizing the resources of Homeland Security and its allies for case investigation.

Lake was currently serving as the Assistant Director of Homeland Security Operations. To activate this Full Investigation Order, he needed Secretary Kelly’s authorization and signature!

Tiffany immediately replied, "Understood."

What?

It was already late at night in the Special Administrative Region.

With such a major incident occurring, even if Secretary Kelly was engaged in intimate activities with his beautiful wife, he would have to be woken up.

Lake ended the call and looked expressionlessly at the five attack helicopters buried in the ruins.

Good.

You want to go face-to-face and start a war, huh?

Fine.

Hydra, Hydra.

Heh.

If I don’t chop off at least five of your heads this time, I’ll take your surname!

He thought.

Lake’s eyes flickered. He took out his old-fashioned mobile phone and began calling for backup.

My greatest advantage isn’t immortality.

It’s…

My network of connections!

Assistant Director of Operations for the Department of Homeland Security, plus a Major in the military!

You’re going to war.

Come on!

Let’s go to war!!!