Chapter 442: The 5 Men, Battered and Bruised All Over

Chapter 442: Chapter 442: The 5 Men, Battered and Bruised All Over

Hearing Barry Quinn’s plea, Zoe Sawyer agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"It’s the least I can do. Don’t worry, I’ll start looking for them now," Zoe Sawyer said reassuringly. With that, she gripped the doorknob and began manipulating the door, searching the cruise ship for the captured undercover agents.

Zoe Sawyer and the others had a clear objective, focusing on heavily guarded rooms. While they didn’t find who they were looking for, they uncovered plenty of other disturbing scenes.

There were teenagers abducted from all over the world, young children who didn’t understand what was happening, and even a significant number of people with disabilities.

In one room, there were five young, beautiful girls. They had been dressed in little white dresses and their hair had been meticulously styled, but their hands and feet were shackled to the beds.

In front of each girl was a tablet, each displaying the figure of a different person.

If any of the five girls so much as moved, a bodyguard standing behind them would raise a hand, and the sound of a whip striking flesh, followed by a piercing scream, would instantly erupt from the tablet.

After this happened a few times, none of the five girls dared to move. They sat perfectly still, terrified that any action would displease their captors and bring more brutal beatings upon their families.

The scenes in these rooms were different from the masses of people they’d seen gathered together initially. The victims they found later had clearly received more "care," but this only made the expressions on Heath Hale and Barry Quinn’s faces grow even grimmer.

"The first group we saw were just consumables for their games. These people, however, seem to have been hand-picked for a different kind of game, meant to satisfy the various perversions of their clients." Heath Hale’s expression was grim, his hands clenched into tight fists.

He didn’t have to spell it out. Everyone present understood the horrifying implication.

"Note their locations for now. We have to rescue all of them." Seeing Barry Quinn’s expression grow darker, Heath Hale spoke quietly to Zoe Sawyer. He then patted her shoulder and added, "Let’s keep searching for now. These people are safe for the moment.

The most important thing right now is the status of our brothers. If we waste too much time, they might actually get their tendons severed, and that would be a disaster."

With modern medical technology, an injury like that wasn’t a death sentence. It could be healed with timely treatment.

However, the subsequent rehabilitation would be anything but easy.

So, it was best to avoid it if at all possible.

The others in the office had long since gathered, watching the door with worried expressions.

From the trio’s conversation, they could tell the situation was dire. There were many victims, and the location was treacherous.

Worse, their undercover colleagues had been captured.

Just as Zoe Sawyer was resuming her search, Barry Quinn finally spoke up. "That girl in the last room... I know her." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The moment he said it, Zoe Sawyer paused. Everyone in the office turned their attention to Barry Quinn.

"I was on a mission once and got injured. She was the one who saved me. She hid me and helped me evade the search party.

She even risked her own safety to bring me food and medicine several times. Her family wasn’t wealthy, and she was so beautiful that her parents and older brother were always very protective of her."

My team extracted me soon after. Because I was on a mission, I didn’t have any money on me, so I couldn’t leave anything behind to thank her for saving my life.

After the mission was over, I had someone send a sum of money to her family to repay her kindness.

But the very next day, I got a call saying her family had already moved. They left in such a hurry that none of the neighbors knew their new address.

I thought I’d never get the chance to see her again. I never expected it would be... like this.

But now, seeing her current predicament, Barry Quinn could guess why her family had left in such a rush.

In a lawless region like that, a commoner girl that beautiful... her family really couldn’t have protected her.

’If only... if only I’d finished that mission faster after I got back. I could have had someone move her and her family to a safer place. Maybe then this never would have happened.’

"Don’t blame yourself. You couldn’t have predicted this," Heath Hale said, placing a hand on Barry Quinn’s shoulder and softening his voice. "We found her in time. Once we get a handle on this cruise ship’s operations, we can take these bastards down and rescue all these kids safely.

Then you’ll have your chance to repay her for saving your life."

Seeing her so unexpectedly had just been a shock, and for a moment, Barry Quinn had lost control of his emotions.

He had already composed himself.

After hearing Heath Hale’s words of comfort, he gave him a small smile. "I know. Don’t worry, I know what needs to be done.

Zoe, let’s focus on finding our brothers first. We need to confirm their current condition, and if possible, their identities."

As he spoke, Barry Quinn picked up a camera he’d already prepared from a nearby table. "The situation is urgent and there are too many people. If we rely solely on Beau to sketch them, it’ll take too long. Things are already going against us; figuring out their identities is the top priority."

Zoe Sawyer’s door had allowed them to fire a rocket launcher from inside it before, so it could definitely be used to take a photograph.

That way, they could take the photos to the chief and his own former supervisor to find out which agency had sent the captured agents.

Zoe Sawyer understood the gravity of the situation. Without a word, she focused her concentration and quickened her search of the remaining rooms.

Soon, in a corner of the cruise ship, Zoe Sawyer found something that wasn’t right.

"Something’s strange here. Not only are there fewer rooms on this floor, but the distance between the doors is smaller," Zoe Sawyer said, stopping the view in front of a solid wall.

This floor had fewer rooms than the one above, and the rooms themselves were smaller.

Assuming both floors had the same total area, that could only mean one thing.

There had to be a secret space hidden on this level.

Heath Hale and Barry Quinn, who were watching alongside Zoe Sawyer, also quickly spotted the discrepancy.

"Zoe, go into the last room on this floor, then move the door through the wall on the side where there are no other rooms," Heath Hale instructed, recalling the layout and pointing toward the adjacent room.

"Got it!"

Zoe Sawyer didn’t hesitate. She did as Heath Hale said, moving the door’s viewpoint into the room and then pushing it through the far wall.

After a moment’s lag, a brightly lit room abruptly appeared before them.

The room was bare, save for four chairs, one in each corner, occupied by large, intimidating bodyguards. There was no other furniture.

But the most arresting sight...

...was the five men lying prone on the floor, their bodies so covered in wounds there wasn’t an unmarred inch of flesh on them.