Chapter 158 Chapter 158 What I am going to say next is...

After driving Willow and her friends back to the hotel, Elio began to investigate the matter of HAO.

What Leopold hadn't mentioned was the long-standing connection between HAO and the Syndicate. Elio wondered if he knew that, because if an assassin were to consider all the possibilities, the first person he would suspect would be the Syndicate. After all, HAO was one of the Syndicate's white gloves.

But then again, the syndicate's leader, Solomon Lane, had been captured by the IMF a long time ago, and the remaining remnants were probably being captured by various governments. Their efficiency was definitely not less than that of a lone assassin.

Not really! Elio thought.

The assassin then focused on investigating HAO, but soon encountered a snag. Harold Finch, then a wealthy New York vigilante, caught HAO in action. Leveraging this once-in-a-lifetime computer genius, Elio tracked him down to the Middle East and easily killed Farhad Amir.

("Easy" refers to sneaking into a heavily guarded glass skyscraper hundreds of meters high, killing the target, and then leaping down in a cloud of dust. Harold, wearing glasses, was stunned for three seconds when he learned this, looking like a Russian nesting doll.)

Of course, Elio wasn't completely clueless about computers like a 19th-century time traveler, but he did have a limited understanding. Hacking into HAO and searching around would be a tall order. So the lone assassin pondered for a moment before decisively contacting the Vongola intelligence agency.

After all, it was Sawada Tsunayoshi who asked him to be the head of the Vongola family, so he didn't hesitate.

As expected, the Vongola intelligence agency didn't treat him as an outsider and quickly reported back: Syndicate leader Solomon Lane had been apprehended, but the remaining Syndicate members had formed a mercenary organization called the "Apostles," specializing in terrorist attacks for pay. They had also taken over HAO, where Farhad had died, and were currently busy in Kashmir.

Elio was practically laughing at their indignation. He replied to the email, saying "yes" and "thank you," while quickly dialing his assistant. He immediately took a nine-hour flight to Srinagar Airport, the capital of Kashmir, and then drove all the way to HAO's medical camp in the Nubra Valley.

Surrounded by mountains and at a high altitude, cell phone signal loss is common. Elliot bought a map and spread it across his lap. When he finally reached the Nubra River Valley, he saw two rolling green slopes opening up, revealing a golden plain beyond. Nomads on Bactrian camels walked the road, while groups of cattle, sheep, and horses munched on grass, silently glancing at Elliot in his tin-shelled cabin. Smoke from cooking stoves drifted above the brown-roofed villages. Through the wisps of smoke, Elliot could see the snow-capped peaks in the distance, bathed in the sunset glow.

It would be a lie to say that Elio wasn't mesmerized by the beauty for even a second or two. But when he came to his senses, Elio wanted to know even more about what Hao was going to do here.

He parked the car, took the necessary equipment, and meticulously, cautiously, and carefully infiltrated the HAO medical camp. As the assassin reached the center of the tent, he didn't find any red dots stationed there. Elio looked around in confusion, only to find medical personnel wearing HAO vests hurried back and forth, intently discussing the villagers' vaccination rollout. For a few moments, Elio was certain they had seen him, but no one asked him what he was doing there.

Elio took off his hood in confusion and started wandering around the medical camp openly. Finally, more medical staff saw him, but soon, someone handed him a HAO vest as if it was a matter of course.

"You forgot to wear this," the medical staff told him.

Elio wondered, "What?"

The medical staff was also puzzled, "Are you a tourist?"

Elio hesitated, then finally admitted he was there to help. While the assassin couldn't understand how the situation had unfolded, he did have some medical experience and was quite good with children. One moment, Elio showed his empty palm, and the next, with a flick of his fingers, a glittering candy appeared out of thin air. No child could resist such "magic."

"To the bravest child today." Elio handed the candy out.

The medical staff had already finished administering the vaccine while the child gaped at Elio's finger, and now they gave Elio a thumbs-up. The child, having put on his coat, grabbed the candy and happily ran out the door. Inside the tent, Elio and the medical staff exchanged smiles.

"That's a perfect shot," the medic said. "Honestly, do you ever miss?"

"Of course," Elio said, "when I try to grab too much candy at once."

But he stretched out his hand again, smiled and waved it in front of his temporary colleagues, then dramatically grasped and released it in the air, producing a handful of glittering candies. The medical staff was surprised at first, then laughed, "I don't buy that."

"Here," Elio poured the candy into his pocket without hesitation. "You've worked hard today."

"It's not that hard today," the medical worker said. "If you had come earlier, you would have seen everyone busy. Our work is almost finished. I heard that we will pack up and go to Nepal next..."

He spoke as he packed up the medical equipment. Elio also helped, but his movements gradually slowed down, and he turned his head to look outside the tent, as if something had attracted his attention. The medical staff had to repeat his invitation, "Will you come with me?"

Elio was still looking out. "Probably not."

He straightened up, the curve of his back sliding smoothly, like a wild animal swaying in the wind on the prairie. The medical staff watched him walk out, only seeing Elio's thoughtful profile, knowing that his mind had completely flown away from the tent. "At least give me your contact information," the medical staff made a final attempt.

Elio, about to leave the tent, froze for a moment and turned back. He stared intently at his temporary colleague for a moment, as if trying to memorize his face.

"I'm sorry," Elio said solemnly. Then he nodded to his colleague and walked out of the tent.

Elio didn't remember this little episode for long. The assassin hurried away, calling out to a familiar figure, "Ethan!"

Ethan and his entire IMF team, who were urgently bringing down a telephone pole, looked over in surprise. Elio, running down from the tent on the hillside, also looked at their personnel in surprise. "Why are you here?"

A dusty SUV had appeared at the medical camp. Elio had just been watching it. The IMF team had emerged from this vehicle, wearing hats and scarves, clutching their detectors tightly, investigating something. From a distance, Elio spotted familiar faces: Ethan, Benjy, Ilsa, and Luther—four of them.

Elio suspected that their team configuration was enough to save the world once. In the blink of an eye, they had entered the empty space where the containers were parked, and it was unknown what they were doing there.

"What are you doing?" Elio asked in confusion.

The scene was silent for a moment. Ethan and Luther were holding onto the middle of the pole, one looking at Elio in shock, the other struggling to turn her head and staring at him in shock. Ilsa, who was holding onto the top of the pole alone, also stared at Elio in shock, until Benjy's head popped out from behind the container. He looked around and screamed in despair, "Can we put this thing down first?!"

"Yeah!" Luther also shouted.

They hurriedly lowered the pole to the ground. Although Elio didn't understand what was going on, he went over to help. As soon as the pole fell to the ground, Ethan grabbed Elio's hand and said, "Don't panic about what I'm going to say next."

"What could possibly scare me?" Elio wondered.

Ethan didn't know that Elio wasn't the same Elio anymore. Even if Ethan Hunt was a legendary agent, Elio was probably a legendary assassin now. After all, the young assassin in his early twenties had seen the world. What could he not have seen? What could still frighten him?

Then, Benji and Luther dismantled a mechanical device on the telephone pole right in front of him. Elio saw an electronic screen on it, showing 15:00:00. The assassin's head immediately buzzed, and he grabbed Ethan with his backhand, "Is there a bomb here?"

"Nuclear bombs," Ethan observed his expression, "or two."

"Holy crap!" Elio yelled.

I have never seen this before!!!

"You'll help us, won't you?" Benji looked at him expectantly, pointing to his eyes suggestively. "We still have one nuclear bomb to find."

Elio was speechless for a moment, his hands and feet weak. Ethan supported him and whispered in the assassin's ear, "We need you, Elio."

Elio gave him a silent look.

"Another nuclear bomb and detonator are nearby," Benji studied it quickly, "about half a kilometer in that direction."

Ethan glanced in the direction he pointed. It was the direction of the village. The IMF team leader quickly made a decision. "Luther, you stay here and deal with it. The rest of you follow me." He was referring to Benjy and Ilsa, who followed him without hesitation. Then, Ethan looked at Elio. He was leaning against the container, straightening up again.

"Are you joining?" Ethan asked him.

Elio pushed his curls out of his eyes, damp with sweat in those few seconds, but Ethan saw that his eyes were bright.

"I saw two humanoid targets," the assassin told them in a somewhat soft voice. "One was walking towards the helicopter parked in the square, and the other was standing on a small building in that direction. He was with another nuclear bomb."

"Benjy, Ilsa, you guys go deal with the nuclear bomb," Ethan immediately arranged. "Elio, you come with me to chase the helicopter."

Without hesitation, the four of them immediately ran out, like a shot of arrows. Only Luther stayed where he was, looked at the nuclear bomb at hand, and took out the tools from his bag.

"Don't worry about me," Luther muttered, "I can handle this on my own."

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The author has something to say: Oreo: I've fought in battles! (Chest puffed out)

Still Oreo: I haven’t beaten the 20th century wow (crying) (flattened)