With that, he made a throat-slitting gesture.

Although they couldn’t see the gesture, the men were a seasoned crew and knew exactly what he meant.

They all nodded.

Suddenly, a bright light illuminated the man’s face, immediately followed by a soft, gentle voice.

"And what is it you’re planning to do?"

The man hadn’t processed what was happening and answered reflexively, "Kill her, of course. I was gonna let the boys have some fun with her first, but that little bitch seems like a tough nut to crack..."

The man felt something was off. A flicker of confusion crossed his dark eyes.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat. He stiffly turned his head toward Chloe Sinclair.

Chloe Sinclair was holding a small, silver flashlight. Its powerful beam was fixed on the thug, and she wiggled it slightly.

Chloe Sinclair tilted her head, a hint of feigned exasperation in her voice. "You’re not just dogs, you’re rabid dogs. You know the bone is too tough to chew, but you keep at it anyway. What’s the difference between that and being a fucking idiot?"

The thug was still in shock, but when he heard Chloe Sinclair curse at them, his anger flared. "You dare call us dogs?" he roared, incensed. "I’ll fucking kill you today!"

Chloe Sinclair shrugged, testing the waters. "Look, I’m sorry, I have no beef with you guys. If it’s money you want, I can just give it to you."

"Hah! You think this is just about money?" he sneered. "A month and a half ago, you got our boss sent to prison and sentenced to death. We worked our asses off to find you. You really think we’d let you off this easily?"

Chloe Sinclair put on a shocked expression, appearing frightened. "You’re accomplices of those bank robbers? Since they’re already in prison, why didn’t you run? Aren’t you afraid of getting caught? I heard the police are still looking for the rest of their crew."

The men glanced at each other, then broke into laughter simultaneously.

They must have thought Chloe Sinclair was completely helpless, that victory was already in their grasp, so they were willing to be a little more patient.

But when she mentioned the police were still looking for them, one snorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Them? Please. My identity is fake. How are they supposed to track me down?"

The leader clicked his tongue. "Those twenty-four deaths on the news... we all had a hand in that."

After he spoke, a sudden silence fell.

[Master, I’ve recorded it all.]

Chloe Sinclair raised an eyebrow, feeling quite pleased.

She looked at the thugs before her, her soft, sweet voice now laced with a deadly seriousness. "Thank you for your confession."

Then, she added, "I told your boss something once."

"Villains die from monologuing."

The moment she finished speaking, Chloe Sinclair shot forward like an arrow, closing in on the thugs.

At the same instant, she switched off the flashlight, plunging the area back into complete darkness.

The thugs panicked.

Still, their first instinct was to draw their guns.

In the dark, Chloe Sinclair’s vision was as sharp as in broad daylight. The thugs’ movements seemed to unfold in slow motion before her eyes.

BANG!

One of the thugs fired blindly into the dark. Unfazed, Chloe Sinclair took a slight step to the side.

As she raised her hand, Chloe Sinclair quickly contacted Eight.

’Are the cameras on?’

[They’re on.]

Eight added, [Don’t worry, Master. This will qualify as self-defense.]