[BL] Transmigrated as the Villain CEO's Mermaid Secretary

Chapter 445: Saving Sarah

Lilianna, who was supposed to be inside the second virtual pod, was halfway slumped against him. The man’s gloved hand held an empty small glass vial.

Lilianna’s lips were wet with an unknown tinted liquid. Her throat reflexively swallowed, and her lashes fluttered.

Neville’s virtual pod looked like it was still closed, but she could clearly see that it was only halfway.

The transparent dome was raised at an unnatural angle, propped open just enough for someone to fit a hand inside. A small black device had been clamped onto Neville’s forehead; its many tiny lights were blinking rapidly.

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

Sarah was so disoriented and shocked by what was happening that she could only scream. But she also knew that she had messed up because the masked man’s head snapped up.

She caught the gleam of his eyes. Then his shoulders sagged exasperatedly.

"Oh, for fuck’s sake," the man muttered.

His voice was filtered through a vocal modulator, but the tone came through crisp and clear. He sounded annoyed.

"Keres, you absolute lunatic. You’ve made a goddamn unnecessary commotion. I told you to distract them, keep them away. How could you not do one single thing right?"

Whether he was talking to himself or to a hidden earpiece, Sarah couldn’t tell. She only knew how to raise her plasma pistol with both shaking hands.

"Step. Away. From her."

"Or what?" The man’s modulated voice tilted upward, almost amused. "You’ll shoot me through your sister?"

Sarah’s finger tightened on the trigger.

Pew—!

The plasma bolt cracked from the muzzle with a sharp electric whine. The man casually twisted his torso, angling out of the bolt’s path.

The shot screamed past him and slammed into the wall behind, scorching a fist-sized crater into the bulkhead. The smell of burning ceramic and ionized air hit Sarah’s nose.

But the bolt had passed close, way too close to Lilianna’s bare shoulder. Her sister’s skin had reddened from the proximity of the heat.

It was even later confirmed when Lilianna let out a thin, dazed groan as she unconsciously reached out to that part of her shoulder.

Sarah’s hands froze, and her finger locked up at the trigger. She was too scared that her arms wouldn’t move.

If she fired the next shot, what if she—

"Mm. See? There it is."

The masked man slid Lilianna’s body in front of his own like a screen. He used one gloved hand under her chin to keep her head up and the other flat against her sternum.

"What are you hesitating for when I already warned you beforehand of what would happen? Bonds of blood, how lovely?"

The man’s head tilted down toward Lily’s face.

"What a pity, she’s such a useful test subject."

"Let her go!" Sarah’s voice cracked as she shouted as loud as she could.

"Or you’ll fire?" His voice slithered through the vocal modulator with a chilly, theatrical sigh. "Then fire. Go on."

"If you want, I’ll even angle her for you. Here, right at the center, right? Your aim is a little terrible, but surely you could hit such a large object at this distance, right?"

He gave Lilianna a small, mocking shake. Lily’s head lolled.

"Fire, Sarah. Fire."

Sarah’s whole body was vibrating.

She couldn’t. Her hand was trembling so much to make a surefire.

The man snorted, "That’s what I thought."

Heavy footsteps thundered down the corridor behind her. Two figures crashed through the open doorway, one on each side.

Colonel Riley Vane was on her right with a plasma rifle, shouldered and aimed. Julius Seaton was on her left with a sidearm in a flawless two-handed grip.

Both men had moved in such perfect synchronized formation that Sarah felt that she was behind two towering shadows.

"Drop the woman," Colonel Vane ordered, aiming directly at the man’s head. "On the floor. Now. Or I take the leg."

"Please don’t." The masked man’s filtered voice carried a hint of a mocking smile. "I’ve grown attached to it."

Julius said anything but adjusted his angle a half-inch, looking for any line of fire that wouldn’t pass through Lilianna in the intruder’s grip.

Even though they already gave up saving Lilianna, they couldn’t exactly fire at Lilianna in front of Sarah.

However, no matter where he looked, Julius couldn’t find one entry that wouldn’t gravely injure Lilianna. Clearly, it wasn’t this man’s first rodeo.

This is getting hard. Should he just fire anyway? Julius’s jaw tightened as he contemplated.

"Tch." The masked man clicked his tongue, the sound coming oddly through the modulator. "How prepared, three guns against one man? And here I was hoping for a quiet evening."

His head tilted in Sarah’s direction. "You there. Sarah, was it? While waiting for those two to come up with a decision, why don’t you try asking me a few questions?"

It was odd that even Julius and Colonel Vane were taken aback by it.

What was he up to?

Before the two men could think more about this, Sarah’s lips parted to ask what she had been curious about since she entered the room.

"...What did you give her?" she rasped. "What did you make her drink?"

As soon as the words escaped from her, Sarah felt the atmosphere change. Mainly around Colonel Vane and Julius

Colonel Vane’s exhale was sharp through his nose. Julius’s grip on the pistol tightened close to clicking the trigger, and even Sarah became alarmed when she noticed.

The masked man, as if things were going according to plan, was pleased with everyone’s reactions.

"Oh," he said softly, then laughed. "Oh, oh. Now, that’s interesting."

His eyes turned to look at Sarah’s face, then at Lilianna’s, then back again.

"Hair. Eyes. Honestly, when you came in earlier, I didn’t notice anyone coming in. But how could I fail to recognize something obvious? Now that I’m looking at you, it’s really similar."

"What are you talking about?" Sarah’s voice was filled with confusion.

"Yeah, yeah. You’re really sisters, aren’t you?"

The man’s voice was filled with wonder and a pleased tone.

"To be fair, you’re not much of a looker compared to your sister, but still, the genes are there, however small."

"The Gringer girls. Mm." He made a vague gesture with one finger, "—but you’re not really useful compared to your sister."