Chapter 425

The moonlight vanished behind thick clouds, plunging the island into darkness.

Evelyn Laurent crouched low in the underbrush, her fingers parting the leaves before her. Six pirates patrolled ahead, their flashlight beams cutting through the trees.

She picked up a fist-sized rock, testing its weight in her palm.

Whoosh—

The stone sliced through the night air, landing twenty meters away in a dense thicket.

"What was that?"

The pirates snapped to attention, their flashlights converging on the source of the sound.

In that split second of distraction, Evelyn moved like a shadow. Her steps were featherlight, barely disturbing the earth beneath her.

Crack! Crack!

Two precise strikes to the back of their necks sent two pirates crumpling to the ground.

The remaining four whirled around—just in time to see a blur of motion.

Thud!

Her sweeping kick took them all down in one fluid motion. Before they could react, four brutal punches found their temples with unerring accuracy.

Six pirates lay unconscious. The entire fight had taken less than fifteen seconds.

Evelyn swiftly stripped them of their belts, binding each man to the nearest tree trunk. As she searched their gear, her fingers brushed cold metal.

Two standard-issue pistols.

She ejected the magazines with practiced ease, confirming they were loaded. One pistol spun in her grip before she snapped its barrel with a sharp twist.

Snap!

The broken weapon clattered to the ground.

The other pistol found its place at her hip. Her gaze lingered on a flare gun, her lips curling into a smirk.

After setting several crude traps around the area, she pulled the flare's trigger without hesitation.

Hiss—

A crimson streak tore through the black sky, blazing like a beacon over the island.

Evelyn melted back into the foliage, a panther awaiting her prey. That flare would draw more pirates—and signal her location to Ethan Sullivan.

On the distant horizon, the Southern Cross had vanished from sight.

Now, this island was her hunting ground.