I am a Big Player
Chapter 567 - 561, No Winners (Second Update)_1

Chapter 567: 561, No Winners (Second Update)_1

Ren He swiftly pressed down on the man’s arm with one hand while his other hand struck like lightning at the man’s neck. Without hesitation, the man abandoned the action of drawing a dagger with his left hand—his arm twisting to follow Ren He’s movement, as his whole body arched backward. This was not only to dodge the hand strike but also to use the great force of his backward motion to pull Ren He’s arm and fling him away!

But... he still underestimated Ren He’s strength. As he began to lean back, Ren He forcefully yanked him forward, and a hand strike slammed heavily onto his neck, instantly dazing him!

Time seemed to drag on for long, yet it was all over in an instant. They didn’t even have a chance to cry for help. Ren He took their earpieces and silencers, continuing on his way while listening in on the radio.

He didn’t head towards the back door but instead made his way up the staircase towards the second floor of the theater, a building that was only three stories tall.

"Back door in position."

"Emergency exit in position."

"Front door in position."

Voices of the CIA operation team members came through the radio, and Ren He felt it was a very wise decision not to take the main entrance. After all, he had already considered this point during the dress rehearsal.

The theater had a total height of 13.7 meters, with the second floor being 7.4 meters high. The entire building was made of a light steel frame and floor-to-ceiling glass. Ren He had never thought he would be able to leave normally.

The adversaries never considered that someone with masterful combat skills who was followed by two CIA members could be subdued in a blink—an error at the outset can lead to mistake upon mistake.

Although it appeared that the CIA still had the upper hand—after all, Ren He was exposed while they remained concealed—this slight oversight had led to trouble!

"Report the target’s position," Mark Pen said through the earpiece.

Yet no one responded, and at that moment, Ren He realized the message must have been meant for the two men he had knocked out.

"Position uncertain," Ren He pressed the talk button and chuckled lightly.

There was a brief silence in the earpiece before Mark Pen said gravely, "I underestimated you."

"Good luck," Ren He said, then took off his earpiece and ran up to the second floor.

To Mark Pen, the phrase "good luck" sounded like a declaration of war.

Although Ren He had resolved to use his capital to deal with the warrant out for him once he returned to his country and not to easily get involved in life and death events, since today’s performance had already started, it had to end perfectly.

"Everyone switch to the backup encrypted channel," Mark Pen ordered with gravity. For them, if an earpiece fell into the hands of the enemy, rendering their command system useless, it would be foolish. Having a backup encrypted channel was essential.

No sooner had Mark Pen finished speaking when, after less than five seconds, he heard the sound of glass breaking from the eastern side of the theater. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have thought much of it—the theater was too tall, and there was nothing nearby to leverage a fall from 7.4 meters would likely disable a person, himself included.

But Mark Pen had just mentioned underestimating Ren He, and in a flash, he recalled from the files that Ren He’s method of evading capture last time was to leap over a building, clearing a height of more than six meters.

Was Ren He planning to escape directly from the second floor?!

Perhaps the CIA had too few people in the Netherlands, and with only 17 members in the Dutch division, they could not cordon off the entire theater.

"The target is suspected to have escaped from the second floor on the east side of the theater, Team A intercept!" Mark Pen commanded coolly through his headset, while he himself ran in the opposite direction.

At this point, Ren He placed his silenced pistol back at his waist and, carrying his cello case on his back, turned around to head back downstairs, his demeanor incredibly calm.

He didn’t leap down from there, even though doing so might have offered him some chance of escape; the height was somewhat dangerous. What if he made a careless move and ended up with a fractured bone?

Even a slight soft tissue bruise could be lethal for tonight’s battle; hence, Ren He would not take such a risk.

Mark Pen and his team didn’t see it that way, for in their eyes, surrounded by them, Ren He had a need to act desperately, but they never thought Ren He was bluffing.

Yet Mark Pen didn’t head immediately to the eastern side of the theater; the combat-experienced agent always had a backup plan. Team A went to intercept, but he still wasn’t at ease. This was considered dispatching half the manpower to chase after a bluff on the east side, but what if it actually was a feint? Fortunately, everyone was a well-trained CIA combatant, and they wouldn’t allow Ren He to successfully ambush them again if they were prepared.

In Mark Pen’s view, Ren He having taken down two team members must have been through an ambush, since even he could not have incapacitated two agents before they had the chance to call for help.

In past combats, there had been no shortage of enemies employing misdirection, and he was no fool; he was a known and numbered combatant within the CIA.

However, just after he had redeployed his personnel, and he had just arrived at the back door, he heard an exclamation through his earpiece from a teammate at the main entrance: "The target is coming out the front door!"

Then there was complete silence! The fight ended in an instant once again!

Mark Pen’s pupils contracted as he listened to the radio, his breathing a bit ragged. In a state of readiness, the two at the front door had been taken down again! How was this possible?

But reality was just so, and the facts spoke for themselves!

Not only did the adversary not flee in disarray from a height of over seven meters, he also strolled out the main entrance. What kind of mental fortitude was this? No wonder he was able to perform calmly and steadily on stage even when faced with a dire enemy.

Mark Pen felt this might be one of the most challenging opponents he had ever encountered in his life.

"Teams A and B, surround and pursue from both sides; he has no vehicle, he can’t have gone far," Mark Pen ordered with a stern voice.

The sense of helplessness in an away game was overwhelming. If it were a usual mission and there were a helicopter in the sky, would they have given the opponent such an opportunity?

But what had happened had happened, and they could only face it.

Inside the theater, the audience was oblivious to the shattered glass; Ren He had used a silenced pistol, so they didn’t know what had transpired. But the broken glass would naturally be handled by the theater staff; everyone else could just comfortably watch the award ceremony.

It wasn’t long before the judges reached unanimous agreement. The prize money for the contest wasn’t much; even the first prize was just 100,000 Euros, since capital never did like drama much.

"Congratulations to the Central Academy of Drama from China for winning the first prize; please come on stage to accept the award!"

"Congratulations to Ren He from the China Drama Troupe for being the best actor of this event; please come on stage to receive your award!"

Yet just at that moment, everyone suddenly realized that the actor who had dazzled them with his performance that evening seemed to have disappeared!

...