Chapter 193: Escalation

Winnie Summers didn’t hesitate. Raising her pistol, she took a few steps forward and put two more bullets into Kenneth Adler.

Roman Rhodes lay limp on the floor. He watched Winnie Summers hurry toward him, cutting through the billowing smoke. The firelight cast her face in sharp relief.

In an instant, he felt all the blood rush uncontrollably to his head. A roar filled his ears, and his vision began to blur.

The next second, Roman Rhodes collapsed to the floor, completely losing consciousness.

Seeing the flames about to spread to the sofa and the living room fire on the verge of getting out of control, Winnie Summers had no time to worry about Roman Rhodes. She rushed to the sofa, grabbed the fire extinguisher, and started spraying the blaze.

White powder covered the flames like snow. Thankfully, it was a large-capacity, warehouse-grade fire extinguisher, more than enough to handle a small fire in the living room.

A dozen or so seconds later, the fire in the main room was extinguished.

Winnie Summers sighed in relief. She put down the fire extinguisher and ran over to the window to open it for ventilation.

The sounds of gunshots and police sirens from outside pierced the night sky, drifting in through the open window.

Winnie Summers paid them no mind. She turned on her flashlight and rushed to Roman Rhodes’s side to check on him.

Roman Rhodes’s wounds were bleeding continuously, and a pool of blood had already formed beneath him. Winnie Summers frantically pressed down on the bleeding wounds on his leg and shoulder, shouting, "Officer Rhodes? Officer Rhodes! Don’t you fall asleep, wake up!"

But no matter how Winnie Summers shouted, Roman Rhodes’s eyes remained tightly shut. Through the thin smoke, she could see his face had turned pale.

Winnie Summers was beside herself with anxiety. She could only hurry to the basement, intending to grab some alcohol and gauze to bandage his wounds and stop the bleeding.

Melody Summers had been waiting by the basement stairs, her eyes glued to the security monitor showing the basement entrance.

When Winnie Summers’s figure appeared on the monitor, she was stunned and quickly opened the door.

"Mom! Why are you back? What happened to the robbers outside? Are the police here?"

Her grandmother and Miss Lowell crowded around as well, anxiously asking Winnie Summers, "It’s so dangerous, why did you come back? Is everything okay outside? Is Rhodes hurt?"

Rummaging through the shelves for a first-aid kit, Winnie Summers replied urgently, "I’m fine. The thugs outside are all dead. Officer Rhodes was shot and passed out. I need to get some bandages and gauze to stop his bleeding."

Her grandmother and Miss Lowell were startled and immediately tried to go to the living room to see what was happening.

Winnie Summers quickly stopped them. "Mom, Miss Lowell, the three of you stay in the basement. Don’t go out. There are still thugs outside who haven’t been caught. It’s not safe. Wait for the police to get here before you come out!"

With that, Winnie Summers grabbed the gauze and bandages and hurried back to the living room.

Melody Summers hesitated for a moment, then said to her grandmother and Miss Lowell, "I’m going to check on Officer Rhodes. Grandma, Miss Lowell, you two wait here for a bit. I’ll come get you when it’s safe."

Then Melody Summers also hurried to the living room.

The moment she reached the living room, she was shocked by the scene—

The entire room was a complete mess. The air was thick with the smell of something burning, and the lingering smoke irritated her sinuses, making Melody Summers cough.

She waved a hand to clear the smoke and followed the beam of a flashlight to see Roman Rhodes lying motionless on the floor while Winnie Summers was bandaging his wounds to stop the bleeding.

Melody Summers took a few steps forward and noticed another man lying on the floor ahead. She cautiously approached to take a look and, confirming he was no longer breathing, finally let out a sigh of relief.

Melody Summers went to Winnie Summers’s side. Seeing the pool of blood under Roman Rhodes, she gasped and said urgently to her mother, "Mom, Officer Rhodes has lost too much blood! This can’t go on, we have to get him to a hospital right away!"

Winnie Summers shook her head as she continued to bandage him. "The ambulance can’t get through right now, and we can’t get out either. A group of thugs broke into the neighborhood in a truck. The police are engaged with them outside."

As if to prove her point, another burst of gunfire and an explosion sounded from outside the window.

Melody Summers jumped in fright. ’There are still thugs outside? Are they with the group that broke into our house?’

But she had no time to think about that. The most urgent matter was Roman Rhodes. If they couldn’t get to a hospital, he definitely wouldn’t make it.

Looking at Roman Rhodes’s pale face, Melody Summers quickly pulled a "Far Sea Secret Medicine" from her space.

While Winnie Summers was focused on bandaging the wound on Roman Rhodes’s thigh, Melody Summers discreetly pried open his mouth and fed him the medicine.

Keeping an eye on Roman Rhodes, Melody Summers pressed, "Mom, what’s going on? How did more thugs break into our neighborhood?"

Winnie Summers had just finished bandaging the thigh wound. She let out a sigh of relief before explaining what had just happened outside.

When Officer Tristan Tanner received the emergency call from Melody Summers, Winnie Summers was right there with him. Upon learning there was trouble at home, she was frantic with worry.

As it happened, an armed police unit was patrolling near The Metropolis Residences. When they heard someone had broken into the villa area, the unit prepared to head over and check on the situation.

But just then, a truck smashed through the electronic gate of The Metropolis Residences and came barreling in!

After the truck drove into the residential area, a dozen or so men in black clothes got out. One of them actually pulled out a bomb and threw it directly at a residential building.

Following a massive BOOM, thick smoke billowed into the air. Screams erupted from the residential building as the homeowners were sent into a panic by the sudden attack.

Seeing this, the armed police rushed over to engage the intruders, leaving them no time to deal with the situation at the Summers family’s house.

Winnie Summers, worried sick about her family and frantic with anxiety, forgot her own fear and sprinted home alone.

Fortunately, Melody Summers had secretly given her a pistol a week ago and taught her how to use it. Gun in hand, Winnie Summers used the cover of night to run all the way back to the villa area.

As Winnie Summers neared her house, she saw an unfamiliar van parked not far from her front door.

Instantly wary, she hugged the wall and cautiously tiptoed closer.

As she got near the entrance, she was shocked to find three strange men gathered at her door.

The three strangers were discussing the explosion from the residential building up ahead:

"Why was there an explosion? Did a fight break out up there?"

"Probably somewhere else. It’s chaotic everywhere these days."

"Yeah, there was a terrorist attack in the next province a few days ago. Those guys blew the government building to kingdom come. What we’re doing is just child’s play compared to that."

"A little chaos is good. The more chaotic, the better. The more chaos, the more comfortable our lives become!"

"Alright, enough chatter. Let’s keep a close eye on this family. Don’t just stand around the door. Hale, you go watch the backyard. Don’t let anyone slip out the back."

"Leave it to me. If a single person escapes, I’ll turn them into Swiss cheese!"

On the empty road, the sound of their conversation and laughter carried clearly to Winnie Summers’s ears.

Listening to them, a wave of fury washed over Winnie Summers. ’No one is going to hurt my family!’

Reaching a peak of tension and anger, she became preternaturally calm.

She hid in the shadows. Seeing a bald man circle around to the backyard, she rose and fired several shots at the two men standing by the door.

Winnie Summers’s aim was true. Both thugs dropped to the ground.

Winnie Summers was wondering how to deal with the bald man who had just left when she saw him scrambling out from behind the villa, pissing his pants in terror, and diving toward the van.

Winnie Summers was hidden in the darkness, so the bald man didn’t see her as he ran past. He just scrambled into the van, started the engine, and sped away.

Seeing him flee, Winnie Summers didn’t bother giving chase. She quickly unlocked the door and went inside, only to find the main room on fire.

In the living room, a man in black had his back to Winnie Summers, muttering something with a crazed expression. In front of him, Roman Rhodes lay on the ground, covered in blood.

Winnie Summers immediately opened fire on the man in black, saving Roman Rhodes.

The more Melody Summers listened, the more her brow furrowed. ’A bald man got away?’

’Will he call for backup?’

’And what about that group that crashed the gate and broke into the neighborhood? Are they working with the ones who broke into our villa?’