Third person's POV
Derek's camouflage uniform was splattered with blood, most of it not his own, with only a minor wound on his arm.
He seemed impervious to the pain.
For three years, he had heard nothing of Tabitha and had transformed into a cold and bloodthirsty individual.
"Golden Shark got away? No problem. I've destroyed all his bases. Now he's just a rat scurrying around—where else can he run?" Derek said with a cruel smile.
"Alpha Derek, your arm is hurt," Rolf reminded.
"It's nothing," Derek glanced at the small wound, recalling how it had been slashed by a woman who bore a resemblance to Tabitha.
Distracted during the firefight, he had stared into her eyes a moment too long.
The sharp pain in his arm had struck like a venomous snake bite.
The woman was killed on the spot, and he left without a flicker of emotion.
For someone accustomed to danger, injuries were commonplace, and he paid the minor wound no mind.
Yet, the skin around his wound was already turning black.
Before Derek could finish speaking, his vision darkened, and he collapsed.
"Alpha Derek!" His subordinates rushed over, removing his mask to reveal his lips turning black. "Damn, the wound's poisoned!"
"Damn Golden Shark, he set up Alpha Derek with a woman who looks like Tabitha—just to get to this moment! That knife must have been laced with wolfsbane!"
"For three years, Tabitha's departure has been a thorn in Alpha Derek's side. His obsession with her has ultimately doomed him."
At that moment, in a villa, two individuals were seated.
One was Bentley, whose elegant demeanor and sharp mind had long been locked in a power struggle with Derek.
Over the past three years, Derek had raged like a wild beast, and the Rios family was now on its last legs.
Seeing Derek's growing influence and the waning support for himself, Bentley devised this scheme.
The other was the escaped Golden Shark, whose fierce appearance was marked by a scar above his eyebrow.
"It's done," Golden Shark smashed his glass.
"That son of a bitch Ghost Owl killed so many of my men and cut off all my revenue streams. Taking just his life is too merciful!"
Bentley coolly advised, "Calm down. Lost goods can be remade, lost manpower can be replaced. As long as you're alive, there's a chance for a comeback. With Derek dead, no one will stand in your way."
"You always have a way, Bentley. I never expected the unbeatable Ghost Owl to fall because of a woman."
"It's a pity that woman vanished long ago. Otherwise, I would have eliminated him sooner. I went through a lot to find women who resemble her."
Golden Shark suddenly asked, "Is the poison you gave me really effective?"
"Rest assured, within seventy-two hours, he will surely die. Before he dies, the toxin will spread through his veins, inch by inch, until it reaches his heart. I want him to suffer, to feel the agony of wanting to live but unable to, wanting to die but not being able to!"
Golden Shark raised his glass again, his anger subsiding. "Once this thorn is removed, the world will be ours!"
"To our successful cooperation," Bentley said.
"Cooperation," Golden Shark echoed.
His mood gradually settled, and after drinking himself into a stupor, he prepared to leave in a jeep.
Beside him was a woman who bore a passing resemblance to Tabitha.
Bentley had gone to great lengths to find women who looked like Tabitha.
Golden Shark, upon learning of Derek's deep affection for her, had acquired several such women.
In the car, Golden Shark, fueled by alcohol, wantonly took out his frustrations on the woman beneath him.
"Bastard, you cheap whore."
As the vehicle approached a banana grove, it suddenly screeched to a halt.
Golden Shark, enraged, bellowed, "What's the matter?"
"Boss, there seems to be a body up ahead," the driver replied.
"Making a fuss over nothing, just drive over it," Golden Shark growled, not pausing his actions as the woman beneath him pleaded for mercy.
The driver leaned out for a closer look and stammered, "Boss, it's, it's Pufferfish's body."
They had already heard that Pufferfish had been beheaded by Derek, with photos posted on the dark web.
But the body lying not far off was unmistakably Pufferfish's lower half.
"Nonsense! His body is hundreds of kilometers away. How could it be here?" Golden Shark argued.
The driver got out to check and found the body had been dead for hours, with a distinctive spiderweb tattoo on its arm. The driver burst into tears.
"Boss, it's really Pufferfish. I got this tattoo with him."
Golden Shark, eyeing the headless corpse, felt a chill run down his spine. He hastily ended his encounter, pulled up his pants, and got out of the car.
"How did his body end up here? Someone must be messing with us. Let's get out of here now!"
No sooner had he spoken than the four or five vehicles following him exploded! Amidst the fiery blaze, a figure emerged slowly.