At that moment, Captain suddenly turned around, raised his gun, and fired at the car that hadn’t come to a complete stop yet.

“Open fire!”

He fired first and spoke after. While Raymond Brooks was still stunned, he saw Captain use his foot to push open the half-closed door, holding his gun as he fired and charged out.

It was only then that Raymond Brooks realized the battle had already begun.

Taking a deep breath, Raymond Brooks followed Captain and rushed out of the house.

The four of them unleashed a barrage of gunfire at the three cars, simply spraying bullets at the vehicles. By the time the fight reached this stage, the outcome was already decided.

Even though the drug dealers had come prepared, Captain and his team were clearly more professional. Four M4 rifles firing at three cars at once—while not overwhelming firepower—caught them off guard, and with attacks coming from four directions simultaneously, they managed to inflict maximum damage in the shortest time.

Raymond Brooks held his gun but didn’t know where to shoot. Just as he was about to fire randomly at one of the cars, he heard Captain shout urgently, “Cease fire!”

The gunfire stopped abruptly. At this moment, Captain quickly swapped in a new magazine and said steadily, “Cap, check the vehicles. Cover.”

Captain and his team were clearly well-coordinated. Cap opened each car door in turn, and regardless of whether the people inside were dead or alive, he fired a shot at each of them. The three cars were checked very quickly.

And just like that, the battle was over. After Cap fired four shots at the last car’s occupants, without any delay, Captain immediately said, “Retreat, you—”

Captain glanced at Raymond Brooks, then pointed to a car and said, “Get in!”

In the end, their efforts paid off. This time, they managed to pull off an ambush instead of getting into a shootout with the drug dealers who came to check things out. Raymond Brooks absolutely played a major role.

Raymond Brooks definitely didn’t want to stay here. Since the drug dealers could send one group to check things out, they could send more. So, no matter who Captain and his team were or where they were going, leaving with them was much safer than staying behind.

What happened next was only natural. Raymond Brooks grabbed his bag and got into the car Captain had indicated.

It was only after the car drove out of the yard that Raymond Brooks understood why Captain and his team had set up an ambush. The place called Sanchez was in the middle of nowhere, with a small road connecting to a distant highway. If they hadn’t taken out those drug dealers, and a fight broke out in the open wilderness, Captain and his team would have been in big trouble.

As the car got onto the small road, the driver, Ernest, asked urgently, “Are we going to switch to our own car or what?”

Captain thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, “No, we can’t stick to the original plan. The middleman never said Sanchez was working for the Zeta cartel. If the Zetas could send people to check things out so quickly, it means they’re not far away. It won’t be long before the Zetas send more people after us.”

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Cap turned his head slightly and said, “What do you mean by not sticking to the original plan? Are we not meeting the middleman? If so, we won’t get the rest of the payment.”

“As long as that idiot… as long as the hostage is still in our hands, we’ll get the rest of the payment. We’ll just have to change the meeting place, that’s all.”

After saying this, Captain let out a heavy sigh and said, “What I’m worried about now isn’t the payment, but whether we can get out of Tijuana alive. We have to leave Mexico as soon as possible, or things will get very messy.”

Cap waved his hand and said, “Alright, you make the call.”

Captain was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, “Your imitation of Sanchez’s voice was spot on. You actually managed to fool those drug dealers. I have to admit, that was crucial. You really helped us out.”

Raymond Brooks took a moment to react, confirming that Captain was talking to him, and replied politely, “It’s nothing. You guys saved my life first.”

The car was very dark, and Captain was still wearing a mask, so Raymond Brooks couldn’t see Captain’s expression or movements at all. He could only hear Captain’s faint voice: “Now you have two choices. One, we drop you off in downtown Tijuana. The other, you come with us to the United States. Which do you choose?”

A multiple-choice question? This immediately sent Raymond Brooks into a dilemma.

Indecisiveness wasn’t the main issue. The key was, Raymond Brooks had long noticed that every time he faced an important life decision, he always made the wrong choice.

When he was six, Raymond Brooks’s parents thought it was time to sign him up for an extracurricular class—preferably something that would strengthen his body and help him develop some manly spirit. So, they let Raymond Brooks choose between Sanda, Taekwondo, and Martial Arts. Raymond Brooks chose Martial Arts.

So, Raymond Brooks ended up at the nearest martial arts training center. The coach was a second-level athlete who had placed in the top three at the provincial martial arts competition. His moves were sharp and impressive, leaving young Raymond Brooks in awe.

At first, things went well. But when it came time to do splits and stretching, Raymond Brooks started to regret it. By then, his dad had already paid for a semester, so he stuck with it all the way until the third year of middle school.

Now, Raymond Brooks knows that martial arts routines are just for show and have no real combat value. But back then, how could he have known whether martial arts routines were practical or not? As long as they looked cool, that was enough.