Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 405: Chapter 405

Shane saw the woman stabbing his men and immediately charged forward to kill her. In his furious rush, he failed to notice Zoe suddenly lift her foot.
Shane stumbled and crashed straight into the woman and her knife. Just like that, he dropped dead.
Nearby, Ryder stood frozen, his mind completely blank.
'Oh no! Someone's been killed! I need to run!' Ryder thought, spinning around to flee. But his legs failed him. He tripped over his own feet and crashed to the ground.
Driven by bloodlust, the woman saw Ryder collapse and immediately pinned him down, gripping her knife with both hands as she stabbed him relentlessly.
Ryder struggled to resist, but a small pebble came flying out of nowhere, striking his arm with bone-cracking force and dislocating it instantly. Defenseless, he met his brutal end under the woman's blade.
"All of you are dead! Great! I'll never have to be treated like an animal and bullied by you again!" the woman muttered to herself as she stood up, her eyes gleaming with madness.
It was precisely years of relentless bullying and oppression that made her throw caution to the wind and fight back. Those people got exactly what they deserved.
Zoe turned to leave. "Wait!" the woman called out from behind. But Zoe didn't even break stride.
The woman rushed forward and dropped to her knees before Zoe. She said, "I know you're no ordinary person. You helped me escape that living hell. I have nothing to repay you with except my life. It's yours."
She held out the blood-stained dagger with both hands, pleading for a quick death. She knew there was no way she'd survive after killing those men, so it'd be better to have Zoe kill her than face whatever came next.
Zoe said coolly, "If you're not even afraid of death, why not take over the gang and be your own boss?"
The woman suddenly saw the light. She thought, 'Yeah, with Ryder and Shane gone, this territory is up for grabs. Having killed both bosses, I could totally take over and run this place myself.'
"Thank you," the woman said, dropping into a deep bow before Zoe. Clutching the dagger, she then turned and walked away.
Zoe watched the woman leave. 'That was me, years ago,' she thought.
She, too, had climbed from a bullied novice to the top, stepping over countless bodies to achieve her current status.
Zoe knew she was no saint. 'In this world, nice guys don't last long,' she thought.
As Zoe drove out of the shadowy alley, Shawn's familiar figure came into view, waiting by the roadside.
She was no angel, but that man was. People said good and evil could never coexist. 'Are we destined to be fated enemies?' Zoe thought.
Zoe snapped out of her thoughts and executed a perfect drift, bringing the car to a precise stop right in front of Shawn.
Shawn opened the car door and slid into the passenger seat.
"Still chasing?" Zoe asked.
"Anyone who dares lay a finger on you—I'll hunt them down to the very end," Shawn declared firmly.
Zoe smirked. "Deal."
The car tore down the street at top speed, quickly closing in on the female assassin who'd gotten a head start.
The woman reached her hideout, dumped her motorcycle by the roadside, and slipped into a cabin.
The unassuming cabin concealed a secret—beneath its weathered floorboards lay a hidden passageway, leading to the organization's true underground lair.
Shawn and Zoe hid in the shadows, watching as the woman slipped into the cabin.
Zoe moved to enter, but Shawn stopped her.
"If you're scared, just wait outside." Zoe deliberately goaded Shawn.
Shawn said solemnly, "I'm not afraid. Just warning you—we have no idea what's inside. Charging in blindly would be reckless."
"By the time everyone's gone, all your talk will be useless," Zoe snapped, shoving Shawn aside as she strode into the cabin.
The cabin was small and sparsely furnished, but the woman was nowhere to be seen.
When Shawn came in, he saw the same thing. The same thought struck them both. 'Did she escape?'
Shawn surveyed the surroundings and noticed a structural anomaly in the house.
Zoe stepped on the floorboards and immediately sensed something amiss. "There's a hidden passageway beneath us," she announced.
After meticulously searching the room, Zoe and Shawn finally uncovered a hidden passageway beneath the floorboards.
They descended through the hidden passage into the lair. Barely a few steps in, they heard voices ahead.
"You worthless piece of trash! Since you failed the assassination, you're no longer qualified to be an assassin. Now hand over your insignia and get out!" said a man.
The woman dropped to her knees before the furious man, pleading, "Boss, please, just give me one more chance! I swear I'll finish the job this time. Please, don't kick me out of the assassin organization!"
The man sneered, "You failed this time. What makes you think you'll succeed next time? Clearly, I misjudged you. I should've never kept dead weight like you around. Get the hell out. Now."
Seeing there was no room for negotiation, the woman desperately pleaded, "Let me stake my life for one last assassination attempt. If I fail again, I'll pay with my life."
Hearing this, the man sneered coldly, "You asked for it."
"I swear it," the woman repeated, her voice trembling with conviction.
"Fine," the man said, his face stern. "I'll give you one last chance. But if you fail again—"
"Don't bother giving her another chance." Zoe's voice cut through their conversation as she and Shawn stepped forward, appearing before them.
The man, his face concealed by a mask, was startled at the sight of Zoe. "Guards! Get them!" he barked.
At his command, a swarm of people emerged from the shadows, charging straight at Zoe and Shawn.
Zoe eyed the man. "Let's skip the formalities. Face me yourself."
The man scoffed, "Who the hell do you think you are? Daring to challenge me?"
"Is this bitch out of her mind? She actually wants to challenge our boss?"
"Looks like she's really lost her mind."
"She's courting death. The last one who challenged the boss—their bones are still bleaching under the desert sun."
The assassins burst into mocking laughter, thinking Zoe had a death wish.
The assassin leader regarded Zoe with utter contempt. 'How dare a mere target waltz into my turf alone? Clearly, she's just asking to die,' he thought.
When the female assassin saw that Zoe had track her all the way here, her face went pale. She instantly knew she was in trouble.
She pleaded desperately, "Boss, please give me one more chance! I swear I'll eliminate them both and make it up to you!"
"Joan, you're nothing but trouble."
"Exactly! You didn't even notice you were being tailed."
"If our hideout gets exposed, it'll be entirely your fault!"
"Boss, let's take out Joan first and then handle these intruders."
The assassins sneered at Zoe, belittling the female assassin in the same breath.
Overall, they looked down on women and were itching to wipe out any woman who dared challenge their authority—classic male chauvinism at its worst.
Joan's heart wrenched as she realized all her comrades wanted her dead. Refusing to accept this fate, she shot up with a snarl and lunged straight at Zoe.