Marion rushed over to check on Debra, who was lying on the ground.After making sure she was uninjured, he heaved a sigh of relief. "You scared the hell out of me.""I'm sorry. I miscalculated."Cathryn was frustrated about their interaction. "You will never get the answer from me."With a bitter laugh, she stepped back, tilted her head back, and fell from the fifth floor.The crash startled Drake, who was still searching for Debra. There, Cathryn lay in a pool of blood.The scene reminded Drake of Yvonne, who had died in the same way.Maybe in their minds, suicide was a way to make the men they loved feel regret and sympathy.But in reality, it only earned them cold contempt. No one would pay attention to those who didn't even value their lives.A woman's scream suddenly rang out. Drake looked over with a frown."Boss, this woman is suspicious," reported a guard, dragging over the woman."Get your hands off me. I am Liza Eaton," she snapped, shaking off his hand.The bod
Liza pushed against Drake, tears streaming down her face. She didn't notice that with every word she spoke, his expression grew paler.Hunter's Game. The name hit too close to home. Games like this left few survivors. There was no way a weak woman like Debra could last two hours.She had found a safe zone but ran off to draw fire. Only a stupid person would do something like that."Find her!" Drake growled, barely suppressing his anger. "Tear this place apart if you have to, but find Debra."Liza collapsed to the floor, trembling. She never imagined she'd face something so terrifying in her life. Her world had been perfect, with all the glitz and glamour. She had no idea it could be so dark and horrifying."Found her!" someone shouted from upstairs.Marion appeared, carrying someone in his arms. Debra was draped in his coat, exhaustion etched on her face."Debra..." Drake started to move toward her but stopped.Debra tapped Marion's shoulder. "Put me down. I can walk now.""Al
Drake wanted to argue, but Debra simply wrapped her arm around Marion's neck and waved him goodbye.Downstairs, Liza glanced at Cathryn's body. Her former friend was now disfigured and lifeless. After a moment of hesitation, she tore off the black veil from her dress and went over to cover Cathryn's face.She had once considered Cathryn her only true friend, but Cathryn had never cared about her.Liza couldn't help but feel sorrow, but there was no point in holding onto resentment. She wiped her tears and followed the others out of the venue.Watching them leave, Drake fumed. "They just left like that? Why should I stay and clean up this mess? Is that fair?""Boss, it's not fair. We should..." Kale chimed in.Drake shot him a cold glance. "And what about here? What about the people we've captured? Do you think these idiots can handle it?"Those guards were ashamed, further lowering their heads.Drake tugged at his tie in frustration. He hated wearing it, especially when he was
Conrad realized his blunder and quickly corrected himself. "I really didn't know, I swear. I've been loyal to you for so many years.""Loyal?" Drake snorted. "Well, if you're so loyal, why don't you go down and keep your daughter company? Die for your cause.""What?" Conrad was shocked. "No matter what, I'm the head of the Sharp family. You can't do this to me. Aren't you afraid of me exposing your deeds?""You could try," Drake sneered, spreading his arms. "Go ahead and expose everything. Let's see if you're quicker than my bullet."Conrad hesitated, and Drake continued, "If you tell me who you've been working with, I might spare your life. The choice is yours. Think carefully before you answer."That was extra lenience. In the past, Conrad would have been dead even if he was willing to speak.Conrad gritted his teeth and raised his head. "There was no one else, just Miss Bernard."Drake's smile faded. "Is that so?""Now that I'm in your hands, do whatever you like. You're the
"I know you hate Conrad. If you ever get the chance to kill him, I hope you won't.""You've never been in my shoes. Don't preach to me about what's right. Do you think just because he's my father, I should spare him?""I'm not asking you to spare him. He's a beast, but you're human. Ruining your life for someone like him isn't worth it unless you think your life has lost all its meaning. If that's the case, killing him might bring you some relief. But I believe you still want to live. If you kill him on impulse, you'll regret it later.""What should I do then? Let him live as if nothing happened?""Who said staying alive is a blessing? Sometimes, living is the worst punishment."...Lara sneered at Conrad, who was eager to snatch the gun in her hand."Boss, I've made up my mind," she said. "I want him to live."Drake was surprised, but she continued, "I want him to live in hell."She then slashed Conrad's wrist with a knife, causing him to howl in pain."Hand over the Sharp f
"Does this have something to do with Debra?" Kale was puzzled.Drake turned to leave without answering. He simply ordered, "Clean up the scene. Lock them up and interrogate them. If they won't talk, just deal with them."...Outside the Jovial Hotel, Juan hobbled along, dragging his injured leg. Blood trailed behind him, leaving a winding path to the apartment building across the street.Inside the apartment, William had dozed off while waiting.A sudden noise from the door woke him up. He jumped off the couch and rushed over, only to see Juan collapse at the entrance."My God, how did you lose so much blood again?" he muttered, helping Juan up.Being a doctor wasn't easy. He had been flying all over the world to work at multiple sites. Treating the wealthy was highly remunerative, but it was exhausting."Let me check your wounds.""It's a knife wound."William lifted Juan's pants leg. His thigh was covered in blood, and the leg he used to walk on had a prosthetic. The area a
At the Lowe Mansion, Liza recounted the whole event to Garland."You have no idea how terrifying it was. Those people were after our lives. Several of them are missing. You need to talk to Dad and have him catch them all."Garland, who had been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, felt dizzy when Liza rambled on and on in his ear. The worst part was that her story was incoherent. He had no clue what was going on."Promise me," Liza demanded, shaking his arm.Garland had a headache coming on. "Wait. Stop for a moment. Can you at least tell me who these people are?"Liza finally explained, "The leader is Cathryn.""Cathryn? Where is she?""She's dead.""What about the others?""I don't know."Garland slumped back onto the sofa. As Liza tried to persuade him again, he said, "Do you think I'm some kind of miracle worker? If Marion and Drake can't find them, how can I?"Liza had overestimated his abilities. Even if Fermin were still alive, he probably wouldn't know who
"Marion?" Debra rubbed her sleepy eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall.It was already 12:30. The incident last night had drained her energy, causing her to sleep in.She pushed open the bedroom door and walked out. Downstairs, Marion was cooking in the kitchen.The others still seemed to be asleep. Debra spoke up. "Your injury hasn't healed yet, and you're already rushing to make me lunch?"Marion came out holding a pot. "Go rest a little longer. The other dish will be ready soon."Debra came down the stairs and flopped into his arms. Her exhaustion instantly melted away."I'm so tired. Get a drumstick for me," she murmured."Sure," Marion agreed, patting her head.Garland burst out of his room, sniffing the air. "Who's cooking chicken soup? It smells amazing."Then his gaze landed on the embracing couple. Feeling awkward, he looked up at the ceiling and whistled, "Uh, I'm going to check on the soup.""Mr. Houston, let me take care of the kitchen," said Ivan, who had be
Juan unconsciously twisted the ring on his finger."Found it!" Randy shouted.Everyone moved toward where he was pointing. There was an old iron chain. Below the chain was something indiscernible, but it looked creepy."Try your might," Garland said, stepping forward.Together with Randy, he tugged at the iron chain. The chain grew tauter, and the ground in front of them began to shift, revealing a hole about three square meters in size.Liza hid behind Debra, unsure of what was lying ahead. "What is that?"The place seemed untouched for ages and smelled ancient."Isn't it obvious? It's a pit," Erica said. "It's normal to have pits when digging mountains, but the Potter family isn't building a subway down there, so why this pit?"Debra said, "Let's go down and see.""Behind me," Marion said, taking her hand.He pulled out a flashlight and led the group to descend the old stairs. Debra noticed the stairs on both sides and a slide in the middle, with faint wheel tracks still vi
"It's fine. You just need to find the location of Fire."Garland asked, "What is that?""In the human body, the heart symbolizes fire," Debra explained. "This place is surrounded by mountains and water, making it an ideal location."Erica bent down to examine the diagram on the ground. "Is it here?"She pointed to the south, where the mountain range was gone, replaced by a clear, unobstructed mountain path.Evidently, the mountain moved by the Potter family was the Fire position."But that doesn't make sense," Liza muttered, feeling a chill run down her spine. "There's nothing but barren land. Could it really be underground?"The ground was in ruins. It was unlikely anything could be beneath it.Marion thought for a moment. "Let's go down and take a look.""How?" Randy shivered, afraid they'd ask him to go down first.Erica chimed in, "I don't think the Potters would be foolish enough to leave the treasure unguarded. There's no way they'd let us walk right in without resistan
"Sounded like mystical gibberish," Erica echoed.Debra strode to a nearby patch of grass, picked up a stone, and began drawing symbols on the ground.She explained, "Three solid lines represent Heaven, and three broken lines represent Earth."Immediately, two opposing symbols appeared on the ground.She continued to draw. "This solid line is the positive pole, and this broken line is the negative pole." "Is this a trigram?" Randy asked."Thunder rises like a bowl. Mountain inverts are like a cup. The lake is broken above, and the wind is broken below," Debra said as she drew the remaining trigrams.Marion quickly figured it out. "That's our true heiress of the Frazier family."The Frazier family was known for their scholarly wisdom and military strategy. A century ago, they were legendary figures.Debra looked at the trigrams and said, "When I was little, I had to learn everything. I wasn't an expert in ancient texts, but I had a basic understanding of them. The trigrams are
After half an hour of driving into the mountains, everyone was exhausted."Damn!" Randy yelped, his voice jolting everyone awake.The car made a sharp turn and came to a halt. Everyone screamed, and it took a while for them to calm down.Liza grumbled, "Can you even drive? If not, let me take over.""Did the tire blow out?" Erica wondered aloud.She opened the door and got out, followed by Randy and the others.Erica inspected the tires and frowned. "The car can't go any further. There's a huge rock. Quite dangerous."Randy grumbled, "Looks like Andrew doesn't even bother to maintain his property."Erica rolled her eyes. "Well, there is an iron gate. Only the Potter family members are allowed in. According to Andrew, no one has been here for years. Who would bother clearing the road?""True." Randy walked to the side and saw that the road ahead was covered in loose stones, probably fallen from the surrounding mountains."I thought they had leveled the mountains. Clearly, not
The journey into the mountains was unlikely to be peaceful.Marion sensed her unease and took her hand in his. "Don't worry. I'll bring enough people to ensure everyone's safety.""Alright." Debra nodded.Precaution was indeed necessary.That night, she knocked on Andrew's door."Come in," came his calm voice from inside.She pushed the door open and saw Andrew playing chess under the dim glow of a single lamp."Andrew," she started."I know." Andrew lifted his gaze and said, "You're eager to find out who's behind all this."Debra paused. "Is the treasure really hidden in that mountain?""I don't know.""You don't?""That mountain was leveled by my ancestors decades ago. They spent five years on the project, but after that, the land was left untended and eventually became overgrown. Now, it's nothing more than an ordinary mountain trail. I've sent people to search for it before, but they found nothing.""So, you suspected all along that this mountain might be hiding someth
Debra noticed everyone's eyes had settled on her.She asked, "Remember those ledgers?""Yeah. The ledgers only contained numbers alongside regular inventory records," Erica replied.Debra mused, "If those four ledgers truly hide a treasure map, could those numbers represent geographical coordinates?"Erica shook her head. "But there are so many numbers. How could it be..."Marion cut in, "It's possible."Randy tilted his head. "How so?"Marion explained, "31°N and 120°E mark Seamar City's position relative to the equator, but Seamar City has more precise coordinates."Debra said smoothly, "Seamar City spans from 120°52' to 122°12' east longitude and 30°40' to 31°53' north latitude. Don't the numbers 30 and 120 seem familiar?"Erica clapped her hands. "Those numbers appeared repeatedly in the ledgers. They were highlighted in red.""What if they correspond to coordinates centered around Seamar City's downtown?" Debra said."30... 120..." Erica murmured, her finger tracing the
While the others might not know Debra's uniqueness, Andrew certainly did."Sir, shouldn't we thank Mr. Nichols?" Barton said."It's best not to contact him at this time." Andrew shook his head. "The mastermind wants to reap the benefits without lifting a finger. Why not grant his wish and find the treasure?""But if we do that, won't Seamar City fall into chaos?""Seamar City is already in chaos. I'll set off another fire."...Debra and the others returned to the Potter Mansion.Barton greeted them, holding old scrolls covered in dust."Where are you going with all that?" Erica asked wonderingly.Barton glanced at the scrolls in his hand and said, "These are maps of the old city area from decades ago. Mr. Andrew Potter said they need to be aired out to remove the musty smell, so I took them out, planning to air them tomorrow morning.""Maps of the old city area?" Garland curiously remarked. "Can I take a look?""Come on. They're so dirty," Liza chimed in."You don't unders
In the office of Donaldson Corporation, Vickie was fuming.She complained, "Juan never intended to help me. He was just pretending to switch sides. Boss, this mess was all because of him."She pointed at Juan, who frowned with displeasure.Across from her was a man sitting behind the desk. His posture was straight in a sharp suit, but his face was covered with a white mask, making it impossible to read his emotions.He croaked, "Is that so?"Juan sneered, "Such a petty scheme was never going to shake Debra's standing. She has Marion and Andrew by her side. As long as those two are alive, the McKinney Group will remain untouchable, standing strong against us."He turned his gaze toward Vickie and added, "No offense, but she's useless. Aside from bearing a slight resemblance to Debra, she has nothing of value."Vickie glared at Juan, seething with rage. She wanted to lash out but dared not go out of line in front of the masked man."I think you're just hung up on Debra," she snor
On the big screen, a comparison of Vickie's before-and-after photos appeared. The details were thorough with her initial consultation, follow-up appointments, and the final results of her plastic surgery.It also included information about Vickie's so-called adoptive father. This proof was solid.A reporter stood up and asked, "A recent article from New Age has been accused of containing false information. Mrs. Houston, was this article published under your instruction?"Garland tried to get up and clarify, but Debra beat him to it.She replied calmly, "That article was written by a friend of mine. He was too eager to clear my name to verify the content. It was provided by a third party and later proved to be a trap. If anyone wishes to know the details, you may approach me after this press conference. I will provide you a copy and let you see their filthy tricks."Another journalist followed up, "Mrs. Houston, how can you prove that you are the real heiress?""Vickie claimed to