Nelson was the main organizer, yet he didn’t understand the basic requirements of a mountain race. With this in mind, Melanie had to summarize the key points that she felt he would be able to understand or at least care about.“Have you considered the fact that the bikers will be racing on mountain roads, and that if it were to start raining in the next two hours, a mudslide might occur that might put the bikers’ lives in danger? If anything were to happen, would you and your men be able to drive in from the base camp to rescue the bikers in time?”Reason finally returned to Mr. Hans as he pondered over Melanie’s words. The risk she described did exist on Mount Coloss. This was the first mission Johnson Corporation tasked him with. He had to do a good job and claim credit for it. He couldn’t allow anything to go wrong under his watch.Nelson’s eyes narrowed as he waved his assistant over.“Announce to everyone that there might be rain in two hours’ time. Shorten the race by two
The mountain roads were difficult to drive on. It began raining two hours after Jones Enterprise’s vehicles entered the mountain, and the rain was escalating into a storm.The leading vehicle stopped on the road and informed the vehicles behind him, “Things are looking bad! We can’t drive on the roads ahead and can only walk.”“Miss Melanie, are you okay with that? Why don’t you return to the base camp and wait for our updates?” the leader asked.Melanie looked up the mountain, and said, “We need all the help we can get. Don’t worry, I have experience walking on mountain roads.”The leader nodded, and led everyone into the mountain with supplies on their backs.There were a total of six refreshment stations set up for this mountain race, and Quincy was assigned to the third one.The roads between the third and fourth refreshment points were the most rugged, with many steep rocky cliffs that were impossible for vehicles to pass. Rocks and sand covered the roads with no canopy ov
The biker didn’t go on, but everyone else fell silent. Even people who were used to extreme sports feared matters of life and death. “Don’t worry, my colleague is already on his way to save them,” Melanie said, trying to comfort them.They weren’t far from the refreshment station, yet due to the terrible weather conditions and muddy ground, Melanie and her team took one hour to reach there, with the six bikers in tow.When they finally reached the tent of the refreshment station, which had been heavily battered by the storm and cold wind, the employees of Jones Enterprise quickly started up a fire and boiled some water to warm up the bikers.The bikers changed into clean thermal wear as they felt their body temperatures return to normal. The blood returned to their faces.After settling down the bikers, Melanie and her employees reorganized their supplies and headed off to find Quincy by following the map.After another half an hour, Melanie and her employees spotted some colorf
Many hands make light work. The men in the water gradually arrived at a consensus, and order ensued amidst the chaos. Slowly, the heavy rock crushing the bikers started being lifted.Some of the men continued lifting the rock with all their might, while other men tried to rescue the bikers from the gap.The bodyguards of Morgan Group were well-trained in outdoor survival skills. They used rope and a makeshift stretcher to lift the badly-injured bikers up and out of the pit, while everyone else helped the bikers with minor injuries as they walked forward.“This is the midpoint between the two refreshment stations. Which of the two should we head to?” Quincy asked.“Let’s go back to the station we came from,” Melanie suggested. “We settled down six bikers there before coming here. Let’s go back and meet them.”Everyone nodded in agreement, and started the strenuous hour-long journey back to the refreshment station.After everyone’s energy was restored in the refreshment station, th
An old woman sat before the vanity mirror, with a girl next to her. The girl looked to be slightly over 20 years old. The old woman had a head of white hair, donning a sheepskin robe with dyed embroidery flowers. At the man’s declaration, the old woman turned around and looked shocked at the sight of Melanie.Silence ensued for a few seconds, and Melanie took the chance to survey the old woman. Although she was advanced in years, her skin remained fair and dewy. Her eyes were crystal clear. She must have been an outstanding beauty when she was young, Melanie thought.After a while, the old woman composed herself. She stood up and walked toward Melanie. She held Melanie’s hand, and mumbled something. The young man standing next to her interpreted her words. “My mom asked if you’re injured?”“I’m not. The bikers are the injured ones.” Melanie pointed outside the window in a panic.The old woman mumbled a few more times, and the young man translated what she said again. “Don’t w
A scene right out of a horror movie unfolded before Melanie’s eyes in the dark cave.Jeffrey quickly pulled Melanie behind him, and stepped forward to investigate. “These aren’t human bones, but of wild beasts?”The old woman nodded. The young girl said, “Wild beasts often appear in the mountains. If we turn on the lights at night, it’ll attract wild beasts here. That’s why Mom dug a tunnel in front of the house. We even hid an animal trap in our yard. If you walked about our yard, you might have gotten hurt by it.”“That’s impressive of you!” Melanie praised the old woman from the bottom of her heart once more. “But why isn’t there a smell from all these bones piled up here?”The young girl piped up proudly, “This is where my mom is truly impressive! The potpourri she makes can cover up the smell in here.”She looked up, and pointed at the ceiling above. Melanie looked up and saw sachets of potpourri hung above along their way here. The potpourri looked exquisite, and gave off
Words of rejection were at the tip of Melanie’s tongue, but she couldn’t bring herself to utter them. Her hands that were pushing against Jeffrey gradually stopped. She simply laid her hands softly on his chest, and felt his heart beating rapidly.She didn’t dare to meet his searing gaze and shrunk back instead, curling up in his arms and falling asleep. After a long while, Melanie found herself awakened by steady snoring sounds.She had never experienced what it was like to sleep in the same room as thirty other men. Some of their snores sounded like complaints, while others sounded like angry shouts. There was a mix of high and low-pitched snores that was so noisy, it chased away all sense of drowsiness in Melanie.She gently pried away Jeffrey’s arm, threw on a jacket, and headed outside.The weather on the mountain was so strange, it was shocking.After an entire day of strong winds and storms, the night was eerily quiet, without a trace of wind. She couldn’t hold herself ba
“Mmm.”Melanie was caught off guard by the kiss. She felt hot desire and confusion rising in her chest at the same time. Just then, she heard the hum of a car coming from afar, and pushed Jeffrey away firmly. “A car really is here!”Jeffrey looked up and in the direction of the sound before continuing with the kiss. “We still have a few more minutes to spare.”“They’ll wake up upon hearing the car…”Melanie seized the chance in between the kiss to take a step back. “It’s strange enough that you suddenly joined the rescue team today. If my colleagues were to see us like this, I’ll never be able to explain myself.”“Just don’t, then.”Jeffrey wanted to step forward and pull her back in his arms, but Melanie immediately removed the blanket wrapped around her and threw it in his arms. She dashed into the house and said, “I’ll wake them up right away!”Ten minutes later, the driver of Jones Enterprise was the first to arrive in his off-road vehicle. When he saw Melanie and Qu
Pleasantly surprised, Melanie turned around to see the man she had been looking for. She never stopped saying his name in her head. He stood right behind her.At that moment, she stopped thinking completely.Without even hesitating, she ran toward him and dove into his arms."Ughh."Jeffrey groaned in pain. He did not dare to press against her stomach. Instead, he arched his back to hold her."Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how I…" She cried so much that she could not speak."Alright, alright. Good girl. Don't cry. I've come back."Jeffrey kept rubbing the back of her head. "Eagle was too neurotic. I've nearly gone mad from dealing with him. I finally got him to regain some of his sanity today… That's how I had the chance to find you…""How did you know where to find me?" Melanie asked."Today is the day of Nathan's trial. I know you'd definitely be in the courtroom," Jeffrey said confidently.Melanie finally calmed down a little. After letting go of him,
"We're not together…"Kenneth's facial expression changed as soon as he saw Melanie.Melanie noticed there was a hint of guilt in his eyes. This was an unsettling feeling for her. "Then where is he? What happened to you guys?"Noticing that she was shaking, Annie and Carson, who had accompanied her to court, rushed forward to assist her."Eagle had a prior arrangement with Nathan. Once Nathan and Leo's plan at the York family's residence was thwarted, Nathan would press a button. Eagle would then receive a code to detonate a bomb. He'd blow us all up," Kenneth explained."Jeffrey was the one who noticed Eagle wasn't in the right state of mind. That's why he informed me to leave with Mr. Oliver. He… Stayed behind to persuade Eagle…" He added."What happened then?" Melanie's voice was shaking."All I knew after that was that the hotel blew up. I waited for him to contact me but he never did. Mr. Oliver and I have been on the run from Nathan's shadowy pursuits. I only managed to sn
Three days later, the trial was officially in session.Leo's attorney was practically defenseless because the York family's allegations of him poisoning Joseph had been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Leo was directly sentenced to life in prison.Nathan's attorney, on the other hand, was clever. They tried everything they could to deflect Nathan's allegations.After the presiding judge evaluated the case, he looked up. "Does the plaintiff have any more evidence that the defendant, Nathan, intentionally killed someone?"Hank sat silently at the plaintiff's table.They could only provide evidence of the time when Nathan had tried to murder Hank. However, they had no evidence of Nathan being involved in the explosion on the island this time.Hank looked at Melanie in the audience. She was also frowningThe presiding judge's implication was well understood. Without more evidence, Nathan would not receive a life sentence…"The plaintiff simply does not have sufficient evidence to
Carson sighed. It was time to explain everything to Hank…Although Carson had spent a lot of time in Hank's hospital as Professor Marshall, and he would also tend to their men's wounds, as well as discuss a variety of topics with Hank, they had never acknowledged their relationship…Besides, Carson knew Hank hated him.Hank hated him for being heartless to his grandmother back then. That was why Hank changed his last name to Castillo instead of Yule…"Let's take Melanie back to rest. I'll explain the rest to you myself," Carson said. Hank had already figured out half of it."Grandpa, I'm not going back. I'll wait for the news here," Melanie said firmly.There was no sign of Jeffrey's corpse yet. She would wait until the rescue team confirmed that they could not find any corpse.She wanted a clear answer."Okay. I'll get the trailer ready for you. You can lie down inside. You can't afford to hurt your body anymore than you already have. I checked your pulse earlier. It's not loo
Buzz!Melanie's vision turned black. She began falling backward."Melanie! Melanie!"Carson propped her up and called the doctor over.However, Melanie opened her eyes after a few seconds and tried to stand up. "I'm fine… Grandpa, take me there… I want to go to the scene of the explosion…""You're in no state…""I'm fine. I can hold up," Melanie promised."If you don't let me go and see it with my own eyes, I'll be even more paranoid," she added.Carson knew his granddaughter too well. He sighed and frowned before requesting for a ride. He met up with Hank. The two of them accompanied Melanie to look for Jeffrey.Jeffrey, Kenneth, Mr. Oliver, and Eagle waited at the drop-off point near the York family's residence. Nathan had instructed them to not do anything rash.Mr. Oliver and Eagle were still useful to Nathan.Once Nathan acquired Joseph's signature, he would meet up with them.However, the small hotel they were waiting at was already in ruins. There was smoke everywher
'Chief… Frankie?'Leo turned around in surprise. Nathan did the same. They saw Chief Frankie and several Interpol agents walking out from behind a screen in Joseph's room.Melanie was a part of that group!"Aren't you… dead?" Leo pointed at Melanie in shock."Thanks to you, I'll live a long life." Melanie sneered.Chief Frankie waved his hand. The police behind him charged forward to put handcuffs on Leo and Nathan. Leo narrowed his eyes and quickly pressed a button on the remote in his hand."We'll all die together!" He shouted.However, no matter how hard he pressed, nothing happened in the room."What's going on here… Eagle?" Leo's voice was trembling.His hands were cuffed, and the remote control was confiscated by the police."Leo, you are suspected of poisoning Master York and attempting to murder Melanie and others on the island. We are arresting you for premeditated murder!" Chief Frankie uttered calmly."No… No…" Leo struggled but to no avail. He had no idea what wa
At the same time, Melanie and Carson were on a plane with Professor Turner. They soon arrived at Medonia.Carson contacted Hank ahead of time and asked him to pick them up with his men.After the exhausting journey, Melanie's face was pale. She seemed to be in very poor condition. "I've already contacted the maternity hospital for you. You can go there and wait for your delivery. Leave the rest to me.""No…"Melanie shook her head. "I have to go back."Jeffrey was still in Nathan's hands. She would not be able to wait peacefully if she went to the hospital.Carson knew his granddaughter well enough. "Let her go. Professor Turner and I will be with here. We'll be ready for anything."Carson was still disguised as Maximilian. Hank did not know he was Carson. Hank nodded in agreement.“Mr. Castillo, there's something I need to trouble you with.” Melanie said."I heard from Professor Marshall that you're on good terms with the chief of Medonia's Interpol. Can I trouble him to be a
"Wait a minute! Isn't Jefford actually Jeffrey?" Leo asked while running after Nathan.Nathan ignored him and continued to walk forward.Leo did not give up and followed Nathan closely. "Who exactly is Jeffrey to you?""Are you being unreasonable right now? Why are you still so unsure at this point?" Nathan glanced at Leo contemptuously."I'm dealing with serious business. Don't get in my way with your petty romantic affairs!"After saying that, he glared at Leo and exited the cabin.Leo felt chills in his heart, but he could not make Nathan stay…-Jeffrey was tied up on the deck all this time. His body was freezing, and his lips were turning purple from the cold."Hey, President Morgan, fancy seeing you like this!" Nathan laughed grimly when he saw the miserable state Jeffrey was in."Thanks to you, I've been more miserable than this on many occasions. This is nothing." Jeffrey made it sound like a walk in the park."Hehe." Nathan sneered."I know. You've had strong willp
Lynette seemed stunned. She could not help but stand up with the help of the railing on the speedboat. Her eyes turned red as looked at the island burning in the distance. There was a look of disbelief on her face…If they had not evacuated five minutes ago…By now…She would not have even been able to breathe and think…The explosion sent shockwaves across the ocean's surface. The ride became even more bumpy. With sea water splashing against them, they had all become wet."Are you alright?" Carson protected Melanie. He was worried she would not be able to take it.Her stomach did feel awful, but she braced herself and tried not to tense up. Her emotions would affect her baby.When Lynette heard the voices behind her, she turned around to look at Melanie. Her gaze had become much softer than before. "You're not going to give birth on the boat, are you? I'm a woman, but I don't know how to be a midwife!""I won't give birth now. There are still things left to do," Melanie said.