Mike was puzzled and had a vague sense of impending danger. He subconsciously looked at Lily but noticed her indifference. She was still sitting there lazily and even adjusted her position. "Mr. Rick, this seems to be an unwelcome visit.""There's a misunderstanding," Rick said coldly.At this time, he retracted his hand from Mike's shoulder and walked toward the chair across from Lily. He sat and said, "I came here because I have some questions I want to ask you two."Mike's shoulders loosened as he shrugged a little. He immediately froze after hearing Rick’s statement.Lily raised her brows and looked at Rick calmly. "I thought we've said everything in the meeting room."However, Rick raised his hand coldly and pressed something in his hand. Then a faint "pop" echoed, like a small explosion, followed by a faint burnt smell.Mike was stunned for a moment. "You…""There are too many things in here. I destroyed them." With that, Rick withdrew his hand. "Now, nothing can hinder us
‘That should be the device that destroyed the surveillance system.’ Lily secretly observed just now that the light on the CCTV cameras had turned off, and the surveillance system had indeed gotten destroyed.‘He’s not lying, but why did he do it?’“We’ve told you everything, and I don’t understand what kind of truth you would like to hear.” Lily turned to pick up a glass of water near her but leaned forward to add some warm water to the glass, probably feeling it had gotten a little cold.Mike saw this and went to help her before returning the glass to her.Lily smiled. “Thanks.”She took the glass and drank almost half the water to wet her throat.Rick stared at them quietly and waited until Lily finished drinking. “Given your relationship, I don’t believe you’re not colluding with each other.”Lily chuckled. “Colluding to do what, I wonder? How long have you stayed in Hyderland?” she suddenly asked.Rick narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”“Well, you probably haven’t stay
“Although I don’t participate in the experiment, I know the development of the drug has taken too long,” Rick said, getting to the point, “I don’t care if you can’t do it or are stalling, but I’m running out of patience.”“I want to see the final result by tomorrow,” he said, his tone as frigid as his gaze.Lily frowned. Before she could say anything, he added, “Don’t give me any excuses. I don’t f*cking care if you can succeed, but I want a result by tomorrow.”“So what you want is not a result but an excuse to kill me?” Lily coldly chuckled as she spoke.‘Tomorrow? How can that be possible?’Rick shook his head. “I don’t need an excuse to kill you, and I can do it anytime. For your information, I do want the drug, but we’ve delayed the experiment far too many times! In short, I want the result tomorrow. As for the boss,” he paused, “ I don’t f*cking care.”Then he turned aside and let out a cold sneer. He walked past Mike and glanced at him, “Mr. Corden, seriously, your tricks
“I have a way.” Mike lowered his voice, saying, “I handled several things when we first moved here, so I’m familiar with the routes and surveillance systems. There’s a route—”Lily seemingly realized something and suddenly interrupted him, “We might not need to trouble ourselves with it.”Mike was puzzled. “What do you mean?”She tipped her chin toward a nonfunctioning surveillance camera, removed the signal jammer from her person, and tossed it aside. “Has it ever occurred to you that he might’ve done all of this in front of us just to show he knows what we’re up to, even without the help of these gadgets? Besides, is he implying the higher-ups have already given up on the boss?”“Given up on him?” Mike found it hard to believe. After all, he had previously heard about the organization through the masked man, who was his sole point of contact.Although he knew the mysterious organization supported the “boss,” he never interacted directly with it. To him, the masked man was a mess
Lily was not upset nor behaving recklessly. The truth was that she had already succeeded but had not told anyone about it. She finally successfully created the latest batch of experimental products just two days ago.As the success was recent and she was uncertain of how stable the drug was—coupled with the fact that she did not want to hand it to the organization—she did not reveal it to anyone, including Mike.However, Rick’s attitude today puzzled her. The man gave the ultimatum as if he knew the experiment had succeeded.‘I haven’t told anyone, so how did Rick find out? Did he simply give me an ultimatum without knowing about it?’She noticed Mike’s confusion and curled her lips into a half-smile. “I mean, I’ll give my all to the experiment today. There is still a batch of experimental products, so I’ll know the result tomorrow. As he said, all he wants is the outcome, whether or not it works.”“But if you fail…”“If I fail, he can just kill me.” She shrugged and smiled casua
Lily nodded, agreeing with what Mike had said.He did not understand initially, but after hearing what she said, he understood the situation better. After pondering for a moment, Mike said, “I’ve got an idea.”Lily looked curious.“Can you guess what the ‘boss’ would feel when he finds out the organization has abandoned him?” His voice was soft, but there was a hint of a smile on his lips which revealed his cunning nature.However, Lily had to admit she had the same idea. She nodded. “Good thinking.”Mike took a deep breath. “I’ll go take care of it then. If there’s anything, just look for me!”…Staying one day in Dominic’s estate, Alexander felt time seemed to have slowed down as he had never been so free. Although he still received many calls and had to use his laptop to work and participate in video conferences, his workload had decreased considerably than before.Dominic would sometimes wake up from his slumber and start nagging groggily before falling asleep again. After
Austin looked up and saw Alexander before yelling, “Stay where you are!”Austin looked pale, sweat covering his forehead as he stubbornly held his wrist against Dominic’s. Both parties’ wrists had slashes on them, and Austin was holding their wounds together tightly.“That’s insane!” Alexander shouted.He headed over, but Austin yelled, “Stay back!”His voice was so loud and desperate that he was shaking.Seeing him so agitated, Alexander stopped in his path.“But if you do this…”Austin caught his breath and said, “There’s no other way. There isn’t!”Stunned, Alexander threw Dominic a look and was horrified by what he saw. Dominic had developed many large swellings. The swellings resembled small hills rising on a plain, making his formerly wrinkled skin taut.Since Dominic was old and relatively thin, his skin was always wrinkly, but now it was stretched and shiny. His condition resembled Austin’s during his experience with the virus but differed slightly.Austin was young a
‘Besides, what about many others who have gotten infected? Is he going to draw all the symbiotes into his body?’Alexander did not know how to stop Austin, wondering if interrupting the process would worsen things. At that moment, Dominic seemed to have awoken from his stupor and tried to lift his shaking hand.Austin was surprised to see him moving and quickly said, “Stay still! I’ll alleviate your pain, and you’ll recover soon!”He was excited, but Dominic was not. The older man lifted his trembling hand and slapped his grandnephew’s face. However, Dominig’s hand merely brushed Austin’s cheek as he was too weak. Even so, his movement exhilarated Austin. “Are you getting better?” Austin grabbed his granduncle’s hand. “I knew this method would work!”“Work… my *ss!” Even in a weakened state, Dominic still spoke rather harshly. He tried to struggle free from Austin but could not since his grandnephew was too strong. “Let go... you brat!”“I can’t. We’re halfway there, and I’ll so
Lily tilted her head up to fight back her tears, saying, “There’s something I find strange.”“What is it?” Mike asked after comforting his son.“Instead of detaining Prince Ross, Her Majesty has sent him back to Yudonia. If so, why couldn’t we reach him?”After some thought, Mike answered, “There are two possibilities. It’s probably due to poor signals, or he doesn’t want us to contact him.”The two shared a look, knowing what each other was wondering.‘Why can’t we contact Ross? Is he planning something?’…Three days later, Lily inserted the last needle into the queen’s leg and looked up at her, saying, “You should start feeling your legs tomorrow. Still, it’ll take some time before you can stand.”Suddenly, Lily chuckled.“Why are you laughing?” Yasmin touched her legs. She had begun to regain sensation in her legs over the last two days. She then began to believe that she could get up. However, the queen was hesitant when the queen heard Lily chuckle.Lily shook her head
Lily straightened up and said without resentment, “Of course, you wouldn’t.”“That’s… quite a pity,” the queen murmured thoughtfully.“Well, there’s a price to pay for everything. That’s how the world balances itself,” Lily continued, “I can’t stop you if you must carry on with R10. Still, I won’t witness whether or not it succeeds. I just wish the outcome isn’t something you’ll regret.”Lily smiled and turned to head out the door.Rick heard their conversation as he stood guard outside. After exchanging looks with Lily as she brushed past him, he entered the room and saw the needles in Yasmin’s legs. “Your Majesty, those needles—”The queen waved dismissively. “It’s okay. Lily will remove them later.”Even so, Rick was wary. “You’re being too careless, Your Majesty. What if that woman—”“She wouldn’t,” Yasmin interjected, shaking her head."Why do you trust her so much?" Rick asked despite himself. The queen fell silent. If Rick had not asked her that, she would not have rea
Lily took out a cloth and unfolded it, revealing a row of silver needles inside. Yasmin was surprised she carried the needles with her.“Tell me. What do you want?” The queen took a deep breath to calm herself. She then reminded herself that she could always say no to Lily’s request. Still, Yasmin was cautious about Lily trying to trick her.Lily casually said, "I left because Prince Ross wanted to help me. I hope you don’t punish him.""That's it?" Yasmin thought she had misheard Lily. 'Is she trying to talk terms with me just so that I won't punish my son?' she wondered in disbelief."Ross is my son. I won't harm him. Don't you think you've wasted an opportunity by making such a request?" The queen shook her head. "I wasn’t sure if you’d blame him, but he did rescue me once. If I don't do anything, it would be ungrateful of me," Lily said gently, "Also, didn’t you already lock him up?"Yasmin was puzzled. "No, I only sent him back to Yudonia. He kept trying to get me to sto
"Three days," Lily replied.“That’s it?!” Yasmin was in disbelief. She thought Lily would try to buy some more time and suspected she would say the process would take several months or even years.‘I haven’t felt my legs for over a decade. I wouldn’t mind waiting for three more days.’“Are you sure I can get up and walk in just three days?” Yasmin pressed her legs hard but felt nothing. She would have treated her legs long ago if it were that easy.The queen had visited many famous doctors from various countries, but they could only stop her legs from getting weaker. However, Lily confidently told Yasmin that she could fix her legs so quickly.Yasmin wanted to believe it.After some consideration, Lily said, “I can’t guarantee that you’ll walk as fast as you once could. After all, you haven’t used your legs for a long time, and your muscles have atrophied. Still, you’ll recover slowly.”Yasmin nodded repeatedly, thinking it was good enough. She never dreamed of walking as well a
“Because only our opinions matter." Lily thought of something and said, "Unless you choose to believe Rhea.""I… don't trust anyone." Yasmin’s expression stiffened as she turned her wheelchair away."Your Majesty, I know you're dedicated to the experiment, but there are other things in life. Have you ever considered letting go of your burden to sightsee? You’ve done enough as a queen over the last few decades. Aren’t you tired of living a lonely life?”Lily gently spoke as she gazed at Yasmin’s back.The older woman caressed her knees with both hands and stared down at her legs, murmuring, “Sightsee, huh? I’ve forgotten what that’s like.”Yasmin had not used her legs for many years. Initially, she could still stand up and sometimes took a few steps. However, she could no longer get to her feet.She had grown accustomed to sitting in a wheelchair, but she felt a pang of sorrow after hearing Lily’s suggestion.Lily asked, “What if I can help you stand again? What if you can walk a
"Yes, I returned not just for him but also for you," Lily said, "I'm sure you were anxious for my return, weren't you?"Yasmin scoffed dismissively. "Why would I be? I have my bargaining chip. Besides, did you honestly think I couldn’t bring you back?""Bargaining chip? Do you mean Nick?" Lily shook her head with a smile. "Don't forget that he's not my son. Do you think he'll be much of a bargaining chip to you if I choose to ignore him for my three children?"She did not wait for Yasmin to reply and continued, "Besides, Nick still has a father who’s willing to die for him. If Mike decides to take drastic action against you— Yes, you're a queen, and you don't care much about an insignificant businessman.“However, don't forget that his business spans worldwide. There's no guarantee what he might do. Who knows, he might spread information that can affect Your Majesty and Yudonia's reputation?""You…" The queen was exasperated but could not retort.Lily noticed it and casually said
Rick could only remain silent at that moment.Yasmin then turned her wheelchair around and blandly said, “Bring Lily over. I’d like to see what excuses that sly woman can come up with.”"Your Majesty?" Rick was puzzled. "You know she'll just lie to you. Why must you—"Yasmin interjected, "I'd like to hear what she has to say."Rick had no choice but to leave and do as she said.As Lily was about to doze off, she heard noises from outside and opened her eyes. Immediately after, the door opened, and Rick appeared. He glared at her and spoke coldly, “Her Majesty wants to see you.”Lily glanced at Rick calmly and stood up as if she had expected his appearance. On the other hand, Mike rose before her and headed out.However, Rick stopped him as he reached the door. “You stay.”"But we came together!" Mike glanced over his shoulder at Lily, signaling her to persuade the man. Rick added, "The queen doesn’t wish to see you. Just stay here!"Lily patted Mike's shoulder and said gentl
Everyone was shocked when Lily returned to the embassy with Mike. One of the staff members quickly left to report the news to Queen Yasmin.Meanwhile, Lily saw people peering at her and Mike from the corner. Afterward, several guarded-looking men appeared. Lilt recognized them as the queen’s attendants. They brought Mike and Lily inside and then gave the duo a thorough search.The men only relaxed after finding nothing suspicious about the duo. Even so, Lily could not see the queen as the men told her to wait in an innermost room instead.After returning to the embassy, Lily felt a sense of strange familiarity. Although she knew the place well, her mindset had changed.She previously hated the embassy and simply wanted to escape. However, she had returned with a critical mission. Not only did she have to complete it, but she also needed to leave the place in one piece.While she was calm, Mike was somewhat anxious. He clasped his hands on his knees and glanced around as he sat dow
"I promise I'll do anything you want, okay?" Mike begged. He was desperate to see his son, so he decided to follow Lily when she insisted on returning to the embassy.Mike continued, “If any of you go with her, they might stop or suspect you. They won’t do that to me. It’s natural for me to want to see and rescue my son. I’m the best candidate because it makes sense for me to sacrifice myself for him.”After a short silence, Lily said, “You’re right.” She then looked at Alexander, who pondered before slowly raising his head and saying, “Me too.”Dominic tapped the table. "So do I."Cameron thought for a moment before saying, "I've no objections."Seeing this, Austin spread his arms and said, "Since you all agree, what else can I say? Let's do it!"It did not matter whether or not he agreed, but he just wanted to support Mike. The latter nodded and became emotional, saying, “Thanks, you guys!”"Why are you thanking us? Just be careful, and don’t be rash like you promised," Aust