Before Mike could get up again, Alexander held him down. “No, we can’t go in now.”“Why not?!” he exclaimed.“We just left there. Besides, we did a thorough search just now and found nothing.” Alexander looked at him calmly. “Do you think we can find them if we go in again?”“Maybe our search wasn’t thorough enough! Perhaps we can find a secret room or passage if we try harder. We might just find Lily inside.” Mike’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Who knows, Nicky might be with her too!”He missed his son so much that he could not think straight. Although he could not meet his son when he worked for the “boss,” he had occasional video calls with Nick.Mike could hear his son’s voice and see his face then. However, he did not know if his son was still alive after not seeing or hearing from him for so long. Mike only kept himself going by thinking of his son.“Please calm down.” Alexander held Mike down with both hands, knowing how he felt.“Do you think I don’t want to go in and
Alexander leaned into his seat and gazed at the embassy as Mike and Edward looked at him. After some thought, Alexander said, “If Lily was the one who injured Fred’s arm, it shows she’s well enough to fight back, at least for now.“Since they need her body, I doubt they’d hurt her before the experiment. Even if Lily dislocated Fred’s arm, he couldn’t do anything to her. We should consider it a good sign.Mike scratched his head, not entirely comforted by Alexander’s words. “So, what can we do now?”After all, they could not go inside the embassy and openly search for Lily, nor could they rescue Nick.“I’ll have my men stationed outside the embassy. Tell your men to keep a close watch on all possible routes to prevent them from relocating Lily,” After a pause, Alexander continued, “I’ll figure something out.”The situation was tricky because of these people’s statuses. Alexander would know how to deal with them if they were ordinary businesspeople or low-ranking officials. However,
“Fred,” the queen said as she gently touched his cheek. “How could you be so careless after serving me for so long?”Taken aback, Fred lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Indeed, I was careless, but I didn’t want to let them in the first—"“Could you have stopped them?” The queen cocked her head and smiled.However, her tone gave Fred a terrible feeling. “Your Majesty?”“Do you know other nations have unfavorable opinions about Yudonia? There’s even a rumor that the pandemic virus originated from our country.” Although her eyes were a little cloudy, they still evoked an overwhelming sense of threat.Fred felt a chill run down his spine as he responded, “I’ll find out who spread the rumor and shut them up, Your Majesty. Just leave it to me.”However, the queen smiled and shook her head, saying, “No, Fred! Do you think you can shut them up forever? Besides, can you tell everyone in the world to shut up?”“Your Majesty—"“Don’t be quick to deny it or resort to violence in
Although Fred could appease the queen with just a few words in the past, she would not let it go this time. After contemplating for a moment, Fred straightened up, saying, “All right, Your Majesty. I'll tell you since you’ve already discovered it.“The lab started as a small workshop. You know I’ve been working on the R10 experiment for you. R10 is a codename. We call it that because there were others.”The queen raised her brow. “You’re saying there were nine other similar experiments?”“Yes.” He nodded after a moment’s hesitation.The queen tilted her head slightly. “What about after R10? Were there any other experiments?”Fred looked at her and seemed to assess whether or not to tell her. After a few seconds, he nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”He was unsure how much the queen knew and dared not probe. After all, he knew what she was like after serving her for nearly 30 years.The queen might appear kind and approachable to others, but only Fred knew about her ruthless side when
“I…do,” Fred answered after a pause.“You do?” The queen’s voice changed, becoming agitated. “Yet you’ve shown no remorse and continued the experiments behind my back? How long did you plan to keep it from me if I didn’t find out? Fred, what were you thinking?”She got choked up toward the end as tears welled in her eyes. She was heartbroken and distressed.Most thought the pandemic was a natural disaster, while others suspected it resulted from bioterrorism or human action. The queen also suspected those things but never expected them to have something to do with her country, let alone the person serving her.‘The pandemic was a catastrophe for all mankind! Although it has seemingly ended, how many lives were lost due to the pandemic? How many people suffered lingering effects? Countless individuals lost their families and friends to the virus.’At that time, the queen was also concerned about what would happen or if her body could cope if she got infected. Still, she never imagi
The queen looked at her guards entering the room as Fred said, “Her Majesty is tired and unwell. Take her to the room, and don’t let anyone disturb her rest.”The queen was astounded. She said sternly, “How dare you?! Nobody touches me!”However, Fred waved, saying, “Her Majesty is old and suffering from hallucinations. Don’t mind what she says. We must prioritize her health.”Then he gestured for the guards to bring the queen to her room.“You’ve gone insane, Fred! How dare you treat me like this? I’m the queen! Fred!” She shouted desperately. No one had ever treated her like this before.After receiving no answers from Fred, she turned to the guards and demanded, “Stop! Are you helping him rebel against me?!”“It’s not exactly a rebellion.” Fred gazed after the queen as the guards took her away. He finally smiled. “However, you’re too old and unfit to run the country, Your Majesty!”He dropped his fearful pretense and looked arrogant instead.…The guards opened the door and
The queen calmed down and looked sad, probably because of Lily’s self-deprecating tone. Maybe it was also because Lily’s words made her realize something.“I never thought he’d do this to me.”“Maybe you were just in denial,” Lily said, “He’s served you for many years and is the person you trusted most. I doubt you’d want to think he would betray you.”Lily knew how it felt to be betrayed by someone. She felt angry, disappointed, and sad when she discovered Mike had deceived her, even though the organization forced him to.‘Not to mention the queen’s situation. People in power and influence are most concerned about betrayal by those closest to them. Once one breaks that trust, it can be permanent.’The queen sighed and shook her head. “Why would he do this? My health has been terrible recently, and I’ve relied on his advice. He doesn’t need to—”“Greed knows no bounds, Your Majesty.” Lily looked at the queen without fear or panic.“Aren’t you afraid?” the queen asked, “You know
“Do you think it’s over for me while your guards and ministers find a way to rescue you?” Lily asked.Although the queen did not reply, her expression revealed her answer.Lily could not escape after Alexander’s two failed rescue attempts, but it was different for the queen. Although Fred had seemingly turned against her, he had prepared the end experiment for the queen’s benefit.Furthermore, the queen’s ministers and subjects would grow anxious if she did not show up for a long time. That was why the queen thought she was not in a desperate situation.“Your Majesty, you’re being too naive.” Lily shook her head. “Do you think Fred dared to do this to you because the people here have changed sides?”“So you’re saying—”“Do you truly understand him after so many years? Don’t you think he could’ve bought off many of your ministers?”The queen was stumped. “Your Majesty, if one of us can make it out alive, it’ll be me. Since Fred has turned against you, there’s no way he will cha