“Uncle Dom!" Austin grabbed Dominic's arms excitedly. "It's really you!""Of course it's me!" Dominic snorted and glared at him.Austin giggled, unable to contain his joy. As the two talked, someone stormed past them toward the car. Mike pressed against the car window and strained to look inside, banging on it. “Nick?! Nicky!”Alexander, Austin, and Dominic fell silent. Ultimately, Alexander went over and patted Mike’s shoulder. “He’s not in there.”"You're lying!" Mike pushed Alexander’s hand off him, refusing to accept the truth. "If Dominic can come back, why can't my son?"Mike pointed at the old man as he roared.Alexander looked at him deeply. “You know your son’s scenario is different.”"How is it different? He's just a kid!" Mike shouted, almost bursting into tears. Since he was on the brink of breaking down, it was too much of a blow to him that the embassy had released Dominic but not Nick."You know they’re treating him as a test subject like Lily," Alexander said ca
Momentarily taken aback, Mike nodded and stood up. "Yeah, you're right. My son is much tougher than me!""Do you know in which aspect?" Dominic asked, baffling not just Mike but also Alexander and Austin, who shared a look. Mike shook his head. "I guess in every aspect.""It's the mindset,” Dominic shook his head and said meaningfully, "Your son has a better mindset than you. I've met many people, but rarely anyone like him.”Dominic continued sympathetically, "The situation is hard to bear, let alone for a child. However, he's very calm and sensible. He's something else—I'll give him that." Mike let out a half-smile after hearing the old man’s praise as if he was seeing his son now. "Yeah, Nicky has always been a sensible boy. Many people say he's too mature to be a child."Mike’s smile slowly faded as he continued, "Sometimes I wish he could be more childlike. It's my fault for not being around for him much."Since Nick had always been with his mother in the past, Mike wishe
Amused, Alexander quickly asked his housekeepers to prepare a meal. Dominic later wolfed down the food as the trio looked on. "Didn't the embassy provide any food?""So what if they did?" Dominic took a burrito. "I'm not used to Yudonian dishes."He shook his head as if disgusted by their food. Austin pushed a bowl of mushroom soup over. "Eat slowly, Uncle Dom. It's all yours.""So why did they let you go?" Mike asked curiously. Dominic glanced at him and fell silent for a moment. He then grabbed a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth. "That little brat found a way to get me out."The trio was puzzled for a moment but soon realized he was referring to Lily. "But why would they agree to let you go?"Indeed, it was surprising. After all, Nick and Lily had never managed to escape before this. "Well, I'm not very important to them." Dominic leaned into his chair and said casually, "What matters to them is the experiment, not an old man like me."Nodding, Alexander knew he w
Alexander said, "If we can show her the experiment is doomed to fail, she might change her mind.”Austin shook his head. "Well, you may be right, but how are we going to do that? We can't take over the experiment, can we? Unless she sees it, a suspicious person like her will never believe it."Dominic nodded repeatedly. Based on his conversation with Yasmin, he could tell how stubborn she was, even though she might waver sometimes. That was why it was difficult to persuade her. "That's what we have to do—conduct the experiment!" Alexander said, "Let’s show her how it'll fail."Austin was bewildered, but Mike had an inkling of what Alexander meant. "You're not talking about hypnosis, are you?"If they could perform hypnosis on Yasmin the way Rhea did to Ross and stage the experiment, they might be able to mislead her into thinking it had failed. "No, no, no! That won't work." Austin shook his head. "What about Mike and Prince Ross? Since the hypnosis failed on them, it shows it
"It's just an idea." Alexander looked toward Dominic. "I think Queen Yasmin is obsessed with the R10 experiment because she hasn't completed it. If she thinks she has, perhaps she might not be so hung up on it.""I think so, too." Nodding, Dominic said thoughtfully, “It makes sense from a psychological standpoint." Austin leaned into his chair and sighed in relief. "So, here comes the crucial question: who’s going to hypnotize her? She has her guard up against us. Besides, it's not easy for commoners like us to meet a queen." He spoke half-jokingly and spread his arms, yawning."Me!" Dominic suddenly said, startling Austin so much that he almost fell backward. "Uncle Dom?" Austin reseated himself and looked toward the old man. "Are you out of your mind? You just got back, for goodness' sake! No, you can't take such a risk."He shook his head vigorously. He could not let his granduncle put himself in danger again.“Who else can go? You?” Dominic gave Austin a sidelong glance a
"Do you think I need your protection?" Dominic knocked Austin’s head and said bluntly, "More like you're going to mess things up for me.""Hey! Uncle Dom, I—"Dominic interrupted, "What will you do while I hypnotize the old gal? Sing her a lullaby? Do you think I can hypnotize her with you hanging around?"Austin was stumped."I'm going to hypnotize her, not move furniture. I don't need you." Dominic then turned to Alexander. "Give me two days to prepare. I need to return to my estate to take care of something."Alexander nodded. "Okay. If you need anything, just let me know."With that, the group concluded their meeting. Although it was only two days, the wait was distressing enough. For them, each day delayed was unbearable.Meanwhile, Rhea and Lily put their best efforts into their experiments as if competing against each other. Yasmin had never visited the laboratory, not even once. It was as if she had forgotten about the place. All she did was bask in the sun and feel th
Yasmin looked at Rick. "How are their experiments?""They are still working on them."The queen knew it meant the two had made little progress."Can I trust them?" She could be asking herself or him. After not getting a response, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “How’s Fred?”"He's been quiet," Rick answered.Fred had not spoken a word since Yasmin’s visit. It was as if he had accepted his fate."Did you give him the supplements?" Yasmin asked.Rick nodded. "Yes, just as you instructed.""Good." Yasmin nodded thoughtfully and then turned to look out of the balcony. The lush greenery around the place lifted her mood. However, many yellow leaves fell from the branches when the wind blew. "I don't wish to wait forever." Gazing at the fallen leaves on the ground, Yasmin said thoughtfully, "Inform all the experts to get prepared. I want to proceed with R10."Rick was somewhat surprised. "Now?""Tell them to prepare and await further instructions," she said solemnly an
‘Not again!' Rhea exclaimed inwardly. She knew she should not be so impatient but could not help it. Somehow, she felt threatened by Lily also experimenting.Rhea took a deep breath and looked up at the apparatus and the data on the screen. She then threw everything into a specialized trash bin and marched out to see Lily’s progress. Rhea soon reached Lily’s area and realized she was sleeping inside.Rhea rubbed her eyes and looked again to ensure Lily was indeed asleep. The latter lay comfortably on a rocking recliner with a thick blanket over her. Lily looked like she was on vacation, with tea and snacks on the table beside her.Rhea grew even more frustrated when she saw how smoothly Lily’s experiment went.'How can she be enjoying herself here while I've been working my ass off? Instead of experimenting, she just found an excuse to slack off! No, she came here to agitate me. That must be it!'Thinking so, Rhea glared at her and had an evil idea when she turned to look at the s