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There was no traffic at night, so it only took Winnie an hour to drive from the city to the mountain.
Alas, it was difficult to climb a mountain at night. By the time she had hiked up while panting away,
another hour had passed.
Nonetheless, all her exhaustion vanished the moment she glimpsed the helicopter.
No sooner had she appeared than a man jumped out of the helicopter.
When the man spotted her, he sprinted over to her and asked enthusiastically, “Are you Ms. Garland?
Mr. Marsh told me to come over and pick you up.”
Winnie looked the man up and down before she nodded. “Yes. Let’s go.”
“Sure. After you, Ms. Garland. It’s dark, so I’ll help to illuminate the way for you from the back.”
To that moment, there hadn’t been anything unusual about the pilot’s actions. For that reason, she
didn’t notice anything off.
It wasn’t until she had boarded the helicopter that she noticed something amiss.
A man was tied to the cockpit, and he was also dressed in a pilot’s uniform.
Cursing inwardly, Winnie braced herself to leap down with her luggage in hand.
But at that precise moment, a bandaged hand shot out before her without warning.
As Winnie scrutinized the reddish blood stain on the snow-white bandage, she suddenly found that
injured arm particularly familiar.
She slowly turned her head and looked at the man behind her.
“Xavier? Why are you here?” Winnie’s eyes went wide in surprise.
Xavier snorted coldly, his handsome face emerging from the darkness slowly, devoid of expression.
“Before I answer your question, shouldn’t you explain why you’re here in such a place in the middle of
the night?”
At that, Winnie frowned. “So, you’ve been monitoring my phone and whereabouts?”
Xavier pinned his eyes on her, not bothering to deny that.
“You broke our agreement first. You promised to never keep any secrets from me henceforth and even
swore an oath. But what’s this? If I hadn’t taken any precautions, you would’ve long since flown off.
And by the time I woke up, I wouldn’t even know where to go to collect your body!”
A frown marred Winnie’s countenance. “Collect my body? Are you that eager for me to die? Can’t you
say something nice instead?”
In response, Xavier sneered, “I wouldn’t have rushed over if I were eager for you to die. Are you
heartless, Winnie? You promised to never keep me in the dark again.”
“Well, that’s…” In the face of his justified accusations, Winnie ultimately chose to twist logic.
She asserted, “I left a note for you! I never thought of keeping you in the dark. I only left while you were
sleeping, so there was only a time difference between us.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtXavier’s brows creased deeply to the point that they might leave permanent marks. “Why don’t I record
everything you’re saying so that you can listen to it for yourself?”
“You still want to record me, huh? Why are you so high and mighty now?”
“Okay, that’s enough. Can you both stop bickering in the middle of the night?” Just when things were
about to escalate into a row, Josiah’s voice abruptly rang out from another dark corner of the helicopter.
Never having expected him to be there as well, Winnie jumped in fright.
Fury blazed within her. “Josiah? You still dare come, huh? What did you promise me last afternoon? It
turned out that you were playing me for a fool! You must have been the one who told him, yes?”
Before Josiah could even defend himself in the face of her interrogation, Xavier’s disgruntled voice
drifted into the air.
“What right do you have to censure him for breaking his promise? Didn’t you do the same yourself?”
Promptly left with no retort, Winnie could only choose to zip her mouth.
Seeing that, Josiah apologized to her. “I’m sorry for lying to you. There won’t be a second time.”
“The two of you can get out now,” Winnie huffed.
However, Xavier slammed the helicopter door shut instead.
“If you’re going to Manchernius, I’m going with you as well. I told you this long ago, and you also tacitly
agreed. Now, I’m following you while he’s following me. Is there a problem with that?”
Winnie shot him a glare. “I’m not going there for fun. Stop messing around, okay?”
Seizing her neck with his injured hand, Xavier gritted his teeth furiously as he hissed, “Do you think
we’d be afraid when even you are not afraid?”
With her eyes spitting fire, Winnie struggled wildly. “What exactly do you want right now? I told you to
get out, yet you shut the door? Hurry up and let go of me!”
“Never! If you want to see me bleeding profusely, just continue struggling. Don’t stop.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Yes, I’m threatening you with myself! I can’t do anything either if you don’t care about me!”
“You’re just being so high-handed because I like you, no?” Winnie clenched her jaw hard, but she could
already scent the coppery smell of blood.
As she roared, she stopped struggling.
Thanks to that action of hers, Xavier relaxed completely. His eyes glowed brightly like glittering
obsidians.
“You’ve got two options now. One is to go back with me—”
“Never mind. I choose the second option!” Winnie cut him off mid-utterance.
“Okay.” Xavier then continued his unfinished statement, saying, “We’ll use my pilot, then.”
“Are you kidding me?” Winnie couldn’t help rolling her eyes at him. “Am I to watch helplessly as your
pilot brings the helicopter to a stop in front of your mansion later? I choose the third option!”
“All right, then. We’ll use the initial pilot.”
“That’s more like it.”
“So, it’s a deal? We’re setting off together?” Josiah made the final confirmation.
“If not? Am I to remain unmoved as you both use your lives to threaten me? I’ve already made up my
mind now. At worse, we’ll die together. Then, I can have two people keeping me company in the
afterlife,” Winnie snapped.
Xavier lifted his hand and clapped it over her mouth. “Don’t worry. I won’t allow you to die.”
At once, Winnie yanked his hand off. “That’s my line! Hurry up and untie the pilot in the front.”
Soon, the helicopter braced for takeoff.
The few of them put on headphones. Winnie didn’t want to speak for the time being, so she reclined
against the seat and closed her eyes in rest.
Several times, Xavier furtively hooked his finger around hers, but she smacked it away.
After brooding over the matter, she still felt mystified, so she questioned, “Xavier, you left after me, but
how did you two get to the top of the mountain before me? How did you arrive so quickly?”
Xavier lifted his hand and stroked her head. “It was because we took the cable car up, Dumbo.”
Unbidden, Winnie’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “What? There are cable cars here? Who operated it
for you at this hour?”
Josiah couldn’t help letting out a bark of laughter. “Haha, that was nothing. Didn’t you know that this
entire mountain belongs to Xavier?”
Likewise, Xavier queried, “Do you like it? If you do, I’ll gift it to you.”
“D*mn it! What loathsome rich people!” Winnie cursed lowly.
“You’re really a ruthless woman that you even loathe yourself,” Josiah lamented.
“You’re similarly loathsome!” Winnie snarled.
“Not as much as you both. Compared to you two, I’m not rich at all.”
Winnie didn’t bother entertaining him further. Frowning, she asked Xavier, “Does Grandpa Rufus know
you’re going with me?”
“I learned from you, acting first and seeking forgiveness later.”
“What about your company, then?”
“Why do you think I had Louis stay so late last night?”
“Is it worth it?”
“It depends on you.”
“In that case, I don’t think it’s worth it. You don’t need to go to such lengths because of me—”
“It’s not just because of you.” Xavier never expected her to be still troubled over the issue of whether it
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwas worth it. But if she felt burdened because of it, he didn’t mind telling a white lie to appease her.
He fibbed, “I’m also selfish, for I want to live. You might be able to find the antidote if you find Yulissa,
but this venom had already undergone pathological changes in my body several times. If we can’t bring
back the person who created the venom, I can only go there personally for him to treat me
accordingly”.
Winnie studied him intently, seemingly discerning the veracity of his words.
As they held each other gazes this time, she was the first to lose, for no matter the look in his eyes as
he stared at her, it would always turn adoring in the end.
When she couldn’t respond to the same degree, she would subconsciously choose to avert her eyes.
She threw herself into his arms. “Use this time to rest. Dawn is fast approaching.”
Four hours later, Winnie and the others landed at Norham’s border.
They arrived at a local border town. As long as they pretended to be tourists there, they could step foot
into Manchernius territory with the border pass of the local tourist guide. From there, they could go
deeper into Jipsdale.
“Someone will pick us up when we arrive there,” Winnie said to Xavier and Josiah.
Josiah raised his hand. “Pardon my intrusion, but who are they, and are they trustworthy?”
Straightening the brim of her hat, Winnie answered, “Yes. It’s a mercenary team. An absolutely
trustable friend of mine hired them for me. They’re very familiar with the local terrain.”
“Like this?” Xavier pursed his lips. With a wave of his hand, six or seven well-dressed local men came
up to them.
A single glance told Winnie that they were all trained in combat. She chuckled softly. “You’ve made
preparations long ago, huh?”
“I’ve said that I won’t allow you to die. They’ve only got one mission here—to ensure your safety.”
Winnie’s brows furrowed. “What about you both?”
Xavier smoothed her deeply creased brows as he chortled. “We’ll be fine, too.”
“Exactly! It cost a bomb to hire them, so Xavier only paid a premium for you. But their service package
includes our safety as well,” Josiah quipped.
They prioritized my safety above theirs…
Winnie opened her mouth to say something further, but her phone rang just then.
The moment she saw that it was a call from Wilhelm, she immediately went to the side with her phone
in hand and took the call.
“Winnie, only success is allowed for the mission I gave you during your visit to Manchernius this time.
Do you understand the gravity of this matter?”
“Yes!”
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