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By the time Winnie got to the courtyard, Harold had already made the necessary preparations and was
standing by the car, waiting for her.
As soon as he saw her, he broke into a smile. “Good morning, Ms. Vivian. Did you get a good night’s
sleep?”
“Hello, Mr. Horton,” Winnie replied cordially before rubbing her temples. “I didn’t sleep well. I had a bit
too much to drink.”
“Ah, my apologies. I shouldn’t have drunk so much with you last night. If I had known, I’d have stopped
you.”
“No, it’s not your fault, Mr. Horton,” Winnie hurriedly explained while waving her hand. “I was the one
who wanted to drink, so please don’t blame yourself. I’ll feel better with some fresh air. Anyway, which
car should I take?”
“Well, if you don’t mind, you can always join me in mine. I can guarantee your safety in it,” Harold said
as he pointed at an armored car behind him.
Winnie had long noticed the vehicle when she stepped into the courtyard. It was undoubtedly an
impregnable fortress, but accepting Harold’s offer would also mean she couldn’t pull any tricks under
his watchful eye.
With all that in mind, she immediately shook her head. “No. I have a terrible headache, and getting
some fresh air along the way would be good. I won’t be able to enjoy your ride today, Mr. Horton, but
I’m sure there will be other chances.”
“Sure,” Harold said gently, chuckling as he did. “We’ll save it for the next time, then. There will be plenty
of opportunities in the future.”
“Exactly!” Winnie said with a nod before gesturing at a military jeep behind Harold. “I think I’ll take that
one. Even when I’m wearing the hood, I’ll still be able to get some fresh air.”
Harold glanced in the direction Winnie was pointing and smiled approvingly.
“You have impeccable taste, Ms. Vivian! That car is also one of my favorites, and it rides smoothly even
on rough terrain. I hope you don’t mind the hood. All my friends had to wear it at the start too. Of
course, we can do without it once we’ve gotten to know each other better.”
Smiling faintly, Winnie took a hood from Harold’s subordinate without hesitation. “I understand. I’ll put it
on myself. I don’t want you guys ruining my hair.”
“You sure do take great care of your looks, Ms. Vivian.”
“Oh, yes. I can lose my head, but I can’t mess up my hair,” Winnie casually replied as she put on the
hood and took a deep breath. “Done. Let’s go.”
Ever the gentleman, Harold smiled and gently placed Winnie’s hand on his forearm. “Here, Ms. Vivian.
You can hold onto my arm.”
Winnie thanked Harold and quickly fell into step beside him.
However, right before she was about to get into the car, Winnie suddenly stopped in her tracks.
“Hang on!”
Harold instantly furrowed his brow. “What’s the matter, Ms. Vivian? Is there something wrong?”
“There is, indeed!” Winnie exclaimed. Before anyone else could react, she pulled her hand away from
the man and removed her hood.
Everything happened so fast that Harold and his subordinates were shocked. The more vigilant ones
had already trained their guns on Winnie.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWhen she saw the scene before her, Winnie knitted her eyebrows together in annoyance.
She scanned the faces in the crowd, and her gaze finally came to rest on Harold’s.
Harold had curled his lips back into a smile. “What’s wrong?”
Despite his gentle demeanor, he made no effort to get his subordinates to lower their guns.
That, of course, didn’t sit well with Winnie. “Don’t you think you’re being overcautious, Mr. Horton? I’ve
only just realized that someone’s missing. Must you guys react like this?”
“Oh?” Harold remarked, still grinning away. “In that case, why don’t you enlighten me, Ms. Vivian?
Who’s missing?”
“How forgetful of you, Mr. Horton. Where’s Chris? I said I wanted him to get on his knees and beg me
for forgiveness! Didn’t you promise me that last night, Mr. Horton? Has it slipped your mind already?”
Harold’s eyes grew wide as realization dawned upon him. “Oh, you meant Chris! In all honesty, Ms.
Vivian, I’ve asked him along, but he turned me down. He’s one of my good friends, so I don’t wish to
force him either.”
“Are you kidding me, Mr. Horton?” Winnie scoffed. “Between you and Chris, who has more authority
here? How can he not obey your orders?”
“Haha. I heard you lashed out at Chris last night, Ms. Vivian. Why go to such lengths, though? Don’t
you know that forcing things to happen seldom provides positive results?”
After taking a deep breath, Winnie retorted, “Mr. Horton, I’ll be the one to judge whether my method
works or not. If you behave similarly and go back on your word after our discussion to work together,
then I don’t see the point in visiting your laboratory today.”
With that, she turned around and prepared to leave.
Upon seeing the scene unfold in front of them, Harold’s subordinate immediately aimed his gun at the
back of Winnie’s head.
Feeling amused, Winnie slowly turned around and stared Harold in the eye.
“Do you think I’m someone who fears death, Mr. Horton? If I did, I wouldn’t have gone into this line!”
The next second, Winnie launched her attack.
By the time Harold and his subordinates realized what was happening, Winnie was already clutching
the gun previously aimed at her.
More than ten seconds later, she expertly took the gun apart and dropped its parts all over the ground.
For the first time, Harold was no longer smiling as he gestured for the rest of his subordinates to put
their guns down.
“Are you that determined to get Chris here?”
To his surprise, Winnie chuckled. “Why do you still not get it, Mr. Horton? I couldn’t care less about
Chris or anyone else, for that matter. All I want is for you to keep your promise.”
Even though Harold was impressed by Winnie’s courage in the face of danger and her ability to
dismantle a gun, he also couldn’t deny that he was shocked at her temper.
How is she so calm and impulsive at the same time? More importantly, why would she lose her cool
over a man? Then again, I guess people with such feisty personalities are much better than those who
keep to themselves.
“I want someone to get Chris here this instance! Even if he refuses, do whatever it takes to haul him
over!” Harold ordered before smiling and turning to Winnie. “Will this do, Ms. Vivian? Rest assured that
I, Harold Horton, would never go back on my word. I merely assumed you had lost interest in Chris
after last night.”
Winnie curled her lips into a half smile. “I know this is your territory, Mr. Horton, but now that we’re
working together, I’d prefer it if you stopped making assumptions.”
“Very well, then,” Harold replied without missing a beat. “I’ve given you my promise, so it’s only right
that I do as you say.”
Winnie simply hummed in acknowledgment and said nothing more.
Not long after, Christopher appeared and strode toward Harold.
He frowned when he noticed Winnie but quickly recomposed himself.
Unfortunately, that action of his didn’t go unnoticed by the eagle-eyed Harold.
“Hey, Hal. You were looking for me?” Christopher asked.
Harold’s expression turned serious as he patted the man’s shoulder.
“As you know, Ms. Vivian’s safety is of the utmost importance to us. Given your skills and reflexes,
you’re the only one I can trust to protect her. That’s why I want you to accompany her on this trip. Do
whatever it takes to keep her safe even if it means taking a bullet for her. Do you understand?”
Christopher pursed his lips and refused to answer. Oh, come on! I know Harold’s only bullsh*tting me!
Not wanting to waste any more time, Harold hugged Christopher and whispered into his ear, “Hey, I’ll
make it up to you, pal.”
Upon hearing that, Christopher sucked in a deep breath and finally spoke. “Okay. I’ll do my best to
protect Ms. Vivian for you, Hal.”
“Good,” Harold said as he smiled and patted Christopher on his arm. “Go on, then. You and Ms. Vivian
will be riding in that jeep.”
“All right!” Christopher said before walking toward Winnie, who was leaning casually against the jeep.
Winnie couldn’t help but narrow her eyes when she saw the man approaching.
When Christopher told Winnie to put on her hood, she gave a derisive snort and slapped him hard
across the face, much to everyone’s horror.
Since they were putting on an act in front of Harold, Winnie made sure to use a lot of strength, to the
point where blood started trickling down Christopher’s lips.
Harold winced at the sight of it, but Christopher remained silent.
“You’re an ungrateful sc*mbag!” Winnie scolded before grabbing the hood and climbing into the jeep.
As soon as she wore her hood, Harold walked toward Christopher and gave him a comforting look.
Christopher, on the contrary, glared at Winnie with pure hatred and disgust.
When Harold saw how the two of them hated each other with a vengeance, any doubts that he used to
have about their relationship were now completely gone.
Just like that, the two enemies got into the same jeep.
Christopher, too, had to follow the rules by wearing a thick hood that obscured his vision.
However, since they were in an open-top jeep, there was still a lot of space and freedom for Winnie to
pull her little tricks.
Furthermore, she had Christopher shielding and covering for her, which helped facilitate her efforts
even more.
Winnie had long pierced holes in the honey-filled condom, but thanks to the excellent seal integrity, the
honey would only seep out when the condom was squeezed.
That, as it turned out, was what Winnie was doing.
Letting the honey drip onto the grass would undoubtedly attract swarms of ants, and given how thick
the honey was, it’d take quite some time before the ants could finish consuming it.
Therefore, no matter how many detours Harold took in the mountains, the ants would always leave a
trail that one could track over time.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmAlong the way, Winnie decided to communicate with Christopher through morse code as she continued
squeezing the honey out.
Even though there were many variations of morse code, Christopher and Winnie had come up with a
new decoding method when the latter first arrived at Harold’s.
In other words, they now had an exclusive set of codes that were more efficient and easier to decode.
Since Christopher’s task was to memorize the route, Winnie knew that was the first thing she had to
ask: Are your men in place? The ant trail will only last so long. There’s no time to lose.
Christopher: Don’t worry. They’ve been hiding in the mountains since last night.
Winnie: All right. By the way, I’m sorry for hitting you again earlier.
Christopher: It’s okay. It didn’t hurt at all.
After many twists and turns, the car finally rolled to a stop.
Winnie figured they must have arrived at the factory, which meant there was a possibility of getting
another body search.
That, however, didn’t faze her. After all, she had already stuffed the used condom into her innerwear.
The small and thin piece of rubber was difficult enough to be seen by the naked eye, and she was sure
the machines wouldn’t be able to detect it either.
Once the body search was over, Harold finally removed Winnie’s hood and led her into a two-storied
factory.
The second story had a sentry post, while the first story was like a warehouse that stored various raw
materials, including poppy flowers.
The laboratory was all the way down in the basement.
That said, the entrance to the basement was very well-hidden, and people who weren’t in the know
would never be able to find it.
It was such a secretive place that Harold didn’t even bring Christopher along, choosing instead to lead
Winnie to it with two bodyguards in tow.
The basement was dark and damp, and the security measures were even tighter than Winnie had
imagined.
The laboratory door was so thick that it was virtually impenetrable by ordinary bullets. A password was
required to open the door, and even then, one had to be in full protective gear before they were allowed
to enter.
Winnie followed Harold closely and soon arrived at a small surveillance room, where one had a clear
view of everything happening in the laboratory.
Two men were sitting inside, but because of their protective gear and gas masks, Winnie found it
impossible to make out their faces.
She wasn’t even sure if Riley was in the laboratory, but one thing she knew for sure was that he only
had one ear.
Determined to single him out from the crowd, Winnie began staring intently at the surveillance
monitors, to the point where Harold couldn’t help but arch his eyebrow in amusement.
“What are you looking at, Ms. Vivian? Are you interested in my goods? Don’t forget they only have a
ninety percent purity.”
Having been jolted out of her daze by Harold’s probing questions, Winnie frowned.
“What do you mean by that, Mr. Horton? Are you insinuating that I want to steal your formula? The only
things I can see in this footage are your staff’s heads and hands. The drug names and dosages are
barely visible, so how on earth am I supposed to steal anything?”
“You’ve misunderstood me, Ms. Vivian. I was only joking,” Harold said with a chuckle. “Anyway, it’s time
for you to take center stage, Ms. Vivian. Let me have a look at your new product!”
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