Silence ensued. The atmosphere was so quiet, one could
hear a pin drop. Everyone was stunned and dumbfounded the moment the
elderly gentleman in the suit knelt down in front of Dustin Rhys. No one
had remotely expected that such an influential man with the power to make
Hunter Anderson grovel in front of him would kneel in front of Dustin! It
was almost like he was a slave who was greeting his master. What the hell
was going on here?! "Uh-.." Chris hummed and froze on the spot, his face
full of disbelief. He had thought that Dustin was only good at fighting,
but who knew that this man turned out to be more powerful and influential
than he thought? Hunter Anderson was already an influential figure in his
own right, wasn't he? So why did he have to grovel and act meekly in
front of the older gentleman in the suit? Surely, the older gentleman in
the suit was even more powerful, right? So why on earth was this big shot
kneeling in front of Dustin Rhys?! How dare that bastard. This was simply
too humiliating! The scene in front of him clearly showed him how
terrifying the man he despised, Dustin Rhys, truly was. "No… that's
impossible! Absolutely impossible!" thought Edward, who was scared
shitless at this point. From the moment he witnessed the older man in the
suit kneel, his spirit had been utterly shaken! This instantly shattered
his remaining hope for survival. Now, only despair and fear were left in
its place. Who would have thought that his perceived lifeline would turn
out to be Dustin's servant of all people? Shit, what kind of monster had
he gotten himself tangled with this time? He was just way too different
from Chris and Edward. At this moment, Travis felt his death looming on
the horizon… He reckoned that it was his fate that he would not be able
to leave this place alive today the moment he found out about Dustin's
true identity. If he put up a fight, he, along with his entire family
would be eradicated! "Dustin, it's been ten years. I can't believe I
finally found you!" Sir Francis said as he knelt on the ground. Tears
streamed down his face profusely, but he didn't give a shit what other
people thought of him at the time. Dustin, on the other hand, didn't even
flinch at this. Instead, he looked at him indifferently, as if he was a
complete stranger. "Fuck off!" he screamed as he averted his gaze from
Sir Francis before walking up to Edward. His intent to kill was at its
peak now! "P–please don't kill me… Please don't kill me. Just spare my
life, I'll do anything!" Edward whimpered In fear. pissing himself in the
process. Even so, he didn't stop bowing his head and begging for mercy.
"If I don't kill you now, I won't be able to
let go of this hatred in my heart!" Dustin growled maniacally as he put
one foot forward to stomp on Edward's chest, which caused the latter's
eyes to widen, and look up at him with resignation and fear. So much for
a peaceful death. "Mr. Rhys! I'm willing to accept death as my
punishment, but please spare the lives of my puny subordinates!" When
Dustin's gaze landed on Travis, they immediately knew that their time on
this earth was up. Without another word, the both of them took out their
knives and slit their necks simultaneously. No one had the privilege of
negotiating with Dustin at this point. After seeing the two corpses fall
to the ground, Dustin said nothing as he left the scene immediately with
Dahlia in his arms. Sir Francis let out a long sigh, his expression
conflicted. Although he'd already found him, seeing how turbulent his
heart was now, he wondered if he'd ever return to normal. "How should we
go about this, Sir Francis?" Hunter asked with his head lowered. Standing
before the older man, his status and reputation were like pieces of paper
that could be torn into shreds at any time. "Don't let the news get out.
As for everyone related to this matter, dispose of them all," Sir Francis
replied Indifferently. The cavalier manner in which he said it made
Hunter's heart quiver in fear. Does he not know the number of people who
would have to suffer because of this? "P–please don't kill me! I'm
friends with Dustin!" hollered Chris, who had been hiding all this time.
He ran out in a panic the moment he saw that the elite forces surrounding
him were preparing to burn down the house. "You're a friend of Dustin's?"
Sir Francis asked as he looked him up and down. "That's right, that's
right! We're best buds! We even had dinner together before!" Chris nodded
profusely, akin to a chicken pecking rice off the ground. At this point,
he'd do anything to stay alive. "Is that so? Then can I trouble you to
ensure the he doesn't stay out too late?" Sir Francis requested, his tone
softer now. "Yes, of course, I'll definitely tell him that!" Chris
immediately assured him. "Someone please drive this gentlemah." Sir
Francis gestured. "N–no, no, it's fine… You don't have to! I can go back
by myself!" Chris replied while waving his hands in the air frantically.
How could he still have the nerve to get in someone else's car when he
was already this scared? Sir Francis didn't pursue the matter further and
merely waved his hands to let his team know to disperse. "I–I'll get going then…" Chris murmured before
fleeing as if he'd just escaped from prison. He thanked God for his quick
wits, which helped him save his skin just now. However, he reckoned that
he couldn't stay in Stonia for much longer. He decided to leave once he'd
saved up enough money. 1 "Sir Francis, I'm convinced that man just now
wasn't very honest with us," Hunter remarked respectfully. "It doesn't
matter, he's just an ant to us, so it doesn't matter if we kill him or
let him live." Sir Francis said nonchalantly. It was evident to him that
Chris was lying the whole time, but he did not dare take the risk, as he
feared that Dustin would not take too kindly if he involved himself in
his matters too much. He certainly didn't want to make himself an enemy
of the Kirin! Half an hour later, over at the Peaceful Medical Center,
Dustin felt his heart shatter as he gazed at the bloody gash on Dahlia's
body. Although the two were divorced, it wasn't easy to shrug off three
whole years of feelings toward one another. Some emotions simply could
not be contained, it seemed. After taking a deep breath, he took off her
clothes and began carefully cauterizing the wound for her. Although his
movements were subtle, when touching certain wounds, her unconscious body
would still twitch from the pain involuntarily. This prompted him to be
more careful in handling her. Whether it was cleaning up, disinfecting,
putting on ointment or badges, he made sure to be extra cautious every
step of the way. Once everything was done, he breathed a sigh of relief,
not noticing that a film of sweat had formed on his forehead. Just as he
was about to up and leave, a slender hand suddenly reached out to grab
his wrist. "Don't go… don't go. Don't leave me here…" In her unconscious
state, Dahlia looked as if she was experiencing a nightmare. Her tightly
closed eyes kept rolling from side to side as she kept muttering
inaudibly. Dustin fought to control his rising emotions. "I'm not going
anywhere, I'm right here." He slowly moved to sit next to her, holding
her hand with both of his hands. "D–don't go. Dustin… Seeming as if her
sense of security had returned, her murmurs slowly became softer, and she
started to calm down. However, she held on to his hand for dear life and
refused to let go. "I'm sorry…" he mumbled as he felt the force behind
her fingertips. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of heartache at this.
In the past, she had never shown him her soft side and always insisted on
being a strong, Independent woman. However, after today, he realized that
the icy businesswoman lying in front of him was also a woman who needed
someone to care for her.