Chapter 33: Chapter 33: Vincent's Discovery
Afternoon.
"Boss, I'm heading over to check on Mr. Alexander."
Claire smiled sweetly at her boss, gave a quick nod, and left with her small handbag.
The boss didn't say anything. Everyone in the company knew that this woman had an old connection with Mr. Alexander, making her the perfect person to oversee the project's progress.
After stepping outside, Claire felt something was off, as if she was being watched. She glanced around but saw no one, dismissing the feeling as her imagination.
Driving her newly purchased luxury car, she headed towards the old town.
At that moment, a black Jetta also started its engine, following her at a steady pace.
Smith, who was driving, wore a furious expression:
"Dammit, I know this woman all too well. She has a paralyzed mother in the hospital to support. Where'd she get the money to buy a car?
That car's not cheap—clearly a gift from someone else!"
Who gave her the car?
Obviously, it was Ethan Blake!
This woman is definitely Ethan Blake's mistress!
Smith sneered:
"Ethan Blake's salary over the past few years wouldn't be enough to afford such a car, let alone buy it for someone else! He must have taken bribes!"
He continued analyzing:
"She left before the end of the workday, and I've heard that Ethan Blake isn't at the central office today either. You see what I'm getting at, Vincent?"
How could Vincent not understand?
She must be going to meet up with Ethan Blake in secret!
Vincent's face flushed with excitement:
"Hurry, follow her, but don't let her notice us! I have a hunch we're going to catch Ethan Blake doing something dirty today!"
Smith operated the car with military precision:
"Relax, I specialized in reconnaissance back in military school!"
Despite his poor moral character, Smith was highly skilled in his field.
Claire, being just a sales manager, was completely unaware that she was being followed.
She drove all the way to the old town.
Thanks to the construction workers' relentless efforts over the past two weeks, Alexander's garden estate had started taking shape.
Even the muddy roads had been paved with asphalt.
Such rapid construction would be impossible back on Earth.
Here, labor was much cheaper, and if not for the recent monster troubles, they could work around the clock.
Seeing this, Vincent stuttered:
"Th-this... is Ethan Blake's?"
Smith sneered:
"Of course! He's the head of the Security Officer Division, controlling all the city's security officers. Plenty of opportunities for corruption!"
Vincent began fantasizing about taking Ethan Blake down and becoming the head of the Security Officers himself.
Money, power, women—he could have it all!
A life of indulgence and luxury!
Vincent took a deep breath:
"Turn on the security camera and record everything! This will all be evidence in court!"
Smith, looking like a man on the verge of revenge, replied:
"Got it!"
Claire's red car stopped in front of a small courtyard. Vincent and Smith parked at a distance, careful not to alert her.
"Smith, keep recording from here. I'll follow her to see what's going on."
Vincent got out of the car and followed Claire.
A few workers noticed them but didn't react, assuming they were engineers sent by the higher-ups. The workers simply continued their tasks.
In Alexander's courtyard.
Alexander was checking the backend of the Mercenary Guild app.
Since the "Vine of Ascension" had been planted, the guild's promotional efforts had intensified. Over the past few days, dozens of new mercenaries had joined.
They were mostly ordinary people who had either failed their awakening or awakened to non-combat professions and were struggling to survive.
Because the Vine of Ascension didn't contain the energy of the Heavenly Flame of Creation, those who awakened through virus transformation were not as easily controlled as those who awakened through the super fruit.
Thus, Alexander had tightened the rules for them.
They were forbidden from using virus-related abilities in front of others, and even if they had to use them, they were required to wear masks.
They were allowed to seek revenge but were not permitted to commit acts of wanton violence.
Even if some didn't care for Alexander's rules, they were courting death.
What they didn't know was that the Mercenary Guild app had both tracking and eavesdropping functions.
Rosie would immediately contact Ethan Blake, who would lead the security officers to kill any offenders.
Eliminating awakened criminals would only bolster Ethan Blake's achievements.
"Master Alexander, the monster corpses have been loaded onto the trucks. Should we deliver them tonight?"
Claire asked respectfully, her head bowed, not daring to meet Alexander's gaze.
Nearly a thousand monster corpses had been processed, and thanks to Ethan Blake's operations, over 500 were ready to be transported to Alexander.
Handling the transportation was Claire's responsibility.
As expected, professional tasks should be left to the professionals, and Claire had done an excellent job.
Lying on his lounge chair, Alexander gave a look of approval.
"Deliver them tonight," Alexander said. "By the way, how is your mother?"
Claire froze for a moment, then felt a chill run down her spine.
Was this a threat?
She hurriedly raised her head:
"Master Alexander, I will definitely complete the task. If something goes wrong, I can take my own life right away—no one will be able to get anything out of me!"
Transporting that many monster corpses was risky. If a security officer caught them, it would be impossible to explain.
Alexander chuckled:
"What kind of person do you think I am?"
There wouldn't be any security officers setting up checkpoints along Claire's route, not even traffic officers. Ethan Blake wasn't one to leave things to chance.
The only danger would be if Claire made a foolish mistake and exposed everything.
Alexander continued:
"Even kids in kindergarten know that good children should get a little red flower. I can arrange for your mother to be transferred to Bluewater Medical University. Her chances of recovery will be higher there."
Bluewater Medical University's First Affiliated Hospital was the best hospital in Bluewater City.
Ordinary people could only dream of getting treated there, and securing an appointment with a specialist was nearly impossible.
Alexander remembered that there was a hunter named Lewis who was a doctor at that hospital.
With some minor manipulation, it wouldn't be hard to arrange for Claire's mother to be admitted without Dr. Lewis discovering Claire's background.
Claire's face lit up with joy:
"Really? Thank you, Master Alexander!"
Alexander added:
"Of course, bad children are punished for their mistakes too. Just do your job well."
Now that was a threat.
Claire had once thought that she held some bargaining power, knowing many of the Mercenary Guild's secrets. But now, she was completely at Alexander's mercy.
"Who goes there!"
A furious shout came from outside.
This was followed by the sound of a brief scuffle.
Soon, Smith dragged a slick-haired young man into the courtyard:
"Brother, this guy was sneaking around outside. How should we handle him?"
Alexander's face darkened as he glanced at Claire:
"Is this one of your people?"
Claire panicked and dropped to her knees:
"No! He's definitely not one of our company's workers."
The young man was none other than Vincent, and he was just as startled when he saw Alexander:
"Who are you? Where's Ethan Blake?"
Alexander frowned. Ethan Blake?
At that moment, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Rosie.
[Vincent, head of the East District Security Bureau, and younger brother of Welma, the Director of the Bluewater City Security Bureau.]
[.]
Alexander quickly pieced the situation together.
It seemed Vincent had come looking for trouble with Ethan Blake but had stumbled upon the wrong person—himself.
He cast a meaningful glance at Claire:
"Next time, pay more attention when you're walking. You didn't even notice you had a tail."
Claire kept her head down, too afraid to respond.
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