’Mindless Thrill’ observed through the telescope as Louis arrived with a group to pick up Alexander, but he couldn’t hear what Alexander and the others were saying. He knew his plan had failed, and it was likely he would never have another chance to target Alexander again. A strong sense of danger surged in his heart. He climbed down from the large rock, squeezed through the bushes, and quickly got into his car, speeding back to the city.
On the way, he booked a flight abroad for later that night, scheduled to depart a little after 8 p.m. At the sa ti, he logged into ’Glory of the Dead’ and sent a ssage to his two accomplices:
"Things aren’t looking good. I’m leaving the country. You guys should get out quickly too."
Both of them responded with the sa question:
"What about the money?"
Mindless Thrill glanced ahead and saw a residential complex nearby. At the entrance of "Starlight Complex" on Cedar Road, there was a package locker.
"I’ll stash so cash and gold bars there. I’ll send you the locker number and password in a bit."
Over the past five years, he had gathered a lot of cash and gold bars by withdrawing money from the bank and buying gold. He kept them in his car so he could leave quickly if needed. After parking the car, he put on a mask, stored two bags of cash and gold bars in separate lockers, and then sent the locker numbers and passwords to his accomplices. Finally, he bid farewell:
"Ga over. Never to et again."
The other two replied:
"Never to et again."
After saying that, Mindless Thrill began to deactivate his account. But the deactivation process was fraught with difficulties—full of glitches and crashes. Frustrated, he kept slamming his phone against the car seat and shouted,
"D****n it! I’m already down on my luck, and now this c**ppy ga is trying to ss with . Do you believe I’ll go complain to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology about you?"
After struggling for over ten minutes, he finally managed to deactivate his account. He let out a long sigh of relief. Even though Alexander was a genius with substantial funds and connections, it was unlikely he could find him in such a short ti.
Next, he encountered sothing that infuriated him even more. He cursed inwardly,
"Is it already this crowded on the streets so early in the morning?"
He lived in a bustling area, and during the morning rush hour, what would normally be a half-hour drive into the city turned into over an hour. While stuck in traffic, he called his company to request leave, claiming that his grandfather was critically ill and he needed to take a few days off urgently. The leave request went smoothly, and his boss did not raise any suspicions.
When he got ho, he imdiately started packing. He left behind anything non-essential, avoided large and bulky items, and only took necessary docunts, two sets of clothes, and valuable small items such as designer watches, diamond-studded brooches, platinum rings, jade bracelets, and a lucky charm pendant. He packed everything into a single suitcase. He then shut the doors and windows, turned off the electricity and water, left his residence, and drove to the airport.
He wasn’t sure if he was overreacting, but he couldn’t afford to take the risk. Upon arriving at the airport, he booked a short-term room at the airport hotel. Not daring to go outside, he stayed hidden in the room, ordered room service, and after eating, went to sleep. He slept until 7 p.m., when his phone alarm went off. He grabbed his suitcase, went downstairs, completed the check-out process at the front desk, and walked out of the hotel, ready to check in for his flight.
The next mont, the dashing Louis, accompanied by two n in suits, appeared before him. With polite courtesy, he said,
"Mr. Lewis, Mr. Moran requests your presence."
Mindless Thrill opened his mouth, trying to feign calm, and asked,
"Who is Mr. Moran? What does he want with ?"
However, before he could say anything further, his legs went weak from panic, and he fell to the ground. Louis looked down at him with a smile.
"Help Mr. Lewis into the car."
Mindless Thrill always believed he had excellent psychological resilience. He had often imagined how he would remain calm and composed if one day he were to be found by Alexander, and then escape, just like a secret agent in the movies. However, when that mont finally arrived, he realized it was nothing like he had imagined. After being dragged into the car, he felt like a fish out of water, his hands and feet trembling uncontrollably with fear, nearly gasping for breath.
"How... how did you find ?" he stamred.
Louis sat beside him, adjusted his glasses, and said slowly,
"I’ll tell you only two things." He cleared his throat.
"First, Lockwood did not detect any DNA on the cigarette butts or beverage wrappers left by the killer. After all, five years have passed, and the physical evidence has mostly deteriorated. Second, after Lockwood learned about Mindless Thrill from the thugs, he used his advanced hacking skills to infiltrate the ga’s backend. He found Mindless Thrill’s registration information and even monitored your conversations with your accomplices. Right now, Mr. Moran’s people are stationed near the package lockers at Starlight Complex, waiting for your accomplices to show up."
Mindless Thrill’s body was already trembling, but upon hearing this, his face turned ashen, his shaking ceased, and his eyes lost all their light. He had fallen into the trap. From the mont he saw Lockwood trending, he began to panic and lost his composure...
In the hotel’s presidential suite, Alexander said to Avery, who was eating,
"Miss Carter, Louis has caught Mindless Thrill."
Avery, who had slept from noon until evening and was now quite hungry, asked while eating,
"What’s the situation with the killer?"
Alexander replied,
"He is a senior engineer at one of the chemical companies under the Moran Group. It’s likely that he either manufactured or acquired the explosives."
Avery nodded and asked,
"What about his accomplices?"
Alexander replied,
"My people are stationed near the package lockers. They should be able to catch the accomplices soon."
Avery patted her small belly contentedly and said,
"Oh, since the killer has been caught, I should head back now."
"Alright," Alexander said, not insisting she stay. "You’ve had a long day, so you shouldn’t drive. I’ll send soone to take you ho."
It wasn’t that he didn’t want Avery to stay, but he still had a lot of things to do next. In addition, he didn’t want the Moran family’s people to notice her presence. It was better for Avery to head back early.
Avery reminded Alexander,
"Be sure to let know once you’ve clarified all the details of the case."
Alexander smiled and replied,
"This case owes a lot to you, Miss Carter. You have the right to know all the details."
Avery nodded, put on her mask, and stood up.
"Well then, I’ll be leaving."
Alexander looked apologetic and said,
"I’m sorry, but this is Valemont City, and there are too many people keeping an eye on . I won’t be able to see you out. Please make sure to let know when you get ho."
"No need,"Avery said, waving her hand. "I can go down on my own. You go ahead and handle your work."
Two hours later, Avery arrived back at her ho. Although the main building’s lobby lights were on, it was nearly ten in the evening, so she went straight to the side building without entering the main one.
As soon as she reached the second floor, she saw that the study door was open. Her father was sitting by the desk lamp, wearing glasses and reading a financial magazine. She paused at the study door and said,
"Dad, I’m back. It’s almost ten o’clock. Rember to go to bed early."
Wesley smiled as soon as he saw her and took off his glasses.
"Avery, you’re back. Are you tired?"
Avery shook her head and said,
"I’m not tired."
Wesley said,
"Your older brother will be coming to the city tomorrow to discuss with your mom about providing local dishes for the restaurant."
Avery smiled and said,
"Great! I’m looking forward to seeing him too."
To be precise, she had seen her brother in photos. He looked incredibly handso, like the noble and straightforward hero from a popular film from thirty or forty years ago.
Wesley smiled and said,
"Even though he seems very composed, I suspect he won’t sleep well tonight. He’ll probably be tossing and turning, trying to ntally prepare himself so that he won’t be too nervous when he sees you."
Avery chuckled.
"Then I’ll need to prepare well too, so I don’t disappoint him."
Wesley hesitated for a mont before continuing.
"Avery, I’m not sure if this is the right ti, but your mom and I have been wanting to discuss so family matters with you, especially regarding your twin sister, Zilvia."
Avery’s heart pounded wildly, and she instinctively placed her hands on her knees, gripping them tightly. For the first ti in her life, she felt a deep fear of hearing what was coming next.
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