Relationships and Power: Understated Dominance by by Marina Vittori

An Understated Dominance: By Marina Vittori​

Dahlia Nicholson and Dustin Rhys have been married for three years. After Dahlia achieves rapid success, she decides to end her marriage with Dustin, viewing him as a burden. Little does she know that all her accomplishments were actually thanks to him.​

CHAPTER 1
My wife is a CEO, she always hates me for being lazy and wants to divorce me. But she doesn't know that her success is bestowed by me.

“Dustin, here is the divorce agreement prepared by Ms. Nicholson. All you need to do is sign them.”

In the president’s office of the Quine Group, the secretary, Lyra Blaine, placed a piece of A4 paper on the table. A man sat opposite her, dressed in plain clothing.

“Divorce? What do you mean?”

Dustin Rhys was taken aback.

“Do you not understand what I’m saying? Your marriage with Ms. Nicholson is over. You’re not even on the same level anymore. Your existence is nothing but a smear on the president’s reputation!”

Lyra pulled no punches as she spoke.

“A smear on her reputation?” Dustin frowned. “Is that how she thinks of me?”

Back when they first got married, the Nicholson family was in ruinous debt. He was the one who helped them when they were at their lowest point. Now that they were rich, Dahlia Nicholson was ready to just kick him out.

“Something like that.” Lyra poked her chin toward the magazine on the table. A photo of a beautiful woman was printed on the front page. “Look at the headline on this magazine, Dustin. Ms. Nicholson’s net worth has hit one billion in the course of just three years, a feat no short of a miracle. She’s now the most desired woman in Swinton! With all this, she’s destined for greatness. But you, you’re just a regular joe. You don’t deserve her at all. I hope that you’ll see some sense and do the right thing.”

When Dustin remained silent, Lyra frowned.

“I know you’re not happy with this, but this is reality,” she continued. “You might have helped Ms. Nicholson when she was in trouble, but she has repaid you for everything you’ve done for her over the last three years. In fact, you’re the one who owes her now!”

“Is our marriage just a business deal to her, then?” Dustin took a deep breath to suppress the emotions within. “If she wants to divorce me, let her speak to me herself.”

“Ms. Nicholson is very busy. She doesn’t need to trouble herself with such trifling matters.”

“Trifling matters?” Dustin was stunned. Then he laughed bitterly. “Is that so? Is divorce a trifling matter to her? She can’t even find the time to speak to me. Truly, she’s that unattainable now!”

“Dustin, don’t delay this any longer.” Lyra pushed the divorce agreement toward him again. “Just sign here and you’ll get a car and a house as compensation. On top of that, you’ll also get eight million dollars. This is more than what you’ll be able to earn in your lifetime!”

“Eight million dollars is a lot, but…I don’t need it. I will sign the divorce papers if she comes personally. Otherwise, I won’t sign anything,” Duston said coldly.

“Don’t go too far, Dustin!” Lyra slammed her hand on the table. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. With all her power and resources, Ms. Nicholson can divorce you easily. It’s only because she appreciates her past relationship with you that she’s allowing you to keep your dignity intact. Don’t provoke her!”

“My dignity?” Dustin was a little amused by that. She didn’t even want to speak to him directly to divorce him. What kind of dignity was that? Moreover, if she really did appreciate their relationship, then why was she threatening him now?

“I don’t think we have anything else to talk about, then.”

Unwilling to argue, Dustin stood up and made to leave.

“Dustin Rhys! You—”

Just as Lyra was about to lose her cool, a curvy woman in a long black dress walked in. Her skin was as white as snow, and her features were delicate. Her lofty aura and curvaceous figure made her look like a goddess right out of a painting.

“You’re finally here.”

Dustin felt complicated emotions when he saw the beautiful woman. They had been married for three years, during which they treated each other with care and respect. But this was how it ended. He still didn’t know what he had done wrong.

“I’m sorry for being late, I was caught up with something else.”

Dahlia Nicholson sat down. Her expression was as impassive as ever.

“You certainly are busy, if you need your secretary to help you deal with your divorce,” Dustin said.

Hearing this, Dahlia frowned slightly. However, she did not explain herself. Instead, she said, “Since you’re here, let’s get straight to the point. Let’s end this on a pleasant note. I’m sorry I have to do this to you, so you can have the car and the house, plus eight million dollars as alimony. How does that sound?”

At that, she placed a card on the table.

“Do you really think our relationship can be measured by money?” Dustin asked.

“Too little? That’s alright. Let me know what you want. I’ll give you anything within my power,” Dahlia said placidly.

“I don’t think you understood me. Let me rephrase my question. Are money and power that important to you?” Dustin was truly bewildered.

Dahlia went over to the windows and looked out over the city. There was determination in her eyes when she said, “To me, yes, they’re very important.”

“You’ve earned enough to feed yourself for the rest of your life. Why do this?”

“Dustin, that’s where you and I diverge in philosophy. You’ll never understand what I really want.” Dahlia shook her head in disappointment.

They weren’t just incompatible in status and power; they were also incompatible in their principles. Most importantly, she did not see any hope for the future in him.

“You’re right. How would I know what you’re thinking?” Dustin laughed bitterly. “All I know is to cook for you when you’re hungry, prepare your coat when it’s cold out, and carry you to the hospital when you’re sick.”

“There’s no point in going into this now.” Dahlia’s expression held complicated emotions, but it was soon covered up by determination.

“You’re right.” Dustin nodded without any emotion. “I heard that you’ve been close with the heir of the Nolan family. Is it because of him?”

Dahlia was about to deny it when she gave it a second thought. In the end, she nodded.

“You can say that.”

“Okay. I hope you’re happy with him.” Dustin smiled and signed the divorce agreement without any more hesitation. All he felt now was disappointment. Ironically, today was also their wedding anniversary. There was cruel humor in divorcing him on the day they had gotten married.

“I don’t want the money, I just want that crystal necklace back. My mother left it to me before she died so that I can give it to my wife.”

“Okay.”

Dahlia nodded and gave him the crystal necklace.

“From today onward, we will have nothing to do with each other!”

Dustin put on the necklace and left. He had no more gentleness in his expression; all that was left was distant aloofness.

“Did I do the right thing, Lyra?” Dahlia asked hesitantly.

Even though she was the one who asked for the divorce, she didn’t feel happy at all when it was finalized.

“Of course you did!” Lyra nodded. “You have the right to pursue happiness. Dustin does not deserve you at all. He’ll only bring you down with him. You’re destined to be the most powerful woman in Swinton!”

Dahlia did not answer her. As she watched Dustin leave, she felt as if she was losing something precious.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 111

Looking at Natasha’s closed eyes and puckered lips, she exuded a seductive aura that left Dustin stunned.

“What’s wrong with your mouth? Does it hurt or something?” Dustin was oblivious.

“What are you on about? I’m letting you kiss me.” Natasha explained with frustration.

“Huh?” Dustin’s eyes twitched in disbelief as he gasped audibly.

“This can’t be a good thing, can it?” He thought to himself.

“Fine, if you don’t want it so badly, then this will be the last time you’ll ever get it,” Natasha teased playfully.

“You idiot! If you don’t grab this opportunity now, when would you ever get another chance like this!” The one- eyed old man peeping from the second floor hollered. He sighed deeply, shaking his head in disbelief at Dustin.

“You’d better shut it!” Dustin turned around and shouted back, his eyes shooting daggers.

However, when he turned his head back again, his attention was drawn to Natasha’s flawless complexion and cherry–red lips, making him suddenly realize what he might be missing out on.

“Anyways, I’m done teasing you. Let’s get down to business,” Natasha interrupted his line of thought and continued. “Recently, Edwin headhunted the bulk of the main workforce behind Harmon Pharmaceuticals, so now we’re currently looking for leaders to reorganize the team. Given your exceptional medical skills, how
about working for me as an honorary chief physician?”

“I don’t think I’m a good fit for the job,” Dustin grumbled.

He was great when it came to healing and saving lives, but leadership was not his strong suit, and he had absolutely zero experience in that aspect.

“To be honest, you don’t need to do anything for the job. You just need to help me keep an eye on things once in a while. But if you ever decide that it’s not for you, then you just need to hold on to that title until I find another good fit for the position.”

Sensing his skepticism, Natasha put on a pitiful look for him again. “If you don’t help me out here, I’m afraid the only thing I can do at this point is to just sit and watch as Edwin obliterates Harmon Pharmaceuticals into dust.”

Feeling defeated and unsure of how to refuse her, he finally relented. “Fine…I suppose I can try.”

“I just knew that you’d help me! Let’s go! Come to my place first, then I can walk you through your duties and responsibilities!” Natasha exclaimed, immediately all eyes and smiles. With that, she grabbed him and
ushered him into her car.

Half an hour later over at Java Joys, Ruth sat at a table with her mother, Jessica. The two of them were busy entertaining a few guests. One of them was a well–dressed, handsome young man, while the other was an old man who had a lab coat on.

The young man spoke first, cutting straight to the point. “I won’t mince words this time, Ms. Ballard. The reason I’m here today is that I’m Investigating the traitor. On a related note, I’m also here to assist my cousin in taking down Swinton’s pharmaceutical market as soon as possible, mainly to pave the way for future developments in my family.”

“Natasha can definitely rest well with you helping around, Quentin. But you know how bad that temper of hers can get. She doesn’t like anyone meddling in her affairs, after all,” Jessica replied with a small grin.

“I’m afraid there’s nothing else I can do, not when this is the outcome of my family’s deliberations. As long as my cousin does not do anything that conflicts with the family’s interests, I will do the same for any of the decisions she makes,” Quentin said as he sipped his tea.

“Hmph, the way I see it, you’re obviously just here to spy on my sister!” Ruth, with a scowl on her face, muttered under her breath.

With her sister’s engagement with Tyler Grant coming up, the heads of the family wanted to take every precaution to make sure nothing happened, which was why they sent a spy over to keep watch on her at all times.

“Oh, and another thing, are the rumors about Edwin Hummer poaching the bulk of the workforce of the company and stealing Eternumax’s research documents true?” Quentin brought up the subject out of nowhere.

“Such rumors did surface, but I firmly believe that Natasha has the capacity to resolve everything well.“. Jessica’s expression was unwavering.

“Eternumax is the fruit of the Harmons‘ research for many years now, which could have been used as a trump card to dominate the pharmaceutical market in Swinton, but now that this incident has occurred, the guys over at HQ are furious, which is why they had to send an expert over.” Quentin explained before stretching out a hand to introduce the white–haired old man sitting next to him.

“This man here is Mr. Wangley. His medical research skills are second to none. So, from now on, he will become the next chief physician for Harmon Pharmaceuticals.”

But the moment Quentin finished his sentence, a cold voice suddenly boomed from outside the cafe.

“I’ve already found the right guy for the job, Quentin. So no need to bother Mr. Wangley or whatever his name is anymore!” Natasha exclaimed with Dustin, arm in arm, as the two of them stepped through the front doors boldly.

“What!” Quentin gasped with a frown. His expression darkened as he witnessed the lovey–dovey display between the two of them.

Before this, he’d caught wind of Natasha securing herself a boy toy, but he didn’t expect the rumors to be true.

If the Grant family heard about this, then the marriage between the two families would obviously be greatly affected.

 

[Gily]

Chapter 100

As the chaos unfolded in the outside world, nothing but peace and calm hung in the air of the inspector’s office at the police station.

“What’s the situation, Mr. Gardner? Has the kid confessed yet?” asked the Cobra impatiently as soon as he sat down.

“It doesn’t matter whether he has or not. Any prisoner who falls into my hands is sure to give in eventually.”

The fat inspector took another drag of his cigar with a smug expression.

“It’s not a problem if you’re on–site, but you can’t guarantee that things won’t take a turn for the worse. I think you ought to get it out of the way while you can,” the Cobra suggested.

“Why do you say that? Are you trying to teach me how to do my job?” Gardner cast a cold glare at him.

“Of course not. I wouldn’t even dream of it. It’s just that the kid has someone backing him up. If this isn’t resolved soon, trouble may arise,” the Cobra explained with a quick apology.

“What trouble could possibly arise? I’m just doing my job. Plus, this is my territory. Who would dare disobey me?” he reminded the man with certainty.

“Well, that’s true, Mr. Gardner. You are Mr. Granville’s son–in–law after all–who would dare disrespect you?” agreed the Cobra flatteringly.

“Hmph! At least you’re smart enough to know that!” the inspector guffawed.

He was perhaps prouder of having the mayor as his father–in–law than of his identity as an inspector. The title of mayor denoted the highest position of power in the whole of Swinton.

“Mr. Gardner, this is a gift from Sir Anderson. Please accept it,” said the Cobra as he held out a gift box with both hands.

Gardner opened the box, and the shimmer of the gold accessory put a smile on his face.

“Hehe… Sir Anderson is simply too generous. Send him my thanks! Also, reassure him that I will handle this with extra care and ensure nothing goes wrong!”

“Thank you, Mr. Gardner!” The Cobra bowed in gratitude.

While the two spoke, the squad leader who had made the arrest entered the room unannounced.

“Is something the matter?” Gardner instantly slammed the gift box shut.

“Sir, the Nicholson family has just sent someone to intercede, and they’ve offered to pay a hefty amount to release Dahlia Nicholson on bail,” the officer reported.

“Pah! That woman is a wanted criminal. There’s no way she can be released on ball. Send them away!” commanded Gardner with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Yes, sir.” The squad leader turned and left.

However, he knocked on the door again in less than a minute.

“What is it this time?!” barked the inspector, clearly losing his patience.

“Sir, Ms. Harmon called in earlier, claiming that we’ve arrested the wrong person. She has asked us to release Dustin Rhys immediately.” the officer said.

“Ms. Harmon? Do you mean Natasha Harmon?” Gardner’s expression froze.

“That’s her.” The officer nodded.

“Cobra, what’s going on? You failed to mention that this kid had anything to do with Natasha!” The inspector’s eyes turned feral Natasha was a lady of superiority in all aspects; money, power, and influence. Under normal circumstances, she was not someone he would offend for no reason.

“Mr. Gardner, he’s just a good–for–nothing Natasha dotes on. In fact, he has no proper background. With your status, you need not pay him much attention,” the Cobra assured the inspector.

“Hmph! That better be the case!” Slightly flustered, Gardner instructed the squad leader, “Tell Natasha Harmon that we are holding no such person in our patrol room.” Since he had already given his word to Duane, there was no going back. For now, the best course of action would be to sweep it under the carpet.

However, as soon as the squad leader left, Gardner’s phone started ringing.

“Mr. Anderson?” He was baffled by the caller ID displayed on the screen. For Mr. Anderson to call at this hour, could it be for the kid as well? Wasn’t this too much of a coincidence?!

Brushing the thought from his mind, he decided to pick up the call, still feeling apprehensive.

“Hello, Mr. Anderson! Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Mr. Gardner! Tell me, did you arrest a young man named Dustin Rhys?” Hunter cut right to the chase without wasting a second.

“Oh? Did I? Why is it that I’m not aware of this?” Mr. Gardner questioned. His heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t let it show. He asked, “Mr. Anderson, did something happen?”

“Gardner! Don’t you dare pull tricks on me! Heed my order and release Dustin right this instant! Or else, don’t blame me for cutting you off for good!” Hunter yelled into the phone.

“Mr. Anderson, there must have been a misunderstanding! I don’t know a Dustin at all. How about I look into it for you?” The officer desperately put on an act.

There was no way he would spill the beans on the plan.

“Alright then, you fat bastard. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into! Mark my words–if anything happens to Dustin, you and your whole family will go down with him!”

Hunter hung up the phone with a threatening growl:

“Did that old man get up on the wrong side of the bed today?” grumbled Gardner, his displeasure written all over his face.

“Sir, what’s wrong?” the Cobra asked cautiously.

“What’s wrong? Where did you get the guts to ask me that?” Gardner slapped a palm onto the table. “Didn’t you say the kid had no background? Mr. Anderson just called to speak to me about the fellow! Does that sound like someone with no background to you? Are you deliberately trying to set me up, you ************?!”

Natasha Harmon was already a handful. Now that Hunter Anderson was also in the picture, this was equivalent to stripping him down and tying him to a skewer over an open fire.

“No way! There’s no way that he has relations with Mr. Anderson! I–I really didn’t know about this,” the Cobra stuttered as the color drained from his face.

“Quick, call Duane now. This situation is getting way out of hand. He’ll have to pay me more if he wants this matter settled smoothly,” Gardner ordered.

“Alright, alright. I will call Sir Anderson immediately!”

The Cobra did not hesitate as he dialed Duane’s number. Over the phone, he briefly explained Gardner’s request.

After confirming an affirmative answer, he reported, “Sir, Sir Anderson has agreed to double the price as long as you can get the job done!”

Hearing this, the tense muscles on the inspector’s face finally eased.

"Sir Anderson is truly generous! In that case, I’ll do my very best!” he declared with a smile of contentment. Well, money did do wonders, after all. A middle ground is always more easily reached with a good payout.

100 Chapters? How many years chapters are there?!!

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 112

“Why’d you bring him here for, Natasha?” Jessica frowned as she probed.

Natasha replied calmly. “This is my turf, I can bring over whoever I like. Anyways, I’ve already found a good fit for the position of chief physician, and it’s Mr. Dustin!”

“What?!” Everyone exclaimed in shock when she announced that.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Natasha! Is he even qualified to serve as chief physician for the Harmons?”

Jessica voiced her displeasure.

“Dustin’s medical skills are top of the line, and he knows the ins and outs of medicine. I believe he won’t face any problems while serving as chief!” Natasha assured Jessica.

“W–what kind of nonsense are you talking about?!” Jessica hollered, obviously agitated by her response.

Ruth interrupted and clamored to her feet to de–escalate the situation. “Calm down, there’s no need to make a fuss. Let’s just sit down and talk it out. Dustin, let me introduce you to everyone. This is my mom, I believe you’ve met her before. And this man here is my cousin, Quentin Harmon.”

“A pleasure to meet the both of you,” Dustin responded politely with a few nods, with no hint of being condescending at all.

“So you’re the pretty boy who keeps clinging on to Natasha like a leech?” Quentin sneered after looking Dustin up and down. His gaze was full of disdain toward him. It was as if he was looking at ants crawling beneath his feet.

Quentin’s holler–than–thou attitude caused Dustin to raise an eyebrow, but he quickly returned to his normal resting face.

“Didn’t I ask a question? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Quentin taunted and lifted his chin as if to Intimidate Dustin.

“I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch that, Mr. Harmon,” Dustin replied in the calmest manner he could muster.

“You sure you didn’t catch that, or are you trying to play dumb with me right now?” Quentin egged him on before m letting out a sharp sigh. “Fine, I’ll reword my question then. Did you kill Tilda Snider?”

“I did, but-” Before Dustin could explain himself, he was interrupted by Quentin’s booming voice, “Great! Since you’ve already admitted to the crime, that makes my job a whole lot easier now. I’ll see to it that Tilda, one of the pillars in the Harmon household, doesn’t die in vain!” he proclaimed.

Immediately after that, he brought out an urn and slammed it on the table. “Now, I want you to look at her ashes and bow your fucking head down as an apology to her!”

“What?” Dustin frowned in confusion.

Quentin had shown his disdain before this, but now, it was obvious that he was planning to outright humiliate him in front of everyone.

“Do you have a few screws loose or something? Are you sure that the Tilda Snider you’re referring to is the same one who betrayed the Harmons and also plotted to assassinate Ms. Harmon here? Are you saying that I should’ve spared her?” Dustin questioned.

“Who are you to decide if she gets killed or not! Even if she’s a traitor, she still belongs to the Harmons. Her mess should be ours to clean up, not yours! Shouldn’t you choose your targets properly before disposing of them? Who are you to meddle in the Harmons” family business anyways?!” Quentin barked out.

Dustin merely let out an exasperated chuckle after hearing his bullshit speech.

Not only did he not receive any thanks for helping the Harmons dispose of their traitors, but now he was even about to get punished for it?

What an eye–opening way to show one’s gratitude!

“Enough talk. As long as you bow down to Tilda to make amends for my cousin’s sake, I’ll consider letting you off the hook,” Quentin ordered in an overbearing manner.

After all, he was but a tiny ant to him, he could step on it as much as he wanted.

“What if I refuse?” Dustin shrugged indifferently.

“What if you refuse? Then I’ll make sure to break your fucking legs!” Quentin sneered.

“I’d like to see you try,” Dustin replied as he narrowed his eyes. He had a wicked glint in his eyes.

“Tsk! Now you’re just asking for it!” Quentin exploded in rage and slammed his fists on the table and the sound of a teacup shattering beneath his feet could be heard.

“Quentin Harmon! If you dare so much as to touch even a single hair on Dustin, I’ll be the one to break your legs instead!” Natasha screamed in fury as she marched toward them.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

100 Chapters? How many years chapters are there?!!

Yes. There are more than 700 chapters
Thanks to Marina Vittori we are enjoying her piece of work. God bless her abundantly.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 113

“What?”

Natasha’s sudden outburst of anger caused Quentin to furrow his brows. “Are you seriously going to turn on me just to protect this boy toy of yours?”

One reason he wanted to humiliate Dustin so much was that he hated his guts, while the other was because he wanted to gauge Natasha’s reaction to the situation.

“Dustin saved my life, so if you dare so much as lay a finger on him, don’t blame me if I flip out on you!” Natasha warned Quentin sternly.

If not for the fact that he was her cousin, she would have slapped the shit out of him already.

“Is that so!” Quentin snorted as his expression twisted into a scowl.

“While I can put Tilda Snider’s case aside for now, I’m still very opposed to the fact that you plan to elect him as the chief physician when he doesn’t even have the right qualifications for the job!” Quentin argued back.

Since this was one way of securing power in the company, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip away so easily.

“Whether he’s qualified or not, it’s not up to you to decide, but me!” Natasha growled with authority.

“Everything you own now was given to you by the family, so if you insist on getting in the way of the family’s interests, you’re not allowed to blame me if I report you to the board when the time comes!” Quentin threatened.

“Do whatever you want,” Natasha spat. She wasn’t afraid of him in the slightest.

“Wait!” Jessica suddenly spoke up.

“Eternumax’s research document leak isn’t a trivial matter, so the next chief physician must be capable enough to mitigate this. I feel Dustin’s still too young for this, so that would make Mr. Wangley the most suitable candidate, no?” She refused to let a naive child like himself hold such a key position in Harmon Pharmaceuticals.

“Dustin’s medical skills are superb, so I doubt if he’d lose to some dusty old man,” Natasha justified confidently.

“Fine, since you keep insisting that he has great medical skills, then I propose that he beat Mr. Wangley in a medical showdown. Then, we shall see who’s the best among them,” Quentin suggested, stoking the flames.

Natasha couldn’t help but furrow her brows as he finished his sentence.

Suddenly, she realized that she might have fallen into his trap.

“How are we supposed to compete then?” Dustin suddenly spoke up.

Although he wasn’t too interested in becoming chief, Quentin’s arrogance had rubbed him the wrong way, so he decided to roll along with his plan just to prove him wrong.

“Competing between medical prowess is just too boring, don’t you think, younguns? Why don’t we play with poison instead?” Mr. Wangley changed the topic out of the blue.

“Sure, how do you plan to do that?” Dustin remained poker faced.

“Hehe… It’s simple actually. Each of us will concoct a bottle of poison on the spot and exchange it with one another to ingest. Whoever manages to come up with an antidote to save themselves first will be declared the winner. Sound good?” Mr. Wangley proposed.

“Wait a minute! But what if you can’t cure yourself from the poison?” Ruth quickly asked.

“Well, if you fail, then I guess you can either get lucky and survive being a cripple or die a violent death instead!” Mr. Wangley guffawed, his eyes gleamed with excitement as he said that.

“No way! Who the hell goes so far for a duel? What if something goes wrong?” Ruth exclaimed in shock.

One wrong step, and one could easily get killed!

“Since we’re going to compete with one another anyways, why don’t we raise the stakes a little? So, up for the challenge, young man?” Mr. Wangley nudged amusedly.

“Don’t fall for his tricks, Dustin! He’s obviously doing this just to back you into a corner,” Natasha warned in a low whisper.

She now suspected that Mr. Wangley wasn’t a physician at all but a master of poison!

Unlike physicians, who cure diseases and save lives, polson masters do research on the complete opposite spectrum of medicine.

For them, they specialized in witchcraft, voodoo, and poison. They had ruthless tactics and strange tricks up their sleeves.

If they settled on a competition to battle out their medical skills, then Dustin would stand a pretty good chance of winning.

But if they opted to go with a poison–concocting competition with a master of poison instead, then it was like they were begging to be killed!

“I’m giving you one more chance to back out of this, Mr. Boy Toy. If you admit defeat now, you’ll be giving up your title of chief physician and I’ll still need you to bow down and apologize to Tilda Snider’s ashes!” Quentin spat.

Who was this pale–skinned wimp who was bold enough to pick a fight with the great Mr. Wangley anyway?

“Aren’t we just dabbling with some poison? Fine, It’s on,” Dustin proclaimed. He was not the least bit afraid.

“Ha, you asked for it!” Quentin let out a maniacal laugh as he gazed at the soon–to–be–dead man in front of him.

To think he had the gall to compete with a polson master at making polson. He certainly had a death wish!

“Are you out of your mind. Dustin? You could diel” Ruth said anxiously.

“It’s not like they have any rivalry between them either, so why does he Insist on putting his life on the line like this?” She thought to herself.

“I know full well what I’m doing.” Dustin answered nonchalantly.

“Dustin, are you sure you want to do this?” Natasha frowned.

He could see the slight worry in those beautiful eyes of hers.

She was aware that Quentin was deliberately making things difficult for him, but it wasn’t like she could outright stop him either.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. You should be worried about them instead.” Dustin grinned.

In fact, he was not only proficient in medicine but very much a specialist in voodoo magic and poison as well.

“Less talk, more poison–making. Mr. Boy Toy!” Quentin urged hurriedly, afraid that he’d chicken out and go back on his word.

“Wait!” Dustin voiced out and raised his hands all of a sudden.

“I’m all for making poisons, but my only condition is that I need you to be involved in this as well.”

“What are you talking about?” Quentin asked in shock, feeling a little uneasy.

“Didn’t you say that you wanted this to be exciting? Later when we’re done, why don’t you and I test it with our bodies, then leave our lives at the mercy of the Lord?” Dustin suggested coolly.

“Cut the crap!” Quentin hollered, and his expression immediately changed. “How are you compare your peasant life with mine? Why don’t you look at yourself in the mirror for once?“

“Admitting defeat so quickly? If you don’t have the balls to take up this challenge, then kneel down in front of me and admit defeat right now. Oh, and I’ll need an apology too, then I can pretend none of this ever happened in the first place.” Dustin taunted.

“You-” Quentin stumbled over his words as a burst of anger overtook him in an instant.

Would he even have any face left after this if he backed down now?

Then again, he was the one with the money and status, so it wasn’t like he stood to gain anything from putting his life on the line with a filthy peasant like him.

I won’t “Rest assured, Mr. Harmon. With my skills, I’ll make sure that any kind of poison this punk conjures up even hurt you in the slightest,” Mr. Wangley announced with conviction.

If he were to scan the entirety of South City, he was confident that the only person who was able to top him was Dr. Linden Watkins when it came to making poisons.

“Are you sure about that?” Quentin probed, his brows furrowed slightly.

“Of course! Just take the bet, Mr. Harmon, and I’ll make sure to keep you safe from harm,” Mr. Wangley declared confidently.

“Sounds good to me!” Quentin shouted and slapped his hands on the table before getting up to his feet. “If it’s my life on the line you want, Mr. Boy Toy, then it’s what you’ll get! I’ll make sure to accompany you to your last dying breath!”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 114

After reaching an agreement on both sides, the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Dustin and Mr. Wangley had their subordinates purchase some medicine for them.

The plan was that the two of them would concoct poisons on the spot and down them together at the same time.

As for who would win, that would have to depend on their respective skills.

“Do you think Dustin’s going to make it, Sis? What if he gets poisoned to death instead?” Ruth voiced out anxiously.

“Well, since he agreed to it in the first place, I suppose this means he’s confident that he can win. Have some faith in the guy.” Natasha assured with a straight face. Although she looked calm on the outside, she felt uneasy on the inside.

If it were possible, she’d rather Dustin straight–up admit defeat.

“You can say that, but Dustin’s only proficient in medicine. Surely he can’t beat Mr. Wangley in terms of his experience in the field of poison research,” Ruth murmured while shaking her head.

There were many subfields in the field of medicine, with each subfield being vastly different from one to the other.

So, how can an amateur compete with a professional?

Compared to the two sisters‘ worries, Jessica felt secondhand embarrassment for Dustin as she sat at the side.

She wasn’t sure if she should label Dustin as arrogant or stupid to agree to compete with a master of poison at making poisons.

Then again, she was still amused that things managed to get to this point.

If Dustin loses, he’ll either be dead or crippled, which would mean that she wouldn’t need to expend so much energy thinking about her daughter’s marriage anymore.

“I would advise you to drop out of the competition while you can, Mr. Boy Toy; else, when the poison kicks in your system, you might not even get the chance to regret your decision anymore!” Quentin pressed.

“To be frank, I have to commend you for your bravery as well. To think that you’re willing to put your life in someone else’s hands. I don’t suppose you ever thought that if ever the old man loses, the one who might kick the bucket is you?” Dustin pointed out flatly.

“Ridiculous! Mr. Wangley has been researching poisons for many years now, so how could he possibly lose? You’ll see how great he is later!” Quentin gave a bark of laughter.

Dustin merely let out a short chuckle and said nothing more in response.

A few moments later, the subordinates the two of them sent to purchase medicine for them entered through the front doors hurriedly.

Immediately after retrieving the goods, Mr. Wangley started concocting his polson at lightning speed. His movements were so fast that it was enough to make one’s head spin.

In the meantime, Dustin took his time with it and did everything at his own pace.

After a long while, Mr. Wangley had finished concocting his polson, which appeared to be a bottle of viscous, black liquid.

One could even smell a faint scent of dead fish watting out of it.

“I’m done with my poisons, Mr. Boy Toy. Dare to put it down the hatch?” Quentin taunted as he placed the bottle on the table and provocatively glared at him.

Anyone with a discerning eye could definitely see that the black potion in front of them was highly poisonous.

This meant that anyone who ingested it would surely be in danger!

“What say we just forget about this whole thing. Dustin? It’s obvious that anyone who drinks this will surely die!” Ruth pleaded, clearly upset.

Natasha, who was standing beside her, also couldn’t help but ball up her fists.

“It’s just polson. There’s nothing to worry about.” Dustin grinned before picking up the bottle and downing the entire thing in one swig.

His swift but confident motion caused Quentin to freeze.

“Was this punk actually not afraid of death?” He thought to himself.

“How are you feeling?” Natasha hurriedly probed.

“Well, my mouth feels bitter from the aftertaste, but all in all, the taste is fine.” Dustin evaluated.

Natasha was speechless at his reply. The corners of her mouth started twitching.

“Did you think that I was asking you about the taste?” She thought to herself incredulously.

“You don’t have to put up a front if it’s too much for you to bear, young man. You just need to bow down to Mr. Harmon and admit your mistakes if you want me to save you,” Mr. Wangley said amusedly.

“Your ‘poison” is mildly toxic at best,” Dustin replied while smacking his lips a few times.

“If I’m not mistaken, what you just conjured up is the Devil’s Elixir, right? It’s a good poison of choice, but it’s a shame you used the wrong ingredients for it. What you should’ve used was aconite instead of epiphyllum. Although both of their medical properties are similar, there are still a few minor differences between them. This is one determining factor of what makes a poison so potent,” he explained.

“Huh? How did you know? Did you peek at me while I was concocting the mix just now?” Mr. Wangley gasped as his expression warped into pure shock.

He was absolutely correct in deducing that the poison he made was the Devil’s Elixir, and that he had added epiphyllum as one of the ingredients.

“Was it even necessary to peek? I could tell the moment I smelled it in the air.” Dustin retorted.

“You used a total of five ingredients, namely strychnine, Zeus‘ Vine, oranges, phyllanthus, and a sliver of Devil’s grass. It’s such a shame that you were this close to making the perfect poison though.”

The moment Dustin finished speaking, Mr. Wangley couldn’t help but break out in a shudder.

To think that this punk could list out every single one of the ingredients he’d used to make his poison.

He’d be fine if he had just told him that he peeked, but it was terrifying to think that he could deduce everything just by smell alone!

Even he felt that it would take him light years to even get to this level!

“What the hell happened, Mr. Wangley? A few minutes have already passed, and yet he hasn’t reacted at all” Quentin thought to himself with some unease.

"Rest assured, Mr. Harmon. Anyone can tell that he’s just putting on a bold front right now. Without an antidote, I can guarantee you that he’ll kick the bucket in no time flat!” Mr. Wangley hollered with confidence after reeling from his shock.

Even if Dustin found a way to make a cure, it would still be impossible to completely get rid of the poison from his system.

And that was because Mr. Wangley had added something extra inside.

“Now that’s music to my ears.” Quentin secretly sighed in relief.

“I’m also done making my poison,” Dustin declared as he presented a bottle with a yellow–colored liquid inside.

A lot of steam emanated from the foul–smelling, hot liquid. It looked absolutely disgusting.

“W–what the fuck is that? It reeks!” Quentin sneered. He immediately covered his scrunched–up nose with his hands.

“While it might stink a bit, I promise you it tastes pretty good. Feel free to give it a go,” Dustin said casually as he pushed the bottle toward them.

“You can’t possibly be thinking of chickening out now, right, oh great Quentin Harmon?” Natasha pressed.

Quentin remained silent but turned to look at Mr. Wangley standing beside him, clearly hesitating.

“Relax, Mr. Harmon. I saw every ingredient this kid used clearly, so even if you ingest the poison, I can whip out an antidote for you in under three minutes!” Mr. Wangley assured confidently.

"Sounds great. Here we go!” Quentin exclaimed with his newfound courage. He then proceeded to pick up the bottle, pinch his nose, and down the whole bottle.

“Eugh!” Quentin gagged just as he downed the poison. It felt like it was about to come back out again.

Not only did it reek, but it also tasted bitter, rancid, and disgusting all at the same time.

It felt as if he had just eaten a pile of shit. It was an extremely unpleasant experience.

“Uh uh, it won’t count if you spit it out!” Dustin reminded.

“You-“Quentin gritted his teeth. He had no other choice but to swallow everything back down with a flushed face.

It’d be a waste to spit everything out after all that effort of drinking it in the first place.

“What exactly did you add inside? How come it stinks so much?” There was a “lingering‘ taste in his mouth and teeth that refused to go away.

“Oh, nothing much. Just some golden juice,” Dustin said flatly.

The moment he revealed it, Mr. Wangley’s face contorted with shock.

Even Jessica, who had been sitting at the side all this while, raised an eyebrow upon hearing that.

“Golden juice“? What the fuck is that?” Quentin probed, feeling uneasy.

“Golden juice“, or “golden liquid‘ or ‘fecal fluid‘, it basically just means “human excrement” in layman’s terms,” Dustin explained with a small grin.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 115

“WHAT? HUMAN EXCREMENT?”

As soon as Quentin heard this, he immediately started dry heaving next to Dustin.

But since the poison was already in his stomach, he couldn’t spit it out even if he wanted to, his face flushed red instead.

Before this, the phrase ‘eat shit‘ had only been a suggestion, but he couldn’t believe that it had actually happened to him.

“I didn’t expect Dustin to be so heartless by forcing our cousin to eat shit. How is he going to eat anything else from now on?” Ruth commented as she covered her nose with her hands. She then started to move away from them with a look of disgust.

“For all the shit he spews out from his mouth, I think this is a most fitting punishment.” Natasha couldn’t help but add fuel to the fire too.

“How dare you trick me, you little bastard!” Quentin roared as he raised his head. His expression darkened and his gaze was murderous.

He had never been humiliated this badly in all his life.

“Since we were tasked with making poison, I had the freedom to choose my own recipe, so I was allowed to add any ingredient I saw fit inside, no?” Dustin stated matter–of–factly.

“Good, good! You’ve got some nerve, don’t you?” Quentin shouted, his face contorted with anger.

“I can’t wait to see you begging at my feet later once the poison kicks into your system!”

“We’ll certainly see who will be the one who gets down on their knees later. Now, you’d better ask the people around you whether they can cure the poison I made or not.” Dustin grinned.

“Give me the antidote now, Mr. Wangley!” Quentin urged.

He certainly didn’t want his high–class body to suffer any more damage.

“Calm down, Mr. Harmon. Let me take a look at you first,” Mr. Wangley picked up the bottle with the rest of the poison and brought it close to his nose to smell it.

Then, he dipped his finger into the remaining liquid and placed a drop on the tip of his tongue to taste it.

“Here I was beginning to think it was some kind of potent poison. Who would’ve guessed that it was Venenum

Insectum all along?” Mr. Wangley chuckled. It seemed he had found his answer.

“Venenum Insectum‘? What’s that?” Quentin asked.

“Venenum Insectum‘ is a poison that’s made from seven types of venomous organisms. They’re first ground
into a fine powder, then mixed together. If I’m not mistaken, the organisms in question are snakes, scorpions, toads, centipedes, spiders, poisonous bees, and fire ants,” Mr. Wangley explained with confidence.

“Are you for real? You got all that from tasting one small droplet?” Ruth asked incredulously.

If he had the skills to figure out Dustin’s recipe like that, that would mean that he was pretty much an expert as well.

“As expected of a poison master, you clearly are an expert in your field,” Dustin remarked with a smile.

He had to admit that Mr. Wangley was indeed talented, but it was a shame that he was so close yet so far once again, mistaking his concoction for Venenum Insectum instead of Venenum Insectim.

The golden juice was merely added in for extra flavor.

“Will you stop spewing nonsense to yourself already, Mr. Wangley? Hurry up and make me an antidote. My stomach is starting to hurt again.” Quentin whined as he clutched his abdomen with a strained look.

His stomach had begun to churn again two minutes later.

“Wait for me while I whip up an antidote for you, Mr. Harmon.” Mr. Wangley swiftly started preparing an antidote with the ingredients that remained.

“H–Hurry up! It’s getting more and more painful by the second!” Quentin howled in pain.

The longer time went on, he felt as if there was a knife inside his abdomen that kept stabbing his insides. He started to break out in a cold sweat.

In the meantime, Dustin looked absolutely fine and showed no abnormal symptoms, so much so that he managed to sip his tea leisurely.

“H–how are you not affected?” Quentin stuttered, visibly taken aback.

Dustin had drunk the poison first, so why was it that he seemed like he wasn’t affected by it in the slightest?

“I’ve already gotten rid of the poison in my system. So, how could I still be affected?”

“You’ve already concocted an antidote? But how? You didn’t do anything!” Quentin spat in disbelief.

“That’s not for you to worry about. Why don’t you focus on your case first? Like what you’re going to do if the person standing next to you can’t cure the poison,” Dustin suggested with mock concern.

“The poison I conjured up was a rough one, by the way. It’ll induce searing pain first, and if you fail to obtain the antidote within three hours, then it’ll tear through your guts and intestines and cause you to die a horrible death!”

“What!” Quentin gasped and panicked.

His stomach was already hurting badly before this, but after receiving a scare from Dustin, it seemed to hurt even more.

“I’ve got the antidote for you, Mr. Harthon!” Mr. Wangley announced as he brought a vial of white liquid over to him in the nick of time.

Without any hesitation, Quentin downed the whole thing in one gulp..

As soon as the antidote landed in his stomach, he immediately felt better.

However, after enduring the pain for a few seconds, he vomited all the white liquid out of his system.

“What are you doing, Mr. Harmon? You just threw up the antidote!” Mr. Wangley exclaimed in surprise.

“I–I couldn’t help it. I really couldn’t hold it in!” Quentin whined helplessly.

“You could even stomach eating shit, so why can’t you do the same for the antidote?” Mr. Wangley scolded, flabbergasted.

“Cut the crap! Hurry up and prepare another dose, I’ll make sure to hold it in this time round,” Quentin shouted as his face twitched.

Mr. Wangley had no choice but to do as he was told.

Soon, he’d finished whipping up another dose, and Quentin wasted no time ingesting it.

This time, he managed to hold it in.

“My stomach still hurts like hell, Mr. Wangley. Why haven’t the effects kicked in yet?” Quentin complained with a strained look on his face.

“It can’t be, the main ingredients to make an antidote for Venenum Insectum are forsythia, lotus root, and white creepers. Then, it just needs to be supplemented with a few herbs and heated up, to be able to detoxify the poison. Perhaps the effects of the antidote haven’t kicked in yet, so I’ll need you to wait a little while longer,” Mr. Wangley comforted.

Quentin nodded and forced himself to endure the severe pain for a few more minutes. His face even started contorting to reflect the indescribable pain he was feeling as time went on.

“Mr. Wangley! I don’t think this was the right antidote! Not only did it do nothing to ease the pain, but it also hurts even more now!” Quentin shouted through gritted teeth and continued to be drenched in sweat.

“How could this be?” Mr. Wangley stepped forward to check Quentin’s pulse.

“D–don’t tell me this isn’t Venenum Insectum?” Mr. Wangley exclaimed.

“Huh? Then what about the antidote that you gave me just now?” Quentin roared in anger.

“What else did you put in your poison, you bastard? I clearly saw you add venomous creepy crawlies inside!” Mr. Wangley turned around and questioned.

“The kind of ingredients I used isn’t the main focus here. The real question should be whether you can get rid of the poison or not,” Dustin said indifferently.

“You played dirty, didn’t you? So be it! Even if this ends up in a tie, as long as you hand me the antidote. I’ll give you the antidote for the Devil’s Elixir!” Mr. Wangley proposed as he made the decision to be the bigger person.

If he’d concocted the poison using a different recipe, then he would need to take the time to analyze it properly. But now that Quentin was writhing in pain, he didn’t have the luxury to take his time.

It would be bad for him too if his source of income were to disappear just like that.

“You want the antidote, don’t you? Fine.” A cocky grin spread on Dustin’s face.

“According to what you said to me earlier, I want the same back from you. I want you to kneel down before me and admit defeat. After that, I’ll give you the antidote.”

The second he finished his sentence, Quentin and Mr. Wangley’s expressions changed.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 116

“Don’t get ahead of yourself yet, you bastard!” Mr. Wangley shouted in anger.

“You have to remember that Mr. Harmon isn’t the only one who’s poisoned here. Without my antidote, you won’t be able to live past tomorrow with my poison in your system!”

“Is that so? Wanna bet on who kicks the bucket first?” Dustin chuckled.

“Why you-!” Mr. Wangley had been rendered speechless.

Looking at the current state of affairs, it was obvious that Quentin was the one who would lose first.

And it was exactly for this reason that Mr. Wangley proposed to call it a draw.

Unfortunately, the other party was having none of it.

“Hurry up and give me the antidote already, Dustin! We’ll count this as a loss on our side!” Quentin yielded grudgingly.

If it weren’t for the fact that he really couldn’t bear the pain anymore, he would never concede to a puny ant like him.

“You can’t just ‘say‘ that you’ve lost. Where’s the sincerity in that, Mr. Harmon?” Dustin teased while shaking his head.

“Don’t you test me, Rhys!” Quentin roared.

“When you make mistakes, it’s only logical that you admit your wrongdoings, no? Are you telling me that you can’t even do that much?” Dustin urged on, devoid of the slightest bit of fear.

“Oh, so you want me to get down on my knees and admit my mistakes to you? What makes you think you’re fucking worthy of that?” Quentin sneered as his expression turned cold.

“Of course, I’m not worthy. I guess you’ll just have to get rid of the poison by yourselves then,” Dustin replied with a shrug.

“Are you threatening me right now?” Quentin scowled.

“Goodness, no. I’m just returning the favor,” Dustin replied, unperturbed.

“Enough, everyone stops this farce at once!” Jessica suddenly screamed.

“You’d better hurry and pass the antidote to Quentin right now, Dustin. Otherwise, you won’t be able to take responsibility if anything happens to him after this!”

“With all due respect, ma’am, every man considers his promises like gold. So since I made a promise just now, naturally I would need to fulfill that promise,” Dustin replied plainly.

“What are you on about? And why do you insist on making yourself an enemy of the Harmons today?” Jessica snapped, her pretty face now stone cold.

She initially thought that Dustin would back down and be the bigger man in this situation, but didn’t expect him to be so insensitive instead.

“Can you cut the act already? You didn’t say anything when Quentin was bullying Dustin before, so why are you jumping to Quentin’s aid when he’s in a difficult situation now? Do you even have a shred of dignity left?” Natasha suddenly voiced out.

“Why are you speaking for an outsider when Quentin is your own cousin?” Jessica frowned.

“I only speak for the truth, not blood relations!” Natasha proclaimed, righteously.

“Quentin was the one who started this whole thing in the first place, so now he’s getting what he deserves. Since we’re outsiders in their competition, we should just sit and watch and not interfere!”

“Why you-!” Jessica growled, obviously angry at her daughter’s outburst.

Although she let Natasha have her way outside, she really could not do anything about her in private.

All of her nagging and lectures failed to get to her.

She was such a thorn in her side!

“This is the last time I’m going to ask, Rhys! Are you giving me the antidote or not?” Quentin demanded while gritting his teeth.

“And I’ll reply with the same answer. Kneel down and apologize first,” Dustin stated flatly.

“Fine! Fine!” Quentin finally gave in with a sinister look on his face.

“I can kneel down, for sure, but are you sure you want to take responsibility for the consequences that ensue?” Quentin growled, his expression was murderous now.

“I’ll need to see it for myself first.” Dustin smiled mockingly.

“Fine! I hope you don’t regret this!” Quentin shouted through clenched teeth. After hesitating for two seconds, he finally dropped down to the floor on his knees with a heavy “thud“.

But as he knelt, his death glare was firmly planted on Dustin, and his expression extremely fierce.

Humiliating him in public like this was equal to asking for death!

“The man has already knelt before you. Are you satisfied now, Dustin? Hurry up and hand him the antidote then!” Jessica snapped.

Humiliating Quentin Harmon was equal to humiliating the entirety of the Harmon family.

How dare a measly doctor humiliated a Harmon like that. He was really asking to be killed!

“Here. Bottoms up.” Dustin said as he fished out a small, white vial and poured out the powdery contents into a cup of tea.

“Is that Hexanavir? Mr. Wangley thought to himself.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 117

When Mr. Wangley laid his eyes on the small, white–colored vial, his expression immediately turned into shock, but a look of greed replaced it soon after.

That was legendary Dr. Rowan Cross‘ Miracle Cure!

Why does a punk like him have such a treasure on him in the first place?

Anyone could see that this antidote was incredibly precious and worth a lot of money!

Even the tiniest amount of powder could already fetch sky–high prices.

It was no wonder that the punk could act so cocky, and that was all because he was in possession of Hexanavir.

Today shall be the day of his downfall!

“Hmph!” Quentin snorted and said nothing before downing the whole cup of tea in one gulp.

Almost immediately after he gulped down the tea, the ongoing sharp pains in his stomach gradually started to disappear.

The pain completely disappeared a few minutes later.

This caused Quentin to feel like he’d just survived a huge ordeal.

“I won’t forget the shame you inflicted on me today, Rhys! You had better not fall into my clutches anymore in the future!” Quentin barked before turning to Natasha Harmon. “And as for you, Natasha, you’d better solve the crisis surrounding Eternumax soon. Else, don’t blame me if I report you to the board!”

The moment he finished barking, Quentin left the room in a haggard state.

“You’ll definitely regret everything you did today, young man!” Mr. Wangley grunted before turning to chase after Quentin.

Did he know who Quentin was? How could a puny doctor like him humiliate him like that?

If ever he decided to seek revenge eventually, he bet that his bones wouldn’t be spared even after he was brutally murdered!

“So you came prepared, Dustin. You really scared me just now.” Ruth heaved a sigh of relief.

“It was all thanks to the Hexanavir your sister sent me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have won so easily,” Dustin let out a small chuckle.

But of course, the antidote merely made things slightly easier for him.

“Hmph! It was all a trick then!” Jessica snorted and looked at Dustin in disdain.

She initially thought that he’d used his skills for this, but who knew that he had just utilized Hexanavir which was made by the legendary Dr. Rowan Cross.

“You can stay unconvinced as long as you like, but the fact remains that Dustin won” Natasha argued with a hard glare.

“So what if he won by a fluke? What makes you think this kid can research Eternumax without Mr. Wangley here?” Jessica questioned.

Eternumax was the heart and soul of Harmon Pharmaceuticals for many years now and was an equally important part of the family’s development plans.

This was why she refused to believe that such an unknown figure like Dustin would have any ability to save the day.

“Who says? To me, Dustin is way more knowledgeable than whoever this Wangley guy is.” Natasha stood her ground firmly.

“Fine, since you keep insisting that he’s the superior choice, then why don’t we make a bet? If he can develop Eternumax from scratch, I’ll take it as he’s passed the test. Otherwise, I’ll have him resign from his post immediately to make way for the others!” Jessica roared, clearly enraged.

“I have no qualms with that,” Natasha said, refusing to give way.

Whether he would be able to do it or not was a separate matter. She couldn’t back down now.

“Rhys, you punk! You’d better not let my daughter down!” Jessica spat after getting a clearer look at Dustin. She then folded up her sleeves and up and left.

“What did mom mean by ‘test‘ just now?” Ruth asked, out of curiosity.

“Kids shouldn’t butt into adult matters.” Natasha rolled her eyes at her in response.

“Hmph! Well, I’m sorry for asking. Who died and made you queen?” Ruth pouted.

“You all keep mentioning Eternumax, but what is it exactly. Ms. Harmon?” Dustin asked while feigning ignorance.

Natasha Harmon forced a smile and started explaining. “Although the Harmons have a firm grip over many industries, the main focus is still medicine. This was why the decision behind the selection of business
m partners and benefit–sharing were all made in hopes of dominating the pharmaceutical market of the entirety of Swinton. Thus, that was how we began researching and developing a new kind of drug, which we plan to use to capture all of that market share,

“Everything was going to plan in the beginning, but no one had expected that there would be a traitor who had been planted among us. Thus, Tilda Snider’s assassination presented an opportunity to us, while serving as a warning to all traitors. But the moment they realized that they were about to be exposed, they employed methods of coercion and enticing benefits to lure our employees to other companies instead, which was how they took away a big chunk of our workforce. Not only that, they even stole our research findings! And the research findings in question were for the new drug we’re developing, Eternumax!

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 118

“I see.” Dustin nodded.

Dustin recalled something and asked, “Following what you said, between you and Edwin, whoever first creates Eternumax would dominate the market in Swinton?”

“You could say that,” Natasha confirmed his thoughts.

“However, the documents of my researchers have been robbed. We have to start all over again. It would be too difficult.”

“Humph! That Hummer is too despicable! Him and his dirty tricks!” Ruth was indignant.

“What kind of medicine is Eternumax?” Dustin asked once again.

“Eternumax is a medicine that not only increases your lifespan but also retains beauty. It was said to be derived from an ancient antidote recipe. However, because the recipe was crafted such a long time ago, half of it was lost. We could only keep researching to restore the full recipe.” Natasha explained.

“An ancient antidote recipe?”

“If I’m following correctly, I do know about a type of secret medicine that has a similar effect to Eternumax.” Dustin rubbed his chin

“Oh? And what medicine is that?” Natasha’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“This medicine is called Immortunol. I read about it from a medical book archive. It also increases one’s lifespan and retains beauty. Its effects should be on par with Eternumax.” Dustin smiled faintly.

The archives that he read contained all valuable antidotes that had been lost in time.

Whatever was listed in there was definitely no ordinary medicine.

“Hah! I don’t believe you for one second! Eternumax is a secret ancient recipe. How could this ‘Immortunol‘ even compare to it? I’ve never even heard of such a thing!” Ruth pouted.

“Just because you never heard of it, doesn’t mean it does not exist. There could even possibly be a surprise discovery.” Dustin suggested.

“No matter if it works, we should give it a try. Let me know what ingredients you need. I’ll prepare them right. away.” Natasha offered without any hesitation.

That was because there was no other way to go about this. They were in a bind.

“Rue, bring me a pen and paper.” Dustin tumed around and commanded.

“Hey! I told you a thousand times already. My name is Ruth! Ruth!” Ruth clenched her teeth.

Ruth gave Dustin a kick before bringing him the pen and paper.

After taking the pen and a few scribbles, Dustin finished writing Immortunol’s recipe in an instant.

Natasha scanned through the list and nodded. “These ingredients are quite common and easy to find. The only tricky ingredient would be Luminianth Root.”

"Sis, there are a few sellers in the medicine market. Perhaps we could find some there.” Ruth suggested.

“Yeah. Bring Dustin along to check it out. I still have some stuff to do.” Natasha replied.

“Alright…”

Ruth pouted. Although she was a little disappointed, she agreed to her sister’s request.

Her sister had a lot of stuff to do. She knew that she had to help her out.

After setting their destination, Ruth drove Dustin to the market.

A Mercedes–Benz parked in front of a shop named Emporium.

Dahlia and the others stepped out of the car which stopped abruptly.

Other than Florence and James, there was also a pretty, well–dressed lady beside them.

This woman was Florence’s niece, Julie Amberson.

“Julie, didn’t you say you wanted to get a present? Why are we at a place like this?” Florence was confused.

“Aunt Florence, I just got the news that this shop has a very rare ingredient called the Luminianth Root!” Julie whispered.

“Luminianth Root? What’s it for?” The name piqued Florence’s curiosity.

“It’s great as a gift, of course! Tomorrow is the Hummers‘ birthday party. I’m planning to gift this to Miss Hummer!”

“Why are you gifting this instead of gems or jewelry like everyone else?”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 119

“Hehe…You wouldn’t know, would you? Miss Hummer is a noble lady. She doesn’t need gems or jewelry. If you truly want to impress her, you should give her a one–of–a–kind gift. Luminlanth Root has the ability to retain one’s beauty. No woman could ever resist it. I believe that Miss Hummer would like it!” Julie uttered confidently.

“You’re not wrong, but this Luminianth Root costs a fortune, right?” Florence asked.

“Of course! This is an extremely rare item. You won’t be able to buy it without three to five million dollars.”

Julie nodded.

“What! It’s that expensive?”

Florence was shocked. “Julie, do you even have that much money?”

“Of course, I don’t. But you do! So, lend me a few million dollars, I’ll return it to you next time.” Julie requested without hesitation.

Her words stunned Florence. Dahlia and James also frowned at her words.

This cousin of theirs would always borrow money every time she visits.

Last year she “borrowed” a Mercedez–Benz from them for two days. Until now, she still hadn’t returned the car.

It seemed like they will not be getting it back.

If they gave her a few million dollars now, there would definitely be no return as well.

“Julie, it’s not that I don’t want to lend you the money. A few million dollars is really too much.” After thinking for some time, Florence still refused.

“Aunt Florence, your family owns a business! There’s no way you don’t have that kind of money. Or is it that you guys don’t want to lend me the money?” Julie was getting upset.

“No, I really don’t have that much money.” Florence laughed awkwardly.

“If you don’t, then Dahlia should have that money, right? She’s the president of Quine Group! I don’t believe for a second that she doesn’t have a few million dollars to spare!”

Julle turned to Dahlia as she uttered those words.

“The company’s finances are a bit tight at the moment. Every penny counts. I wouldn’t recommend spending the money on such birthday gifts.” Dahlia shook her head lightly.

If it was an emergency, she would definitely spend money without hesitation.

But for her situation, she really could not help her even if she wanted to.

“Dahlia! You can’t be that stingy? It’s just a few million dollars! It’s not like I wouldn’t return it to you!”

Julie crossed her arms and said confidently. “After I send Miss Hummer this gift, I’ll become her friend. Then,


I’ll get a high–rank position in Hummer Pharmaceuticals. I’ll be earning a few million dollars every year, easy peasy!”

“Julie, you must not get ahead of yourself. It’s not that easy to get into Hummer Pharmaceuticals. Never mind a high–rank position, with your experience, it would be best for you to get some training in my company.” Dahlia tried to reason with her calmly.

“Dahlia, let me get straight to the point. I’m a valuable graduate of the Ivy League. Everyone wants me. A small company like Quine Group is not worth my time.” Julie mocked.

Dahlia was speechless at her remarks.
This cousin of hers was a classic narcissist.

No experience and no skill, and yet she still dreamed about becoming a rich supervisor.

She looked down on almost everyone, and yet she doesn’t even have the basics down.

“Alright! Back to the point! Are you lending me the money or not?” Julie’s arms were still crossed in front of her body arrogantly.

She really had no shame as the one who was borrowing money.

“No!” James answered.

“Fine! Today I finally get to see what kind of people you guys really are! Relatives, my ass! You all just abandoned me when I’m in need. Tomorrow, I will make you pay!” With that, Julie turned around and stomped away.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 120

“Julie! Don’t be mad, calm down!”

Florence quickly stopped Julie and smiled. “Isn’t it just a few million dollars? I’ll lend it to you! We’re all family after all. There’s no need to fight.”

“Mom! Why are you playing along with her?” James frowned.

“Julie is my only niece. Now that she’s in a pinch, who would help her if not me?” Florence stated the facts.

“Are you sure this is someone who needs help?” James was displeased.

“Shut it!” Florence glared at her son. “I’m not using your money. Can’t I use my own money?”

“You-!” James was shocked.

“Is she still my mother?” James wondered.

She treated a niece better than her own son.

“Aunt Florence treats me the best!” Julie chirped with a smile on her face.

This was not her first time acting like this. It was effective every single time.

“Of course, who’d treat you well other than me? Let’s go, we’ll buy you the Lumianth Root.”

Florence grabbed Juile’s hand and entered Emporium.

“Sis! You’re not going to stop mom?” James was worried.

“What’s the use of stopping her? This isn’t her first time doing such a thing.” Dahlia already gave up.

Her mother had been treating her sister’s family like this for a long time.

The only problem was their despicable attitude, exploiting her mother’s kindness.

“Hey, boss!” Julie immediately called out confidently while entering the shop.

“Welcome! What can I get for my distinguished guests?”

A middle–aged man with a big belly walked forward to greet his customers.

“A little bird told me that you sell Luminianth Root here. Is that true?” Julie sat down on one of the chairs in the shop.

“Miss, this bird of yours must be very efficient at its job! We do sell them here. In fact, it just arrived yesterday.” The shop owner spoke truthfully.

“Really? How do you plan to sell them?” Julie continued asking.

“This Luminianth Root is not that cheap. We’re planning to hold an auction for it.” The shop owner replied.

“Auctions are too much of a hassle. Why don’t you just sell it to me? It saves you the money to hold an auction.” Julie tried to convince the shop owner.

“But The shop owner was troubled.

“What? Do you think I can’t afford it? Say it. How much are you planning to sell this for?” Julle asked.

“If miss truly wants to buy it, I wouldn’t try to stop you. I just need this much.” The plump shop owner held up five of his fingers.

“Five million? That’s expensive?!”

Florence immediately froze in place.

Although she expected it, she was still shocked when she heard the price.

“Five million already includes a discount for our friendship. If I were to auction this, I probably would earn five to six times this price. This is also an early price, otherwise, it wouldn’t be so low.” The shop owner shook his head.

“Can’t you lower the price a bit? This amount is too high.” Florence tried to negotiate with him.

“I can’t do that. This precious gem cost me a lot of fortune. To be honest, if I encounter someone who needs this, it wouldn’t even be a problem to sell it for a hundred million dollars.” The shop owner said with a serious face.

“But”

Before Florence could finish her sentence, Julie interrupted her. “Alright, alright! Aunt Florence, we shouldn’t be too sensitive! Isn’t it just five million dollars? We’re buying it!”

“Miss, I love your attitude! I will get someone to bring over the Luminiath Root right away!” The shop owner smiled from ear to ear as he signaled the man behind him.

The man immediately understood and ran upstairs.

After a while, he came back and presented a big wooden box.

“Inside is the Luminianth Root. Miss, will you be paying by card or cash?” The shop owner grinned, pleased with the transaction.

“Card.”

Julie said without any remorse, “Go ahead, Aunt Florence.”

The corner of Florence’s lips twitched as she painfully reached into her bag for a card.

As they were finishing up the transaction, a woman’s voice yelled from outside.

“Wait! That Luminianth Root is ours!”

Everyone looked towards the voice, and immediately, a man and woman walked into the shop.

It was Dustin and Ruth.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 121

“Why are you here?” Dahlia was surprised to see Dustin. When she saw the pretty lady standing beside him, she couldn’t help but frown. Her heart clenched in jealousy.

“Was Natasha not enough for him? He still wanted more women?” Dahlia wondered to herself.

“Men are all playboys after all!” She concluded in her mind.

“Dustin, you guys know each other?” Ruth looked between the two of them, feeling a little awkward.

“We do. She’s the president of Quine Group, Miss Dahlia.” Dustin explained.

“So it’s her!” Ruth’s gaze immediately turned hostile.

This woman in front of her was her sister’s greatest love rival. She certainly has to keep an eye on her. She must not let the two of them rekindle their love!

“Humph! How do we keep running into each other? How unlucky of us!” Florence’s face was full of contempt.”

“Dustin! How impressive! I can’t believe you got another girl with you so soon! You really are a gigolo!” James mocked. At the same time, he was envious of him.

“Damn it! I’m much more incredible and yet I still don’t have a girlfriend. And yet, this piece of trash changes his girls every time I meet him. First, it was the queen of business, Natasha. Now he has this new pretty girl! The world is so unfair!” James thought to himself.

“Oi! Was it the two of you making a ruckus?!” Julie scanned Dustin and Ruth, looking annoyed.

“It was me.”

Ruth stepped forward and chirped, “Boss, This Lumianth Root is ours. Name a price.”

“Humph! Do you think it’s yours if you say so? Who do you think you are?”

Julie said in an unfriendly tone, “Let me tell you, I already paid five million dollars for this Lumianth Root!”

“Pretty lady, we need this Luminianth Root urgently. I hope you can do us a favor.” Ruth asked kindly.

“Who are you to be asking me for a favor? Scram!” Julie was stubborn and ruthless.

“Hm? Boss, she offered five million dollars, right? I’ll give you eight million dollars!” Ruth frowned and declared boldly.

“Eight million dollars?!”

Everyone was shocked at the number. Especially the shop owner. His eyes were sparkling with excitement.

The other customers were also watching the scene, amused.

“Hey! What are you doing? You’re picking a fight on purpose, aren’t you?!” Julie’s face darkened.

“This precious treasure deserves such a high price. Do you have a problem with that?” Ruth was only doing what she thought was right.

“Bitch! You want to play this game? Fine! I’ll pay ten million dollars!” Julie yelled.

Florence’s face turned as pale as a ghost as she heard that.

Five million dollars was already her limit. Ten million dollars would cost more than her fortune.

Without hesitation, Ruth replied, “I’ll pay 12 million dollars then.”

“15 million dollars! End this deal now! Boss! You know the first come first serve policy. This Luminianth Root is already mine. If you dare to sell it to someone else, I’ll destroy this shop of yours!” Julie roared and snatched the wooden box before everyone could say a word.

“Alright, alright. Luminianth Root is yours!” The shop owner agreed reluctantly. But the truth was, he was extremely happy.

“Boss, why are you selling it to her? I can give you 12 million dollars!” Ruth was not pleased with the outcome.

“It’s not about the money. Business is about credibility. This lady ordered the Luminianth Root first, so it should be hers.” The shop owner played along with Julie.

“Did you hear that? So what if you have money? What’s mine is mine, you can’t take it from me!“Julie smiled joyfully as if she had won a battle.

On the other hand, Florence who was standing behind Julie was devastated.

15 million dollars!

She was going to be broke!

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 122

Seeing Julie’s joyful face, Ruth clenched her teeth and held back her anger.

“Pretty lady, I really need this Luminianth Root. Can’t you just sell it to me? I’ll pay you 20 million!” Ruth tried her best to rein in her emotions.

“So what if you have money? You want my Luminianth Root? Dream on!” Julle hugged the wooden box closer to her body, looking proud of herself.

“You-!”

Ruth was at her limit. She had never been treated like this before ever since a young age.

In the end, she gave up. “Dustin! I don’t care anymore! You handle it yourself!”

Looking at the situation, Dustin could only ask, “Julie, what are you planning to use the Luminianth Root for?”

“That’s none of your damn business!”

Julie glared at him and declared firmly. “Listen up you guys, I will never sell the Luminianth Root to you guys no matter what you say!”

“That is a huge Luminianth Root. You won’t be able to finish it if you’re planning to use it as a medicine-”

Before Dustin could finish, Julie interrupted rudely. “Shut up! So what if I can’t finish using it? Even if I waste it and have no use for it, I will never sell it to you guys!”

Dustin frowned at her words. He never imagined her to be so unreasonable and petty.

“Boss! Card!” Julie snatched the card from Florence’s hand and passed it to the shop owner swiftly.

No matter what, she wouldn’t go back on her words!

“Julie! Well, 15 million dollars is too much, don’t you think?” Florence’s legs almost gave away. That was her entire fortune!

“Aunt Florence, it’s just 15 million dollars. It’s nothing. When I earn money, I’ll double it and give it back to you!” Julie promised confidently.

The corner of Florence’s lips twitched as she heard that.

“Don’t know how many blue moons it would take for you to earn that huge amount of money.” Florence thought to herself.

After the transaction was done, Julie was in high spirits. She mocked Ruth and Dustin, “You guys haven’t seen anything precious like this, have you? I’ll be kind and let you guys see it for the first time!”

After finishing her sentence, she immediately opened the wooden box.

Everyone peeked into the box, and the only thing they could see was a Luminianth Root that was the size of a palm.

The Luminianth Root was dark greyish. Its flesh was scrawny and wilted. It looked dry and had no signs of life.

Upon contact, the root crumbles into powder. A piece of its surface falls out.

“Huh?”

Julie frowned and asked, “Boss, are you sure this is Luminianth Root? Why does it look so suspicious?”

The item in front of her was way different from what she had expected.

“Of course! I harvested this Luminianth Root myself yesterday! It’s definitely the real thing!” The shop owner
grinned.

“Why does it look like it’s dead?” Julie was suspicious.

“Boss! Did you just scam us by selling us a fake Luminianth Root?” Florence was shocked and worried.

“How could I?”

The shop owner smiled meekly. “This Luminianth Root is definitely real. It’s just a little ugly, but it is still the real deal”

“Boss, that isn’t ethical of you.”

Dahlia looked at the Luminianth Root and pointed out “It is a Luminianth Root, but this one is obviously wilted. There’s no sign of life at all. It’s the same as a piece of wood. How could you sell it for such a high price?

“What? A piece of wood?!”

Florence and Julie were shocked to the core when they heard this.

No wonder it didn’t look right. It was a defective product.

“Damn you fatty! You lied to us! Hurry and give our money back!” Florence roared, her face red from anger.

“That’s right! Hurry up and give us a refund!”

After coming back to her senses, Julie chimed in.

Did he really think he could scam her 15 million dollars for a piece of trash?!

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 123

“Look here, we’ve laid out our terms clearly. You were the ones who insisted on buying it. I didn’t force you guys at all.” The shop owner said indifferently.

“Stop the crap! I don’t want this Luminianth Root anymore. Hurry up and give me a refund!” Julle grabbed the man by his collar and roared.

“What? Are you trying to stir up trouble in my shop?”

The shop owner’s expression did not falter, and he quickly clapped his hands once.

Soon, a group of brawny men came out from the room behind. Seeing the fierce looks on their face, Julie and the rest were immediately stunned and silent.

“Are you guys tired of living? How dare you stir up trouble in Mr. Walter’s shop?”

“Anyone could tell that they’re brainless, they have no clue about the rules here.”

“Exactly! They don’t even check the item before raising their bid. Doesn’t that say something about their stupidity?” The crowd started gossiping.

“What? You think that I’m scared because you have a few men?”

Florence glared at him, putting up a brave front as she threatened, “You son of a bitch! I’m warning you, you better give me a refund right now or I’ll sue you for fraud!”

“Go ahead, sue me as you please.” Mr. Walter remained unfazed by her threats.

“I really did sell you a Luminianth Root. No matter where you ask, this is what you get. As for the price, you were the ones who added it. It has nothing to do with me. There’s no use in suing me!”

“You-!” Florence clenched her teeth. She didn’t dare to lift a finger because of the men.

“You fat bastard! Why didn’t you mention anything about the pissed at the turn of events.

“Before you paid, I already passed the Luminianth Root to you. Now, you’re blaming me because you didn’t open and check it yourself?” Mr. Walter retorted assertively.

Julie’s blood started to boil at his statement. However, there was nothing she could do.

Although she wasn’t the one who paid for it, the feeling of being scammed was still frustrating.

“Hahaha! 15 million for a piece of wood! That’s hilarious!” Ruth mocked without remorse.

Now she finally had the chance to pay them back for making fun of her.

“Mind your own business!” Julie barked.

“Actually, now that I think about it, I should thank you for not selling it to me. Otherwise, I would’ve been the one who’s scammed!” Ruth laughed.

“You–you!!”

Julie was fuming, steam was coming out of her ears and her face flushed red in anger. One could almost see the daggers in her eyes.

“Miss, didn’t you say you want to buy Luminianth Root? We’ll sell it to you. Just give us 20 million dollars.” Florence looked as if she’d seen an angel She immediately brought the Luminianth Root to Ruth.

“Do you think I’m stupid? Are you really asking 20 million for a piece of trash?” Ruth mocked.

Although she was rich, she wasn’t stupid.

A wilted Luminianth Root had no use for medicine.

“If you think that’s expensive, then I’ll lower the price for you. Is 15 million okay?” Florence begged once again.

Right now, she only hoped to sell it out as fast as possible. Otherwise…

“No.” Ruth refused firmly.

“10 million! 10 million is good, right? We’re already making a loss here!” Florence begged frantically, and sweat started to form on her face.

“Do you think this thing is still worth 10 million dollars?” Ruth asked, looking at Florence as if she was crazy.

“Five million! Just five million dollars!”

Florence was on the verge of tears. Her eyes darted around the room. “Anyone, please! Will someone be generous enough to buy it for five million dollars?!”

Right now, she could not ask for the original price. She could only hope for minimizing her loss.

“Stop wasting your energy. Only an idiot would buy this piece of trash!” Ruth pursed her lips.

Right after she finished her sentence, a voice rang from behind.

“I’ll buy it for five million dollars.”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 124

“I’ll buy it for five million dollars.” Dustin’s voice captured several customers‘ attention. They all looked at him as if he had grown another head.

Anyone who’s in the right mind would be able to tell that this Luminianth Root was defective. Only an idiot would buy a Luminianth Root in that condition.

“Dustin, have you lost your mind? Why are you spending five million for a piece of trash?” Ruth was shocked.

Although it wasn’t a lot of money for her, it was still a dumb decision.

“You, you really want to buy it?” Florence could not believe it.

“What? Do you not want to sell it?” Dustin asked.

“I’ll sell it! Of course, I’ll sell it!”

Florence nodded her head repeatedly as a smile bloomed on her face.

Although she still made a loss for selling it for five million dollars, it was still better than nothing.

“Dustin, this Luminianth Root is obviously useless. Are you sure you want to buy it?” Dahlia asked in surprise.

“Oh, silly! What are you talking about? This Luminianth Root is a precious gem!” Florence was taken aback.

She finally got a chance to sell it out. How could Dahlia suddenly sabotage her?

“What if he changed his mind?” Florence was worried.

Dustin nodded. “Of course, I’ll buy it. At least I think it’s very useful.”

“Yes, of course! This is a precious Luminianth Root, the rarest you can find in the world! You’re definitely getting all your money’s worth for five million dollars!” Florence pitched frantically. It was as if she’d met her saving grace

“Dustin! Five million dollars is not a small amount! Do you even have that much money?” James questioned.

“I don’t, but she does.”

Dustin pointed towards Ruth who was standing beside him.

“Me?” Ruth was stunned. She rolled her eyes.

“I won’t do such a dumb thing!”

“Can you take it as me borrowing your money? This is extremely important to me.” Dustin asked earnestly.

“Alright, alright! I give in. Here, take your five million dollars. You better remember this as a lesson.” Ruth couldn’t refuse.

After all, five million dollars was not a lot for her.

In the end, they managed to secure a trade.

After receiving the money. Julie couldn’t help but laugh. “Dustin! You really are dumber than I thought! The Luminianth Root was obviously defective and yet you still insisted on buying it! I praise you for your courage!”

“Thankfully there’s an idiot to fall for it, otherwise we’d make such a great loss!” Florence gloated.

“Five million for a piece of trash, how amazing!” James laughed mockingly as he shook his head, enjoying the show.

“How would you guys know that this is a piece of trash?” Dustin remained unfazed.

“Are you blind? Can’t you see? It’s wilted! If it’s not trash then what is it?” Julie mocked.

“That’s only what you think. In my eyes, it’s a priceless treasure.” Dustin smiled.

“Priceless treasure? Looks like you’re not just blind, you’re brain–dead! You think a piece of trash is a priceless treasure! I can’t believe those words just came out of your mouth!” Julie started laughing uncontrollably.

“How dumb and clueless can you be!” James pursed his lips.

“Have you guys thought about why this Luminianth Root wilted?” Dustin said with a smirk.

“What?”

Everyone was shocked.

“Why?”

Ruth was curious.

Dustin smiled. Instead of replying, he took the Luminianth Root in his hand and slammed it onto the ground.

With a loud “Thunk!“, the Luminianth Root shattered to pieces.

“Dustin! Have you lost your mind?!” Ruth was shocked to the core.

Dustin just shattered the thing that they bought for five million dollars!

“Has he really lost his mind?” She wondered, clearly in disbelief.

“Even if you’re rich, you shouldn’t trash like that!” She thought.

“He’s brain–dead after all!” Julle laughed louder.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 125

“You’re hopeless.” James thought he was looking at an idiot.

“What on earth are you up to?” Dahlia also frowned at the scene.

She really could not understand his outrageous behavior.

Ignoring the crowd’s gazes, Dustin reached down to the shattered Luminianth Root and started to search for something.

Soon, a crimson red, finger–sized Luminianth Root appeared.

This small and delicate Luminianth Root was red as blood. It was even emanating an odd smell. One could tell that it was no ordinary item.

“That’s odd, how could there be a smaller Luminianth Root?” Ruth was confused.

“Is it possible for Luminianth Root to give birth?”

At that moment, Mr. Walter seemed to realize something and exclaimed. “No–no way! Could it be—that’s a Blood Luminianth Root?!”

Everyone in the room went wild at his statement.

“What? Blood Luminianth Root? Mr. Walter, you’re not kidding, are you?!”

“That’s right. I’ve seen it in a book, this is truly a Blood Luminianth Root!”

“Oh my God! I can’t believe that I get to see a Blood Luminianth Root with my own eyes! How exciting!”

The crowd broke into a discussion. Some were surprised, others were envious.

“Wait! What’s a Blood Luminianth Root?” Ruth looked around, not understanding what was going on.

“Blood Luminianth Root is also one of the Luminianth Root variants. However, it is more precious and rarer than a normal Luminianth Root! You could say that it’s the King of Luminianth Roots! It is an invaluable treasure!” Mr. Walter gulped, looking elated.

“Invaluable treasure? Then how much would it cost?” Ruth asked out of curiosity.

“Blood Lurninianth Root is extremely valuable. If I were to auction it, it would cost more than ten billion dollars!” The words from Mr. Walter’s mouth shocked everyone in the room.

“What? Ten billion?!”

Everyone could not believe what he just said.

This was an amount that none of them could afford even if they had sold all their possessions!

“How–how could it be? This tiny thing is worth ten billion dollars?” Florence’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Ten billion is just the reserve price. If it were really to be auctioned, it might even be higher!” Mr. Walter exclaimed.

His words drained the last bit of color from Florence’s face.

This Blood Luminianth Root was hers. Yet, she sold it out for five million dollars. From ten billion to five million. dollars…

The difference was just too big!

“How could this happen? No! This can’t be!”

At that moment, Julie and the rest were in shock, unable to accept the situation.

Who would’ve thought that a Blood Luminianth Root could be found inside a wilted Luminianth Root?

“Dustin, my man! I can’t believe you’re so lucky! You managed to discover a Blood Luminianth Root. These five million dollars were well spent!” Ruth burst out laughing.

Even for someone like her, she had never seen anything that was worth ten billion dollars.

“You! Thanks for your sacrifice, otherwise we wouldn’t have been able to get our hands on such a valuable treasure. To be fair, this was supposed to be yours. What a shame, you guys weren’t able to recognize the value of it. Thanks to your losses, we’re able to get it for such a cheap price! Ten billion dollars! How wonderful!” Ruth shook her head and sighed.

Her words pierced into their hearts.

Julie and Florence turned red in anger, looking as if they had fallen into a pool of mud. That was a treasure worth ten billion dollars!

Because of a small mistake, they gave it away to them.

They were really down on their luck!

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 126

“This fellow really hit the jackpot! I can’t believe he really found a Blood Luminianth Root!”

“I know right? With a treasure like that, he won’t have to worry for the rest of his life!”

“Damn it! If I knew there was a treasure hiding in that piece of wood, I would’ve bought it myself!”

With the Blood Luminianth Root’s debut, the onlookers immediately started talking.

All of them looked at Dustin with a gaze full of envy.

“Fuck! This guy really struck gold!” James clenched his teeth, eyes filled with rage.

“That’s odd, how did he know that there was a treasure hiding inside? Dahlia was more puzzled than shocked.

Everyone had no clue, even Mr. Walter. And yet, Dustin managed to notice.

“Is it really luck? Or was there another reason?” She wondered.

“Dustin, we really won big this time! But, how did you guess that a Blood Luminianth Root was hiding in there?”

Ruth asked the question that was on everyone’s minds.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure as well. It was purely a guess.” Dustin said humbly.

“A guess? You’re saying that you had no idea there was a Blood Luminianth Root inside? And you still used five million dollars to gamble?” Ruth was a little stunned.

“You can put it that way.” Dustin nodded.

“I really don’t know whether to call you stupid or lucky.” Ruth gave him an incredulous look.

“I admit that it was indeed a big gamble, but my bet was right. When something goes wrong, there is usually a good reason behind it. There must be a reason for a long–living Luminianth Root to wilt. I read about
something similar from a book before.” Dustin smiled faintly.

“You’re a genius! You really enlightened me today!” Ruth gave him a thumbs up. Her respect for him immediately grew tenfold.

“Wait! This Blood Luminianth Root is mine!” Florence suddenly exclaimed.

She reached out to snatch the root but luckily was stopped by Ruth. “Hey! What are you doing?!”

“I’m not selling it! I’ll return your five million dollars. I’m not selling this Blood Luminianth Root anymore!” Florence was in a panic.

This was worth ten billion dollars. How could she give it to someone else so easily?

“That’s right! We’re not selling it anymore! Give it back to us!” After coming back to her senses, Julle chimed in.

Everyone could not help but frown at their unreasonable behavior.

“Oi! Are you guys that shameless? The deal is done. Now you want to back out? No way!” Ruth blocked them from the Blood Luminianth Root, her expression fierce.

She had never seen such shameless people. They were laughing when they thought they had scammed Dustin. Now that they know they made a loss, they’re using all kinds of methods to get it back. How disgusting!

“I don’t care! This Blood Luminianth Root is mine. You must return it to me today!” Florence exploded in anger. It was like a child throwing a tantrum,

“Dustin! I’m warning you, you better give us back the Blood Luminianth Root! Otherwise, I won’t hold back on you!” Julie glared at him with daggers in her eyes.

An invaluable treasure like this was enough to make them lose their minds.

“You were the ones who sold it voluntarily. We also handed over the money. Now that I discovered a treasure inside, you’re backing out? Do you think we’d really give it back to you?” Dustin brushed them off coldly.

“Stop the nonsense! If you weren’t so despicable and scammed us our Blood Luminianth Root, did you think we’d sell it to you?” Florence roared in anger.

“Exactly! You clearly knew there was a Blood Luminianth Root inside. Why didn’t you tell us? You purposely scammed us!” Julie said.

Hearing this, Dustin could only laugh. He was looking at two clowns.

“First of all, I didn’t know there was a Blood Luminianth Root in there. It was just a guess. Secondly. So what if I know there was a treasure inside? Why do I need to tell you guys? Also, you guys were the ones who harbored bad intentions and tried to scam someone else. Otherwise, why would you sell it to me? So, all in all, you guys brought this upon yourself!” Dustin said calmly.

Everyone nodded and agreed with what he said.

“Well said! This guy earned the treasure fair and square. He earned it with his talent!”

“When you scammed them, why didn’t you back out then? Now that you know you made a loss, you’re being shameless!”

“That’s right! If you were to follow their dumb logic, wouldn’t the Blood Luminianth Root belong to Mr. Walter?”

The onlookers started to express their disdain.

“You–you all are ganging up on us, aren’t you? You scoundrels, I’ll kill you!” Florence yelled, ready to strike a hit.

“Enough! You’ve made a loss! What’s the point of spilling your guts here? Are you not shameful enough?!” Dahlia yelled at Florence.

“Dahlia, you…” Florence was stunned.

“What are you standing there for? Go!” Dahlia sald angrily, her face contorted in frustration, Lilacier

“Mom, we’re definitely not getting back the treasure now. Let’s go home and figure out another way.” Before the situation turned sour, James hurriedly convinced his mom.

His sister rarely gets angry, but once she does, no one will be spared.

“Dustin! I’m not done with you!” Florence also didn’t dare to act out. After giving Dustin a fierce glare, she left the room unwillingly.

“Humph! So what if you guys got a Blood Luminianth Root? A guy like you wouldn’t live long enough to use it!” Knowing that they lost, Julie left him a curse before leaving.

“Bleh, bleh, bleh!” Ruth mocked as they left.

“Dustin, those who possess treasures will attract the attention of robbers. Having a treasure like this is not an easy job. You should be careful” Dahlia’s gaze lingered on him for a few moments before leaving.

Because of that, Ruth’s senses were tingling. “Dustin, that gaze of hers was a bit weird. Are you guys still not over each other?”

“What nonsense are you on about?” Dustin rolled his eyes.

“Hey! Don’t say that I didn’t warn you, but you must keep yourself together. Don’t give in to her temptations!” Ruth warned with narrowed eyes. She clenched her teeth, showing her two canines that seemed threatening.

“Rue, what on earth is going on in that little head of yours? Now that we’ve got the Luminianth Root, let’s head home!” Dustin lightly knocked on her head.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 127

The night passed by peacefully.

Natasha enjoyed her cup of coffee at Java Joys as she flipped through pages of documents.

She looked worn out after staying up the entire night.

“Natasha!” Just then, Quentin and Mr. Wangley stormed in through the door.

“What is it?” Natasha couldn’t even be bothered to spare them a glance. She continued to flip through the documents.

Bang! A wooden box was rudely slammed on the table. It opened up to reveal a single white pill in it.

“Check this out. Natasha. Do you know what it is?” Quentin pointed at the pill, and his tone was unmistakably demanding

“How would I know? You tell me.” She sat up lazily.

“Hah! You can’t even recognize the Eternumax?” Quentin looked unimpressed.

“So this is Eternumax. Well, what about it?” Natasha asked, not too concerned.

“What about it?! You have the gall to ask me what about it? I bought this Eternumax from the Hummers! They’ve managed to manufacture it! Are you aware of that?” Quentin raised his voice.

“Oh? So what? Isn’t it only a matter of time?” Natasha couldn’t be any calmer.

“What is this attitude you’re showing? Do you not see the severity of the issue at hand? The Eternumax that the Hummers produced have shown phenomenal results, and many of the rich and powerful have already put in their orders. Its price has sky–rocketed, and they’re now worth a whopping 500 grand per pill!” Quentin looked exasperated.

“Oh? So?” Still Natasha was unfazed.

“An object is valued in proportion to its rarity. Eternumax is monopolizing the market right now because there are no other medications that can compete with it yet. But once the Hummers start producing it, we will be severely affected!” Quentin rapped sharply on the table.

“What exactly are you saying?” Natasha countered.

“You are now left with two choices. You either develop the Eternumax as soon as possible, or you will have to collaborate with Edwin Hummer!” Quentin announced decisively.

“Our research findings on the Eternumax have been stolen. It’s too late to start over from scratch. As for working with Edwin Hummer, that’s impossible.” Natasha relused flat out.

“You disagree with both options. But you don’t have a solution to solve the situation, don’t you? The family puts such importance on you, and this is how you repay us?” Quentin questioned aggressively.

“I have my way of dealing with it. You don’t have to worry.” Natasha was still undisturbed.

“This has to do with the gains of the family. I will not allow you to mess around! If you do not come up with a satisfactory solution in three days, do not blame me for reporting you to the board!” Quentin declared justly.

“Do as you wish.” Natasha shrugged nonchalantly.

“Fine! Just you wait!” Quentin scoffed before he turned to leave. From how he saw it, Natasha was bound to lose this time around.

Once she messes up, the family will need a scapegoat to pin the blame on, and he would have an excuse to force her to back out.

Not long after Quentin left, Ruth came running in.

“We did it! We did it!” Ruth exclaimed as she ran in, looking for Natasha with excitement.

“Did what?” Natasha looked up, bewildered.

“The Immortunol! Dustin managed to produce the Immortunol!”

Ruth pulled out a little bottle as she spoke and poured out a green pill from it.

The pill was bright and clear, with a sort of luster to it. It even has a slight fragrance.

“Oh? This is Immortunol?” Natasha looked astonished.

Appearance–wise, the pill looked really attractive, akin to a pearl.

“It tastes really good too! Would you like to give it a taste?” Ruth gushed, as though showing off a precious treasure.

“It tastes good? Do you think this is some kind of snack?”

Natasha did not know what to make of her sister’s comment. But still, she picked up the Immortunol and popped it in.

It dissolved instantly, and a cool sensation flowed through her body as she swallowed it.

A tingly sensation came over her, and she felt rejuvenated. All of her exhaustion seemed to have dissipated on the spot.

She was refreshed and energized right away!

“Immortunol is amazing indeed!” Natasha could not contain her awe.

She was really in disbelief at how it was able to exhibit such palpable effects immediately.

“Sis! Your face! You look like you’ve aged backward! Your complexion looks much brighter tool” Ruth cried out in surprise beside her.

“What are you blabbering about? That’s impossible!” Natasha rolled her eyes, obviously not buying what Ruth had just said.

“It’s true! Take a look in the mirror if you don’t believe me!” She took out a compact mirror and passed it to her sister,

“What?” One look in the mirror was all it took to give Natasha a shock.

She found that after ingesting the Immortunol, her complexion had improved.

Even the dark circles under her eyes, a result of her staying up the whole night, had disappeared too.

Her skin’s texture felt like she had just applied a mask to it, bright and hydrated.

“My goodness! This is miraculous!” She was in utter disbelief as she touched her face.

One Immortunol made her feel so rejuvenated, removed the dark circles under her eyes, and primed up her skin, making her look much more alluring.

Its beautifying effects were a game–changer!

“How is it? I wasn’t lying, was I?” Ruth looked very pleased with it.

She had been busying herself with assisting Dustin ever since they got their hands on the Blood Luminianth Root the day before..

So she played a part in the production of Immortunol, at least that was what she believed.

“It’s great, isn’t it!” She was momentarily lost in her thoughts before breaking out into a grin.

Frankly speaking, she had not held high hopes for them being able to produce the Immortunol. But Dustin had proved her wrong yet again. He was truly their lucky star!

“Sis, Immortunol does not only give superb effects, but its production cost is also much lower than Eternumax. We spent 5 million dollars on the Blood Luminianth Root, which Dustin diluted with water, and now, that can last us years!” Ruth’s statement was incredible news.

“Really? That’s wonderful!” Natasha’s spirits were lifted.

Based on what she had just experienced, she was sure that the Immortinol’s effects far surpassed that of the Eternumax.

Furthermore, if they could control its production cost, that would be a breakthrough!

It would not be an exaggeration to say that once Immortinol was out on the market, it would bring Eternumax down to its knees.

“Ruth, we need to keep Immortinol a secret.”

“Why?”

“Edwin will be having a press release for the launching of Eternumax in a few days. We have to take him by surprise and hit him where it hurts. It’ll give him a huge shock in front of the press!”

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 128

Over at the Nicholsons‘ that afternoon.

“Dahlia, are you going to Miss Hummer’s birthday party this evening? Can you bring me along?” James asked excitedly when he saw the invitation on the table.

She was, after all, the daughter of Edwin Hummer, the richest man in the country. It would be beneficial to make acquaintances with such a person.

“I will be attending the birthday party, but the invitation is limited to two persons only. Julie has already called dibs on it.” Dahlia cast a damp over James‘ enthusiasm.

“Her?” Displeased, James turned to look at Julie, who was on the couch applying makeup to her face.

“Dahlia, I’m your brother! How could you bring her, and not me?” He grumbled.

At that, Julie shot him a glare and said condescendingly, “And what can you do there? Everyone attending the party tonight will be people of status and elites. Wouldn’t a high school dropout like you just embarrass yourself showing up there?”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Do you think that you’re all that great?” James was irked.

“Better than you, at least.” Julie wasn’t one to back off easily.

“You!”

James was just about to burst into a fit of anger when Florence stopped him just in time. “That’s enough. Julie’s our quest, you should play nice. I think it’d be a good opportunity for her to make good connections at the party this evening since she’s fresh out of college. Let her go with Dahlia.”

“Do you hear that? If I manage to befriend Miss Hummer, I’d be on the highway to success! When the time comes, I’ll make sure you benefit from it too!” Julie said with her head held high.

“Hah! You? I’d be better off relying on mysel!!” James plopped down on the couch, obviously feeling indignant.

Ever since Julie came, all the attention had been shifted to her. He felt that he was now out of favor.

“Ah, right, Dahlia, I nearly forgot.”

Florence seemed to recall something as she rummaged around in her bag. In the end, she pulled out an Intricate jewelry box.

“This is a present that Matt gifted you two days ago. Since you’re attending the party today, I think you can put this to good use. Have a look.”

As she spoke, she opened up the jewelry box. There was a pair of ruby earrings in it..

The earrings were exquisite and delicate. They were dazzling under the light’s Illumination.

“Wow! It’s spectacular!‘

Julie’s eyes lit up as she scrambled to get up. She pulled the jewelry box over for a better look at the earrings. Aunt Florence, such gorgeous earrings must cost a bomb, won’t they?”

“I heard Matt mention that these are Pandarum earrings, and they are custom–made. This is the only pair in the whole of Swinton. It costs millions, Florence announced proudly.

“Is that so? As expected, only the best from Matt!”

Julie beamed as she picked up one of the earrings and put it on. “Aunt Florence, how does it look on me?”

“You’re a born beauty, Julie. Of course, it looks magnificent on you,” Florence answered.

“Hehe! Well, thank you then, Aunt Florence!”

Julie brazenly took the other earring and put it on too. It was evident that she was about to take it as her own.

Her actions gave Florence quite a shock. “Julie, this is your cousin’s gift from Matt. It wouldn’t be too nice for you to wear it tonight.” Florence chuckled awkwardly.

“What’s wrong with me wearing it? I’m just borrowing it for the night, it’s not like I’m not going to give it back.” Julie snapped bluntly.

“But”

Florence was about to counter what she just said, but Julie cut her off. “Aunt Florence, we’re relatives. You can’t be so petty, can you?”

“Julie Amberson! These are my sister’s earrings! What rights do you have to wear them?” James finally could not take it any longer.

She said that she was just borrowing them, but the fact was, she had never once returned the items she borrowed!

This was plain robbery!

“Hey! Why are you shouting at me? Isn’t it just a pair of earrings? Aren’t you just being selfish?” Julie slammed her hand on the table aggressively.

“I’m selfish? Do you have any idea how greedy you look right now? Do you have no shame?” James bellowed.

“How dare you scold me? Aunt Florence! Did you hear what James said? I can leave if I’m not welcome here!” Julie flared up.

And with that, she turned to leave.

But before she could even take her first step, Florence pulled her back. “What are you doing, Julie? Of course, you’re welcome here! Aren’t they just a pair of earrings? I’ll lend them to you!”

“Mom! You-!”

“Shut it!”

Florence whipped around and shot him a glare. “You’re her older cousin! Why do you keep picking fights with her? Can’t you be more generous?”

“Fine! Keep siding with her then. See if I care!” James was so angry that he stormed out and slammed the door.

Dahlia frowned. It wasn’t the earrings that she was concerned about, but Julie’s domineering attitude did not sit well with her.

“Dahlia, you do not mind me wearing your earrings, do you?” Julie smiled as she touched the earrings gently.

“It’s up to you.” Dahlia could not be bothered to continue speaking to her.

To begin with, she was not comfortable with Matt’s gift to her.

“Hehe! Thank you, Dahlia.” Julie beamed brightly as she continued applying her makeup.

That evening at Kingdom Hotel, a black Mercedes–Benz rolled up to the main entrance.

The door opened, and Dahlia and Julie got out of the car.

Dahlia dressed down for the occasion in a black dress and black heels. She kept her accessories simple too.

Julie, on the other hand, went all out and dressed herself up, almost looking like a peacock.

She had jewelry from head to toe and looked dazzling under the lights.

To further accentuate the million–dollar pair of ruby earrings, she even did her hair up in a chignon. She was out to be in the limelight.

“Wow! What a stunning lady! She looks like a celebrity!”

“I think she looks even more attractive than any celebrity out there! Her looks and elegance are other–worldly.”

When the both of them got out of the car, a bunch of guests at the entrance turned to look at them. However, most of their attention was on Dahlia.

Despite Julie’s showy appearance, she did not receive much attention

After all, it was clear that Dahlia was far superior to her in all aspects, from looks to figures. Julie’s extravagant outfit alone was not enough to make up for what she lacked.

“Hmph!” She was not pleased.

She had made every preparation she could think of for the birthday party that evening, and she had expected to impress everyone with her beauty.

It had never occurred to her that Dahlia’s presence would steal all the attention.

“These men are so blind! How could a woman who had been married before compare to me?” She thought.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 129

“Dahlia, you can head up first. I’m waiting for a friend here.” Julie made up an excuse to send Dahlia away once they entered the hotel lobby.

She was well aware that with Dahlia around, she would never get the attention she yearned for.

How would she make acquaintances with the rich and famous then? How would she get to know rich, eligible men?

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you at the banquet hall.” Without giving it much thought, Dahlia took the elevator up to the banquet hall.

With Dahlia gone, Julie quickly became the center of attention. She deliberately walked around the lobby and flaunted coquettishly, attracting much attention.

Some men approached her in an attempt to strike up a conversation, but she rejected them all, playing hard to get.

“Hey, you’ve got such lovely earrings! May I know where you bought them from?”

“Yes, that’s true! I’ve never seen such exquisite carrings before!”

“These rubies are huge! They must have cost you a lot!”

Soon, not only the men came up to her, but even the ladies flocked over to ask her about the earrings. As usual women could not resist jewelry.

“These ruby earrings are from Pandarum. My boyfriend gave them to me. These are uniquely custom–made, and they are the only pair out there. As for the price, they were not too expensive. Just a million or two.” Julie pretended to be unconcerned about their price and smiled.

Though her words sounded humble, arrogance was evident on her face.

“A million or two, and you say it’s not expensive? Seems like you’re not the average Tom, Dick, and Harry!”

“How fortunate you are to have a boyfriend who gives you such precious earrings!”

“From how I see it, it’s not the price that matters, but the sincerity behind it! It’s custom–made and unique! That’s so sweet! How I envy you!”

The group of women chattered away praising Julie.

That fueled Julie’s vanity, pleasing her to no end. She really enjoyed being the center of attention and being praised by others.

Right then, a Rolls–Royce Phantom pulled up at the door.

The car door opened and out stepped an alluring woman with delicate leatures and long, flowing hair. She came walking in like a celebrity among a group of adoring fans.

“Miss Hummer?!”

The lady’s appearance garnered a lot of attention and a commotion started both inside and outside the lobby.

The crowd that had surrounded Julie immediately dispersed and flocked over to Tina, ready to flatter her.

She was, after all, the star of the day. Edwin Hummer’s daughter, Tina Hummer!

Julie had intended to go over and welcome her too, but as there were too many people surrounding Tina, she did not do so.

She knew that going along with what everyone was doing would not make her stand out, and she needed to stand out to make Miss Hummer notice her.

At the thought of that, she intentionally stood at the entrance and tried her best to show off the biggest asset she had on her at the moment, which happened to be the pair of ruby earrings.

That was the first step to forming a connection with Miss Hummer. She refused to believe that there was any woman on earth who could resist the temptation of such irresistible jewelry.

As Julie predicted, Tina stopped in front of her when she reached the entrance, with the crowd still around her.

Her gaze was fixed on Julie.

Julie suppressed her excitement and walked up to Tina to introduce herself when she saw that the timing was right. “Hello, Miss Hummer. I am Julie Amberson. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

She stretched her hand out for a handshake. But Tina ignored her outstretched hand and stared unwaveringly at her earrings.

“Those ruby earrings, where did you get them from?” she asked icily.

“My boyfriend gave them to me. These are custom–made Pandarums, you won’t be able to find a similar pair out there. But of course, Miss Hummer, if you fancy them, I can give them to you.” Julie was secretly delighted.

“Even the daughter of the wealthiest man can’t resist these earrings,” she thought to herself.

“Boyfriend?”

Tina’s expression clouded over. “Is it Matt Laney?”

The reason why she asked was that she had received the exact same pair of ruby earrings from Matt as her birthday gift not too long ago.

“Oh! Do you know Matt too, Miss Hummer? In that case, we’re friends too!” Julie’s eyes lit up.

Who knew that a pair of earrings would be the key to her success?

“Who’s your friend? Bitch!” Tina glared at Julie and struck her across the face. Smack! A loud, crisp sound was heard.

Julie was at a loss as she held her cheek in her hand. “Miss Hummer, wh–why did you hit me?”

“What is your relationship with Matt Laney? You better come clean. If you hide anything from me, I’ll make sure you won’t live to see the next sunrise!” Tina’s expression made it clear that she meant every word she said.

She would not let other women mess with what was hers.

“Miss Hummer, I think you’re mistaken. Matt and I are just regular friends, nothing more than that!” Julie started to fluster.

She did not know what had happened, but it was obvious that she had angered Tina.

“Would regular friends give you ruby earrings worth a million dollars? Do you think I’m a dim–wit?” Furious was an understatement to describe what Tina was feeling at that moment.

“It has nothing to do with me, Miss Hummer! These ruby earrings aren’t mine, they’re my cousin Dahlia’s! I only borrowed them for a few days!” Seeing that the situation wasn’t favorable to her anymore, Julie stopped pretending and came clean with the truth.

“Dahlia Nicholson?” Tina’s eyes narrowed into slits.

She remembered that that was a name that Matt had mentioned when he asked for her help concerning the interrogation room. She hadn’t put much thought into it then, but it turns out that there was something fishy going on with the two of them.

“That bitch! She seduced my man, and she has the audacity to show up at my birthday party?! Is she trying to provoke me?” Tina gritted her teeth as a murderous glint flashed in her eyes.

“This is all Dahlia Nicholson’s fault, Miss Hummer. I’ve got nothing to do with it. Will you please let me off?”

Julie was so scared that she broke out in cold sweat.

She finally got an idea of what had happened. Tina and Matt were obviously a couple. The main problem was that Tina recognized the pair of earrings. That was no different from her catching Matt and Dahlia together.

“Shut up! If you do not have a death wish, then do what I tell you to do!” Tina roared.

“You name it, Miss Hummer. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll try my best to accomplish it!” Julie promised wholeheartedly.

“Put this into Dahlia’s bag.” Tina took a delicate jewelry box and handed it to Julie.

“What do you mean, Miss Hummer?” Julie could not wrap her head around Tina’s request.

“Don’t ask questions! Just do as you’ve been told!” Tina scolded. “Yes, yes.” Julie nodded vigorously. She was in no place to refuse.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 130

Over at the banquet hall, Dahlia was puzzled when she saw Julie panting as she entered. “Didn’t you say that you were waiting for a friend, Julie? Where’s your friend?”

“Something came up and she couldn’t make it.”

She smiled sheepishly. “Oh, Dahlia, could you lend me your compact mirror, please? I need to fix my makeup.”

“I remembered that you’ve brought one yourself,” Dahlia said.

“Mine’s faulty. I’d prefer to use yours.” Without waiting for a reply, Julie took Dahlia’s bag and fished around in it.

Dahlia was annoyed by that. She had to admit, her cousin was really a spoiled brat who lacked manners.

“Thanks, Dahlia.” Julie tossed Dahlia’s bag back to her after she managed to get the compact mirror out. Then, she made up some excuse to go to the washroom.

Right at that moment, Tina made her entrance, followed by a crowd behind her, creating a ruckus in the banquet hall,

In the end, she stopped smack in the middle of the hall.

“Quiet down, everyone. I have an announcement to make.” Tina raised her hand and gestured for the crowd to calm down.

The effect was immediate and the hall fell silent.

“It’s my birthday party today, and it was meant to be a happy occasion, but something awful has happened!”

Tina’s gaze swept across the hall before she continued. “A pair of valuable earrings which I have intended to wear for the occasion has been stolen. They are a unique pair of custom–made Pandarum earrings, and they are priceless to me!”

The crowd was in an uproar when they heard that.

“What? Did someone steal Miss Hummer’s earrings? Who has the guts to do that?”

“We must find out who did it! Such a vile person must never be let off the hook!”

“Damn it! If I ever find out who stole Miss Hummer’s belongings, I’ll make sure to rearrange his face!”

The crowd in the hall was all worked up, shouting curses and threats at the thief.

On the one hand, they despised the thief, but on the other hand, they were trying to please Tina.

“Everyone, please calm down. The fact is, I know who did it.” Tina continued.

“Who? Where’s the thief among us? Everyone looked around, trying to figure out who the culprit was.

Tina smiled mirthlessly and strode over to Dahlia.

“She’s the one!” Tina pointed a finger at Dahlia.

“What?”

The crowd was collectively taken aback by the accusation, If the culprit had been a creep, they would have gone ahead and taught him a lesson.

But it turns out that the person whom Tina had accused of stealing her belongings was an enchanting beauty.

Everyone was at a loss.

“Isn’t that the president of Quine Group? Why would she steal?”

“Exactly! Everyone knows Ms. Nicholson. She wouldn’t stoop so low, would she?”

“One may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature. Who knows what vile Intentions this lady is hiding behind her glamorous appearance?”

The men were generally doubtful of Tina’s accusation, whereas the ladies trusted her fully.

“Miss Hummer, there must be some sort of misunderstanding. I have not stolen anything.”

Dahlia took a moment to regain her composure before denying Tina’s accusation.

She had never thought that Tina would pin it on her.

“A quick search should easily be able to tell us whether or not you did it.” A faint smile graced Tina’s features.

“Miss Hummer, would it not be inappropriate to conduct a search on a guest whom you’ve invited to your birthday party in front of everyone?” Dahlia knew that she was innocent, but that did not mean that she should allow others to do as they please.

After all, Tina’s suggestion to go through her belongings was an obvious act of disrespect.

“What do you have to fear if you’re not guilty?” Tina smirked.

“That’s right! If you truly are innocent, what harm would a search do to you?”

“Hmph! I think that someone’s just feeling guilty!” The ladies started to back Tina up.

Dahlia’s presence alone was enough to overshadow their radiance, so they were eager to see her get into trouble.

“Fine, since Miss Hummer insists on going through my things, then, by all means, go ahead.” Dahlia could not be bothered to argue with her, so she handed her bag over.

Her conscience was clear, and she did not want to cause a scene, so she might as well let them go through her bag to prove her innocence.

Tina did not say anything and simply gestured for her bodyguards to search Dahlia’s bag.

Soon, the bodyguards fished out a delicate jewelry box from the bag. The jewelry box even had Tina’s name carved on it.

“Miss Hummer, here it is!” The bodyguard handed the jewelry box over to her.

“Ladies and gentlemen, do you see this?”

Tina raised the jewelry box and took out the pair of magnificent ruby earrings in it, displaying them to the crowd. “This! this is evidence!”

The moment the pair of ruby earrings were produced, it brought about a whoosh of uproar throughout the entire hall.

Eyes widened as shock came over everyone’s faces.

“No way! Would the president of Quine Group do such a thing?”

“Hah! And I thought that she would be above that! Who would’ve guessed that she was so materialistic!”

“I thought that such a beautiful person would know to conduct hersell better than this! Of all things to do, why would she go and steal from others? That’s terrible!”

At that moment, the winds of opinion completely shifted. With irrefutable evidence staring them in the face, everyone chose to believe Tina.

“No! That’s not possible!!

Dahlia’s expression changed as she shook her head vigorously. “Why is this in my bag? I’ve never even touched it!”

“You bitch!” Infuriated. Tina slapped Dahlia.

Smack! Five red streaks immediately bloomed on Dahlia’s cheek.

“Miss Hummer, I did not steal them! Someone must have set me up!” Dahlia fought to explain.

“How dare you deny it when we have concrete evidence? Seems like you’re one to give up only at the sight of the gallows!” Without saying any more, Tina gave her two more slaps. She truly wasn’t going easy on her.

Dahlia’s face swelled up and her hair was a mess.

“I did not steal!” She clenched her jaws, an unyielding look in her eyes.

“If I said you stole it, that means you did!”
Tina scoffed. “Guards! Hold her down! I’m going to teach her a lesson today!”

“Yes, Miss Hummer!”

Two of her bodyguards went up to Dahlia and restrained her. They held her arms behind her back and brought her down to her knees so that she was kneeling.

“You slut! How dare you seduce my man? Have you got a death wish?” Tina grabbed hold of Dahlia’s hair, a wicked look on her face.

“It was you? You were the one who framed me?” Dahlia was stunned for a moment before it struck her. She had been Tina’s target from the get–go!

“Hah! Guess you’re not such a thickhead after all.” Tina let out a low laugh.

“But so what if you know? No one can help you now. I can deal with you however I want to.” With that, she picked up a bottle of red wine and stuffed the neck of the bottle into Dahlia’s mouth.

The red fluid gushed into Dahlia’s mouth, and Dahlia choked on it, coughing unstoppably. Her face was flushed red.

She felt lightheaded and it was horrible.

“Down it! I said, down it!” Tina’s expression was nothing short of maniacal.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 131

“You whore! How dare you seduce my boyfriend? I’ll make your life a living hell!

Tina kept forcing the wine on Dahlia, humiliating her before the crowd. She was rough and ruthless.

By the time the bottle of wine was emptied, Dahlia had slumped to the ground helplessly.

Even then, Tina did not stop. She grabbed a fistful of Dahlia’s hair and pulled her head up.

Then, a torrent of slaps rained down on Dahlia, each one harder than the one before.

“You slut! You whore! How dare you mess with my boyfriend? How dare you?” Tina shouted as she roughed Dahlia up, almost in a frenzy.

When Tina finally stopped, Dahlia’s face was swollen and blotched, with streaks of blood coming out the comer of her mouth.

“Why? Why?” Dahlia asked breathlessly, trying to regain her bearings.

“You have the audacity to ask why? Are you unaware of what you have done, you bitch!” Tina reached for Dahlia’s hair again and slammed her head hard to the ground.

Blood gushed out immediately. A mixture of blood and wine dripped down Dahlia’s face.

The sight of Dahlia lying on the ground and unable to get up did not garner any sympathy from Tina, in fact; it seemed to excite her.

She raised her leg and stomped hard on Dahlia’s linger.

“Ah!” Dahlia could finally hold in no longer, and a shriek escaped her. A piercing pain overtook her senses.

“You shameless tramp! You like flirting around with other men, don’t you? I’d like to see if you’d ever seduce my boyfriend again!” A crazed smile crept up on Tina’s face as she repeatedly stepped on Dahlia’s hand with her stilettos.

Each time, it struck with greater brutality and ferocity.

In no time, both of Dahlia’s hands were a mess of flesh and blood. It was a terrifying sight.

“Ahh!” Dahlia’s face turned lifeless from the agonizing pain, and she trembled uncontrollably.

Even the strongest of men would not be able to endure it after such merciless torture, much less a woman like Dahlia.

Most of the crowd felt sorry for her when they saw the state she was in. Surely an act of theft did not warrant such cold–blooded torture?

It was too cruel!

“Dahlia, you can’t blame me for this. You’ve only got yoursell to blame for messing with Ms. Hummer’s boyfriend and offending her.” In a corner, Julie trembled like a leaf.

She did not think that Tina would be so unforgiving. She just came short of torturing Dahlia to her gravel

“Ms. Hummer, she’s out cold.” A bodyguard told Tina, Dahlia had already passed out from the abuse. She had multiple fractures on her fingers, and her entire palm was bloody. It was a ghastly scene.

“She’s down so soon? What a bore.” Tina looked down at Dahlia like she was not done with her yet.

She lifted her leg and wiped the blood off her heels on Dahlia’s clothes. Then, with a nonchalant wave of her hand, she said, “Throw her out. I’ll play with her next time.”

Had it not been for her birthday party that night, she would make sure that she had her fun with her.

After Dahlia was thrown out, Julie, who knew that she was guilty, dared not dally any longer. She sent Dahlia to the hospital immediately.

The medical staff in the emergency ward were all shocked by Dahlia’s state when she was sent in.

She was a gruesome sight to behold, all covered in blood.

The greatest issue was that it was an obvious case of assault, not an accident.

So the question was, who would be so brutal to torture a woman until she was in such a miserable state?

“Where is the patient’s next of kin?” A doctor asked.

“There was another lady here with her earlier on, I don’t know where she went.” A nurse looked around, searching for Julie.

“Check the patient’s bag to see if there’s a phone in there. Contact her family right away.”

“Okay, sure.”

The nurse went through Dahlia’s bag and quickly found her phone and unlocked it with Dahlia’s fingerprint.

She called the contact which was set as “Husband“.

Over at Peaceful Medical Centre, a phone rang.

Dustin, who was in the process of producing Immortunol, pulled his phone out and frowned.

He picked up the call. “Hello, is anything the maller?”

“Hello? Are you a farmily member of the owner of this phone? I’m calling from the emergency ward of East Swinton Hospital. You need to come here as soon as possible. The patient’s in bad shape.”

“She’s hurt? What happened?” Dustin’s brows knitted even tighter together.

“I’m not too sure either. Come quick.”

Dustin fell silent. Without a moment’s hesitation, he rushed over to Fast Swinton Hospital after hanging up the call.

When he stepped into the emergency ward to lind Dahlia lying unconscious on the hospital bed, his expression clouded over.

Her face was swollen, blood came out from her mouth, and her forehead had suffered a strong impact.

Worst of all was her fingers, which were broken from being stepped on. They were a bloody mess that he could hardly bear the sight of It was not difficult to imagine the pain she had been through before she lost consciousness.

“You’re her husband, aren’t you? What have you been up to? How could you let your wife be tortured sol terribly? That’s very irresponsible of you!” The head nurse complained, feeling sorry for Dahlia.

“How is she?” Dustin’s brows furrowed.

“The patient is not in critical danger currently, but her wounds will take quite a while to heal. Her hands, especially, have multiple comminuted fractures. There is a possibility that they may never fully recover,” The head nurse cautioned him.

“Who did this?” Dustin’s expression was terrifyingly cold and emotionless.

“How would I know? You’re her husband, and you have no idea who did it?” The head nurse scowled.

Dustin held his silence. Suddenly, his gaze shot over to the door.

There was a suspicious person craning by the door in an attempt to peek at them. He dashed over and grabbed the person.

“Hey, Rhys! What are you doing? Let go of me!” Julie cried out in dismay.

“Who did this to Dahlia? Tell me Dustin demanded furiously.

“I–How would I know?” Julie stuttered. The very next next second, she was lifted off the ground by a hand that found its way around her throat.

She suffocated, and her struggles to catch her breath proved futile.

“I’ll ask you again. Who did it?” There was a fierce glint in Dustin’s eyes, and a chilling hostility emanated from him.

A bone–piercing coldness instantly enveloped the entire ward.

“It–It was Edwin Hummer’s daughter, Tina Hummer who did it Flustered, Julle blurted out the truth. She had never seen such a frightening side to Dustin.

His gaze was akin to that of the Devil, giving chills to whoever met it. Julie began to tremble.

“Watch over her.”

Once Dustin got the answer he wanted, he left without another word.

A fiery anger burned in his chest.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 132

The sky started to rain.

At that moment, the atmosphere at the party in Emperor Hotel was lively as usual. The commotion earlier clearly had not affected the party.

Tina looked like a princess, surrounded by people. Everyone approached her to leave a good impression.

Yet, most of the people did not interest her. Only a few distinguished guests were worthy of chatting with her.

“Miss, Mr. Williams and Mr. Chapman are here.” One of the butlers came up to her and reported.

Tina turned around and saw two fine–looking men who were standing quietly at the entrance of the party.

One of them was Oliver from Boulderthorn!The other was Oliver’s senior, Troy Chapman. Behind the two of them were two bodyguards.

“Mr. Williams. Mr. Chapman. It’s good to see you again.” Tina immediately gave them a warm welcome with a smile.

“Happy birthday, Ms. Hummer.” Oliver and Troy presented their gifts respectively.

“Oh, please. It is my honor to have you both as my guests. There’s no need for presents. Tina grinned.

“It is only proper to reciprocate Joshua’s kindness. After all, he has always treated us well. A small token of appreciation is nothing.” Oliver smiled.

Had they come from an ordinary rich family, she wouldn’t have given them a second glance.

However, Tina’s brother, Joshua, was a disciple of Boulderthorn. He was their senior. And so, it was necessary for her to attend to them.

“Oh right, why is my brother not here today?” Tina asked.

“Joshua is on a retreat at the moment. He’s unable to leave, so he sent us here to meet you.” Oliver explained.

“I see

Tina nodded and extended her hand. “Please have a seat, let me know if there’s anything you need.”

“Alright. Thank you, Ms. Hummer.” Oliver gave a slight nod before sitting down alongside Troy.

Because of Tina’s warm attitude, the surrounding guests‘ attention gathered around the two men.

“Who are they? Why did Tina personally welcome them?”

“I don’t know. They seem unfamiliar, I don’t think they’re from Swinton.”

“Then, perhaps they are someone important from Millsburg?”

The sound of whispers rippled through the crowd as curiosity overlook them.

As the evening wore on, more guests arrived at the party, and the atmosphere grew increasingly lively.

At that moment, a black silhouette approached the entrance of the Emperor Hotel with an umbrella in hand.

After reaching the gate, he was stopped by two guards.

“Stop right there! Today is Ms. Hummer’s birthday. Only those who received an invitation are allowed to enter!”

“Step aside!” Dustin did not want to waste another second and immediately headed inside.

“Scoundrel! You’ve got some nerve!” The two guards immediately gripped Dustin’s shoulder.

The instant the two of them made contact with him, they were hurled backward with a force that sent them tumbling through the air, their cries of pain echoing through the night.

“Quick! Inform Sir Zims!” One of the guards immediately took out his phone and called for backup.

When he turned back, Dustin had already walked past the gates.

After a short ride in the lift, he walked inside the ballroom.

As he looked at the lively crowd, Dustin took a deep breath before shouting, “Which one of you is Tina Hummer?!”

His voice wasn’t piercing, yet it echoed across the room.

The lively crowd instantly went silent. Everyone turned towards him with displeasing looks.

“Who dared to call Ms. Hummer by her name?!” Everyone wondered.

“Hm? Who’s calling me?” Tina stood up slowly with a displeased look in her eyes.

Dustin silently walked forward as everyone stared down at him.

“Hey, isn’t that Dahlia’s ex–husband? Why is he here?”

“I’m guessing he’s probably here to apologize. After all, stealing from Ms. Hummer is not a small matter.”

“He’s apologizing after his woman got beaten up? How shameful!”

People all around the room began to murmur amongst themselves as they pointed at the man. They were mostly mocking him.

“What? Are you here to apologize for that bitch?

Tina’s eyes scanned the man from head to toe, her lips curling into a sinister smile as she sized him up. “If you’re really interested in helping your friend, you might want to start by getting down on your knees. And who knows, if I’m pleased, maybe I’ll consider letting her off the hook.”

“So, you were the one who caused Dahlia’s injuries?” Dustin slowly approached her.

Seconds later, he stood in front of her.

“So what if I was the one who caused her injuries? That bitch didn’t know her limits. A slut like her deserved a beating!”

Tina laughed coldly. “And let me tell you, this matter is far from over. Today was just a little warning. In the future, I’ll pay it back bit by bit! I will be her nightmare for the rest of her lifel

As soon as the words left Tina’s lips, a sudden, sharp sound echoed through the room.

“Smack!”

Tina was sent flying across the room.

Her body flipped through the air, twisting and turning in a blur of motion, before finally crashing down onto the ground with a sickening thud.

In an instant, blood started oozing from her nose, and her teeth scattered around the place.

The entire room was stunned at the scene. Everyone’s jaw dropped to the ground in disbelief.

No one would’ve thought that Dustin would hit her. Moreover, he slapped her in front of such a crowd.

Everyone knew that she was Edwin Hummer’s daughter! She was the belle of the ball in all of Swinton!

“Had he lost his mind?! How dare he lay a finger on Miss Hummer? Does he not treasure his life?!” Everyone thought.

“You–You dare to hit me?” Tina held her burning cheek and stood up as her legs wobbled beneath her.

Her face was filled with shock and confusion. Ever since she was a child, no one dared to disrespect her. Let alone slap her. She didn’t know how to react.

“Smack!”

Without wasting another second, he slapped her once again with all his might.

As blood spurted from her mouth, her once–pretty face now disfigured, her teeth shattered and her features swollen and reddened, the sight was both shocking and distressing.

Her hair was in complete disarray, leaving a chaotic mess in its wake.

“I’ll make you pay ten times the pain that you inflicted on Dahlia!” Dustin roared out.

His words and actions were impulsive and reckless.

“Boom!”

In a split second, the party was in shambles.

One could say that the first slap was done out of impulse.

A second slap was already humiliating and provoking her.

But who in the right mind would want to provoke the Hummers?!

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 133

“He dared to hit Ms. Hummer? He must be asking for death!”

“He’s out of his mind! He’s definitely gone insane!”

“He struck Ms. Hummer in front of such a crowd! Not even the Gods could spare him now!”

Because of Dustin’s actions, the whole room went into chaos. Some were shocked, not knowing how to react. Others were impressed, while the rest were in disbelief.

For all their lives, they’d believed that only a person like Tina Hummer could bully others. They could never even imagine someone who would strike back!

“Kill him! Kill him now!” When Tina stood up again, she was in a frenzy. Her face contorted with terrifying rage.

“Kill! Him!”

The guards in the area finally returned to their senses and charged toward him with a baton.

Dustin was unfazed. He moved at the speed of light, defcating each guard with a single punch, sending them flying across the room in all directions.

He glided through the entire fight effortlessly, not a single hint of struggle showing on his face. The sight of the guards writhing on the ground in agony left everyone stunned.

It was worth noting that these were Hummer’s elite bodyguards, each capable of taking down five men with ease. And yet a single punch from Dustin was all it took to bring down all of these elite bodyguards.

It was indeed surprising.

“Guards! Bring me more guards!” One of the bodyguards quickly reached for his walkie–talkie and called for backup.

Dustin remained unfazed and continued to advance, step by step.

“Stop him! Quick, stop him!” Tina was frantic as she stumbled backward.

A few onlockers had the urge to play hero and rescue Tina, but one stern look from Dustin was enough to leave them frozen in shock, unable to make a move.

“You bastard! How dare you lay a hand on me? Do you have any idea who I am? I am Edwin Hummer’s daughter! If you don’t want to meet an ugly end, then bow down and apologize to me right now!” Tina’s voice trembled with fear, despite the brave front she put on.

She mentioned her own family background as a means of defense, hoping that he would know better and back down.

Her threat fell on deaf ears as she was met with another heavy slap in response,

In a split second, her head was spinning as blood spilled from her mouth.

“You don’t need to mention that. Even If you’re dad is here, I’ll still slap you! Dustin said with a cold expression as he grabbed Tina by her hair and slapped her even harder.

Each slap landed with a heavy sound ringing across the room.

“Smack, smack, smack, smack!”

After a few slaps, Tina’s face was left disfigured. Her nose and lips were tangled up. It was a gory scene to behold.

All the guests were stunned and frozen in shock at the sight before them. Every single one of them had their jaws drop to the ground. This was just crazy!

It wasn’t just about hitting her face. He was disrespecting the Hummers! He was playing with fire and risking his life!

“Stop!” Suddenly, a loud angry yell reverberated across the room.

In the next moment, Oliver and Troy emerged from the crowd. Upon seeing the blood on Tina’s face, both of them became furious in an instant.

“Who dares to make a ruckus at Tina’s party?!” Oliver bellowed in an intimidating voice.

“Huh?” Dustin turned around and immediately recognized the familiar faces.

“So it’s you!”

Oliver was taken aback at first, but his surprise quickly gave way to a wave of seething anger. “What a coincidence! I’ve been searching for you everywhere. I can’t believe you’d show up here!”

“Oliver, you know this guy?” Troy was curious.

“Troy, this was the guy who punched me two days ago,” Oliver said with gritted teeth.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 134

“You dare to hit someone from Boulderthorn? You must be tired of living!” Troy’s gaze immediately turned cold and unfriendly.

Troy and Oliver were as close as brothers, and any harm inflicted upon one was seen as an affront to the other.

“Save me! Save me!” Tina’s eyes lit up with hope at the sight of Oliver and Troy, and she suddenly regained some of her energy

“Don’t worry, Ms. Hummer. With me and Oliver here, this guy won’t be able to harm you!” Troy assured confidently.

As soon as he finished speaking, Dustin delivered another brutal slap, causing Tina to be flung across the table.

Without a second of hesitation, he immediately proved him wrong.

“You-!” Oliver was furious. He was caught off guard by Dustin’s unpredictable actions, causing a slight delay in his response.

“You bastard! You’re dead meat! Your entire family will be dead! These two are the best fighters in Boulderthorn. You’re just a piece of trash in front of them! I’ll let them break all of your limbs before torturing you myself!” Tina sneered, her face contorted with a lust for vengeance as she stood up shakily.

“Boulderthorn?!” Hearing the name, everyone broke into whispers once again. Everyone was familiar with the name.

Boulderthorn was one of the top two guilds in the entire South City. The disciples of Boulderthorn were renowned for their incredible strength and skill, able to move mountains with just a small kick.

But the top disciples were on another level altogether, possessing an unparalleled level of prowess and finesse. One of them was enough to wipe out an entire room.

“Who would’ve thought that people from Boulderthorn are here? Looks like this fellow is really dead meat.”

“Well deserved! Whoever dares to make a ruckus here would have to pay the ultimate price!”

“Kid, if I were you, I’d be on my knees begging for forgiveness. If you’re lucky enough, you’d get a chance to live.”

The crowd erupted into a frenzied discussion, with people whispering and shouting their opinions on the unfolding scene.

From their perspective, Dustin is indeed skilled in lighting. However, in front of the top disciples from Boulderthorn, he wouldn’t even stand a chance!

“So what if you’re from Boulderthom? No one can stop me from doing what I want to dol” Dustin replied coldly, without a hint of fear.

“Bastard! You’re crazy! If I hadn’t gone easy on you last time, do you think you could get away without a scratch?” Oliver was furious.

“Oliver, let me handle it.”

Troy approached Dustin with a darkened face, but before he could take any action, Oliver stopped him with a hand. “Wait, do we really need to do this? This guy isn’t even from a guild. If we accidentally kill him, won’t people start spreading rumors about Boulderthorn bullying others?”

As he spoke, he signaled the two bodyguards behind them. “Anna, Emma, get rid of that punk! Don’t hold back!”

“Yes, Sir!” The two women immediately pulled out their swords.

Two days earlier, they weren’t prepared, so they were defeated by Dustin. But today, they would not let the same mistake happen again.

“Mr. Williams! That bastard’s not an easy target. Aren’t you underestimating him too much by sending the two of them against him?” Tina was suspicious.

“Don’t worry, Ms.Hummer. The two of them are very skilled. They were trained by my father. Defeating him is nothing for them!” Oliver said confidently.

To be honest, both of them were even more skilled than he was.

“Alright! Then I’m counting on you to get my revenge!” Tina said with an evil smirk.

“No problem!” As soon as Oliver gave a signal, the two women sprung into action, one flanking Dustin on the left and the other on the right, both bearing down on him with fierce determination.

“Zoom!”

As the women closed in on him, their swords shimmered with deadly precision, a testament to their

impressive skill and training.

Right when everyone thought Dustin was about to meet his end.

With a loud “Clang!“, the two swords were shattered into pieces.

The impact was so sudden and powerful that the two women were sent hurtling through the air as if struck by a car, flying across the room.

Before hitting the ground, a spray of blood erupted from the women’s mouths, painting the air crimson, as they collapsed into unconsciousness.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 135

“Holy Shit! What just happened?”

The crowd was once again in awe upon seeing the broken swords and the two women laying on the floor.

They originally thought that Dustin was out of luck, but no one expected that after that face off, the Boulderthorn girls would be the ones who faced defeat.

This outcome shocked everyone in the room.

“This kid was not all talk?” Oliver’s eye twitched, his face full of shock.

The previous time, he could argue and say that they weren’t prepared for the attack. But this time, it was proven that there was a skill disparity.

“So you do have some tricks up your sleeves. No wonder you dared to cause trouble here.” Troy narrowed his eyes as his lips curled into a playful smile.

Although Anna and Emma were no match for Troy’s skills, they were certainly enough to defeat a normal fighter. For Dustin to have defeated them so easily spoke volumes about his abilities, even if it wasn’t much for Troy.

“Mr. Williams! Didn’t you say that it wouldn’t be a problem?” Tina exclaimed. Her disfigured face made her look like a malicious demon.

“Just a bit of miscalculation. But no worries, this fellow wouldn’t be able to do much with me and Troy here!” Oliver laughed awkwardly and explained.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Hummer. I will avenge you!”

Troy stepped forward and stared into Dustin’s eyes. “I admit, you do have some skills. But too bad you’re facing me today! I’ll give you one last chance. Kneel down and beg for mercy right now, and I might spare your life.”

“Punk! Did you hear that? Hurry up and kneel! Otherwise, you’ll be obliterated by Troy!” Oliver added.

“Really? Give me all you’ve got.” Dustin answered calmly to their taunts.

“Bastard! You really can’t catch a hint! Don’t you know who Troy is? He’s the Lightning Fist of Boulderthorn, who’s never fallen in battle!” Oliver bragged confidently.

After hearing those words, the crowd went wild.

“What? Is he really the Lightning Fist, Troy Chapman?!”

“Oh my God! I can’t believe even the Lightning Fist is here, this is gelling Interesting!”

“What’s Lightning Fist? Is he great?”

“He’s not only one of the elites in Boulderthorn, He’s at the top of the board! He could take on a hundred men at once. What do you think, Isn’t he great?”

“There are only a few people in Swinton who can match the Lightning Fist’s skills. Looks like this kid is meeting his end!”

After learning Troy’s true identity, the crowd began praising him.

The spectators had anticipated an ordinary light, but it was not until a top fighter like him emerged that they realized the true potential of the bout.

Troy’s chin lifted with a newfound arrogance as he basked in the adulation of the crowd. He really enjoyed the feeling of being admired.

“Punk! Weren’t you so confident just now? Why are you silent now? Are you scared?” Oliver mocked.

Though his abilities may not have stood out as much, his senior, Troy, was undoubtedly a top–notch fighter.

He had been training all his life and was already a master at honing his energy. His ability was second best to the grand master himself,

No one in Swinton could faze him.

“What’s a Lightning Fist? I’ve never even heard of it.” Dustin remained unbothered.

These words once again drove the crowd wild.

“My goodness! Does he not treasure his life? He dared insult Lightning Fist’s name!”

“He’s clearly unaware of his limits! He can’t even comprehend how strong Lightning Fist is!”

“What a reckless idiot! Thinking he knows everything! Let’s see how he faces death later!”

All eyes were fixed on Dustin, who seemed to have earned the scorn and contempt of the crowd.

“Punk! You’ll face the consequences for the words that just left your mouth!” Troy’s expression turned cold.

He was still acting recklessly even after learning his true identity. How foolish of him!

“I don’t care who you are. You better leave now or I won’t hold back on you!” Dustin’s eyes were burning with rage as he stared Tina down.

The other people in the room were not even worthy of Dustin’s attention, as he remained solely focused on Tina.

“Mr. Chapman! Kill him!” When Tina met Dustin’s gaze, she was frightened to death. She could feel a chill run down her spine.

At the moment, she only hoped that he could get rid of that crazy bastard as soon as possible.

“Punk! Since you want to die so badly, I’ll fulfill your wish!” Troy flexed his muscles as he let out a yell, causing his shirt to rip apart, revealing his chiseled physique.

The combination of his impressive muscles and his flashy, swift movement caused a group of ladies to swoon in admiration.

“Today, I’ll show you what it’s like to be a Lightning Fist!”

Troy closed the distance between himself and Dustin with a small, swift movement before leaping into the air and extending his arms like a hawk, ready to strike.

“How majestic! How astonishing!” The crowd thought.

“Die!” Troy spun around, his head aimed towards the ground, and struck Dustin’s head with a powerful punch.

The spectators were impressed as they watched Troy’s impressive pose.

“How handsome!”

“He’s so majestic!”

“Ms. Hummer, did you see that? That’s Troy’s signature move, the Lightning Fist! One punch would be able to break mountains!” Oliver explained proudly.

“It would be best if he could kill him with one slap!” Tina said with a sardonic smile.

“One punch is definitely enough to kill him!”

“This fellow should be proud to die in Lightning Fist’s hands!”

The guests shook their heads, convinced that Dustin’s fate was sealed.

After all he was facing a full–blown punch from the Lightning Fist himsell.

In Swinton, how many people would be able to stop this kind of punch?

“You’re just all show!” Dustin’s voice was cold and unwavering as he stood his ground. Without hesitation, he retaliated with a punch that caught Troy off guard.

“Boom!”

Their fists collided with a loud bang.

Dustin had not moved an inch, but the ground beneath him had shattered.

Troy, on the other hand, let out a pained cry as his fist erupted into a trace of blood. He was sent flying across the room at lightning speed, landing heavily against the wall as blood spurted from his mouth.

Before Troy could even react, Dustin was already in front of him, delivering another punch.

His moves weren’t as flashy, but they were deadly.

“Please spare me!” All the color drained from Troy’s face as he screamed in horror. With a loud “Thud“, he kneeled on the ground.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 136

“Whoosh!” Troy felt a strong gust of wind hit his face, causing his features to contort in pain as he could feel his bone becoming dislocated.

His eyes were fixed on Dustin’s fist, which stopped right in front of his chest. Although it was still a few inches away, the intimidating force still caused him to tremble in fear.

“Blargh!” Blood spurted from his mouth.

With just the sheer force of his Fist Energy, Dustin had the power to dislocate the bones in Troy’s body. The thought of what would have happened if his fists had actually landed on him was almost too terrifying to contemplate.

He was lucky that he had kneeled in time. Otherwise, he would’ve been out cold!

“Spare me! Please!” Troy was now on his knees, his face drained of color as he begged frantically. All the confidence he had earlier was gone, replaced by fear and desperation.

Rather than shock, Troy was feeling terrified at the moment.

That was because when their fists collided, his power shattered like glass in a split second, leaving him defenseless against the sheer force of his opponent.

He could feel the excruciating pain in every single bone in his body. This situation would only happen when there was a significant disparity in skill level.

That is why, when Dustin was about to make another move, Troy chose to beg for mercy. Begging for forgiveness on his knees was a small price to pay in exchange for his life.

“Don’t appear in front of me again!” Dustin said coldly.

“Yes, right away!” Troy immediately fled the room without an ounce of hesitation. He didn’t even care about his dignity.

“Um.” Everyone was dumbfounded as they watched Troy flee the scene.

The top–notch warrior, an elite disciple from Boulderthorn known as Lightning Fist, had actually fled from battle?

Everyone’s jaws dropped in disbelief. No one could have predicted this outcome.

Originally, they believed that Troy’s appearance would resolve the situation, but now the tables had turned completely.

If they had not witnessed it first–hand, they wouldn’t even be able to belleve it. A legendary warrior who had never been deleated in battle fled the scene in terror!

“How–How is this possible?!”

Oliver’s eyes widened in disbelief. That was his incredible senior, Troy Chapman!

As a disciple of Boulderthorn, Troy was a master at honing inner energy, with unmatched skills and extreme talents. Oliver couldn’t wrap his head around how this had happened.

He didn’t even hesitate to kneel down and beg for mercy!

“What the hell is going on?!” Oliver wondered.

“T–There’s no way! It’s impossible!” Tina couldn’t stop shaking her head in shock.

That was the top disciple from Boulderthorn. How could he be defeated by a nobody?

In fact, she wasn’t the only one thinking about it. Everyone in the room had the same idea.

However, the truth was right in front of them, and no matter how much they wanted to deny it, it wouldn’t change the outcome.

“Did you say that you would stand up for her too?” Dustin’s gaze landed on Oliver.

“Punk! You’re lucky that my senior’s injury recurred today, otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to escape so easily! Next time, you wouldn’t be so lucky!” After finishing his sentence, Oliver fled the scene.

Troy was no match for Dustin, then wasn’t he just an easy target?

“Mr. Williams! Mr. Williams! Tina yelled at the top of her lungs. Yet, Oliver picked up the pace and ran even faster, disappearing without a trace.

At that moment, she was frozen on the spot.

“As I’ve said, I’ll pay you back tenfold for the damage you did!” A cold voice rang beside her ears.

Tina turned around and realized that Dustin was already standing behind her.

“I’m warning you! Don’t mess with me! I’m Edwin Hummer’s daughter! If you dare to lay a finger on me, you and your entire family, even your relatives, will suffer the consequences of crossing the Hummers!” Tina shouted desperately.

“Sure, I’ll play this game with the Hummers. But before that, I will need to get my revenge first!” Dustin’s hand shot out and grasped Tina.

A horrific, ear–piercing scream echoed through the entire hotel. The screams continued every few seconds.

When Julie arrived at the hotel all drenched, she saw Tina being tortured. She was completely frozen as she stared in shock.

Earlier, when Dustin left the hospital, she felt that something was off. So, she immediately followed him. She never thought that he could be so brave to go against Ms, Hummer in front of such a crowd.

At that moment, Tina was not just unrecognizable, all four of her limbs were detached from her body.

The gory scene filled with blood was extremely unsettling.

“Stop! Stop this instant! Dustin! Are you out of your mind? Hurry up and let go of Ms. Hummer!” Julie came running as she yelled.

Dustin ignored Julie completely. He just looked down at Tina, who was lying on the ground, with a final flicker of life.

“I won’t kill you tonight, but that doesn’t mean I forgive you. In three days, kneel down and apologize to Dahlia! Otherwise, you will suffer the consequences!”

After finishing his words, he raised two fingers and thrust them into Tina’s pressure points all over her body.

It was a technique he had developed himself, and it was deadly. The victim would slowly die in three days.

Moreover, he was the only one who could break the curse.

“Crazy bastard! You’re a maniac! Now that you’ve hurt Ms. Hummer, you’re not the only one who will suffer! We’re all doomed because of you!” Julie saw Dustin, who was about to leave, and yelled at him once again.

Yet. Dustin did not even spare her a glance and kept walking towards the exit. The crowd made way for his exit, not daring to stop him.

“Hurry! Secure the premise!” Suddenly, a shout was heard from outside.

A horde of towering fighters stormed into the room. Instantly, the men surrounded the entire room.

“Who dared to cause trouble at my place?!” A man with dark sunglasses and a smoldering cigar strolled into the room, emanating a menacing and dangerous aura.

“This is great! Sir Zims is finally here! We can finally have the scene under controll

“Sir Zims is the trusty right–hand man of the Hummer family. He definitely wouldn’t let him off for beating Ms. Hummer into a pulp!

“Although he’s quite skilled, he only has two fists! He wouldn’t be able to take on hundreds of men no matter how skilled he is!”

The crowd went wild once again as help arrived at the scene.

"Sir Zims! You’re just in time! Dustin not only caused trouble, but he also beat up Ms. Hummer!” Julie quickly reported the incident to him.

“What? He dared to hit Ms. Hummer? Which bastard did this? If you have the guts, come forward! Let’s see if I can tear you apart myself!” Mason’s gaze narrowed, his blood boiling with anger.

“It was me.” Dustin approached him slowly.

“You–”

Before Mason could strike, his expression changed completely when he saw him. “M–Mr. Rhys? It’s you?!”

Dustin simply uttered a single word, “Scram!”

“Yes Sir!” Mason nodded and stepped aside. Once again, the entire room was dead silent.

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 137

The rain was falling even harder.

Edwin was in the middle of a conversation with Fletcher at the Hummer Villa.

“Mr. Hummer, the first batch of Eternumax has been sold out. On top of that, we received a lot of positive feedback. A lot of people are interested in partnering with us in the long term. Now, we’ll be able to mass produce this product!” Fletcher reported excitedly.

“That’s the secret recipe for you, alright. Who would’ve thought it would have such great feedback right after its debut?” Edwin laughed joyfully.

He originally thought that it would take a while for people to warm up to the product. He didn’t expect the opportunity to present itsell so quickly.

At that point, he must strike the iron while it’s hot.

“Speaking of which, we should be grateful to the Harmon family. Without their painstaking research all these years, we wouldn’t have this baby in our hands right now.” Fletcher grinned.

“Natasha was foolish to dare to fight against me! I’ll defeat her once and for all with Eternumax!” Edwin said happily.

“Then I shall congratulate Sir Hummer in advance for your success!” Fletcher clapped.

“Alright, it’s getting late. Time to join Tina’s party. If I’m too late, she’ll certainly have some complaints.”

Just as Edwin stood up with a grin on his face, An old butler ran into the room frantically and exclaimed, “Sir! Bad news! Ms. Hummer has been beaten up!”

“What? Beaten up? What on earth happened?!” Edwin frowned.

Who was brave enough to dare touch Edwin’s daughter?

“There was a kid who stirred things up at the party. He even beat Ms. Hummer half to death in front of everyone! Ms. Hummer has already been sent to Hummers Hospital. The butler reported in a hurry.

Hummers Hospital was under the Hummers‘ supervision. It was also one of the top hospitals in Swinton. The doctors are all global elites in the medical field who pledged to serve the Hummer family.

“Go! To the hospital!” Edwin didn’t spare another second and immediately rushed to the hospital along with a group of people.

However, as he cautiously stepped into the hospital ward, his eyes widened in disbelief at the Jarring scene that greeted him.

On the bed laid his own daughter, Tina, who was nearly lifeless.

Her face was utterly unrecognizable, a mangled and gory mess.

Her limbs were even worse, appearing as if they had been brutally torn apart from her body, her bones shattered and beyond repair.

“Who?! Who did this?” Edwin roared like a crazed lion.

For all his years, no one dared lay a finger on his daughter.

“Sir Hummer, from what we’ve found, it seemed to be done by a guy named Dustin.”

At that moment, an injured bodyguard explained the earlier events to Edwin. After hearing his explanation, his expression immediately turned dark.

“That son of a bitch again! He keeps ruining my day! I’ll cut him into pieces! Guards! Get me the best trackers and track him down, I want him captured alive!” Edwin clenched his fists and said between gritted teeth.

“Also, kill the entire Nicholson family! I want them all dead!”

“Yes, Sir!” After receiving orders, the group of people immediately scattered.

“Sir Hummer, that guy’s skill is quite unmatched. Not anyone could go against him.” Fletcher said. He’d been slapped by Dustin once. Until now, he’s still a bit traumatized.

“What are you trying to say?” Edwin turned around.

“From what I know, it would be best to summon the White Dragon guild. The members are all top–notch fighters. It shouldn’t be a problem for them to take on that guy.” Fletcher suggested.

“White Dragon guild? Don’t you think it’s overkill to use them against a nobody?” Edwin narrowed his eyes.

The White Dragon guild was Edwin’s secret weapon, and he wouldn’t use it lightly.

“Sir Hummer, this guy is not just a normal fighter. He has the Harmon family supporting him. To be safe, we must summon the White Dragon guild. It would be the best choice.” Fletcher advised seriously.

After pondering for a few seconds, Edwin finally made the decision. “Alright! Contact the White Dragon Guild immediately. Get me the best fighters!”

Whoever dared to lay a finger on his daughter would have to pay the ultimate price!

On the other hand, in Java Joys. “What? Dustin stirred up trouble at the Hummer’s party? And he beat Tina into a pulp?” Natasha was completely shocked at her sister’s words.

“Yeah! Dustin is insane! He beat her up in front of so many people! He even tore her limbs apart. He’s really on another level!” Ruth said excitedly.

“He doesn’t seem like someone who’d do something irrationally. How could he do something like that?” Natasha was puzzled,

“Probably because of that girl! How could he hold back after that Nicholson was publicly shamed? That’s why he went to get revenge.” Ruth did not hide anything from her sister. Alter hearing the news, she shared every
single detail with her.

“No wonder.” Natasha nodded.

“Sis, aren’t you mad at all?” Ruth was a little surprised.

“Why should I be?” Natasha asked.

“Dustin made such a grand move for that woman. It’s obvious there are still some lingering feelings between them. Are you not bothered by it?” Ruth was straight to the point.

“Dummy, they just got a divorce. Of course, there would be some lingering feelings. That’s inevitable. Also, if Dustin had not acted on it, he would ve lost my respect.” Natasha was unconcerned.

“Sis, I really don’t get what you’re thinking sometimes. I wouldn’t be able to let it go if a man I like had lingering feelings for other women.” Ruth scratched her head.

“After all, the ball is in their court. I believe that Dustin wouldn’t let me down.” Natasha smiled.

Dustin’s pride wouldn’t allow him to make the same mistake twice.

“I hope so. Rather than Tyler, I would much prefer Dustin to be my brother–in–law,” Ruth muttered.

“Alright, that’s enough. Nothing is set in stone yet. Tell the others to keep an eye on Dustin. If he’s in danger, make sure to help him immediately!” Natasha rolled her eyes and ordered.

“Okay!” Ruth nodded and immediately lelt.

They were both well aware that Edwin would not let this go easily. It was inevitable for a war to happen…

 

[Muhindi Wa Kuchoma]

Chapter 138

After that big incident at the party, Dustin finally returned to East Swinton Hospital. When he entered the ward. He noticed that Florence and James had already arrived.

“Which evil bastard beat up my daughter to such a state? How could they be so cruel?!”

“Exactly! If I find out which bastard did this. I’ll tear them into pieces!”

Seeing the injured Dahlia, the Nicholsons couldn’t help but curse, feeling pity for her.

“Why are you here? We didn’t even contact you.” Suddenly, one of them noticed Dustin, who was standing at the door.

“I came to check on Dahlia’s injury.” Dustin walked into the room slowly, his face not showing a hint of expression.

“Get out! You’re not welcome here!” James roared, letting out his pent–up anger.

“Dustin! Tell us the truth. Does my daughter’s injury have anything to do with you?!” Florence glared at him.

“I don’t have the details about how she was injured. Perhaps you should ask Julie this question instead.” Dustin replied.

"Julie? Speaking of which, where is she? Didn’t she attend the party with my sister? Why isn’t she here?” James frowned.

“Could it be that Julie is injured too? Dustin! What exactly is going on here? Who hurt my daughter? And where is Julie?” Florence’s expression immediately turned dark.

“I think it would be best if you didn’t find out.” Dustin shook his head.

“If you have something to say, then say it! No matter who hurt my sister, I will make them pay!” James said furiously.

“That’s right! We won’t let them off easily!” Florence exclaimed.

“The person who injured Dahlia is Tina Hummer,” Dustin answered truthfully.

“Tina Hummer? Who’s that?” James had no clue.

“The daughter of the richest man in Swinton, Edwin Hummer.” Dustin replied.

“What?! Sir Hurrmer’s daughter?!” Everyone was stunned by this piece of information.

They exchanged glances, not knowing how to reply. Especially Florence and James, whose anger immediately disappeared.

They would’ve been yelling for revenge if it had been an ordinary person. Yet, when they heard the name Hummer, they didn’t even dare to get angry.

“We had no grudges against the Hummer family. How could Ms. Hummer be so cruel to us?” Florence gulped.

“That’s right! My sister was invited to the party. How did she cross Ms. Hummer?” James frowned, deep in thought.

The others were uneasy as well. The Hummer family was someone they would never dare to provoke. Even if they were wrongly accused, they couldn’t do anything about it.

“You won’t have to do anything. In three days, I’ll let Tina Hummer apologize to you all in person.” Dustin assured easily.

“Hey! Do you even know what you’re saying? Do you know who Ms. Hummer is? Do you think that’s something you can handle? You’ll let her apologize? Look at yourself!” James said, unimpressed.

“Exactly! Do you have no idea who you are? You just know how to brag all day long! If you really had that ability, why would you let them hurt my daughter in the first place?!” Florence exclaimed.

It was obvious that they did not take Dustin’s words seriously..

After all it was Edwin’s daughter. A true billionaire. Even they were afraid of provoking them, let alone a nobody like Dustin.

“You all must be the patient’s relatives.” At that moment, a nurse walked into the room

“We just received a notice that the patient shall be transferred to a VIP ward and receive better treatment. All of this will be free of charge. Will you guys accept this offer?”

“Free of charge? Of course, of course. We most definitely accept.” Florence’s eyes sparkled as she nodded fervently.

“That’s great, please follow me.” After a signal from the doctor, a few others came into the ward to help Dahlia into the new ward.

Dustin stood still as he watched the people leave the room. It was his order to switch to a VIP ward.

Although he was not afraid of Edwin, it was still inevitable that he would seek revenge. This was his safety measure.

A few moments after Florence and the others left the room, Julie sprinted into the ward.

“Aunt Florence! I have big news! I just saw

Before she could finish her sentence, she was stunned. Her eyes widened as her gaze landed on Dustin. “You! Why are you here?”

“You’re just in time. I have something to ask.” Dustin approached her slowly.

“D–Don’t corne any closer! What are you trying to do? I’m warning you, slay back!” Julie retreated two steps. backward in fear.

She could still vividly picture the scene earler where Tina was brutally beaten up. In her eyes, Dustin was a maniac!

“Why are you so afraid? Could it be that you’re guilty of something?” Dustin said lightly.

“You’re the one who should be guilly! I don’t have anything to hide. What’s there for me to be afraid of?” Julie declared, putting up a front.

“Good. Then let me ask you, were you the one who framed Dahlia for stealing at tonight’s party?” Dustin’s demeanor turned cold.

“Nonsense! We’re cousins, how could I harm her? I’m warning you, don’t accuse someone innocent!” Julie’s expression contorted into a panic.

“Accuse someone innocent?” Dustin laughed coldly.

“Then tell me, how did this end up in Dahlia’s bag? Who else would have access to her bag other than you?” He tossed a box in front of her with a pair of ruby earrings inside.

“H–How would I know? It’s not me!” Julie’s eyes flashed with panic as she desperately clung to her lie.

“You better think clearly before you answer. Otherwise, you’d lose your chance.” Dustin said expressionlessly.

“What do you mean? Are you saying that you’ll lay a finger on me?” Julie shouted sternly.

“You have one minute left.” Dustin lifted a finger.

“What on earth are you trying to do? I’m not afraid of you!” Julie said as she backed away slowly.

“Ten seconds left.”

“Dustin! I’m warning you.” Before Julie could finish her threat, footsteps could be heard outside the room.

“Boss. I already got the information that Danlia is in this ward!”

“Good! You, keep a lookout. The others. follow me!”

After an exchange of words, a few assassins dressed in black immediately swarmed the room.

“Who is Dahlia Nicholson?” The leader scanned the room with a piercing gaze.

“She is.” Dustin pointed his finger at Julie.

The next second, with a sharp “Clang“, two swords were pressed against Julie’s neck.

“Bring her!”