Chapter 22 String Up Trouble
Chapter 22 Stirring Up Trouble
“Grandpa, why do I have to apologize?” Garrett still looked unconvinced. He genuinely believed Sharon should be the one apologizing to him.
“I’m not repeating myself,” Ernie said, his expression noticeably colder.
Garrett looked a bit scared and muttered reluctantly as he turned to Sharon, “Sorry.”
Sharon’s expression stayed flat, and she didn’t really understand what Ernie was trying
to get at.
Ernie said, “Shari, Garrett is a disappointment. He’s been spoiled rotten by the family. He broke his own leg making a fool of himself and still had the nerve to cause you trouble. I’m honestly ashamed.”
Sharon replied, “Yeah, definitely a disappointment.”
Garrett was
furious. He thought, ‘She looks all sweet and harmless, but she’s got such a sharp tongue. Who’s she calling a disappointment? I’m the heir of the Dolan family, for goodness’s sake. I’m top–tier.”
Not long after, a man in black walked in. “Mr. Ernie Dolan, we’ve got an update.”
“Go on,” Ernie said.
“The group went into Graceville Manor and hasn’t come out since. Initial reports. suggest the Crawfords are likely inside.”
A chill flashed in Sharon’s eyes. She pondered, ‘Are they trying to get themselves killed?
Ernie let out a cough. “Looks like it really was the Vance family behind this. Shari, it’s your family’s business from here on out. It’s not our place to interfere.”
“Understood. Thank you.” Sharon nodded.
Just as she began planning how to deal with the Vance family, someone grabbed her. wrist. The palm was warm and dry. She looked up and met Nicholas’s calm, icy gaze.
He said, “I’m going with you.”
The two of them walked out together.
Brent stayed behind. He turned to Ernie and asked, “Grandpa, did Sharon’s brothers go to Lostara?” It was obvious Ernie had left something out earlier.
Ernie nodded. “Yeah. That’s why this situation’s tricky. But keep an eye on Sharon. Until her brothers get back, we’re her backup.”
Brent looked surprised. “Grandpa, why are you being so nice to Sharon?”
Successfully unlocked!
Garrett raised his head and said, “Grandpa, is she your long–lost illegitimate granddaughter or something.”
Chapter 22 Stirring Up T
1Up Trouble
The room instantly fell silent.
Ernie gave Garrett an annoyed look like the latter was mentally challenged. “She’s the future Mrs. Baxter. Is that not a good enough reason?”
Brent didn’t buy it. First, Edward suddenly insisted on going through with the engagement, which was totally out of character. Then all eight Vance brothers vanished in Lostara. And now Ernie was paying extra attention to Sharon. Brent believed something was definitely off.
He went out and chased after Sharon and Nicholas, following them as they left the Dolan Estate. He asked, “Nick, what’s your plan? That hag Roxanne won’t just let your search the place.”
“I already called my grandpa. He’ll have people ready for us,” Nicholas said. He never walked into anything without a plan. With Edward backing him, he could do pretty much anything.
But halfway there, both Brent’s and Nicholas’s phones rang at the same time. They glanced at the screen as a big letter A flashed–it was clearly an emergency.
Oriston Academy: [Unknown creature discovered hiding in the sewer and attacking civilians. All nearby students are requested to report to the site immediately and help. contain the situation. Coordinates and weapon cache location have been sent.] Brent glanced back. “Nick, I can go. You take Sharon to Graceville Manor.”
Nicholas didn’t answer right away as he hesitated. In the past, this would’ve been a no- brainer–the mission always came first.
Sharon spoke up, “It’s fine. I’ll go by myself.”
She had caught a glimpse of Nicholas’s phone screen earlier. It had an anti–peep glare, but the color of the alert was unusual. She figured it had to be something important. Nicholas felt a little guilty. “I’ll take you back to the Baxter Estate first. Once I’m done, I‘ Il come with you.”
“I can get back to the Baxter Estate on my own. What you’re dealing with probably can‘ t wait,” Sharon said.
She had planned to turn him down, but after seeing the look on Nicholas’s face, she knew there was no way he’d let her go to Graceville Manor alone. So she just agreed for now. Whether she actually went back was up to her.
Nicholas didn’t doubt her at all. Sharon just looked too sweet to lie.
The SUV pulled over to the side of the road. Nicholas flagged down a cab, walked Sharon to the door, and even paid the fare himself. He looked at her and said, “Give me your number. Call me if anything happens.”
Chapter 22 Stirring Up Trouble
Sharon didn’t say no. It was better to have a way to reach him anyway. If things got out of hand at Graceville Manor, she’d need his help.
Once the cab pulled away, Nicholas turned around and got back into the car without wasting a second.
“Nick, are you into Sharon or something? I’ve never seen you treat a girl this nice,” Brent asked.
Nicholas replied calmly, “I promised Grandpa I’d keep her safe. She’s like a sister to me.”
He thought, ‘This isn’t about romance. It’s a responsibility.”
The gentle look on his face disappeared. His eyes turned sharp as he tapped on his phone. He texted: [I wanna confirm the location and full target report.]
The person on the other end typed back: [Got it. I’ll send them to your inbox. You’re thirty minutes from the destination. This one’s an A–rank mission. It’s worth five credit points.]
The SUV sped off and disappeared down the road.
In the cab, Sharon waited until she was sure she was out of Nicholas’s line of sight before finally speaking, “Hawthorn Avenue, please.”
The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “You wanna change the address?”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
The driver was about to say something, but the scary look in her eyes stopped him cold. He kept his mouth shut and drove, thinking, “What’s with kids these days? Do they all give off this intense vibe or something?”
Sharon pulled out her phone and switched into the Hunter app. She tapped into the bounty task section, logged in with her alt account, and used it to buy a search token.
Then she posted a bounty–one search token plus a thousand Hunter Coins for intel on Martin’s whereabouts. She uploaded his profile and the suspected location.
The post shot to the top almost instantly.
Someone commented: [Damn, who’s balling like that? A token and a thousand Hunter Coins? That’s some next–level flex.]
Hunter Coins couldn’t be bought with money. They were earned through task points. Even if one took a job worth hundreds of millions of dollars, they might end up with just one Hunter Coin in the app.
In this world, Hunter Coins were worth more than virtual currency. A lot of people had money, but what they really lacked were these coins. With them, one could buy just about anything they wanted.
Chapter 22 Stiming Up Trouble
The post spread fast, reaching users all over the world, and people started heading for Aerions. Those already in Aerions went straight to the listed location.
Right after posting the bounty, Sharon got a message from Justin, codename Zanker. He texted: [Zero, are you out of your mind? Who are you trying to find? Let me do it. I grew up on a farm, and I can handle tough work.]
He thought, ‘Come on, finding someone’s a piece of cake. And it’s a thousand Hunter
Coins.”
Sharon replied: [I’m sending you the location.]
Justin casually looked up the address and saw it was listed as the residence of one of the four major families–the Vance family. He thought, ‘Holy crap, that’s big.‘
He sent another message: [Zero, you’re looking for someone at Graceville Manor? Do you even know what kind of place that is?] Ordinary people couldn’t afford to mess. with the Vance family.
Sharon texted back: [I know. But my family’s there.]
Justin went quiet for a second, then replied: [Zero, you should really consider enrolling at Oriston Academy. With the academy backing you, even the Vance family wouldn’t dare mess with you.]
Sharon thought, ‘What’s with this school again?‘ She didn’t have time to dig into what Oriston Academy was about and just texted: [Zanker, do me a favor.]
Justin: [Name it.]
Sharon: [Pull up all surveillance footage from Graceville Manor. Look for anything off. I‘ Il be there in thirty minutes.]
Justin: [Alright, no problem. Leave it to me.]
Justin got to work quickly. With one hand free, he shot a message to Vice Principal Rufus Miller: [Hey, I want to recommend someone for admission.]
Rufus replied: [Is it your online girlfriend?]
Justin’s face turned red. He typed back: [Screw you. She’s my idol.]
Rufus: [If she agrees to marry you, I guess I could bend the rules a little.]
Justin: [Get lost. She’s legit. She’s already made a name for herself on the Hunter Rankings. If you miss out on her, you’re gonna regret it.]
Rufus paused, then replied: [I’ll think about it. The list of recommendations has been growing all of a sudden this year. What’s with all these talented girls popping up now?]
He had already received several notices about outstanding female candidates. One of them was the future Mrs. Baxter, another was someone Caesar was rumored to be involved with.
4/5
Chapter 22 Stirring Up Trouble
There was even a girl with an S–rank bloodline who turned Dereck down, and the rejection hit the young professor so hard that he had a minor existential crisis.
A
