Xia Mi was silent for a long time, then sighed, softening her voice, “If you keep pushing yourself like this, one day it’ll kill you.”
“Don’t worry about things that don’t concern you.” Chu Zihang closed his eyes again. He didn’t want to talk to this nagging junior anymore. He owed her for saving his life and would certainly repay her with a meal or a gift, but idle chit-chat wasn’t his strong suit. Fatigue welled up, and he wished Xia Mi would quiet down for a while so he could have some peace.
“How does it not concern me? It costs money to bring flowers to your grave, you know!” Xia Mi said fiercely. “Tell me, what kind of flowers do you want on your grave?”
Chu Zihang thought for a moment. “Lilies… or chrysanthemums, maybe yellow ones.”
“Hmm… carnations would be better. They’re pretty…”
“Carnations symbolize love for mothers; they aren’t used for graves.” Chu Zihang had to remind her.
“Carnations are cheaper…”
Could this conversation get any more ridiculous? Chu Zihang felt a wave of irritation. If Xia Mi just said, “I have something else to do, you should sleep,” he could sleep without feeling rude. But Xia Mi wouldn’t stop talking—how could she have so much to say?
“Is it you who likes carnations?” Chu Zihang asked. He continued talking to her only because he felt it impolite to fall asleep without warning.
The room fell silent, the only sound the steady beeping of the monitors. Xia Mi didn’t reply this time.
The sudden quiet startled Chu Zihang; had this talkative junior finally understood his intentions and decided to let him sleep? He opened his eyes to confirm and was stunned.
Xia Mi was curled up on the uncomfortable wooden chair next to his bed, hugging her knees like a little cat. Her long eyelashes were downcast, thick as curtains in the morning light.
She had fallen asleep.
“Forty-eight hours without sleep, waiting for you to wake up,” said the nurse adjusting his oxygen tube as she draped a blanket over Xia Mi’s shoulders, her tone casual.
Rome, Italy.
Frost Gattuso sat behind his desk, bathed in sunlight. As the effective head of the Gattuso family, he spent nearly every day in this office, managing the family’s hundreds of thousands of employees across the world without leaving his house.
On the “desk of power” lay two black-and-white photos side by side—the ruins of the Southern Station and the wreckage of the “Midgard Serpent” roller coaster. The uncanny resemblance was striking.
“Buy Six Flags Amusement Park. I need to analyze that debris.” After a long time, Frost raised a finger and gave his order.
“We’re already in negotiations. With our offer, it’ll be difficult for them to refuse,” Parsi said, bowing slightly, his pale golden hair hanging down to obscure half his face.
“The Dragon King awakening? That’s a surprising conclusion. How certain are we?”
“Among the tenured professors, we have Jean Gruss and Blair Bitner—the top experts in mechanics and the ‘Solomon King’ of mathematics. They both believe that such precise control over stress couldn’t have been done by a human, and must have been some kind of Yanling, a high-level one that only a Lord of the Four Monarchs could wield,” Parsi explained. “The monarch who controls pure power is the King of Earth and Mountains.”
“Interesting,” Frost said coldly. “Actually, I’m more interested in the Southern Station incident.”
“What do you mean?”
“Assuming it really was a Dragon King, such a noble and ruthless being wouldn’t directly attack, but instead launch two assassination-style ambushes. This suggests his power hasn’t fully recovered. Anjou concluded from his encounter with the Bronze and Fire King that a Dragon King needs some time to fully regain their strength after awakening from the burial grounds. During this period, they’re like a vulnerable newborn—though still a powerful monarch compared to humans. So, why would our newborn Dragon King feel compelled to act in haste? Where would he prioritize using his limited power?” Frost asked slowly.
Parsi pondered for a moment. “He must have an opponent he needs to eliminate urgently.”
“Exactly, he’s forced to. This explains why he attacked Anjou at Six Flags amusement park. Anjou is an adversary that all Dragon Kings are wary of. But why did he attack Southern Station?” Frost handed Parsi a paper with two lists of names. “Anjou wasn’t the real target. The real target is the one repeated on both lists.”
Parsi glanced at them. The first list was “Raymond, Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei,” and the second was “Anjou, Chu Zihang, Lu Mingfei, Xia Mi.”
“Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei?” Parsi asked.
“Cross off Lu Mingfei; the target is Chu Zihang,” Frost replied.
“Understood.” Parsi was used to Frost’s style—making precise decisions based on instinct.
“There are some things about Chu Zihang that can’t be explained. He needs to be under our control. According to the data from China, he’s had some mysterious experiences related to the Dragon Raja. I’d like to know what those are.”
“Understood!” The secretary paused. “One more thing, the hunter named Tang Wei—are we just going to let him go? It seems he’s already booked a flight to escape to Vietnam.”
“He’s just a pawn, an insignificant one. He knows nothing about what’s going on behind the scenes. The one who hired him concealed their identity through the ‘Hunter Market.’ We are interested in the ‘Hunter Market,’ but it’s technically unique—it doesn’t have a fixed server and flows through the global internet like a ghost. Until we can make a move, we’ll keep watching,” Frost said, rubbing his temples. “I’m feeling a bit tired. I think we need a new principal.”
Parsi was startled. “What do you mean?”
Frost slowly raised his eyes. “Anjou believes we have no replacement for him. True, finding someone to replace Anjou within the Secret Party is nearly impossible. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be dismissed. If an executive is excellent, you can tolerate a bit of disobedience. But if that disobedience starts to exceed our control, he loses his value. It’s time for Cassell College to become an institution managed by the Board of Directors. Chu Zihang’s unstable bloodline will be the best evidence to impeach Anjou. We can garner support from the majority of the board.”
“I understand,” Parsi said softly. “I’ll begin arrangements immediately.”
“Go ahead.” Frost waved his hand.
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