Starting from the Dragon Tribe! - Chapter 35
Starting From the Dragon Tribe
Chapter 35: Both Sides
“Oh, Albert! The poor boy probably had just found the light of his life and barely gathered the courage to talk to her. How could you say such harsh things about him?” Susie mischievously kidded. Notwithstanding, it wasn’t their duty to worry about Lutecia as all they needed to do was safeguard Milana.
“Perhaps. I guess I must have read too much into it.” Chu Zihang shook his head.
“For me, Abner was more suspicious. Since the victims were murdered in different places, it seemed like the ladies followed the criminal of their own will instead of being forced to. Abner possesses something Albert doesn’t, and that is his intoxicating appeal to charm women,” Susie remarked.
“That makes sense too if you put it that way.” For a brief moment, Chu Zihang was baffled by the fact that he had made his judgment solely based on behaviors and omitted the possibility of physical attraction. If he was aware of that, he would have considered the probability of the victims bringing Slaughter to their homes willingly.
“How’s Lu Chen?”
“He’s positioned between the two and waiting for further commands, though the director instructed him to stay nearer to Abner.”
“Let’s wait and pray that Slaughter reveals himself soon.”
Although Susie didn’t mind spending time with Chu Zihang, the boy was so immersed in analyzing the missions that he forgot he was to play pretend with his partner.
…
After changing into a dress, Milana entered Abner’s car. Beneath the lengthy hem of her rosy dress was a Beretta M92F customized by the equipment department attached to her snowy thigh.
Meanwhile, Lutecia and Albert had arrived at Redhill Gardens—one of the tourist highlights.
After their session of silent reading in the library, Lutecia feigned amazement and gushed over the scenery when they reached the garden. “Nowadays, quiet places in big cities are going extinct. It’s surprising to see such a peaceful area!”
After pulling himself together, Albert revealed that he knew a secret passage into Redhill Gardens, so they wouldn’t need a ticket to enter the place.
In response, Lutecia jokingly mocked, “Seems like there’s some bad in you, huh!”
Instantly, Albert’s face reddened as he was confused whether he was being praised or reproached. After all, he had only decided to bring the woman here after her agreement.
Why do I feel like a succubus that has abducted a kid to her lair? Lutecia ranted internally. Although all she had done was deliberate, the diffident young man didn’t show any signs of threat, as if he was completely pulled in by her.
Despite the fact that Redhill Gardens was to close at seven, thanks to Albert’s ‘secret path’, the duo were able to sneak through bushes of flowers into the picturesque site.
Since it was the beginning of fall, the afterglow of the setting sun was still lingering, making the emerald maple leaves seem reddish.
“You seem to be rather good at this, Albert. I bet you’ve brought a girl here before, haven’t you?” Lutecia teased.
“N-No!” Flustering, Albert denied with his head lowered.
“Haha! Your face says it all! Is she someone you like?” She interrogated with an inquisitive expression.
“S-She’s… nice, I guess… She’s pretty like you, but… I’m not good enough for her,” he claimed, looking somewhat depressed.
“Dummy! If you like her, you should tell her how you feel! Wouldn’t know unless you try, right?” Lutecia patted the boy’s head.
“But she doesn’t feel the same way about me… There are so many boys lining up for her.”
“Are they as outstanding as you are?”
“I’m not even any good myself… B-But… they’re just some jocks that drool all over her beauty.”
“And you?”
“I… I…” Flushed, Albert quavered as if his mind had gone blank. “We’ve known each other since we were kids, but she was always out there living her life, and I could only watch from afar. She lives in an entirely different world…”
“Have you tried entering her world?”
Under the blackening sky accompanied by maple leaves dancing to the rhythm of the breeze as if they were waltzing to a sorrowful ballad, Albert was stunned by the deep-seated question.
“I… I can’t.”
“Why not? Look at you. You’re talking to me right now, aren’t you?”
“That’s… That’s different.”
“Different how?”
“My voice just wouldn’t come out when I’m with her…”
***
***
Meanwhile, in a car where cool jazz was being played, Milana was touching up her makeup with her compact while Abner was driving as he subtly snickered. The atmosphere wasn’t at all lackluster.
Despite her carefree front, she was, in fact, a cat on hot bricks. After memorizing the map of the area, she realized that there was nothing like a luxurious hotel or a gargantuan villa where they were heading—only a shady, isolated route.
Upon receiving the news, Lu Chen, who was on standby, got into the department’s vehicle with Fremont and rushed over to Milana.
While en route to Milana, Lu Chen was constantly changing the frequency of his earpiece so as to keep himself updated with the situations of both sides. Although Abner was superbly fishy, Albert was no less suspicious. An empty garden in the middle of the night—what was it if not the best spot to victimize a target?
…
“To be honest, I knew she wasn’t a good girl either. She was always fooling around with the jocks and doing who-knows-what. But still, I couldn’t bring myself to let go of her.”
“Damn, that’s just wrong, Albert. That’s exactly what a simp would do.”
“A simp?”
“It’s a popular term people made up recently. It refers to a man who’s willing to do anything for the person he likes in a one-sided relationship, only to satisfy his own desires.”
“I must be a simp then.”
“Haha! That’s unusually direct of you! Haven’t you ever thought of being more straightforward and going after her passionately in order to drive those jocks away?”
“I-I… have thought of it, of course! But there was no way I could beat them… I’m nowhere as wealthy, my academics are so-so, and my university hasn’t even responded to my application.”
“I see. We indeed have to be confident enough about ourselves before we love anyone else.”
“Exactly! Even you feel that way, huh?”
“But based on what you said, she doesn’t seem all that great either.”
“But she’s really pretty, and I like her.”
As Albert spoke, he was downhearted as if recalling an unpleasant memory. “She brought me to a party some time ago. I was so happy because it was the first time she took me anywhere. Sadly, when we got there, everyone else teased and bullied me, and she joined in on making fun of me.”
“Yet you’re still in love with her?”
“Because she’s beautiful… and she was nice to me back when we were kids.”
“That’s it?”
“You must think I’m pathetic, don’t you?”
…
Pulling out his earpiece, Lu Chen scratched his irritated earhole. What? Are we on Dr. Phil now?
Initially, he assumed that after fleeing to Redhill Gardens at night, the kid would turn into a werewolf and swallow Lutecia in one gulp. Instead, he turned out to be just a vulnerable boy talking about his feelings.
In the meantime, something happened on Milana’s end.
“It’s getting foggy,” uttered Abner as he turned on the car ventilation to eliminate the haze.
On the passenger seat, Milana was getting drowsy as her eyelids started to droop. Ultimately, as the ongoing jazz music reached its climax, her eyes were completely shut.
“Bait number one! Bait number one! Milana! Please respond! Please respond now!” Feeling that something was odd, the commissioner in the commanding office shouted in agitation.
Inside the dim space of the car, Abner started grinning as he closed his eyes. When he reopened them, the car was illuminated by a pair of light spots—golden irises.
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