Upon hearing that, Kyle asked, “You know everything?”
“Yes!”
Kyle looked at him, sighing helplessly. “This is why I tried to stop Denise from leaving. It's not that I'm afraid Denise will join somewhere else. If you're all here, I don't believe Denise will do that. The main reason is this.”
“Since you don't believe Denise will oppose us, can we eliminate the conditions of quitting?” Anthony asked.
“No. That is the rule.”
“Rules are rigid, but people are flexible,” Anthony said, looking at Kyle. “Besides, these rules were set by you in the first place, and I find them utterly unreasonable.”
“When there are many people, restrictions become necessary.”
“However, in my understanding, what truly binds people has never been these things.”
“So, what do you think it is?”
“As long as people are comfortable here, with money and fame in place, who would want to leave?” Anthony asked.
“Even though there are already plenty of things convincing people to stay, such a method was still added to restrain people. How little faith do you have in yourself?” Anthony asked him.
Kyle looked at him, momentarily speechless.
“Kyle, you're a smart man, and that's one of the reasons I chose you in the first place. It's time to abandon the rules,” Anthony enunciated.
Kyle looked at him, “You say it so casually. Do you know what kind of consequences this could lead to?”
“I don't know what the consequences will be. All I know is that if I'm happy here, no one can pull me away. However, if I'm not, and I want to leave, no one can stop me.”
“That's you. You can't speak for everyone.”
“I am a human, and I also represent humanity,” Anthony enunciated.
Kyle looked at the boy, his thin lips tightly pressed together.
Anthony looked at Kyle, fully aware that was a matter of high-level decision-making, definitely not something he could resolve with a few words. As such, he took a step back. “OK, let's put this matter aside for now. We'll talk about it later. All I want to tell you now is that Denise will absolutely not accept this.”
“Anthony...”
“If you insist on abiding by the rules, you'll have to kill her. However, you should know that if you so much as harm a hair on her head, things will not end well between us!”
“Anthony, are you threatening me?”
“If that's what you believe, then so be it. In any case, I won't accept it!” Anthony stated firmly.
Kyle was really getting frustrated. “Also, what do you mean by 'if something happens to her?' Does that if something happens to her in the future, I'm the one to blame?”
“At the very least, you're the prime suspect.”
“Anthony, after all these years we've known each other, is this how you see me?”
“It hasn't been that long. Don't act like we're old friends.”
“You—”
“Argue if you want, banter if you must,” Anthony said, looking at him earnestly. “I have no other demands. I only have one sister, and I don't want her to experience any pain.”
“As long as she doesn't break the rules, someone will deliver the antidote to her on time. She will be fine.”
“No!” Anthony flatly refused.
“Why are you so stubborn?” Kyle asked him.
“Regardless of what you say, it's up to you to figure this out. If you agree to my request, everything will be fine. If you don't...” Anthony stared at him intently.
“What if I refuse?” Kyle retorted.
Anthony grinned. “You know what'll happen.” After saying that, he stood up straight away. “Let's go, Benjamin.”
Seeing the situation, Benjamin glanced at Kyle, then got up and followed along.
Even though they might have had differing opinions and disagreements in the past, at that moment, the boys were absolutely on the same page.
As Kyle watched them leave, his brows furrowed tightly. “Where are you guys going?”
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