At that very moment, Anthony's phone rang. It turned out to be a call from Kyle.
He hesitated for a while before answering it.
“Hello.”
Just as Kyle was about to say something, he was stunned when a kid's voice sounded from the other end of the line. “What happened to your voice?”
“Why? You don't like it?”
“Good gracious! Why are you using a voice changer?”
Anthony was utterly speechless.
Hmph! Now that I'm thinking of revealing my true identity when liaising with him, he doesn't believe me!
“What is it? Cut to the chase,” Anthony urged him without making any explanation.
His words reminded Kyle of something. “How could you still have the cheek to say so? Why did you post the bounty list on Hacker Community?”
“You saw it?” Anthony drawled.
Kyle took a deep breath. “How can I overlook such an eye-catching post?”
“Since you'd seen it, what's the point of asking me again?” Anthony snapped.
“You—I want to ask what you intend to do.” Kyle finally went straight to the point.
“Didn't you see that? I'm trying to track down Boss!” Anthony hissed with intense abhorrence in his tone.
Kyle could not sense that on the other end of the line. He said, “Vermillion Base has nothing to do with us. Don't you think you'll only put yourself in deep water by acting impulsively?”
Anthony lowered his voice. “There's nothing between Darknetz and him, but there is something between him and me!”
Kyle frowned. “What do you mean?”
Anthony did not utter any words. There was a hint of hostility in his eyes.
Dumbstruck, Kyle only asked hesitantly after a while, “Did they inflict any harm on you?”
After remaining silent for a while, Anthony lowered his voice and enunciated, “They didn't lay a finger on me but targeted someone who is the most important to me instead!”
In a split second, realization dawned on Kyle. After remaining silent for a while, he asked, “So that was why you went to Spaunia?”
Without hesitation, Anthony answered, “Yes!”
“I got it!” Kyle blurted out.
“No! You don't understand! Apart from tracking him down and offing him, I vow to eliminate Vermillion Base!” Anthony stated resolutely. His childlike voice was not loud, but Kyle could sense the intense fury in his tone.
“Anthony—”
“Don't try to stop me if you treat me as your friend!” Anthony cut him off.
“I'm not trying to stop you. It's a rule that Darknetz should never step on anyone's toes, but it doesn't mean we are scaredy-cats. If he has the gall to provoke you, the whole Darknetz won't let him off!” Kyle emphasized solemnly.
Flabbergasted, Anthony asked tactfully, “Aren't you angry?”
“Of course, I'm still mad at you!” Kyle snorted.
“Then why did you—”
“I'm mad because you didn't mention a single word about this matter!”
Anthony was rendered speechless. He was caught off guard by the sudden change in Kyle's demeanor.
“Is that the reason you have been stopping me from looking for you?” Kyle asked again.
“No. That's not the sole reason...”
However, Kyle assumed his instinct was right and tried to appease Anthony.
“Anthony, I admit that I had been standing in your way before this as I did not wish to see you end up being chastised by the others. However, things will be different if they have gotten on your nerves first. Heed my words. Darknetz is fearless. If they dare to provoke you, they are actually going against the whole Darknetz too. Just hang on. I'll meet you right after resolving Holden's matter. Let's discuss this in detail later!”
“It's all right—”
“Enough of that! There's no need for formality now. Wait for me, okay?”
“But—”
“All right. I have a call from Holden. Just wait for my call.” With that, he hung up on Anthony.
Looking at his phone, Anthony could not help but let out a resigned sigh.
He knew he would have to meet Kyle in person sooner or later. Thus, he had been looking for ideal timing. But when will be the right time?
Nevertheless, no matter how he racked his brain, he did not have any conclusion.
Forget about it. I'll just go with the flow then.
At the thought, Anthony caught a glimpse of the increasing number of the names registered in the bounty list displayed on the laptop screen. He lowered his gaze and posted a contact detail before closing the laptop.
The following morning, Anthony overslept as he went to bed much later than usual the previous night. Subsequently, Benjamin had to wake him up.
“Anthony Watson, wake up!”
Sensing someone was shaking him, Anthony finally opened his eyes and stared groggily at Benjamin. “What's the matter with you?”
He rolled over and planned to sleep again.
“How could you still sleep at this hour?” Benjamin yelled behind him.
“What's the time now?” Anthony mumbled.
“Ten o'clock! The clock has already struck ten!”
Just as Anthony was about to drift off to sleep with his eyes closed again, he opened his eyes abruptly and sat on the bed. “What did you say?”
Benjamin let out a sigh as he stared at Anthony. At the same time, the latter took the watch from the table to have a look. “Good gracious! It's ten o'clock now...”
Anthony looked dazed as he sat on the bed. It was as though he was deep in thought.
Meanwhile, Benjamin teased him, “Ha! Even though you don't look like Nat, you're obviously a sleepyhead like her...”
“Are you sure I don't look like Nat? Don't you know what recessive genes are? Undeniably, I still bear a resemblance to her!” At that moment, Anthony came to his senses and rolled over to get out of bed. Next, he got changed swiftly before striding out of the room.
Benjamin stared at him in bafflement. “Why are you in such haste?”
Anthony left without replying him.
“Don't you need a wash-up?”
“I'm running out of time!”
“What's the matter with you?” Benjamin immediately went after him.
After catching up with Anthony outside the room, Benjamin asked doubtfully, “What is it? What happened?”
“Let's look for Daddy first. I'll explain to you after that,” Anthony finally responded after much hesitation.
He's in such a hurry and doesn't even bother to have a wash-up. Hmph! I bet something must have happened! Despite that, Benjamin did not voice his doubts. He headed straight to the hidden room with Anthony effortlessly and entered it.
Miguel and a few hackers were the only ones there at the moment. There was no sign of Kenneth after Anthony scanned the whole place.
He looked at Miguel and asked, “Isn't my daddy here yet?”
Sucking on a lollipop, Miguel kept his eyes glued to the computer screen as he shook his head. “Not yet!”
“How about Mr. Dave?”
“He's not here yet either.”
Anthony was momentarily stunned upon hearing that.
Could it be Daddy has already left?
As the thought struck him, he turned to leave without thinking twice.
Perplexed, Benjamin went after him at once. “Tony, what's the matter? Did anything happen?”
The conversation between Kenneth and Dave kept playing at the back of Anthony's mind, but he had no idea how he should explain it to Benjamin. Wearing a grim look, he pursed his lips.
“Tony!” Benjamin looked intently at him. “What's wrong? What on earth has happened?”
Anthony stared at him hesitantly with a complex look.
Benjamin was clueless about what had transpired. Nonetheless, judging from Anthony's reaction, his gut instinct told him something must have gone wrong.
“You promised me yesterday that you would update me about Nat's situation, didn't you?” He looked at Anthony sternly.
After hesitating for a while, Anthony gazed at him. “Benjamin, Daddy could be...”
“What are you doing here?”
At that very moment, a deep voice sounded behind them.
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