“Okay, since you’re being so honest, my dear niece, I won’t beat around the bush,” he said. He shifted into a more comfortable position and leaned back in his armchair. Crossing his legs casually, he pulled out a cigar from the pocket of his suit and smoothly placed it in his mouth.
Snap!
A faint sound echoed through the air as blue flames flickered and danced within the brown depths of Gregory’s eyes. Thick white smoke rose up to shroud his face in a hazy veil.
“I’ve heard that you’re extremely talented, my dear niece. You’ve already mastered the Edwards family’s ultimate skills at such a young age and are also an all-around expert in music, chess, calligraphy and painting.”
“The Lucas family is currently lacking someone like you. If you’re willing to join us here, then I promise to give you unparalleled power.”
“What do you say? If there are any conditions that don’t satisfy you, then feel free to mention them.”
Gracie was surprised by Gregory personally trying to recruit Cheyenne into their organization; her eyes flashed with hesitation while she struggled for words.
Gregory never meddled with these matters before; was he genuinely interested in recruiting Cheyenne or just testing her loyalty? It was impossible for anyone to know for sure.
Either way though she would never agree.
Not only had Cheyenne disrupted her plans multiple times before causing significant losses within their organization but also because she was Kelvin’s wife. Gracie couldn’t let her work alongside herself under such awkward circumstances.
Little did they know that Cheyenne didn’t even consider joining their organization as an option; how could she become an accomplice when it went against everything she stood for?
“What do you think? If it doesn’t put your mind at ease, then I can release Jonathan first as part of our exchange.” Gregory spoke nonchalantly while threateningly lacing each word with naked aggression.
How despicable!
Cheyenne cursed inwardly but forced herself to calm down; looking coldly towards him with icy indifference written across her features she replied, “I demand to see Kyson first.”
“I won’t agree until I have seen him myself and made sure he is safe.”
As soon as those words left her lips, Gregory turned around briefly, glancing over Gracie who stood behind him. They exchanged brief looks which conveyed the message.
Gracie frowned and let out a cold laugh, crossing her arms before turning to leave. Gregory hesitated for a moment before nodding and speaking in a deep voice, “Alright, I’ll have someone arrange it. When do you want to meet him?”
“Right now!”
“Okay, I’m sure that you will love our great organization.”
“It doesn’t matter if I like it or not. Can I leave if I don’t agree? It’s ridiculous how you all pretend to be righteous and friendly when you’re just a bunch of hypocrites. It’s disgusting!”
As she finished speaking, there was finally some emotion on Gregory’s face – anger – but he still held back. “Hehe…”
The basement was brightly lit with silver-white walls reflecting shadows as people moved around creating blinding flashes of light.
There was an enormous iron cage that looked at least three meters high and two meters wide with black painted railings surrounding it making it look like a giant iron lid trapping people inside.
Inside the cage sat a pregnant woman who appeared to be around twenty-three or twenty-four years old; her frail figure slumped on the icy ground.
Her stomach protruded so much that it made one gasp in amazement while trembling uncontrollably at its sight.
Her blonde hair hung down covering her face as weak eyes peered through strands staring straight ahead towards Cheyenne.
A faint voice began calling out weakly, “Save… save me.”
“It hurts too much… I want to live.”
Her pleading gaze resembled that of an animal begging for mercy.
Cheyenne then noticed large chunks of skin falling off her body which were covered by hair; half her face had rotted away, emitting an extremely nauseating odor which explained why she used hair as cover-up.
She continued writhing in pain on the ground, clutching onto her stomach as though someone had punched her hard and causing excruciating pain, while blood slowly seeped out forming into puddles beneath white her stained dress mixed with dirt.
In the pool of blood, countless white worms wriggled densely. Each worm had a thumb-sized, robust body with crimson red eyes the size of green peas, resembling silkworms.
Cheyenne glanced at them and involuntarily contracted her pupils. The woman’s abdomen… She covered her mouth, preventing the sound of surprise from escaping.
The woman continued to plead for help, relentlessly.
The woman kept using her own head to strike the iron railing. Each impact seemed to require all her strength, with her skull colliding forcefully against the bars.
Red blood flowed down the iron railing, and the woman’s forehead was completely crushed, a gruesome mess of flesh and blood.
What kind of despair and agony would drive a pregnant woman to prefer suicide over living with the burden of two lives?
Just as this question unconsciously arose in Cheyenne’s mind, a familiar and aged voice suddenly sounded from behind. She instinctively turned her head to look.
The person approaching wore a black robe, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles. It was Adrian.
His hands were tucked in the pockets of his white coat, holding a folder under his arm. Despite his elderly appearance, he showed no sign of being in his seventies.
“She took ‘Apocalypse’. The child in her womb was devoured by these adorable little worms. Only a pool of blood remains,” he said.
“What’s the point of engaging in such despicable acts?” Cheyenne’s gaze turned icy cold. The calmer her face appeared while looking at Adrian, the more intense her anger burned.
Hearing her childish remark, Adrian couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. “My dear great-niece, you’re still so naive. Only children would ask such questions.”
“If there’s no point, then why did I put so much effort into nurturing her as the ‘Wormmother’? By introducing the Apocalypse into her body, her uterus became the perfect hatchery. After absorbing the blood and flesh of infants, these little darlings hatch from her body. Aren’t they still her children? They simply went from one to countless.”
“You’re a monster!” Cheyenne exclaimed.