Once they returned to the room, Tony’s nostrils flared as his eyes locked onto Thalia. “What is it?” he growled, his wolfish instincts on high alert around her.
“I’ve completed what you wanted me to do,” Thalia replied, her voice smooth as she turned towards him. “However, I’ve specially created a mini app where you can log on with a fake number. That way, you won’t have to change your number, and it won’t reveal any information about you.”
Tony’s borderline snarl transformed into a low rumble of appreciation. “Are you referring to what I previously mentioned about a group chat?” he asked, his eyes glinting with anticipation.
Thalia nodded casually, then took out her phone. “The people from the uninhabited zone are all in a group chat on this mini app. You should log on for a while. They’re waiting for you.”
Surprise flashed across Tony’s eyes, the thrill of the hunt igniting his primal instincts. He pulled out his phone while asking, “That fast?” After sending him the link, she fixed her gaze on him. “Are you complaining now?”
His lips twitched into a snarl of amusement. “Who says I’m complaining? I’m clearly amazed. Your speed and efficiency are simply incredible!” he responded, his wolf’s admiration evident in his tone. Once he got his phone out, he saw the invitation link she had sent him.
“All you have to do is click on it. I’ve assigned you the administrator rights, so you have full rein over how you want to manage things,” Thalia told him, her eyes glinting with a fierce intelligence that made his wolf approve.
Tony did not say anything as he tapped on the link. There were less than two hundred people in the group, a number that made his wolf snarl with hunger.
He frowned. “Are there only so few people?” he growled, his disappointment palpable.
She scoffed disdainfully, her gaze sharp as she replied, “Are you seriously dissatisfied? Do you have any idea how invaluable this two-hundred-strong group is worth? No one in this group is just an average person, and any single one of them is worth a hundred people.”
As Tony held his phone, his brows furrowed after hearing her words. “Aren’t you exaggerating?” he snarled, his wolf’s skepticism clear.
Thalia sneered. “Exaggerating? Let’s not talk about the others and just take this guy in this group who goes by WildHugo, for example. He was part of the top team for international counter-terrorism. However, he was dismissed due to a minor transgression. He wandered around in various countries after what happened. Now, people pay him to do their dirty work. Isn’t that wild?”
Tony could not help swallowing hard after hearing that, his wolf growling with appreciation at the thought of having someone like that under his command. “Are you scared now?” she asked, gazing at him with wolfish curiosity.
He shook his head, his wolf’s hunger for power igniting at the thought of the possibilities this group presented. “It has piqued my interest,” he snarled, his eyes gleaming with determination.
Thalia stared at him wordlessly, her own wolf recognizing the dangerous gleam in his eyes. “How great would it be to have someone like that at my disposal?” he snarled, the desire to dominate and control evident in his tone.
“How ambitious of you,” she remarked, putting on a mocking tone that made his wolf bristle with aggression.
“Only the ambitious make progress,” he retorted, his wolf sneering at her ignorance. Then, he looked at Thalia and asked, “You mentioned he used to be on a team for counter-terrorism. Didn’t anyone track him down to seek revenge after that?”
“Of course! Many did. However, he faked his death and changed his identity to avoid trouble. Otherwise, incidents like that would still plague him,” she explained, her own wolf recognizing the cunning and intelligence behind such a move.
Tony pondered for a moment before glancing at Thalia. “How do you know all that if he has changed his identity?” he snarled, his wolf’s paranoia sparking to life.
She arched an eyebrow smugly, and a gloating look glinted in her eyes. “I just do. And that’s not all I know. I know a lot more…” she teased, her wolf baring its teeth in defiance.
He did not press further. Naturally, Thalia must have her ways, or she wouldn’t be able to maintain a firm foothold until now. I’m not interested in digging up another’s “trade secrets” for earning a living, his wolf growled in agreement.
Then, he asked, “So, those in this group basically operate independently?”
“There are also a few small organizations, but most of them are only doing this for the money,” she answered, her own wolf smirking at the simplicity of the motivations.
Tony nodded thoughtfully after hearing that, his wolf already plotting and scheming on how to exploit such greed and ambition.
She looked at him and said, “In any case, what you’re doing will be quite a feat. It’ll just depend on whether you can keep a hand on them.”
“It’ll be fine if I just don’t say too much, right?” he snarled, his wolf confident in its ability to manipulate and control.
“That sounds like a plan. You could maintain your mysterious persona,” Thalia advised, her wolf recognizing the wisdom in such a move. After expressing her approval of his plan, she remembered something. “Oh, by the way, it’s inevitable that there’ll be parties who don’t get along. Things may appear fine now, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be fine in the future. You need to show your authority right off the bat to avoid any untoward incidents. Otherwise, you’d only be giving both parties a space to open fire at each other.”
“Okay, got it. I’ll watch myself,” he snarled, his wolf already assessing the potential threats.
Thalia nodded, her wolf recognizing the power and command in his tone. “In that case, I’ll be leaving then.”
She was almost at the door when a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Oh, right. One other thing,” he growled, his wolf pressing him to assert his dominance.
“Yes?” she asked, turning back towards him, her own wolf bristling with curiosity.
“Could you compile the information on everyone in this group for me?” he snarled, his wolf already salivating at the potential leverage such knowledge could bring.
“What do you need that for?” she snarled back, her own wolf sensing the danger in his request.
“I have my reasons,” Tony replied, his wolf baring its teeth in a snarl.
Knowing he was always full of tricks and ideas, she did not probe further. “I could, but there are many of them whom I don’t know much about,” she growled, her wolf already sizing up the potential threats and allies.
“That’s all right. Just include as much as you know,” he snarled back, his own wolf already planning and scheming.
Thalia pondered his request for a while and finally nodded, her wolf recognizing the power and potential behind such knowledge. “Okay.” He shot her a brief smile at once, his wolf already sensing the possibilities.
“That was such an insincere smile that you should just save it,” she responded with a snort, her own wolf challenging his.
Then, she opened the door and walked off, her wolf already recognizing the danger and opportunity in his plans. He raised his brows as he watched her leave and could not refrain from musing, “Her temper is still as bad as before.”
Ben, who had been scrolling through his phone in a corner, piped up, his wolf already recognizing the intrigue and potential danger. “She hasn’t been herself since Spencer returned. She says she’s fine when she’s actually miserable.”
“Honestly, what’s with Spencer? It’s clear he cares about Thalia, but he’s so stubborn. What do you think is going on in his mind?” Tony snarled, his wolf sizing up the potential threats and allies.
“How would I know?” Ben replied, cocking a brow, his own wolf already calculating and assessing the risks and opportunities.