Half an hour later, Northmoor, Woodsea.
Woodsea was located by Pearl Avenue and was one of the three largest urban villages in Whiteville. It had the highest concentration of rental houses in Whiteville.
There were many rental houses with cheap rent. Woodsea was the first choice for most people who came to Whiteville from other places.
Darnell also lived here, at Grandeur Plaza.
After parking his motorcycle in a corner, he quickly returned to his rental apartment.
“Get out! If you don’t leave immediately, I’ll break your legs!”
At that moment, he saw a six-foot-tall lady with a pipe in her mouth yelling at a few professional beggars to leave.
“Stop pretending to be lame and deaf here! Deceiving people every day, aren’t you afraid someone will beat you to death?”
“If I were you, I’d have killed myself. A bunch of losers!”
Her sharp words sent those imposters scrambling to gather their things and flee.
Although this lady wasn’t Darnell’s landlord, he usually avoided her when he saw her, because she was too fierce, a tough character.
Her shrilling voice lingered in the air long after she spoke.
Moreover, Darnell couldn’t afford to provoke her. She was not only the most powerful landlord in Woodsea, owning eight buildings to rent out, but also the village chief of Woodsea.
All the hundred or so villagers listened to her. Even Darnell’s landlord, Leroy Gorton, showed respect to her, so if Darnell wanted to continue living there, he had to keep a low profile and avoid provoking her.
As Darnell crossed the square, he glanced at the landlady who had chased away the beggars. She noticed him immediately and glared at him.
“What are you looking at? Mind your own business and get lost, lad!”
“Keep staring and I’ll ruin that handsome face of yours!”
Darnell covered his face with both hands and ran back to his rental apartment in a panic.
Five minutes later, in a fifty-square-meter apartment furnished with all necessary furniture and bedding, as well as numerous military and classical books, the most eye-catching items were two refrigerators filled with mineral water and carrots.
Darnell took off his clothes and pulled three items from his pocket, placing them one by one on the corner of the bed, a small medicine bottle, a small box, and a red bayonet.
The medicine bottle contained a healing elixir. The box held black needles for saving lives, and the bayonet was for killing.
After arranging these items, he opened the refrigerator and took out a carrot, chewing it in large bites.
Carrots were his favorite food in life. He gnawed one down to its stub in just a few crunches. Just as he was about to throw it into the trash can, his ears twitched slightly.
With a flick of his fingers, the carrot stub shot out and hit a corner of the wall with a snap. A mosquito carcass fell to the ground along with it.
His aim was precise.
“I’m exhausted, yet you tried to suck my blood? You’re asking for death.”
Darnell threw the carrot stub and mosquito carcass into the trash can with a tissue before leisurely walking into his modified bathroom.
Although he had taken a shower after last night’s escapade and washed up briefly in the morning, rescuing Lillian in the elevator and fighting Nick had left him drenched in sweat again. He wanted to relax a bit.
With the carrot finished and hot water ready, he turned on the faucet. The water spray felt comfortable against his body.
Darnell’s muscular physique wasn’t rock-hard but was quite solid, giving off a strong impression with clearly defined lines that resembled stone carvings.
Apart from Areli’s scratch marks, his skin was smooth without any gunshot or knife wounds. Water droplets fell from his skin like pearls.
Any woman who saw him would envy his skin.
Darnell didn’t spend much time admiring his body. Instead, his mind replayed Nick’s words.
Brian, a high-ranking executive at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, drugged Areli? Spectrum Pharmaceuticals really has internal strife and external threats.
As Darnell pondered, an ear-piercing ring sounded. He spat out some water and tapped on the wall. A small hole appeared, revealing a tablet computer encased in waterproof glass.
A very alluring image appeared on Darnell’s screen.
In the video was a stunning woman under thirty years old lounging lazily in a milk-filled bathtub. Her waist was slender, her chest firm, and her legs round and strong.
Her skin glowed like satin. She raised her delicate feet high into the air, her little toes shimmering with light.
What made one’s breath quicken most was that this exquisite woman wore red lipstick, the most seductive shade of red.
Her lips were thin and small. In the dim light, the vibrant red color caught his eye and further stirred up his desire.
Darnell swallowed hard as he watched her toes touch the screen. She smiled enchantingly, “Darnell, who is the most beautiful woman in this world?”
Darnell wiped away water from his mouth and coughed. “Wendy is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
Wendy giggled charmingly, “Is Areli prettier than me?”
Darnell laughed heartily as he turned the hot water to cold. “Wendy’s charm surpasses hers by hundreds of times.”
“Liar.”
Wendy let out pleasant laughter before straightening up slightly. “I’ve seen that girl’s profile. She’s definitely a looker.”
“I don’t stand any advantage compared to her, but I appreciate your attitude. Even if it’s just flattery, it’s better than cruel truth.”
“A woman can only stay young amidst sweet words.”
Darnell chuckled, “I’m not lying. Wendy is indeed the most beautiful woman in my heart.”
“Since you adore me so much, can you tell me why you weren’t at your apartment last night? Were you out fooling around again?”
Wendy’s voice carried slight resentment. “That’s not good. The task is important, understand? It’s worth ten billion dollars!”
Darnell lazily replied, “Wendy, don’t you trust me? Everything went smoothly. I not only became Areli’s assistant but also had her make an agreement where I can’t be fired in three years.”
“It’s just about protecting her and the capsule, Rest assured. With me around, she will be safe.”
Yesterday, he impersonated an interviewer to drive away other candidates, with the real intention of getting close to Areli for protection.
“I’m glad you didn’t forget the mission.”
Wendy laughed softly, “Over these years, you’ve killed countless people, stained with blood, and suffered injuries. You keep complaining about exhaustion and being tired of killing.”
“I finally got you such an easy task that doesn’t require fighting or killing, with a high commission. You should take it more seriously.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone harm Areli.”
Darnell said confidently, “If I can’t even protect her, my name as Scarlet Bayonet can be wiped out directly.”
“Good that you’re confident.”
With a splash, Wendy sat up straight from within the milk. The enticing sight caused Darnell to spit out a mouthful of water.
“The core of this mission is Arel, who’s responsible for the project Utopia. As long as you protect her well, nothing else matters.”
While wiping her fingers, Wendy continued softly, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. They won’t act against her until she breaks through Utopia’s third stage.”
“They want to get Utopia, which will bring them unimaginable benefits. They won’t easily harm Areli.”
“But once she develops Utopia, many forces will stop at nothing until they get rid of her.”
She gently reminded him, “You have to be more careful by then.”
As he thought about Brian and last night’s incident, Darnell’s eyes flickered, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals had turbulent undercurrents.
The alluring woman’s face turned serious. “I’ll keep in touch with our employer. Any updates on Utopia, I’ll send them via email and keep you posted. Remember, Areli must remain unharmed. That’s our employer’s bottom line. Even if we lose Utopia, Areli must stay safe. There will be another five hundred million when it’s done.”
Darnell smiled slightly, “This employer really has deep pockets, paying such a high price to protect Areli.”
“Utopia is not less valuable than aspirin, after all. And perhaps our employer has a close relationship with Areli.”
Wendy leaned closer, her red lips more tempting. “But what kind of relationship they have doesn’t concern me.”
“Complete the mission well, I’m waiting for your return.”
She left lip marks on the screen before she added, “Just a reminder. Given Areli’s special identity, you better not have designs on her.”
Darnell exclaimed playfully, “Too late. I already slept with her.”
Wendy gasped. “What? You slept with her?”
“More precisely, she assaulted me.”
Darnell assured proudly, “But don’t worry. I won’t let her take responsibility.”
Wendy fell back into the water with a clang, the milk submerged her, but she quickly reappeared, her pretty face full of resentment.
“Darnell, you are a nightmare for all women in this world.”
Darnell stretched lazily, saying, “What happened last night was an accident…”
Then he told Wendy about last night’s incident. He even showed Wendy the scratch marks on his back. “See? I am the victim.”
Darnell felt wronged. “I’m a man. Although she is beautiful, she can’t trample on my dignity.”
Hearing his nonsense, Wendy spat, “So, you did a good deed?”
Darnell chuckled, “After all, I’m a considerate man, aren’t I?”
Wendy asked, “Can’t Cicada Serum cure it?”
Darnell shook his head. “Cicada Serum is for treating internal and external injuries and detoxifying, but it doesn’t work on aphrodisiacs.”
Wendy laughed, “It seems you really did a good deed.”
Seeing Darnell hold his head high and look proud, Wendy asked again, “Why don’t you go to work today?”
“Although what happened last night was not my fault, it can’t change the fact that I took her virginity.”
Darnell’s face became more serious, and he continued in a low voice, “She must be very sad now and needs some time to process it. As it happens, I also need to have a rest.”
“So I better not show up in front of her today. After she pulls herself together, she will call me back.”
“She is not a heartless woman, and she won’t chase me away.”
Wendy smiled faintly, “Okay, I believe in your judgment. In short, don’t screw this up, I will buy a large bed, waiting for you to come back.”
Then she threw a coquettish glance. “Darnell, do you want to see my naked body?”
Darnell clapped his thigh excitedly. “Of course! I’ve been waiting for ten years. Come on, Wendy. Show me.”
Wendy stood up from the tub, showing her attractive figure, but before Darnell could see it clearly, the video call was disconnected.
Darnell poked the screen a few times and looked at the computer’s full battery, disappointed.
He hadn’t anticipated that Wendy would cancel the video call at a critical moment!
Darnell signed in frustration, wondering when he could conquer this beautiful woman.
Chapter 20 Scare Him Twice in a Row
After coming out of the bathroom, Darnell threw himself on the bed, preparing to replenish his physical strength by sleeping after the fight with Nick and others.
Before going to sleep, Darnell stuffed a carrot into his mouth. After sleeping for more than three hours, Darnell fell into a dream.
He was holding his bayonet, killing in and out of a village, with countless corpses lying around him, blood flowing all over the ground, and the village stream was red.
But not long after, these corpses crawled up again, roaring and moving quickly towards Darnell.
Darnell kept slashing and breaking through, relying on the village terrain to kill for three days and nights before killing all these zombie-like guys, and he was exhausted.
When Darnell sat down by an ancient well, a pair of hands came out of the well and pulled him fiercely into the dry well.
A bunch of zombies roared below, pouncing on him, trying to tear him alive.
Darnell’s body trembled. He clenched his teeth in agony. With a crisp sound, the carrot broke, and he woke up from the dream.
Darnell spat out the carrot in his mouth, then took a tissue to wipe the sweat on his head. His body was as weak as if he had fought a war, and his back was all wet.
“Fortunately, I bit the radish. Otherwise, I would be paralyzed for three days.”
Darnell leaned against the bed, panting heavily, with an indescribable seriousness on his face. He didn’t know why, in recent years, he had repeated the dream just now.
A village, a group of zombie-like enemies, persistently consuming his physical strength, and every time he woke up from the dream, he felt like he had died.
Not only was his whole body weak, but his heart was also slightly trembling. Darnell could diagnose all kinds of diseases in the world, but he didn’t know what was wrong with his body.
The only progress was that after having this dream a few more times, he became more familiar with the village environment and enemies, and the survival time in the dream also changed from one hour to three days and nights.
Moreover, Darnell found a way to cut off the dream, that was, to put a piece of carrot in his mouth beforehand, which could play a role at the critical moment.
Just like today, the carrot disrupted his dream, allowing him to wake up, which saved him a lot of physical strength.
“I got enough rest.”
After getting up, Darnell took another bath, then turned on the computer to check the things he liked, several international websites, and then looked at some domestic news.
Suddenly, his attention was attracted by a headline. “The enchantress secretly visits the Swain Group and lifts the veil of the mysterious empire worth 60 billion.”
“Sixty billion? That’s quite a lot.”
Darnell muttered to himself, then went to look at the gossip news, thinking it had nothing to do with himself.
He spent the day peacefully.
The only thing that gave him a headache was the occasional roar of the female landlord from the village, which was really penetrating and deterrent.
As soon as she shouted, all the dogs in Woodsea started barking.
The next morning, Darnell woke up at six, did his morning routine, and then munched on five carrots, followed by a large glass of carrot juice. Feeling satisfied, he checked the fridge and, seeing the carrot supply was low, grabbed one to head downstairs to buy more at the grocery store.
On the third floor, he spotted a Halloween zombie mask in the middle of the stairs, slightly torn with a footprint on it, left behind by somebody. Darnell bent down to pick up the mask, intending to throw it in the trash bin on the first floor.
As he opened the door on the first floor, Darnell immediately saw a familiar figure. It was Edwin, the bouncer from Moonlight Lounge who had tried to drug him the night before. It was still early, and with sparse traffic in Grandeur Plaza, even beggars were nowhere to be seen, making Edwin in his security uniform quite conspicuous.
“Delivering himself to my doorstep,” Darnell muttered with a smirk. Seeing Edwin, who looked tired from his late shift, Darnell didn’t rush to confront him directly. Instead, he wiped the zombie mask he was about to discard and quietly approached, wearing it. When only three steps away, he let out a sinister chuckle.
Edwin, hearing the noise, turned around instinctively and let out a scream. “A ghost! Help!” he shouted hysterically. The already weary Edwin jumped in fright, dropping his milk and fried dough sticks, and fell to the ground with a thud. His face turned pale, his legs trembled, and he scrambled to get away, clearly terrified.
Darnell, wearing the mask, roared and charged at him. Edwin jumped up and ran, yelling, “Somebody help!”
“Damn it,” Darnell muttered, kicking Edwin down as he fled, then removed the mask to avoid causing a commotion among any onlookers. Nowadays, a knife could scare off many passersby, not to mention such a lifelike zombie mask. He sauntered forward, pulling the mask off his face.
“Edwin, don’t you recognize me?”
Seeing Darnell remove the mask, Edwin’s panic turned to astonishment and a bit of relief, but his expression changed again quickly as he recognized Darnell.
“Ah!” Edwin cried out, scrambling to his feet and running away. He knew that if Darnell caught him, he’d have to spill some information, but if he did, he’d lose his job.
Watching Edwin’s escape, Darnell deliberately shouted, “You can’t run to number eight.” Edwin, running in a panic, paused, seeing the sign for No. 8 Grandeur Plaza and a two-story house ahead. Thinking there might be an exit or something Darnell feared there, he turned and dashed inside.
Darnell stopped, feigning concern as he watched Edwin’s retreating figure. “Why won’t he listen?” The landlady’s home was off-limits to strangers and animals.
Before Darnell could finish his thought, he heard a crash, followed by a familiar roar. Then, Edwin flew out of the entrance like a projectile, a large footprint on his face. As he hit the ground, the landlady stormed out, furious.
She wielded a mop and lashed out with it. Another sound as the mop struck Edwin’s shin.
“Ah!” Edwin screamed, tumbling several meters away.
“Didn’t you see my sign? No entry without permission!” The landlady, brandishing her mop, was fuming with rage. “You dare to barge in early in the morning, disturb my offering, and break my things. Are you looking for trouble?”
Edwin winced in pain, retorting, “Even though I trespass, you can’t just hit me just like that!” He appealed to the curious onlookers around him. “Could someone please call the police for me?”
In an instant, the crowd dispersed, pretending nothing had happened.
Edwin was furious. “You guys…”
“Call the police?” The landlady roared, “On my property, I’m in charge.”
She swung the mop at him again.
Edwin yelped, covering his head and running around, trying to dodge the landlady’s attack.
Ten minutes later, Edwin, panting heavily, hid in an alley. In addition to the shoe print on his face, he had bruises all over his body. His clothes were filthy, and he looked as miserable as could be, clearly having been chased hard by the landlady. The echoes of her angry shouts searching for Edwin still hung in the air.
Before he could catch his breath, he heard footsteps approaching.
Edwin turned his head instinctively and saw the bloody face again.
Edwin was startled once more, his legs gave way, and he fell to the ground.
Darnell removed the mask. “Scare you twice in a row.”
Darnell tossed the mask into the trash can before continuing, “You’re chicken-hearted.”
Edwin didn’t run anymore. Instead, he collapsed on the ground, weakly asking, “What do you want?”
“New around here, aren’t you?” Darnell took out a handkerchief and handed it to Edwin. “Otherwise, you’d know that No. 8 Grandeur Plaza is the landlady’s home, a restricted area in Woodsea.”
“And she says a prayer for her dead husband every morning, but you barged in and broke things. Of course, she’d be furious.”
“I already warned you not to go there.”
Darnell chided, “But you didn’t listen. You brought this on yourself.”
“Damn it! You deliberately misled me, and now you say it was a kind warning?” Edwin cursed inwardly.
At that moment, he couldn’t confront Darnell and could only weakly respond after taking his handkerchief,
“Thank you.”
“You’ve harmed me, and I’ve shown you kindness twice. I let you go last time, warned you this time, and even offered you my handkerchief…”
Darnell coaxed, “Aren’t you supposed to reciprocate by telling me who instigated you to scheme against me the other day?”
Edwin’s mouth twitched. Seemingly anticipating this question, he let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t know…”
“Then I’ll have to call the landlady…”
Darnell was about to yell.
“No! I’ll talk!”
Edwin’s body jolted, and he immediately slouched in frustration, clearly afraid of the landlady, then reluctantly spoke up,
“It was Brian…”