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Xavier slammed on the brake pedal and yelled, “What’s going on? What happened to you guys?”
The side collision had caused the door on Josiah’s side to be dented inward. Thankfully, the
passengers in the back seats seemed to be fine.
However, the impact was so powerful that Rachel almost fell off her seat. Winnie helped her up while
asking Josiah, “Are you okay? Are you injured?”
Josiah had managed to stop the car, but his head had still slammed on the steering wheel.
“D*mn it! What on earth is going on?” he cursed under his breath, feeling the massive bump on his
head.
Their situation was so chaotic that no one bothered to reply to Xavier.
Subsequently, Xavier panicked more when he did not know what was going on.
Soon, his anxious voice rang out again. “Talk to me! What happened to you guys? Did Harold’s men
catch up to you?”
Still, no one responded to him.
Xavier felt he had been waiting for a response for ages when, in truth, everything happened in the blink
of an eye.
Winnie and Josiah did not answer him because they, too, had the same concern as Xavier.
They feared the person who crashed into them was Harold. Thus, they had no time to answer his
questions.
Josiah was ready to drive the car away, but the collision had caused the entire car to be stuck in
between a row of trees and the other car.
On top of that, the right tire had fallen into a pit by the side of the road. It was impossible for him to
drive it away, and that realization left him livid.
Meanwhile, Winnie was momentarily stunned when she looked out of the car windows. Immediately
after that, she knitted her brows and called out urgently, “Josiah! Josiah, calm down!”
Without turning to look at her, Josiah snapped, “How am I supposed to calm down?”
Xavier, on the other hand, gave up on waiting for an answer. “I’m going back to look for you guys!”
Winnie hurriedly stopped him. “There’s no need for that! It’s Mason and Greta. It’s their car!”
Before Xavier could even react, Josiah had already lost his cool. “What? Why did they knock into our
car? Have they lost their minds?”
With that, he lifted his head and looked out of the window.
Just then, Greta had already gotten out of the car.
She had never met Josiah before, nor did she know Winnie was in that car when the vehicles collided.
It was not until she walked over to the other car that she realized who was in it. She exclaimed, “Ms.
Garland? Why are you here?”
Winnie stared at Greta, her frown deepening. “I was about to ask you the same. Why did you ram into
us?”
Greta did not know how to respond. “We didn’t do it on purpose. We encountered Harold’s men outside
the hospital, and our car got shot, which caused problems with our brakes. Then, we received an order
from Mr. Fairchild telling us to take this road to Yeringham. We didn’t want to cause you guys any delay,
so we sped all the way here. Who would’ve known your car would be here the moment we exited the
junction? I swear, Mason really did hit the brakes, but we were speeding so fast that we didn’t manage
to stop in time. We would’ve slowed down if we knew you were ahead of us. Man… This is such a huge
misunderstanding. You won’t cut our pay, will you, Ms. Garland?”
Winnie rolled her eyes at Greta. “Well, you should consider yourself lucky for not killing me. Otherwise,
you two won’t get a single cent.”
When she finished her sentence, she turned to the phone and said, “There you go, Xavier. You better
not come over. We should hurry on. There’s no time to lose.”
“All right. Actually, I just wanted to tell you they’ve caught up to you. You guys should hurry up,” Xavier
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtsaid grimly.
“Okay,” responded Winnie.
Josiah, too, promised, “Don’t worry. We won’t fall behind.”
He hung up as soon as he finished speaking because holding the device while driving was a hassle.
The moment he put away the phone, he heard Winnie opening the car door.
He quickly turned around to look at her. “What are you doing?”
As Winnie got out of the car, she said, “I’m going to have a word with them. Your forehead’s bleeding,
by the way. You might want to clean it up.”
With that, she walked toward the other car.
Seeing Winnie getting out of the car, Greta quickly followed after her. “What’s wrong, Ms. Garland?”
“I’m going to check on my friend. Is he all right?” answered Winnie while striding forward.
“Yep! We’ve protected him well and made sure he’s not the slightest bit injured,” Greta said proudly.
Winnie nodded. “I’m going to have a word with him. Can you check on the rest to see if they need your
help?”
Once Greta was dismissed, the window beside Christopher rolled down.
He stuck his head out of the window and asked, “Everything all right?”
“Yep.” Pausing briefly, Winnie frowned while gazing at him. “Are you coming back with us this time, or
are you going to wait for the organization’s arrangements?”
Christopher paused momentarily before speaking. “That depends if there’s a space for me. From what I
know, Xavier has arranged for a chopper. Will there be enough space for me, too?”
Winnie was relieved to hear that from Christopher. “Of course, there’s a spot for you.”
Christopher grinned. “That’s great.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Josiah urged, “Ms. Garland, we’re ready. Shall we leave?”
Winnie quickly turned around and replied with “coming” before turning back to look at Christopher,
uttering, “I’ll get going, then.”
Christopher nodded. “See you later.”
Right then, Greta walked over while dusting off the dirt on her hands, saying to Winnie, “I’ve placed
some rocks under your car tire. It should be able to move later.”
Winnie patted Greta on the shoulder. “Thank you so much. Tell Mason to drive carefully. Safety first.”
“Don’t worry, Ms. Garland. Here. Let me open the door for you.”
Winnie stopped Greta. “It’s okay. You guys should get going. Let’s not waste any time.”
Hearing that, Greta quickly got into the passenger seat without any further ado.
In the meantime, Winnie watched their car leave before getting into hers.
Josiah, who had been waiting by the door for her, helped her to close the door.
After getting into the driver’s seat, he could not help but complain, “This car is horrible on unpaved
roads. See. They’re almost out of our sight.”
“Just make do with it. We’re already lucky that this car isn’t broken even after that collision,” replied
Winnie.
As she said that, Josiah’s phone suddenly rang.
He took it out and answered it as soon as he saw Xavier’s name on the screen.
Once the call was connected, Xavier’s voice came through. “I found a GPS tracker in my car. I’ve
gotten rid of it. Do you have one in yours? You should quickly get rid of it.”
“Huh?” Josiah scanned the interior and asked with a frown, “Yours is a wired tracker, right? Was it
placed in an obvious spot? I see nothing in this car except for a few decorations. I can’t find it without
help from any equipment.”
If there’s really a tracker in the car, that means Harold has access to our whereabouts at any time. This
is bad.
With that thought in mind, Winnie said to Josiah, “Focus on driving. I’ll look for it.”
Josiah turned around subconsciously. “Don’t move! Can’t you see your arm is injured? You’re going to
be disabled for life if you move it. Besides, it’s just a tracker. There might not be one in this lousy car.
Even if there’s one, Harold might not have the guts to come after us. Moreover, it’ll take some time for
them to catch up with us. We might even be on the plane by the time he’s done gathering his men to
chase after us.”
Xavier did not want Winnie to get hurt, either. Hence, he advised, “Don’t look for it, Winnie. Josiah’s
right. Your arm is injured, so you should listen to him.”
“All right. The majority wins. I shall listen to you two,” Winnie answered half-heartedly, not wanting to
argue with them.
Once the call ended, she began searching around the car.
It did not take long for her to find a magnetic tracker under her seat.
She pulled it out in a flash and said to Josiah, “I found it!”
Josiah could not turn around due to the bumpy road ahead. Instead, he glanced at her through the
rearview mirror and said exasperatedly, “No one can stop you from doing anything once you’ve put
your mind to it, eh? Aren’t you worried something will happen to your arm?”
Winnie grinned. “How can I do anything if I’m such a coward? I wouldn’t be alive today if I couldn’t
endure a tiny injury like this.”
Having said that, she tossed the tracker into the woods.
Josiah could not help but look at her through the rearview mirror and smile. “Thanks to you, I feel much
relieved. Do you remember the octopus that crawled into my shirt during the explosion at the dock?
Guess what? I kept it. I wonder how it’s doing now. Once we get back, I’ll invite you and Xavier to my
house for a meal. You can have a look at my little octopus then.”
Winnie raised her brow. “I thought you were going to talk about turning it into one of the dishes.”
“Nonsense! I would’ve eaten it long ago if that’s what I wanted. Why would I be rearing it? Besides, you
were the one who suggested I keep it as a pet. So, you have the obligation to visit it.”
Winnie was at a loss for words. “You kept it just because I told you so?”
“Of course. You’re Ms. Garland, after all. I’m just an employee.”
“Wow. Ordinary people won’t be able to hire an elite worker like you,” commented Winnie.
“Haha! Elite worker, eh? That’s an interesting way to put it.”
The two of them continued making small talk. Just like that, three hours soon came to pass.
They had also switched from a dirt road to a paved one.
The dirt road was windy and surrounded by trees. Thus, it gave them a poor field of vision. Now that
they were on a paved road, they could finally get a clear view of the car in front of them.
Josiah said, “I knew it. Our lousy car is the slowest. Look. The two cars are way ahead of us. You’d
better sit tight. It’s time I show you my overtaking skills.”
Winnie responded, “Forget it. There’s no need for that. The car Mason is driving has faulty brakes. He
might be taken aback if you suddenly overtake him. Let’s not cause trouble for ourselves.”
“Okay. Looks like I won’t have the chance to show off my driving skills to you. Oh, do you see that
building in front of us? The tallest one? That’s our destination.”
Winnie peered out of the window. “It’s so conspicuous. It must be the tallest building in the city, right?”
“Exactly. The economy here isn’t well developed, so there are very few buildings that have over twenty
stories. That is already the tallest in the city.”
Winnie nodded. “I see. It looks quite near to us. How long more till we arrive?”
“Ten minutes or so, if the traffic is smooth. But we definitely won’t be experiencing smooth traffic like
this when we enter the city. Let’s give Xavier a call and ask about their whereabouts. I lost sight of them
when a truck suddenly overtook me.” As Josiah spoke, he pulled out his phone to give Xavier a call.
It was inevitable for him to be slightly distracted while making the call. However, the truck in front of
them suddenly stopped, causing them to almost crash into one another.
Josiah panicked. “What’s going on? Why did the truck suddenly stop?”
Winnie looked out of the window and quickly drew a conclusion. “Something must’ve suddenly
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmhappened to the truck. Look. The driver has stepped out.”
Josiah had noticed it as well. The driver was even waving his hand to signal them to leave first.
Taking a deep breath, Josiah turned around and handed Winnie the phone. “Here. You can give Xavier
a call. I’ll focus on driving.”
“Okay.” Winnie took the phone from him.
The screen lit up automatically when the phone was lifted from Josiah’s hand, revealing his wallpaper.
Winnie could not help but chortle when she saw it.
“What’s wrong?” asked Josiah.
With a smile, she said, “Your wallpaper. It’s the group photo of the three of us and the octopus at the
dock. Why did you pick this picture as your wallpaper?”
Adjusting his glasses, Josiah said, “Why not? It’s a picture of us after avoiding a disaster. Isn’t it
meaningful? Look at the blue sky, the white clouds, the vast sea, and the ruins. Doesn’t it look like
we’re filming a movie?”
“It does!” Winnie’s smile widened. She would never forget the way the three of them smiled and helped
each other up in the midst of the ruins.
She could not help but stare a little longer at the picture. However, she did not forget about her task—to
call Xavier.
“Your phone’s still locked. What’s your passcode?”
“It’s nine, five, zero, seven, zero, seven.”
“Huh?” Upon hearing the string of numbers, Winnie could not help but glance at Josiah.
Confused, Josiah asked, “What?”
“Nothing.” Winnie quickly unlocked the phone and commented, “Your passcode is your birthday, isn’t it?
Won’t it be easy for others to guess a password like that?”
“I’m used to it.”
“All right, then.” Winnie said nothing else and dialed Xavier’s number.
This time, however, Xavier did not pick up right away. It took several rings before the call was
connected.
Xavier asked immediately, “Where are you guys? Why aren’t you here yet? I’m already in the elevator.”
Winnie was shocked. “So fast? You guys were in front of us just now. How did you reach so soon?”
Josiah piped up with a chuckle, “What do you mean, just now? It was about eight minutes since we last
saw their car. It makes sense for them to have arrived.”
Xavier grunted in acknowledgment. “We’ll wait for you two at the roof, then. We’ve got to carry Granny
and Professor White up since their legs are injured.”
Winnie reminded, “Got it. Stay safe! We’ll be there soon. Where’s Christopher, by the way? Has he
arrived?”
“Yes. You three are the only ones left, but don’t rush as the road ahead is under maintenance. Drive
slowly and be safe.”
Josiah answered, “Got it. Since when did Mr. Fairchild become so long-winded?”
Winnie chimed in, “All right, then. I’m going to hang up now. Josiah’s phone is running out of battery.”
After ending the call, Josiah drove forward a little. As expected, there were a few barricades placed on
the road, but they did not stop the flow of traffic.
To their surprise, just as they were slowing down, three cars approached and surrounded their vehicle.
Winnie and Josiah were perplexed.
Josiah knitted his brows and turned around to glance at Winnie. “I’m tired of asking this, but what on
earth is going on?”
Saying nothing, Winnie squinted while eyeing the person who was stepping out of the car. She was
instantly filled with disbelief when she saw who it was.
Meanwhile, Josiah followed her gaze and fell speechless at what he saw. “Why is he here? Am I
dreaming?”
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