BXBX NOVEL Chapter 131: Chapter131-Inquiry
She glared at John, her voice cold, "Have you seen enough?"
"What's the big deal with looking? It's not like it'll cost me a piece of flesh," John retorted, snapping back to reality almost instinctively.
Before Seraphina could respond, the door to the hospital room creaked open.
Vincent appeared at the doorway, cigarette in hand.
Surprised to see Seraphina in the room as well, he paused for a moment.
Then, his gaze shifted to the orange in Seraphina's hand, and back to John and Seraphina's still-flushed faces.
With an odd expression, he said, "Should I come back later, after you two are done?"
Hearing Vincent's words, Seraphina's pale face turned even redder.
She placed the orange on the bedside table, got up quickly, and said with forced calm, "Since you're okay, I'll be leaving now."
Without waiting for John's reply, she briskly walked out, as if being chased by some ghoul.
Vincent watched Seraphina leave, chuckling, "You're quite something, kid. Quietly capturing the heart of House Harris's genius girl. She has quite a few admirers in the Imperial Capital, you know."
John rolled his eyes, "She just came to visit out of fellow townsmanship, nothing more. You're reading too much into it."
"Perhaps," Vincent shrugged noncommittally.
Being experienced, he understood some things at just a glance.
However, considering it was their personal matter, he preferred not to pry further.
Closing the room door behind him, Vincent mused, "You really are something, making such a significant achievement on your first day in the Imperial Capital."
John's interest piqued, "Any leads on the Immortality Organization?"
He wasn't aware of the developments, but from Vincent's expression, John surmised that there had likely been a major breakthrough in the investigation of the Immortality Organization.
Vincent, with a profound look in his eyes, revealed, "Nicholas's Life Pharma Group has substantial connections with the Immortality Organization; he was their partner in the Imperial Capital."
He paused before continuing, "They fell out due to internal disputes this time. The Immortality Organization kidnapped Nicholas's daughter as leverage. If it hadn't been for your elimination of Sebastian, we wouldn't have been able to catch the tail of the Immortality Organization.
Yesterday, Chief Captain Emily led a team to raid one of the Immortality Organization's branches in the Imperial Capital, delivering a heavy blow to those rats lurking in the shadows. They'll likely keep a low profile for a while now."
John nodded in understanding upon hearing Vincent's explanation.
The relationship between Nicholas and the Immortality Organization was indeed not ordinary; otherwise, the Immortality Organization wouldn't have tasked Sebastian with keeping such a close watch on him.
Then, John raised an eyebrow, half-jokingly suggesting, "With such a significant contribution, there ought to be a reward, right?"
Vincent chuckled, "Don't worry, your efforts won't go unrecognized. Chief Captain Emily is currently dealing with the aftermath and is swamped. I came here on her behalf to discuss your reward."
He pulled out a black card from his pocket and handed it to John, "The Immortality Organization mission is classified as A-level, plus your completion of a D-level mission at the start, and the merit points for killing Sebastian. Taking into account your overall performance in this mission, you've earned a total of 20000 merit points, along with 50 million federal coins.
The money is on this card, and the merit points have already been deposited into your Hidden Stars account. You can check it with your Hidden Stars badge."
Upon hearing Vincent's words, John's eyes lit up.
Hidden Stars truly was generous, making his efforts in taking down Sebastian all the more worthwhile.
He eagerly accepted the black card and checked his merit points on the terminal platform, indeed finding the 20000 merit points credited to his account.
Seeing the balance and merit points in his card, John felt a delightful sense of satisfaction.
With these 20000 merit points and fifty million federal coins, he wouldn't have to worry about money for a good while.
Seeing John's joyful expression, Vincent temptingly said, "What's this amount of money? We, the Judicators, are even more generous. If you join us, the rewards you could get would be at least doubled!"
John frowned, "Really, doubled?"
Vincent affirmed seriously, "At least doubled!"
John, however, made a face, "Still, I'm not going."
Vincent was exasperated.
Why show interest if you're not going to join?
That's just playing with my feelings!
John was actually somewhat tempted.
However, he knew well that there's no such thing as a free lunch.
The generous rewards from the Judicators would surely come with significant restrictions.
He felt quite content with Hidden Stars and saw no need to switch to the Judicators just for the sake of rewards.
Vincent, unable to sway the unyielding John, calmed his emotions and suddenly brought up another matter.
"There's actually another reason for my visit; there's something I want to inquire about," Vincent stated.
With the conversation shifting to serious matters, John's demeanor became earnest.
He nodded, "Go ahead, I'll share what I can."
However, Vincent's next words left John frozen in place.
Vincent asked seriously, "What do you know about Alex?"
John had never expected to hear Alex's name from Vincent.
After all, they were from entirely different worlds.
John pondered for a moment, unsure of the context, and could only tell the truth, "He was a classmate of mine in high school. The last time we met was during the Dusk Sect uprising in Stellarburg. After that, I haven't seen him up to now."
Not obtaining the information he was seeking, Vincent sighed in a somewhat disappointed manner.
However, he had anticipated this possibility; his visit was more about exploring any unexpected gains.
Vincent advised, "Alright, I understand. Remember to notify me if you come across any information about him."
John agreed, then seized the opportunity to ask, "What's happened with Alex?"
If it wasn't a significant issue, John believed someone of Vincent's stature wouldn't specifically seek him out for information about Alex.
Vincent hesitated, then shook his head, "This matter is still confidential at the moment. Knowing about it wouldn't do you any good. It's better if you pretend you haven't heard anything."
John's curiosity was piqued.
But seeing that Vincent had no intention of continuing, he didn't press further.
After all, he and Alex were just ordinary classmates, their relationship wasn't particularly close.
If it had been Daniel in trouble, John definitely would have pursued the matter.
After Vincent left, Albertus and the trio from Fire Badger also came to visit John.
The trio from Fire Badger wanted to express their gratitude for John's lifesaving assistance, while Albertus came to express his astonishment.
Seeing John wrapped up like a rice dumpling, Albertus exclaimed in shock, "Damn, bro, how come you end up severely injured wherever you go? If I'm not mistaken, you just recovered last month, right?"
John could only respond with a bitter smile to Albertus's teasing.
He used to think he was quite lucky.
But it seemed that was only the case in dungeons.
In the outside world, his luck was worse than stepping in dog poop every day.
...
At the same time, in a dimly lit, damp old sewer.
Black, fetid water churned through the channel, carrying an assortment of trash and filth, with the occasional bloated limb drifting by.
In the shadowy corners, poisonous insects and cockroaches thrived, and fat rats with eyes as big as green peas scavenged in the dark.
Suddenly, a pale hand reached out from the darkness, swiftly grabbing a plump rat.
"Squeak!" The rat struggled desperately, emitting shrill cries of distress.
But before it could struggle further, a disheveled, dirt-streaked figure opened his mouth and bit down hard.
"Pfft!"
Warm blood splattered his face as Alex, wild-eyed, gulped down the blood with frenzied thirst.
The rat's body visibly shriveled at an observable rate, soon ceasing to move.
Casually, Alex tossed the rat's carcass into a corner of the sewer.
There, a pile of various animals' bodies, including rats and bats, lay desiccated, devoid of any flesh or blood.
Gazing into the murky sewer, Alex's savage eyes gradually turned numb.
Who would have thought that the once carefree scion, now reduced to being hunted and forced to hide in sewers, was no better off than the outcasts of the outer city districts?
At this moment, Alex's thoughts unexpectedly turned to John.
It seemed that the annoying guy had once lived in such an environment.
And yet, he had climbed up from the very bottom, becoming Stellarburg's foremost genius.
A self-mocking smile played on Alex's lips.
What he was enduring now was something others had already overcome long ago.
It turned out the gap between them was much larger than he had imagined.
Dejected, Alex slumped against the sewer's stone wall.
His body was in tatters, covered in wounds, with a large hole piercing through his abdomen.
Black and eerie green energies swirled around the wound, corroding each other and emitting a sizzling sound.
In the darkness, an angry voice erupted from Alex.
Rean, with rage, declared, "These damned Judicators, the damned Vincent, sooner or later, I'll flay their skins, feast on their flesh and blood, and make them wish they were dead."