“Of course, I looked for you to negotiate a deal,” the Anonymous imposter said. The voice coming out from the voice changer made people feel very uncomfortable.
“A deal? What is it?” Alpha Kilian asked.
Just then, the imposter threw something at Alpha Kilian . However, it was too dark, so Tony wasn't sure what it was. Also, he could hardly hear their conversation.
Tony could only stare in their direction as hard as he could, not letting go of any details.
Suddenly, Alpha Kilian said as he looked at the thing he was holding in his hand, “What if I don't agree?” “Do you think you have a choice here?” the imposter asked.
“Is this a threat?” Alpha Kilian asked. “No one has succeeded in threatening me up until now,” he said flatly. “Is that so?” the fake Anonymous asked.
Alpha Kilian said nothing more and threw the thing back to the imposter. “What you promised me last time didn't happen, so why should I agree to your deal?” With that, he turned to leave.
The whole time, Tony was watching them. Suddenly, he saw the imposter aiming at Alpha Kilian 's back with a gun when he felt something was odd.
Without hesitation, Tony dashed out. “Daddy, be careful!” He rushed over, wanting to shield Alpha Kilian .
Bang!
A loud gunshot echoed in the air. Just when Tony thought they were going to die, Alpha Kilian suddenly turned around and grabbed him. Together, they rolled over and landed safely elsewhere.
Tony then looked at him and said, “Daddy, don't trust him. He's a fake.” To that, Alpha Kilian narrowed his eyes.
Enraged, Tony glared at the imposter. “Who are you? Why are you pretending to be me?” “You? Where did you come from, kid?” the fake Anonymous asked.
Looking into his eyes, Tony asked bravely, “You don't even know me, and you dare to impersonate me?”
“I did?” The man asked, followed by a mocking smile.
With his eyes fixated on the imposter, Tony said, “You know it yourself if you are impersonating me. What is your motive?”
“Stop your nonsense. Otherwise, I'll put a bullet straight through your head,” the man said.
“Let me ask you something. Since you are Anonymous, do you know who Shadow Seeker is?” Tony asked.
The imposter froze. Albeit unable to see his expression, Tony could feel he was thrown off guard under his mask.
“Another question. What does Darknetz's core network rely on?” he asked again. The imposter said nothing in response.
“Answer me. Didn't you say you are Anonymous? You should know all these if you were him.” Tony articulated each word clearly.
Seconds later, the man finally broke his silence. “These are secrets. Do you think I'll let you know just like that?” he said.
“Haha!” Tony chuckled after listening to his response. “That's clever. All right then, since you can't
disclose this information, let me ask you something simple. How many core members are there in Darknetz? I'm sure you can at least disclose this,” Tony said.
Once again, the imposter looked at him in silence.
“Why are you keeping quiet?” Tony asked. “Did you forget how to speak, or do you have no idea?” The man remained mute.
“Fine, let me tell you. Darknetz has countless members. However, there are only five core members, with me, Anonymous, being one of them,” Tony enunciated.
The fake Anonymous continued to stay quiet. Just then, Tony looked at him. “How dare you pretend to be me to deceive my daddy? You must have a death wish!”
“Kid, you're insolent. Aren't you afraid I'll kill you this instant?” the man said threateningly while looking at Tony .
“Go ahead,” the boy responded while staring at him fearlessly. The imposter remained silent as he looked at Tony .
The two stood still for a long while.
“Aren't you curious who I am?” the fake Anonymous asked.
“There's no need to rush. I'll know once you're dead,” Tony responded. “Alpha Kilian , your son is fearless!” the imposter suddenly said with a smile.
Just then, Alpha Kilian stood up and said with a low voice, “Indeed. I didn't know my son was this impressive.”
Sensing something was odd, Tony turned around, “Daddy...” Alpha Kilian was looking at him with a conflicted look.
“Daddy, I'll explain to you later,” said Tony .
“What's more to explain? The truth is revealed.” As he spoke, the fake Anonymous took off his mask. “That should be enough. Shouldn't it, Alpha Kilian ?”
Tony turned to look at the imposter after the latter took off his mask. With furrowed brows, he exclaimed, “Alpha Dave?”
With lips curled into a smile, Dave looked at him. “Not bad. You're a brave one.” Tony was at a loss for words.
He turned to look at Alpha Kilian again but saw that the man was not saying a word while wearing a complicated expression.
At that moment, it dawned on Tony that this was a trap.
Tony felt his heart soften when he saw the dejected expression on his father's face. “No, I tried to tell you before. When we were in the uninhabited zone, you mocked me just when I tried to come clean about it. I got mad and decided to hold back...” he mumbled.
“Even so, you still had many opportunities to tell me,” Alpha Kilian replied.
Sheer exasperation inundated Tony as he spoke. “Daddy, think about it. I hesitated to tell you the truth several times before, haven't I? I want to be honest with you. Alas, I didn't have the chance to do so!”
Narrowing his eyes, Alpha Kilian asked, “Is that so?”
“Yes! Besides, you were acting so jealous. Have you forgotten about that?” Tony questioned, arching his eyebrows.
Alpha Kilian pondered for a moment. Well, he has a point. Despite that, he remained unperturbed. ”I was not being jealous.”
“What was it if not jealousy?” Tony asked, chuckling.
Alpha Kilian took a deep breath before answering, “I was just worried about you.”
Tony could not hold back his laughter and nodded vigorously. “Yes, of course, you were worried. It was all my fault. I shouldn't have kept you in the dark. When you mocked me back then, I should've mustered up the courage and told you that the person you ridiculed was your biological son instead of your love rival...”
Since Tony was in the wrong, he would do anything to get on Alpha Kilian 's good side.
However, Alpha Kilian narrowed his eyes at those remarks. “Why do I detect a hint of dissatisfaction in your tone?”
Shaking his head, Tony answered with a serious expression, “No! I'm not feeling displeased, Daddy. If
anything, I'm impressed by your whole act.”
Alpha Kilian stared at Tony . Even though the latter was buttering him up, his expression was sincere. Hence, he decided to let the matter go.
Looking at his son, Alpha Kilian said, “I was curious about something in the past. I wonder how a child of your age got recruited by Darknetz even though you're quite intelligent. I finally got my answer today.”
Hearing that, Tony broke into a grin. “Be honest, Daddy. Aren't you feeling proud deep down in your heart?”
Alpha Kilian looked at him and sneered. “Proud?”
Tony nodded immediately. “That's right. Don't you feel proud to have a child as smart as me?”
“Well, it's all because of my genes. What's there to be proud of?” Alpha Kilian asked, his eyes shining with dignity.
Tony paused for a moment before retorting, “Apart from resembling your looks, I took after Nelly when it comes to other aspects!”
“Dare I say you learned how to use a computer from Nelly ?” Alpha Kilian probed. Tony nodded. “What do you think?”
“Does that mean none of you three siblings took after me?” Alpha Kilian inquired.
“Well, you can't put it that way. I think Donna is a lot like you,” Tony answered with a smile. “In what aspects?”
“Just look at how good she is at acting. Don't you think she took after you in this regard?” Tony teased.
The moment Tony finished speaking, he saw Alpha Kilian grinning sinisterly. He immediately smiled like an obedient child. “I-I was joking.”
“Tony Jackson , it seems that I've been too lenient as your father. That's why you've become so audacious!” Alpha Kilian stated, his gaze still on his son.
Tony looked at him in alarm. “W-What are you trying to do?” “What do you think?”
Looking at his father, Tony said in a trembling voice, “You aren't thinking of hitting me, are you? Daddy, this is child abuse...”
Without replying, Alpha Kilian grabbed his son and started tickling him. Tony burst into a fit of giggles.
“I'm sorry, Daddy. It's my fault.”
“No, you're right. I'm the one who was in the wrong. I shouldn't get involved in this,” Alpha Kilian replied. “N-No! I was talking nonsense. Daddy, I'm so sorry!” Tony continued to beg for mercy.
“Okay. Then tell me, what have you done wrong?”
“Everything! I've made so many mistakes. Daddy, you're right about everything! Please, stop...”
Tony 's fits of laughter rang out in the dark of the night as the father-and-son duo continued to play with each other.
They eventually quieted down after a long time. Tony turned to look at Alpha Kilian and said jokingly, “Ha! You're obviously proud of me, but you don't want to admit it. It isn't something to be ashamed of.”
Alpha Kilian side-eyed him. “What a narcissist!”
“Nelly was also shocked when she found out back then. However, I could tell that she was very proud. Daddy, you must be feeling the same, right?” Tony probed. At that moment, he looked like a child of his age.
Alpha Kilian sized up his son for a while before nodding. “Yes, I'm proud of you. But at the end of the day, I'm still worried.”
“Worried? What are you worried about?”
Alpha Kilian took a deep breath before answering, “I'm worried about my gifted children. How am I going to protect all of you?”
“Daddy, you only need to protect Nelly and Donna . Ben and I can take care of ourselves. When we become stronger in the future, we will also protect you all!” Tony stated.
At those confident remarks, Alpha Kilian curled his lips into a smile.
He looked at Tony tenderly and said, “All right. I'll leave it to you guys.”
“Of course!” Tony exclaimed.
Alpha Kilian reached out to caress the boy's head before pulling him into his arms. “Let's go.” Then, the two of them chatted while walking downstairs.