Naturally, Tony knew what Sam was planning, and he immediately declined, “It's okay. Just let me know when you have news of her.”
“But isn't it easier to talk about it face to face?” asked Sam .
“You're too far from my place. I'm afraid you'll be exhausted by traveling all the way here. Besides, I'm just worried something might happen to Thalia. Still, no one is a match for her skills even if she's injured, so you really don't have to go through so much trouble.”
“It's no big deal. In fact, it's only right for me to do this for members of Darknetz. Just tell me where you are. I promise to arrive there as soon as possible.”
“You're managing hundreds of people in Darknetz. I can't possibly make you travel back and forth for the two of us. Just stay put in Darknetz. They need you there.”
“You two are my most capable members. It's only logical that I regard you two with great importance. If not, what will the members of Darknetz think of me? Don't feel burdened and just tell me where you are.”
“No, no. The members will have problems with it if you travel back and forth for both of us. You're the manager. You can't just leave whenever you want. That's breaking the rules. What if the members do the same in the future?”
“Don't worry. I'll take care of this well.”
“I can't trouble you because of my private matters. I believe Thalia thinks the same, too. Don't worry. I'll do as I see fit.”
Sam was rendered speechless.
They argued several rounds, but Tony was determined not to let him come.
Unable to hold in his temper, Sam fumed, “At the end of the day, you just don't have the guts to meet me, Anonymous. Are you going to hide behind the computer for the rest of your life? Do you have something to hide?”
“And you just want to see me, don't you? Why are you so interested in me?” Tony countered, using the same tone instead of getting mad.
“Exactly. I'm curious. I want to know what kind of person you are. Tell you what. No matter what you say, I'll definitely find you one day. You can't run from me.”
Sam 's curiosity was at its peak, yet Tony would not meet him. Even Thalia would not say a word. He had every reason to suspect Tony .
“You won't be able to find me if I actually go into hiding,” said Tony confidently. “You won't be able to find me if I actually go into hiding,” said Tony confidently.
“Haha! There's a limit to bragging, you know? I don't believe a single word you say,” Sam said.
“Oh? Should we give it a go, then?” “Fine. Let's do it.”
“Do you want to make a bet?”
“Sure. What do you want to bet on?” asked Sam , taking the bait.
“I won't take advantage of you. Let's make a simple bet. Whoever loses has to accept one request from the other person.”
“That's not a simple one.”
In reality, the simplest things were always the hardest. “What now? Are you chickening out?”
“Chickening out? Hah! Remember. This was your suggestion. You'll have to lick my boots if you lose.” “Okay. That's a deal, then.”
“Deal.”
Just as Tony was about to hang up, a thought occurred to him. “Wait. We've got to put a deadline to this deal, right?” he asked.
“Fine. How long, then?”
“You should decide. After all, you're the one who's on the losing end.” “Okay. One month it is.”
“Will that be too short?”
“It's enough.”
“I'm a little worried about the time frame. What about two months? I'll give you an extra month.”
“Don't you think you're being too arrogant?” Sam growled. Tony could even hear him gritting his teeth.
Tony chuckled. “I've always been like this. Have you forgotten about it?”
“Very well. If that's the case, you better not regret it. I'll be waiting for you to lick my boots.” “Right.”
“Anonymous!” “Goodbye.”
With that, Tony ended the call.
He was still holding the phone as his lips curled into a half-hearted smile.
Ben , who had been listening at the side with his legs crossed, studied Tony 's expression, which looked like Nelly 's. Tony looked unbothered, yet excited about what would happen.
Having heard every word of the phone call, Ben asked, “Why must you go to such lengths?”
Tony put away the phone and glanced at his brother. “What can I do, then? I can't possibly let him come, nor can I let him know I'm at DX's base. He'll only think I'm a traitor.”
Pausing momentarily to think, Ben nodded. “True. But don't you find yourselves a little childish?” “Are we? Maybe this grudge can be resolved,” said Tony .
“Are you talking about the bet?” Ben raised his brow.
“Daddy, Nelly , we'll be taking our leave to go search for her,” said Tony . Regaining her senses, Nelly asked, “Wait, does Spencer know?”
“Yes, he already started searching for her.”
Nelly stared at them. “Let's go, then. We'll go with you.”
Just then, Alpha Kilian grabbed Nelly 's hand, prompting the woman to look at him. “You stay at home,” he stated in a low voice. “I'll go with them.”
“But—”
“What if Thalia's only doing something and comes back later? Who's going to inform us of her return?” Staring at the man, Nelly pondered for a moment before nodding. “All right. Be careful, then.” Alpha Kilian nodded, then turned his attention to the children. “Let's go.”
Hearing that, the children said, “We'll take our leave, then, Nelly .” “Okay.”
When they were about to leave, Tony seemed to have thought of something as he looked at Nelly . “Nelly , I called Sam earlier, and he didn't sound anxious, so everything must be fine. You don't need to worry.”
Nelly smiled while looking at him. “Okay, I got it.” Nodding, Tony followed Alpha Kilian out.
After watching them leave, Nelly turned around and grabbed her phone to give Spencer a call. “I've just heard about it. How's it going? Have you found her?”
There was a moment of silence before she added, “Don't joke around, Spencer. It could be really dangerous for Thalia to go out like this.”
Meanwhile, Alpha Kilian was driving. Tony and Ben sat at the back of the car.
With one hand on the steering wheel, Alpha Kilian seemed tense as he occasionally looked out the window to see if he could find signs of Thalia.
Right then, Tony spoke from behind. “Daddy, let us look out for her. You should focus on driving to keep us safe.”
Glancing at Tony through the rearview mirror, Alpha Kilian nodded. “Okay.” With that, the children continued looking out the window.
“Daddy.” Tony turned to look at Alpha Kilian .
“Yeah?”
“Why would you come out to search for Thalia?” “Is there a problem?”
Did he seriously ask me that?
Hearing that question, Tony leaned forward. “You're from DX Group, Daddy, and she's from Darknetz. Don't you see the problem?”
“I would've forgotten she's from Darknetz had you not mentioned it.” “I would've forgotten she's from Darknetz had you not mentioned it.” “What do you mean?”
“Meaning I'm doing this for Nelly , not because I personally want to.”
Tony thought for a while before questioning again, “Then... what about that time when you rescued her?”
“When?”
“When Spencer and Thalia were attacked overseas.”
“I rescued Spencer, not her,” Alpha Kilian explained calmly.
“But then you let her rest in the castle after that,” Tony pressed.
“That's Alpha Dave's castle. I wasn't the one who let her stay.” As he pondered for a minute, he corrected, “I was also not the one who rescued them; it was Alpha Dave.”
“But Alpha Dave was only heeding your words! If not for you, he wouldn't have done so!” Upon hearing that, Alpha Kilian fell into deep thought before nodding. “Well, that's true.”
At his words, Tony leaned forward again. “So does that mean you no longer hold a grudge against Darknetz?”
Alpha Kilian seemed indifferent. “The grudge against them didn't start with me, anyway. I was just following the company.”
“S-So it means you have really let go of the grudge?”
Alpha Kilian raised his eyes and shot a look at the kid through the rearview mirror, and Tony understood the meaning behind it.
Retracting his gaze, Alpha Kilian stated in a cold tone, “It depends on how they behave.” “Does that mean if they let go of the grudge, you'll do too?” Tony asked again. “Not necessarily.”
“Huh? Then what did you mean by that?”
“I'm not the type of person who'll let people do whatever they want.”
“Even so, Daddy, you have to view things from a different perspective. All your kids are part of Darknetz. Besides, you once said that if Darknetz could let go of the grudge, you'd pretend as if nothing ever happened.”
“Really? I said that?” Alpha Kilian asked, to which Tony nodded. “Since you remember what I said, why did you ask me again?” “I was just trying to confirm!”
“You want him to come here, don't you?” asked Alpha Kilian , which stunned Tony . I truly can't hide anything from him.
With that thought in mind, Tony replied, “Not really. It's just that he's been searching for me, so I have a feeling he'll show up sooner or later.”