The first thing Ben saw when he woke up early the following morning was Tony 's face right in front of his. The latter's expression was as black as thunder.
Ben knew Tony 's biggest pet peeve was others sleeping in his bed, so he immediately shot his older brother a sugary smile upon seeing him. “Good morning, Tony.”
Although Tony returned the smile, it did not reach his eyes. “Did you sleep well?” “Pretty well,” Ben answered, nodding.
However, Tony 's face darkened further at his reply. “But I didn't sleep well.” “Why not?” Ben asked.
Without saying anything, Tony shifted his gaze to Ben 's body. Upon noticing that, Ben followed his brother's line of sight and saw that he had the thick blanket tangled around him. Then, he looked back at Tony , who did not even have a small corner of the blanket covering him.
Uh-oh...
Ben felt a shiver run down his spine, and he immediately let go of the covers wrapped around him. He lifted his eyes to look at Tony . “I probably only just did that... Right?”
“What do you think?” Tony retorted through clenched teeth.
Ben chuckled sheepishly. What can I do? It's a sleeping habit I just can't change...
Alarmed to see how Tony was glowering at him, he quickly held up his wrist to check his watch. “Gosh, look at the time! Oh, dear. I'm a bit hungry, so I'll go and have breakfast first.”
Before Tony could respond, he had already rolled off the bed, put on his slippers, and hurried to leave the room. He moved as deftly as though he had practiced it beforehand.
He waited until he was at the door before pausing and turning toward Tony with a smile. “Tony, if I recall correctly, you were the one who covered the blanket over me. Am I right?”
After saying that, he broke into a triumphant grin, then closed the door behind him and dashed off.
Tony sat on the bed and watched as the door closed. After Ben left the room, his grim expression gradually turned into a look of resignation.
Sighing, he got up and quickly made the bed before going to wash up.
By the time he went downstairs to the dining room half an hour later, everyone else was already there, leisurely having breakfast.
Donna stopped midbite as Tony walked over and asked, “Do you know what time it so? Why are you so late today?”
Exasperated, Tony settled into an empty seat and took some food before replying in an unhurried tone, “Ask Ben .”
“Ben?” she echoed, looking toward her other brother.
Hearing that, Thalia and Miguel also turned to Ben . What does he mean? What's going on?
Ben , who was engrossed in eating, froze when he heard Tony 's reply. He lifted his gaze and stared at Tony , then replied helplessly, “It's not like I did it on purpose...”
“So are you saying what you did is okay because it wasn't on purpose?” “If it's such a big deal, you can have it all to yourself tonight!”
“No need for that. Just stay out of my room from now on,” said Tony , giving him a dirty look. Ben nodded. “Okay, okay. I won't go into your room anymore, okay?”
Here, Thalia jumped in to enquire, “What happened? Did you two sleep in the same room last night?” The two boys looked at each other upon hearing her question, neither uttering a word.
Thalia frowned.
Seeing the scene before her, Donna could not help but laugh.
“What's going on? Would someone care to explain?” Thalia asked.
Donna answered softly, “Ben has an odd sleeping habit. He likes sleeping with the blanket wrapped around him. I'm guessing he hogged the blanket and left Tony to suffer last night.”
“Really?” Thalia turned to Ben for confirmation after hearing that.
“I... I didn't mean to. Who knows how that blanket got wrapped around me?” Ben was not about to admit that he was the one to blame in the matter.
Thalia burst out laughing at his response, then said to him, “Well done!”
No sooner had she said that than Tony shot her a glare. Unfazed, she replied, “What's the matter? It wasn't me who made you suffer, so why are you glaring at me?”
Tony glanced at her before turning away helplessly and continuing to eat.
“Someone like him should be made to suffer a little,” Thalia whispered to Ben , leaving him at a loss for words.
I really didn't do it on purpose!
The atmosphere around the dining table was rather relaxed, and Miguel also joined in the laughter as he watched them banter with each other. However, after they stopped teasing and joking, he asked,
“Master, what are our plans after breakfast?”
At the mention of that, Tony replied promptly, “We're going to look for recruits, of course.” “We're still going to look for those people you mentioned?”
Tony nodded. “That's right.”
Thalia looked at him at once. “Wait a minute. Speaking of which, I haven't asked you about that yet. Didn't you hear what Sam said yesterday?”
“I did.”
“Then, why ere you still going to look for them?”
After breakfast, they prepared to depart.
They were about to get into the car when Tony 's phone rang.
He frowned when he realized it was a call from a local number. A brief hesitation later, he decided to answer the call.
“Hello.”
“You want to find Magus, right? I've found him. When will you come?” the person asked directly. Tony sat up in delight. “Where are you? I'll come over right now!”
“What about my reward? I put in a lot of effort to track him down...”
“I told you that the reward is negotiable, right? After I head there and see him, I'll transfer the money to you immediately,” Tony replied hastily.
Hearing that, the person chuckled and told him, “I've sent the location to your phone. You need to hurry up as I can't stall for time for too long!”
“If he isn't there when I arrive, you won't get the money. However, if he's there when I arrive, I'll double your pay!”
The person clenched his teeth and promised, “Okay. I promise he'll be there when you arrive.”
After cutting the line, Tony turned to look at Thalia and urged, “Come on. We've found him, so we need to leave now.”
Thalia went over to him and asked, “He's been found? By who?”
“By someone we met at the night market that night, I suppose. We'll find out when we arrive.” Tony pulled the door open.
A flash of surprise appeared in Thalia's gaze. “Is that a hoax?”
“If he's a scammer, he would've escaped after getting the money. Why would he call me?” Tony refuted.
“That's right.” Thalia arched a brow and was about to enter the driver's seat when Miguel came to them. “Let me drive,” he offered.
Thalia glanced at him. “Do you know the way?” “I've been here before.”
Thalia was glad to be relieved from the burden, so she hopped into the passenger seat.
The kids settled into the backseat. After getting into the car, Miguel glanced at Tony and said, “Master, show me the address.”
Tony told him, “I've sent it to your phone.”
Hearing that, Miguel fished his phone out to take a look. He then pocketed his phone and started the engine.
Thalia gave him a look. “Are you not going to use the GPS?”
“No need. I used to come here on business with Dave. I'm quite familiar with the roads here,” Miguel explained.
Thalia exclaimed, “Why didn't you tell me that earlier? If I had known that you're familiar with the roads around here, I would have made you the driver these past few days!”
Miguel glanced at Tony through the rearview mirror. Flashing a grin, he said, “It's my honor to serve you, Master.”
Thalia joked, “Well, you're quite good at carrying balls, huh?”
“If it wasn't for Master, I would've been killed by your boss last night.” Miguel didn't bother mincing his words.
While he wasn't officially part of the DX Group, Dave had hired him privately and considered him to be his own. Sam would not be pleased if he found out about this.
He was only one step away from death yesterday!
“You know everything, huh? That's great!” Thalia praised. “Of course.”
Right then, Tony spoke without looking up. “Stop with the flattery and hurry up. If we miss him, I'll personally deliver you to the door of Darknetz!”
Miguel insisted, “Nah, you won't do that!”
Despite that, he quickly floored the accelerator, speeding to their destination. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at their destination.
After the car rolled to a stop, they got out of the car.
From afar, they saw the person clad in tattered clothes, looking like a beggar. “Where is he?” Thalia asked.