The man led them across a clean street walking to the back, bringing them to an abandoned two-story building.
“He's inside,” the man told them.
Thalia still had her guard up. “Lead the way. There are many rooms here, so we don't know exactly which room he is in!”
The man gave her an exasperated look and led them into the building.
“I lured him here, but we'll have to keep running into each other. It's not appropriate for me to take you to him,” the man clarified.
However, Thalia ignored him and observed the area warily. This man might be a scammer, so there was no telling what he would do.
She had to be careful as the kids were her responsibility. Upstairs, the man came to a stop. “He's inside.”
Thalia glanced at the locked door and noticed there wasn't any window nearby. “Open the door,” she ordered.
“Here's the key,” the man said as he fished it out of his pocket.
Miguel was about to take it from him, but the man pulled his hand away and gave Thalia's backpack a pointed look.
Thalia took a deep breath and pulled out another stack of money from her backpack reluctantly. Before handing the money to the man, she said, “You're being paid to settle our problems. This is the road you chose, so you shouldn't be complaining.”
The man agreed, “Of course.”
He seemed polite, so Thalia allowed him to take the money. The man then handed the key to Miguel. Without hesitation, Miguel unlocked the door.
Tony hurried into the room.
The door was wide open, but the room was empty.
Miguel turned over his shoulder to report to Thalia, “There's no one inside.” Hearing that, Thalia quickly stopped the man from leaving.
The man was surprised.
“How dare you lie to us?” Thalia narrowed her gaze dangerously.
The man quickly glanced at the room. “No way! I locked him inside personally!”
“Then where is he?” Thalia demanded.
“I'll go take a look!” The man hastily made his way to the room.
Right then, a figure emerged from behind the door, gripping a wooden chair in his hands. As soon as he revealed himself, he swung the chair and smashed it in the direction of the closest person.
All eyes turned toward Tony . Miguel spotted the figure and quickly rushed to shield Tony as he was standing right beside the latter.
Thump!
The chair landed on Miguel's body and crumbled into pieces upon impact.
The person was about to take the chance to escape when Miguel gave him a kick, and he crashed to the ground.
Thalia rushed over to join them.
Lying on the ground, the person glared at them and demanded, “Who are you? What do you want?” Ignoring him, Miguel turned to look at Tony . “Master, are you okay?” he asked worriedly.
Tony was taken aback by Miguel's act of protection in the face of danger. He wasn't scared, but he was momentarily stunned by Miguel's actions.
Hearing the question, he shook his head. “I'm fine. What about you? Are you okay?” Miguel assured him, “I'm fine. I'm trained for this.”
As he didn't seem to be hurt, Tony could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The man lying on the ground was still regarding them warily. Suddenly, he pulled out a knife and pointed it at them. Seeing that, Thalia asked, “Magus, don't you recognize me?”
A person who had been hurt by betrayal would not believe such statements. That was exactly the kind of person Magus was.
He flashed Thalia a sneer as he said, “If you know me, then you should know that I would never join any organization for the rest of my life.”
“Please, believe me, Magus! In the name of my integrity, I promise that I won't lie to you!” Thalia pleaded earnestly.
“Integrity?” Magus let out a sarcastic chuckle as he continued, “To be honest, the people from before were much more sincere. What good is your integrity, huh?”
“Magus...”
He cut her off, “That's enough! I will not join you guys no matter what you say, so either kill me or release me!”
Thalia frowned and simply stared at him in silence. “You can go,” Tony said all of a sudden.
Thalia turned to look at him, a hint of shock manifesting in her eyes. “Tony ?”
Tony kept his gaze fixated on Magus as he continued, “As I said, I'm here to invite you, not force you. You have the right to make your own choice.”
Hearing this, Magus simply turned around and left without saying another word. Right as he brushed past Tony at the door, Tony called out to him, “Wait!”
Magus paused in his tracks and spun on his heel to look at the young boy. “What's the matter? Are you regretting your decision now?”
Tony whipped out a pen and paper from his bag and wrote down a phone number. “This is my number. Feel free to call me if you ever change your mind.”
Magus shot the string of numbers the boy had written a cold glare. “That won't be necessary!” he declared, then walked right out of there without looking back.
Miguel was about to run after the man, but Tony stopped him and shook his head. “Are we really just going to let him leave, Master?” Miguel asked.
“It's normal if he can't accept it just yet. Forcing him will only worsen the situation,” Tony replied. “But—”
“I know what I'm doing!” Tony cut him off. Miguel pursed his lips and kept quiet after that.
Realizing that no one was trying to stop him, Magus turned around, glared at the person who locked him in there, and sneered, “You remember this!”
Of course, that guy did not take Magus' threat seriously. “It's not every day someone wants you, you know? You should leave. Get as far away as you can!”
“Are we really going to let him go like that, Tony ?” Donna asked, a hint of anxiety lacing her words. “It will be a lot harder to find him later on!”
Tony waited until Magus was gone before replying, “He won't hide from us if we don't force him.” “But he won't agree to our request either!” Donna exclaimed.
The person who helped Tony find Magus was still there by the time Tony stepped out the door.
Seeing the young boy, the person asked with a smile, “Well? Do you need my help with anything else?”
“That depends. What else are you able to do for me?” Tony replied, tossing a nonchalant gaze at him.
“You name it, and I'll get it done!”
Tony deliberately put on a clueless expression as he said, “But I don't know what I need help with!” “You just want him, right?” the person asked after giving it some thought.
Tony nodded. “That's right.”
“He's known for being a weirdo. Countless people have tried approaching him, but their efforts all ended up in vain,” the person mumbled.
“So?”
“The people who came before you were big spenders with a ton of cash to offer. You're the first one I've seen who only wants to befriend him.”
Unsure if that man was insulting him or praising him, Tony replied, “It looks like you've made quite a fortune off him!”
“Oh, no. You're the first person I've encountered!” the person replied.
“So, what exactly are you trying to say? What can you provide me with?” Tony asked.