Chapter 37: Secret Base
A golden ray of sunlight passed through the car window and landed on Peter’s face. The black half-mask made of special metal on his face sparkled as if it had been sprinkled with gold foil.
As the car sped along, the sunlight quickly thinned and disappeared.
The car was quiet, silent. Even the sound of a pin dropping on the car floor was clearly audible.
Peter pursed his lips and stared at the car stereo in silence. His hands were clasped together on his knees, like a serious, contemplative statue.
And Qiuyue, sitting to his right, turned his head and looked at the ever-flowing scenery outside the car window, also in silence.
No one in the car dared to make a sound.
An hour ago, Peter had found the body of his subordinate on the second floor of the Beka Hotel. He was furious. Now, not only had he not found Vulcan, but he had also lost a loyal subordinate who had followed him for many years. Who wouldn’t be angry?
“We can check the surveillance to see who killed Unibrow,” Qiuyue suggested, after Peter had vented his anger by killing several of the Beka Hotel’s staff.
The moment Qiuyue finished speaking, Peter slapped him without hesitation. The slap made his cheek red, and his teeth scraped the inside of his mouth, leaving a metallic taste of blood.
“Idiot!” Peter cursed. “You bunch of useless idiots who can’t do anything right! You clearly know my time is limited, yet you still make me clean up your mess!”
Qiuyue said nothing. He clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and savored the taste of blood in his mouth. He was already used to Peter’s capricious moods, but for some reason, he felt a little angry today. He looked at the razor lying in the half-dried blood. In that instant, a strange impulse swept through his mind.
I really want to stab this razor into Peter’s neck, or gouge out his eyes, and then stick this blade into Peter’s ass.
But just as the intense hatred was about to take over Qiuyue’s mind, Peter suddenly grabbed one of his hands.
Peter slowly exhaled and said in a low voice, “I’m sorry.” His hand suddenly gently brushed across Qiuyue’s red cheek and said in a low voice, “I was too agitated just now and accidentally hurt you. You’re not mad at me, are you?”
“…No,” Qiuyue stared at him, his other clenched fist not relaxing.
“That’s good,” Peter smiled.
Peter squatted down and looked at Unibrow, whose body had already stiffened on the ground. He lifted the towel covering Unibrow’s face and gently stroked his contorted, purple, and swollen face.
His eyes were filled with a tender regret, but how much of that affection was real, and how much was an act, Qiuyue couldn’t say for sure.
“Alright,” Peter stood up and said, “Let’s go.”
“What about Unibrow…”
“Bring that bottle of wine over,” Peter said, pointing to a bottle of wine in a cabinet.
Qiuyue nodded, opened the cabinet, and handed the bottle of wine to Peter with both hands.
Peter took a knife from his pocket and tapped the neck of the bottle a few times. The neck and the body of the bottle instantly separated.
“A 20-year-old Source of Life vodka, 98 proof,” Peter sighed. “Unfortunately, it’s fake. It’s worthless.”
Peter poured the wine on Unibrow, then took out a lighter from his pocket.
“Click—”
The lighter ignited, a small flame, like a dancing sprite.
Peter let go, and the lighter fell on Unibrow’s body, instantly igniting his corpse. The air was filled with the smell of alcohol mixed with burning fat, a very strange smell. Qiuyue felt like throwing up.
“Let’s go,” Peter said. “Let Unibrow rest in peace here. We’ll continue on our way.”
After driving for almost an hour, the car finally left the lower district and entered the main city.
The scene in the main city was completely different from the lower district. Just a river apart, the dilapidated bungalows, the garbage on the ground, the wandering homeless people, and the crawling addicts on the streets of the lower district were all gone, replaced by exquisite and unique street-front shops, trash cans everywhere on the streets, and passersby walking their dogs and riding bicycles.
This extreme contrast made Qiuyue a little dazed.
It was as if he and these people lived on different planets.
The past filled with blood and pain disappeared in an instant, replaced by the smell of wheat, caramel, and coffee from the bakeries and coffee shops on the street corners. The painful screams and pleas also disappeared, replaced by the chatter of passersby and the barking of dogs seeing squirrels.
Qiuyue stared out the window. A tear slid from the corner of his eye and dripped onto the back of his hand. He suddenly came to his senses and quickly wiped the tear away.
He secretly glanced at Peter in the car, and the other subordinates. They were all lost in their own thoughts, and no one noticed Qiuyue’s slight emotional fluctuation that couldn’t stir up any waves. Qiuyue breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
The car drove for about another two hours and finally stopped. The car stopped in front of a skyscraper, and a few people got out.
Qiuyue knew this building.
It was said to be the most expensive building ever built. The entire exterior was made of special reinforced tempered glass, which could even withstand the erosion of high-temperature lava.
The top of the building was a huge display screen, flashing the logo of the owner of this office building—Joseph Hall Biotechnology.
A bald eagle with its wings spread, one claw holding a snake, the other holding an apple.
For a moment, Qiuyue seemed to see the eagle’s claw grabbing the snake’s vital point, its beak biting the snake’s neck, and tearing the snake into a cold dish.
Qiuyue almost screamed. He took a step back and only recovered after a few seconds.
It was all a hallucination. Qiuyue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He looked up and saw a young, fair-skinned Omega in a business suit walk out of the office building. Seeing them, the Omega smiled.
“Mr. Peter?”
“That’s me,” Peter stepped forward.
The Omega smiled and tactfully put his arms around Peter’s neck. A blush appeared on his fair cheeks. Peter seemed to be very pleased with the Omega’s reaction and put his hand directly on the Omega’s shoulder.
“Follow me. Our boss has been waiting for you for a long time,” the Omega said.
The group walked into the luxurious office building.
The Omega took out his work pass and swiped it at the elevator entrance. He soon brought Peter and his group to the 54th floor. The Omega explained that this entire floor was the office of the chairman of Joseph Hall Biotechnology.
“Ding—”
The elevator doors opened.
Directly opposite the elevator was a black desk. Next to the desk was an exquisite vase. Qiuyue had seen this vase on a poster for an antique auction.
Behind the desk was an office chair, and behind the chair was a whole wall of bookshelves. Qiuyue glanced at it. In the bookshelf closest to him, there were three books:
“Crime and Punishment,” “The Red and the Black,” and “Les Misérables.”
The chairman of Joseph Hall Biotechnology was not here. The Omega said the chairman was in a meeting and asked them to wait here for a moment.
The Omega smiled and said, “I’m just an assistant. I won’t go in.”
“Alright,” Peter said with some regret. “Remember to contact me when you get back. I’d like to have dinner with you.”
“Of course, I will.”
Peter and his group walked out of the elevator. Qiuyue subconsciously turned his head and saw the Omega’s polite and courteous smile disappear behind the elevator doors.
“Jealous?” Peter put his arm around Qiuyue’s shoulder and said with a smile.
“No,” Qiuyue broke free from Peter’s hand.
Peter seemed to be in a good mood at the moment. He wasn’t even angry at Qiuyue’s little tantrum. He gently scraped Qiuyue’s red and slightly swollen cheek and said, “Does it still hurt?”
“I’m not that fragile,” Qiuyue said coldly.
“After all, Qiuyue is an Omega. I still prefer to be a gentleman in front of Omegas,” Peter said with a smile.
Qiuyue’s lips twitched. He’d be a fool to believe him.
Just then, the elevator chimed. Soon, the elevator doors opened, and a middle-aged Alpha with a medium build, a slicked-back gray hairstyle, wearing a sky-blue suit and a dark blue tie, walked out.
“Hehehe! Peter, long time no see!” Philip Donald, the chairman of Joseph Hall Biotechnology, saw Peter, laughed loudly, and walked over to hug him.
“Long time no see,” Peter patted Donald’s shoulder and said with a smile.
The two exchanged pleasantries. Philip even complimented Qiuyue on becoming more beautiful. Qiuyue had no good impression of this capitalist, whose hypocrisy was on par with Peter’s, and only responded with a few polite and distant words.
“Great, everyone’s here,” Philip suddenly clapped his hands enthusiastically. The light from the ceiling reflected in his eyes.
For some reason, Qiuyue really felt that he was like a fake person, with a strange sense of hypocrisy, like a lizard wearing a human skin mask.
Philip was heard saying, “Let’s get down to business.”
Philip walked behind the desk, gently moved the copy of “Les Misérables” on the bookshelf. Then, the bookshelf suddenly made a sound and moved aside like a hidden door.
“Come in,” Philip said. “This is my secret base.”
