"S-sorry!" Ann Vaughn quickly sat up straight, releasing the passenger’s shoulder beside her.
"It’s okay." The man’s voice was pleasant, timeless like a mountain pine, "You seemed cold, so I presumptuously covered you with my blanket. I hope you don’t mind."
"How could I? I’m really sorry, here’s your blanket back." Ann Vaughn was so embarrassed she wanted to cover her face. Was she some kind of reincarnated bandit?
Not only did she take someone’s shoulder to sleep, but she also took their blanket!
"No need, you can keep it." The man smiled faintly and said nothing more.
Perhaps the man had a habit of not using things others had touched, so Ann Vaughn did not insist and thanked him again.
Eight hours later, the plane arrived at Eland’s airport.
Ann Vaughn groggily got off the plane and, with Leo Lowell and Levi Lowell, got into a taxi, not knowing where they were headed.
Due to the epidemic, the streets were nearly empty of pedestrians, vehicles were sparse, and traffic was unimpeded.
Soon, the car stopped in front of a villa, Levi Lowell got out to negotiate with someone, while Ann Vaughn stayed in the car waiting.
If she had looked up slightly out the window, she would have seen a woman in a black vintage gown, hair curled, like a noble lady from the medieval era, watching her through the car window.
"Is that the canary the Family Head keeps?" Miyi Yates retracted her gaze and asked Levi Lowell.
"Yes, Miss Miya." Levi Lowell carefully studied Miyi Yates’s expression and seeing her calm demeanor, felt even more sympathy, "Don’t be upset, a dispensable canary cannot compare to your status."
Miyi Yates smiled reservedly, "I haven’t reached the level of pettiness to be angry with some random woman."
"What should we do with this woman then?"
"Just find a hotel and settle her there. The Family Head is too busy to care for her, and it prevents her from causing us trouble."
Levi Lowell thought for a moment, understanding Miyi Yates’s intentions, and replied respectfully, "Levi knows, the Family Head has entrusted Miss Miya with the care."
Miyi Yates nodded faintly, not looking back at the car, she turned and went back into the villa.
At the furthest resort hotel from the villa.
"We’ll come to pick you up once we contact the Family Head’s guards. In the meantime, stay obediently at the hotel and don’t cause trouble." Levi Lowell gruffly said these words, left Ann Vaughn’s luggage, and departed with Leo Lowell. Find the newest release on novel·fire.net
Do they really not know Cyrus Hawthorne’s whereabouts?
Ann Vaughn would have to be foolish to believe Levi Lowell’s nonsense.
She picked up her phone and followed them.
Unexpectedly, despite following them cautiously for a while, she was discovered and directly lost them.
Ann Vaughn had to give up the idea of continuing to follow and asked the driver to take her to Eland’s Spring of Life.
"Miss, are you sure you want to go to the Spring of Life? The Red Rat from the research center seems to have died there, and now even birds don’t approach it." The driver kindly reminded her.
People who haven’t been infected now wish they could hide at home, not stepping out at all, but this lady wants to go courting death!
"I’ve come all this way; it would be a shame not to see the sights. Please take me over." Ann Vaughn smiled, seemingly genuinely curious about what the Spring of Life looked like.
Driver: ... enjoying scenery over a pool of black water?
A foul stench came from near the Spring of Life, so strong that Ann Vaughn, even with a mask, couldn’t fully block it. She reluctantly took another medicinal remedy, using the mint ingredient inside to refresh herself.
After composing herself, Ann Vaughn continued forward, intending to find a spot where the surveillance cameras couldn’t see her and retrieve some water from the lake for testing.
Choosing her moment carefully, Ann Vaughn placed a glass container into the lake. Just as she was about to retrieve it, someone tapped her on the back of her hand, and the container fell into the lake!
"Hey, no—" In a panic, Ann Vaughn thought her voice could stop the container from falling, but she could only watch as it plunged into the lake.
"What are you planning to do with the water from the lake? No one is allowed here—you didn’t see the sign?" A familiar male voice came from the side.
Turning her head, Ann Vaughn saw a young man wearing a black windbreaker, like her with a mask on, frowning at her.
"Are you the one who sat next to me on the plane?" Ann Vaughn didn’t see his face back then but remembered his jacket was a limited edition from a brand, so she recognized him.
Realizing he misunderstood her intentions, Ann Vaughn explained, "I want to test the components of the water; I have no other malicious intent."
"Are you a researcher?" The young man’s frown softened, and he asked.
"I’m a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine."
"Nonsense! You can’t cure Red Rat epidemic with just acupuncture." The young man sternly admonished and then grabbed Ann Vaughn’s wrist, pulling her away from the area.
After leading Ann Vaughn away, the young man turned to face her, his light brown eyes looking at her, "I suggest you get checked out. You were so close to the lake; you might have been infected."
"No, I took a medicinal remedy; it was tested before and is effective for preventing this epidemic." To her surprise, words she hadn’t planned on speaking just came out.
She frowned slightly, feeling a bit perplexed.
"A medicinal remedy?" The young man looked suspicious for a moment but didn’t take her words to heart, "If you start having a fever or develop a rash, go to the nearest hospital for treatment quickly."
The symptoms of this epidemic appeared quickly, with signs showing within two days.
"Here’s a bottle of the remedy, consider it a thank you for the blanket on the plane; we’re even now." Ann Vaughn nodded, then stuffed a porcelain bottle into the young man’s hand and turned to leave.
Looking at the porcelain bottle shoved into his hand, the young man, with slightly rounded eyes, widened them.
Though he had received roses, chocolates, love letters, car keys, property certificates from girls, being given what seemed like an ordinary candy was a first for him...
After circling the area to ensure no one was around this time, Ann Vaughn took some water from the lake.
Being obedient was impossible; since that gentleman kindly covered her with a blanket, and he was a volunteer, she decided to share a bottle of the remedy with him.
Ann Vaughn carefully sealed the container, packed her things, and prepared to return to the hotel. But as she turned around, she saw a car approaching her.
The man in the driver’s seat was unexpectedly Dragon.
And the only person who could compel Dragon was... just one person in the world.