Traveling (Extra Chapter 3)

——Airport Taking advantage of the holiday, Valentina prepared to fulfill her previous promise to Augus—to take him out for a trip. Originally, it was just planned to be the two of them. However, William desired to join them strongly, hence the duo trip turned into a group of four. Naturally, whenever the busy William was outside, Leonard cannot be absent, so he became the additional member. During the waiting period at the airport, William whispered something into Valentina's ears with his arm around her, both of them leaning close to each other. The rest; the reticent Augus and the inhibited Leonard remained awkwardly silent. "It's time for security check," William held Valentina's hand and got up. "Waite a second, we're still missing one more," Valentina replied. "Who else?" Just as William curiously asked, Gabriel arrivesdbefore his voice did, "Valentina! I'm here! I'm here!" Dragging his suitcase, Gabriel came over while waving his hand, running towards them. His tall figure, plus his flaunting dressing style that he put a lot of effort into, indeed attracted a lot of attention. Without choice, William looked at Valentina: "Him?" Valentina glanced back at him and verbalized, "For Augus to have company," her eyes though, seem to say: it's all because of you. Bringing William along, this trip probably felt less relaxing for Augus than staying at home and studying. Aware that his presence made Augus feel restrained, William can only keep quiet. However, he felt innocent and helpless. He has already given Augus kindness, smiles, and attention that he had never bestowed on his younger family members. But he knows it's not Augus’s fault. Except for Valentina and his parents, he would likely make others feel tense wherever he goes, let alone Augus. Gabriel could take care of Augus, and that meant Valentina didn't have to do it herself, and he can just look after Valentina. Thinking about it this way, Gabriel did seem to be very useful. William said, "Wise." Indeed, as soon as Augus saw Gabriel, his expression changed. He'd never missed nor liked Gabriel’s enthusiasm and openness so dearly before. His foot involuntarily moved forward two steps. Like a gust of wind, Gabriel ran over, tugging on the straps of the backpack on his shoulder, “Valentina, here I am, I haven’t arrived late, have I?” "That's a lot of luggage.” "Not much.” Saying so, he followed his gaze towards William, as if wondering whether to greet him. After an eye contact with William, the name he was just about to utter was stuck in his mouth. He explained with a bit of resentment, "Valentina invited me, saying it was a group trip." He didn't want to intrude on their world. Before William could say anything, Gabriel pointed to Augus, “I team up with Augus.” He then left to catch up with Augus. He walked over, put one arm over Augus's shoulder, and headed towards the security check, “You only brought so little luggage? I thought we are going to have a long stay, aren’t we? Will your clothes be enough? I've brought more, all new clothes. If you run out, you can wear mine. I've hand-picked each set. Trust in your brother’s taste, you can see from the outfit I'm wearing now, isn't it much more tasteful than William's work suit?” He whispered the last sentence by Augus's ear. “My sister told me not to pack so many clothes and shop while touring.” “Why didn't I think of that?” William booked first-class cabins. Just as the plane lifted off, Gabriel's anticipation started building, "Valentina, where are we heading to for our first stop?" “Melnyfield.” Gabriel doubted his own ears. "Huh? Where?" His overreaction startled Augus. Valentina repeated herself. Upon confirming that it was the Melnyfield, Gabriel was a bit dumbfounded. He subconsciously glanced at the dangerous man, William, then leaned in to ask Valentina in a hushed and cautious voice, "Are you sure it's for a visit?" His eyes flitted to William. Not for committing a crime? Or being victimized? Leonard thought: Just the mention of this place scared him? What if he knew that their Mr. William was once the ruler of Melnyfield, no, now Miss Ricardo is the boss. If he knew that Miss Ricardo was the boss of Melnyfield, and once challenged the leaders of various mercenary groups, he'd probably be scared to death. And Mr. Wright, your gaze is misplaced. The real danger is the one you're addressing. Mr. William is just a cleanup crew at most. Compared to him, Mr. William is a much better person. Augus interrupted out of confusion, "What's the matter with that place?" Melnyfield? Never heard of that place. Valentina said, "Nothing, just going to pick up someone." Gabriel said, "Who?" "Luke." Gabriel's reaction intensified, full of alarm: "Luke is in Melnyfield? What...what is he doing there? That place is so dangerous." Augus followed his gaze to Valentina: "Luke, he..." Valentina explained helplessly, "He lives there." Gabriel's voice grew louder, "He lives there!?" Valentina closed her eyes, her ear ached. "Shut up." Gabriel hurriedly closed his mouth, glanced at William, and immediately shrank back. Augus asked: "What kind of place is Melnyfield? Is it very dangerous?" "More than dangerous, let me tell you..." Melnyfield --- Bruno was early waiting at the God Armed Alliance Headquarters for Valentina. As soon as Valentina arrived, she didn't see Luke, "Where is he?" "He ran away at some point, probably knew you were coming and hid." "This kid, he hasn't grown up, but his temper and arrogance are growing. Now I have to find him myself." "Valentina, I will go with you." Valentina didn't turn her head: "No need, you go to rest." "Valentina ..." William appeased, "Don't worry, she will come back when she finds him, nothing will happen." "But it's dangerous here." They had just been traveling by car, and the people they met on the side of the road were almost like characters from a drama. They were all holding weapons in their hands. Their varied clothing styles, diverse skin colors; their eyes were sharper than knives, even more dangerous than the weapons they held. At this moment, Augus was entirely sure that the bullets that Luke had been toying around with, as well as the knife in his pocket, were indeed real. Gabriel tried to scare him all along, and he now acted as if nothing was amiss, snapping photos here and there with his phone. His constant exclamations suggested a man unfamiliar with such situations. Moving closer to Badman, he peeked at the weaponry on Badman’s waist and asked, "Dude, is this... the real deal?" Badman unhinged the Uzi from his waist and generously handed it to Gabriel, inviting him to take a look and have a feel. Gabriel put away his phone, eagerly grabbing the gun with both hands. "This real gun is so heavy---Augus, come here and hold it." He quickly called Augus over. Seeing both of them so intrigued by the gun, William asked, "Do you want us to show you around?" Augus's eyes lit up slightly. "Can we?" Gabriel asked, "Is this Valentina's territory?" He saw Bruno standing here, and both Bruno and Badman referred to Valentina as 'Boss'. Leonard explained, "It originally belonged to Mr. William, but now it’s Miss Ricardo’s." Astonishment and admiration filled Gabriel’s face. "So cool! What kind of place is this? Are all these people outside yours? What kind of business do you run here? What kind of business can you do in such a place? Are those we saw on the way here mercenaries? Are there usually battles here…" Brimming with curiosity, the duo fired questions non-stop about everything and anything. They never thought their first stop, which was merely to pick someone up, would bring them to such a dazzling place. After two plane rides, the duo was still brimming with energy, showing no signs of fatigue. They followed William around towards the headquarters of the ‘God Armed Alliance’. Gabriel snapped pictures the whole way. "Hey---What's that place up ahead? So big, is it a warehouse?" No, how can a warehouse be so luxurious? But if it wasn't this luxurious, it would seem out of place compared to other places. Gabriel pointed to a building heavily guarded ahead. "There inside…" Leonard glanced at William. "What's inside? Can't I have a look?" William replied, "Inside, there lies something Valentina adores the most." Gabriel's eyes widened abruptly: "Something that Valentina loves?" Sports car, it must be sports cars! Immediately, he thought of the garage where Valentina had appeared in the video. Seeing the two of them so curious about what's inside, William then led both of them forward, "Let's go take a look." Gabriel was already rubbing his hands in anticipation. However, once they stepped inside, they were stunned. No sports cars were in sight. Instead, all they could see were rows of black combat helicopters and armored vehicles with distinctive marks. The machines guns neatly lined on the table, which was a sight to behold, and the quantity of gun ammunition was uncountable. What shocked Gabriel was the presence of tanks and artillery guns. The two of them had never witnessed such a grand scene. For Mr. Wright, this was manageable, but the visual impact on Augus was tremendous. The two men stood dumbstruck at the entrance. They forgot to enter, and not dared to enter. It was William who made the call… Bruno was concerned Valentina would not be able to retrieve Luke. Even if she could, it would be challenging to unravel Luke's dilemma. Yet, not long after Valentina went out, she brought the man back. Everything seemed normal, and the next day Luke packed up and went on a trip with them. Badman asked, "What's going on with Little Luke?" Bruno replied, "Only the boss has a solution." Aboard the plane, Gabriel got over-excited the night before and didn't go to bed till midnight. He was not at all sleepy now, "Valentina, I like this place. Can we make this our first stop? I haven't finished sightseeing." Valentina looked at him and asked William, "What did you show them?" Quick to respond, Gabriel blurted out, "Cannons, tanks, armored cars, that machine gun must weigh two hundred catties, right? It was hard for me and my brother to lift it. Those sniper rifles were damn cool. If only I could try one...Valentina, do you know how to shoot? You must! William, no, I mean, Mr. William, he said these are your favorite things. Valentina, you've been so secretive? Last night I dreamt they were all cannons..." Valentina looked at Gabriel's chattering mouth like popping beans, feeling a bit embarrassed, so she glanced at William. William said, "It's no harm to take a look." "Yes, it's fine. Just a bit noisy." William very politely interrupted Gabriel, "Mr. Wright, it seems that Augus is calling you." Gabriel immediately turned his head, "Ah? What for?" But he saw Augus and Luke sitting together, completely ignoring them. Gabriel leaned over and was about to ask Augus a question when he saw a stunning beauty on Luke's phone. Gabriel exclaimed in surprise. "Who the hell is this?" Luke ended the call quickly, but Gabriel still caught a glimpse of the photo. Just one glance stirred his heart which had been in peace for two decades. He even thought about a perfect place for their date. Seeing Gabriel's reaction, William turned to Valentina and said, "With him around, this journey is not going to be dull." Gabriel took a seat, his mind now preoccupied with the girl on the phone. "Luke, who's that girl on your phone? Is she a celebrity? Your friend? Or your girlfriend? What's her name? How old is she? Where's she from? She looks pretty. Do you have her contact?" Augus, who was fidgeting with a camera, looked at the two, puzzled. "What girl?" Gabriel replied dismissively, "You're still young, you won't understand. Stick to your pictures, stick to your games." Luke ignored Gabriel, but his gaze landed on Valentina. His mind echoed with Valentina's words from the previous day, "I once told Bruno that I was the Unknown boss, I was killed in an explosion caused by myself, and then I was reincarnated. But, he didn't believe it." Luke collected his thoughts and turned towards Augus, "What are you capturing?" Handing over his camera excitedly to Luke, Augus shared, "A tank, a real tank, not a model." All the way till they reached the hotel, Gabriel had tried pestering Luke for information about the girl, but to no avail. Not being able to take it anymore, Luke ended Gabriel's obsession with an abrupt sentence, "She's already taken." Gabriel's heart shattered into pieces. Still hopeful, he asked, "When is she going to break up with her other half? Divorce is fine too. Can I see her picture again? I didn't get a good look." For the group of six, a global tour had begun. They went to Antarctica to witness the end of the world, to Iceland's glacier lakes to watch the Aurora Borealis, to Thundara after the rain to experience the desolation and beauty of the White Cliffs... Standing on the cruise ship comparable to a labyrinthine building, enjoying the sea breeze... Gabriel ran to a building that had local characteristics: "Bro, quickly take a picture for me, make sure it looks cool." Augus pressed the shutter: "Done." After Augus finished taking the picture, Luke naturally reached out for the camera: "You go, I'll take one for you." Augus passed him the camera: "Okay." Walking leisurely behind the others, Valentina suddenly asked him: "Why do you keep looking at my pocket?" William said: "I want to... hold your hand." Valentina was speechless, took out her hand and gave it to him, teasingly said, "Save your act, now..." William laughed and held her hand, placing it in his coat pocket, then deliberately asked, "Why do you say that?" Valentina couldn't bother to reply him. William smiled brightly: "Miss Ricardo, you seem to have quite a few complaints against me, and I still cannot correct them." Augus took back his camera from Luke, saw that they were already ahead of them holding hands, then pointed the camera at them... Gabriel followed the direction of the lens and saw a blond, blue-eyed little beauty. Grinning, he hooked his arm around Augus's neck and said: "Like her? I can get her contact information for you." Augus was taken aback: "What?" Gabriel said: "Don’t be shy, you haven’t been in love before, right? How about trying something new for the first time?" Before Gabriel could finish his words, he was abruptly yanked away by Luke. For Augus, who had grown up in a small town and only been to Biddeford, this journey was something he had never dared to dream of. He was seriously taking notes like as if on a journey. On the other hand, Gabriel, who had been flying around the world with his mother since he was a child, still missed Melnyfield after playing for more than a month. To be paid for a vacation, there was nothing cooler than this for Leonard. Valentina had traveled to these places alone in her early years, she had seen all sorts of things while traveling on numerous roads. Even though she didn't tour as much as she did this time. Therefore, she wasn't much impressed with the scenic views along the way. But having William by her side somehow made the whole experience feel different. She enjoyed all the meticulous care William gave her on the trip. The holiday was drawing to a close, and the next stop was Italy. Valentina had been to Italy multiple times and had even carried out missions there. But this time, she was a little expectant. Because William once gave her a vineyard as a birthday present in Italy. She had never visited before, and this trip was primarily about checking out the vineyard.