Isaias's Nightmare

"Oh, is that your shipment?" Isaias feigned surprise before quickly putting his hands together in apology. "What a blunder. My men have just arrived here and so recklessly offended you. This is simply unforgivable." It was obviously intentional, and he wanted to show William and everyone else in Chadron that he was not easily messed with. This was Isaias's usual trick and it never failed. Unfortunately, this time he hit a nail. In William's view, these methods were not threats, but suicidal. William coldly looked at Isaias. "Return what you robbed exactly as you took it. Miss out on anything and I will make you regret coming to Chadron." "Of course. Mr. Felton, don't be angry. Later I will personally apologize to you with the goods. All will be returned untouched, I hope you will not blame me." Realizing William was not easy to deal with, Isaias quickly turned the dozens of boxes of guns and ammunition into apologizing gifts. He tried to appease, "Consider these things as my compensation to you, and I will..." However, before he finished his words, William raised his hand and interrupted him, "No need." "What do you mean, Mr. Felton?" Isaias's expression stiffened for a moment, the light in the lone surviving eye fixed on William, flickering between shadow and light. "I'm not interested in these things." William said expressionlessly, "Also, Chadron does not welcome you. You have three days to pack up your things and go back where you came from." Isaias's only eye narrowed, and his smile vanished. "Is it you who's not welcoming me or is it Chadron?" A disdainful smirk formed at the corner of William's mouth. "Chadron is at my beck and call, so do you think there's a difference?" "Mr. Felton, one shouldn't be too reckless. A huge appetite could lead to overeating and choking on it." Isaias's tone gradually turned cold, his lone eye akin to a venomous snake lurking in the dark, ready to strike. William said, "Would you like to taste what it's like to be prey?" Isaias gnashed his teeth, the muscles on his gaunt cheeks visibly twitching. With a ferocious look, he said, "Mr. Felton, daring to step onto my territory with only a handful of men. I thought it would be a pleasant negotiation. It seems like I underestimated your courage. However, while confidence is good, overconfidence comes at a price!" As soon as he finished speaking, his men all tightened their grips on their guns. If they so desired, with just one upward nudge to their muzzles, William and his team could lose their lives on the spot. The instant Isaias's men began to move, Leonard's team didn't hesitate to form a protective circle around William and Valentina. Although they were unarmed, they were not to be outdone in terms of momentum. Both parties drew their weapons ready for engagement in an instant. William subtly moved his sore neck, then flicked his cheek with his tongue. A flash of severity crossed his face, completely different from his usual gentlemanly grace. He spoke with a cold voice, warning, "Think very clearly before you make a move against me on Chadron." The atmosphere became tense, like a taut bowstring ready to shoot at any moment. Underneath the deadly silence where even a falling pin could be heard, a youthful voice unexpectedly sounded, "The results of the SAT will be released. Remember to show me after checking them." With the atmosphere shattered, everyone's attention was drawn to the girl sitting in the chair, engrossed in her phone. Receiving all the attention, Valentina blinked her eyes and apologetically said to William, "The signal here isn't great." Then, under the gaze of the crowd, she slowly started typing on her phone's keyboard, nonchalantly chatting through WhatsApp as if no one else was present. Looking at Valentina, who was sitting even more relaxed than William, almost lounging in her chair, Leonard was left speechless. Among everyone present, no one was more relaxed or composed than her. Leonard was wondering whether she was selectively blind or just couldn't comprehend the situation, and considered whether or not he should remind her to lift her head and look around. "You... resemble someone I know," Isaias suddenly said to Valentina. He took a puff from his cigarette, his eyes filled with an emotion that was hard to determine, either resentment or something else, "I met her in the Southeast Continent, and she is about your age." Valentina lifted her gaze to his. As Isaias was smoking, the hideous and shocking scar around his left eye writhed with his movements. At a glance, it looked like there was a centipede crawling on his eyelid. Every time Valentina saw this scar, she wanted to laugh. The scar was the handiwork of Grey. Back then in the Southeast Continent, when Isaias still had both of his eyes intact, he had his sights on her, calling her the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, and declared that he wanted her to be his woman. She hadn't even gotten angry yet, but Grey got infuriated first. With a swing of his hand, Isaias was covered in blood, turning into the way he looked now. Back then, Isaias was a tyrant in the Southeast Continent, equivalent to the God Armed Alliance in Chadron. His complicated relationships with underground forces made his power considerate. However, in less than a week, Grey managed to blast him out of the Southeast Continent with a few cannons. What made Valentina want to laugh was the fact that Isaias, who was fleeing the Southeast Continent, out of all the places he could have run to, coincidentally ended up in Montavia. Before Isaias could even rise to power, he was shocked to find out that Montavia was Grey's home base, which frightened him into fleeing overnight. From that night, Grey became the relentless nightmare in Isaias's life. Who would have thought that after three years, Isaias would rise from the ashes so quickly and even make his way to Chadron? "But you're not as pretty as she is," Isaias said. Valentina raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "Thank you." The 'thank you' completely stunned Isaias, leading him to question if his English was broken to such an extent, or if she was hearing-impaired. Leonard's reaction wasn't much better than Isaias’s. He thought to himself, "Someone calls you ugly and you thank him? Are you devoid of sense or hearing?" "Did you thank me?" Indeed, Isaias was utterly baffled. Isaias's reaction, coupled with his ugly appearance, nearly moved Valentina to laughter. Struggling to suppress the corners of her mouth from turning up, she turned to William and said, "Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom." Without waiting for William's response, Valentina stood up. William said, "Leonard, accompany Miss Ricardo." Leonard responded, "Yes." Isaias prompted his two subordinates with a look. However, Valentina said, "No need, I can go by myself." Frowning slightly, Leonard could hardly stand it. This wasn't the place where she could act recklessly. "Miss Ricardo…" But before he could say anything, William said, "Let her go alone. Miss Ricardo, please be careful." "You guys continue. I'll be back soon." Valentina waved her hand and left. Isaias, naturally, didn't have the heart to ask his men to follow her. He watched Valentina leave, sinking into deep thought. Stepping out of the main camp, Valentina strolled around as if she were in the garden. There were about a dozen wooden huts of varying sizes around the main camp, and almost every hut was guarded by armed men. Valentina fixed her gaze on one of the heavily guarded wooden huts. Avoiding the gazes of the guards, she circled to the back of the hut, came up to a window, lifted one corner of the window, and peeked inside. The guard at the door was dutiful, not realizing that there was an extra person inside the house. Valentina opened one of the wooden boxes. It was filled to the brim with advanced time bombs. The whole hut was filled with guns and ammunition. No wonder Isaias was so confident. There were indeed many items. With this equipment, any mercenary group could stride across Chadron. Looking at the time bombs inside the wooden box, Valentina was pondering about something. Suddenly, she cocked her head, a sly gleam in her eyes.