“You! How Are you alive? I was sure that I…” Vulture said, but he couldn’t bring himself to continue what he was about to say because he was seeing Sparrow’s confused face, and it made him even more confused too, but he couldn’t say the word.

“What do you mean by that?!” Sparrow asked as he tried to stand up from the ground after being kicked by Vulture and Sparrow felt his back ache because Vulture didn’t hold back. “Fuck that hurts!” He said as he rubbed his back.

Vulture then looked at Kisha who was supposed to have Sparrow’s dead body that they retrieved from the forest. Still, unlike Vulture, Kisha seemed to be deep in thought because actually, since she have the ‘Team Tab’ where she can monitor her team even when they are far away from her, should know if Sparrow is dead or alive.

Still, in reality, she didn’t truly know because at some point before she found out what happened to Sparrow, she noticed that Sparrow and some of her team’s status windows had turned into a series of question marks, and it seemed like something was interfering with the connection between her and some of her team.

But she could still see Duke’s and the other Winters’ men who stayed at the base with them or with Vulture. However, Sparrow’s group and the people from Group 6 were the ones experiencing this phenomenon.

That’s why Kisha came out to the forest with Vulture to investigate, hoping that Sparrow was still alive. Even after she and the others defeated the mutated tree, she still couldn’t see Sparrow’s stats, and even when they retrieved his body, so she thought it was because Sparrow was already dead; his status window showed ‘Question Marks.’ Therefore, she could only assume that the rest of Group 6 had all died too.

So, when she saw Sparrow alive and kicking, she was first surprised, then confused, and now she was wondering what was happening with her system, only for 008 to interject in her thoughts.

“Host, there was nothing wrong with the system; there was something that was interfering with their connection, probably a mental ability that blocks Sparrow and the others’ mental signatures, which represent their vitals in the system’s ‘Team Tab’ and shows their status. Normally, since their mental signatures can’t be detected, the system can only display a question mark, which could mean many things,” 008 explained.

Then an understanding dawned on Kisha as she looked at Sparrow and the rest of the group that was supposed to be missing. What 008 said really made sense; the question marks could mean many things, not just death.

If someone has died, she might receive a specific status on the ‘Team Tab,’ like a big red ‘X’ mark or possibly a label indicating ‘DEAD’ instead of a question mark.

In that case, she should have started questioning the strange things as soon as she noticed them and not just speculated. By doing so, they might not have assumed that Sparrow and the others were dead or perhaps could have investigated further. However, they retrieved a body with Sparrow’s dog tag.

So, if Sparrow was alive, then whose body did they retrieve and grieve for?

This question hung in each other’s minds as they all collectively looked at Sparrow with a wronged question mark hanging on their faces. For some reason, Sparrow could only feel a little guilty as he stepped back, sensing their burning gazes on him.

Noticing Kisha’s contemplative expression, Duke shifted his focus back to the Evans and said, “Sir, it seems we can’t converse at the moment, as my men need to report to me with some specific information. We should discuss this another time.”

Duke’s dismissive tone suggested he wouldn’t accept a ‘no’ for an answer, merely informing them that he wouldn’t be entertaining them for now and had other matters to address, indicating that they weren’t his priority at this time.

Mr. Evans has been in business for a long time, so he understood what Duke was implying. Even though he didn’t feel good about being dismissed, he sensed that there was some inside story between Duke and his men that needed to be discussed urgently, so he really didn’t push for it to happen.

However, Melody thinks differently; she believes that it was Kisha who didn’t want her to talk with Duke. She knew that once her father started discussing the engagement with Duke, Kisha would lose.

After all, when they first met, she had already told Kisha that she was engaged to Duke, and now Kisha was stealing her man and even claiming him as her husband. So where did that leave Melody in the equation?

“Dad…” Melody was about to bring up the engagement again, but Eric gave her a stern look to keep her from talking nonsense. It was clear that there was an emotional charge in the air making everyone a bit agitated for some reason, and it seemed like only Melody couldn’t sense it.

But even without Eric stopping his sister from speaking, as the oldest son of the Evans, Duke, and the others would not give them the time of day.

In fact, as soon as Duke said what he had to say, he pulled Kisha by the waist, and they started walking toward the building to head to the conference room.

Along with them was Vulture, who was hauling Sparrow like a chick, even as Sparrow tried to fight back, kicking and fussing, but Vulture wasn’t letting him go without finding out what really happened while Sparrow was in the forest.

Not that Sparrow was really fighting back; he could tell that Vulture and the others’ emotions weren’t right and that they were worried and just plainly too emotional.

So, he could only ask Vulture to let him walk on his own and not be carried like a cat being lifted by the collar. He felt embarrassed by how Vulture was handling him and that his supposed imposing manner was thrown out the window.

But Vulture was no longer listening and was just focused on getting to the conference room as soon as possible. Aside from Sparrow, the supposed missing members of group 6 who were now with Sparrow were also gathered by the rest of the Winters’ men to be taken to the conference room.

Meanwhile, Hawk, Eagle, and the others who stayed behind at the hidden base in City A were all confused and could only follow behind to see what was happening.

After all, Sparrow and the others had just arrived a little while ago with some of the survivors they found outside. The survivors who came with Sparrow could only watch as he was taken away; they couldn’t even move after seeing Duke and the others, who looked somewhat intimidating.

The aura emanating from Duke was profoundly cold and indifferent, creating a weight on their shoulders just from being near him. They felt unable to speak up for Sparrow and could only watch as he was led away.

Not long after, Sparrow was dropped by Vulture to sit in a chair while Duke took the head of the table and made Kisha sit on his lap.

Kisha silently complied, still deep in contemplation. For Hawk and Eagle, who had just come in and saw this scene along with the other Winters’ men staying in this hidden base, it was a sight to behold. They had never seen Duke actively seek physical closeness and intimacy with the opposite sex.

They are momentarily stunned, and when they manage to regain their composure, Duke takes out a can of soda from seemingly nowhere. A glass also appears in front of Duke, and then he pours the soda into the glass.

Just when they think everything is finished, sparkling dust emerges on top of the glass, and ice begins to form. Then, a small ice crystal is conjured before falling into the glass. Duke chills the soda briefly by holding the glass before handing it to Kisha.

“Wifey, have some soda first to cool off before we move on.” Duke’s tone softened and became gentle, causing Hawk and the others to lose their balance as they stepped forward, leading to all of them tumbling over the door.

They looked at each other, trying to determine if they were hallucinating or if everyone heard what they heard, only to confirm in each other’s eyes the incredulity and disbelief.

‘Was that really our master?’

‘What’s with the gentle voice?’

‘What’s with the ice? Did he turn into Elsa from Frozen?’

The last person who whispered was glared at by the others because what he said was incredulous; if Duke heard it, he might get punished, which could also involve the rest of them. So, before their comments escalated, they all stopped whispering their thoughts and hurried to find a place to sit or stand in the corner.

After sitting Sparrow, Vulture stood behind him, placed both hands on Sparrow’s shoulders, and ensured that he wouldn’t escape until he told them everything they wanted to know.

Seeing that he was also surrounded, Sparrow didn’t attempt anything and simply sat quietly near Duke and Kisha, waiting for Duke to give him the signal to speak.

Meanwhile, Duke was helping Kisha drink the soda. Kisha wanted to do it herself, but for some reason, Duke had become extra clingy today, even wanting to assist her in drinking and wiping the corner of her lips if the drink spilled. Kisha raised an eyebrow but said nothing in return, just indulging Duke’s whims.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep