181: Soul search Max's gaze locked onto the man, his expression cold and unreadable."Who sent you?" Max asked, his voice carrying a quiet, dangerous edge.The man's body trembled under the immense pressure pressing down on him, sweat pouring down his face despite the cool morning air.For a brief second, fear flickered across his face, but then, almost as quickly, it was replaced with a forced, defiant scoff."Like I would tell you that," the man sneered, trying to mask the tremble in his voice with false confidence.He shifted his stance slightly, gathering whatever strength he could muster, and attempted to bolt toward the open door, hoping to use the distraction to slip away.But the moment he tried to move, his legs refused to budge, as if they had been nailed straight into the ground.Panic flashed across his face. He tried again, pushing every ounce of Qi he had into his legs, but it was completely useless. He couldn't even shift an inch."W-what is this?" the man stammered, h

183: Warning Maximus straightened his back slightly, trying to gather whatever composure he had left."We truly have no idea what you're talking about, Max," Maximus said, forcing his voice to remain steady, "We have been here the entire morning, dealing with the aftermath of your little visit yesterday. None of us sent anyone anywhere.""That's right," Holt chimed in quickly, nodding along, "Perhaps it was someone else entirely. You've made plenty of enemies over the years, haven't you? Why would you assume it was us?"Vance and Drummond nodded as well, all four of them sticking firmly to their denial, their expressions carefully schooled into looks of confused innocence.Max stared at them for a long moment, his expression completely unreadable.He had already seen the truth directly from the dead general's memories. There was no mistake, no possibility of confusion. The orders had come straight from this very room, from these very men sitting in front of him now.But Max didn't fe

185: AirportThe next morning came quickly, the sun barely peeking over the horizon when Aria's car pulled up right outside the villa gates.It was a sleek, luxury vehicle, large enough to comfortably fit the entire family along with their luggage, the dark windows tinted just enough to keep prying eyes from seeing inside.Aria stepped out, dressed sharply, bowing slightly the moment she saw Max approaching."Master, everything is ready," Aria reported, gesturing toward the car, "The route has been triple checked. There shouldn't be any complications along the way.""Good work," Max said, nodding in approval.Fiona walked out shortly after, holding Rose's hand, while Amelia followed behind, carrying a small bag over her shoulder. Allen trailed close behind them, his eyes scanning the surroundings carefully out of habit."Wow, that's a huge car!" Rose exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she stared at the vehicle.Fiona gave a small, polite nod toward Aria, though there was

187: Fugitives "There's one more thing," Max said, turning to address the group before they could fully disperse.Everyone paused, turning their attention back to him."I'll be leaving the island with Tiger for a short while," Max announced.The leaders exchanged surprised glances, clearly not expecting this sudden news."Leaving, Master?" Riley asked, her brows furrowing slightly, "But we just finished setting up the array. Is it safe for you to leave so soon?""It's something I need to take care of personally," Max said, his tone leaving little room for further questions, "Tiger will be coming with me."Tiger straightened up immediately, nodding firmly, though even he didn't fully know the details yet."If my wife asks where I am," Max continued, glancing around at the group, "Tell her I went out to run an errand and that I'll be back soon."The leaders nodded slowly, understanding that Max wanted to keep the truth hidden from Fiona for now, at least until things were more settled.

189: Bawling Back on the island, chaos had broken out the moment the broadcast started playing.Fiona stood frozen in front of the screen, her hands trembling as she watched soldiers surround Max and Tiger on the street. The moment the pills were forced into their hands, her heart dropped completely."That's... that's Max," Fiona whispered, her voice barely audible.Amelia's face went pale beside her, her grip tightening around the edge of the table."They're taking him away," Amelia muttered, shaking her head in disbelief, "Why isn't he fighting back? Why isn't he doing anything?"Riley quickly moved to intercept Fiona as she suddenly surged forward, trying to get closer to the screen as if doing so would somehow change what was happening."Let me go! I need to—" Fiona's voice cracked, panic flooding through her entire body, "They have him! They actually have him!""Ma'am, please, you need to calm down," Riley urged, holding her arms gently but firmly, trying to keep her steady.Lit