The room was getting hotter and hotter, and the two were about to sink into one another when they


    heard a knock on the door. Luca broke away from Luke''s embrace as if she hade to her senses.


    “Mr. Crawford, someone''s at the door." Luca''s face was scarlet red when she turned to look at Luke,


    who seemed cross.


    He had a look of discontent on his face.


    "I heard." Luke could not wait to chase away the person at the door who interrupted them. "Who is it?"


    "Mr. Crawford, Mr. Mallory is here. Would you like to meet him?" Aunt Neile''s voice came from outside.


    Luca listened carefully and could hear the anxiousness in her voice.


    She reckoned that it was because she heard Luke''s annoyed tone.


    The man was usually calm and steady, but when he could not get what he wanted, he simply could not


    hide it.


    Luca thought that this side of Luke was funny and kind of adorable at the same time.


    "What''s he here for?" Luke asked. Ultimately, Percy was the one who interrupted his time with Luca,


    not Aunt Neile.


    Now that he was married, was he so overly happy that he thought he coulde and disturb others as


    he pleased?


    "I... I don''t know, Mr. Mallory said you didn''t pick up your phone, so he sent me up to inform you..." Aunt


    Neile trembled as she ryed Percy''s words.


    Percy and Luke were best friends, so when he rang the bell, Aunt Neile let him in without a second


    thought.


    However, Luke sounded upset from the other side of the door.


    That was when Aunt Neile knew that she had interrupted something.


    "Tell him to wait." Luke''s tone was still stiff.


    "Okay." After Aunt Neile replied, there was no sound at the door.


    Luca looked at Luke''s dissatisfied face, and her lips curled up as she found his defeated face to be


    quite amusing.


    Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    "Mr. Crawford, you''re scaring Aunt Neile," she said deliberately.


    Luke reached out and took her into his long arms. Then, he lowered his head to meet her delicate lips.


    He kissed her hard.


    Luca''s mind went nk. She did not even tease him, yet Luke still made a retaliatory move on her.


    She tried to push him away, but Luke''s hold was too strong.


    Only when Luca''s lips went red and numb did Luke let her go. Then, in his low and husky voice, he


    said while suppressing himself, “I''ll settle youter tonight."


    Luca watched dumbfoundedly as he opened the door and staggered out of the room.


    After that revenge kiss, Luke left a warning and left...


    Luca touched her numb lips and could tell that they were swollen from his firm kiss just now.


    The thought of the makeout made Luca''s mind go nk again.


    So, tonight.


    The thought of this made her face go red.


    Downstairs.


    Luke went downstairs looking grim, and when he saw Percy drinking coffee while leisurely sitting on the


    sofa, he snapped, "Why didn''t you stay longer in X City?"


    "A City is my home. I came back to look for you. Why? Am I not wee?" Percy crossed his legs and


    put down his coffee cup. Then, he noticed the displeased look on his face and pretended to be


    surprised. "What''s with that look? I''m not interrupting anything, am I?"


    "Quit the nonsense. Just spit it out." Luke sat on the other chair.


    "Be patient and put your emotions aside for now. Otherwise, I might think that you''re interested in me."


    Percy was being sarcastic.


    Luke looked at his coffee cup. He almost picked it up and sshed the coffee on him. "Shut up."


    Percy sensed his intention, so he picked up the cup and nced at the stairway. Luca did note


    down, so he must have interrupted their alone time.


    He smiled and asked, "Where''s Dr. Craw?"


    "What are you looking for her for?" Luke was already unhappy, but hearing him mention Luca made


    him even more upset.


    If not for him, he would be tangled up with Luca right now.


    "Don''t be jealous. I only have eyes for Nina. It''s just that what I''m about to say has something to do with


    Dr. Craw." Percy''s smile faded, and his expression became stern.


    Luke gazed deeply.


    With that look on Percy''s face, it seemed like he had something important to say.


    "Let''s go to the garden," said Luke. If they talked here, Luca mighte down anytime, and she might


    hear them.


    "The garden is so cold. Is this the way you treat your guests?" Percy said helplessly as Luke was the


    one at fault.


    "We can only talk in the garden." Luke stood up and walked to the entrance before putting on his coat.


    Percy shook his head resignedly and had no choice but to follow him to the garden.


    He chose not to say this on the phone for fear of being monitored, which was why he came here


    himself.


    The two came to the gazebo in the garden.


    Although it was already spring, it was even colder than winter because of the melting snow and ice


    around them.


    Percy rubbed his hands together and exhaled a breath of warm air.


    "It''s cold, so I''ll make it short." After looking around the garden, he said, “My people have news. They


    noticed some ships hovering around the old site of the Ind of Despair."


    “Ships?" Luke frowned.


    “Yes, ships, but there aren''t any buildings on the surface of this ind and the jungle is thick. It doesn''t


    look like the stronghold of the Ind of Despair. However, if the ships are used to transport people,


    then the stronghold of the Ind of Despair must be on this ind," said Percy while he nodded. His


    people had been observing for half a month. They made sure that it was not just anyone''s ships that


    were docked there before reporting to him.


    “If there''s nothing on the surface, it can only be underground," said Luke. The ind had not been


    maintained for a long time, so trees and weeds grew everywhere, which was the best barrier for people


    going in and out.


    If not for Percy''s people observing day and night, they might not have been able to spot the ships.


    “But didn''t we search underground from the surface before? We didn''t manage to find anything." Percy


    was puzzled at first until he thought of another possibility. “When you were captured, were there any


    buildings under the Ind of Despair?"


    “Robert didn''t fully trust me at that time, so I don''t know, but Gale and Rain did mention that everything


    was carried out on the ind. They were on the Ind for so long, but they''ve never heard of an


    underground building," replied Luke. When they first suspected it, they had asked Gale and Rain.


    After Gale and Rain said they had never heard of it, they investigated it using some tools but found


    nothing.


    That was why they gave up on the underground hypothesis.


    “I just thought of another possibility. What if they used a new type of material as a barricade? That


    would exin why the tools weren''t able to detect that there was a building underground." Percy raised


    his doubts.


    There were many new materials nowadays, as well as materials that couldpletely block out


    signals. However, the technology for these materials was not mature yet, so it was not widely used in


    the market.