Skip to content
Novel Catalog
Chapter 193
The man frowned when he realized there was no signal on his phone. The bustling environment of the restaurant, combined with the subtle discomfort of the jammed signal, felt increasingly oppressive. As he glanced up from his phone, he locked eyes with Jupiter across the room. The brief exchange of glances between the two men said more than words ever could. Both understood instantly—neither was an ordinary person.
Jupiter averted his gaze quickly, shifting his attention to his cards to maintain his cover. “A pair of eights,” he muttered, his voice casual but his mind racing. He had already formulated a hypothesis about the man’s identity. The accent, the muscular build, and the men’s shoes that hid blades—blades that could emerge from small slits in the shoe’s sole—marked him unmistakably as a member of the Sky Blade Group.
Jupiter’s thoughts sharpened, but he maintained his calm composure. He glanced at the card game, trying to keep the illusion up. “Could you guys make it quick? I really need the toilet!” he urged, his voice carrying just the right amount of urgency.
The men nodded, understanding his subtle cue. They hurriedly finished their game as Jupiter clutched his stomach, feigning discomfort, and quickly made his exit.
The signal jammer’s coverage was large, but Jupiter knew he had to get further away from the restaurant to make any calls. He moved with purpose, knowing time was running short.
Three minutes later, chaos erupted outside the restaurant.
A woman riding a shared bicycle collided with a man on a mountain bike.
“Don’t you have eyes?” the man yelled, his face contorted in anger.
The woman, dazed at first, quickly recovered and fired back, “Bastard, you’re the blind one. I already slowed down, and you still crashed into me!”
The man’s temper flared as he threw his bike aside. In a fit of rage, he grabbed the woman by the hair and began punching and kicking her. The woman fought back fiercely, her nails leaving bloody marks across the man’s face.
But the man was relentless. He drew a switchblade from his waist and stabbed it deep into the woman’s shoulder.
The restaurant, normally filled with the hum of early-morning patrons, was eerily quiet now, as most people had already left for school or work.
The patrol inspectors, witnessing the violence, couldn’t stand by any longer. They immediately rushed forward to intervene.
The muscular man inside the restaurant turned his attention briefly to Kale. “Where’s the toilet?”
Kale pointed toward the back of the restaurant, his voice steady despite the tension. “Turn left at the back door.”
Jupiter, unable to reach Nash or Angelica, sent a quick message to both, informing them that someone from the Sky Blade Group was also searching for Wesley. Once the message was sent, he hurried back to the restaurant, knowing every second counted.
The entire exchange took no more than six minutes.
When Jupiter returned, the scene inside was far from what he had expected. His colleagues were restraining a middle-aged man who had a wild, desperate look in his eyes. Nearby, the woman who had been assaulted sat on the ground, her clothes stained with blood.
Jupiter’s frown deepened as he approached. “What’s going on here?”
One of his colleagues responded with a shake of his head. “This kid’s got some serious road rage. Pulled a knife on her.”
Jupiter’s eyes hardened. “This is bad…”
They rushed into the restaurant, only to find Old Walker trembling as he emerged from the kitchen, a bolognese in hand. The muscular man who had been sitting at the table was gone.
“Where’s the guy who ordered the bolognese?” Jupiter asked immediately, his voice tight with urgency.
“He went to the toilet,” Kale responded casually, but his tone did little to calm Jupiter’s growing sense of unease.
Jupiter didn’t waste a second. He bolted to the back of the restaurant and pushed open the door to the toilet. He checked the stall thoroughly, but the muscular man was nowhere to be found.
Frustration mounting, Jupiter returned to the restaurant, his gaze sharp as he turned to Old Walker. “Did he ask you anything?”
Old Walker’s lips trembled as he spoke. “He… He asked me where Wesley was…”
Jupiter’s suspicion solidified, and his eyes narrowed. “Did you tell him?”
Old Walker nodded nervously, his voice barely a whisper.
Jupiter glanced at the faint red mark on Old Walker’s neck, a mark clearly left by a dagger. He said nothing more. Survival instincts often led people to reveal information in exchange for their lives.
“They’re really something. To work together so seamlessly without even contacting each other…” Jupiter muttered, shaking his head. His respect for the Sky Blade Group grew, but so did his fear. If his team from the Inspection Department went up against them, it would be a massacre.
As if struck by a thought, Jupiter hurried outside to look for the man involved in the road rage incident. His two colleagues, however, were lying on the ground, knocked out cold. The bloody woman, her face pale and her body trembling, was still shaking.
Jupiter’s heart raced as he took in the scene. It was clear now: something much bigger was at play, and he was already too far behind to stop it.