Henwell returns once again to the Number Eight Estate.

  Lucy, having received the news, rushes over immediately.

  After sending everyone else away, Lucy wastes no time and accuses, “You stole the tax silver!”

  Henwell sets down his teacup calmly. “Lucy, don’t jump to conclusions. Everyone’s saying it was the River God who took the tax silver!”

  Lucy gres at him. “Only you have the capability to snatch the tax silver in such a short time without leaving any trace!”

  Henwell chuckles coldly. “Haha… Lucy, that’s quite the compliment! The Tudor Dynasty is full of talents, but none of us here are top-tier experts. Even in the capital, there are plenty of Fourth Rank masters and several Fifth Rank warriors. Besides, with a well-id pn, even a Third Rank Martial Warrior—or even a Second Rank Martial Warrior—could pull this off.”

  He narrows his eyes at her. “By the way, Lucy, are you here representing the court to interrogate me? If so, I suggest you report this directly to the authorities. Neither you nor your subordinates can catch us.”

  Seeing Henwell’s displeasure, Lucy softens her tone. “Henwell, I’m not bming you. If anyone needs money, just say so! It’s only a few million gold, I can still provide that. But this whole mess has made things difficult for our upcoming pns. Rumors spread quickly, especially among high-level professionals. If these tax silvers show up in the capital now, it’ll only raise suspicion among those watching.”

  Henwell waves his hand impatiently. “I told you, it’s not us! What would we do with money? This isn’t even our world. Even if we got the gold, we couldn’t take it away!”

  Lucy grows uncertain, watching Henwell’s irritation.

  She thinks to herself, Could it really not be them?

  Suppressing her doubts, she asks another question. “Henwell, what about the other members? Have they returned?”

  Henwell shrugs. “How would I know? I don’t even know how many came into this world. They’ve kept it all tightly under wraps! Maybe it’s because of how I look, you think I’m a foreigner, not one of your own?”

  Lucy quickly apologizes. “Henwell, you’re overthinking it. We’re all brothers and sisters through hardship. There’s no ‘foreigner’ here. This is my fault, I’ve been held back by some issues tely and neglected everyone. Please, Henwell, tell them to come back! I’m waiting to reunite with everyone.”

  Henwell sighs helplessly. “I really don’t know where they are! So far, I’ve only seen Liu Mang and Benjamin. By the way, how many actually came? Who are they?”

  Lucy eyes him suspiciously and names a few people.

  To Henwell’s dismay, three of the names are fake, and two are missing.

  Without showing it, Henwell asks, “Why didn’t you bring them to see me sooner? Fang Yuan has helped me a lot, I’ve been wanting to thank him for a long time!”

  Lucy asks again, “You really haven’t seen them? Where have you been recently?”

  Henwell’s face darkens. “Lucy! If you don’t trust me, then why did you call me to help? From the moment you walked in, you’ve been questioning me like I’m some suspect! Do you really think I’m just one of your subordinates?”

  ”Or do you believe that because this is your turf, you can boss me around? Are you pnning to gather a bunch of experts to surround and kill me here, if I don’t give you a satisfactory answer?”

  A deadly aura bursts from Henwell, his energy locking tightly onto Lucy.

  Any sudden move from her, and Henwell would strike to kill.

  Feeling the crushing pressure from Henwell, Lucy finally realizes this man is a battle-hardened warrior from another world.

  While she was still figuring out which perfume to develop, Henwell was already killing people.

  To this day, the number of people Lucy has personally killed doesn’t even amount to a fraction of Henwell’s tally.

  Sweating profusely, Lucy nervously says, “Henwell, you’ve got it all wrong. How could I ever harm you? You were assigned by the higher-ups to assist me. Even if I wanted to, they wouldn’t allow me to do such a thing!”

  Henwell smirks, thumb flicking his waist as the Dusk Greatsword slides free with a single palm strike. “Maybe you’re pnning to betray them. Maybe we’re just your bargaining chips to curry favor with your new master. After all, switching allegiances requires proof of loyalty. What better proof than handing over the best selectors like us?”

  Locked in Henwell’s murderous intent, Lucy realizes he’s truly ready to kill her.

  Only now does she understand that facing Henwell, she doesn’t even have a chance to fight back.

  She always thought Henwell was roughly a Third Rank Martial Warrior, never imagining he was this powerful. He is powerful enough to leave her, a Third Rank warrior herself, utterly defenseless.

  Lucy doesn’t know how much time has passed. With her eyes closed, ready to accept death, she suddenly feels the restraints on her body vanish.

  Her clothes soaked with sweat, Lucy colpses to the ground, gasping for breath.

  Henwell sheathes his long sword. “Apologies, Lucy. You might not know, but in my world, there are traitors. They’re not from our group, yet they betray the organization and pn to sell out even more.”

  ”Since I arrived, your actions have been suspicious, forcing me to doubt your motives. But now it seems you’re not taking the worst path. As long as you’re not betraying the organization, everything is still fine.”

  With that, Henwell steps forward and helps Lucy to her feet.

  Still shaken but angry, Lucy pushes him away. “You’re annoying!”

  Henwell ughs. “You should understand why I acted this way. Everything here is unfamiliar, and your behavior was so secretive, I had to be cautious. I think the others disappearing is for the same reason. You’d better get the mission started soon. If you can’t even trust us, then just send us back!”

  Lucy sighs. “I told you, it’s my fault, I neglected everyone’s feelings. In your world, you’re all powerful figures. I didn’t adjust my mindset and failed to realize the world doesn’t revolve around me.”

  ”Don’t worry, I’ll start the mission as soon as possible. Whether you can contact the others or not, if they come looking for you, please pass along my apologies.”

  Henwell nods lightly. “I will. Get me an identity. Starting tomorrow, I’ll enter the capital to prepare for the mission.”

  “I’ll arrange it. You’ll have the info by noon tomorrow.”

  Before leaving, Lucy turns back and asks, “What happened to those who betrayed the organization in the end?”

  Henwell chuckles softly. “Of course, they died. They were hunted down by the organization’s special task force for traitors. You don’t really think the organization only consists of pioneers like us in different worlds, without any overseers, do you?”