Chapter 236: Frank O’Malley
Nine o’clock at night.
The bamboo forest.
Oak and Leafy kept looking back. Leafy couldn’t help but ask, "Hasn’t Rose come out yet? Should we go in and check?"
"Okay." Oak had been waiting for her to say that and immediately got up.
The bamboo forest was silent and pitch-black, with only the moon in the sky providing a sliver of light.
The two supported each other as they stumbled through the bamboo forest. Oak estimated they had reached the spot where they had separated that afternoon.
He sniffed the air and whispered, "There’s the smell of blood. Over there!"
Oak rushed toward the source of the smell, and Leafy hurried after him. When the moonlight illuminated the ground, they turned pale with shock.
Rose Rhodes was lying in a pile of weeds, her breathing faint. She was completely soaked in blood.
It was as if she had been steeped in blood for a fortnight before being fished out. The stench was acrid, and her arms and legs were bent at bizarre angles.
It looked like she was dying.
’She looks like she’s dying.’ The thought flashed through Leafy’s mind, and she was startled by it herself.
Neither of them dared to move Rose Rhodes, afraid of worsening her injuries and causing her more pain.
They could only try to stop the bleeding and treat her on the spot. As they got closer, they saw multiple bloody holes on her body, still seeping blood.
GURGLE, GURGLE, like a small spring.
Leafy covered her mouth to keep from crying out, her trembling hands pulling hemostatic powder and other medical supplies from her spatial storage.
Just as she was about to sprinkle it on the wounds, a figure in black suddenly appeared and gripped her hand tightly.
He whispered, "The Family Head has given an order. No medicine is to be used within twenty-four hours."
Oak and Leafy’s eyes went wide with anger, a stark sight in the dark. Leafy threatened in a low voice, "The Family Head isn’t here!"
The man in black was unmoved. He repeated, "The Family Head has given an order. No medicine is to be used within twenty-four hours."
"You!" Leafy was furious.
But the Family Head’s orders were absolute and could not be defied. To be forced to watch Rose Rhodes suffer from her severe injuries without doing anything was its own form of extreme torture.
Two hours later, Oak and Leafy were still wide awake, constantly monitoring Rose Rhodes’s condition.
She was a superpower user, after all. The energy in her body circulated very slowly, healing her bit by bit.
Three hours later, while the man in black wasn’t looking, Leafy used Oak’s body as cover and fed Rose Rhodes a pill.
Now, everything depended on Rose Rhodes’s willpower.
The sky gradually brightened. Lily Hart had slept too much in the afternoon and stayed up late, so she didn’t wake up until almost eleven o’clock.
Since she wasn’t awake, no one came to disturb her. Even the customers were quite considerate.
They just lined up in front of the machine to buy scratch-off tickets, trying their best not to wake Lily Hart. Such model citizens.
Lily Hart came downstairs and opened up all four sides of her vehicle. Before she could even set out the scratch-off tickets, a huge crowd swarmed over.
Most of them were talking about yesterday’s terrorist attack.
"Do you think it was zombies or mutated plants and animals?"
"Who knows? They got into Central Command like it was nothing!"
"Yeah, I thought Central Command was the safest place. Sigh, who knew... it’s just so-so."
Lily Hart felt a little like laughing as she listened. After a moment’s thought, she decided to just let them talk.
’I can’t just yell out, "It was me, what about it!" That would be too stupid.’
She bought the scratch-off tickets from the system’s shop, arranged them in order, and then started spacing out, wondering what to eat for lunch.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in her line of sight. Like a fish in a river, he smoothly slipped through the crowd to stand before her.
Lily Hart’s focus sharpened. It was the man who had sat in the main seat at yesterday’s meeting. ’What was his name again?’
"I’m Frank O’Malley. I’m sure you already know who I am," the man said confidently, his flippant air tinged with a hint of nobility.
He had a remarkable presence and was quite handsome, but Lily Hart had seen too many good-looking men lately.
She was practically immune. So she just shook her head honestly. "I don’t know you."
Frank O’Malley was at a loss for words, a flicker of frustration crossing his face. He repeated, "I said, I’m Frank O’Malley. You’ve heard of The Mysterious Clan, right? The O’Malley Family is the oldest of them all."
"And?" Lily Hart was confused. ’Is he here to show off how impressive his family is?’
Frank O’Malley was speechless again. ’Why do I always feel like I have nothing to say when I’m facing this woman?’
He decided to stop beating around the bush and said directly, "You injured Cheryl Rivers yesterday. I’m here today to get revenge for her."
’Wow. First time I’ve seen someone announce their revenge in such a prim and proper way.’
Lily Hart didn’t say a word. She just looked at Frank O’Malley like he was an idiot, even shrugging. "Oh. Bring it on."
Frank O’Malley shook his head. "I won’t kill you. Just chop off your own left hand and right foot. I’ll take them back to complete my mission."
"?" The ’you’re an idiot’ look on Lily Hart’s face became even more pronounced. "And what if I don’t?"
Frank O’Malley scratched his head. "If you won’t do it, I’ll have to get someone else to. Also, what’s with that look on your face?"
Lily Hart wondered if this guy was the idiot son of some rich family, so spoiled and sheltered that he’d never experienced the harsh realities of life.
She spread her hands nonchalantly. "Then call them."
Frank O’Malley started calling for help right then and there. He pulled several red Crystal Cores from his spatial storage. "Whoever can chop off Lily Hart’s left hand gets these Crystal Cores!"
Now, it wasn’t just Lily Hart looking at him like he was an idiot; even the surrounding customers were giving him the same look.
’Who is this guy? Does he think a few Fifth-order Crystal Cores can buy Lily Hart’s life?’
’You’d need a few hundred at least! No, wait, Boss Hart’s life is priceless!’
’Without her, this lottery shop might disappear, and then we’d never get to play with scratch-off tickets again!’
’I heard the convenience store and the hotel were also prizes from the scratch-off tickets. If the lottery shop disappeared...’
’Those buildings might vanish too! This is the hope of all humanity!’
’Anyone who dares to destroy it would be a public enemy of all mankind!’
So, not a single person paid Frank O’Malley any mind. He scratched his head, rather awkwardly, and, refusing to give up, pulled out another handful of red Crystal Cores.
"Anyone want the job?! Just chopping off one of Boss Hart’s fingers is fine, too! All of these will be yours!" Frank O’Malley yelled, holding up the Crystal Cores.
’If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t kill people myself, I’d have done it already.’
’Otherwise, what’s the point of The Mysterious Clan training so many lackeys? Isn’t it for them to run errands and kill people for us?’
Lily Hart chimed in, "Does a fingernail count?"
"Sure—wait, what? A fingernail? No—" Frank O’Malley realized what she’d said and shook his head vigorously.
But Lily Hart was already moving. Quick as a flash, she whipped out a pair of nail clippers and, before he could refuse, snipped off a small piece of her nail.
"Here you go." Lily Hart stuffed the nail clipping into his mouth, and at the same time, stood on her toes, taking advantage of his surprise to snatch all the Crystal Cores from his hand.
Frank O’Malley was stunned by her rapid series of actions. By the time he processed what had happened, he had a salty-tasting fingernail in his mouth.
"BLEGH! BLEGH! BLEGH!" Frank O’Malley hurriedly tried to spit it out, his stomach churning with waves of nausea.
But he accidentally swallowed it. He froze on the spot and started screaming, "AHHHH!"
He quickly opened a bottle of mineral water and chugged more than half of it before he finally calmed down, the nausea in his stomach subsiding slightly.