Chapter 302: Master, Save Me
The more Arabella Donovan thought about it, the more she pitied her third brother. And by extension, she found Julian Spencer, the one behind it all, absolutely despicable.
’No, it’s better to rely on myself than on others. Expecting a villain blinded by greed to mercifully let you go is practically a death wish. I have to find someone else to help protect my third brother. The best option would be... the highest level of 24/7 personal protection.’
On that note, Arabella Donovan couldn’t help but feel grateful for her own foresight.
Previously, when dealing with Dennis Donovan and the other powerful figures, Arabella Donovan had held back. Considering their ability to handle the shock, she hadn’t told them about Dr. Donovan right away. Instead, she chose to first reveal the existence of the infinite-flow instances and the unlucky people who were chosen.
She had been worried that the men were too old. If they learned of Dr. Donovan’s tragedy and couldn’t handle the shock, her good intentions would have disastrous consequences.
Now that she had confirmed her third brother was, in fact, Dr. Donovan, her decision not to mention him earlier had turned out to be a blessing.
Otherwise, if those leaders had looked into it and discovered her relationship with her brother, they would have surely suspected she had a personal agenda. It would have been much harder to earn their trust, and their impression of Aurora Donovan might have been severely damaged as well.
However, if Arabella Donovan openly asked for protection for her third brother, speaking as his family member, the situation would be entirely different.
Arabella Donovan was confident that as soon as these people paid attention to her brother, they would inevitably become interested in his research.
And as long as Aurora Donovan delivered, producing research results early like Dr. Donovan in the original plot, then those people—and even the nation itself—would be more concerned with his life and safety than she, his little sister, ever could be!
When Aurora Donovan heard Arabella Donovan’s plan, he was both touched and thrilled.
As the old saying goes, it’s a matter of pride.
Even if it was just for his precious little sister, he had to hurry up and create the thing that could benefit all of humanity. As for those people... he’d settle the score with them later, one debt at a time!
"Brother, this is a rare opportunity. Why don’t you take me to your lab for a look around this afternoon?"
It was one thing when she was unsure of Aurora Donovan’s identity, but now she had to go back for a proper look. She would conduct a thorough search to see what potential dangers and overlooked threats remained in the institute.
Aurora Donovan strongly agreed, mainly because he was concerned about Elder Lyons, whom Arabella Donovan had mentioned. His intuition told him that what this esteemed mentor had encountered was no less serious than his own troubles!
"Mind if I come along? I’m quite curious about the research environment in Brynn University’s labs. This morning was all about negotiating our partnership, so I didn’t get a chance to see them."
"No." Aurora Donovan looked up at Caspian Rhodes, his smile instantly dropping.
"Our university’s labs aren’t open to just anyone. For Serena to get in, I had to get my mentor’s approval and file an application more than half a month in advance. Otherwise, the guards at the gate would have stopped her."
"I see..." Caspian Rhodes wasn’t deterred by Aurora Donovan’s attempt to stonewall him. Instead, he pulled out his phone and made a call.
"Monroe? I have a favor to ask. I’d like to tour your university’s research institute this afternoon. It would help facilitate better communication for our future collaboration. Would that be possible? No, no, that’s not necessary. I happen to know someone who works in the institute; he can show me around. I just need you to let the security guards at the entrance know. Yes, great. Thank you for the help."
Arabella Donovan stuffed a piece of beef into her mouth and asked curiously, "Mr. Rhodes, who are you calling?"
"The vice-principal from Brynn University who’s been hosting me today."
"The vice-principal? Doesn’t that mean he... has a lot of authority?"
"He at least has the authority to let me, as an investor, tour the research institute."
Aurora Donovan was speechless. ’Damn it, that bastard!’
Thanks to Monroe’s intervention, Aurora Donovan’s excuse for refusing Caspian Rhodes was no longer valid. In fact, he had inadvertently landed himself a new chore.
Shortly after Caspian Rhodes hung up with Monroe, Aurora’s mentor, Elder Lyons, called him too. He told him to take good care of their new major sponsor this afternoon—the one who was both investing money and donating equipment.
Aurora Donovan was speechless. ’Big deal, so you have money!’
As it turned out, being rich really was a big deal, especially for a money-burning operation like their lab. Once the money ran out, the research would have to grind to a halt.
For the sake of his future research, Aurora Donovan had no choice but to swallow his pride and grudgingly accept the temporary assignment.
After lunch, the three of them headed to the rendezvous point they had arranged with Eloise Donovan and her companion.
Who would have thought that just as they were leaving the food street, a truck would come barreling aggressively in their direction.
The two men immediately sensed something was wrong and reacted in a flash, rushing to shield Arabella Donovan behind them.
Unfortunately, it was an old, narrow street, only wide enough for two cars to pass each other.
Moreover, the truck was intentionally barreling down the center of the lane, leaving the three of them with no room to escape. Even with Caspian Rhodes and Aurora shielding Arabella Donovan, they would all just be sent flying together.
Eloise Donovan and her companion had just reached the other side of the road. Hearing the commotion, they subconsciously turned toward the sound, only to witness a scene that made their faces drain of color.
"Serena! Brother!"
Arabella Donovan had also noticed something was off with the truck, but everything was happening too suddenly, giving her no time to react.
As the truck loomed closer, about to slam into the three of them, Arabella Donovan screamed instinctively, "Master, save me!"
KABOOM—
The next second, everyone could only watch, wide-eyed, as a bolt of lightning as thick as a man’s arm shot down from the sky. It struck the truck that was hurtling toward Arabella Donovan and the two men like a great beast.
The bolt instantly charred the truck black. With a deafening SCREECH, it flipped onto its side and crashed to a halt just three meters away from them, unmoving.
Aurora Donovan and Caspian Rhodes were speechless.
Nearby, Eloise Donovan and her companion were speechless.
The bystanders: "???"
A moment later, everyone: "!!!"
「Meanwhile, in a highly soundproof conference room at a special department in Imperia.」
Staff members sat on both sides of a long table, fingers flying across their laptop keyboards while they confirmed information with colleagues in different regions via their headsets.
"Minister, a report just came in from Alvane. The people and events match the intel."
"A report just came in from Crovia. The people and events match the intel."
"A report just came in from Delos. The people and events also match the intel."
"Same for Elyria."
"Same for Hexton."
"..."
As more and more reports flooded in, each one confirming the authenticity of the dossier Arabella Donovan had provided, Ron Cole had no choice but to face reality.
"Minister, what should we do now?"
Ron Cole pinched the bridge of his nose and said wearily, "Contact Miss Donovan as soon as possible. I need to have a proper talk with her."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the sound of urgent footsteps came from outside, followed by someone’s panicked shout.
"Minister, bad news! Miss Donovan is in trouble!"