Mr. CEO, You Look Strangely Familiar

After walking down the long streets, the two kids headed toward a remote mountain. They had originally planned to get a room at the market and contact their mommy and daddy from there, but the treachery of others forced them to come up with a new plan.

With Monty in tow, they knew that if they were discovered, they would be separated from him, and he would be taken away by force.

So, after some thought, Dylan decided it was best to find a secluded spot to hide first, figure out their location, and then contact their family.

As dawn was breaking, they finally reached the mountaintop. It was covered in trees, with no signs that anyone lived there.

To the boys’ excitement, they found an abandoned hut. Inside was a concrete bed, a tattered quilt, a pot, a bowl, and a pair of chopsticks.

They guessed the owner had probably found the place too remote and difficult to get to, and had moved to the nearby town.

Cobwebs were everywhere, a clear sign it had been abandoned for a long time.

Dylan straightened the tattered quilt and lay down to rest.

"Dylan, if we had a phone right now, we wouldn’t need to ask anyone where this is. A phone can show your location."

"But it would have to be a smartphone," Dylan replied.

Monty quietly turned and slithered outside.

"Monty, where are you going?" Elmer called out.

Monty glanced at Dylan, then quickly darted away.

"Dylan, do you think he got fed up with us? Did he go off to fend for himself?"

Dylan lay there in silence. "He’ll be back."

Elmer lay down beside him. "Dylan, I’m still hungry. Can I have some more?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Elmer was overjoyed and quickly ate another steamed bun.

The sky gradually brightened, but the two boys lay there wide awake, a growing anxiety in their hearts because Monty still hadn’t returned.

Unable to wait any longer, the two brothers went out to look for him.

When they reached an intersection, they saw Monty.

Monty was lying in the grass by the side of the road, his eyes fixed on the intersection.

Just then, a teenage girl rode past, talking on her phone as she pedaled. Elmer ducked his head. "Dylan, that girl has a phone. Should we try to borrow it?"

Before Dylan could answer, Monty shot out, startling the girl on the bike. Her phone hit the ground with a SMACK, and, thoroughly terrified, she quickly pedaled away in the direction she’d come from.

The two boys watched from behind a tree as she disappeared into the distance. Just as they were about to step out, they saw Monty holding the phone she had just dropped in his mouth.

Dylan took it, immediately turned it off, and they all went back to the abandoned hut.

He sat on the bed and eagerly turned the phone back on. His heart sank when he saw the battery was nearly dead.

Fortunately, it was a smartphone. Though it was an off-brand model, it was good enough.

His small hands quickly enabled the GPS and internet connection. He then logged into a chat app, which immediately displayed their geographic location.

He quickly memorized the address, afraid the phone would die at any moment.

Then he hurriedly dialed Nora’s phone number.

The call connected almost immediately.

"Hello?"

"Mommy, it’s Dylan! We’re on a mountain northwest of Merrick Town, in Maelor, near the border of Valeria! Come save us, quickly!"

Nora, who had just arrived in front of the Leon Corporation building, was completely overwhelmed with joy. "Dylan! Are you and your brother okay? Mommy has been worried sick! Hold on, I’m contacting your grandmother right now to head over first. Your daddy and I will be there as soon as we can!"

"Okay, Elmer and I are both fine. The phone’s about to die. Mommy, tell Grandmother to bring lots of food. We’re starving!"

Tears streamed down Nora’s cheeks as she rushed back the way she came. "Okay, Mommy’s calling her right now. Just hang on, my darlings."

She hung up and immediately called Luna Ainsworth. After giving her the details, she called Quentin Grant.

Quentin Grant had just returned from a meeting and was about to head out for an inspection. When he took her call, he was so overcome with emotion he nearly dropped his phone.

"Get the private jet to Valeria ready for me. Now!"

"Right away, Boss," Secretary Lynch replied.

"Faster!"

"Yes, of course." Secretary Lynch flinched, thinking his boss had lost his mind again.

"Leave company matters to the vice president. I have an emergency. I’ll be back in a few days." After giving these brief instructions, Quentin Grant bolted for the elevators.

Nora then quickly called Leon Lynch. He told her to wait for him at the main entrance, saying he’d be right down.

When Quentin Grant arrived in the car with Sierra Ainsworth to pick her up, Nora and Leon were already waiting.

"Nora, was that really Dylan on the phone?" Quentin asked.

Nora nodded excitedly. "Yes."

"You’re sure you weren’t imagining it?"

"Of course not!"

Quentin Grant took a deep breath. "I’ve been saying all along, my two sons are too smart to get into any real trouble. Still, they must have suffered a lot."

"When did you ever say that?"

"You just forgot," Quentin Grant insisted.

Nora’s hands trembled nonstop, only steadying slightly once she was on the plane.

After the call ended, the two boys finally felt a sense of relief. They were thrilled at the thought that they might be heading home that very afternoon.

Even Monty seemed to be buzzing with excitement.

Two or three hours later, they heard the sounds of a large group of people approaching up the mountain.

"It must be our grandmother!"

But when they went outside, the person who had come to the abandoned hut wasn’t Luna Ainsworth. The smile on Dylan’s face slowly faded. Surrounding them from all sides was a large group of people in police uniforms.

But just in case he was mistaken, he still called out, "Grandma?"

"Hahaha." A man in his forties chuckled. "Don’t go claiming random relatives, little fella. Tell me, were you raised by this big python here?"

Dylan immediately understood what was happening.

"What if I was? And what if I wasn’t?"

"If you were, we take the python and send you to a children’s home. If you weren’t, we’ll help you find your parents."

"Who are you?"

"I’m the police chief of Merrick Town. Someone reported a python on this road. To prevent anyone from getting hurt, we came to investigate as soon as we received the call."

"Monty doesn’t hurt people."

"What does a little brat like you know? You say it won’t hurt anyone, and we’re supposed to believe you? It’s just an animal, a carnivore. It’s extremely dangerous."

"What’s wrong with being an animal? Some people are worse than animals!"

"I’m not wasting my breath on a little pipsqueak like you. Men, prepare to capture it. Ambush the python!" At the chief’s command, officers on all sides immediately began setting up things that snakes fear, even lighting a ring of fire around the area.

Startled, Monty began to thrash about in distress.

Dylan tried to soothe him with his hands, but it was having less and less of an effect.

Then, all the archers readied their bows, their arrows tipped with tranquilizer.

Dylan and Elmer stood protectively in front of Monty, stretching out their arms. "Don’t you hurt him!"

"Get out of the way, kids. Don’t come crying to us if an arrow hits you."