clash

"Mr. Milo, I didn't expect to see you again." Nona was in charge of greeting him, and her first words of welcome were directed at Milo.

Milo, however, seemed to have lost his soul and remained unresponsive for a long time.

The armed men, their uniforms embroidered with snake tassels, expertly cleared the scene under Blaise's hand signals. Soon after, the passengers locked inside the cruise ship emerged, disembarking with trepidation.

With a beaming smile, Nona apologized and pleaded guilty, finally getting the trip back on track for tourism.

The coastline and port are a tropical rainforest, and the banks of the tributary rivers that flow into the ocean are fertile deltas with large rice paddies. Farmers dressed simply and wearing straw hats work in the paddies with their backs bent.

At first glance, this place appears to be a peaceful paradise. The initially anxious tourists gradually relaxed and began to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Even after being invited into the house, Milo remained silent, lost in thought.

Miles gestured that he was there and that Nonai should proceed with the arrangements as planned. Once everyone had left, Miles sat down on the bamboo mat and poured Milo a cup of hot tea across the low table.

Miles began, “This is my real life, you see, and it’s not beautiful. It’s normal to be scared, but this kind of thing doesn’t happen often. If you’re disgusted, I can book you the earliest flight back to Wudong Port.”

Milo moved her eyelids and slowly said, "No, I'm not going back."

Miles nodded: "I won't force you."

Milo looked at Miles: "Have you been doing business with those militants all along? The operating room on the cruise ship, that show, were you behind it all?"

Upon hearing this, Miles frowned: "That's what you think of me?"

Milo simply shook his head: "Then what should I think? You said that once we get off the ship, I will understand everything. But right now, I don't understand anything."

Miles remained silent for a moment, then spoke: "You've seen those documents, so you should understand that Dale Group and Gangu have collaborated on an experimental drug, a business my father ran when he was alive. Similarly, Steven's father also expanded a medical equipment industry chain through Gangu. These two things were enough for them to make a fortune in Wudong Port, but nothing stays hidden forever. These things can't last forever, and Lianhua Machinery is now on the verge of bankruptcy. I'm here to try and save Longjin Financial Health, to cut it off as soon as possible while it can still be cut off."

Milo frowned and asked, "Then what about organ trading?"

“You mean those missing persons in the news? They actually have nothing to do with Steven. They’re just people who were tricked into coming here to daydream. It’s really hard to say who harvested their organs. After all, the Gan Valley is full of outlaws, and some of the organizations are so ruthless you can’t even imagine.” As he spoke, a look of disgust appeared on Miles’s face.

Milo wasn't too surprised by this answer.

On his second visit to the mountaintop villa, he vaguely realized that the cruise ship full of hollow corpses was smuggled in by the indebted white man under Blaise's coercion, but at that time he couldn't understand Blaise's purpose.

Later, Blaze unilaterally cut off Steven's delivery line and disposed of everything he had collected. This made Milo realize that after the first failed attempt to assassinate him at the funeral home, Blaze seemed to have chosen another subtle, framing method to deal with Steven.

Milo felt a chill run down his spine.

"If you're referring to what happened at Steven's villa, I can only say that I only found out after I got involved with the Dale Group's business. There is indeed organ trafficking in some hospitals in Wudong Port. Both the Dale Group and the Thornton Group are linked to the medical industry, and their entanglements have been going on for many years. Initially, it was the resale of organs leaking from hospitals. Later, in order to make up for the losses in his business, Steven came up with the idea of ​​luring people to buy organs and then reselling them. The cruise ship you saw was indeed a transit point for organ trafficking."

Milo seized on the key point and asked, "Were these transactions initiated by the people behind Blaise? I saw their patterns at the mountaintop villa before." Milo pointed to his neck, "That wheat-like tattoo, and the snake symbol on the clothes of the people who came out of the rainforest."

Miles shook his head: "Unfortunately, no. First, they look down on that kind of business. Second, due to their geographical location and population outflow, they are actually opposed to human trafficking and organ trading. Besides, such things are too easy to attract the attention of the International Police Agency. The Gangu region is an important area under the jurisdiction of Tengbang, and they wouldn't do something so foolish."

"But because of the past cooperation among the three companies, the Dale Group, including those on Natawa's side, have to protect the Thornton Group to some extent. So, the Thornton Group makes money by organizing shows and performing organ transplants, and Natawa has no grounds to allow it, so he can only send Blaise to keep an eye on it to prevent terrorists from infiltrating and threatening the Gan Valley like today. But at the same time, they also have their own agenda; they also want to use cruise ships to transport potential wealthy customers to the Gan Valley."

Milo quietly processed the information and asked, "It sounds like the Dale Group is the most innocent party?"

Miles shook his head and said, "You're wrong. You should say the most cowardly. Cowardice means low risk, and it also means being constantly leeched off. You probably don't know that the Thornton family is ruthless, their family group is vast, and there are branches within it. The Steven Thornton and Bobby Thornton you see are just one branch. Another branch of the Thornton family has already expanded their business to the North and has connections with the political and military circles. They are extremely difficult to deal with. This is why, even though Lotus Machinery is declining more and more, the Thornton family is still not dead."

Milo fell into deep thought.

The Natawa family is striving for peace, but Blaise doesn't seem willing to comply.

Milo asked in confusion, "What about Blaise? Is he considered a member of the Dale family or the Natawa family?"

Miles frowned, seemingly stumped by the question. After a moment of thought, he said, "Although he has Tate Daller's blood in his veins, he is not a normal person who has been raised in civilized society. If he hadn't come to Wudong Port, things might not be so complicated here, but his arrival means that the Natawa family wants to use him to control the Daller family."

“That’s why I initially wanted you to infiltrate his inner circle.” Miles’ voice was very soft. “If the Dale family really falls into his hands, it means that Gan Valley will have an unbreakable foothold in Wudong Port.”

"Do you think he'll be taken advantage of?" Milo asked.

Miles just stared into the distance: "You saw the tattoo on his neck too. People here value blood ties above all else. All he's done over the years has been working for the people here. If I didn't share his blood, he probably would have killed me already."

Milo paused for a moment, then said, "It sounds like you're not confident you can stop this deal?"

Miles didn't deny it: "Who knows? We'll give it a try."

Milo and Miles didn't get to talk for long; less than ten minutes later, a group of people in traditional clothing came and asked Miles to leave.

Immediately afterwards, Nonai walked in carrying a plate of fruit: "Mr. Milo, were you not frightened?"

Milo's gaze fell on the crimson flowers on her ankle, and Nona raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Isn't it beautiful? These are Ixora flowers, which are said to bring health and good luck."

Milo looked away: "I didn't expect you to be from here. I thought everyone in Gan Valley had that black wheat tattoo on their neck."

Nonai laughed: "Really? I heard that many people in Wudong Port call it 'Rye,' but that's wrong. It's not wheat, but rice. Rice and white pythons are our mascots, but not everyone is qualified to get them tattooed."

Milo looked at Nonae: "Did Blaze send you? Is he planning to lock me up here?"

“Of course not. He was dragged off to fight and kill as soon as he got off the ship. It was so boring.” Nonai said, resting his chin on his hand, with a hint of helplessness. “I came to see you myself. I’m just too curious about you.”

Milo asked directly, "Are you Tate Daller's lover or Steven Thornton's lover?"

“Hey, Mr. Milo, it’s very ungentlemanly of you to ask a woman such a direct question.” Nona blinked her beautiful brown eyes exaggeratedly. “But I’m not angry with you. As for Tate Dale, I only got close to him because of the mission, but Steven, well, I just thought he was easy to sleep with and wanted to give him a try. As for the result, I’m quite satisfied with the result.”

Milo was speechless after hearing that.

Nonai laughed out loud: "In your eyes, can't a woman simply want to sleep with a man?"

Milo was speechless.

Nona scrutinized Milo's face, looking at it very carefully: "It's a pity I've never seen what Theo Green looks like, now I can only imagine it by looking at your face. Sigh, do you know why he likes that person so much?"

Milo didn't respond; he didn't think such a beautiful and dangerous woman was there just to talk to him about these things.

Nonai continued speaking to himself: "Speaking of which, I practically grew up with him. When he was seven, he was taken to Wanyang to see his parents. But after he came back, he thought about one person all day long, holding a crystal ball like a treasure. He stopped playing with us and wanted to learn English and switch to Protestant teaching. He was beaten terribly, but he just wouldn't change."

"Later, when he was seventeen, he finally made it and went to Wanyang again, but unfortunately, the person he loved was killed in a bombing in the sky. When he returned, he was deaf and mute, and even Mr. Natawa could not awaken his will to live. It wasn't until he learned that his beloved had been murdered that he began to pull himself together. After five years of hardship here, he finally won the opportunity to go to Wudong Port. So, he went there to avenge his beloved."

Milo remained silent.

Nonai smiled and narrowed his eyes: "Hey, aren't you curious about who he's going to kill? It's someone from your Wudong Port."

Milo spoke up: "Isn't telling me all this considered leaking secrets?"

“What leak? I found this out myself, I’m just sharing it with you.” Nonai said with a hint of helplessness. “Well, one of them is his biological father, isn’t that surprising? It’s a pity he was a step too late. The old man intervened, and by the time he tried to make a move, Tate Dale was already dead.”

Milo spoke up: "You said one of them is Tate Dale... so what about the rest?"

"Haha, I knew you wouldn't be curious." Nonai laughed with satisfaction. "But I don't want to tell you. You're not a member of the Green family, why should you care about those things, right?"

Milo suddenly realized that all the groundwork laid before was just a test for this moment. This woman was patiently trying to extract information from him, gradually enticing him to talk more.

Milo stopped himself in time and stopped looking at Nonai.

Nonai coaxed, "Mr. Milo, I think you must know who you're dealing with, right? Why aren't you afraid? Prey is always afraid; only the hunter isn't. Do you think you're the hunter?"

Milo finally looked up: "Miss Nonai, you said you went to Wudong Port to be Tate Dale's mistress for a mission. Does that mission include planting bombs in the funeral home?"

Nonai's smile froze, wondering if she had misheard: "What did you say?"

Milo didn't want to talk to her about these things, but Nona was clearly trying to get information out of him and pester him, so he didn't want to pretend to be an idiot anymore.

The time bomb was cleverly placed, and its light weight meant it wouldn't kill any key figures; it was clearly designed to incite trouble. Back then, he spent almost the entire time at the funeral home, the only variable being the affair between Steven and Nonay.

At that time, Milo couldn't possibly have guessed about Nonay. No one would have thought of a mistress. Because he couldn't understand it, Milo, like everyone else, ultimately pinned the blame on Blaise. But when he saw the beautiful woman in the red dress again among the corpses in the Gan Valley, he suddenly realized that she was definitely not simple.

Since she came under orders, she was most likely taking a conciliatory approach to maintain peace. Yet she still sabotaged the relationship between Blaise and Steven... This shrewd woman's attempt to create chaos is undoubtedly aimed at gaining something from it.

Milo lowered his eyes and said softly, "It's nothing."

Nona was a smart woman. She was somewhat shocked that the gentle-looking Milo possessed such shrewdness. The veiled threat and warning in his words made her decide to stop testing him. She simply said softly, "Mr. Milo, you must believe me, I have no ill intentions towards you. On the contrary, I like you very much. I like the mystery about you. So, I will find someone to treat your friend's injuries properly, and I will arrange for him to come see you soon."

Milo knew that Nona was referring to Yuuma, so he thanked her politely.

Nonai smiled, got up and left.

“Wait, I need your help.” Milo suddenly spoke up.