Immortal King

Chapter 18

At Jack's command, Drake quickly arranged for a luxury car to be parked downstairs. Satisfied with the secret Edward revealed, Jack felt it was time to end the farce. He signaled Drake to order the troops to withdraw.

Downstairs, all the soldiers began to regroup and leave. The sound of tank engines rumbled through the streets near the Eastwoods Hotel.

Before departing, the army commander, with tears in his eyes and an excited expression, stood in front of Jack and said, "General Steele, I can't believe you're alive!"

"I wouldn't die so easily," Jack smiled. "But the fact that I'm still alive must remain a secret for now, understood?"

"Got it!" The commander wiped his tears and solemnly said, "From what I know, that battle shouldn't have been so tragic. You set up an ambush against the enemy, but then you fell into their trap, nearly leading to the annihilation of your troops!"

The commander continued, "I think there must have been a traitor who leaked your plan. So you faked your death to draw out the hidden traitors, right?"

Hearing this, Jack was slightly surprised. This commander's deductive ability was impressive. He smiled at Drake and said, "Evaluate him. If he qualifies, bring him to the Skyblade. We need people with sharp insight."

Hearing this, the commander was overjoyed, not knowing where to place his hands out of excitement.

"This operation was personal but used military resources. Drake, give a reward to everyone involved as compensation," Jack instructed.

"Yes!" Drake immediately agreed.

Jack then got into the car and drove straight to the Shaw family's mansion.

Meanwhile, not far away, the two Carter sisters were hiding in the bushes, eavesdropping on Jack's conversation.

"Lily, did you hear what they were talking about?" Chloe asked nervously.

"I couldn't hear clearly, but it sounded like something about giving money, or a reward," Lily replied, unsure, only repeating what she heard.

Chloe's eyes lit up as she guessed, "Sister, could it be that these people were hired by Jack to act?"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, puzzled.

"Think about it. Who in the Federation has the power to mobilize an armored division in such a short time?" Chloe analyzed seriously. "It must be an act. Even movies can hire real soldiers for scenes. If Jack paid enough, it's possible he got them to run a few laps!" Chloe looked smug as if she had discovered a big secret. She added, " And I noticed that Jack might not have money. Whenever he needs to pay, he has that guy named Drake do it! Maybe... Drake is the real noble, and Jack is just leveraging his connection with Drake to get back at the Steele family!" Chloe felt she had figured out the truth.

"Have you met Jack before?" Lily asked, surprised.

"Ahem, just ran into him on the street," Chloe quickly lied, fearing her affair would be exposed. Lily didn't suspect anything and thought her sister's analysis made sense.

Back in the banquet hall, they shared their guesses, and the Carter family members agreed. They couldn't fathom someone being able to mobilize an armored division so quickly. Such power would be terrifying! And Jack, being so young, didn't seem to have that capability.

Meanwhile, Jack had already arrived at an old mansion. This was the Shaw family residence, the most prominent family in Wyndcrest, yet they weren't ostentatious.

He took a deep breath, ready to knock on the door, but it suddenly opened from the inside. A girl in shabby clothes came out, carrying a bucket of foul-smelling garbage.

'Cindy...' Jack immediately recognized the girl as his sister, Cindy Steele. But at this moment, she was struggling with the garbage and didn't notice the man standing nearby.

Jack's eyes welled up. 'I remember Cindy was five years old eight years ago. She's only thirteen now. Other thirteen-year-old girls are carefree in school, but my sister is wearing old clothes and doing menial work!' At that moment, Jack felt immense anger.

Just as he was about to help, another young woman came out of the mansion. She was around twenty, with exquisite makeup and fashionable clothes, in stark contrast to the poorly dressed Cindy.

"Get lost, you little brat! Don't block my way!" Lisa Shaw glared at Cindy with disdain and coldly scolded.

Cindy's face showed fear as she quickly moved aside, but she was too weak, and the garbage bucket slipped from her hand, spilling kitchen waste on Lisa's pants and shoes.

"Damn it!!" Lisa screamed, "You little b***h, are you looking for death? How dare you spill garbage on me? I'll kill you!!"

She raised her hand to slap Cindy. Cindy couldn't dodge and five red fingerprints appeared on her tender face. Lisa didn't stop, grabbing Cindy's hair and forcing her head towards the foul garbage.

"Sis Lisa, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Cindy cried, desperately apologizing.

"Forgive? Do you know your mistake? Your mistake is being born into this world!" Lisa's eyes were vicious. "Your shameless mother refused the family's arranged marriage and married another man. Do you know how much the family lost because of her?!"

"Your mother and you should have died outside! Why come back to the Shaw family? Little b***h born by the b***h, go to hell!" Lisa said, pressing Cindy's head towards the garbage.

At this moment, a shadow flashed. With a "bang," Lisa was sent flying, crashing into the mansion's wall and spitting blood.