Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO

Chapter 1052: Chapter 728: Showing Off Love [31] A World Like That

"Hmm?"

Nora Scott glanced skeptically at Pedro Langley.

"Afraid he’d be abducted by fans, I just gave it to him," Pedro Langley said frankly.

Henry Chapman, not knowing the reason: "..."

The stunned Hall Master: "..."

"Why do you carry this with you?" Nora Scott asked.

Pedro Langley replied as if it were obvious, "I always prepare a bit when going out with you."

After all, with Nora’s personality, who knows what bizarre events she might stumble into.

In the past, when he was with Nora, Pedro lacked awareness in this regard and could only stare helplessly when something happened. Now, with a few bugs and trackers, everything became more convenient.

The risks were also reduced.

Nora vaguely guessed his reason, slightly tugged at the corner of her mouth but didn’t say much.

—It’s understandable.

—Besides, Pedro indeed "made a contribution" this time.

"So what now, should we go find her? I have people at the Martial Arts Hall who can help," the Hall Master inquired.

"Let’s talk after dinner."

Nora was quite nonchalant.

After all, they were not related to the little girl, and the matter had nothing to do with them. They could help if they had spare time, but it wouldn’t matter even if they didn’t.

*

After dinner, Nora let the Hall Master leave, then got into the car with Henry Chapman and Pedro Langley.

The night breeze was slightly cool.

Following the tracker, they drove around the town, with buildings becoming increasingly sparse, roadsides overgrown with weeds, remote and desolate.

"Quite a distance."

Nora crossed her legs, gazing sideways at the night view outside, her brows slightly furrowed.

She added, "Could she have been caught?"

"Where’s the tracker?"

Henry Chapman in the front passenger seat heard and turned back to ask Pedro Langley.

"By the river," Pedro glanced at his phone, then added, "Hasn’t moved for five minutes, and there are no buildings nearby."

His words clearly negated Nora’s speculation.

Henry Chapman withdrew his gaze.

Yet Nora said again, "Maybe there was a body dump."

"..."

The sinister gaze of Chapman slid over her way.

—Have a bit of decency.

"I once helped the police solve a ’child trafficking case’," Nora was unfazed by the implied threat, and leisurely began telling the story, "Though it wasn’t exactly ’child trafficking,’ since those underage kids were all willingly sold by their parents."

"..."

The atmosphere in the car abruptly turned heavy.

Wind poured in through the open window, but the air inside felt motionless, as if frozen.

"They’d be brainwashed, abused," Nora continued, "The new ones would undergo three months of training, the unqualified ones tossed onto the streets to beg, while the standard ones stayed for a series of brainwashing sessions, eventually becoming tools for shady buyers. People doing things unseen in the light."

"..."

"Even if rescued, such people find it hard to reintegrate into a normal life."

"..."

"Chapman," Nora propped her chin with one hand, her eyelids casually lifting, "Maybe it’s not entirely the same. However, the girl was trained."

Nora had experienced much.

The bright, the dark—the world’s light and shadow, warmth and chill, she had been moved, angered, but now she was long since calm.

However, Pedro Langley and Henry Chapman were different from her.

Their world might be complicated, but it was merely a circumscribed area of humanity—good and evil existed, yet not to the extreme.

It was like two intersecting circles; they lived in the overlapping part, familiar with both worlds, but beyond the overlap, there remained a separate portion.

"..."

Henry Chapman said nothing.

Pedro Langley also remained silent.

The driver glanced at the impassive Nora through the rearview mirror, reminded of her status as "Biel Hall Master," and felt it was only natural, concentrating on driving onwards.

*

A few minutes later, the vehicle reached the location near the signal.

They parked by the roadside, each turned on a flashlight, and headed in the direction of the river.

Walking towards the river entailed a steep slope, strewn with stones, grown with bushes and weeds, the ground obscured, making it easy to misstep.

Pedro Langley, after just a few steps, felt uneasy and instinctively wanted to support Nora to prevent her from falling. But upon turning his head, he saw her swiftly traversing the terrain, stones rolling underfoot, her slender figure flashed past out of sight, startling him as his eyebrows lifted.

"..."

She was never one to ease worries.

Even carrying all that!

No longer hesitating, Pedro quickly caught up with Nora. However, mindful not to let the rolling stones hit her, he kept some caution.

A distance separated them.

Then—

He saw Nora reach the riverbank, squat down to inspect the ground, then shine her flashlight and head in a particular direction.

As he approached, he spotted sliding marks on the ground and a pool of fresh blood, causing him to frown.

He took a step towards Nora.

"She’s here."

Just then, the beam from Nora’s flashlight fell on a figure lying by the riverbank. She turned her head and spoke to Henry Chapman and Pedro Langley.

The two quickly moved closer.

And then, they froze.

A small, curled figure lay among the stones and weeds of the riverbank, clothes tattered, arms and legs exposed with scrapes and cuts.

The ground was pooled with blood.

The back of the girl’s head was a vivid red.

She lay there motionless, seemingly lifeless.

After a few seconds, Nora stepped forward, but her wrist was suddenly grasped. Turning her head, she saw Pedro Langley shaking his head at her, then letting her go and walking over himself.

Henry Chapman followed closely behind.

Pedro Langley squatted beside the girl, not moving her but checking her breath, and after a few seconds, his brows gently knitted as he picked the girl up.