"George..." The old woman trailed off gloomily, her gaze unreadable as she recalled the past. "He was a famous and powerful figure in Garcia Village back then. Everyone avoided him.""What do you mean?" Renee urged."It's not what you think. He was unreasonable and very nasty…" The elderly woman's tone became angry. "He was a tyrant in our village, and he bullied almost all the families here. He would either take other people's things away and even beat them up.""Was he really that arrogant?" Renee frowned. "Such a person should have been in jail.""If we could, we would have done it ages ago, but he had connections. He would be released after being locked up for a few days every time the villagers called the cops, then he would take revenge on the person who reported him. So... nobody dared to say anything."Jeffrey frowned. "I heard about his family when I was young because my village is only nearby. Mom always told me not to sail my boat too far while fishing in case I acciden
Renee knew that Quinton had suffered a lot, but she had no idea that it was that bad. They were both siblings, but while Renee's parents doted on her and loved her greatly, Quinton had gone through hell."Yes, George was despicable, and his family got their karma..." The old woman hesitated, then continued softly, "His family members were all wicked except for his youngest daughter. We called her Joanne, and she was a nice girl who always took care of her foster brother. Unfortunately, George's eldest son tried to take advantage of the girl, even though he was her biological brother, and then... a sudden fire burned down their house. All of them ended up dead! Honestly, most of George's family were better off dead, but Joanne and the adopted child didn't deserve such a fate. They were very kind, but their lives were ruined."Daisy listened to the old woman attentively, then chimed in, "But it seems like that girl had been possessed by the sea witch, and purposely seduced her biologic
Renee also agreed with the old woman—the couple seemed quite strange. If she had the chance, she wanted to meet them, but the old woman didn't know much about them and didn't remember much since they had come to Garcia Village ages ago.Renee's mind was troubled the whole night at the old woman's house. She didn't wake Jeffrey and Daisy up the next morning, and decided to wander around the island to see if she could find clues instead. She soon found a house that matched the old woman's description of George's house… but it was nothing but ruins. All that was left were ashes and burned items, and after many years of wind and rain, even those had practically disappeared into the ground. There was no trace of anyone ever living there. However, that area was the best in the village—it faced the vast sea and the soil was rich, making it ideal for both fishing and farming. Renee imagined her brother living there many years ago, and uneasiness gripped her when she imagined the suffering he
To Renee's shock, the person she had been yearning for day and night had appeared in front of her. She could scarcely believe it."Hold me tight," the man whispered as he lowered his head to look into Renee's eyes. They were still at the edge of the cliff and had yet to swim out of the rip current. If they let their guard down, they would die at sea."I will! I have to hold on to you because I have so much to say to you. I… Ack!" Renee choked, too excited to talk to Stefan. She couldn't tell if she was dreaming, so she just tried her best to hold on to him. However, the current was strong, and Renee's grip started to loosen. She couldn't hold on any longer, and eventually blacked out.When she woke up, she found herself lying in a hospital bed, a vast expanse of whiteness above her."Renee! You're finally awake!" Jeffrey jumped in his seat, almost in tears."Where am I?" Renee's head was aching, but she forced herself to sit up and look around. She remembered being stuck in surgin
Then, before Jeffrey could stop her, Renee dashed out of the ward. Jeffrey couldn't catch up with her, and watched her run off nervously.When Renee reached the corner of the stairs, she suddenly saw a tall figure in familiar clothes. He looked just like Stefan."Stefan!" Renee screamed and rushed over to the man, grabbing his clothes firmly. "I've caught you! You can't run away now..." She gripped his clothes, then hugged his waist. "I knew you were still alive!""Umm..." The person Renee was hugging recovered from their shock, then mumbled awkwardly, "Sorry to disappoint, but it's just me." Renee's jaw dropped, and she looked up at the man in anger. "Haze, are you out of your mind? Why are you wearing Stefan's clothes?" The person she had grabbed was not Stefan or Jovan, but Justin. She had thought he was Stefan because Justin was wearing a casual jacket that Stefan had once worn. Renee remembered that jacket because Stefan always wore formal clothes, and it was a rare occasion
Justin smiled, but his gaze was menacing. "Phoenix, your charms really are boundless. You managed to turn a hothead into a loyal dog!" They were both men, and although they were around ten years apart, Justin could tell that Jeffrey had feelings for Renee. He felt jealous, but also marveled at Renee's charms—he had such a diverse group of competitors! Not only did he have to compete against an exceptional man like Stefan, but he also had to fight against a youth like Jeffrey… How exhausting!"Cut the crap! Jeffrey is just a boy," Renee growled weakly from where she lay in bed. Justin was so weird, thinking that way about a boy. What a scoundrel! Renee wished he hadn't been the one to find her.Jeffrey's face flushed in embarrassment, and he mumbled awkwardly, "Ah, so you both know each other. Umm... I'll give you both some privacy then." Hurriedly, he left the ward. He knew that Renee was way out of his league, so even spending these few days with her felt like winning the lottery. T
"Of course!" Justin raised his chin proudly. "Nobody can beat me in that, not even you, Phoenix. Isn't that right?""Yes, that's true." Renee nodded, giving him a thumbs up. She was being humble because Justin was more skilled than her in that area, and the one time Justin beat Renee to become champion of the Global Hacker Competition, he had done it by defeating her at cracking IPs."Why are you asking?" Justin's eyes brightened, and he asked Renee excitedly, "Are you planning to compete with me at the Global Hacker Competition this year? If Haze and Phoenix, the perfect couple of the hacker world, made a comeback this year, there'll be an uproar!" Justin rubbed his hands together eagerly. When Phoenix retreated from the hacker competition, Haze followed suit, and even left the hacker world. Their story became a legend in their circle, and everyone had heard about it even if they had never met them. If Renee wanted to return to the circle again, Justin would immediately follow suit.
"Stefan!" Renee answered directly.Justin's expression immediately changed. "No way!""Why not?" Renee huffed, then complained, "I rarely ask for your help. I just need you to find someone's IP address, which you said was easy to do, but you don't even want to help me with that." "You don't understand!" Justin sighed. "He's a special case. I can even get you the president's IP address, but I'm sorry, just don't ask me to get you Stefan's." There was only one reason he couldn't do it—Austin had specifically warned Justin not to stick his nose into Stefan's affairs before he left for Beach City, and told him that if he did, he would break his legs. Justin loved his legs too much to disobey Austin. "Please!" Renee put her hands together and begged, "You know I've been going mad searching for him. This is the only clue he left behind, but I can't use it the way you can. Please do me a favor and help me crack it. I'm sure it won't take up much of your time." Justin shifted uncomfor