Chapter 248: Chapter 248: Can Understand, But Can’t Accept

Sometimes, reality can be stranger than fiction, but even so, Chen Ke felt his experiences after traversing to this world were like something out of a novel.

Wasn’t this way too coincidental? Sleery’s last name just happened to match that of Miles, who had gone missing from the West Gold Building, and her father was actually Pankia.

Of course, Sleery had no idea what the relationship between Chen Ke and her father actually was. Right now, she was incredibly anxious, solely focused on finding her father and hoping he could sort everything out.

However, Chen Ke had already guessed Pankia’s current predicament. As a senior executive of Si’s consortium, he had been ousted. And because he had previously managed many of the consortium’s underhand activities, it was only natural that they wanted to silence him.

Pankia himself must have been well aware of the consortium’s modus operandi, after all, he used to do their bidding, so he had gone into hiding early on, waiting for an opportunity to escape.

Chen Ke didn’t know why Pankia had been expelled by the consortium, but he was certain of one thing: Pankia was in Opportunity City.

Those who engage in dirty deeds will sooner or later be sullied–who does heaven spare?

Chen Ke harbored no grudge against Sleery. His previous murderous intent was only with the intention of protecting his own secrets. Now that she was in trouble, Chen Ke did not wish to kick her while she was down.

Sleery’s sports car was incredibly pleasurable to drive. A light tap on the accelerator and it could shoot up to 100 mph in just 1 second. Its luxurious interior also left him in awe; only when he glanced at the emblem in the middle of the steering wheel did he realize he was driving a Jaguar.

“Tell me about your father, Sleery. What kind of man is he?” asked Chen Ke.

Sleery didn’t respond. Chen Ke glanced at her and saw she had leaned back in the seat, her head tilted to one side, fast asleep.

Chen Ke sighed. Sleery’s physical condition was probably at its limit. He didn’t know how long she had been roughed up by those people, but the fact that she had held up until now was quite impressive.

Although he didn’t want to wake Sleery up, without her, Chen Ke had no idea where the lakeside cabin was. So, he reached out his left hand and shook Sleery’s shoulder.

Sleery jolted, her body bouncing up from the seat. She took off her glasses and looked at Chen Ke with a puzzled expression.

“Did I just fall asleep?” she exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, you were sleeping deeply, and you fell asleep quickly. I don’t even know how you managed it,” Chen Ke replied.

“Oh… sorry, Lin Ke, I… feel a bit unwell…” Sleery apologized.

“It’s not your fault… Do you need to go to the hospital first? To get checked out?” Chen Ke asked.

“Are you showing concern for me, Lin?” Sleery chuckled.

“You should be concerned about yourself, Sleery,” Chen Ke said.

“I can handle it, Lin Ke. I’ve been through crazier things… want to hear about them?” Sleery asked with a laugh.

“Not interested,” Chen Ke said.

“Once I see my father, everything will be over. He can solve all problems. He’s powerful, in all of Opportunity City, even Newtown City, his word is law! Besides, it’s a good chance for him to meet you too…” Sleery said.

“When we meet your dad, I hope you’re prepared…” Chen Ke said gravely.

“It sounds like you’re hinting at something? Hmph…” Sleery chuckled; she completely misunderstood Chen Ke’s implication.

Chen Ke didn’t continue the conversation, instead urging Sleery to direct him on where to go next.

He had many questions for Pankia, and finally, he had the chance to clear up all the answers from the beginning to now.

The car sped through the streets of the night, with the straight interstate highway of Opportunity City’s countryside stretching toward the horizon. Black mountains rose and fell in succession, and the forest below swayed gently in the wind under the moonlight, much like a sea of leaves.

After informing Chen Ke about the specific location of the cabin, Sleery fell asleep again. Her skin, soft and smooth as white jade, took on a pale blue glow in the moonlight streaming through the windshield.

Chen Ke believed that Sleery must have spent a lot of money on skincare, and tonight, without any makeup, she looked completely different from when they first met.

Without exaggerated smoky eyes and lip color, nor dressed in frivolous clothing, if previously Sleery had given him the vibe of a disco punk girl, then today, in her silent sleep, she seemed more like a purple-haired princess straight out of a Disney cartoon.

The car’s wheels crunched over rotten branches and wet mud, and the dense woods prevented moonlight from penetrating, forcing Chen Ke to drive slowly, guided only by the headlights.

In the dark forest, fireflies floated by leisurely, their tail lights flickering on and off. Around him, he heard insects chirping, a sound he hadn’t heard in the city for a long time.

After driving two kilometers on the winding, muddy road deeper into the forest, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a large lake.

The surface of the lake was teeming with fireflies, dancing in midair, with the moon reflected in the water, appearing magnified countless times.

At the edge of the lake, Chen Ke found a two-story cabin with a simple wooden dock in front, where a wooden boat was tied up, bobbing on the waves.

Chen Ke parked the car outside the cabin and checked inside using his Spiritual Vision. There was no one there; it seemed Pankia did not use this cabin as one of her hideouts.

When Sleery woke up, she immediately got out of the car, and although she didn’t have Spiritual Vision, she guessed from the pitch-black state of the cabin that her father was not there.

Chen Ke came up behind Sleery and gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, suggesting they rest in the cabin for the night and continue searching for her father in the morning.

“I hope there’s a first aid kit and some food in this place. You need to rest and get treated; we can continue tomorrow,” Chen Ke said, knowing that Sleery had reached her limit.

For a woman in her twenties who had managed to walk to this point after being beaten for so long by four men, Sleery’s constitution was already quite strong.

Of course, she was still far from the vigorous level of women like Lucina and Diana.

Sleery’s expression looked desolate, but she misunderstood Chen Ke’s intention, gazing at him with dazed eyes, as if they were about to spend a night like in a Hollywood blockbuster.

After entering the 21st century, Hollywood films had become very restrained, cutting a lot of the passionate male-female scenes, focusing mainly on character emotional development.

In comparison, during the 70s and 80s, the popular muscle-man action movies of the United Federation often featured a steamy “action” scene between the male and female leads before a big fight, a trope commonly known as “the payoff.”

“The payoff,” as the name suggests, means “about to face the boss, time for a quick romp.” When a handsome man and a beautiful woman shared a room, what would be the point if nothing happened to please the audience?

But Chen Ke didn’t need a payoff.

“You’d better take a rest, I’ll stand watch outside. Those assassins probably won’t leave us in peace. If your father has given this place away to them, we’ll be busy,” Chen Ke said.

“My father wouldn’t give this place up, it holds all the memories of my childhood… Lin Ke, could you help me get to the bed?” Sleery smiled, taking Chen Ke’s hand as they walked into the cabin.

Chen Ke followed her into the cabin which was powered by an outside generator, and found that the cabin also had a fireplace for adding wood and building a fire.

On the walls of the cabin hung many photo frames, most of them pictures of a man and a young girl fishing, planting trees.

That man must be Pankia…

Even the worst of men have families and childhoods. Tiger poison doesn’t eat its young. He could understand Pankia’s choices in his work; after all, it was his job, and he needed to complete his tasks to earn money to provide a queen-like life for Sleery.

But he couldn’t accept it.

“You’re trying to kill me… Pankia, so I’m going to kill you… if your daughter isn’t smart enough, don’t blame me,” Chen Ke thought darkly.