Possessed No More: The True Star Returns to Claim Her Throne-Chapter 18: Justin Locke

She didn’t even spare an extra punctuation mark.

Then she replied to Jack of Spades: "Been a bit busy today. I didn’t see your messages."

Jack of Spades: "LI, what have you been so busy with? I got back in the country yesterday. Can you really not spare any time to meet?"

Riley Perry thought for a moment. They had been friends for five years, and although she herself had disappeared for three of them, they were still on pretty good terms. Meeting up wasn’t out of the question.

After all, she had personally promised before the incident. So, a meeting it was.

LI: "I’m at the film park. If it’s not convenient for you, how about we wait until I’m back in Dragonspire?"

Jack of Spades sent a laughing emoji: "LI, don’t you know my family is from Serenity City?!"

LI: "You’re not in Serenity City right now, are you?"

Jack of Spades: "That’s right. Send me your exact address. I’ll head over right away."

Riley Perry sent him the address, followed by her private number, and then put it out of her mind.

Her phone was dual-SIM. Since she had a spare slot, she’d put in two cards: one she’d been using all along, and a new one. She gave Jack of Spades the new number.

Five minutes later, her contact finally sent a helpless emoji, followed by a long string of English. The gist was that processing the bounty claim would take time. It was a mere 500,000 M gold; was she afraid he’d run off with it?

The mission to capture an international criminal sounded glamorous, but the prize money really wasn’t much. Fortunately, it hadn’t taken her long. She could just consider it a favor for a friend.

’That’s 500,000 dollars, and to them, it’s just "a mere trifle."’ ’Why are there so many rich people in the world, and I can’t be one of them?’

’Whatever. It’s not worth getting angry at them. I just need to start working toward my next half a million dollars.’

...

At midnight, in the quiet underground parking garage of a hotel, the sounds of kicking, beating, and muffled groans broke the silence intermittently. "Run! Why aren’t you running now? Our boss wants you dead. You think you can escape?"

Justin Locke was a pathetic sight, sprawled on the ground. His face, already scruffy with stubble, was now a swollen, bruised mess, beaten beyond recognition. His eyes were puffed up and swollen shut. A gash on his leg was bleeding profusely, and the expensive camera he’d bought had been smashed to pieces.

His vision was already blurring; he couldn’t make out the faces of the people around him.

But he still forced his eyes open, glaring at the thugs in front of him. "Didn’t you... want to kill me? If you have the guts, then make it quick." ’Just don’t let me catch my breath.’

His voice was intermittent, his breathing ragged and loud. He had clearly been beaten severely. These people really were trying to kill him.

"Heh, you want a quick death? In your dreams! Go on, break his legs first. Keep him from running. We’ll take our time." He was just some orphan; no one would even come looking if he died. They felt no pressure at all getting rid of someone like him.

One of the leader’s subordinates grabbed a club and walked over. Just as the club was about to fall, a crisp, clear female voice suddenly rang out, "Well now, did I just stumble upon a murder scene?"

The man with the club was so startled by the sudden voice that he shivered, nearly dropping the iron rod in his hand!

The spacious underground garage fell silent in an instant.

When the half-dead Justin Locke heard the voice, he felt as if a ray of light had suddenly pierced his world of darkness. Even though his eyes couldn’t make out what the person standing in the distance looked like, his heart filled with gratitude.

’Anyone who wasn’t a fool would have run as far away as possible in this situation, but this person had stepped forward. No, I can’t let her get dragged into this because of me.’

"You, run! Quick..." ’Don’t throw your life away for someone like me.’

The leader of the group laughed arrogantly. "Run? HAHAHA... In your dreams!"

The young woman before them wore a long white shirt that reached the tops of her thighs, paired with light gray wide-leg pants and white sneakers. Her waist-length hair was worn loose. Combined with what she had just said, she looked, in the eyes of these black-clad thugs, like a naive and somewhat foolish high school student.

No, a *beautiful* and naive high school student!

’A woman this beautiful, delivering herself right to our doorstep? If we bring her to the boss, there’ll be a huge reward in it for us!’

Riley Perry’s lips curved into a smile. "But I don’t feel like leaving. See, I’ve already called the police~ The cops will be on the scene in one minute, tops."

"Let me give you some friendly advice. If you stop the crime before any harm is done, you can be exempted from punishment."

"If harm has been done, the punishment can be reduced. But if you continue, even if you don’t succeed in the end, you can still go to prison."

The black-clad thugs: ’Damn it, where did this idiot girl come from? Did she really just show up to lecture us on the law?’

"Let’s grab this chick, too. It’s her own damn fault for stumbling into this."

The thugs received their orders and were about to move in and grab her when, suddenly, the shrill, urgent wail of a police siren blared. The faces of the men in black changed drastically. "Fuck! She really did call the cops! Let’s get out of here!"

WHOOSH. In an instant, the seven or eight large, black-clad men scattered, disappearing from the underground garage in a matter of moments.

Having played the hero and saved the rugged man, Riley Perry had intended to leave right away. But Justin Locke was too severely injured; as soon as the thugs left, he passed out.

What else could she do?

’If they realize I didn’t actually call the police and come back to finish him off, wouldn’t all my effort have been for nothing?’

She searched Justin Locke’s pockets and, as expected, found a set of car keys. She pressed the unlock button, and the sound of a car unlocking chirped from nearby.

Riley Perry lifted Justin Locke and headed straight for the Land Rover. After setting him down inside, she even had the presence of mind to collect the broken camera and put it in the car, too. The attackers had fled in such a hurry that they hadn’t even taken the memory card. There might be something important on it.

The hospital wasn’t far from the hotel, only about a ten-minute drive. She placed him in the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, and immediately sped toward the hospital.

Halfway there, Riley Perry’s phone rang. Seeing it was an unsaved number, she knew it was Jack of Spades. She answered directly, "Give me a minute. A little something came up."

The other party said something, and she simply replied, "Mm-hmm," before hanging up.

Justin Locke lay slumped in the passenger seat, drifting in and out of consciousness. Besides the voice that had just saved him from hell, his last memory before blacking out was of the young woman’s beautiful earlobe.

Riley Perry took care of Justin Locke’s hospital admission and even hired a nurse for him before she left. By the time she returned to the hotel, an hour had passed.

She dialed Jack of Spades’ number. "I’m back. Where are you?"

"Come straight to room 1610 on the sixteenth floor. I’ll be waiting for you, my LI."

"Okay, I’m on my way up."

Soon, Riley Perry took the elevator to the 16th floor and knocked on the door of room 1610.