True Immortal Heart-Chapter 38: Viper Tells a Story

As for the plans for the future, they could be considered temporarily stable. Only after gaining enough strength would it be time to expand their influence.

"Hey, when are you planning to give them the order to move?" Dusk asked.

But Viper shook her head.

"I won’t be giving any orders. This time, it’s too important—I’ll be calling a meeting instead. Which, of course, means you don’t need to attend. You don’t exactly hold any position in the gang anyway."

"Suit yourself. But am I free to move on my own now? I can’t really do anything just hanging around you all day." Dusk replied.

He wasn’t particularly interested in a mafia gang meeting. After all, the meeting’s agenda wasn’t going to involve assassinating him.

Viper didn’t respond immediately, her mind drifting elsewhere—not about the possibility of Dusk escaping, of course.

At this point, their interests were too tightly intertwined. Neither of them had anything to gain from harming the other, at least not in the short term.

"Can you come with me tonight?" she asked.

Hearing that, Dusk’s mind immediately jumped to some rather inappropriate ideas. Instinctively, his body moved away from her.

Seeing him back away like that, a vein twitched on her forehead. She strode forward, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him in.

"Hey, what kind of attitude is that? I’m not interested in your body, so quit flinching."

That made Dusk feel a little awkward. Dealing with someone as moody as her always seemed to mess with his ability to think straight.

"What exactly do you want to do?" he asked, trying to recall if there was any event tonight that might require action.

"You still remember that bitch—Seraphine, I mean? That damned woman gave me an earful earlier. I’m not letting that slide. Tonight, I swear her house is going to be the brightest thing in the city." Viper said.

Dusk could sense a bit of killing intent radiating from her. She didn’t seem like someone who actively sought out murder, but if the opportunity presented itself tonight... she might not hold back from taking a few lives.

Dusk figured Seraphine must be incredibly unlucky to have crossed someone as crazy as this woman. Even he wouldn’t dare to provoke her without careful consideration.

"Why should I care? I wasn’t the one she insulted," Dusk muttered, brushing her off with indifference.

Viper, unfazed by his defiance, didn’t bother pressing the issue. Whatever she wanted done, she’d find her own way to make it happen.

"I was going to take advantage of tonight to help you harvest a few more hearts and give you some freedom to move around, but since you’re not interested, just sit tight and behave," she said, smirking.

If this were before, Dusk might’ve been tempted by the offer of more hearts. But now, the system had already set conditions for him to reach Rank 1, so collecting more didn’t mean much at the moment.

Still, the idea of being allowed to move freely was highly appealing.

"Wait, hold on! I wasn’t finished talking. Since I wasn’t the one she insulted, that’s exactly why I should go with you—to help you vent your anger! We need to strengthen our bond as... comprehensive strategic partners," Dusk said, lowering his voice and sounding rather pitiful.

Viper didn’t even bother hiding the contempt on her face. She turned away from him, refusing to make eye contact.

"Hmph, and here I thought you had some backbone. Turns out you’re just a shameless coward."

"Ha! What good is being stubborn? Can I eat it? Will it help me break through? Will you let me go if I’m more stubborn? The answer is no to all of those, so why should I care?" Dusk laughed, completely unfazed.

She might’ve been a little nuts, but Dusk knew one thing—she wasn’t the type to break her word.

In most cases, he trusted that she would do exactly what she said she would.

Viper glanced at her watch. There was still plenty of time, and honestly, she didn’t have much to do at the moment. She grabbed Dusk’s arm and pulled him down into a chair.

"Want to hear a story about my past?"

"No," Dusk replied flatly. He had no desire to dig into the backstory of a madwoman.

But what he wanted didn’t matter. What she did was another story entirely.

"Hmph, acting all high and mighty? You’re not going anywhere anyway. Just sitting around waiting is boring, so I’ll start talking. A long time ago, when I was still a young lady—around sixteen, I think..." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

...

Inside a grand estate belonging to the family, her father sat solemnly before his children. At that time, Viper was just one among them—nothing about her stood out.

"You are all old enough now to shoulder the responsibilities of this family. It’s time I told you the rule passed down from my father. Whoever kills me... will become the boss of The Crimson Vow!"

His sharp, cold voice caused every heartbeat in the room to skip. It was, quite frankly, terrifying as hell.

They all knew their family was involved in the mafia, but in truth, they had been raised in a relatively normal environment—just like the children of any other powerful, noble household.

They had never participated in the rules of the underworld nor in its blood-soaked rituals.

"Father, how could you say something like that? What kind of child would ever kill their own father?" One of the siblings protested.

But the old man was unmoved. He replied coldly:

"You’re all old enough to make your own decisions. My job is to inform you—not to force you. Just remember one thing: if you ever choose to come for me... I will do the same. So be very careful."

The oppressive aura he released at that moment sent shivers down the spines of the still-naive youths, who had yet to step fully into the shadows of the underworld.

Viper, however, was the exception.

She didn’t flinch. She didn’t seem shocked or frightened. Instead, she remained calm—her eyes quietly calculating something.

’It’s not that simple. There’s something more behind his words. Wait... Why doesn’t Father have any brothers or even a living mother, while Grandfather had so many wives?’

A sudden realization flickered in her mind.

Finally, she understood what had to be done if she wanted that seat at the top.

She remembered something her father had once said about her grandfather:

"The pinnacle of an organization is a throne reserved for only one person. And so, the one who attains it must eliminate all those who have the slightest possibility of taking it away."

It was from that very moment that the first spark of a plan for the entire family ignited in her heart.

But for now, she couldn’t do it alone. She would need help—lots of help.