Chapter 73: How’d you get your powers?
April stared at Nat, her mind quickly weighing the options. The thought of being trapped inside a confined, moving vehicle with a literal, unpredictable psychopath who had just brutally beaten a man to death wasn’t exactly ideal.
But walking barefooted and unprotected through an unfamiliar environment as night fell was an even worse nightmare. She had too much to do, and wasting hours hiking back to the city was entirely out of the question.
Fine, she thought, her expression hardening into a look of practical resignation. It’s just a car ride. He won’t risk damaging his newest, most profitable investment anyway.
"Fine," April stated flatly, turning back to the doors. "Do not dilly-dally, Mr. Collins. I value my time."
As they walked out, April saw his sleek, matte-black G-Wagon parked in the gravel lot, waiting for them. It was such a flashy and gorgeous ride.
"Do you like it?" Nat asked, grinning from ear to ear. "This is my baby number two. You’ll be the first person to ride in it with me." He said it to make sure she knew exactly how special she was but April simply nodded.
As they approached the car, April willed her Titanium Pro out of her spatial dimension.
The screen lit up instantly, displaying dozens of missed alerts.
The first thing she paid attention to was the two hundred million deposit that was sitting in her account. It made her chest swell with confidence and contentment. She was going to gain a lot from this encounter.
Afterwards, she went to her inbox. Ignoring the frantic logs, she pulled up her chat with Xavier Reed.
Her previous messages hung on the screen, along with the messages he sent that she never even looked at.
His desperation to know where she was had been so clear but she didn’t think to address his panic. It didn’t matter now anyway. She was already heading back.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard slowly as she was still getting used to using a smart phone.
[April]: The situation is fully resolved. I am currently returning to the city. Where can we meet right now?
She pressed send, the text vanishing into the network as she reached the passenger side of the G-Wagon, ready to face the long, tense drive back to the city.
Inside the luxurious, heavily modified cabin of the car, the acrid scent of leather and expensive cologne hung in the air.
Nat drove with a terrifying, casual negligence. He rested his left elbow on the window panel, propping his chiseled chin lazily against his knuckles, while his right hand loosely held the steering wheel.
His dark, chaotic eyes weren’t even focused on the desolate road ahead; instead, through his thick dark sunglasses, his eyes were fixed entirely on April’s profile.
"How’d you even get your powers?" Nat asked, his voice low, vibrating with a genuine, childlike curiosity that clashed horribly with his monstrous reputation.
He was the first person asking that. Unlike the rest who were cautious about offending her and minding what they asked, he simply looked at her like an interesting little thing.
April sat completely still in the passenger seat, her eyes closed, her breathing slow and even. She didn’t even bother to look at him as she answered flatly, "Not in a way you could ever imagine, Mr. Collins."
She wasn’t lying. To obtain the system, she had to watch the world burn, claw her way through life and endure the agonizing death from a different timeline. But even then, she didn’t even know how she came back or how she got the system.
So, no normal human brain could ever guess the reality of her regression.
Nat let out a short, amused scoff, finally glancing at the road for a split second before his gaze drifted right back to her. "Yeah, right. If it were that easy to imagine, I’d have grabbed some powers of my own by now."
April remained silent, her fingers lightly tapping against her Titanium Pro. A few minutes prior, a ping had disrupted the quiet cabin. It was a precise location drop from Xavier Reed.
He wasn’t taking any chances; the meeting point was a secluded, high-security private airstrip on the edge of the corporate district.
When the G-Wagon finally pulled through the iron gates of the destination, the atmosphere instantly shifted from a casual road trip to a militarized standoff.
A full squad of elite guards stood in a tight, impenetrable formation, their hands resting heavily on their holstered weapons, eyes scanning the perimeter for any sign of an emergency.
But it wasn’t just Xavier Reed and a grim-faced Samuel waiting at the front of the pavilion.
Standing right beside them was Alexander Greels.
An hour earlier, Alexander had stormed directly into Xavier’s executive office, his face flushed with panic after hearing whispers through the grapevine. Is it true? Is it true that Miss April was kidnapped? he had demanded, slamming his hands on the desk, furiously asking Xavier how he could let such a catastrophic failure happen to the woman who had saved his family.
But Xavier had played it off with terrifying corporate chill. There was absolutely no need to tell a hotheaded heir that April had been snatched by an underground monster, especially when her recent text proved she had the entire situation under complete control.
Xavier had simply told him that April had gone to conduct a private, high-stakes business meeting, and that she would reach out shortly for a pickup.
Now, looking at the sheer number of armored escorts and the suffocating tension radiating off Xavier, Alexander couldn’t help but wonder. What kind of person did April go to do business with that requires this level of military-grade security? Is it someone dangerous? The mafia?
He didn’t have to wonder for long.
The matte-black G-Wagon roared to a halt, its tires crunching aggressively against the gravel. The engine died, and the doors clicked open simultaneously.
From the driver’s side, Nat Collins stepped out. He stood to his full, towering height, his vibrant red hair catching the dim light of the runway lamps, and his sunglasses hanging loosely against his nosebridge, looking every bit as imposing, lethal, and blood-soaked as the tales described.
Xavier’s eyes narrowed into dangerously sharp slits the moment he recognized the silhouette.
Samuel’s hand instinctively twitched toward his coat pocket, his jaw locking in pure, defensive instinct.
They were looking at the Golden Dragon—the most feared mafia king in the underground, a man so powerful and unhinged that neither the law nor the city authorities could ever handle him.
Nat took a slow look around the militarized reception, a wide, mocking grin spreading across his face.
"What’s this?" Nat chuckled loudly, his voice booming across the tarmac. "A royal procession for the little seer? How touching."
As April stepped out of the passenger side, smoothing down her dress with her usual unbothered elegance, Nat casually walked around the hood of the car. With complete, unhinged familiarity, he dropped his hand over April’s shoulder.
Smack!
Without a single second of hesitation, April sharply slapped his hand away, her icy gaze cutting up at him. "Don’t get personal, Mr. Collins."
Xavier’s chest subtly heaved as he witnessed the interaction, an intense, possessive darkness flaring deep within his eyes.
Alexander’s jaw literally dropped, his mind completely short-circuiting. He recognized Nat Collins from the intelligence briefings and he definitely knew what kind of dangerous man he was. And yet... April had just... She... she just slapped the hand of the Golden Dragon? Is she insane?
But Nat didn’t snap her neck. He didn’t even get angry. Instead, he just tittered, a manic, delighted giggle escaping his throat as he looked down at her.
"What? I was being completely serious," Nat smirked, tilting his head with an unhinged, playful glint. "Come on, little seer. Let’s just get married. Think of the profit."
"Not interested," April stated flatly, not giving him another word of her breath. She felt it was just a waste.
With absolute composure, she turned her back on the most dangerous mafia lord in the country and walked fearlessly forward toward Xavier’s waiting side.
