[BL] Transmigrated as the Villain CEO's Mermaid Secretary

Chapter 436: Ticking Time

"You see the problem now."

[Got it.]

The gun firing muffled Thiago’s voice even more as he seemed to be pressing a hand over his face, or pulling his collar up over his mouth at the same time.

[You need compatibility stabilization, and you don’t want to pull it from a gene bank because the whole thing stinks.]

"Smart."

[But why ask me. Ask his agency to talk to you; you have power anyway. I heard he’s been off the family radar, shooting something. Three months? Four? Anyways, even if he’s in the middle of a shooting, surely that kind omega kid would run if he knew someone was dying because they couldn’t control their pheromones.]

"Honestly, I don’t know his agency, and it’s pretty tight-lipped around him, because, you know. And I don’t have a close relationship with his people. If I start guessing, asking around in the middle of the night, asking for an actor, it’ll be on the news by the next day. People are not dumb; they could piece something together somehow, even if some parts were not true."

[Ah, so then you also knew the conditions of the Frost patriarch?] Thiago’s tone was wry, even through the chaos behind him.

"Not in detail, really, but I could try and find a common ground with him."

[Let me think about it for a second.]

Another of those chest-thudding impacts in the background. Much closer and louder this time with a crackle of small-arms fire.

A male voice, one Geron thought he recognized but couldn’t quite place, said something, but he didn’t understand what he said.

Geron’s clenched hand tightened.

"Dr. Miranda," he said, very carefully. "What’s happening on your end?"

[...there’s a Zerg here.]

Thiago said after a moment.

[It seemed that amongst the increasing Insectoids that were kept outside the barrier, one managed to sneak inside. Looks like a high-ranking one.]

Geron closed his eyes. He could imagine how grave the situation there was.

"Have you contacted reinforcements already?" he said flatly.

[We have been trying to contact practically anyone for a while now. We didn’t know when it started, but for some reason, we couldn’t contact anyone from the outside. We had a colonel with us, and it seemed that he couldn’t contact anyone either.]

Thiago said in a grave, serious tone.

[We’re lucky that he seemed to have managed to procure some extraction liquid and distributed it to everyone here. Good thing you contacted me first, now we know outside people could contact us, but not from within the estate.]

Geron recalled the location of the forest where he had fought and saved Xavier earlier.

Suddenly, he had a bad feeling and murmured out loud, "Seaside Estate, High Society Club..."

Thiago asked, [How did you know?]

F*ck, Geron cursed as his thoughts were indeed spot on.

He could only say, "Sarah sent a picture to us in the family channel saying that she would hang out and probably stay the night."

Thiago didn’t say anything for a moment.

Then, he asked in a low, almost a whisper voice, seemingly to prevent someone nearby from listening, [Does your wife know?]

Thiago wasn’t asking whether Catalina knew that Sarah was also there. He was asking whether Catalina knew that their daughter—their supposedly missing daughter, Lilianna—was there.

Geron’s jaw tightened, and he said, "Yes."

[Baron.] Thiago’s voice had dropped to almost a murmur now.

He probably walked a bit farther than the group he was with as the background noise started to lower in volume.

[Make sure that you keep Mrs. Gringer at home. I am not kidding. It is very bad out here. We’ve tried to pretend we could solve this by ourselves, but clearly, things were getting out of hand with the existence of those Insectoids outside. We’ve already put almost everyone in one place, opened the barrier, and people on guard, strategically positioned. We can’t afford any more bodies inside to protect. If she tries to come—]

"I’ll check on her."

[Check on her.] Thiago said in a serious, grave, pressing tone.

"I’ll. Check. On. Her." Geron repeated. "I won’t say it another time."

[Keep your word, Baron. Because I can’t guarantee that nothing will happen to her if she isn’t at home. Got it?]

Geron couldn’t say anything more after Thiago said that. Because it was true, that was why he warned Catalina to stay at home. But thinking about her just makes his headache worse.

Now was not the time for this.

Geron took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to ask, "And Lilianna?"

He could hear Thiago breathing on the other side of the line. He already knew what this silence meant. But Geron still wanted to hear it from Thiago’s mouth.

"I’m sorry, Baron."

Geron already knew it, but it still hurt. He had already expected this to happen when Lilianna went missing. But as a father, he still mourned the fact that he couldn’t protect his daughter.

Just like he couldn’t protect his best friend.

Geron pressed the heel of his free hand into his eye until fireworks bloomed behind the lid.

He did not make a sound nor shed a tear. He recalled his daughter Lilianna, his lovely, energetic child.

But now, he had to think of that lovely child he raised with love and care and all the wealth they had accumulated—as a Zerg.

Geron felt like gagging.

A Zerg.

His child became a zerg.

The enemy he most wanted to kill.

Geron hadn’t said a single word; he took deep breaths, controlling his emotions by the second. But no matter what he did, he still couldn’t contain his emotions.

BAM!

He punched the wall and dented it.

"Take care of Sarah," Geron said. His voice came out rougher than he had intended, but level. "Please. Make sure that she’s safe. She’s the only one we have left."

[Understood, Baron] Thiago said.

Geron clenched his teeth before asking a few details, saying his goodbyes, and ending the call.

He stood in the silent hallway, staring into the darkness. A single tear broke loose from the side of his eye and was illuminated by the moonlight.

Geron didn’t wipe it and let it drop onto the dark floor. Soon, he cleared his throat and opened his light brain to call for his wife.

It rang.

And rang.

And rang.

No one answered.

Catalina wasn’t a woman who let calls go unanswered. She even used a robot to answer it on her behalf to apologize if she couldn’t answer right away for some reason.

Geron called again and let it ring until the connection timed out.

Then he called again.

Same result.

His mouth tasted like copper.

She’s probably just sleeping, right? he told himself. It’s almost midnight. Normal people were probably asleep by now. She probably forgot to ask the robot to answer on her behalf because she was that tired. Right?

But Geron couldn’t just dismiss the possibility that Catalina boldly defied him and went to where Lilianna was. After all, they were in the middle of a fight that could continue or end their marriage.

Anything was possible.

Geron exhaled slowly through his teeth. He couldn’t even leave yet because he couldn’t let a very important general be unstable with his own pheromones.

He could not leave yet. Xavier wasn’t stable. Xavier wasn’t even close to stable. And there was no one else in this building cleared to monitor a second-differentiation at this pheromone density without triggering exactly the kind of paper trail Geron was trying to avoid.

What if Xaveir had a complication with his second differentiation while he was away? How could he explain that to the Emperor, the Marshal, and the Hunter Family?

Not only would his life be in line, but every single person connected to him by blood and his wife would be in danger.

But he also couldn’t stay here until sunrise. He could call for reinforcements and ask them to come and help them.

But God knows if Thiago and the people with him at the Seaside Estate could survive the ’increasing’ amount of Insectoids and a high-ranking zerg with the hidden supplies of weapons they had in there.

Because he had also seen the few Insectoids that appeared in the forest. No amount of reinforcements would be enough if it kept increasing, even though you already killed a few.

By then, he wouldn’t just lose one child, but both of them.

Geron was anxious, but he needed to calm down and focus on what he needed the most right now.

Elliot Frost.

Geron opened his light brain and keyed the direct contact Yulian Frost’s resident number at Imperial Hospital. Thiago said that Yulian had been working in the Imperial Hospital, so if he was here, he could contact Yulian much faster than anyone in the Frost Family.

The line picked up on the second ring.

[This is Resident Doctor, Dr. Frost.]

Yulian said in a clear tone, it seemed that he wasn’t asleep.

"Dr. Frost, this is Baron Geron Gringer." He kept his tone level. "I apologize for calling at this hour. I’m calling from the Imperial Hospital on a critical matter. I need to ask your family for a rather unusual favor."