Chapter 142: Hand Him Over.
Chapter 142
Nyx was sitting there quietly, calmly drinking a steaming hot cup of coffee. And not just any kind of coffee, but the black ones with strong taste.
She was still dressed in her pitch black night wear which was a bit surprising, considering how she was this underworld, mafia queenpin and most importantly a business woman.
So wasn’t she supposed to be dressed for work?
Hearing the sound of their footsteps, she didn’t look up immediately, taking another slow sip from her coffee before finally raising her gaze to greet them.
Nyx took one look at their disheveled hair, and slightly sweaty face.
"Looks like you guys are just coming from the training room." Nyx said calmly, her voice smooth and even. She gestured toward the massive spread of breakfast dishes that her staff had already laid out on the table. "Sit down and eat before it gets cold."
You didn’t need to tell him twice. Alex and the others took their respective seats around the table.
Immediately after, Doris began stacking her plate with eggs, bacon, and pancakes, diving into the food like a starving animal. Well more like a cute starving animal.
Alex himself was definitely no slouch either. He dug into a massive plate of meat with gusto. Relishing the satisfying taste. He couldn’t help closing his eyes for a second. The head chef or whoever made this dish really knew what they were doing.
This tasted really good. To the point that if he were a judge or food critic, he would give it a solid five star review.
Meanwhile, Jade sat gracefully, choosing lighter portions but eating with a steady, quiet rhythm. As they were in relative silence, Alex’s thoughts began to wander to the back of his mind.
He wanted to talk to the system about the skills he had just copied from Jade. Celestial Thunder and Void Step. Both were incredibly high tier abilities that would give him a massive edge in his next real battle.
Especially if he could practice and learn how to use the combo of Eyes Of Chronos to predict attacks, and Void Step to immediately avoid the said attacks. Now that would be really swell.
’Hey system. My physical stats are getting up there, but I still need to master how to use all these new skills. I’m thinking about once more visiting the training realm one of these days. The real world stakes are getting too high for me to just wing it during an encounter. So mastering this abilities would be really helpful.’
The chibi version of the system popped up in his mind, chewing on a piece of toast that he had absolutely no idea where she got it from. But he decided to not ask.
[Well, that’s actually a smart idea, Alex! The training realm will allow you to practice using all those skills of yours like the Deathfrost Bloom, Eye Of Chronos, and the two latest addition, Celestial Thunder and Void Step, without accidentally destroying someone’s house]
[But I do have to tell you one thing. Or... no worries, I’ll tell you whenever you’re ready to enter the training realm]
’Why can’t you just tell me now?’
[There are two reasons. One, it’s because it’s not really important, and two, Nyx is looking at you with a puzzled expression. Probably wondering why a perfectly sane man is eating ravenously, while at the same time looking absentmindedly]
Alex nearly choked on a piece of meat.
’You could have just led with that!’
The system stuffed the rest of the toast into her mouth and shrugged innocently.
[Now where’s the fun in that?]
Alex resisted the urge to roll his eyes. One of these days, once everything was calm, then he would definitely halt the Television subscription.
He slowly lifted his head and immediately met a pair of beautiful amber eyes staring directly at him.
Nyx raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Any problem?"
Alex blinked, before shaking his head
"Uh. No. There’s no problem."
Nyx took another sip of her coffee.
"You’ve been staring with a distracted gaze while eating for the last thirty seconds."
Alex paused.
"I’m telling you. It’s really nothing. I was just thinking about something minor, that’s all."
Across the table, Doris, who was supposed to still be indifferent to him, swallowed a mouthful of pancakes and pointed her fork at him.
"See? I told you he looked weird. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he was talking with something in his head. Maybe even a ghost."
Alex’s heart almost skipped a bit, but it returned back to normal once he heard the last part of her sentence.
"I’m definitely not talking to a ghost. After all, ghosts aren’t real. And second of all, I do not look weird."
"Mmmm... You kinda do."
"I don’t."
"Sure, whatever floats your boat, kid."
"You know what? I’ll be the mature person here, and not argue further."
"Sure, Mr mature person."
Jade who had been eating quietly this whole while almost laughed after Doris’s words. Even Nyx, the queen of being cold and calm, twitched her lips slightly.
Alex looked at the baby faced girl who was happily eating her food after roasting him. How come he never knew that this girl had such a sharp tongue?
Hmm.. Alex returned to his breakfast with a defeated sigh while his system floated nearby looking like she too wanted to laugh. But a small glare from him made her disappear back into his mind.
For a few minutes, the dining room once more settled into a comfortable silence.
The early morning sunlight had practically streamed through the large windows while the staff nearby quietly moved around in the background. The atmosphere was surprisingly peaceful.
Doris was still eating enough food for five people, but he couldn’t exactly complain since he was also doing the same thing.
Jade remained as quiet as ever. Nyx continued sipping her coffee while occasionally checking messages on her phone.
Alex couldn’t remember the last time he had enjoyed a breakfast this normal in the company of others. Which was exactly why he should have known it wouldn’t last.
Suddenly, the peaceful silence of the dining room was shattered by the loud ringtone echoing from the phone in Nyx’s hand.
Alex noticed the immediate change in the air the moment her beautiful eyes scanned the caller ID on the glowing screen. The calm, maybe even relaxed expression on her face completely vanished, and her eyes turned completely ice-cold.
She swiped the screen, lifting the phone to her ear, and said in a calm tone.
"Chairman Kade.... why do you call?"
Crap! It was the damn Kade family!
What had he ever done to offend these people in the first place, so much so, that they were willing to kill him? even to the point of previously sending two Early Realm Awakened and one Vanguard Realm Awakened to kill him?
Now they had deployed their only Ascendant Realm Awakened after the previous people they had sent failed?
He doubted it’ll be something as little as just offending the damn bastard, Renzo Kade.
A deep male voice echoed faintly from the phone.
"Stop wasting my time, girl. I know that boy is with you. I want you to hand him over."
Nyx calmly placed her coffee cup onto its saucer.
"Sorry, but I’m afraid you’ll have to be more specific."
A brief silence followed. Then chairman Kade’s voice became noticeably colder.
"Don’t play dumb with me, girl. I’m talking about your little boy toy, Alex Walker."
Alex nearly choked on his glass of juice.
Little boy toy?
Across the table, Doris’s eyes narrowed, while Jade’s expression became colder. Even Nyx’s amber eyes briefly flickered toward him before returning to normal.
"I want you to hand him over to me."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. The nearby staff immediately lowered their heads and quietly moved farther away without needing to be told.
Nyx remained completely calm.
"Oh. You mean Alex Walker." She took another sip of coffee before speaking. "I’m afraid I can’t do that."
Alex blinked. For some reason hearing her say that felt strangely satisfying. On the other side of the call, the Chairman Kade spoke again
"And why exactly can’t you do that?"
Nyx leaned back slightly in her chair.
"Because Alex is currently in hiding. Immediately after I brought him back from the police station, he ran away that very same night. So unfortunately, even If I want to help you, I don’t know where he is."
Alex almost admired how smoothly the lie came out. The woman didn’t even blink once.
For several long seconds, the chairman said nothing. Then he finally spoke.
"Do you expect me to believe that?"
"I don’t particularly care what you believe."
A longer pause followed. Alex could practically imagine the old man’s face turning red with anger. Finally Chairman Kade spoke again.
"I see." His voice had become strangely calm all of a sudden. "So that’s how you want to play this."
Nyx expression didn’t change in the slightest.
"Tell me something girl." His tone carried contempt. "You’ve spent so many years building your influence that perhaps you’ve forgotten your place."
If there was anything beyond quiet. That was it right here in the dining room. Even Doris, a huge foodie, had entirely stopped eating her food.
Chairman Kade laughed softly.
"You may be one of the three rulers of the underworld. But you should know that to the Kade family..." his voice hardened. "... the so called underworld rulers are nothing more than slightly bigger ants."
Alex’s eyes narrowed. Doris’s baby face contorted in rage. And Jade’s expression became colder, to the point that faint trace of electricity moved around her fingers.
As for Nyx... Her face remained completely expressionless. Only her amber eyes had become terrifyingly cold.
"Is that a threat, Chairman Kade?"
The Chairman chuckled.
"Think of it however you may, I am just simply reminding you of reality."
Nyx’s fingers lightly tapped against the porcelain cup. "And what reality would that be?"
"The reality is that your little empire only exists because families like mine allow it to exist. In the past I might have turned a blind eye to your constant rejection of my son, but now I demand you hand over that boy."
Alex felt his jaws tighten. The arrogance in the man’s voice was unbelievable. Yet Nyx showed no reaction whatsoever.
"Look girl, you are making a mistake. A very big mistake. All I want is for you to just hand over that boy and everything will be alright as it was."
Nyx calmly asked.
"And what if I don’t?"
"If you don’t..." Chairman Kade paused. "... then the consequences will be yours to bear."
