Before she could make out the identity of the black figure, Winnie saw the black muzzle of a gun pointing right at her head.However, she reacted swiftly. With one kick, she booted the gun toward the distance.As the gun fell, the manâs face was revealed in front of Winnie.Upon seeing that familiar face, she couldnât help but let out a chuckle.âZyon, everyone in the entire Fairchild residence is looking for you. I didnât expect you to come on your own.âHaving her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Zyon, Winnie tugged at the necklace on her neck surreptitiously.This necklace of hers was a customized weapon. It wouldnât be a problem for her to bind a pair of hands with the necklace.But it was obvious that Zyon came prepared. This time, he not only had a gun but also a knife.After losing his gun, he pointed the knife at her.He kept circling around her slowly, trying to find a position that would favor his attack.Gritting his teeth, he cursed in a low voice, âYou d*mned woman, I didnât want to lay a finger on you at first. Who knew that you would come to me yourself?âAt that moment, Zyon was so full of himself, but Winnie paid no attention to him.She narrowed her eyes, predicting his next move and the possible countermeasures she might take.When Zyon saw that she didnât speak, he quietly took two steps back.He continued to retreat as he uttered, âI had no intention to hurt you, but youâre blocking my way now. I have no other choice but to take action. Winnie, get out of my way. If you donât want to die, stop blocking me. As long as I can leave this place, youâll be safe.âWinnie tightened her grip on her necklace, her lips curling faintly.âDonât you know that you are a wanted criminal who is currently on a bounty? If I can catch you, I can go to the police station to collect the bounty, and maybe I can get a congratulatory banner for being a good citizen. How could I not participate in such an honorable thing?
Itâs unlikely for me to let you go.ââWhat the f*ck is wrong with you?â Zyon almost chuckled out of great anger, poking his knife in Winnieâs direction. âAre you short of tens of thousands? If you really need money, I can give you one million, but you have to send me out!ââOne million?â A cold smile was plastered on her face. âDo you think Iâm a beggar? I might think about it if you give me ten billion, but I will only think about it. Besides, Iâm afraid you canât even afford to pay one hundred now. Am I right?ââShut the f*ck up!â Winnie was right; Zyon really couldnât fork out a hundred now. And thatâs because of who? Itâs all because of this d*mned woman in front of me now!When that thought crossed his mind, Zyonâs facial expression gradually became vicious. âYou d*mned woman, if it wasnât for you, I wouldnât have become what I am today! Go to h*ll!âAfter shouting those words, he charged straight toward Winnie with the knife in his hand.Having anticipated that he would attack in such a manner, Winnie grasped his hand that was holding the knife using both of her hands in the blink of an eye.After subduing him, she exerted all her strength to jerk Zyonâs wrist to the side violently.With that, his wrist was almost sprained, and the knife naturally fell to the ground.Immediately afterward, she kneed him hard, causing him to bend over in pain.While she was at that, she pinned him to the ground with her knee pressed against his back. She had him taken care of swiftly, but when she was about to tie him up, his hand suddenly broke free.The knife was lying right at the side, so it was clear as day that he wanted to reach for that weapon.There was no way Winnie would give him the chance to do that, so she took the knife first before he did.However, what she didnât know was that it was just Zyonâs feint.He came prepared. Taking advantage of the time when Winnie had one of her hands occupied, he abruptly grabbed a handful of powder from his pocket and threw it in her eyes.She didnât expect there was powder in his pocket, so she was caught off guard when the powder was flung at her.The moment her eyes came into contact with that foreign substance, they burned. She wasnât sure whether the powder was poisonous, so she decided not to open her eyes carelessly.Zyon took that chance to flee.Although Winnie couldnât see at that brief moment, she didnât stay idle. She slit Zyonâs arm when he was scrambling to his feet.Unfortunately, she couldnât chase after him, so she immediately whipped out her phone and dialed Xavierâs number with her eyes barely open.Xavier arrived with his subordinates shortly after.When he saw Winnie leaning against a pillar with her eyes reddened, his eyes turned bloodshot.He clenched his teeth as waves of exasperation surged within him. âFind him! Get him even if you have to turn over every stone in the world, dead or alive!ââXavier!â Winnie couldnât see Xavierâs expression, since she had her eyes closed, but the last three words he had uttered through gritted teeth alarmed her.His illness had never been cured, and under the influence of drugs, his emotions were easily magnified.Once his anger was amplified, things would become riskier, and she didnât want that to happen.Holding onto the railing in the corridor, she stood up and determined Xavierâs position by listening to his voice before heading toward him.Xavier was almost taken over by his anger entirely, his blood rushing to his head and his ears buzzing. Therefore, he didnât hear Winnie calling his name just now.Now that he saw Winnie staggering toward him, the boiling blood in his body calmed down slightly, and his mind went blank for a short moment.Without hesitation, he rushed forward to carry her up.Before she knew it, she felt herself getting lifted up in midair.She wrapped her hands around his neck and frowned. âDonât get riled up. Itâs not worth it.âXavier glanced at her with his head lowered. âDo your eyes still sting? Let me rinse them first. Donât be scared. Iâll be quick.âWhen she heard his words, her furrowed brow relaxed. Even she herself didnât notice that she was smiling.âIâm not scared. I have you with me, donât I? I lacerated Zyonâs arm just now. You should ask them to follow the traces of blood to find him, but itâs dark now, so they need to take a little more effort during the search.ââI know. You donât have to worry about these things.â Xavier scrunched up his brows, guilt brimming in his eyes. âI should have insisted on letting the security guards follow you just now!âWith her eyes closed, Winnie stroked the back of his head gently. âXavier, donât be like this. Itâs not your fault. I was the one who insisted on not bringing the security guards. Besides, itâs actually a good thing. If I was under the protection of the security guards, Zyon wouldnât have had the guts to show himself when he saw he was outnumbered. If that were the case, we wouldnât even get to catch a glimpse of him. But because Iâd gone alone, he couldnât wait to come out of hiding, and I got to injure him. I believe that as long as we follow the bloodstains, we can find some clues.âWhat Winnie had explained made sense, and Xavier understood it well.Despite that, he still couldnât help but stop in his tracks.Perplexed, Winnie asked, âWhatâs wrong? Have we arrived?ââNo!â Xavierâs tone was unusually solemn. He looked at the woman in his arms and continued, âI want to tell you I donât like to trade your safety for Zyonâs whereabouts. I will find him unless heâs died somewhere. I hope you wonât have such thoughts in the future.âShe frowned slightly. âYouâre so fierce. Iâm not a weak, gentle bird gilded in a golden cage. I know what Iâm doing, and I also know if what Iâm doing is meaningful. Butâ¦âBut I will no longer be upset with Xavierâs tone because I know he genuinely cares about me.âBut?â âBut in front of you, Iâm willing to be a fragile, little woman occasionally. After all, even a strong woman longs to be pampered.âXavier couldnât help but hug her closer and press his forehead against hers. âDumbo, with me by your side, you can be fragile all your life.âZyon ran forward desperately, covering the wound on his arm and not knowing where he was going.Suddenly, he bumped into someone.That person was covered from head to toe, so he couldnât see that personâs face. Nevertheless, Zyon could smell that person reeked of alcohol.âWho are you? Stop blocking me! Get out of my way!âThe person Zyon bumped into didnât move. Instead, that person pointed in a direction.âIf you go this way, youâll survive!âWithout further ado, Zyon dashed in that direction.âI canât believe itâs milk powder!â Winnie looked in the mirror and wiped her face, feeling amused. âI was actually defeated by Zyon with a handful of milk powder. I thought it was a drug!ââThat might be his food. The life of a wanted criminal must be difficult,â Xavier remarked casually as he raised his hand to tuck her damp hair behind her ear.âHeâs gone lucky this time then.â Winnie cocked her brow. âSoon enough, heâll have free meals in the prison. Letâs go and see if heâs captured.âThe two of them left the bathroom and saw several security guards pacing in front of a room.Winnie recognized the room with just one glance. Frowning, she looked at Xavier, who was beside her.âIsnât that Grannyâs room? What are they doing here?ââLetâs have a look.âWhen a security guard saw both of them had come, he immediately walked toward the duo.âMr. Xavier, Mrs. Fairchild, we followed the bloodstains and reached here, but the traces of blood vanish here as well. Weâve searched all other places other than Mdm. Sumnerâs room.ââKnock and go inside then. Where is my granny? Is she not in there?â As Winnie questioned the security guard, she strode toward the room.Trailing behind them, the security guard explained, âWeâve knocked on the door, but Mdm. Sumner is very vigilant. She doesnât want to open the door for us, and itâs not right for us to break in.âWinnie quickened her pace. âThatâs normal. I spoke to her when I came over just now. I told her to be more careful. Since youâve searched here and found no one, it seems that he was only passing by just now. He must have stopped the bleeding and gone to another place after that. Check the surveillance footage and look at it carefully.âThe security guard explained, âOkay. The surveillance cameras are connected to the internet. Weâve asked people in the security room to send the footage over, but this building is rarely used. The surveillance cameras here are old and donât have infrared light for imaging, so the images captured are pitch black. We canât see anything. On the contrary, the cameras outside are equipped with infrared light, and the images captured are relatively clear. We saw that there was indeed a black figure running toward here, but we donât know the situation inside.âHearing what the security guard said, Xavier couldnât help but furrow his brows. âCheck the surveillance footage of all the infrared cameras. Donât miss any of it.ââGot it!âWinnie knocked on the door to Jacintaâs room.âGranny, itâs me, Winnie. Iâm back. Itâs safe outside now. You can open the door.ââWinnie, is that really you? There were many people outside just now. They came knocking on the door, saying that they were here to find someone. I didnât open the door for them!âJacintaâs fearful voice came from the dark room, and the lights in the room were turned on later.That was a signal that meant that Jacinta was safe. Seeing that Jacinta was fine, Winnie heaved a sigh of relief.âGranny, you did well. Donât open the door for strangers, but the people just now donât mean harm. Theyâre security guards here, and theyâre all gone now.ââThatâs great. It was quite frightening!â While Jacinta spoke, she opened the door from inside.She wore a smile on her face when she saw Winnie, but the moment she saw Xavier, her face turned grim.Xavier furrowed his brows, but he didnât take Jacintaâs displeasure for him to heart. Instead, he took the initiative to greet her. âIâm glad that youâre fine.ââHmph!â Jacinta snorted coldly. âI might be fine today, but no one can guarantee that Iâll be fine tomorrow. Arenât your family all-powerful and capable? Why canât you guys catch Zyon? As long as heâs not captured, Winnie will never be safe. Do you understand?âXavier replied in a solemn tone, âI know, but I promise you that Iâll definitely catch Zyon and wonât let him harm Winnie.ââCatch him? Itâs been such a long time!âWinnie didnât like Jacinta making things difficult for Xavier, so she took the initiative to interrupt her grandmother. âGranny, Zyon isnât the type who will go down easily. We canât deny the fact that itâs hard to catch him.âWinnie continued, âBy the way, Granny, did you hear anything before the security guards came?ââHuh? Do you mean the fire? I heard it. The fire trucks came, and I saw the flames as well. The fire must be very big.ââYeah, it was big, but the firefighters got it under control. Anyway, I wasnât asking about that. I was asking if you saw Zyon. While I was on my way here just now, I ran into him and fought with him. I cut his arm with a knife, and he was bleeding. Then, the security guards followed the trail of bloodstains and got here, but the traces of blood disappear. Therefore, we surmise that he may have entered this yard. Did you hear anything at that time?ââHmm.â Jacinta thought for a moment before replying, âNo, I didnât. He was a trespasser. He wouldnât make a loud noise, would he?âWinnie nodded. âMaybe heâd already gone somewhere else. Itâs getting late. Why donât I accompany you to rest?âAfter Winnie said that, she turned to Xavier and said, âYou should get going too. Call me if thereâs anything.âIt was true that Xavier still had a lot of things to attend to, so he nodded in agreement.Before he went out of the room, he heard the conversation between Winnie and Jacinta.âGranny, why is there bloodstain on your clothes?ââWhat?â Jacinta was stunned. âWhere is it?ââHere!â Winnie pointed at Jacintaâs sleeve, then took a few sniffs. âAnd there is an alcohol smell in the room. I think it comes from you. I smelled it before. At that time, the alcohol smell was relatively weak. I thought my sense of smell played a trick on me. Why is it so strong now? Granny, did you drink?ââNo!â Jacinta chuckled. âWhy would I drink on my own?âXavier, who had walked to the door, turned back.He did detect the alcohol smell in the room as well, and it was obviously from Jacinta.Jacinta slapped her thigh. âOh, I remember it now! Didnât I turn on the lights just now? I was afraid to turn on the lights when those people were knocking on the door, and I accidentally bumped into a rack in the room. Thatâs the rack. Who knew there was a wine bottle on top? The room was dark, so I couldnât see. Even though the bottle is not entirely shattered, the top of the bottle is broken. I must have cut my hand when I was groping around, and that explains the blood on my sleeve and the alcohol smell on me.âWinnie looked in the direction where Jacinta was pointing and saw that there was indeed a wine bottle with a broken top and a circular liquid stain on the carpet.âWhere is your wound? Let me clean it for you.ââItâs alright!â Jacinta hurriedly covered her sleeve. âItâs just a small wound. Itâs not bleeding now. There is no need to clean it.âMeanwhile, Xavier received a message on his phone that said that the accelerant for the fire was found.Initially, he thought that the accelerant would be something like gasoline, but the photo he received was a photo of a few empty wine bottles.The wine bottles⦠Xavier narrowed his eyes and turned toward the wine bottle on the rack.