Chapter 510

The underground bounty order left no room for doubt.

Mercenaries from every corner of the world, regardless of their allegiance, could claim the staggering reward-so long as they completed the mission.

Once issued, the bounty could never be revoked.

For mercenaries, fear was a foreign concept. They lived on the edge, gambling their lives for money.

Cedric sat in his office, eyes flicking to the clock with a furrowed brow.

It was already noon.

Apart from some minor accidents that morning, the day had been unsettlingly quiet.

That was unusual.

His phone, resting on his desk, suddenly vibrated with relentless urgency.

Cedric silenced the call and typed out a message instead.

"What's up? Mywife's in my office, so I can't talk. Just text me."

The moment he hit send, the person on the other end lost all restraint.

One voice message came through. Then another.And another. Each one over a minute long.

Cedric glanced at Daniela, who was lounging on the sofa, lazily scrolling through her phone.

He plugged in his headphones and played the messages.

"Oh my God! Cedric, do you have any idea what just happened? We went all out this morning-fully armed,ready to put our lives on the line to protect you and your wife. But guess what? Do you even know what happened? You wouldn't believe it! Cealmaur-the elite mercenary group-is protecting you. I swear,I thought I was hallucinating. And you know who I saw? Shadow. Right before that whole falling object incident, I actually saw her in person. Cedric, is there something you're not telling us? Do you have some kind of insane, hidden background we don't know about?"

"Shadow. It was really her. And here you are, just sitting in your office, while outside, those bounty-crazed maniacs have already tried and failed hundreds of times. And us? We just stood there and watched. Do you have any idea how incredible Shadow is? She took on an entire army single-handedly! That spinning kick-perfect.Her chokehold-flawless. She was like a ghost, taking them down before they even saw her coming.It was insane! Cedric, be honest-if I begged to join Cealmaur as their janitor, do you think they'd let me?|swear, I'm top-tier when it comes to cleaning bathrooms."

Cedric shut his eyes briefly, already regretting listening this long.

His subordinate had zero ambition.

The voice messages kept rolling in.

He glanced at Daniela again. She was still sprawled on the sofa, completely absorbed in her phone. Gunfire and explosions crackled from the speakers.

He noticed Daniela seemed to have a particular fondness for shooting games.

His subordinate's voice came through again."Cedric, you're a genius. You knew those mercenaries would stop at nothing to get to you, so you hired Cealmaur ahead of time. That's some next-level planning."

Cedric typed back. "No. I didn't hire them."

A second later, his screen flooded with a stream of question marks.

"Then explain why Shadow is here. And more than that-I heard Cealmaur's leader, Clarinda, just publicly announced that you're under her protection. Clarinda never gets involved in bounty orders. She only takes paid assignments. For her to make a statement like that... Cedric, don't even try to tell me there's no story behind this, because I won't buy it."

Cedric looked completely dumbfounded. "Who did you just say is protecting me?" "Clarinda. The boss of Cealmaur."

Cedric stared at his screen, speechless.

"No way! Cedric, don't tell me you seriously had no idea!"

"None at all." Cedric had always disliked the ruthless, bloodstained world of mercenaries. After inheriting Lone Wolf from the previous leader, he had barely touched its operations, steering the group towards legitimate business instead.

When he heard about the underground bounty order, his first instinct had been to resolve it the easy way-by throwing money at the problem.

But for Clarinda to personally declare her protection over him? It was beyond ridiculous.

"Clarinda is a woman. You're a good-looking guy. Maybe she's got a thing for you?"

Cedric let a beat of silence pass before replying evenly, "I'm married. In this lifetime, there's only one woman for me. No matter how impressive Clarinda might be, I'd never be interested in anyone but my wife Now, stop wasting timne and figure out what's going on. Also, check Cealmaur's protection fees. I'll pay them the market rate."

There was a brief hesitation on the other end. "Shadow's rate alone is already insane. And this time, it's not just her. Apparently, their entire base has mobilized. Every single one of them is worth a fortune. If you're paying market rates, you might want to prepare for bankruptcy."

Cedric was too stunned to evenrespond.

Letting out a deep sigh, he turned to Daniela with a wistful expression. "Honey."

Still absorbed in her game, Daniela barely reacted."Hmm?"

"I have an idea," Cedric said, his voice suddenly serious.

"Goon,′′she muttered, her focus still locked on her screen.

Cedric studied her features before murmuring, "If I went bankrupt, would you support me financially? Work is exhausting. I want to retire early and finally see what it's like to be spoiled for once."