The Sweet Rival (Mango Shen and Nathaniel Ye)

"What should we do?"

Mango was a little anxious.

Desmond looked around. They were in a warehouse-like room. There wasn't much in it, just some old clothes. There wouldn't be any hidden mechanisms inside the room.

Then, he sniffed around and whispered, "There should be other exits in this room."

"What?"

Mango looked at Desmond, perplexed.

Next, Desmond said, "I smell something weird."

"Smell? Do you really have a very sharp sense of smell?"

Frankly, Mango wasn't trying to be sarcastic by saying this. Even though it was unpleasant to his ears, Desmond dismissed it and said, "This is a storage room. It has an old and rusty smell in it. However, I can sense a smell of carbonate."

"Carbonate?"

Mango couldn't keep up with his train of thought at all.

What was he trying to say?

However, Desmond did not pay any attention to her doubts. Instead, he quickly began to search.

About a few minutes later, Desmond stood in front of a wall and frowned slightly.

"What's wrong?"

"This should be the exit, but I can't find where the switch is."

Hearing this, Mango walked over with confusion on her face.

Then, she looked around but found nothing suspicious.

"I think I need to consult someone."

"Who is it?"

Desmond didn't know that Mango had external support.

Then, Mango said in a low voice, "My son, the one who called me just now."

"How old is your son?"

"Four years old!"

After saying that, she didn't even bother to look at Desmond's shocked expression. Instead, she directly turned her phone on and called Zion.

"My dear, do you know where's the exit? How do we get out using this wall?"

Next, Zion had a look through the video call and said, "Mommy, turn on your mobile data. I need a remote connection for it to work."

"All right."

After that, Mango did as she was told.

Desmond stood aside, and he was a little surprised when he noticed the interaction. He couldn't believe that such a talented child existed on Planet Earth. However, he reckoned that it wasn't a big deal after recalling his own encounter.

If even a freak like him could exist, then everything was possible, wasn't it?

Then, Zion glanced at Desmond beside Mango and said with a smile, "Mommy, the woman beside you is really pretty."

Upon hearing that, Desmond's expression changed slightly.

Mango cleared her throat in embarrassment and said, "He's a man, Zion."

"Really? Wow, then Mr. Ye has some stiff competition."

"Zion Shen!"

Mango had no idea how her son happened to know about so many things as a child.

Nevertheless, Zion stuck out his tongue cheekily and then quickly typed on the keyboard. Soon, a series of codes appeared on the computer screen.

With a soft ding, the wall in front of Mango suddenly moved and retreated half a meter.

"Oh my god."

Mango was extremely surprised.

If it wasn't for Desmond, she would never have thought that there was a secret passageway behind the wall even if she was locked up here for the rest of her life.

"I can't believe there's really an exit here."

"Mommy, it's not a big deal. They make use of the derivative system's influence and fooled you guys into thinking that it's a wall. In fact, it's not. It's just an electronic door with a passcode. However, cracking the passcode is easy as hell for me."

Zion shrugged his shoulders shamelessly. His arrogant attitude was enough to make one grit their teeth in hatred, especially Mango.

Was this brat hinting that she was dumb?

Seeing Mango's displeased expression, Zion quickly said, "Mommy, we can't talk on the phone for too long. There's a signal detector in the vicinity, and I can't scramble the signal for too long. I'll hang up first, if there's anything you need, just call me."

After that, he quickly hung up the phone.

Then, Mango shook her head helplessly.

Zion's ability was indeed extraordinary.

As he looked at such a lovely and clever boy, Desmond couldn't help but smile.

To be honest, it was really difficult for Mango to resist his charming and irresistible smile.

"If we find my husband later, you'd better not smile in front of him."

"Huh?"

Desmond was slightly startled, but he still nodded.

When the two of them walked in through the door, the switch was triggered, and the strong scent of carbonate wafted over their faces. "Who goes there?"

Suddenly, someone attacked them out of nowhere.

Desmond subconsciously tugged at her from behind, and she noticed that the attacker was actually Merle.

"Merle! What's wrong with you?"

Mango still remembered how Merle had fired a gun at her. She wasn't surprised to see him there, but she was still slightly displeased.

However, Merle didn't seem to recognize Mango at all. He was attacking Mango without hesitation.

Thus, Mango had no choice but to defend herself.

Thankfully Mango had undergone special training from Nathaniel for a period of time, otherwise, she probably wouldn't be able to hold her own against him.

She noticed that Merle's gaze was clouded over as if he was unaware of what was going on.

Meanwhile, Desmond seized the opportunity and whispered, "He seems to be hypnotized by someone. He doesn't seem conscious, and it looks like he's being commanded by someone else."

"Then what should we do? How can we reverse the effects?"

Mango asked anxiously.

Merle was not only her right-hand man but also the manager of the Dark Night Empire. Hence, Mango could not figure out what she would do without him by her side. Therefore, she could never bear to see him in danger.

However, Desmond said, "Hypnosis usually needs a command. We can't do anything unless we find it. Furthermore, he would be in a crippled state if we try to reverse the action blindly." "What do you mean by that?"

"He might become mentally challenged, or be trapped in a vegetative state."

Hence, Mango wasn't feeling too great upon listening to his words.

Honestly, Merle kept attacking Mango as if that was the only thing he knew how to do.

Even though Mango had been treated by Shaquille earlier, she was still exhausted and tired after the fight. Just as she panted for breath, Merle suddenly blacked out and fainted.

"Merle!"

Mango hugged him tightly, as she felt that his entire body was raging hot.

"He's having a fever!"

Next, Mango looked at Desmond.

Desmond shook his head and said, "I am not a doctor, but I can help relieve the fever first. He will still attack you after his fever has subsided unless we disperse the command. Do you still wanna save him regardless?"

"Of course! He is the leader of my people, and he's like a brother to me. He came here because I told him to, and now that things have turned out this way, I can't leave him behind. Even if I have to drag him back to Ocean City, I'll still save him."

At this point, Mango was desperate and

determined.

Meanwhile, Desmond looked at her without saying anything. Then, he bent down to help Merle with his fever.

Mango was currently facing a difficult decision. If she were to bring Merle with her, it would be even more risky. In fact, Merle might even pose as a hindrance to her when he woke up. However, it would be impossible for her to leave him behind either.

On the other hand, Desmond seemed to have seen through her predicament and he said in a low voice, "I can make sure he stays unconscious for a while. If you don't want to leave him behind, I can carry him on my back as well. However, there are too many uncertainties along the way, so it's best if you think about it clearly."

"There's no need to think. Let's just do it. I can't leave Merle behind."

Then, Desmond nodded his head and used a massage technique to put Merle to sleep.

After that, they kept on moving forward with Merle.

The place resembled a research laboratory, and each room required a password to access, and some even needed fingerprints for verification.

Desmond looked at everything in front of him, and it felt as if he had returned to the past.

"This is a research lab," he said calmly. "I don't know what kind of research is going on here. But I ought to remind you that, even if you found your husband and friend, it's likely that they're not the same as before anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Mango frowned slightly. Although she was worried, she had already kind of predicted it. When she found out that it was a research lab, she had an idea of the consequences, but she refused to believe it. Nathaniel was a notable figure in Ocean City and also an outstanding man. Hence, she could never become anyone's puppet and test subject. What would he do if something like this really happened? Nathaniel was a very proud person, and he would rather die than become a subject for experiment.

Besides, Walter was such a carefree person. If he happened to become a different person, she really didn't know what to do then.

However, Desmond acted as if he didn't notice her concerns as he said indifferently, "Anyone who enters this place will become a guinea pig like me. I'm considered a success story. But if the experiment is a failure, then they'll either die or suffer a fate worse than death." "Stop talking! I don't want to listen or believe in anything else until I find him."

Mango quickly interrupted his words, and her expression soured considerably.

However, Desmond looked at her and said in a flat tone, "If you don't have enough courage to handle it, you'd better not go in."

Shut up!"

"Paola, face the problem."

Upon hearing this, Mango almost had an urge to smash her fist into his pretty face.

"Don't think that I'm scared of you. If you dare to say another word, I promise I'll beat you to death."

After she was done threatening him, Mango walked forward.

Desmond looked at her before he sighed softly, and followed her.

She was the one who bought him. Therefore, he had to follow her wherever she went.

Mango was rather perturbed by the situation, but somehow she was slightly excited.

Were Nathaniel and Walter really here?

Then, she sent a video to Zion.

"Darling, there is no one here, but there's definitely a security system. Can you help me find out if your daddy and Uncle Song were recorded in it?"

There was no time for her to search around aimlessly right now, so she could only pin her hopes on Zion.

When Zion looked at the video, he frowned slightly and said, "Mommy, you guys seem to have entered a testing area. It'll be too late even if you leave now."

"It doesn't matter. As long as I can find your daddy, I'm willing to die here."

However, Zion trembled upon listening to her words, and he said softly, "Mommy, you promised me that you would bring Mr. Ye back with you. If you were to die, what would Rita and I do?" "Sorry, darling, it was a slip of the tongue. Don't worry. As long as we find your daddy, we can leave this place. You know how capable your father and Uncle Song are, right?" Mango tried to comfort Zion, but she didn't really know what to do. What if Nathaniel wasn't the same person as before? Would she be able to leave this place safely?