Chapter 116: Jasper Rivers, Live Well

Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Jasper Rivers, Live Well

Phoenix was utterly speechless at these words. Seeing the cold, aloof look in Scott Sutton’s eyes, he couldn’t even be bothered to defend himself.

He’d just take those words as a compliment.

Taking on seven women in one night. What was that called? Being incredibly well-endowed and highly skilled. That was an ability other men could only dream of having.

Meanwhile.

While Rian Sinclair was still reeling from Phoenix’s barrage of moves, she had been bundled up and thrown onto a plane.

The moment her feet touched Veridian soil, Rian felt like she had just been blowing things up in The Sunken Isles one second, only to be instantly transported to Kyoro the next. It was just... a bit too out of the blue?

After landing in Kyoro, Quentin Sinclair stood off to the side and asked, "Would you like to rest first, Miss?"

Rian glanced at the sky; it was already around eleven at night. Massaging her temples, she replied, "Let’s go. I’ll rest first."

She had a place to stay here in Kyoro, so they headed straight there. A lot had happened today. After a long bath, her nerves—which had been on edge all afternoon—finally relaxed.

Blowing up the Shrine had caused quite a sensation internationally. Many foreigners were mocking Sakuran for doing absolutely nothing even after their ancestral graves were blown to pieces. Others were praising the person who blew up the Shrine as insanely badass.

But the most excited of all were the Veridians. Discussions were blowing up on foreign Twitter. Seeing the screenshots of Veridian-style English, Rian truly felt that modern netizens could translate absolutely anything.

The incident had also gone viral on Sharkstream. Many people were sharing the video, extracting clips, and overlaying them with hype music. Although those videos were popular, their traction was less than a tenth of Rian’s original upload.

In the end, handled by Quentin, a recording of the livestream had been posted as a video. By now, that upload had nearly ninety million views. The netizens had respectfully dubbed this masterpiece the "Modern History of Resisting the Sunken Isles." Countless people were leaving check-in comments.

Rian didn’t scroll for long. After tipping the streamers she followed as usual, she logged off.

The next morning.

[Ding! You have arrived at a check-in location. Would the host like to check in?]

"Check in."

[Ding! Check-in successful! Congratulations to the host for acquiring Villa No. 7 in Andale’s Starlake Bay.]

Starlake Bay? She actually knew this place well. Back in her school days, her two best friends used to constantly talk about it. They would make grand ambitions, promising that one day they would each own a villa there.

Any properties or corporate rewards she obtained would be simultaneously updated on Donovan Sinclair’s end, so she didn’t need to worry about the logistics.

Rian stayed in Kyoro for a while, checking in at quite a few businesses. Even if she did absolutely nothing now, she could comfortably provide a lifetime of luxury for dozens of people.

During this time, Ash Sinclair sent a few messages before disappearing completely. She had no idea what that kid was up to.

While having afternoon tea, a call came in. Rian only snapped out of her newspaper when Quentin handed her the phone.

"Who is it?"

"There’s no saved contact name, Miss. It’s a Kyoro number."

Rian paused for a moment, then raised her hand. "Give it here."

Quentin passed the phone over. Seeing the familiar string of numbers, Rian answered the call. "What is it?"

Why was he calling her instead of sleeping with Shawn? The person on the other end was none other than the yandere man from before, Jasper Rivers.

Rian leaned lazily against the sofa. Quentin took a few steps back and went to attend to his own duties, leaving the entire living room in pin-drop silence.

A few seconds later, a voice came from the phone. "When did you mess with the Skulls?"

Rian couldn’t recall right away. So much had been going on recently that everything was a blur. She let out a yawn and asked, "What Skulls?"

Jasper clicked his tongue softly. "The Skulls from The Golden Triangle. President Rian, you really are forgetful for such an important person. Wiping out one of their branches without a second thought... you’ve got quite the temper."

Only then did Rian remember the incident at Stonecreek Village. It seemed she had stepped on someone’s toes, but she had left the aftermath to Fiona Sinclair, and he had mentioned it to her.

"Oh, them. What about it? Did they come looking for you?"

Suddenly, Jasper’s soft reprimand could be heard on the other end. Rian didn’t even need to think to know who he was talking to. Who else but Shawn Sterling could make Jasper use such a gentle tone? But she remembered clearly that she hadn’t left any traces behind.

"No, it’s just that when I was investigating them, I noticed some inconsistencies. I didn’t expect that after all this time, you’d still be as formidable as ever."

Rian’s expression remained unchanged, and she didn’t respond.

Jasper clicked his tongue. "Why did you refuse Uncle Forrest’s money back then? If you had taken it, you wouldn’t have lived in such squalor, unable to make any real money."

As Jasper playfully brought up the past, Rian showed little emotion. She chuckled softly. "Do you really think I could have walked away clean if I had taken his money?"

There was no reply from Jasper’s end. A heavy silence hung between them before a low chuckle echoed through the speaker, followed by his cool, magnetic voice.

"You always did see things clearly. Refusing such a massive temptation... have you memorized the Tao Te Ching or something?"

Hearing the subtle relief in Jasper’s words, Rian said softly, "You couldn’t afford not to take it back then. Jasper, remember, that path was your only choice."

She grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the tea table, placed one between her lips, and lit it up. Tilting her head back slightly, she exhaled a thin plume of smoke. "It wasn’t that I saw things clearly. It was because even if I abandoned that path, I still had other options. But you... that was the only path you had."

After Rian finished speaking, there was a long silence on the other end. After a long while, there was the rustling of clothes, followed by the flick of a lighter. A long time passed before Jasper’s hoarse voice came through. "Tell me... do you think I’ll ever be able to live a burden-free life?"

Rian didn’t answer. Jasper wasn’t really asking her; he was asking himself. When he didn’t hear a reply, he let out a soft laugh, and his tone shifted.

"I’ve blocked the Skulls from looking into you. Like I always said, outside of Veridia, I’ve got your back on everything else across Blue Star."

Jasper’s tone was calm. Rian smiled and stubbed out her cigarette. "Jasper, just stay alive."

Hearing a soft hum of agreement from the other side, Rian hung up the phone. Having known Jasper for twelve years, there were some things that didn’t need to be said out loud for the other to understand.

As for Jasper... Rian lowered her head, chuckled softly, and shook her head. He had simply been through too much. Shrouded in layers of mist, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to escape, but rather that he couldn’t. He was forced to sink into the abyss alongside those wretched, depraved souls.

This phone call left her feeling a little suffocated.

Right now, she was meeting up with Jason Rivers, Ulysses Shepherd, and the others. She had been feeling down for a bit earlier, but then someone sent her pet, Bandage, over. Not long after playing with Bandage at the villa, she received a call from Jason. They had originally talked about meeting up whenever they had the time, but upon learning that she was in Kyoro, they dragged her out to hang out right away.

And so, the group had gathered together. Seeing the well-behaved girl among them, Rian’s lips curled into a faint smile.

Jason leaned in. "This little girl was at Wyatt’s house. Since we were coming out to play, we just brought her along."

Ulysses leaned in as well. "My second brother also brought a friend today—the great movie star, Evan Rivers."

Hearing this, Rian turned her head and immediately spotted a man radiating an unapproachable aura. She found it hard to imagine how those two had ended up hanging out. From their personalities alone, they were completely different.