Ch. 2121..2130

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2121 -“Fred,” a low voice came through the phone.

Fred answered, “Yes?”

“Let them do it.”

Fred widened his eyes and subconsciously glanced over his shoulder. The man in the hazmat remained standing there, seemingly waiting for his answer.

Fred walked away a few steps and lowered his voice. “Your Majesty, you know what they’re up to. They aren’t here to disinfect the embassy. They are here to—"

“Find someone, right?” The queen interrupted.

“You knew, yet you…” Fred was puzzled. He thought the queen did not know what the men in hazmat suits were up to. However, she knew, and he wondered why she would let them in.

‘If they do, wouldn’t they…’

“Fred, you must know this is the embassy, not the Royal Palace of Yudonia. How many times can you turn them away? They will keep coming back.” The queen paused momentarily, then said, “Just let them do whatever they want.

“They’ll only give up after conducting a thorough search, and they’ll have no more excuses next time.”

Fred nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

He disconnected the call, then thought for a moment before turning around. He glanced at the man up and down before saying, “How many of you are there?”

“Five,” the Hyderland officer answered, “The others are on different floors. Would you like me to call them over?”

Although he said so, his tone was unfriendly.

“There’s no need. Go ahead and do your job. Make sure you disinfect each room on every floor. If we catch any diseases, I’ll hold your government responsible!” Fred said, pointing at the man.

The man in the hazmat suit replied sarcastically, “Your Grace, I’m sure you know better than us that the virus might not have originated from Burnwken, even though the pandemic started there.

“Besides, the pandemic is a global disaster, and there are many cases in your country. We’re just trying to help eliminate the virus here. As for who’s responsible? It should be the one who started all this, don’t you think?”

Fred caught the drift. “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I’ll try to speak plainly next time.” The man turned on his fogger. “I better get started so I don’t disrupt your work.”

He turned the nozzle over, and Fred stepped back to avoid getting sprayed.

The man held his disinfectant sprayer and started to move around.

A guard neared Fred, asking, “Your Grace, what do we do?”

Fred held up a hand, signaling his men to stand down. However, his gaze remained vicious as he stared after the man in the hazmat suit.

…

Meanwhile, Alexander sprayed each room on every floor using the fogger.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2122 -The embassy was a vast place with many staff. Some of them cursed Alexander in Yudonian, while others remained courteous.

Since the Yudonians could not see his face because of the hazmat suit, he ignored them and continued his search. Alexander carefully checked the rooms and realized they were ordinary offices.

‘It doesn’t look like there are secret passages or chambers around.’

Since he had some in his house, he could more or less spot traces of their existence. However, it was evident there were none in those rooms.

Alexander failed to find anything when he finished checking the whole building. Soon after, he met with the others and learned they had also found nothing. Still, he did not give up and moved to the next building.

Meanwhile, Fred sat in his office and looked at the surveillance feed. He saw the five people exploring each room indifferently until he saw one of the men heading toward the medical room.

Anxious, Fred clenched his fist and moved the mouse to bring up the feed from inside the room. There were two beds inside and some simple medical equipment. However, no one was inside.

Fred was shocked as he switched between different surveillance angles. He checked them carefully and became certain no one was there.

At that moment, the man in the hazmat suit reached the door.

“This is the medical room. You don’t have to disinfect it.” the guard stopped the man in the hazmat suit.

Fred bolted to his feet and looked at the different feeds on the monitor. Then he braced himself against the desk before quickly leaving his office. The guard was arguing with the man when he reached the medical room.

The guard yelled, “I told you there’s no need to disinfect this room! The doctors work here daily and sanitize it regularly.”

“We must ensure it’s hygienic enough for our standards. We have to disinfect every goddamn room, got it?!”

The guard refused to open the door, and the man did not want to leave either.

Fred thundered as he hurried over, “There’s no need to disinfect that room!”

“Your Grace, didn’t you tell us to disinfect every room?”

Fred signaled the guard to move aside with a nod, then turned to face the man, “Yes, but this is the medical room, which undergoes sanitization many times daily. It doesn’t need to be disinfected by you, does it?”

“To ensure the place is 100% safe, I hope you cooperate with us. Come on. It won’t even take two minutes.”

Fred stared at the man in the hazmat suit, then raised his brow. “Well, I’ll let you inside, but you must agree to a condition.”

“We’re just going inside to disinfect the place for your workers’ safety. What condition are you talking about?” The man chuckled.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2123 -Fred smiled. “I’m not asking for much. I only hope you guys stop coming here after finishing your work today. We can cooperate, but you will disrupt our daily work if you keep coming here for inspections.

“As you understand, there are confidential materials in our embassy. If anything goes wrong, it wouldn’t be good for the ties between our countries, would it?”

Fred was reasonable, and the man in the hazmat suit could not disagree with him. Therefore, he looked at Fred deeply before nodding. “You’re right.”

Fred said indifferently, “So, you must promise not to disturb us again after this. At least not so soon.”

The man did not respond to Fred immediately. Instead, he spoke to someone through his Bluetooth earpiece before telling Fred, “Okay, my leader has agreed to your reasonable request.”

“Excellent. Go ahead then.” Fred opened the door and added, “Not only this room, okay? Feel free to search—oh, I mean, disinfect every room. However, I hope you can hurry up. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and any delays could affect the dealings between our two countries.”

“Don’t worry. We’re professional and fast.” Unperturbed, the man entered with his fogger.

No one was in the room, and the beds were tidy, but the window was too high for anyone to look outside. The place also lacked ample natural light.

“This room hardly gets any sunlight. It’s not good for a patient, is it?” The man in the hazmat suit said as he turned halfway to Fred.

Fred said indifferently, “This is just a medical room to dress wounds. We don’t use it for long stays. Does it bother you? You’re just here to disinfect the place, aren’t you?”

“Well, it’s an occupational hazard,” the man said, then started to fog the room.

Fred stood at the doorway and stared coldly at the man as the potent smell of disinfectant filled the air. He said bluntly, “Is your disinfectant bad for us? We'll hold you guys responsible if we suffer any side effects.”

“It’s just a standard disinfectant. I believe your doctors use it too. There’s no need to freak out over it, Your Grace.”

Fred raised a brow, revealing a hint of anger. However, he did not argue and simply looked on as the man went around the room twice. After a few moments, Fred asked, “Are you finished?”

“Yup!” The man in the hazmat suit nodded and looked around the room before exiting. “The room isn't huge, but there are fire safety concerns. We hope you guys can address them.”

“Well, I believe they’re none of your concern. Also, please remember what you promised me earlier. Don't go back on your word and show up with some other agenda under the guise of fire safety a few days later, got it?" Fred said with his arms crossed.

“We’re not here to cause you trouble, Your Grace. I hope you understand that.”

“Of course I do!” Fred smiled and said, “However, I’ve been cooperative, so I hope you complete your job today.”

“We sure will.” The man in the hazmat suit nodded and proceeded to the next room.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2124 -This time, Fred did not follow the man. Instead, he turned and looked around the disinfected room. Since the room was tidy and only had a few simple things inside, he could check the entire place in one glance.

Soon after, he held the door handle and gently shut the door before returning to his office.

About an hour later, the workers finished disinfecting the building. The five people gathered in the lobby and exchanged quiet looks.

“So?!” Fred thundered as he descended the stairs. “Did you finish disinfecting every room?”

“Yes, Your Grace,” the leader answered, “Thank you for cooperating with us.”

“What kind of virus are you dealing with now? It won’t spread to our place, will it?” Fred asked.

“It likely won’t, but we can’t guarantee that. From what I know, Your Grace has studied medicine, so I’m sure you understand.”

Nodding, Fred chuckled. “Since you’ve completed your job, please keep your promise. Don’t come disturbing us again so soon.”

“We’re not here to disturb you, sir. We’re just doing our job—"

Fred shook his head and interrupted by clicking his tongue and saying, “Enough of your scripted lines, all right?”

“Please hurry up and leave. We have a lot of important stuff to do and have no time to chat with you guys.” He then turned to leave.

One of the men gazed after Fred and asked, “Your Grace, did you hurt your arm?”

Fred stopped and glanced at his arm suspended in a sling. Then he turned and answered, “Yes, I fell two days ago. So you can see how challenging it is for me to work while injured, right? Still, you came to cause me as much trouble as possible.”

He shrugged and continued, “But I’ll let it slide since I’m forgiving.”

“Why would you need a sling from such a simple fall? Did you break your arm? It could be severe, you know? Would you like us to examine it?”

Fred chuckled. “No need. I have doctors here. Besides, you’re just here to disinfect the place. What do you know about fixing an arm?”

“Well, I know a thing or two about herbal medicine. Would you like to give it a shot, Your Grace?” The man spoke with a tempting tone, and Fred thought his eyes looked familiar.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2125 -Fred slowly looked the man in the eyes. “You seem familiar. Since you’ve completed your disinfection work, why don’t you remove your hazmat suit before we talk?”

“Sorry, I’m on duty and can’t just take it off. However, I’ll still be able to help you with your arm.” He took a step forward to grab it.

Fred stepped back and avoided the man’s grasp. “Thanks, but no thanks! Although I’ve heard many good things about herbal medicine, I trust our doctors more.”

He was blunt, and his gaze was hostile.

Seeing him so, the man in the hazmat suit did not insist. “Well, it’s your call, Your Grace. We better get going now.”

Immediately after, he headed out and led his team away. However, one person remained still, as if his feet were glued to the floor, staring at Fred. The person beside him noticed it and dragged him along forcefully.

Fred sneered as he stared after the five people in hazmat suits.

When the team returned to the minivan, Mike removed his suit before sighing. “Why the hell did you drag me out? We failed to find anyone.”

He was upset, thinking their trip was a waste of time.

“What can we achieve by overstaying? We checked every room on all floors, didn’t we?” Alexander looked just as disappointed but remained calm as usual.

Mike got angry, saying, “There must be a secret chamber or something we’ve overlooked. We can’t just leave like this!”

“Hey!” Alexander asked, “What did you promise me before we came?”

Mike was stumped. He promised he would stay calm and do everything Alexander said. That was why Alexander allowed him to come along in the first place. Still, Mike could not take it.

The group knew Lily and the twins were there and thought they could find them. However, they uncovered nothing, not even a clue of their whereabouts. Furthermore, it was their second attempt.

Although X Department helped them this time, they still failed their mission. Therefore, it would be even harder to reaccess the embassy. Worse, their actions might alarm the organization.

“Fuck!” Mike slammed the car seat in frustration.

Alexander said casually, “Well, we did discover something.”

Edward, sitting beside Alexander, turned to look at him in puzzlement.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2126-Mike was surprised. “What did you discover?”

“Didn’t you notice Fred’s injured arm?” Alexander looked at the two.

Edward and Mike exchanged a puzzled look.

“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? Didn’t he say that he fell?” Mike asked with a frown. “Oh, why did you insist on helping with his arm? Who cares if he breaks it?”

Alexander shook his head. “Why do you think he refused to let me try even though I insisted?”

“How would I know?”

“Because he has something to hide,” Alexander said blandly, “He’s also a lot smarter and alert than we thought.”

Since Fred had decisively turned him down, it meant he had guessed Alexander’s intentions. Meanwhile, Mike and Edward were unaware of what it was all about. Of course, Fred could also be suspicious of Alexander.

Mike was puzzled. “Is there anything suspicious about his injured arm?”

Edward caught on. “You think it has something to do with Lily?”

Alexander nodded.

Although Mike could not understand it, Edward could. After all, Fred’s arm was dislocated, not broken. Since Fred’s arm was at an odd angle, it reminded Alexander of one of Lily’s unique techniques.

Even though the doctor had applied a splint to the arm, Alexander noticed the unusual angle. He did not notice it at first glance, but he did when Fred turned to leave. Thus, Alexander attempted to probe by offering his help.

However, Fred had become alert and turned him down. Of course, Fred was probably cautious, but he might also have done that to hide the truth.

“So, what does it mean?”

“It means Lily is inside the embassy,” Edward said confidently.

“Well, we knew that. Still, we couldn’t find her.”

Alexander waved. “No, his injury should be recent since the splint and gauge looked freshly applied. In other words, he only just got hurt. Which means…”

“Lily is there right now!” Mike shouted excitedly, finally catching on. He sprang to his feet and said, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go in and rescue her!”

However, he was too excited and forgot he was inside a minivan, bumping his head before dropping to his seat again.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2127-“Why not?!” he exclaimed.

“We just left there. Besides, we did a thorough search just now and found nothing.” Alexander looked at him calmly. “Do you think we can find them if we go in again?”

“Maybe our search wasn’t thorough enough! Perhaps we can find a secret room or passage if we try harder. We might just find Lily inside.” Mike’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Who knows, Nicky might be with her too!”

He missed his son so much that he could not think straight. Although he could not meet his son when he worked for the “boss,” he had occasional video calls with Nick.

Mike could hear his son’s voice and see his face then. However, he did not know if his son was still alive after not seeing or hearing from him for so long. Mike only kept himself going by thinking of his son.

“Please calm down.” Alexander held Mike down with both hands, knowing how he felt.

“Do you think I don’t want to go in and search the place again? I even wanted to bulldoze it to the ground if it could help me find Lily and my children. Still, do you think we can do that?” Alexander almost shouted at the end.

His voice brought Mike to reality, and the latter stared at Alexander stupidly.

“The more anxious we are, the more we must stay calm. Being reckless will only lead to us making mistakes that they could use against us. Worse, they might use those mistakes against our loved ones.”

After taking a deep breath, Alexander continued, “Didn’t we search thoroughly enough just now?”

Mike was stumped but knew he was right.

‘I don’t know about the others, but I was as thorough as possible. I even checked the racks and desks so often that I nearly fought with the embassy staff. I tried not to overdo it but still nearly got into trouble.

‘Still, I’m sure Alex was just as thorough. I doubt he'd miss anything unusual about the rooms since he noticed what was wrong with the duke’s arm. Unfortunately, it won’t make a difference if we go in again.’

Mike gradually lost hope as he fell into despair. “So, there’s nothing we can do? Now that Lily has given birth, she’ll face a greater danger.”

‘Rhea said they would experiment on Lily after she gave birth. Her life will be at risk once she recovers from her C-section.’

However, no one knew what the experiment was or if it required a specific environment or condition.

Alexander looked grim. He knew what kind of danger his wife was in. He sighed and sounded like he was talking to himself and the others, saying, “Let’s not be pessimistic. Perhaps the situation isn’t as bad as we imagine.”

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2128-Alexander leaned into his seat and gazed at the embassy as Mike and Edward looked at him. After some thought, Alexander said, “If Lily was the one who injured Fred’s arm, it shows she’s well enough to fight back, at least for now.

“Since they need her body, I doubt they’d hurt her before the experiment. Even if Lily dislocated Fred’s arm, he couldn’t do anything to her. We should consider it a good sign.

Mike scratched his head, not entirely comforted by Alexander’s words. “So, what can we do now?”

After all, they could not go inside the embassy and openly search for Lily, nor could they rescue Nick.

“I’ll have my men stationed outside the embassy. Tell your men to keep a close watch on all possible routes to prevent them from relocating Lily,” After a pause, Alexander continued, “I’ll figure something out.”

The situation was tricky because of these people’s statuses. Alexander would know how to deal with them if they were ordinary businesspeople or low-ranking officials. However, Alexander had to be careful since it was not a matter between families or business groups.

“What they’re doing can endanger the world. We must gain evidence to expose their inhumane experiments to the public!”

…

After ensuring the disinfecting crew had left, Fred gave his men some instructions before heading to the buildings at the back. Since they remained hidden in the vegetation and absent from the map, it was difficult for people to notice them.

Although these structures were not tall, their interiors had lavish decorations. They were also well-equipped with amenities.

After scanning his fingerprint and swiping his access card, Fred went inside one. He walked briskly to the innermost room, made a greeting gesture with his hand, and said, “Your Majesty, thank goodness for your gift of foresight.”

The queen washed and wiped her hands with a lowered gaze. One might think she might have fallen asleep if not for her hand movements. After washing and drying her hand, she applied a thick layer of hand cream

Immediately after, she looked toward Fred and waved off the attendants. “Leave us.”

When they were alone, the queen asked, “Fred, what happened to your arm?”

“Lily did this to me. Your Majesty, you mustn’t believe her words and allow her to ruin our trust,” Fred hastily said.

“You’ve served me for many years. I know what kind of a person you are,” the queen said casually, “Have those officers left yet?”

“Yes.” Nodding, Fred sighed in relief. “It’s good that you’ve relocated her, Your Majesty. If not, they might’ve found her.”

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2129-“Fred,” the queen said as she gently touched his cheek. “How could you be so careless after serving me for so long?”

Taken aback, Fred lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Indeed, I was careless, but I didn’t want to let them in the first—"

“Could you have stopped them?” The queen cocked her head and smiled.

However, her tone gave Fred a terrible feeling. “Your Majesty?”

“Do you know other nations have unfavorable opinions about Yudonia? There’s even a rumor that the pandemic virus originated from our country.” Although her eyes were a little cloudy, they still evoked an overwhelming sense of threat.

Fred felt a chill run down his spine as he responded, “I’ll find out who spread the rumor and shut them up, Your Majesty. Just leave it to me.”

However, the queen smiled and shook her head, saying, “No, Fred! Do you think you can shut them up forever? Besides, can you tell everyone in the world to shut up?”

“Your Majesty—"

“Don’t be quick to deny it or resort to violence in such a hurry. Violence can’t solve every problem, can it?” She spoke gently but sounded unnerving, “Tell me about the lab.”

The queen lifted Fred’s chin and forced him to look into her eyes.

“T-The lab…” Fred’s teeth chattered slightly. He looked at the queen and felt she had regained the vigor she possessed ten years ago. “The lab is…”

Suddenly, he backed off and dropped to one knee. “Your Majesty, I admit I’ve done some things without your knowledge, but I swear I did it all for you and Yudonia’s future! I-I didn’t do them for me.”

“Of course, I know you’re loyal to me.” The queen remained calm as if nothing could agitate her. She smiled faintly and continued, “But my dear Fred, I don’t want to hear how loyal you are now. I just want to know everything about the lab.”

Her eyes widened as she spoke.

Fred tried hiding his shivers as he breathed deeply to calm himself. “Your Majesty, it’s my fault for operating the lab behind your back. I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t know whether or not it would succeed.

“If it failed and word got out, the media would’ve had a field day. I knew it would have impacted you severely, so I decided to shoulder the burden and avoid telling you about it.”

After intently listening to Fred, the queen said, “So you’re saying I should thank you for it?”

“N-No, no!” Fred shook his head repeatedly, then continued, “I was just doing what was necessary. I only wish you would trust me and not let someone with an ulterior motive mislead you.”

“Who are you referring to?” the queen asked.

“Well… you should know, Your Majesty,” Fred answered, somewhat flustered. His eyes were shifty as he gulped nervously.

After a momentary silence, the queen looked up and sighed. “Fred, you still haven’t told me what the lab has been doing.”

Fred fell silent. He did not expect the queen to be so unrelenting.

Spoiled by mr. russell chapter 2130-Although Fred could appease the queen with just a few words in the past, she would not let it go this time. After contemplating for a moment, Fred straightened up, saying, “All right, Your Majesty. I'll tell you since you’ve already discovered it.

“The lab started as a small workshop. You know I’ve been working on the R10 experiment for you. R10 is a codename. We call it that because there were others.”

The queen raised her brow. “You’re saying there were nine other similar experiments?”

“Yes.” He nodded after a moment’s hesitation.

The queen tilted her head slightly. “What about after R10? Were there any other experiments?”

Fred looked at her and seemed to assess whether or not to tell her. After a few seconds, he nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

He was unsure how much the queen knew and dared not probe. After all, he knew what she was like after serving her for nearly 30 years.

The queen might appear kind and approachable to others, but only Fred knew about her ruthless side when dealing with her enemies. Even he could not predict what the queen would do to them.

“How many?”

“There are more than ten, but most failed and shouldn’t continue.” He tried to be truthful.

“So you’ve conducted all these experiments for me?” The queen looked at him with a smile.

Fred could not tell if she was pleased or upset because she spoke flatly. Still, he straightened up again and answered, “No.”

“Oh?”

“I admit I didn’t conduct all of them for you, Your Majesty. Instead, I did them for Yudonia!” Fred’s gaze was firm as he added, “Also, a virus our lab created caused the pandemic in Burnwken. However, that wasn’t my initial intention.”

“Fred.” The queen spoke his name, then remained quiet for some time.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Fred answered, awaiting her instructions.

However, the queen, sitting in her wheelchair, simply stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. After a while, she looked at him conflictedly, sorrowfully, and then angrily. “Do you know how many of our people died during the pandemic?”