Chapter 161 Don’t Stand in My Way

“If you’re looking for Clive, call him yourself and leave me out of it!”

With that, Tilda walked away.

She was sure Wade had lost his mind. Either that, or he was just plain crazy. Tilda didn’t want to waste another minute dealing with a wacko. Why ruin her mood over someone acting nuts?

Wade’s heart tightened. Instinctively, he hurried after her, blocking Tilda’s path. He wasn’t done yet.

Wade desperately wanted to talk to her. He knew deep down Tilda didn’t want to see him or talk to him at all. Some would say Wade was just being pathetic–clinging on, refusing to give up, shameless even. But honestly, this was the only way he could even stay connected to Tilda, no matter how dumb it looked.

Suddenly, Tilda’s gaze turned icy. “Move it, Wade. Don’t stand in my way. If you really want to get yourself killed, I can make that happen. Don’t forget, even Howard couldn’t take me down. What makes you think you can stop me? I wouldn’t mind sending you off to keep Howard company.”

Did they really think I’m harmless, like some cuddly kitty cat, just because I’m in a good mood and didn’t want to fight? People like Wade need to learn not to push their luck!

“Tilda… I… I have something to ask you,” Wade stammered. “When Dominic was in a coma, he called for his mentor. He kept saying sorry to you. What happened between you and Dominic?”

Trust Wade to bring up the one thing Tilda hated most. The second he mentioned Dominic, Tilda’s anger shot up like a rocket.

“Ask him yourself when he wakes up! Now get out of my way!”

“Tilda–”

Before Wade could finish, Tilda shot out her leg and kicked him hard in the stomach.

Bang!

Wade never saw it coming; he took the kick squarely. Sharp pain exploded through his body. He doubled over, clutching his stomach. His face grimaced in pain, sweat breaking out on his forehead as he dropped to the ground. He no longer had the strength to block Tilda.

“Pathetic,” Tilda muttered. She stepped right over him and left without a backward glance.

At that moment, Wade felt like every bit of pride he had–as a man, as a brother–was shattered. Tilda’s kick left him stunned and powerless. He didn’t even see that coming.

When it came to strength, he wasn’t standing a chance.

As Tilda walked away, the pain in Wade’s stomach finally started to ease. He staggered to his feet, feeling as if every drop of energy had been drained from his body. Wade was soaked in sweat.

“Hahaha!”

Wade couldn’t help but laugh–a bitter, self-deprecating laughter.

Protect Tilda? Yeah, right. Wade, you’re even more pathetic than you thought. Couldn’t even stand up to one kick. Look at you, beat up and humiliated. Who do you think you’re protecting? In Tilda’s eyes, you must look like a total clown who doesn’t know his place.

Wade had always thought his image had hit rock bottom in front of Tilda, but because of his stupidity, he’d found a whole new low. Even Wade himself started to feel like he’d lost all hope.

“Useless. Wade, how could you be so useless! Tilda’s right. The real arrogant fool here… is me!”

He punched the ground hard. Wade could feel the pain shooting through his hand and bones, but he didn’t care. None of it mattered anymore. The pain on the outside was nothing compared to what he felt inside.

Tilda didn’t care about Wade’s little episode. Back at her place, she opened her laptop. She used the information Andy gave her to deep dive into the hackers from Cetherland who hang out on the dark web.

About DJ, that was her own mistake last time. She wasn’t about to let history repeat itself. This time, she would thoroughly check out everyone’s background before reaching out to them.

For Tilda, finding out their true identity wasn’t a big deal. Once she confirmed they hadn’t done anything bad, she considered them to have passed the first test.

Tilda hacked right into their forum. There were only four people in the group. She posted, “Hi, I’m Queen. There’s something I want to discuss with you all. If you’re interested, reply ‘l‘ to this post. I’ll reach out to one of you.”

Meanwhile, Jarrett Bell was slurping instant noodles, eyes glued to a show called Awakening Era.

“Being born as a Cetherlander is the best thing that has ever happened to me. If there’s a next life, I want to be a Cetherlander again.”

“Boohoo! It’s not easy living the way we do. We owe it all to the heroes before us!”

As Jarrett sucked up his noodles, tears kept falling onto the table.