Chapter 163 The Squad’s New Beginning

“Queen, you too… !” Jarrett’s voice turned serious all of a sudden.

He felt like the luckiest person alive.

What is this feeling? Is it a dream come true when an idol and a fan share the same passion? Just having Queen reach out and recognize him felt like the greatest honor of his whole life.

He even felt like Queen’s heart was beating like theirs. They wanted to do something—no matter how small—for the better future of Cetherland.

With Queen now leading their squad, the uncertain road ahead suddenly looked bright and full of hope.

“You tell the other three all the details, then use this number to contact me,” Queen said.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Even after the call ended, Jarrett could hardly believe it. Queen had chosen him. She wanted to join their squad!

“Woohoo! Long live the Queen!” he cheered.

After talking to Jarrett, Tilda glanced over the information she’d found about the four members.

“Jarrett Bell, Theo Woodward, Zach Rowse, Astrid Jenson …”

Tilda couldn’t help rubbing her temples. What kind of twisted fate is this? All four squad members were in Slosa—just like Tilda.

They came from different families: the Bells, the Woodwards, the Rowses… And one of them was even related to the Jensons. Russell’s younger brother, Dwayne Jenson, had a daughter, Astrid Jenson. Tilda didn’t remember much about Dwayne. He’d moved overseas years ago. Even if her parents had gone to visit him, they wouldn’t have brought Tilda along. All she’d ever seen was a photo of Dwayne with Russell.

Other than that, she knew nothing. As for Astrid, Dwayne’s youngest daughter, she’d only just moved back to Slosa for work. Astrid had never visited Russell’s house. Russell had invited her once, but Astrid politely declined, saying she was too busy.

According to Astrid, there was just too much distance and awkwardness between them. Their families felt like strangers. Astrid didn’t like talking to strangers—even if they were technically family. It felt awkward for her. People with special talents often have their quirks. Most of the time, it showed up as social anxiety.

Tilda only hated her immediate family—her parents and her brothers. She didn’t have the same feelings toward her cousin. After all, she’d never even met Astrid.

And honestly, based on her investigation, this squad was exactly the team Tilda needed right now. It was like destiny had picked them out for her.

Just then, Andy called.

“Tilda, what do you think about that team?”

“The intel looks good,” Tilda answered. “They’re all skilled, ambitious young people, and their families are strong… but—”

She told Andy about the identities of the four.

“Tilda, ever since I met you, I’ve been starting to believe in fate,” Andy said, almost in awe. “Out of everyone in the country, you still end up tied to those same four families. Even when looking for a team online, you find these four, and they’re all in Slosa. That’s just wild.”

Andy used to be a total skeptic. He never believed in anything mystical. People even joked that Andy looked like a vampire—mysterious word, charming look. He had captivated everyone.

But after meeting Tilda, he was convinced she must have an extraordinary story—one she just hadn’t told. Otherwise, how could so many strange coincidences keep happening around her?

“Let’s hope it’s not some kind of cursed fate,” Tilda said with a bitter laugh. After everything with the Jensons and DJ’s identity, it felt like nothing could get worse.

“Oh, by the way, I’ve contacted that research organization. They were thrilled to hear you wanted to help. If you agree, they want to meet you privately to discuss the details. They say you already helped them a lot before, so you made quite an impression!”

“We’ll see,” Tilda replied. Dealing with organizations like that, she knew she had to stay alert—even if it was just a science group in Cetherland. She didn’t think they’d hurt her, but you never know.

“Oh, and by the way, Tilda,” Andy said, “while I was chatting with the contact from that research group, I learned something pretty interesting. The group recently brought in a genius. He’s in his 30s, with a mind-blowing IQ of 260. He’s all about science, never bothered by emotions or distractions.

“But the crazy part is his name—it’s almost the same as the one you mentioned before. His name is Dane Kerrigan.”

The second Tilda heard that name, her heart thudded. That was the very name her mentor had talked about.

“Do you know where he comes from?” Tilda asked quietly.

“No way. My contact isn’t cleared to learn about someone at that level. But apparently, Dane just showed up out of nowhere and took over the whole research group. Ever since then, a bunch of projects that were stalled because of technical problems or patent issues have started moving forward really fast.”