Chapter 16

"But..." Alana bit her lower lip, tried to ignore the pain from Ajajx's grip, lowered her voice, and said, "But, what can you do? Are you going to fight those people? They are doing illegal things. Do you really want to ruin your life and future on them? Have you even looked at the state you're in?"

Alana was fuming because of the illegal actions of Charles and his goons. She was also very upset at Ajax's unreasonable stubbornness.

"Don't worry yourself about it, I have a plan, you just have to act like you don't know anything. And for the love of God, don't go confront them." For some reason, Ajax's voice was serene and quite confident. He had come to know just how dangerous Charles and his goons were. Although he knew nothing about Alana's background, he didn't want to put Alana in danger because of him.

"Then...what is it you're planning to do?" Alana sensed a shift in Ajax, and she didn't know what it was about him, but for some reason, it scared her.

"Can you bring me something to eat first, I'll talk to you about it when you get back." Ajax changed the subject and let go of Alana's wrist.

"Okay, just call the doctor if you feel unwell, I'll be right back." Alana nodded, turned, and left the ward.

Ajax was in a coma for about 2 days, so of course he'd be hungry. About 20 minutes later, Alana returned to the ward with a large bag and a small box, only to find that Ajax had disappeared.

The medical equipment and IV needles connected to him lay strewn all over the bed and a note was pressed on the bedside.

Alana threw the things in her hands on a chair and ran over to pick up the note that was written in messy handwriting: "Don't confront them, keep living normally. I'll handle things on my end and then go to the Apollo Academy to look for you when it's settled."

Alana sat paralyzed on the hospital bed. She knew that Ajax had sent her away deliberately so that he could leave in secrecy. Maybe it was because he didn't want her to know his whereabouts, or maybe it was because he didn't want her to get hurt by getting involved in this issue. But that didn't matter, it's not like an injured Ajax could go far.

Alana took a moment to calm herself down, put away the note, and ran out of the ward to search the upper and lower floors hoping she would find Ajax. However, she couldn't find him, and when asking around, no one had seen any traces of him. She finally gave up and stayed where she was, at a loss...

However, in Alana's blind spot in the corridor, there was a figure looking directly at her—Tanaka. Ever since he found out about Ajax's miraculous survival, Charles was so anxious and angry at Tanaka's failure to ensure Ajax's death and screamed at him to get someone to finish the job for good.

Tanaka wasn't negligent as this wasn't his first rodeo. Of course, there was no evidence left when he committed the crime that night, so there is no need to be afraid of the authorities getting involved. However, Charles wanted Ajax dead, and if he didn't kill Ajax soon, his neck would be the one on the chopping board.

So Tanaka tasked his people with searching the nearby hospitals one by one. Ajax had been heavily injured and must have gone to the hospital. After searching for almost a days, he finally found a trace of Ajax. However, he was a step too late and Ajax had already left the premises.

After watching Alana for a few seconds, Tanaka sighed, took out his Vox from his pocket, and made a call. Soon Charles's upper body could be seen on the virtual screen that popped up.

"Have you found him?" Charles asked. He had huge eyebags and a tired expression as he had been waiting for about a day for any details.

"I found him, Young Master Charles. He was sent to Hospital Number 3 yesterday at about 12:30 at night. He stayed here and was here since yesterday." Tanaka reported.

"Did he go to the authorities? I-Is there any way that I could be implicated in this?" Charles asked nervously, worried that this would affect his image in the Apollo Academy.

"My men haven't received any reports so far, but don't worry, you won't be implicated anyway."

"Then you should take advantage of things and kill him tonight; I want him dead this time, don't fuck it up again," Charles spat.

"Um..." Tanaka hesitated for a moment, "Young Master Charles, he-he is no longer in the hospital's premises and was already gone by the time I had arrived."

"Wait! You let him escape?!" On the virtual screen, Charles's expression changed instantly, "YOU USELESS MOTHERFUCKER! What was the point of investing in you?!"

"Don't worry, he's seriously injured, there is no way he could have gone too far. Mr. Charles, I'm calling in for some reinforcements. I'm sure we'll find him." Tanaka lowered his head and snapped several pictures of Alana, "The girl from that day was here as well."

"Alana? Fuck, she's involved in this too?!" Charles covered his face.

He was most afraid that Alana would find out. He still wanted to maintain a good image in Alana's heart.

"I don't know, but I asked around and she seems to have been the one to bring him in. Should we..." Tanaka made a gesture of slitting his neck.

"Are you fucking crazy? You can't touch her, at least not on this planet." Charles shook his head quickly and thought for a while, "But do keep an eye on her; she probably knows where that fucker is going."

"Okay, Young Master Charles, I'll keep an eye on her personally and ask the others to find him. Do you want to be notified after we find him?" Tanaka didn't know if Charles would want to pull the trigger himself this time.

"No need, just make sure he is dead and that he stays dead," Charles said as he hung up. Things just became more complicated, and he didn't wish to involve himself any further.

For the next two days, Tanaka mobilized dozens of men to look for Ajax. They searched the repair shop, the rubbles of his home in case he went back, and special personnel were stationed at the nearby stations and in the closest city.

Charles and Tanaka closely watched Alana's every move, but unfortunately, there was nothing off about her. She didn't even leave the school gate, as if she didn't know what had happened.

Alana was putting up quite the act and while Charles was staring at her, she was also secretly staring at Charles.

She has the note Ajax left her engraved in her mind, and she knew that Ajax was safe as long as Charles didn't make a move. What no one expected was that Ajax did not try to escape or even go far.

From the day he left the hospital, he returned to the vicinity of the Apollo Academy, lurking day and night. During the day, he would lay down on some rooftops and corridors where no one would come to recuperate. During the night he entered the Apollo Academy, observing closely the dormitory where Charles lived, trying to get Charles's daily habits and time of entry and exit. When he was hungry, he would use part of the remaining 40 eddies to buy a few hard toasts, drink a couple of mouthfuls of tap water, or dig through the leftover meals in the cafeteria.

The Apollo Academy had nearly 20,000 teachers and students and no one would notice Ajax who was staying out of sight. Even someone like Tanaka would have never guessed that Ajax was lurking right under their noses.

Ajax only had one purpose in doing this, to give Charles quite the special treatment. Charles led people to break into his home, beat him half to death, and left him to burn ruining several years of hard work. He was going to give Charles a little taste of his own energy.