Volume 2 Episode 32

"Well, if there's anything left to do, can I get back to training? I have a tournament to get ready for."

"You planned this didn't you?" Lance suddenly snapped at Lin, pointing at him with rage in his eyes. He clearly didn't want to be beaten, especially by a boy who hadn't even grown any facial hair.

Lin furrowed his eyebrows at the accusation. He was getting irritated at the amount of times he was getting accused by this man.

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Oh come on, you're really telling me that an explosion, right when we were getting ready to search your basement, is all just a coincidence?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying, Mr. Lance. And unless you can prove otherwise, then there's no need for me to be present, is there? Unless you are threatening to kill me or something. Which I'm sure none of you wouldn't even have the guts to anyway. If that is all, can I be excused, Mr. Lance?"

Lin looked Lance dead in the eye and replied. Lance was about to get angry and flip out at the bluntness of the youngster when the meeting was interrupted once again by a Hamill family agent. 

Family agents are usually employed when investigating matters involving the safety of the family, which in this case was the life of Lin Hamill which could've been in potential danger. The agent entered the room and presented his findings to everyone present.

"Sir, we have found the culprit behind the explosion. He appears to be a member of the Lindon family. And besides, we did a little bit of digging behind the explosion. It turns out that there might be something shady going on. We found remnants of what appears to be a bomb manufactured by the Lindon family's subsidiary military arms manufacturers 'Lindon & Lloyd'. These are bombs which are sold exclusively to the military. There is absolutely no possibility that the Lindon family will provide it to anyone else, as it may cause retaliation from the government."

The agent explained what they had found out about the explosion when they investigated. After listening to the explanation, most of the family members nodded their heads. Almost all of them had thrown out the idea of Lin blowing up the apartment out of the window. All except Lance.

"Are you all just agreeing with this? Clearly there is something going on with this kid and the Lindon family. He must've been in some kind of deal, and to make it look like he hadn't caused the explosion himself, he must've asked for the Lindon family's help. Otherwise, why would they use the bombs made exclusively for the military in an attempted murder case, which if caught, could land the whole family under government supervision?"

Although Lance had at this point looked like a rambling madman who would do anything to not lose against Lin, the points he made did make sense.

The answer to that series of questions were given not by Lin, but by the agent, who was still present in the meeting room, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"If I may, Master Lance, while I have no evidence to show that there has been any sort of exchange between Master Lin and the Lindon family, I do have an answer to your question about the military bombs. See, these sets of bombs had indeed been made for the military, but it turned out that they had been replaced in order with a new and advanced model instead at the very last minute. As a matter of fact, it seems that the government might apparently owe the London's for the cancelled shipment which might've cost them a 'bit' of money. I'm sure a small explosion would just hurt the amount owed by the military to the Lindons. Plus, the culprit might've used those bombs precisely because they were completely off the records, meaning no contractual obligations, and was totally free of cost. I had already contacted the Lindon family to investigate, and their sources tell me that the culprit had a long time grudge against the Hamill family, and that might've been the motive."

The rest of the board members started to agree with the agent's analysis, nodding at his words once again. Lance, who saw that he was losing the argument, started grasping at straws.

"B-But that still doesn't explain the almost straightforward way the attack had happened. Like, you would at least try to be subtle when attacking a high ranking family member, right? Y-You wouldn't go around and just blow the whole place up, using your own family's bomb on top of that, would you? It doesn't make any sen-"

"If I may, Mr. Lance."

Lance's rambling words were once again cut off by Lin who stepped forward to finish the issue once and for all. Everyone stopped talking and looked at the youth standing in front of them. The young man looked calm and collected even while facing the elders of his family. Most teenegers usually exhibit some sort of nervous behaviour while meeting someone important, but it seems that this youngster is a bit special.

Christopher looked at the young boy's eyes and saw that they were filled with determination. He saw his younger self in those eyes, reminding him of his youth. Memories he had forgotten long ago came flowing to him. He knew that this child was going to be influential the moment he saw those fearless eyes. Those were the eyes of someone who wants to make a change. And someone who couldn't be controlled. 

Lin looked at everyone in front of him for a brief period before opening his mouth to speak.

"As Mr. Lance said, it is pretty unusual as to how the attack happened in broad daylight. But here's the thing. Until a few weeks ago, I wasn't that important to the family. I can help you remember if you don't. After all, I've been unimportant in this family for almost my whole life. So yeah, I would think that it's pretty expected of assassins to attack me in broad daylight. As a matter of fact, I was indeed attacked by our very own Richard in broad daylight as well. Did you all forget about that? Let me jog your memory for a bit. Richard. The servant that you people assigned to me. WAS. A. SPY. And did you follow through on that investigation? So why on earth would you think that another attempted and even more brazen attack would result in anything different?"

At Lin's retorts, nobody in the family room had anything to say, let alone Lance. He was in fact right. The Hamill family couldn't afford to go on war with the Lindon family, who were growing more and more powerful every day. They were scared that a war would result in their extinction, and even if somehow they actually win, even then there would always be some other enemy families waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. It wouldn't end well, and the Hamill family wanted to avoid that. 

It was pathetic. But that was the truth.

Christopher sighed. He looked at the young boy who was standing with his head held high. In him, Christopher saw hope. Hope for the family. Hope for survival. Hope for legacy. He wanted to cherish that hope without damaging it.

The boy. He had to be kept satisfied. 

"I have made the decision that all investigations regarding Lin Hamill be dissolved immediately. Do you agree with my statement or disagree?"

The statement made by Christopher had proven which side he stood for, and most of the family members, even though some were reluctant, still voted for the decision made by him. 

Lin greeted all the family members after the decision was made, quickly learning all their names. Lance avoided him the whole time, which made Lin laugh internally. A grown adult avoiding a teenager was certainly an unusual site.

With the official statement, Lin could finally return. Or at least, to another apartment, seeing as the previous one had a habit of burning down.

As soon as he got out of the mansion, his poker face turned into a flustered one. He picked up his phone and turned it on, only to be bombarded with calls. He quickly took the call and pressed it against his ears, and the angry voice of Eric Lindon echoed in his eardrum. He sounded really angry. 

"Lin Hamill! Why the f**k is my guard in the custody of your family for attempted murder? And why on earth is he agreeing that he did it?"

Lin, who listened to the raging voice of Eric, sighed deeply. He thought for a bit and replied back calmly.

"Well, maybe because he did in fact cause the incident."

"WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU IMPLYING?"

The rage only seemed to intensify as the voice of Eric seemed to increase tenfolds. Lin wondered for a second whether he was holding a megaphone and yelling into it.

"Calm down and we can sort this out. I assure you that I didn't blow up my apartment. That was not done by me."

Lin explained that he wasn't the person responsible for his apartment being blown up, and he definitely wasn't lying. Well, kind of.

"Enough is enough. Look, I want the experiment procedure and everything you know about it. No more games. No more stalling for time. I want it tomorrow. No negotiations this time."

Eric wasn't having it, and Lin definitely didn't wish to push his buttons. He could only agree to his orders and hang up. 

Lin looked above, at the sky. It was cloudy and dark. Completely different from when he entered the mansion. It seemed like a storm was heading their way. Lin then moved his gaze to the phone he held, and nodded to himself.

"Well, I guess the plan might be a bit too early this time."