Chapter 492 The Fallen Gomez Family
Jonathan felt a little frustrated and exasperated as he looked at Xiara’s innocent expression. He impatiently explained, “I planned to let him go, so he would head back and report this to the Osborne family.”
He continued, “However, now that he’s been beaten by you into… A pulp. How’s he going to do that in his current state?” Xiara merely shrugged nonchalantly and stated, “I have no idea. Anyway, we won’t need him to report back or pass a message to the Osborne family as long as they don’t find fault with you anymore.”
She continued, “If they dare to do so despite all the chances we’ve given them, we still have other people we can grab hold of. It’s obvious that this man is expendable. I bet if this entire situation was a novel, he would surely be one of those side characters who doesn’t survive past the first chapter.”
“Stop addressing us as an entity so casually. We’re not that familiar with one another yet,” stated Jonathan irately as he reached out and tossed the pocket watch in his hand over to Hayes before he continued, “This pocket watch contains a chip that was left behind by Philip. Take a look and see if there’s anything worth using on it.”
“All right!” acknowledged Hayes enthusiastically.
As he spoke, he reached over and gestured for one of the professionals from Intelligence Bureau to start taking the pocket watch apart slowly.
At that very same moment, a hoarse voice sounded from behind the group.
“Jonathan Goldstein!” bellowed the voice.
Almost immediately, a series of rapid clanking sounds followed the initial bellow as the hundreds of armed soldiers around the group raised their weapons and pointed in unison at the man who had spoken.
Jonathan turned to look at what was going on, only to see Zane standing atop the steps that led to the mourning hall. At some point in time, Zane had changed into a set of pure white mourning attire.
“Jonathan! I’m really itching to kill you right here and now!” bellowed Zane as he stood at the entrance. The wound from the broken finger on his right wrist was still bleeding profusely.
In addition, perhaps due to excessive blood loss, Zane’s face was now pale and his breathing seemed to have weakened considerably.
“The Gomez family has grown and flourished successfully in Lumonburg for a few decades now, but it was all ruined by you in the span of two days! Not only did you murder my son, but you also did the same to my father as well! I’ll hunt you to the end of the world to exact my vengeance upon you!” declared Zane.
Upon taking in Zane’s words, Hayes instinctively stepped forward and slowly headed toward Zane.
As he moved, he muttered, “Da*n this fool! If you continue to spout such nonsense, I’ll walk right up there and rip your…”
“Come on then!” interrupted Zane, fully aware of what Hayes had threatened to do to him.
Even before Hayes managed to close the distance between them, Zane had already raised his left arm high up in the air. He held what seemed to look like a car key in his grip.
It’s an ignition device!
As military personnel, Hayes was no stranger to such items and immediately stopped in his tracks.
At the same time, he yelled, “Step back, everyone!”
With that one shout, the throng of soldiers that surrounded the group gripped their weapons more tightly and slowly eased backward.
“Please step back, Mr. Goldstein. This idiot has been holding on to that device the entire time. It’s quite possible that the ignition device is activated via a dead man’s switch,” cautioned Hayes.
However, Jonathan merely grunted in acknowledgment but did not move a single inch.
Seeing that Hayes had moved to stand in front of him in an effort to protect him, Jonathan lightly instructed, “Step back and give us some space. I’ll have a chat with him.”
“Mr. Goldstein…” pleaded Hayes.
“I told you to step back!” stated Jonathan firmly once more.
Now that Jonathan had insisted, there was no avenue for Hayes to refuse him any further. Instead, he stepped aside and took up his position next to Jonathan before he turned to watch Zane closely.
Seeing that everyone had retreated from him, Zane couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
He commented, “I was under the impression that Lumonburg’s army was a fearless group! Who would have expected that they would turn out to be a group of spineless cowards instead! That said, you’re the exception here, Jonathan. You’re clearly a brave man. It doesn’t seem that shameful for the Gomez family to fall at your hands now.”
“You’re giving me too much credit,” replied Jonathan modestly with a faint smile.
He continued, “There have been countless attempts on my life in all these years, Zane. I have to admit, there are indeed quite a number of people out there who want me dead. However, this is the first time someone has dared to threaten me head-on while putting their very life on the line.”
Zane smiled bitterly upon taking in Jonathan’s words and said, “I know. I know I’m no match for you. My father always assumed that I didn’t understand how great and powerful you are. However, I’m not a foolish little kid. At the very least, I knew that it took someone extraordinary to be able to compel a behemoth like the Gomez family to tread lightly.”
Zane continued, “Jonathan, do you know that I got my men to plant explosives in the ground beneath this very living room three years ago? That was because I knew that being a vassal of the Osborne family was no different from allying ourselves with villains. As such, I made sure to leave an exit strategy of sorts so I could perish alongside whoever the Osborne family sent to us.”
Jonathan began to nod lightly as Zane explained his situation.
At that point, Jonathan stated, “Fair enough. Indeed, if you were to cut off all ties with the Osborne family, it would have been much more pleasant for all of you to spare yourselves the agony of suffering at their hands. However, I’m rather curious about one thing. Since you knew that I’m not someone you could trifle with, why did you choose not to lure me in?”
At that point, Zane let out a long ragged breath. Due to the excessive blood loss, he was now unable to stand upright through his own strength.
Despite that, he fought through the mental fog and dizziness that threatened to overwhelm him and shakily made his way toward the entrance of the living room.
As he moved, he explained, “My hatred for you simply pales in comparison to the hatred I bear toward the Osborne family. Quinton’s and my father’s deaths only occurred as a result of our initial attempt to take your life. Although that was a result of the Osborne family’s machinations, to some extent, we had it coming our way as well.”
He continued, “However, the Osborne family is truly the root cause behind all these troubles. They’re really a stain on the other respectable families. The reason why I chose not to make my move against you is because I need you to face off against the Osborne family. The most ideal outcome would be for both you and the Osborne family to suffer grievous injuries during the conflict or lose your lives. Only when that happens could I consider my vengeance exacted!”
Zane clutched at the door frame and slowly ambled into the mourning hall. Once he was inside, he loosened the grip on his left hand and allowed the dead man’s switch on the ignition device to activate.
“Quinton, live on…”
A series of thunderous booms echoed throughout the space and muffled Zane’s last words. Even Jonathan, who had achieved golden core, was unable to discern what Zane had said.
The explosion was accompanied by an endless barrage of glass shards and brick fragments that were sent flying due to the blast.
However, an invisible barrier seemed to have been put in place right before Jonathan. As such, not a single one of those flying objects managed to reach him. Instead, they simply fell to the ground right in front of him, almost as if they had struck an invisible wall.
After some time, Jonathan sensed that his spiritual energy was fast dissipating due to the high rate of energy consumption required to maintain the barrier. As such, he casually waved his arm and removed the protective shield.
This particular technique of converting his spiritual energy into protective armor was one of the many techniques that Jonathan had gained insight into upon acquiring golden core. As this was the first time he was using the technique, he was rather surprised that his spiritual energy would end up being consumed at such a rapid rate.
It seems like I can’t use this technique recklessly in the future.
Due to the blast, the living room of the Gomez residence had invariably been reduced to rubble.
The raging inferno that ensued represented the best possible final send-off for the Gomez family as it reduced all three generations of the family to ashes.
“The Osborne family… Despite putting up with these respectable families for so long, have you finally run out of patience to do so?” mused Jonathan aloud.
Suddenly, Hayes carried a small laptop in hand and rushed toward Jonathan as he said, “Mr. Goldstein, we’ve managed to decrypt the information in the chip.”
Hayes continued, “The information contained within includes a martial arts instruction manual, staff deployment breakdown, and information regarding geographical locations.”
At that, Jonathan frowned and asked, “Are there any definite coordinates?”
“There aren’t any,” replied Hayes in a hoarse voice. He added, “It’s clear that the Osborne family is very particular about their security and maintaining the secrecy of their location. All the information enclosed in the file related to geographical locations of any kind is represented only via photographs. We can only tell that it’s a mountainous region.”
Jonathan continued to frown as he instructed, “Send some men to take a look. In three days, someone will come over to take up your position as the King of Lumonburg. Before that happens, it’s absolutely essential that we figure out the precise location depicted in those photographs. Failing which, I’ll hold you accountable!”
“Yes, Mr. Goldstein!” acknowledged Hayes in an exuberant reply.
At the same time, a sedan with chipped paint slowed to a gradual stop in front of Bellridge County’s hospital in the city of Citraine.
“Ryan Leiter, once you get out of the car, tell them that you injured your arm while you were working on the farm. Are you clear?”
“Yes, I understand, Mr. Cooper,” replied Quinton. However, the words were barely out of his mouth when he jolted slightly and added, “Sorry, I should be calling you Grandpa.”
“It’s all right. You need some time to adjust,” remarked Norman with a sigh before he added, “We’ve arrived. You should get out of the car.”
Quinton opened the car door and made his way toward the emergency department of the hospital. However, he had barely taken two steps before he suddenly stopped and turned around to look at the night sky behind him.
That must be Lumonburg…
