"Duke Hilton?!" Gina fumed, immediately recognizing the name. "That son of a bitch!" she added, wagging her finger angrily. "Careful, you'll take my eye out," Tyler joked. He was surprised by her reaction. Duke was generally famous because of his family's wealth and reputation. He often appeared on news channels and was a heartthrob for local girls. Gina was widely popular, but she belonged to no royalty. Tyler realized that despite the man's affluent family background, those who knew him personally despised him. Distant hills appear blue and picturesque, but once you come close, they are brown and ugly. "How do you know him?" the young man asked. "What did he do to offend you so much?" Gina crossed her arms angrily. "That stupid jerk has been asking me out for years! He doesn't hesitate to resort to underhanded means to meet me! Once, he pretended to be a movie producer to lure me into a hotel room!" "I keep turning him down, but Duke keeps coming back like a lost puppy!" Tyler

The stewards gave the go-ahead for the MotoGP circuit to commence. Motorcycles queued up at the starting line, and the candidates were fully dressed in racing gear. Their uniforms brandished expensive sponsor brands, while their super-vehicles looked like futuristic machines. Only Tyler's bike and his appearance stood out as ordinary. Many onlookers began mocking him. "Who invited this straggler?" "Have the organizers lost their minds?" "This is a shame on the Fremont Grand Prix!" "It seems the guy borrowed his sports bike and bought his gear from the pawnshop!" The crowd snickered and ridiculed the amateur while heaping praises on the veteran racers. "Max Powers' vehicle looks like advanced alien technology! He is sure to win again this year!" "Did you know Derek Sentinel himself is a candidate representing the royal family of Petra? I'm too excited!" "The Andersons, Coopers, and Carlisles have pretty competitive racers, too. It's going to be a great circuit!" "I'm also hype

Tyler smirked thinly. "I was about to come looking for you. But it is good that you came to me directly. It saved me the trouble."Max Powers gritted his teeth and spat on the floor. "Tyler Grant…" he said, mouthing the words with disgust. "It is the first time I lost the Fremont Grand Prix. I had always been the undisputed champion. You did something funny with your bike to make it run faster. You cheater!"Tyler shrugged nonchalantly and teased him. "Why can't you accept I am a better racer than you?"A vein throbbed on Max's forehead. "Bullshit! Your DesertX was moving at unnatural speeds, way beyond the Ducati company's maximum threshold! Clearly, you have some supernatural help!"Tyler raised an eyebrow. "I see. So, my suspicions were not wrong. You dabble in the dark mystical arts."The villain spat again with disdain. "Commoners like you shouldn't dare to talk about the elite martial and mystical arts. It belongs to special people like me! Just tell me who helped you, and then

Tyler climbed the nearby building and reached the terrace. He surveyed the location, trying to locate where he was. The young man found himself on the outskirts of Sapphire City, where the trash trucks evacuated their dumpster collections. If he had actually been dead, nobody would have recovered his corpse. Tyler bit his lip and assessed the current dire situation. On one hand, Natalie, Gina, and Tracy might be in danger. Max Powers had believed him dead and disposed of his body. Now, the villain could possibly attack his loved ones. On the other, Britta Salvatore sacrificed herself to get him out of the Inbetween. Why was this happening?! Tyler seethed in anger and punched the terrace railing; it shattered like gingerbread. The audacity… The unfairness… The inhumanity of it all. He had sworn never to be weak again and was bested by a rookie villain. To make matters worse, he was helpless to rescue his teacher's granddaughter. Tyler took a deep breath to calm himself. His cultivat

The celebrity diva shook her head. "I don't think he'd like his identity to be revealed. My lips are sealed." Natalie nodded. "I understand. The one I like also thinks that way. Is it common to all men? I find that hard to believe." Gina laughed aloud and clinked her glass with hers. "Not at all. It seems both our boyfriends are mysterious and secretive. It would be really funny if they ended up being the same person!" Natalie clinked her glass back and giggled nervously. "Yeah, it would be hilarious, but highly unlikely!" Tyler was a Sapphire City local who had spent the last three years in prison. There was no way he could remotely encounter someone like Gina Perry. Besides, the young man preferred to lead a secretive life. An affair with an international celebrity would be counterproductive to his lifestyle. Heavy footsteps sounded, and someone tall and intimidating entered the bar. It was none other than Derek Sentinel. "Hey, aren't you the Indigo Captain?" Natalie asked. He