Harper couldn’t be sure of anything until she heard it directly from Marc. But if that was the reason, why did she feel a pang of sadness in her heart? As if she had disappointed him.But..."What if Marc had planned this from the beginning?" she thought, trying to ease the guilt and burden weighing on her heart.In other words, had Marc intended to take the ring from whoever won the auction from the start?"No! No! That’s impossible!" Unconsciously, Harper shook her head like a madwoman."Marc wouldn’t think like that!"In her eyes, Marc was a good man who would never steal something that didn’t belong to him."Of course, I have to take it," Marc replied flatly, though his expression grew more serious."What?"His answer shocked her to the core. She had never ever expected her thought would be right."Marc, please, don’t do this."With a panicked expression, Harper reached out and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him. "I’ll contact the Auctionarium’s management and see if I can get th

"W-what?"Harper's face grew tense upon hearing Marc's explanation. That was the only word that escaped her lips. For a moment, aside from trying to quickly process all the information she had just received, she was at a loss for words."How did Marc do it?" Harper wondered, keeping her gaze locked onto the young man beside her. His face was becoming increasingly familiar to her eyes, as if she never wanted to look away again.She couldn't comprehend how this young man possessed such an incredible ability to sniff out danger. He could detect the smallest details that others overlooked with pinpoint accuracy—something that even the best detectives would struggle to achieve."And even in a situation like this, he still thinks about my safety?"When this realization struck Harper, a familiar warmth returned to her heart—the same feeling she had been experiencing over the past two days. A sensation she had never felt for anyone before.At this moment, that feeling only grew stronger."Is

"What kind of nonsense am I hearing?"The boss immediately turned his gaze toward the source of the voice. So did all the other thugs."Speaking like that... does this person have a death wish?"Seeing no one in sight, they were certain the voice had come from a point beyond the trees, not too far from where they stood."Hey, coward! Step out of the darkness and show yourself!"A thug holding a bazooka in his hands shouted. "If you don't, I'll blow you to pieces with this!"Still, there was no response. At this point, they could have assumed that the voice belonged to some prankster who had already fled in fear.However, these thugs dismissed that possibility. They knew they could not leave any witnesses behind.Anyone who had seen what they had just done, anyone who had witnessed their actions, had to be eliminated—without exception."Eagle, go check it out."Moving his index and middle fingers from his eyes toward the forest where the voice had come from, the boss signaled one of hi

"D-Don't come any closer! Get away! Stay away from me!"Pointing the rifle in his hands at the masked man, Lion staggered backward, his entire body trembling violently. Staring at the figure before him, an overwhelming fear consumed him whole, making it difficult to move. However, as someone experienced in facing life-and-death situations, his instincts screamed at him to flee."Give me the box."Slowly, the masked man pointed at the suitcase in Lion’s hands while taking a step forward."D-Don't even think about it. I-I... I'll never let it go."Lion kept retreating, his face filled with terror, until he accidentally felt something beneath his foot."A bazooka? Ah, I almost forgot about this!"Lowering himself quickly, he grabbed the rocket launcher from the ground. Summoning every ounce of courage left in his heart, he aimed it at the masked man."E-Even if you're a ghost, you’ll still die from this blast. So don’t even think about coming any closer."His body and voice still tremble

Whoosh!A powerful gust of wind surged from the masked man’s hand as he swung his sharp-clawed fingers toward Marc’s chest. Not only was the attack incredibly fast, but it also radiated an intense, chilling aura.“This technique?” Marc frowned slightly before his body suddenly vanished from his spot, narrowly avoiding the masked man’s strike.“Why does that technique seem so familiar?”A second later, Marc reappeared nearly two hundred meters behind the Huracan. He didn’t want to fight too close to the car, knowing it would only terrify Harper further.However, almost instantly, Marc sensed the same powerful cold aura materializing in front of him, less than a meter away. At the same time, the masked man appeared out of nowhere, swinging his claws once more—this time aiming for Marc’s face.Whoosh!Marc tilted his head slightly, allowing the attack to pass just a centimeter beside him. Almost simultaneously, his clenched left fist shot forward with incredible speed.Bang!His punch la