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Chapter 984: Chapter 984: Stepping over Heads
By the time Terry Moore and Karen reached the grand hall of the Bronze Sparrow Platform, Julius Reed was already talking with the receptionist.
Aron Jackson was his employee, and the two shared a quite intimate relationship when in Gonzalez City.
It could be said that Julius Reed was thoroughly familiar with the layout of the Bronze Sparrow Platform, as well as the trusted staff of Aron Jackson.
The person in charge of the reception was Rachel Pendleton, Mr. Aron Jackson’s private secretary.
"Mr. Aron Jackson, you’ve returned so early today?"
Rachel Pendleton stood up and asked with a smile.
Although Aron Jackson was a boss in Gonzalez City, he never put on airs.
He was amiable and got along very well with the employees.
"I have some matters to attend to today, so I came back early," Julius Reed said with a smile, gesturing towards Terry Moore and Karen. "These two are my friends from the capital; we plan to discuss some important business. If anyone comes looking for me, you just tell them I’m not here, understand?"
"Understood!"
Rachel Pendleton nodded, "Don’t worry. I assure you, not a single person will get through."
"Additionally, withdraw all bodyguards from the corridor. Without orders, no one is allowed near," Julius Reed said, nodding towards a line of people leading to the office.
Noam Martin, after impersonating Aron Jackson, worried about his own safety, had doubled the security forces.
Normally, there were fewer than ten people on this route.
But now, there were more than twenty.
And all of them were new faces.
"But..."
Rachel Pendleton was somewhat worried about Mr. Aron Jackson’s safety and hesitantly said, "If..."
"Execute the orders!"
Julius Reed’s voice was slightly cold, scaring Rachel Pendleton into quickly moving from the reception to relay orders to the bodyguards.
Inside the Bronze Sparrow Platform, Rachel Pendleton held a very high status.
With just a few words, all the bodyguards withdrew.
The corridor became instantly empty.
"Let’s go."
Julius Reed walked towards the office with long strides, nodding at Rachel Pendleton as he passed her by.
After he left, Rachel Pendleton quietly took out a walkie-talkie: "Get ready to move."
As the three reached the office door, Julius Reed took out a key.
The door was pushed open.
Inside was a familiar layout.
But it was evident that the master had changed quietly.
Aron Jackson always liked reading.
The bookshelves in the office were originally filled with classic literature and collections of poetry and essays.
But now, they were stocked with all sorts of messy books.
There was even an unfinished thick book left open on the office desk.
Clearly, this was Noam Martin’s hobby.
Very different from Aron Jackson’s.
But Noam Martin didn’t even get the chance to finish the book before he left this world.
Sitting in the chair, Julius Reed closed the thick book.
He pushed the book aside.
His eyes swept around and unexpectedly discovered a novel titled "The Dragon Lord’s Comeback" by Jesse River.
The book was very popular recently, and Julius Reed had read it too, but because it was serialized, the daily updates were very drawling.
He simply gave up on the book.
Interestingly, Noam Martin had the same hobby as him.
The calligraphy on the walls had also been taken down and replaced with Noam Martin’s handwritten ’Harmony Brings Wealth’.
The same room, the same layout.
But the feeling it gave was completely different.
Very strange.
"Boss, what should we do now?"
Terry Moore didn’t stop looking around the room, tapping here and there, trying to find out if there were any secret mechanisms.
Before coming, Julius Reed had already discussed this matter with them.
But the office was only so big.
Unless the person wasn’t in the room.
If Aron Jackson truly was here, how could he possibly not have been discovered?
"No need to rush,"
Julius Reed sat in the chair, scrutinizing everything around him.
He had been in this room more than once, and was very clear about its layout.
There were no secret rooms or hidden compartments.
Although the room was large, most of it was empty space.
In the over two-hundred-square-feet room, there was only a simple sofa, a desk, and a boss’s chair.
There were bookshelves against the wall.
The books on them had gathered a thin layer of dust.
"Boss, is it possible that Mr. Aron Jackson isn’t in this room?"
Karen looked around and decided it was impossible for anyone to be hidden here.
There was no room to hide, nor was there a place to hide.
"It must be here."
Julius Reed stood up and lightly slid his finger across the desk.
There was dust.
"Noam Martin staying here alone and not allowing the staff to clean already suggests there’s a problem with this room."
There was dust on the table.
This was Aron Jackson’s desk; it shouldn’t be this unclean.
But the dust where one’s hand would fall was obviously not as thick.
Simply put, someone had sat here and unconsciously wiped the dust away with their sleeves.
And because the other areas hadn’t been touched, they seemed dirty and disordered.
In the whole of Gonzalez City, no place could be safer than this office.
The Bronze Sparrow Terrace was Mr. Aron Jackson’s stronghold, and this office was its core area.
If Noam Martin hid Aron Jackson somewhere else, they’d have to send someone to deliver water and food.
That would undoubtedly be very risky.
Those people were Mr. Aron Jackson’s employees; if anyone betrayed them, Noam Martin would be dead without a place to bury him!
This was a secret!
Top-secret!
The only person who could be delivering meals to Mr. Aron Jackson had to be Noam Martin himself.
Now, with the situation in Gonzalez City unpredictable and countless eyes on the local bosses,
Noam Martin couldn’t possibly leave every day to bring food to Mr. Aron Jackson.
The safest and simplest place.
Was the Bronze Sparrow Terrace.
Mr. Aron Jackson’s office, which no one could enter nor dared to enter.
Never mind that the only key was carried with Noam Martin at all times.
There were dozens of bodyguards outside the door, and they were not pushovers.
The Bronze Sparrow Terrace, as the headquarters, had hundreds of people stationed there.
But now, indeed, there was no sign of Mr. Aron Jackson.
"Split up and search!"
Terry Moore began walking along the wall, knocking constantly with every step.
Karen crouched on the floor, tapping away with her fingers.
Thankfully, the door was locked from the inside; otherwise, onlookers would definitely think the three were insane.
After five minutes, the two of them shrugged their shoulders.
No results.
"I really don’t believe people can just vanish into thin air."
Julius Reed sat back in the boss’s chair, but his eyes lingered on the "The Dragon Lord’s Comeback" on the desk.
The book was quite new, obviously bought not long ago.
But it had quite a bit of dust on it.
By rights, even if the room was dirty, it shouldn’t have dust in it.
He looked up and felt that the ceiling seemed decidedly lower.
"Rachel, I’ve been thinking about redecorating my room; do you know any reliable renovation teams?"
Julius Reed picked up the phone and called Rachel Pendleton at the front desk.
As Mr. Aron Jackson’s secretary, she would know best about these matters.
"Mr. Aron Jackson, what about the renovation team that worked on your false ceiling a few days ago? You even personally complimented them, saying they did good work,"
Rachel Pendleton said on the phone.
"Okay, then it’s them."
Click!
Julius Reed hung up the phone.
"Boss, did you find something?"
Seeing his expression, Karen hurried over, "Where could this person be?"
"Above your head!"
Julius Reed’s eyes narrowed, and he leapt up!
He punched the ceiling!
Boom!
Accompanied by a loud noise,
The ceiling was instantly smashed open, leaving a gaping hole.
Dust flew throughout the room, and the crystal chandelier also crashed to the ground.
Julius Reed exerted force with his right hand and gently climbed into the ceiling.
At the same time, he took out his phone and turned on the flashlight function.
The moment the light came on, he saw, three meters away from him,
Aron Jackson was tied to a pillar.
His mouth was sealed with tape.
Locked in sight, Aron Jackson’s eyes were filled with anger.
