Chapter 458 - 469: Taking the Honest Pill
Chapter 458: Chapter 469: Taking the Honest Pill
It wasn’t that he wanted to, but the situation forced his hand.
He only had one life. If he died, he’d lose any chance to serve Boss Saint in the future.
Compared to that, it was better to stay alive!
So, he wisely spoke up before Stella Sterling had a chance. "Miss Sterling, I’ve made my choice. You are a brilliant and mighty leader. I believe that pledging myself to you is an excellent decision. Therefore, I’ve decided to betray Sanctyr Base and follow you, to be loyal to you from this day forward!"
"Whenever you need it, my life—Zane Xavier’s life—is yours. I will go through hell and high water for you at a moment’s notice."
He didn’t just state his choice; he delivered a long speech professing his loyalty.
As he spoke, he was screaming internally. ’AHHH! I’m not really submitting! I’m just being forced into this with no other choice!’
’I refuse to accept this!’
Stella Sterling looked at his somewhat fawning expression and smiled. This guy was actually pretty amusing.
She hadn’t realized before that he was such a joker.
She looked at him sternly. "Have you thought this through? Are you sure you want to betray Sanctyr Base? I’m very particular. Once you follow me, you can only be loyal to me. If I discover even a hint of disloyalty, I will absolutely make you die a miserable death."
As she spoke, Stella Sterling narrowed her eyes, looking down on him, her entire body radiating a dangerous aura.
Zane Xavier nearly burst into tears. How could he not have thought it through?
If he hadn’t, and if he gave her an answer she didn’t want, it looked like she would kill him on the spot.
So of course he’d thought it through. Very clearly. Discretion was the better part of valor.
’I’m not wrong for doing this. Boss Saint, please don’t blame me. I’m being forced into this, too.’
He nodded repeatedly. "I’ve thought it through, I’ve thought it through! Actually, Miss Sterling, there’s something you don’t know. The first moment I saw you, I felt that you were wise and powerful, clearly a person of great wisdom, clearly someone capable of great things. I already had the urge to submit to you. But I was a member of Sanctyr Base back then, and I thought you were good friends with Miles Sanctus. If I had offered my allegiance then, you would have surely looked down on me."
"That’s why I suppressed my excitement. When I was thinking about leaving earlier, I was filled with regret. But I never expected heaven to favor me like this—that you, Miss Sterling, would take an interest in me."
"To be able to serve you, Miss Sterling, is a blessing I’ve earned over several lifetimes. I don’t even need to think about it; it’s more than I could ask for. So please, don’t doubt my loyalty to you in the slightest."
"From now on, I am your most loyal lackey."
As he spoke, he stared at Stella Sterling with wide, sincere eyes, his gaze brimming with honesty.
As if afraid she wouldn’t believe him, he even gave her a little wink.
’If I had known this would be the outcome from the start, I should have just agreed immediately when she first brought it up.’
’Instead of trying to run. Now look at the mess I’m in.’
’Was I wrong? No, I wasn’t. If anyone’s to blame, it’s Boss Saint.’
’Making me escort such a dangerous person away... Wasn’t that just sending a little lamb like me into the tiger’s maw?’
’I didn’t even have room to struggle!’
Seeing her still squinting and sizing him up, Zane Xavier gave a wry smile. "Miss Sterling, everything I said is true. Could you please stop looking at me like that? It’s scaring me!"
"HAHA—"
Stella Sterling burst out laughing. She seemed to be in a good mood, quite satisfied with his answers.
Seeing her in such a good mood, Zane Xavier inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
’She laughed. She must have been moved by my heaven-and-earth-shaking speech. So, my life should be safe now, right?’
"Not bad. Since you so sincerely wish to follow me, I’ll give you a chance. You can stay by my side and prove yourself from now on."
Stella Sterling said, stroking her chin and nodding.
Zane Xavier nodded incessantly, looking overjoyed.
Inside, however, he was miserable. ’To think that I, Zane Xavier, am a man with a chivalrous heart. Even though I never felt a strong sense of belonging to Sanctyr Base...’
’...one does not serve two masters. I never thought of betraying the base.’
’But today, I was forced into betraying Sanctyr Base.’
’I, Zane Xavier, have become a true-blue villain.’
Stella Sterling stood up and walked toward him. Suddenly, she struck again, chopping the back of his neck.
Zane Xavier passed out again. Before he lost consciousness, he was completely bewildered.
’I already made my choice and pledged my loyalty... why knock me out again?’
Looking at the man unconscious on the floor, Stella Sterling produced an Honest Pill and fed it into his mouth, then waited for him to wake up again.
When Zane Xavier came to, he looked much more serious than before. His eyes were duller, and he stared fixedly in one direction, unmoving.
Stella Sterling asked him several questions, carefully noting down each of his answers.
Stella Sterling was pleasantly surprised. The man was young, but he was unexpectedly well-informed within Sanctyr Base and knew a great deal.
From him, she learned about some of Sanctyr’s internal defenses and also about several other routes that led to the base.
At the same time, she learned about the human experiments at Sanctyr Base.
When she heard about the human experiments, Stella Sterling’s eyes grew cold.
She had known for a while that some of the outer members of Sanctyr Base liked to capture people. Besides being used as food, it seemed they had other uses.
Later, she had learned from Evan Sterling that they were conducting human experiments, but he hadn’t said much about what they entailed.
Now, from this man named Zane Xavier, she learned another secret.
Sanctyr Base had captured many living people and procured many corpses to use them for experiments.
The man didn’t know much more beyond that.
"Evan Sterling, oh, Evan Sterling."
Stella Sterling muttered the name, her expression complicated.
What her dear brother was doing was truly an outrage against gods and men!
In his eyes, what was a human life? What was human dignity?
But then again, this was a man who felt nothing for her, or even for his own parents.
It wasn’t actually surprising that a person like him would do such things.
She suppressed the coldness in her eyes and looked down at Zane Xavier on the floor. "One last question. Have you ever eaten..."
She narrowed her eyes at him. This was her bottom line.