Chapter 222: Dylan Rhodes
Chapter 222: Chapter 222: Dylan Rhodes
On the other side, Luna Dawson breathed a long sigh of relief after Kevin Keane pulled her out of the backstage area. "How did you get here so fast?"
"If I hadn’t come, you might have been tricked by that white-haired freak," Kevin replied, glancing disdainfully at the slip of paper in her hand. "That guy is a creep. The way he looked at you last time was completely inappropriate."
Pinching the crumpled piece of paper, Luna felt puzzled. Even though she had clearly been repulsed by Ian Young this time, her legs had simply refused to move.
"He wanted me to assist with his research and even used Enhancing Liquid as bait. It was absolutely disgusting."
"Just ignore him!" Kevin warned with a severe frown. "You have to be careful around him from now on. Who knows what shady tricks he might pull with that bizarre Spiritual Ability of his."
Luna casually tossed the note away and chuckled. "I know, I’m not stupid. By the way, we still haven’t opened the prize yet. Have Brother Leo and Miles been waiting anxiously?"
"Tell me about it. Those two have practically worn out their chairs waiting," Kevin said, shaking his head in amusement as his tone softened. "Come on, let’s head back and open it."
The two quickly returned to their seats. The moment they sat down, the rest of the group immediately crowded around them. Their eyes were bright and glued to the box in Luna’s arms, their faces filled with eager anticipation.
With a smile, Luna lifted the lid. Three silver-gray communication bracelets lay quietly on the velvet lining.
"Whoa! Communication bracelets!" Miles Dawson was the first to exclaim. "Aren’t there only a hundred of these in the entire base? Have they started mass-producing them?"
Luna gently rubbed the edge of the box, looking a bit troubled. "I guess the necessary materials have been steadily shipped back to the base, so production has caught up. It probably won’t be long before more people can wear them. The problem is deciding who gets these three."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lynn Shelby reached out and swiftly snatched one of the bracelets. His movements were so fast that no one had time to react. "I’ll take one," he declared self-righteously. "Francis Grant bothers me with his endless nagging every single day. I want my own so I can have some peace and quiet!"
Seeing how fast the old man’s hands were, Kevin brazenly grabbed one for himself. "I’m responsible for all the trivial matters in the team, so I’ll take one too."
After saying that, he immediately snatched Luna’s original bracelet back from Lynn’s wrist, carefully wiped it down, and secured it around Luna’s wrist.
Seeing this, everyone nodded in agreement. It was indeed the most logical arrangement for those two to have them, as it would make it easier to coordinate missions in real-time and stay updated on the latest news.
Luna looked at the remaining bracelet and pondered for a moment. "Let’s give this last one to Brother Evan for now. Grandpa and Hector will be visiting the Academy of Agricultural Sciences often from now on. Brother Evan will occasionally need to contact the director and coordinate matters regarding seedlings and planting, so this will come in handy."
"All right."
Evan Olson smiled as he took the box and slipped the bracelet onto his wrist. No one raised any objections.
Right at that moment, Francis Grant sent over a link.
Luna tapped to open it and discovered it was the official internal store! The link directed her straight to the purchasing page for the communication bracelets. Her eyes lit up, and she instantly placed an order for eight of them, each priced at 200,000 points.
When Luna shared the news with everyone, the whole family grinned from ear to ear, eagerly awaiting their delivery.
For the rest of the time, the group huddled together to tinker with their new devices. They added one another as friends and made sure to link each of their accounts with the Sunset Squad’s exclusive emblem. Lynn Shelby even created a Sunset Squad group chat on the Mutation Circle forum and invited everyone to join.
Offstage, people whispered in conversation or amused themselves, while onstage, the captains of various squads took turns accepting their awards. Though the process was a bit tedious, it remained well-organized from start to finish.
In the shadows at the corner of the plaza stood a middle-aged woman in slightly shabby clothes and a thin man wrapped in a military overcoat. Their gazes were tightly locked onto the large side screen.
The screen was looping footage of speeches from the decorated captains, and Luna’s figure was clearly frozen in the shot.
The man’s cheeks were somewhat hollow, but his handsome facial features could still be discerned. He pointed at the screen, his voice and fingertips trembling uncontrollably. "It’s Luna... I heard it perfectly clear just now. The host introduced her. It really is Luna!"
The woman clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, her eyes instantly reddening. Her voice rose unconsciously, unable to hide her excitement. "If she’s here, then my precious grandson must be here too! I’ve finally found you!"
The man raised a hand to wipe the moisture from the corners of his eyes, pure ecstasy and relief surging in his gaze. "Thank goodness... I never expected Luna to become Kensington’s first Fourth-stage Superpower User. With her around, Hector and Wendy shouldn’t have suffered much. This is wonderful..."
Standing in the shadows, the two wept tears of joy. A moment later, they eagerly weaved through the crowd, searching everywhere for Luna’s figure.
"They’re the number one squad! They definitely aren’t short on supplies!"
The woman grabbed the man’s arm, her tone brimming with thrill and anticipation. She wished she could rush right up to Luna to see with her own eyes whether Rhonda Dawson and Hector were with her.
However, the Sunset Squad was seated in the very front row offstage, surrounded by armed military police. Unable to get anywhere near them, the pair had no choice but to squeeze into the crowd, standing on their tiptoes and craning their necks to peer inside, hoping to pinpoint Luna’s location.
"Aren’t you in the logistics department? Have you never seen her?" the woman couldn’t help but complain, remembering that her son was also in the Special Operations Department.
A trace of embarrassment flashed across Dylan Rhodes’ face as he patiently explained. "Mom, I’ve only heard of the Sunset Squad’s exploits in rescuing Ron Rivers from the Containment Zone, as well as their reputation for being an all High-level squad. But I’ve never had the chance to go on a mission with them, so naturally, I haven’t seen her."
Monica Bishop curled her lip and resorted to standing on her tiptoes even harder, her eyes glued to the front rows of the venue.
The entire commendation ceremony lasted for three or four hours, only coming to a complete close as the sun began to set.
As the crowd gradually dispersed like a receding tide, the members of the Sunset Squad slowly rose to their feet and headed toward the exclusive passageway.
Once the flow of people eased up a bit, Dylan and Monica hurriedly pushed their way against the current. They finally managed to rush to the edge of the venue, only to watch helplessly as Luna and her group walked toward the private passageway, the distance between them growing wider by the second.
Dylan had sharp eyes and was the first to spot the familiar, beautiful figure walking beside Luna!
It was Rhonda Dawson, the woman he thought about day and night.
He immediately scanned the area for any sign of Hector. Then, he saw his own son riding on the shoulders of a tall man, occasionally looking down to chat and laugh. They looked like the picture of a perfectly happy and harmonious family.
In an instant, the wild joy in his eyes was replaced by sheer hostility. He gritted his teeth so hard they ground together, forcing the words out. "Rhonda Dawson! I knew it! You do nothing but fool around with random men all day long!"
Monica narrowed her eyes but still couldn’t clearly make out the figures in the distance. Hearing his words, her heart tightened. She quickly grabbed his arm and demanded, "What random men? Explain yourself!"
Too lazy to explain, Dylan gathered all his strength and screamed Rhonda Dawson’s name into the crowd. However, the venue was deafeningly noisy with everyone engrossed in their own conversations. Their shouts were completely swallowed by the noise, failing to reach Luna and the others.
The two had no choice but to push forward desperately, their minds consumed by the need to catch up and confront her.
Just as they chased to within a dozen meters of the Sunset Squad, two modified Hummers appeared out of thin air and parked steadily at the entrance of the passageway.
The group quickly boarded, and the vehicles vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.
"Rhonda Dawson!"
Dylan roared in utter frustration. The only response he received was the increasingly clamorous noise of the crowd, with some bystanders even casting bizarre looks at him as if he were a madman.