Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

Dexter and I looked at each other.

I knew he was trying to ease my worries, but how was that possible in a situation like this?

"There weren’t a lot of resources left on the ship. At this rate, it’ll be difficult for us to last until help arrives," Jimmy said quietly. He was implying that we give Dexter up in exchange for a lifeline.

I stared at him coldly. "Why don’t you sacrifice yourself, then?"

"It’s not like I want to do this either. But I can’t possibly turn myself in." He waved his hand in the air. It was uninjured. He could not possibly be the president.

"What exactly did you get on this ship for, Jimmy?" I shot him a cautious look.

He was a very smart man. Since he could remain so relaxed the entire time, it could only mean that he had mentally prepared himself beforehand.

"I’m only interested in the president of Crowdstar Group," he looked at me and answered honestly. "What kind of mysterious person could be a genius and make everyone green with envy?

"In order to surpass him, I need to meet him myself."

Jimmy was here because he wanted to be better than Crowdstar Group’s president.

"If my brother actually turns out to be the president... I’d actually be quite impressed." He laughed. There was a subtle hint of hostility in his eyes.

As someone who had benefited from Genome Society, Jimmy didn’t want anyone else to reap the same profits as he did. He wanted to be the minority, which was why he was trying to get rid of the organization entirely.

However, from a different point of view, he wanted the same things as the organization did. He just did not want there to be too many genome-edited geniuses. He still wanted to benefit from the resources that they could provide.

Jimmy thought of himself as a genius. As someone who was a self-proclaimed elite, he was hostile toward other elites. He wanted to find the president and get rid of him.

"It doesn’t matter if Dexter is the president or not. Touch him and I’ll kill you." I cast him a warning look. He only smiled in response.

To be frank, we all understood the situation. If Dexter did turn out to be the president, he would’ve exposed his identity during this incident on the cruise. Because of his relationship with Sophia, the organization might not trust him ever again.

If that happened, they’d get rid of him.

Hence, it didn’t matter if he was actually the president. I just hoped he wasn’t.

If the organization of Crowdstar Group turned out to be him, he must’ve done so to infiltrate the circle and find the mastermind behind everything.

Afterward, Dexter left with the group of people. He didn’t make our lives any harder.

Maverick looked at us apologetically. He kept lowering his head as he apologized, "I’m sorry... My wife is in their hands. I’m so sorry... I had to."

I stared at him. I’d honestly expected this to happen.

With Dexter’s intellect, how could he possibly not realize that something was off with Maverick? He had probably noticed straight away but still chose to play into their schemes. He wanted to use this opportunity to be handed over to the Rebels.

Ashton was right—his father went with them willingly. I clenched my fists and didn’t say anything else.

Ashamed, Maverick lowered his head and turned to leave.

"We need to get off the deck promptly. The waves are getting bigger. Hurry!" I yelled after the group, urging them to leave.

Una and Jimmy got off the deck on their own.

Xandra pushed Violette’s wheelchair while I led the two kids downstairs.

Suddenly, the ship rocked. Juliet lost her balance and fell to the ground.

I looked at her indifferently and stood at the door to the deck.

To be honest, I wanted to shut the door and let her fend for herself.

Evidently picking up on my intentions, she stared at me with a look of panic and horror. She opened her mouth to speak but didn’t manage to say anything.

She was still looking at me with a venomous expression. It seemed like she wasn’t willing to let anything go. It was as if she wanted to skin me alive.

I scoffed coldly before turning to leave.

I didn’t shut the door.

Compared to death, staying alive would bring her more pain. Now that Damien had gotten the information that he wanted, Juliet was of no value to him anymore.

From now onward, every day of hers would be spent in agony.

With AIDS, she’d have to constantly live in fear of dying. She’d have to suffer as long as she was alive.

Juliet seemed to have seen this coming too. The rain poured down, and the violent waves splashed onto the deck. Her entire body was drenched, and she was shivering from the cold. She slowly walked down the deck and curled up in a corner.

No one was going to protect or help her anymore.

Looking back, she had no idea what she did wrong. She was still jealous. She wouldn’t regret her actions even if she were on her deathbed.

Some people were just born bad apples. They’d stop at nothing until they died.

In the room, Eason and Zion found something to eat. Food was scarce nowadays. Before this, there was no form of rationing. Hence, the reserves on board were more or less emptied. The remaining was guarded by the Rebels, so they’d be difficult to get to.

Joel found some lollipops and milk for Ashton and Xandra.

Xandra stared at the lollipop before asking carefully, "Ashton... Is this what we saw on TV? It looks yummy."

Ashton rubbed her head. "Eat up."

For the last five years, the pair only had each other to rely on as they lived in a real-life rendition of The Truman Show.

They didn’t have any toys, snacks, or even the accompaniment of their parents like other children did. Since birth, they had been experimental subjects placed under watch in a glass cage.

I cast them both a look of sympathy before bringing them into the room.

"The Rebels’ stand is clear. The game will only end if the president of Crowdstar Group is found. If not, people will continue to die." Zion sat on the couch.

He continued, "At this point, we don’t even need to go after each other. If the president doesn’t reveal himself soon, we’ll all end up dead when we run out of food and water."

At the moment, everyone was living in dread.

Xandra rubbed her bloodshot eyes in fear. At the side, Dayton shot her a glance. Subsequently, he took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. She froze for a moment before lowering her head wordlessly.

"The amount of food left on the cruise is dwindling..." The voice rang out from the speakers once again." From now onward, there’ll be a change of rules. If you want to eat, you’ll need to pay for it."

I turned to look at the balcony and froze.

"The killer escaped!" I yanked on Zion’s arm.

Stan, who’d been locked in the room this entire time, had managed to break free from the cuffs without us knowing.

Upon realizing this, Eason and Zion ran over to check. There were bloodstains on the cuffs. It looked like he’d been rubbing on them for quite some time before he managed to open the cuffs.

"Asshole! All this lunatic knows how to do is add to the mess," Zion spat.

Eason frowned and looked at Joel. "We’ll go get him back."

"Now that everyone is living in fear, he probably won’t be in the mood to go around killing people. With so many killers on board, murder isn’t anything out of the ordinary anymore.

"Since he’s such a sucker for mysteries, he probably went looking for the culprit of Huma’s serial killings. "Joel shook his head.

"For now, our priority should be securing food and water. Dexter bought us some time by surrendering himself to the Rebels. We need to make sure we stay alive until help arrives." I looked at Eason and the

rest.

Everyone agreed with what I said, and we went to get food together.

Upon reaching the dining area, everyone became extremely worked up.

A slice of bread was a hundred thousand dollars while a bottle of water cost 130 grand. This was actual money we were talking about.

The Rebels were collecting money from us indirectly. Genome Society needed funds, and so did they. "This is mad. They’re actually mad!" Zion snapped angrily.

Eason was fuming as well. "The money I’ve earned from years of work isn’t even enough for a bottle of water."

Joel shrugged in resignation. "I’m just a high schooler. I don’t have any money either."

We all looked at each other. This wasn’t about how much money we had the prices were absurd.

"I have enough. I’ll make it my treat." Xandra offered.

"It’s okay, I’ll do it." Dayton stepped in front of her. "Save your money for your own use." He was being quite the gentleman.